InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness in the Hearts of Light ❯ Destinations ( Chapter 9 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Felan Silverchild 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Post-apocalyptic / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.25.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 174 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Post-apocalyptic / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.25.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 174 | Status: Completed
Chapter Nine : Destinations
Kirara landed heavily at the edge of a sleeping village and was relieved as her difficult load slid from her back.
“This isn’t the lake.”
“You’re very observant, Shippo,” the drawl in Myoga’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“What’re we doing here then? I thought we were searching for O Goncho.”
“The people of this village have been O Goncho’s neighbors for many generations and may know something we might need before summoning him.” Myoga habitually stroked his chin.
“We could use a place to rest as well.” Miroku was difficult to make out in the darkness with his darkly colored robes, but Sango’s glare still found him.
“I’m sure you will have no trouble with that, Houshi-sama. We need only to find the largest house and warn the owner some demonic threat or curse lingers over his house.”
“You say that now, Sango, but you don’t seem to complain much when you’re eating the food.” Shippo’s remark hit the spot and Sango found it hard to look at them for a moment while her cheeks burned red.
“Then shall we?” Myoga’s tiny form led the way.
There was a great deal of activity through out the village despite the late hour. As the party found their way into the center, a horse drawn cart caught them by surprise and nearly ran them over, crushing instead only poor Myoga beneath the hooves and wheels. The others just walked on without notice.
“I’ll find out what’s going on.” There was a smile in his voice as Miroku suddenly moved to pursue a young woman rushing by with an armload of her belongings. Luckily he didn’t catch sight of Sango before he caught up with the beautiful girl, and was last seen carrying her things for her.
“Well, Sango, I guess it’s up to us to find out what’s going on. I have a feeling it’ll be a while till Miroku can focus on what needs to be done now.” As Shippo said this, Miroku returned with a pulsing red mark on his face in the shape of a small hand. Sango just couldn’t help a bold smile at this result. Her wish had come true after all.
“I suggest the village head. He should know the old legends better than anyone.”
“Where’ve you been Myoga?”
“Good of you to notice I was flattened back there, Shippo.”
“But you’re always getting squished some way or another or running away, so there’s not really much point in worrying.” Myoga turned as bright red as the hand-print on Miroku’s face.
“Why I bother at all, I’ll never know.” He was muttering all sorts of things beneath his breath as he tied his belongings around his neck in a large scarf. “I can see I’m not needed around here then!” Myoga began to leap off again when another passing villager stepped directly on him.
“Excuse me, can you tell us where the village head is?” Sango looked hopefully at the older man and bowed slightly in respect as he pointed in the direction of the elders’ house without saying a word.
“It appears he’s in too great of a rush to even talk to us. Do you suppose the elder has already left as well?” Miroku was still rubbing his face as the mark faded.
Kirara was sniffing Myoga’s flattened body as Shippo bend down and picked him up, abrasively sticking him into an equally small pocket with little notice.
“Lets hope not if we have any hope of finding out what’s going on.” Kirara, small as she was, leapt up onto Sango’s shoulder as they started in the direction the fleeing villager had pointed.
“But how will we know which house…” They had arrived before Shippo could finish his sentence.
The small group had rounded an alleyway between two small shops to find a central house in the midst of the village, covered in paintings of various sorts of battle scenes and youkai as well as images of things they could not identify. There were images of large structures that were painted as if they were made of glass and touched the sky as well as strange carts on black wheels without horses. A large image of a golden bird seemed to stretch over it all and, upon closer inspection, what looked to be fire choked everything in the painting.
“Look! There are dead people everywhere in this painting… and dead youkai too. I don’t recognize anything in this painting that relates to ancient battles or any stories I’ve ever heard.”
“That’s because it is not of the past, little Shippo.” It was a warm, yet strangely knowing voice that frightened them with its sudden appearance.
They all turned in surprise.
“How did you know my name?”
“I suppose you might say that I met you.. another time. I wondered if you all would arrive soon. Please, do come in and rest with me.” The old woman looked as though she were of the walking dead, so old was she. Yet her voice seemed so young in comparison that it sent chills through Miroku and the others. They each looked at one another as she passed and disappeared into the strangely painted dwelling, reluctant to follow.
