InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Shard in Kyoto ❯ chapter 2 ( Chapter 1 )

chapter 2

Arrival at Kyoto.

It did take the group about a week to get to Kyoto. While there were some odd encounters on the way, this is a story about the group in Kyoto, not their trip there. (Weather problems, the odd demon after the shards in Kagome's possession, bandits, villagers frighted by Inu-yasha or upset about Kagome and Sango's clothes and behavior, and of course the usual fights between group members.) A couple of important events did happen, and I will handle them in flashbacks.

Please note the group has had days to think and plan about this. This is not something they are jumping into headfirst . . .

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Inu-yasha, Kagome with Shippo on her shoulder, and Sango with Kirara in her arms stand on one of the hills overlooking Kyoto from the east. They are on a hill overlooking Kyoto from the east side. It is late afternoon. About half a kilometer away from the group is a Buddhist monastery.

Kyoto lays before them - an imposing diorama . The city is laid out in a rectangle, perhaps five kilometers east to west and eight to ten kilometers north to south. The city lacks a true wall, and some of the buildings on the west and south side of the city tend to fade into the fields that surround the city on those sides. On the north side of the city, the buildings and roads continue on. Just north and east of the city looms the mountain called Hiei, home to several major Buddhist temples. On this mountain are thousands of small buildings and temples, though most are not visible through the trees. But the ones that are visible look more like fortresses than temples.

The group stands only a three or four kilometers away from the city proper, with the Koma River in between. They can see many boats, barges and other water craft on the river as well as carts, wagons, and groups of people going back and forth across the half-dozen or more bridges that cross the river.

Because the city is on a plain sloping slightly toward the group, the tops of the houses and building are plainly visible. On the north end and west side, many colorful pagodas stick up from the lower structures. Though most of the buildings in the city are only one or two stories high, the pagodas tower three to six stories. The south and west sides are dominated by lower and much less colorful buildings.

The main streets of the city form in a regular grid, with the largest perhaps thirty meters wide. There are less than half a dozen main streets going north to south but more than that going east to west. Some of the streets in the southern and western part of the city fade out into the fields, so it is hard to see where they stop or start. They can see, barely, that alleyways and small streets run between the buildings in a block. Small canals carrying running water throughout the city also parallel the main streets. Even from a distance, they can see that while the city blocks are easy to locate, finding a building that is not on one of the main streets, will be a problem.. (See author's note at bottom for jpg's of Kyoto.)

A polluted haze over the city obscures some of the details.

"I didn't think that there would be pollution in this time?" Kagome asks the group in general as she lowers the camera that she has been using.

"Cooking fires, Kagome. It is close to dinner time," Sango answers her.

"When will the monk be back? I'm hungry," Inu-yasha complains.

"We'll be camping here, so we'll start cooking in a few minutes, Inu-yasha, unless Miroku tells us something different when he returns from visiting the monastery," Kagome says calmly. "Shippo how are you feeling?" she asks.

"I still hurt, Kagome. It's just all over my body," Shippo says with a small whine in his voice.

"The anti-demon magic around Kyoto," Sango says confidently.

Kagome grimaces, "Yes, I can feel it myself. Actually, for me, it's rather pleasant, like a light full body massage. You, Inu-yasha?"

"I'm fine, woman."

"I would push you and get you to tell us the truth, but even if you told me about the how bad the pain is, you still wouldn't change your mind."

"Feh. The monk's coming."

Both girls look at each other, and shake their heads. They are not going to take advantage of the opening Inu-yasha just left

Miroku's arms are full of clothes as he approaches.

"Kagome, here is some clothing for you."

"Huh? Miroku? Why?"

"Remember the looks the villagers gave you in the last couple of villages we passed through?"

Kagome nods/ Miroku is correct; the closer they got to Kyoto, the worse the villagers have treated her.

