InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Between Darkness and Light ❯ Ring of Midoriko ( Chapter 7 )

Thanks for the reviews. Sorry for the slight delay but I already have crap to read for my summer classes. I'll try to get out the next chapter as soon as I can! Just keep reviewing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

Between Darkness and Light

Chapter 7: The Ring of Midoriko

By Cataluna

He sat in the dark room, waiting behind his desk, his back towards the door, gazing out of the window into the night's sky. His eyes darted at the slight sound of approaching footsteps.

Moments later, a vampire entered through the large door, and bowed slightly with his right hand over his chest. He stood patiently for Naraku to acknowledge his presence, and for permission to speak. Naraku turned briefly and nodded.

"The switch has been made, everything is in place," the vampire informed, please to have good news.

"And she doesn't suspect a thing?"

"No, as far as we can tell…right now she is consumed by her grief and her attraction to the hanyou. She doesn't even realize how closely we've been monitoring her."

"Yes, the hanyou…Inuyasha," he touched the large spider-looking scar on his back. His mouth curled into a slight smile. "We'll have to take care of him, won't we?"

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`Concentrate' she remembered Inuyasha's advice. She focused till everything blurred and all she sees is the target, then released her arrow, it went directly into the creature's heart. Sensing another one coming, she reloaded her bow and carefully aimed at the vampire running towards her. "Die," she whispered to him. He clutched his heart, gave a loud scream as he disappears into a pile of ashes.

"KAGOME! Watch out!" Inuyasha warned. He knocked the vampire off its course before it could reach her.

Another vampire took this opportunity to attack her, hitting her from behind, causing her to drop her bow. She fell over backward, but quickly rolled out of the way before she could strike her again. She got up and tried to punch her in the face.

The vampire grabbed her arm, spun her around, and locked her elbow around neck. "He wants the location of the Shikon no Tama," she hissed. Kagome elbowed her sharply, causing the demon to gasp in pain. Before she could retrieve her weapon, the vampiress was gone.

Inuyasha strolled up next to her. "You did good," he paid her a rare compliment, while dusting himself off.

She chewed on her bottom lip, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "But one got away. What's with tonight…there's more of them than usual."

He shrugged, "I don't mind. I'll just keep squishing them like bugs."

"The one that got away…she mentioned something about the Shikon no Tama."

His once calmed demeanor faltered, looking as if someone had just dropped a house on him. He suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders, and shook her, his fingers digging into her skin, amber eyes blazing. "What else did she say?" he demanded roughly.

"Ouch! Let go of me…what's with you?"

Mumbling a slight apology, he released her and looked down at his feet. "Keh, it's none of your damn business," kicking a pebble in his path.

She rubbed her shoulders. "The last slayer died because of it…I'm damn well making it my business! Are you after the jewel too?" she retorted angrily.

"Yes," he finally answered.

"Why? You're strong enough…you don't need it. Besides, you do know what happened to the last owner of the jewel, right?"

"I don't care. Besides, he was probably weak-minded…I will use the Shikon to destroy that son of a bitch who ruined my family."

"I see…and he's after it too, I supposed."

He rolled his eyes and snorted. "Of course, every fucking damn demon and vampire wants it."

"Then, I'll help you look for it. I rather let you have it than have it fall into their hands."

His mouth dropped slightly in surprise, then curled into a smile of appreciation.

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She furrowed her eyebrows, and rubbed her sore side. "I don't understand why there are still so many vamps…we kill about five or six each night."

"That means you're not dusting the right ones," Kaede replied, while grinding up an herbal treatment for her pain.

"Huh. What do you mean?"

She remained silent for a moment, before setting aside her mixing bowl. "Vampires reproduce by blood transfusion…they can't make another one of its kind simply by biting and drinking from the victim, or having him drink its blood. The blood of the dead must overtake the blood of the living for a vampire to be born. The process can be very overwhelming; taking about a day…not many vampires have the strength to do it. You and Inuyasha are up against a very powerful vampire."

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"So Kagome has decided to help you find the Shikon no Tama…you do realize that the vampires that attacked you two were probably working for Naraku, right?" Miroku asked, brows rising, his chin resting on his hand. They sat across from each other in Miroku's kitchen, with a pile of books between them..

"Of course." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "I'm fucking sure that he was involved in the death of Kagome's brother. I could smell his disgusting scent from those vampires."

