38Yaoi: So what's up peeps?, sorry for the wait but well I have a nine to five, more like seven to five and well sleep is more important sometimes but I try to update as often as possible. Anyways I guess this is more of a filler chapter as I figure out how to progress the story like I want to and again I'm looking for a beta to get sneak peeks into the insanity the is my brain and help write this lovely clusterfuck of sappiness. If interested either review or PM me and we'll see.
:3 So do Enjoy!
It was reaching late evening when the group had touched down outside of the Village of the Bone Eaters Well. Once they made it into Kaede's village they rushed the still unconscious Sango to Kaede's hut.
"Oi old woman! We need your help with a…"
"Inuyasha how many times must I tell ye to address me with…What happened to the woman?"
Sighing in frustration, "That's what I was trying to tell you, we were fighting Naraku and this woman got put in the middle, long story short she's close to dying anything you can do to help?"
Guiding the group towards the fire, Kaede took a closer look at the wounds on Sango.
"This woman ought to be dead but I can sense a lingering though fading essence of the Shikon Jewel from within her. I'm guessing that is what's helping her heal as well as cling to life."
Setting to work at once Kaede was throwing commands around the hut that had everyone, save for Sesshoumaru, jumping to action to get said orders filled. Three hours later with a sigh of relief Kaede and the others sat down around the fire after placing Sango in a spare room to rest.
"The girl is no longer in danger of dying but any strenuous work can put her back into harm's way. Care to explain what led to these turn of events Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha just grunted as he went to detail about the battle with Naraku as well as his involvement in the slaughter of the entire Demon Slayers Village. Which then gave way to the introduction of Miroku, as well as his involvement and ties to wanting to hunt down Naraku.
"Well seems there is only more reason to stop Naraku before he lays waste to more villages. I say in a few days the girl can return home for her village has ties to the Shikon Jewel itself."
All three demons and the monk were curious to that.
"What do you mean lady Kaede?" asked Miroku.
Before Kaede could continue Myoga, who'd been hiding in Inuyasha's hair piped up, "The Village of demon slayers was said to be the home of Midoriko the powerful priestess that the Shikon Jewel was born from."
Inuyasha jumped up at the news, "Then why wait for Sango to wake up why don't we just go?"
"Because Otouto, the Village of Demon Slayers is also one of the most well-hidden Villages to have existed. Even I have not been able to pinpoint its actual location and I have yet to hear of any other demon to have come to its walls and come back to reveal its location."
"Exactly Lord Sesshoumaru, there is only once way to get to the village and Lady Sango is that way."
Silence met the Myoga's words. So waiting for Sango to heal and lead them to her village was the only option.
It took a full seven days for Sango to regain her strength to travel to her village, two to regain consciousness, another two for Kaede enforced bedrest, and another three for Sango to get her bearings and ability to move around unassisted. To say the men of their little group were impressed by the woman's sheer will and strength would be heavily understated. Once everything was situated the group lead by Sango maid there way to the hidden village of the demon slayers.
It was almost a full day of flying before they touched down on the outskirts of the village. The morning light shined eerily on the village of the demon slayers. Walking up to the village was a quite affair, once in it the two older demon males went off checking the perimeter for any chances of Naraku's presence while Shippo Miroku Kirara and Sango checked the village for either a survivor or lingering enemies.
While Sango and Kirara checked the houses; Miroku, Shippo, and Myoga were in a weapons storeroom. Shippo picks up a weapon almost as big as him, "So many kinds of weapons! All made from the bones and hides of demons!"
Myoga nodded sagely, "With these arms, the people of this village slew demons. That's why demons despised this village."
Shippo looked towards Myoga, "And Naraku took advantage of that hatred…"
Myoga sighed despairingly, "Precisely, he set the demons upon this village, and I'll bet those demons were more than happy to tear through this village."
The three men paused in their searching and fell into silence. Coming back to themselves with grave expressions on their face they continued their explorations in silence.
Sango wasn't fairing much better, while she and Kirara searched nothing seemed to be amiss but a heavy feeling settled on Sango as the bodies of her neighbors and elders and children were carefully collected by Kirara and moved towards the graveyard of the village.