“Is she.. the elder?” Shippo moved towards the doorway with fox-like curiosity. “She makes me feel strange.” The little Youkai disappeared into the dwelling as well, Myoga still unconscious in his pocket.
“I suppose this means we should also go.”
“I don’t know, Sango, we could just let Shippo ask all the questions.” Miroku’s smile was awkward.
Kirara suddenly leapt from Sango’s shoulder and trotted off towards the doorway next, but paused before she entered, purring and looked back to Sango. Her orange eyes seemed to tell her it was all right to join them.
“Why do I feel so apprehensive?”
“I don’t know, but maybe we should join them. It’s strange, though.. keep on your guard, Sango.” Miroku was next to enter, leaving Sango behind.
“I don’t know that I can.”
The old woman appeared at the door again and called to Sango, motioning her in.
“Come my child. This old house has many memories and the aura of its knowledge may seem at first overwhelming, but you are safe. Come and sit with us. It will be different once inside, you have my honor on it.”
Again Sango paused, but at last relented and entered with the others. As she passed the doorway, she rested her hand against its frame to steady her over the uneven floor. There was an unseen ripple of energy that flowed outward over the surface of the strange house, and within its painting, began the shadowy manifestation of five new figures, three small in form and two much taller with a vaguely familiar appearance, together they were no larger than the palm of a hand.
They almost seemed to be moving on their own, and all around them small details began to change.
As the world rushed by them, Kagome found the strength to open her eyes and saw who was cradling her so tightly. She hadn’t realized she was free from the flat, uncomfortable bed until now, when the familiar voice she missed so much worried over her.
“Inuyasha! I .. missed you.. I’m so.. sorry. Please don’t be.. angry with.. me.” Her voice was such a broken whisper that he could barely hear her even with his incredible senses.
“Kagome! You’re awake.” He couldn’t say anything else without fearing tears would blur his eyes. “Just hold on a little longer, we’re almost there!” He caught an erratic beat fluttering in her heart as her pulse began to increase drastically. She had fallen unconscious again.
Fear shivered through him along with the words Haru had spoken. “… be careful with her as she may not make the journey.”
The well flashed into view at long last as Inuyasha landed on the ground near it, careful to cradle Kagome’s head against him to soften the landing for her. Cautiously, Inuyasha dropped into the well and into another time filled with hope for her survival.
“I’m sure there’s a good reason why,” he pleaded with her.
Kioshi finally stood and glowered at the old man.
“Is Kagome all right? And why isn’t your shield letting me in? I thought it was only supposed to keep harmful things out.”
“Oh.. maybe that’s why!” Haru’s eyes twinkled. “See, Ran.. it did work!” The white wolf only stood and walked away. She was smart enough to not want to have anything to do with this.
“What are you talking about, Haru?”
“You’re supposed to call me Jii-san, young man,” Haru tried to smile but faltered when he realized what he was about to have to tell Kioshi. The young man’s anger could be legendary at times. Then again, this was hardly a time for him to be calm. “It’s something like this.. the shield must sense the anger in your heart right now and in response kept you out. It may know that you’re about to get really angry with me, too.”
“What are you talking about? Where’s Kagome?!”
“It’s something like this..” he began again but was quickly interrupted.
“Inuyasha was here wasn’t he? Raiju told me he had come to take her.. and you just let him didn’t you! Why didn’t your shield work against him yet it did me?!”
“I can only believe it is because she belongs with him, and as she is no longer here, the shield is responding to you as not belonging here either. Which tells me perhaps you should follow after them. There’s a bigger part for you to play in all of this somehow.”
“What are you talking about, Jii-san?”
“You have seen in her dreams where they’re going. You’ll know the place when you see it. But take care in what you do when you arrive there, promise me.”
“Haru..”
“For the last time, it’s Jii-san!” There was a sudden harshness to his old voice
“I promise, Jii-san.”
“And remember, Inuyasha has his rights as well. He may have a heart as fond for Kagome as you. You should respect that. Who knows, you might be friends some day.”
Kioshi turned and ran in the direction of the well, leaping easily into the treetops much as Inuyasha had. Somehow, he knew where his feet should fly and pressed on as swiftly as he could manage.