"Does she know of what you've learned," he took off his glasses and looked at him pointedly.

"Feh. You must think I'm some kind of village idiot. If Kagome were to discover Naraku is responsible for her pain and misery…she would go crazy, and she is far from ready to face him. For now I must protect her. Once we find the jewel I can kill Naraku for us."

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The sound of fingernails tapping on glass stirred Kagome from her slumber. Choosing to ignore that noise, she rolled over and tucked herself tighter inside her cover. The tapping grew louder and more frequent, until she could stand it no longer. She shot open her eyes. A figure with white-silver hair stood on a tree branch outside her window.

`Inuyasha!'

Now wide awake, she angrily tossed her blanket aside, hopped out of bed, grabbed her robe, and stormed over to her window. "What are you doing here?" she whispered loudly, putting on her robe. He motioned for her to let him in. She pushed the window open, letting the hanyou climb in.

He gave her room a quick glance over before sitting down on her bed. "Get dressed, you're coming with me."

"Umm…where are we going?" arching her brows.

"You'll see when we get there, now get dressed," he repeated, folded his arms across his chest, and gave her a pointed glare.

She blushed deeply, and grasped her robe tighter against her body, "Not with you here!"

Inuyasha snorted, before twisting his body to face the other way, "Keh, it's not like there's anything worth seeing."

Her blood boiled at the comment, but deciding that getting in a fight with Inuyasha would accomplish nothing besides waking up her mom, she ignored his insult, and pulled a pair gray sweat pants and a white tank top from her dresser.

Glancing one last time to make sure he wasn't peeking, she dropped her robe to the ground, and pulled her nightgown from over her head. The cool night breeze that had followed Inuyasha into the room caused her to shiver.

Wondering what's taking her so long, he took a quick peep at the girl. He nearly choked on his breath at the sight of her clad only in her panties with her back towards him; the mark of the phoenix seemed to glow in the dark against her pale ivory skin. He looked down at his hands, a faint blush appeared on his face.

"Okay, let's go," she said a short while later as she ties her hair up into a ponytail.

Afraid his face would betray him, he replied by giving her a quick nod before leaping from her bed and out the window. She followed, allowing him to lead them to their destination.

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Kagome walked up next to Inuyasha. They had been traveling for what seemed like hours in the dark, away from civilization. "What are we doing here?" she finally questioned, her curiosity getting the better of her.

He answered by pressing his finger to her mouth, "Shh…" She nodded in understanding, and continued to follow him in silence through the dark forest. He stopped abruptly in front of a large tree and sniffed the air. "Oi, I know you're in there old man, come out or I'll drag you out," cracking his knuckles.

Inuyasha crossed his arms, tapping his fingers on his sleeves, "One…two…"

"Alright, alright, just don't destroy my tree again…I like this new home." A small demon with graying hair and a long beard stepped out from inside the tree. He spotted Kagome peering at him from behind Inuyasha, his eyes widened. "Watch out, the slayer is behind you!" he yelled and began to wave his arms around wildly.

He snorted, and grabbed his shirt before he could run off. "The slayer is with me, old man Toushari." He then glanced back at Kagome, and smirked, "Besides, it's not like she's strong enough to take me."

She calmly stuck her middle finger out at him.

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"So you're still searching for the jewel," he stated while stroking his beard.

"Yes. You heard anything else about it?"

"All the demons and vampires are restless…the jewel is already here, waiting to be released."

"And you have no idea where to find it?"

"The Shikon no Tama is a mysterious thing. The only thing that has been consistent concerning it, is that it appears once every 100 years..."

"Cut the bullshit, just tell us how to find it already!" Inuyasha interrupted, looking annoyed.

"Inuyasha! Don't be so rude…you should apologize," Kagome scolded, wagging her finger at him.

"Keh."

Toushari coughed dryly, "It's alright my lady, I'm used to his rude behavior."

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and gave him a threatening look.

He swallowed loudly and loosened his collar. "Right now there's a buzz going around about some kind of ring… the Ring of Midoriko."

"Midoriko…isn't she…"

"Yes, none other than the first slayer. The ring is supposed to react strongly to the jewel, since it was made from her…thus revealing the location of Shikon no Tama."

"Well where can we find it?"

"It's being protected by the Taiji clan, a group of demon exterminators…extremely tough. That's all I know," he said before hopping back inside his tree.

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