Only one thought repeated in Sango's mind.
"I will avenge you."
Hours later it was late afternoon early evening in the village. Miroku was burning insense as he gave the proper funeral rituals to the village. With the help of Sesshoumaru's demon form they were able to quickly give the entire village proper burials. Inuyasha walks over to Miroku with a log slung over his shoulder.
Inuyasha placed the log in the funeral pyre as he watched Miroku finish the last of the funeral.
"Hey, Miroku! Is that Sango still in bed?"
"I believe so."
"Well, it's understandable, it's never easy to bury one's family and friends, let alone mourn them on your own."
"You sound as you speak from experience."
Inuyasha looks off into the distance, wind tussling his hair gently.
"Yes I do."
He said it with such finality Miroku took the hint and let the matter drop.
Across the field Sango sits at the burial mounds, Kirara sits next to her, she meows and Sango pats her. Shippo watches her from a distance not really sure how to approach her.
"Sango…You still need rest."
"The graves…"
"Huh?"
"You buried everyone and marked their graves."
"When your wound heals, won't you come with us? Inuyasha, Miroku, and I are basically good people. What do you think?"
Sango looks at Shippo, "You…had a fragment of the Sacred Jewel."
"Huh?" Shippo looks down at the necklace with the clump of jewel fragments, "The fragments of the Sacred Jewel energizes the power of evil… It's far from its original shape."
"Naraku will come after it. All right, I'll come with you."
"You intend to avenge your family and village?"
Sango stands and brushes the dirt off her skirt, "Yes… Plus the Sacred Jewel was…"
"Born in this region. We came to this village wanting to know more about that."
Kirara looks at Shippo and mews.
Shippo looks down at the little cat demon, " What is it, Kirara?"
Sango looks from Shippo to Kirara and back, "Call your friends. You helped bury the dead. I'll tell you…how the Sacred Jewel came to be."
Everyone gathers in front of a cave towards the end of the village.
Miroku stares at the barrier surrounding the mouth of the cave, signifying it's importance, "At last, we'll be able to enter this limestone cave where the Sacred Jewel came to be."
Inuyasha looks towards Sango, "So Sango, just how do we get rid of this barrier?"
Myoga, whom was riding on Kirara's head, jumps to Sango's arm, "Precisely… We must say the age-old incantation and the barrier will be broken…"
Sango stares confusedly at the flea demon, "There's no such incantation."
Myoga looks flabbergasted, "Huh? Then how?!"
Inuyasha huffily looks to the flea and frowns, "Myoga…" and blows the flea off Sango's arm and away from the group.
"This is a graveyard." Sango continues.
Everyone except Sesshoumaru, who just rose an eyebrow, started, "Graveyard?"
Sango just nods, "It's useless to just look for ways in. At first, we all thought that the demons had placed a curse to keep anyone from entering. But it seems that she is the one who keeps intruders out."
" She?" Miroku asked puzzled.
"The person from whom the Sacred Jewel was born. Her sadness and regret keep people from entering. That's what I sense. It'll be easier to understand if we go in. Go ahead, enter."
Inuyasha steps towards the cave, "Ahh… Are you sure?"
Sango nods again, "Until now, countless people have become victims of the Sacred Jewel. You sympathize with them, so I'm sure she will allow you to enter."
The group walks through the barrier and stops.
Shippo looks around amazed, "She's right. We got through.
The group walks into deep end of the cave. Carcasses of demons are strewn around the area. SHI shrieks. Everyone looks up in awe at a tall pile of bones in the middle.
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru visibly shiver with unease.
" What IS this?!" asks Inuyasha.
"Demons, dragons and spiders all merged into one to wage a battle against one single human." Explains Sango.
Shippo shivers as he stares intently at the pile of bones and the structure at the top of it, "There's a body inside the stalagmite!"
The others all look closely and can see a stone-like woman is seen in the stalagmite.
"That demon has her in its jaws… An ancient armor… A warrior of long ago?" murmurs Sesshoumaru.