Haru watched him disappear and plucked from his pocket the bottle of shards Kagome had been carrying. He looked deeply into them.
“For now these may be safer with me for what I feel is to come. I’m sorry Kioshi, I only wish I could have told you more. Things like this always get worse before they get better.”
The group could feel their senses dulling as they relaxed into seated positions in various places around the main room. Shippo and Kirara simply curled up on the floor and slept against each other while the others talked.
“It’s good you arrived when you did. The time is still prime to stop the coming events. And you five are already deeply entangled in the fabric of the dark fortunes I’ve seen.” The old woman drank her tea calmly as she spoke, making the sense of it all overly dramatic.
Sango blanched at her words, as did Miroku.
“So the flea was right after all.”
“You must mean Myoga,” the old woman laughed. In the light of the room, they could see her face much clearer. Her eyes carried a youthful glimmer yet her face was severely wrinkled and sunken. Her form too was gaunt and hung heavily forward with a bent back due to her great age. As she laughed, however, Miroku caught a sudden image of her as a young woman ghosted upon the aged body. He shook his head to clear his eyes and focused momentarily on his tea. Vaguely, he wondered if something else besides tea was in his cup.
“Yes, but he said the chief of this village was a man.” Sango caught herself and bowed briefly. “I’m sorry, I meant no disrespect.”
“Not at all. He was right. But as you can well see, I am no man. The village head you speak of was a fool that ran before any of the people of this village even knew what was coming. I have lived a very long time, though and don’t fear O’ Goncho as the others do. You might say he is an old friend of mine!” She laughed again. The others sat there oblivious to what the joke was.
“Tell me,” she wiped a laughing tear from her bright blue eye as she composed herself more seriously. “What did old Myoga tell you?”
“He told us that he had learned of O’ Goncho reappearing early and Izanami having found a way to weaken the seal that binds her from our world. Myoga seemed to feel that if we came here we might be able to find out more by speaking directly with O’ Goncho and perhaps even find a way to stop Izanami from returning.” Miroku sounded a little too matter-of-fact in his rendition of Myoga’s news.
“I see. Was that all?”
“There was also mention of three characters from an old rhyme. He only remembered part of it though.. about a Miko, Hanyou and a Youkai. We feared it might have something to do with our friends Kagome and Inuyasha. That’s also why we came.” Sango brushed her hand through her hair uncertainly.
“Indeed, Kagome is the Miko you speak of from the ancient lyrics. She, who is reincarnated and brought back to this time through the power of the Shikon no Tama. And Inuyasha, who is the youngest son of a great Youkai and human mother. Where are your two friends now, then?”
Sango looked briefly towards Miroku in concern at all the old woman seemed to know. “We have no idea. They separated from us recently after an argument.”
“That may be for the better. I fear they may indeed be a part of all of this that is coming. What part they are meant to play, I don’t know. After all, there are many different paths that may be taken in the flows of time, and so no foreseen future may be truly accurate.”
“What about the third? Could it be one of the others in our party?” Miroku again seemed much more serious than his normal tone.
“I have seen the face of the third in my visions but only fleetingly. I fear I couldn’t describe him to you. Nor do I know his name.”
“That’s strange, though. You seemed to know our names and even our lineages yet this one youkai you can’t see clearly?”
“Some things we are not meant to be seen so clearly. If we know the answers at the wrong times the outcome could be far worse simply for the fear of making another one come true. I hope you understand, young Houshi, but not only could I not tell you, I truly am unable to. I only remember one feature about him.. his piercing eyes. Blue with a ring of amber.”
“Then you have seen something with our friends involving him? He makes the third?” Miroku, who’s staff lay beside him on the floor, snuck closer to Sango as he pretended to readjust his legs.
Sango paid no notice at first; that is until his hand rested on hers. She looked over at him with shock and brightly blushing cheeks. He was touching her hand, not her butt! Her mind was suddenly reeling, but he wasn’t looking at her at all.
“What I saw involved not only your friends but you four as well. The outcome of it is still yet to be decided, however as the visions I see are strange and tangled.”
“Four? There are five of us aren’t there?” Shippo rubbed his eyes and stretched. His waking also roused Kirara, but only briefly as her eyes drifted shut again.
The old woman laughed.