"Kyoto is even worse about clothing. And we did want to be ignored, so wearing odd clothes . . . "

"Will mean we will not be ignored. I understand Miroku, sigh. Give them here and I'll wear them. I had forgotten about all the laws about clothing that were in place at this time." Kagome shakes her head. "You read about them in the history book, about laws detailing exactly what clothes you could or could not wear based on your family's social class. But actually having to deal with them. . . "

Miroku says, "Checking to make sure that people are wearing the correct clothing is part, sometimes a major part, of the police of Kyoto's jobs. The police, really, are not good for anything else. In order to become a member of the police force, they look at who your father is, not at how good of a person you are. Most officers are spoiled young noble men that would rather be drunk and with a willing woman than out helping the people of Kyoto."

Miroku pauses, then, "Kagome and Sango, please, try to limit the conversations you have. Both of you have non-Kyoto accents and that might cause problems."

"What type of problems?"

"There are people that will look down on you, since from your accent you aren't a native of Kyoto. The con men and crooks will also take you as an easy target, ignorant peasants from the provinces. So be careful about people offering help for little or no reason."

"You went to that monastery to get information, not clothing, monk. What did you learn?" Inu-yasha growls.

"I learned a good deal, Inu-yasha, But as I was walking up you complained about food. I will tell the information over and after dinner."

As they eat, (the last of ramen, BTW. Inu-yasha was hungry on the way to Kyoto.) Miroku starts talking.

"First, some good news: the holder of the shard has not taken over Kyoto."

He grunts. "Do you know where in Kyoto the shard is, monk? I don't need to know anything else."

"The location of the shard is given in many rumors, Inu-yasha. Which rumor is true or false, is unknown."

"Crap."

"There are rumors of many different pieces floating through Kyoto."

"Many pieces? Wench! What do you feel?"

"I can only feel one piece, Inu-yasha. I'm too far away to give a solid direction, but there's only one shard in Kyoto. At least, I think so. There is a lot of magic down there."

"Powerful, Kagome?" Sango asks.

"Confused and contradicting would be better Sango. Like watching a thunderstorm roll." Kagome replies.

"But those rumors . . . "

"Are just that, Inu-yasha, rumors. There is an underground industry of buying and selling rumors in Kyoto. The shard and the rumors surrounging it are part of that industry now. Luckily, Lady Kagome's powers will allow us to ignore the rumors." Miroku nods to Kagome.

"Any fighting?" Sango asks.

"Yes." Miroku points to open field off to the east side of Kyoto. "There was a small fight here a couple of days ago. From the stories, about two dozen or so deaths were involved. But there are also many dead bodies, ten or more each day, being fished out of the river and canals each morning. Most are probably related to the shard and to people trying to cheat each other to get it."

"How powerful do they think it is?" Kagome asks.

"By the rumors?" Miroku asks. Kagome nods. "Very powerful, Lady Kagome. The current rumor has it that the holder of the shard will be the next Shogun, or perhaps so powerful that the Shogun will obey the wielder, if the wielder does not want the title of Shogun."

"It's not that powerful!" Kagome cries.

"It doesn't matter any more how powerful it is, Lady Kagome. The fight for the shard will be won, if we don't intervene, by the meanest, strongest, toughest samurai family in Kyoto. That is normally the only real qualification to be the ruler of Kyoto. The real ruler can always marry into whatever family he needs to be accepted."

"That's bad," Kagome says with a sigh.

"Why hasn't the person with the shard, shown and used the it?" Sango asks.

"I'm not sure, but if I was in their place, hmmm . . . I would not know how many of the rumors about the numbers of shards were real. So, I might think that my rivals had other pieces as well. So, until I could be sure that I possessed the only shard, I would hide it until I was ready to use it, perhaps," Miroku says muses.

"Anything else, Miroku?" Sango prompts, after a short pause.

"Yes, I asked about Inu-yasha's father and family while I was there."

"What!?" Inu-yasha yells as he gets into Miroku's face.

"Sit, boy!"

Thump! "Arghh . . . " Inu-yasha goes deeper into the ground than normal.

