InuYasha Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Breathless ❯ The Warning ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Sailor Moon, or anything else you recognize. The writing of this story is just for my personal pleasure and I don't get any profit out of it.

 

 

Chapter Two.

 

 

`The Warning'

 

 

“…Something's wrong…”

 

 

The priestess made a pause. The young taijiya boy that had been walking by her side also stopped so he could look at her in mild surprise.

 

 

“Is something wrong, Kikyo-sama?”

 

 

The raven haired woman, Kikyo, did not answer, her gaze focused on a distant spot on the ground far ahead, which made the boy realize she'd once again gotten immersed in the sanctuary of her own thoughts.

 

 

`Mhm, I wish I knew what's been bothering Kikyo-sama, she's been looking a lot more worried than usual as of late'

 

 

The boy had already started gathering up his courage to come out with the question about what was on the wise undead miko's mind, when he noticed her frowning to herself.

 

 

This only served to make him all the more nervous.

 

 

“…Kikyo miko-sama?”

 

 

“Kohaku”

 

 

He was momentarily relieved when she finally raised her eyes towards him, only to grow concerned again once he saw the priestess' mouth set in a thin grim line.

 

 

“Yes?”

 

 

“Something's happened; I'm going to have to leave you alone for a while. Please stay here with Kochou and Asuka for a moment, I'll be back in a couple of minutes”

 

 

The boy seemed to hesitate for a few moments before he nodded.

 

 

“Alright”

 

 

Shielded under the barrier erected by Kochou and Asuka, Kikyo's two shikigami, he silently watched the holy woman he had come to know as his protector since the death of Kagura and the recovery of his memories as she slowly disappeared into the woods; a barely repressed look of alarm overshadowing his childlike features.

 

 

 

 

It was in a faraway solitaire clearing in the middle of forest that the undead priestess known as Kikyo had finally seemed to reach some sort of destination. Making sure there were no unwanted auras nearby, the miko leaned down to sit on the ground.

 

 

With an almost unperceivable sigh, she closed her eyes and concentrated. It was the very first time she attempted to reach with her own mind to the ancient soul being kept since so recently hosted inside her body, but she knew better than to let their whispered warning go unheeded.

 

 

She didn't know if this would work, if she was truly gonna be able to speak with the late Great Priestess's ancient soul, which she had first borrowed to help her heal the old poisonous wound Naraku had given her at Mount Hakurei, the same one which Kagome's holy powers had initially managed to only temporarily stop from spreading… It'd been when the wound had started to worsen once again, even after Kagome had attempted to heal it, that Kikyo had gone back to that cave where she knew the frozen figure of Midoriko rested, and humbly asked the late Great Priestess' help in healing said wound so she could continue chasing after Naraku.

 

 

However, once there inside the cave, she'd found that the remains of Midoriko's great soul agreed not only to help heal it, but also to fuse themselves with the younger miko's own soul (the fragment of Kagome's that was in her clay and soil body) so that Kikyo could use Midoriko's last purifying powers to destroy Naraku along with the Shikon no Tama once the Sacred Jewel was complete in his grasp.

 

 

But for that plan to work, Midoriko and Kikyo together needed to use a purified jewel shard, the very last if one didn't count the two still in that wolf demon, Kouga's possession… the last jewel shard, which was the one that sustained the no-longer-amnesic Kohaku's life.

 

 

Which was why Kikyo was currently keeping him by her side.

 

 

And now that they were once more after Naraku's trail, the fragments of Midoriko's soul had warned Kikyo of an impending danger…

 

 

`I've felt your call, Midoriko-sama…, I am listening'

 

 

For a long time, only the deepest silence, interrupted every now and then by the birds' cheerful singing and the noise of the tree leaves as they smashed against one another under the force of the wind, were the only sound that met the undead miko's summoning.

 

 

It was only after a few agonizing moments, when she'd been almost ready to give up and try again, that she thought she heard the voice of the soul of the Great Priestess.

 

 

“Kikyo…”

 

 

`Yes. Is that you Midoriko-sama?'

 

 

“Kikyo… Do you still have the soil of the bandit Onigumo's grave within you?”

 

 

`Hai, I do'

 

 

“Then make sure it stays that way, dear child… You're gonna need its protective properties”

 

 

`…I will. But why do you say I'm gonna need them, Midoriko-sama?'