“Yes, four. Myoga has other ideas of his place in all of this, but he too has a part to play in due course.”
For some reason, this caught Sango off-guard and she just couldn’t hold her laughter back anymore. She did her best to hide it behind her hand, though.
“What is it we are supposed to do in all of this?” Miroku took his hand from Sango’s and sat forward with great concern hidden from his features.
“There is a dragon you should find. I only know outcomes and rarely how they arrive, but the dragon, much like the well your young Miko travels through, is attached to no particular time and flows through it like water. She can tell you how things are meant to move and what part you are to play in all of this. You can find her hidden in a sacred lake north of here. The waters there do not move, but are smooth and forever still, reflecting as a mirror would. This dragon lives in the crux of both worlds and an offering should be given so she might find a path to you.”
“What sort of an offering?” For a moment Sango sounded a bit worried as she remembered something Myoga had said about virgins once on their way here.
“Her favorite thing is fruit. Perhaps something delicious to entice her out would be best. If she is happy she is much more willing to surface.”
“Fruit?”
“You sound surprised. Not all dragons are as you might think.”
“So it seems,” added Miroku. “Thank you for all of your hospitality. I think we should be leaving as soon as possible.” The houshi stood with his staff in one hand and Shippo’s tail in the other.
“Miroku! Why are you.. ?" Sango stood abruptly too, but the houshi was already through the door with the struggling youkai screaming behind him.. something about letting him go, followed by a string of nasty names.
“Let him go, Sango. I still have some words for you as well.”
“Me?”
A/N : Its depressing not to see any reviews yet. Does anyone like my story? Is anyone even reading it? I really need reviews so I have some idea of either what is working, or what is not and maybe even get some encouragement to finish it. Since I'm not seeing anything in reviews, I'm starting to lose my umph to work on it, and I don't want to. Please, please! review me! it's like food, I need it, and crave it! hehe.
Converting /tmp/phpBo8PpI to /dev/stdout
Kirara landed heavily at the edge of a sleeping village and was relieved as her difficult load slid from her back.
“This isn’t the lake.”
“You’re very observant, Shippo,” the drawl in Myoga’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“What’re we doing here then? I thought we were searching for O Goncho.”
“The people of this village have been O Goncho’s neighbors for many generations and may know something we might need before summoning him.” Myoga habitually stroked his chin.
“We could use a place to rest as well.” Miroku was difficult to make out in the darkness with his darkly colored robes, but Sango’s glare still found him.
“I’m sure you will have no trouble with that, Houshi-sama. We need only to find the largest house and warn the owner some demonic threat or curse lingers over his house.”
“You say that now, Sango, but you don’t seem to complain much when you’re eating the food.” Shippo’s remark hit the spot and Sango found it hard to look at them for a moment while her cheeks burned red.
“Then shall we?” Myoga’s tiny form led the way.
There was a great deal of activity through out the village despite the late hour. As the party found their way into the center, a horse drawn cart caught them by surprise and nearly ran them over, crushing instead only poor Myoga beneath the hooves and wheels. The others just walked on without notice.
“I’ll find out what’s going on.” There was a smile in his voice as Miroku suddenly moved to pursue a young woman rushing by with an armload of her belongings. Luckily he didn’t catch sight of Sango before he caught up with the beautiful girl, and was last seen carrying her things for her.
“Well, Sango, I guess it’s up to us to find out what’s going on. I have a feeling it’ll be a while till Miroku can focus on what needs to be done now.” As Shippo said this, Miroku returned with a pulsing red mark on his face in the shape of a small hand. Sango just couldn’t help a bold smile at this result. Her wish had come true after all.
“I suggest the village head. He should know the old legends better than anyone.”
“Where’ve you been Myoga?”
“Good of you to notice I was flattened back there, Shippo.”
“But you’re always getting squished some way or another or running away, so there’s not really much point in worrying.” Myoga turned as bright red as the hand-print on Miroku’s face.
“Why I bother at all, I’ll never know.” He was muttering all sorts of things beneath his breath as he tied his belongings around his neck in a large scarf. “I can see I’m not needed around here then!” Myoga began to leap off again when another passing villager stepped directly on him.