"Miroku please explain, quickly! I am not be able to say the word fast enough!"

"When I was in Kyoto the first time, I heard stories about Inu-yasha's father's and Sesshoumaru's raids on Kyoto. I wanted to find out more about those stories, just in case any of them would cause Inu-yasha problems when he goes into Kyoto."

"Sit, boy!"

Thump! "Arrghhh . . . " Inu-yasha is trying to hide it, but the subduing spell is really hurting him.

"Will there be a problem?" Kagome asks with concern in her voice.

"Inu-yasha, do you want me to tell them, or do you wish to do so?" Miroku asks the flattened half dog demon.

Inu-yasha growls, looks around, and he grimaces, "You better tell them what the rumors say, but remember, Monk, you're only talking rumors, and they are not true."

"Oh, but Inu-yasha, the truth doesn't matter; all that matters is what the people of Kyoto believe."

"Ok, I'm interested. Tell us, Miroku." Kagome says as she watches Inu-yasha. In addition she is concerned because she can sense those two sits, hurt him a lot more than normal.

"To begin, Inu-yasha's father raided Kyoto several times. The last time he did it was about seventy, perhaps seventy-five, years ago. That time, he destroyed about a sixth of Kyoto and fires started by him destroyed another sixth."

"Bad"

"Yes, and about thirty years ago, an idiot convinced the weak shogun of the time, to appoint him as deputy lord of the western lands. Sesshoumaru did not appreciate that."

"I'll bet."

"Yes, luckily the winds were calm when he attacked. Only a sixth of the city was destroyed. Although the rumors don't say it, I'm quite sure the amount of destruction was the same as his fathers on purpose."

"How does this affect Inu-yasha?" Kagome asks.

"There is one more story, but I'll partially answer that question now, Lady Kagome. Because of those attacks, anti-dog-demon charms are very common. Many of the major houses have charms specifically against members of Inu-yasha's family."

"The other story?" Sango asks.

Miroku looks at Inu-yasha, who is pretending to ignore the conversion. "That story is about Inu-yasha." He nods at Inu-yasha. "About sixty years ago, he visited Kyoto. Exactly what he did, is not in the rumors, or rather the rumors are so confused, I'm not sure what he did. Even how long he was in Kyoto isn't clear from the rumors."

"I was here for half a day," Inu-yasha growls out.

Miroku's eyebrows raise. "I would have assumed longer, but if you say so."

"What did he do?" Kagome with eagerness in her voice asks.

"I do not know, Lady Kagome. I do know the result, however. The emperor, himself, put a price on Inu-yasha's head. His head only, Lady Kagome, not the rest of his body. The reward . . . marriage into the imperial house."

"What did you do, Inu-yasha?" Kagome asks. Inu-yasha grunts and ignores her.

"It's been sixty years, Monk, why should this matter?" Sango asks.

"It matters, Lady Sango, because once rumors that Inu-yasha was alive again reached Kyoto, the current Emperor looked at the families' private records and has renewed the reward," Miroku replies. "The new reward includes a very good description of Inu-yasha as well. It would hard for me to imagine Inu-yasha remaining hidden in Kyoto for long."

"What Monk! I'm going into Kyoto with you!" Inu-yasha screams.

"Inu-yasha, due to your family history, and the reward on your head, you are probably one of the few people, in Japan that would cause the nobles of Kyoto to join forces to act together in attacking us. Do you want Lady Kagome in a situation where you would have to defend her against several hundred, if not thousand Samurai as they attack you?"

Miroku thinks, `perhaps that is clear enough for him, I certainly tried to explain it, even if I did repeat myself.'

"Hell, no! But they would not attack . . . "

"They will, if they find out about you," Miroku says with assurance in his voice . "Lady Kagome and Sango have to go into Kyoto, locate the shard and bring back the necessary information to us. Once they have accomplished that, we can attack the holder, get the shard and leave. But gathering the information may take time, and you can't go into Kyoto until we know where the shard is."