"It's a woman." Sango replies, " A priestess from several centuries ago."
Inuyasha looks at it in silence.
Miroku looks taken back, "But look at the number of demons surrounding her. I knew she had immense power but I had no idea just how immense her spiritual power was.
Sango continued, "The court nobles controlled power at that time. Wars and famine dragged on and on and countless people perished. By devouring the dead and the near-dead, demons grew in number. Many priests and warriors set out to slay them but one priestess known as Midoriko was able to purify demons' souls and render them harmless. She ranked the strongest of them all."
"She was able to purify the souls and weaken the demons?" Shippo asked shocked.
Sango nodded, "Yes… In this world, humans, animals, trees, and stones alike, all are created through four souls."
"I've come across it in my readings." Miroku said intrigued, "The four souls are namely: Aramitama [荒], Nigimitama [和], Kushimitama [奇] and Sakimitama [幸]. Combined they become the soul of one person…housed inside the heart. Aramitama governs courage, Nigimitama governs friendship, Kushimitama governs wisdom, Sakimitama governs love."
Miroku walks to the stalagmite, "When the four souls work properly in harmony, it is called Naobi and the human heart is filled with good."
Sango takes a few steps closer to the stalagmite as well, "When one does bad deeds, the four spirits energize evil and the human loses his way."
Understanding dawns in Miroku's eyes, "In other words, with both humans and demons, the soul can turn good or bad."
Shippo gazed in awe at the formidable priestess, "Midoriko must've been a formidable foe to the demons. She was able to purify the souls of demons and make them powerless."
Sesshoumaru tilts his head in unimpressed consideration, "She fought off an army of demons, but her powers didn't last.
"After battling for seven days and seven nights, a demon got its fangs into Midoriko. With the last ounce of her energy, Midoriko seized the demon's soul, took it into her own soul, and forced it out of her body." added Sango.
"The spot where she forced out her soul, is that the hole in her chest?" asked Miroku.
"What she forced out was the Sacred Jewel. She wasn't able to purify the demon's soul. All she could manage was to seize the demon's soul. Although the flesh is gone, inside the Sacred Jewel, a battle still wages between the souls of Midoriko and the demons. That is why this fight isn't over yet." Sango answered.
Shippo turns to Sango looking confused, "Inside the Sacred Jewel…a war still rages on?"
Slowly the group turns around and walks back towards the village.
Sango stares off into space before answering.
"As far as I've been told that's one of the reasons that the jewel is so sought after, with the energy from the still battling war coming from within as well as the overall jewels capabilities demons and humans alike want the jewel."
Not long from entering the village the sun set leaving the village bathed in the light of the moon. Inuyasha sits on the roof of a hut thinking about his quest to become a full demon and if it was worth it or not, meanwhile the rest gather inside.
SAN: I believe it has something to do with Midoriko…but the villagers worked as Slayers for generations. Over the centuries, the Sacred Jewel passed through the hands of various humans and demons. And it returned here, during my grandfather's time. It came out of a demon that he slew. But his life and many others were sacrificed in the fight. The Sacred Jewel which was removed from the demon was horribly defiled and beyond the abilities of the Slayers to handle.
"So that's when they put it into Kikyo's care…" Miroku muttered more to himself then anything.
Sango looks at Miroku, "Kikyo?… I heard of a priestess so named who was able to purify the Jewel."
"Naraku learned about her and killed her."
Jumping onto Sango's should Myoga sagely added, "When demons and evil men possess it, the Jewel becomes defiled. When a pure-hearted human possesses it, the Jewel becomes pure. It's very complicated."
Miroku nods towards the flea, "A Sacred Jewel has the power for good or evil. However, I've never heard of an instance where the Jewel has been used for good. As long as Naraku is after it, there will be more and more bloodshed this karma of the Sacred Jewel we must put an end to it."
While listening in on the conversation Inuyasha couldn't help but feel more distanced from actually using the Sacred Jewel, laying down on the roof of the hut Inuyasha weighed the pros and cons of what would happen if he was to use or not use the jewel. So many emotions and scenarios ran through his mind he couldn't help but feel lost.