“Excuse me, can you tell us where the village head is?” Sango looked hopefully at the older man and bowed slightly in respect as he pointed in the direction of the elders’ house without saying a word.
“It appears he’s in too great of a rush to even talk to us. Do you suppose the elder has already left as well?” Miroku was still rubbing his face as the mark faded.
Kirara was sniffing Myoga’s flattened body as Shippo bend down and picked him up, abrasively sticking him into an equally small pocket with little notice.
“Lets hope not if we have any hope of finding out what’s going on.” Kirara, small as she was, leapt up onto Sango’s shoulder as they started in the direction the fleeing villager had pointed.
“But how will we know which house…” They had arrived before Shippo could finish his sentence.
The small group had rounded an alleyway between two small shops to find a central house in the midst of the village, covered in paintings of various sorts of battle scenes and youkai as well as images of things they could not identify. There were images of large structures that were painted as if they were made of glass and touched the sky as well as strange carts on black wheels without horses. A large image of a golden bird seemed to stretch over it all and, upon closer inspection, what looked to be fire choked everything in the painting.
“Look! There are dead people everywhere in this painting… and dead youkai too. I don’t recognize anything in this painting that relates to ancient battles or any stories I’ve ever heard.”
“That’s because it is not of the past, little Shippo.” It was a warm, yet strangely knowing voice that frightened them with its sudden appearance.
They all turned in surprise.
“How did you know my name?”
“I suppose you might say that I met you.. another time. I wondered if you all would arrive soon. Please, do come in and rest with me.” The old woman looked as though she were of the walking dead, so old was she. Yet her voice seemed so young in comparison that it sent chills through Miroku and the others. They each looked at one another as she passed and disappeared into the strangely painted dwelling, reluctant to follow.
“Is she.. the elder?” Shippo moved towards the doorway with fox-like curiosity. “She makes me feel strange.” The little Youkai disappeared into the dwelling as well, Myoga still unconscious in his pocket.
“I suppose this means we should also go.”
“I don’t know, Sango, we could just let Shippo ask all the questions.” Miroku’s smile was awkward.
Kirara suddenly leapt from Sango’s shoulder and trotted off towards the doorway next, but paused before she entered, purring and looked back to Sango. Her orange eyes seemed to tell her it was all right to join them.
“Why do I feel so apprehensive?”
“I don’t know, but maybe we should join them. It’s strange, though.. keep on your guard, Sango.” Miroku was next to enter, leaving Sango behind.
“I don’t know that I can.”
The old woman appeared at the door again and called to Sango, motioning her in.
“Come my child. This old house has many memories and the aura of its knowledge may seem at first overwhelming, but you are safe. Come and sit with us. It will be different once inside, you have my honor on it.”
Again Sango paused, but at last relented and entered with the others. As she passed the doorway, she rested her hand against its frame to steady her over the uneven floor. There was an unseen ripple of energy that flowed outward over the surface of the strange house, and within its painting, began the shadowy manifestation of five new figures, three small in form and two much taller with a vaguely familiar appearance, together they were no larger than the palm of a hand.
They almost seemed to be moving on their own, and all around them small details began to change.
~~~~~~***~~~~~~
“Kagome, it won’t be long now. Just a little further. Please just keep breathing.” He could feel her pulse in the depths of his soul by some strange connection. His ears were ringing with the sound of it.As the world rushed by them, Kagome found the strength to open her eyes and saw who was cradling her so tightly. She hadn’t realized she was free from the flat, uncomfortable bed until now, when the familiar voice she missed so much worried over her.
“Inuyasha! I .. missed you.. I’m so.. sorry. Please don’t be.. angry with.. me.” Her voice was such a broken whisper that he could barely hear her even with his incredible senses.
“Kagome! You’re awake.” He couldn’t say anything else without fearing tears would blur his eyes. “Just hold on a little longer, we’re almost there!” He caught an erratic beat fluttering in her heart as her pulse began to increase drastically. She had fallen unconscious again.
Fear shivered through him along with the words Haru had spoken. “… be careful with her as she may not make the journey.”
The well flashed into view at long last as Inuyasha landed on the ground near it, careful to cradle Kagome’s head against him to soften the landing for her. Cautiously, Inuyasha dropped into the well and into another time filled with hope for her survival.