"Inu-yasha, please, I'll be safe. We're only going to go into Kyoto, find where the shard is and return to you. We will not need to fight at first, just gather intelligence and Sango, Miroku and I can do that," Kagome pleads.

"I'm not sure about that, Kagome. Miroku, you just said. Kagome and I go into Kyoto, What about you?" Sango asks looking hard at the monk.

"Huh? You're not going, Miroku?" Kagome asks.

Miroku pauses, sighs, and then starts in a low voice, "I knew I would have to say something, but this is harder than I thought it would be." Another pause and he continues in a normal tone of voice, "Yes, Lady Sango, like Inu-yasha, I will not be able to be in Kyoto all that long." He holds up his cursed hand. "This causes me to be noticeable and there people in Kyoto after me."

"Steal from the wrong person, Monk?" Inu-yasha sneers.

"What did you do to make the wrong person mad at you?" Kagome prods gently.

"In the wrong bed, is my guess," Sango snaps.

"Actually those guesses are wrong, in truth. But by rumor, they are all correct. Sighs . . . There are two families after me: Mori and Takeda. The Mori are after me because they are sure I attempted to sell an object of art, and it was destroyed in the attempt. They want my head, not connected to the rest of my body."

"What happened?" Kagome asks.

"Hmmm, I was doing an exorcism on their large household, and it would have taken several days. One night, I got up from my room, I was going spend for the rest of night with one of the daughters of the household."

"Pervert."

"She invited me in with a smile at dinner, Sango. But, as I was approaching her room, I saw a servant with the painting. I tried to stop him, and we fought. The house guards showed up in the middle of the fight. The painting was destroyed, I left, and the family believed the servant when he blamed everything on me. He was the ghostly thief I was there to exorcize, I'm sure."

"That's one family. What about the other, Monk?" Sango asks in a flat voice.

"The other . . . this is the hard one. Hmmm . . . My father knew that I would probably die young." Miroku lifts his cursed hand for a moment. "And knowing that, he wanted to make sure I would get married, so he engaged me to marry Takeda's daughter who lives here in Kyoto."

"You're engaged to be married!" Kagome cries. Sango fumes . . .

"Well, technically, yes. Meeting her and marrying her was the reason I went to Kyoto in the first place. But . . . Sigh . . . I left Kyoto the day before the wedding. And the family still wishes to have the marriage take place, so I suppose I'm still engaged."

"She was ugly, wasn't she, Miroku?" Kagome asks.

"That she was disgusted by his perversions is more likely, Kagome," Sango tells her.

"The family was too poor for him is my guess," Inu-yasha says.

"Again, you are all wrong. The family is wealthy enough, Inu-yasha. That was not a problem, nor does wealth really matter to me all that much."

"I'll bet," Inu-yasha mumbles under his breath, thinking about all the fancy places Miroku has conned them into staying.

"Oh, Inu-yasha, if given the choice, I will choose luxury, but I can survive without it."

A small pause as he turns to Kagome. "Lady Kagome, she was, and I believe still is, a very beautiful young woman only a few years older than yourself. She's a bit smaller than yourself and Sango, a bit heavier then you two as well. But she has a long, floor length black hair, a nice well-rounded body, and great white skin. Definitely, not ugly."

He nods to Sango. "Nor, was she put off by my personality. The first time I met her, She and several friends were exploring some the group activities in the Kama Sutra."

Sango goes white, and stammers, "Then, why?"

"My father, I think, would have been pleased by his choice. He told me many times about how hard it was to get my mother to conceive me. Ever since my finance turned thirteen years old, she has had a child a year, so her fertility is not an issue. My father evidently told them about his problems conceiving me and they decided to make sure I did not have any excuse about her fertility, or her behavior to cancel the marriage," Miroku says with distraction in his voice.