 

 

“I sense the Shikon fragments in his possession getting darker… Naraku's recovered Onigumo's human heart”

 

 

The undead woman couldn't keep a flicker of emotion from crossing over her features as her eyes snapped open, filling with astonishment.

 

 

`What?I-I don't understand Midoriko-sama. Why would he..?! The only possible reason as to why he would ever want his human heart back is—'

 

 

“—is if he suspected what we were about to do, dear child” the voice ended for her in a grave tone.

 

 

Kikyo gritted her teeth. He was always a step ahead of her, that bastard!

 

 

`Is he trying to use Onigumo's heart to further corrupt the Shikon no Tama, Midoriko-sama?' she asked, getting back in all-business mode, trying to compose herself. `Are Onigumo's emotions truly dark enough to shield it and him against our combined holy powers?'

 

 

There was a long silence.

 

 

“There's something else you should know” the voice continued after the pause, “Onigumo's heart isn't the only dark aura attempting to taint the jewel; there is something else…two more powerful auras around it… one is a darker power, subtle, but so malicious like I've never seen, even before the jewel was created. You must surely have felt its sickening presence”

 

 

Sharply holding her breath, the raven haired miko nodded her head in defeat. She'd somehow been expecting the Great Priestess to aboard this subject sooner or later, from the moment she'd felt that warning.

 

 

Ever since months ago, she'd felt that obscure, overpowering presence at the edge of her awareness. It was distant from her self, yet was so intense and felt so close it'd make her skin crawl and the hairs on the back of her head constantly stand on end nowadays… Although that powerful aura still remained passive and dormant for the most part, the thought that Naraku could have any connection to such monstrous entity of evil was frightening. The mere thought that it could turn against them was unsettling, even to an undead such as she.

 

 

She'd never felt or heard of anything so overwhelmingly massive, turbulent and foreshadowing in her entire existence, and even in the case that Midoriko didn't know what it was, she'd fervently hoped at least it didn't have anything to do with Naraku.

 

 

Apparently, it'd only been wistful thinking and once more she'd been utterly wrong.

 

 

Swallowing hard, Kikyo unconsciously prepared herself for whatever else Midoriko was about to continue to tell her…

 

 

To Be Continued.

 

 

 

 

GLOSSARY

 

 

`Hanyou' = half demon (Inuyasha and Naraku are both hanyous)

 

 

`Taijiya' = demon exterminator (Sango and her brother Kohaku are taijiya)

 

Someone-`sama' = use to show deference to a superior, more powerful and/or experienced person, be it a royal, sage, master, monk or priestess, etc.

 

 

`Miko' = Shinto priestess

 

 

`Shikigami' = guardian spirit/s summoned by a Shinto priest or priestess (Kochou and Asuka, the little girls accompanying Kikyo since her pose as “Her Holyness Hijiri-sama”, are her shikigami summoned to protect her)

 

 

`Shikon no Tama' = Jewel of the Four Souls.

 

 

A/N: Don't know if any of you didn't realize, but a few lines of the previous chapter, `Butterfly', were taken directly from the Sailor Moon manga. Also, the answers to the reviews of the prologue have been given through a review I myself made to the first entry of my story; they're there in case any of you still wanna see the replies you've gotten, and so will the replies to the reviews of chapter one in a review I will give to that chapter once I'm finished writing this.

 

As you've probably realized, I've taken a bit of free license as for the time progression but this chapter is mostly manga-based: Kagura is already dead (sorry Kagura lovers, but I need it for my plot), Kikyo's fused with Midoriko's soul, Kohaku's already regained his memories and he's traveling with Kikyo (she keeps his jewel shard pure and free from evil taint, hence keeping Kohaku safe from Naraku's control) cause he wants to help her destroy him.

 

 

I'm not totally sure but I think more manga facts will probably appear later on in the story, though they'll also be explained so you anime-only fans don't be concerned. All this information can be found in their character profiles on wikipedia, anyway, but if you still have any questions you can tell me through a review or e-mail and I'll give you the address to a couple of sites that might help clear your doubts.

 

 

That is all for now, please don't forget to tell me your thoughts.

 

 

Cheers!