~~~~~~***~~~~~~
Kioshi lay flat on his back at the edge of Haru’s shield of energy panting for breath as it still crackled with power. He sat slowly upright as Haru ventured a glance towards Ran who was again rolling her amber eyes in disapproval.“I’m sure there’s a good reason why,” he pleaded with her.
Kioshi finally stood and glowered at the old man.
“Is Kagome all right? And why isn’t your shield letting me in? I thought it was only supposed to keep harmful things out.”
“Oh.. maybe that’s why!” Haru’s eyes twinkled. “See, Ran.. it did work!” The white wolf only stood and walked away. She was smart enough to not want to have anything to do with this.
“What are you talking about, Haru?”
“You’re supposed to call me Jii-san, young man,” Haru tried to smile but faltered when he realized what he was about to have to tell Kioshi. The young man’s anger could be legendary at times. Then again, this was hardly a time for him to be calm. “It’s something like this.. the shield must sense the anger in your heart right now and in response kept you out. It may know that you’re about to get really angry with me, too.”
“What are you talking about? Where’s Kagome?!”
“It’s something like this..” he began again but was quickly interrupted.
“Inuyasha was here wasn’t he? Raiju told me he had come to take her.. and you just let him didn’t you! Why didn’t your shield work against him yet it did me?!”
“I can only believe it is because she belongs with him, and as she is no longer here, the shield is responding to you as not belonging here either. Which tells me perhaps you should follow after them. There’s a bigger part for you to play in all of this somehow.”
“What are you talking about, Jii-san?”
“You have seen in her dreams where they’re going. You’ll know the place when you see it. But take care in what you do when you arrive there, promise me.”
“Haru..”
“For the last time, it’s Jii-san!” There was a sudden harshness to his old voice
“I promise, Jii-san.”
“And remember, Inuyasha has his rights as well. He may have a heart as fond for Kagome as you. You should respect that. Who knows, you might be friends some day.”
Kioshi turned and ran in the direction of the well, leaping easily into the treetops much as Inuyasha had. Somehow, he knew where his feet should fly and pressed on as swiftly as he could manage.
Haru watched him disappear and plucked from his pocket the bottle of shards Kagome had been carrying. He looked deeply into them.
“For now these may be safer with me for what I feel is to come. I’m sorry Kioshi, I only wish I could have told you more. Things like this always get worse before they get better.”
~~~~~~***~~~~~~
The inside of the peculiar house was extraordinarily comfortable. It glowed with warmth from every corner and smelled of fresh flowers or freshly baked bread depending on where you were standing at any given time. The floor even seemed to exude a strange kind of softness.The group could feel their senses dulling as they relaxed into seated positions in various places around the main room. Shippo and Kirara simply curled up on the floor and slept against each other while the others talked.
“It’s good you arrived when you did. The time is still prime to stop the coming events. And you five are already deeply entangled in the fabric of the dark fortunes I’ve seen.” The old woman drank her tea calmly as she spoke, making the sense of it all overly dramatic.
Sango blanched at her words, as did Miroku.
“So the flea was right after all.”
“You must mean Myoga,” the old woman laughed. In the light of the room, they could see her face much clearer. Her eyes carried a youthful glimmer yet her face was severely wrinkled and sunken. Her form too was gaunt and hung heavily forward with a bent back due to her great age. As she laughed, however, Miroku caught a sudden image of her as a young woman ghosted upon the aged body. He shook his head to clear his eyes and focused momentarily on his tea. Vaguely, he wondered if something else besides tea was in his cup.
“Yes, but he said the chief of this village was a man.” Sango caught herself and bowed briefly. “I’m sorry, I meant no disrespect.”
“Not at all. He was right. But as you can well see, I am no man. The village head you speak of was a fool that ran before any of the people of this village even knew what was coming. I have lived a very long time, though and don’t fear O’ Goncho as the others do. You might say he is an old friend of mine!” She laughed again. The others sat there oblivious to what the joke was.
“Tell me,” she wiped a laughing tear from her bright blue eye as she composed herself more seriously. “What did old Myoga tell you?”