Miroku shakes his head and looks at Sango. "The reason I left her is simple: I saw how she treated her children. At least two of her children died young and not by disease. When I saw how she hurt her youngest, when his cries interrupted her pleasures." Miroku shakes his head again. " I knew then, that no matter how pretty she was, how experienced she was on a futon, or how wealthy the family, I did not want her to the mother of my children," He finishes staring at Sango. Sango blushes...

"So, if you go into Kyoto . . . " Inu-yasha starts.

"Sooner or later, somebody will recognize my hand and bring word to one or both of those families. I can probably, like yourself, Inu-yasha, go into Kyoto for only a day, perhaps two, before I would be spotted, so . . . I'm afraid the girls are going to have to into Kyoto on their own."

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Sango asks.

"I had hoped that the two families would have forgotten about it, since it has been a few years. But I learned from my friends, that both are still actively looking for me."

"Soooo . . . " Kagome starts, she looks at Kyoto in the fading light. "Tomorrow, Just Sango and I will go into Kyoto."

"Yes, I am afraid so, Lady Kagome. You two shouldn't have a problem locating the shard. Once you do, you two will need to gather some details about who possesses it. Number of samurai, lay out of the house, allies in Kyoto, and more perhaps, and then you can return to us. It should take you perhaps a couple, maybe three days to get the information and return to us."

"After two fucking days, I'm going after you," Inu-yasha growls.

He's not going to admit it, but he is hurting from the anti-demon magic floating around Kyoto. It hurts more than last time. Miroku must be right about the specific anti-dog-demon spells. He remembers his first trip into Kyoto and how that went. He remembers that as he was leaving Kyoto, the charm his mother left him to protect him against human magic was broken, and only now, does he realize how much that charm helped him the first time. So against his wishes, he will allow Kagome to go into Kyoto with only Sango.

"What about Kirara?" Kagome asks.

"Kirara, how do you feel? Do you think you can go into Kyoto with me and Kagome?" Sango asks. Kirara nods and points toward Kyoto. Kirara does seem thinner, weaker than normal, but he is still active enough.

"Why is Kirara not affected as much as the kid?" Inu-yasha asks.

"Kirara is a full grown fire cat demon. Shippo is only a kitsune child. Fire cat demons are rare demons, and only some of the basic anti-demon magic is affecting Kirara. There are many specific anti-kitsune spells around here. While there are full-grown kitsune's in Kyoto, I've seen them, they also have kitsune magic to help them. I don't think Shippo was ever fully trained to use his magic," Miroku explains.

"No, my parents died before they could teach me those types of spells. But, spells to cancel human magic are known, that much I know," Shippo says with a tried voice.

"So, everything is set then." Kagome says as she looks around the group.

"You still have to choose which clothes you will wear and you will have to use a normal looking pack, too. Remember also to limit the number to odd items, Kagome," Sango adds in to the conversation.

"Yes, I've been thinking about that as we traveled. I don't want to leave something odd in Kyoto. So, I've got to pack my bag again."

"Yes."

Next day, early morning . . .

Kagome returns to the camp after changing into a traditional kimono. Its pattern is as close to the pattern of Sango's kimono as she could get. "Could I get a cup of water, My throat hurts?" she asks.

As Sango hands her a cup, "Are you getting sick, Kagome?"

"No, I just swallowed something wrong this morning. And it hurt my throat." Kagome replies.

"Miroku, if anything happens to this . . . " She warns as she hands Miroku her giant boomerang. There is no way she could bring it into the city, without major problems. She thinks angrily, `If Inu-yasha or Miroku were coming, as planned, they could have carried it . . . ' She is wearing her normal kimono with her sword, which is disguised with a tube around it and a pack on her back.

As Kagome goes over to get her new pack in the same style as Sango's, her mother's paintings in the tube over her shoulder, Inu-yasha comes up to her and demands, "Give me the shards, Wench."

"Huh? Why? Inu-yasha?"

"It's just you and Sango down there, and I don't want my shards getting lost in that city. You've lost them before," He says as he holds out his hand.