So deep in thought he almost didn't feel the two other demons come out and onto the hut's roof. It was the touch of Mokomoko-Sama to his left and the graze of cinnamon hair on his face to his right that freed him from his thoughts.
Closing his eyes, Inuyasha admitted to both himself as well as the only two beings outside of his deceased mother that he had ever trusted, "I don't know what to do."
Settling down next to his brother Sesshoumaru allowed himself to relax and gaze upon the stars.
"What is it that you mean Otouto?"
"I want to be strong and brave and a leader but being half human seems to make that harder for me to do but when I see all the wrong and grotesque ways that full demons are doing just to gain more power with the jewel it all seems pointless. I don't know what to do!"
Feeling his mate's distress Shippo curled around Inuyasha linking his left leg to Inuyasha's right while nuzzling his neck at the same time Sesshoumaru entwined their fingers together as he moved closer to comfort his little brother.
"Strength and Bravery aren't a sole full demon trait, you mother was only a young princess and she not only stood up to her own to be with our father but braved child birth on her own while knowing she may not live to see you grow. It takes trial and error to make a good leader you're just new to it."
Though he felt weird opening himself up to his brother, having never felt the need to ever do so not even with his own mother, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but feel better about his past faux pas in regards to Inuyasha's life after his mother had passed. Though there was still much to mend it felt like he was moving in the right direction.
Inhaling his mate's scent Shippo added with a purr, "You're also my Alpha, and a damn good one if I do say so."
Smiling to himself Inuyasha knew that even though his thoughts may turn dark again concerning his choice on being a full demon or staying a half demon, but he was glad that he wouldn't have to make that decision completely alone. Snuggling up to both males Inuyasha couldn't have been happier.
Suddenly…
"Inuyasha! Do not think about using the Sacred Jewel to become a great demon!"
"Keh! Shut it you lecherous monk, First and foremost, I'll kill that Naraku! Then we'll worry about what to do with the jewel."
Muttering was heard inside the hut.
Soon just the sounds of the wind and nature lulled everyone to sleep.
That is except for Kirara, one moment she's cuddled up to Sango and the next her nose is ablaze and nearly dragging her out the hut. Walking out of the hut almost completely unfocused nor paying attention to what was placed around her neck, Kirara continued sniffing the air and was directed towards the cave.
Inside the cave Kirara runs into the deep end with the Sacred Jewel necklace slung over her neck. She stops in front of the stalagmite. She scratches herself and Myoga jumps out.
"Good! Kirara…my thanks. We made good time coming here. Midoriko… I, too, feel compassion for humans. However, when one lives long and sees so much death, one becomes accustomed to it."
Myoga turns to the Stalagmite fixture, "Forgive me. This afternoon, I was too eager in my pursuit of truth. Since you've allowed me past the barrier, I guess you understand." Kirara mews in the background, "Oh, sorry, sorry! I will be finished here soon."
Myoga packs the Sacred Jewel fragment into his sack and slings it over his back. He climbs up the stalagmite, the begins to pray.
"Namu amida butsu… So many demons… A single priestess took on this many demons? Unbelievable. Many of the demons merged with others into huge ones. So that's the hole in the chest where the Sacred Jewel was thrust out. Judging from the size, it's possible that the Jewel was thrust out from that spot."
The ground suddenly shakes.
"W-what…?!" Myoga gasps.
The sack falls off Myoga's sack and the Sacred Jewel fragment flies out. Kirara growls in apprehension at the shaking.
"I have this ominous feeling…"
Red orbs of light suddenly appear.
"Damn! It's the power of the Sacred Jewel! Demons who were not completely subdued are trying to revive!"
The orbs fly towards Myoga and he shrieks and ducks for cover. Kirara growls and transforms to her fierce form.
Meanwhile in the village, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru jump off the hut swords drawn and at the ready followed by Shippo, as Miroku and Sango rush out the hut.
"What was that tremor?!" inquired Inuyasha.