“He told us that he had learned of O’ Goncho reappearing early and Izanami having found a way to weaken the seal that binds her from our world. Myoga seemed to feel that if we came here we might be able to find out more by speaking directly with O’ Goncho and perhaps even find a way to stop Izanami from returning.” Miroku sounded a little too matter-of-fact in his rendition of Myoga’s news.
“I see. Was that all?”
“There was also mention of three characters from an old rhyme. He only remembered part of it though.. about a Miko, Hanyou and a Youkai. We feared it might have something to do with our friends Kagome and Inuyasha. That’s also why we came.” Sango brushed her hand through her hair uncertainly.
“Indeed, Kagome is the Miko you speak of from the ancient lyrics. She, who is reincarnated and brought back to this time through the power of the Shikon no Tama. And Inuyasha, who is the youngest son of a great Youkai and human mother. Where are your two friends now, then?”
Sango looked briefly towards Miroku in concern at all the old woman seemed to know. “We have no idea. They separated from us recently after an argument.”
“That may be for the better. I fear they may indeed be a part of all of this that is coming. What part they are meant to play, I don’t know. After all, there are many different paths that may be taken in the flows of time, and so no foreseen future may be truly accurate.”
“What about the third? Could it be one of the others in our party?” Miroku again seemed much more serious than his normal tone.
“I have seen the face of the third in my visions but only fleetingly. I fear I couldn’t describe him to you. Nor do I know his name.”
“That’s strange, though. You seemed to know our names and even our lineages yet this one youkai you can’t see clearly?”
“Some things we are not meant to be seen so clearly. If we know the answers at the wrong times the outcome could be far worse simply for the fear of making another one come true. I hope you understand, young Houshi, but not only could I not tell you, I truly am unable to. I only remember one feature about him.. his piercing eyes. Blue with a ring of amber.”
“Then you have seen something with our friends involving him? He makes the third?” Miroku, who’s staff lay beside him on the floor, snuck closer to Sango as he pretended to readjust his legs.
Sango paid no notice at first; that is until his hand rested on hers. She looked over at him with shock and brightly blushing cheeks. He was touching her hand, not her butt! Her mind was suddenly reeling, but he wasn’t looking at her at all.
“What I saw involved not only your friends but you four as well. The outcome of it is still yet to be decided, however as the visions I see are strange and tangled.”
“Four? There are five of us aren’t there?” Shippo rubbed his eyes and stretched. His waking also roused Kirara, but only briefly as her eyes drifted shut again.
The old woman laughed.
“Yes, four. Myoga has other ideas of his place in all of this, but he too has a part to play in due course.”
For some reason, this caught Sango off-guard and she just couldn’t hold her laughter back anymore. She did her best to hide it behind her hand, though.
“What is it we are supposed to do in all of this?” Miroku took his hand from Sango’s and sat forward with great concern hidden from his features.
“There is a dragon you should find. I only know outcomes and rarely how they arrive, but the dragon, much like the well your young Miko travels through, is attached to no particular time and flows through it like water. She can tell you how things are meant to move and what part you are to play in all of this. You can find her hidden in a sacred lake north of here. The waters there do not move, but are smooth and forever still, reflecting as a mirror would. This dragon lives in the crux of both worlds and an offering should be given so she might find a path to you.”
“What sort of an offering?” For a moment Sango sounded a bit worried as she remembered something Myoga had said about virgins once on their way here.
“Her favorite thing is fruit. Perhaps something delicious to entice her out would be best. If she is happy she is much more willing to surface.”
“Fruit?”
“You sound surprised. Not all dragons are as you might think.”
“So it seems,” added Miroku. “Thank you for all of your hospitality. I think we should be leaving as soon as possible.” The houshi stood with his staff in one hand and Shippo’s tail in the other.
“Miroku! Why are you.. ?" Sango stood abruptly too, but the houshi was already through the door with the struggling youkai screaming behind him.. something about letting him go, followed by a string of nasty names.
“Let him go, Sango. I still have some words for you as well.”
“Me?”
A/N : Its depressing not to see any reviews yet. Does anyone like my story? Is anyone even reading it? I really need reviews so I have some idea of either what is working, or what is not and maybe even get some encouragement to finish it. Since I'm not seeing anything in reviews, I'm starting to lose my umph to work on it, and I don't want to. Please, please! review me! it's like food, I need it, and crave it! hehe.
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