"It might be a good idea, Lady Kagome, if you do as he wishes. I can, with difficulty and only at close range, detect shards. Others in Kyoto, I'm sure, can do so as well. If you bring them, others might find out and attack you," Miroku says.

Kagome looks at Sango. Sango, grimaces, and she nods. "Sigh. You are probably correct, Inu-yasha." She pulls off her necklace and hands it to Inu-yasha

"Everything ready, Sango?"

"Yes, you?"

"I think so."

"Let's go . . . "

End chapter 2

Authors' note. Miroku's detection of shards. In his first appearance he could see the shard in the weasel demon from a couple of meters away. I'm going to assume, for the purposes of this story, that the magic of shards is detectable. But, unless its Kagome or Kikyo, you have to be within say 3 or so meters to detect a shard. If the shard is in use, the range increases to perhaps a couple of a hundred meters. For Kagome and Kikyo, I will assume that they can detect a shard from a couple of a hundred meters away. If the shard is being used then it is a few kilometers. This is for a firm direction of where the shard is. A general sense of there is a shard nearby only, that is many kilometers.

Other people have to be able to detect shards. How else are Naraku and other demons finding them? The range for other people is just very small, compared to Kagome or Kikyo. (I will say, I can see the jewel trying to rebuild itself and attracting attention to itself, but even that would need a range limit.)

To help explain the above and how it will affect this story: Mystics in Kyoto, can feel the presence of the shard. But, where it is, they have no idea. There is just a general feeling of dread covering the city.

If and when the shard is used, there is a pulse of power that can be detected and tracked, if the mystic is concentrating and within a couple of a hundred meters of the shard. If the shard is just sitting on a table, or perhaps hanging around a neck, a mystic can detect it, only if they are within 3 meters or so. Basically looking at the shard from a close distance.

Kagome, on the other hand, can sense the shard, even if it is in a locked safe, from a couple of a hundred meters. So All she has to do is walk around Kyoto and sooner or later, she'll spot it. If the shard is used while she in Kyoto, she'll know it and know where the shard is instantly.

Miroku and the engagement... His father would have at least tried to set up something for him. The family trained their daughter to make the perfect wife for Miroku. And except for the fact they never taught her to be a good mother, they succeeded. The fact that the family went as far as they did in training their daughter does put a heavy obligation on Miroku. That is why he it was the night before the wedding, before he left. However, Miroku has a heavy obligation to his children. And he felt, that the obligation to make sure his children had a good mother, outweighs the obligation to the engagement. The other family, obviously disagrees... (getting a new marriage for their daughter, with the reputation she now has, would be difficult...)

Pictures to help you understand the story...

http://www.geocities.com/wayne9atwebtv/kyoto1.jpg

This a large shot of Kyoto and the surrounding mountains. This is for the mountain areas around kyoto. The time-frame for the picture is 900 ad. The groups position for this ch. is on this map.

http://www.geocities.com/wayne9atwebtv/kyoto2.jpg

This is the original street plan of Kyoto. From 800 ad. It was followed thereafter pretty well. The names of the major streets are on it. The Great Palace area, by the 1550 was not in good shape. The wars over the last 100 years had destroyed Kyoto entirely, at least once, and many parts of the city was rebuilt regularly. The emperor and his family normally lived with the Shogun or some other powerful family. The imperial palace was normally in the process of being rebuilt, after a fire during most of this time. (Money problems...)

http://www.geocities.com/wayne9atwebtv/kyoto3.jpg

this is Kyoto at about 1475. The time of the onin war. This war lasted ten years and was held in the city limits. (Even included trench warfare...) This is the war that destroyed the city, as mentioned above. To give you an idea about how the status of the emperor had changed the imperial palace is a small area on the eastern side of the city.

Reviews would be appreciated . . . I would like to know my effort is appreciated.

If you click on my pen name, I have a list of potential stories, I am thinking about doing. I would like to have some feedback about which stories, I should concentrate my effort in.

Thank you

jeff shelton