Shippo feels for the jar necklace, "Inuyasha! The Sacred Jewel is gone!"
"Something's happening in Midoriko's cave!" Miroku yells
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru run off followed closely by the trio.
"Inuyasha Old Myoga is missing and so is Kirara!" shouted Sango.
"Ah hell for a demon that hates sticking his nose into danger he just had to do something stupid like this." Grumbled Inuyasha kicking off faster followed closely by Sesshoumaru.
Inside the cave, Kirara is trying hard to dodge the flying orbs of fire.
Myoga while on Kirara screams, "Kirara! Run! Call Inuyasha and Miroku!" Kirara banks a quick left to avoid the orbs and runs to the stalagmite, "What's the matter, Kirara? I see! We must get the Jewel fragment back!"
The dragon like demon that bit Midoriko wakes. Its long body coils around Kirara and squeezes. Kirara growls and thrashes around to get free only to be squeezed tighter and faints.
" Kirara!" Myoga shrieks.
The head of the dragon growls.
"Demon spirits! They're transforming into fierce ones!
Kirara grunts and whimpers in the dragons grasp.
"Hang on, Kirara!"
The dragon head move towards Myoga, who looks on in apprehension. Suddenly a light glow appears. The spirit of Midoriko wakes from her stone body.
"T-that's…!" Myoga gapes.
Midoriko leaps into the air with a sword in her hand and slays the dragon. A loud explosion is heard. Now released from the dragons grasp Kirara falls towards the ground landing hard.
Myoga looks up in awe, "Midoriko…"
Midoriko lands slowly then looks toward the entry of the cave then fades away as Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru rush in.
Quickly analyzing the scene Sesshoumaru glances and Miroku, "Monk grab the necklace."
Moving over to the fallen Kirara Inuyasha pipes in, "Hurry, Miroku!"
Miroku runs over to the remains of the stalagmite and picks up the necklace, "Found it! I cannot linger here with the Jewel fragment! I'm going out of the cave!"
"Go!" Inuyasha barks as he sheaths his blade, "Now then…" Inuyasha examines Kirara and digs through her fur, "I know of only one creature who would do something so stupid…"
Inuyasha finds Myoga among the fur, cowering.
Myoga waves his hands frantically, "Oh, Master Inuyasha! Oh dear… Thank goodness nothing happened."
"Cut it out, will ya! Why'd you bring the Jewel fragment into a place like this?!"
"Well…"Myoga looked down sheepishly, " Kirara wanted to…look inside the cave again…"
Kirara turns around and growls at the flea.
"Lying again?!"
"Err…no… The souls which still lingered reacted to the light from the Sacred Jewel and tried to revive. I kind of expected it."
"How can you brush it off so lightly when you almost died? You're so smooth with your talk! I shouldn't have saved you." Scoffs Inuyasha.
"W-what? When was I saved by you?"
"Wake up! And don't act dumb!" Inuyasha yells as he grabs Myoga and shakes him violently.
"I'm not acting dumb! I was saved by Priestess Midoriko!"
"You can sleep talk in your sleep!" Inuyasha throws Myoga violently on the ground and walks out the cave followed by Sesshoumaru and Shippo.
Kirara walks to the stalagmite and looks at Midoriko, then settles down to sleep under her.
The ghostly figure of Midoriko reappears next to her, sitting down next to the sleeping feline she scratches behind her ears and gazes after the Inuyasha and the others.
Looking back down at the cat demon she whispers, "My dear old friend, watch over those travelers, they will need much help and guidance for what will unfold upon them."
With one last pat to Kirara's head the figure disappeared once more to rest.
Yaoi: And done...was working on a quick follow up but then hated it so its back to the drawing board :/ anyways like I said I'm in need of a beta so if interest please let me know don't be shy I like inviting people to my madness it weeds out the undesirables. TTFN Tata for now.
Yaoi: OH! Another thing...If you have any questions regarding a chapter or whatever you can also feel free to ask and I'll try to answer those in the next chapter and so on. That is all so again, for real this time, TTFN Tata for now.