InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hanyou no kokoro no naka de; Within the Heart of the Half-Demon ❯ Pieces of Memories ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

 

Naraku nodded and smiled evilly, “Hai. Now, thanks to you, the curse has been released into the kingdom.”

 

Kagome's imaginative head filled with ideas of horrible consequences and a deadly fear came over her body. “What—does that mean?” she squeaked out.

 

He continued his malevolent smile, “It seems to have already entered your own body, Kagome-sama. But as for your question…” he paused for dramatics, “you'll have to figure that part out yourself.”--

 

“The curse…” Kagome said finally.

 

“The what? The curse? What curse?”

 

She thought for a minute longer. “I'm…not sure…”

 

“What do you mean?!? You're making no sense. Maybe we should go back to sleep.”

 

“But I need to talk with Kaede-sama…”

 

Sango put her hands on Kagome's shoulders and led her down the hall. “Later. Sleep time is now.”

 

Kagome put up no fight, and let Sango lead her back to her room and put her to bed.

 

“When you wake up and your head is clear, then you're explaining things to me. Got that?”

 

Kagome halfway nodded as her head sunk into her pillow, and before a minute had passed, she was out cold. Sango smiled and left her alone.

 

“Until she gets up, I guess I got nothin' to do. I guess I'll to practice with my Hiraikotsu.” She went down to the store house where the demon slayers kept their weapons and pulled out her boomerange. “Wow, I haven't practiced in over a week. I've been spending a lot of my time with Kagome-san lately. Eh-no harm done.”

 

She hauled the Hiraikotsu over her shoulder and started to get some strength training in before everyone was awake.

 

As she practiced, Kagome slept and the sun began to peak over the horizon.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Kagome…” a voice said gently. “Kagome, sweetheart, you need to wake up.”

 

Kagome turned over in protest. “Aaarrrrrmmmmmmgggggggrrrrraaahhhhh,” she groaned.

 

Her mother sat at the edge of her bed, attempting to wake the princess from her slumber while two maidservants waited behind with the day's outfit and with Kagome's bath things.

 

“Kagome, get up. It's past noon.”

 

She weakly opened her eyes. “Noon?”

 

“Hai.”

 

Kagome lifted her arms up over her head and stretched. “Sorry, mom. I didn't mean to sleep so late.”

 

“It's fine, Kagome, just get up.”

 

She sat up and pushed down the covers, sliding to the floor and walking over to the maidservants. One of them handed her the shampoo and soap they were holding, and Kagome walked, still half asleep, into the bathroom.

 

*~*~*~*

 

“Cut it out, Kohaku!!”

 

“I want to hold it!!”

 

“Quit acting like a two-year-old!”

“Give it to me, Onee-chan!!”

 

Sango held a plate of food up over her head so that her fourteen-year-old brother could not reach it. “It's not for you, it's for Kagome-sama. Now stop it.”

 

“I just wanna give it to her!”

 

Sango stopped and knocked on the door to Kagome's room.

 

“Just a second!” she called.

 

“It's Sango and Kohaku.”

 

A few seconds later, Kagome pulled the door open. She was wearing her bath robe and had a towel on her head. Sango held out the plate of food to her. Kagome looked at it a bit confused.

 

“You missed lunch, Kagome-san. We figured you'd be hungry.”

 

Kagome took the plate, “Thank you. Come on in. How are you, Kohaku-kun?”

 

He smiled at her. “Okay, Kagome-sama.”

 

Sango and Kohaku sat on her bed until she was finished getting dressed. She wore a simple blue summer kimono. He black hair, not being tied back, hung loosely down to the small of her back.

 

“It's a beautiful day outside,” Sango commented.

 

“Hai. It is,” Kagome agreed.

 

“Hey!” Kohaku exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “Let's go outside and do something! We could walk to the forest or into the village or something!”

 

Kagome and Sango exchanged glances.

 

“Alright,” they said together.

 

“Yeah!!” Kohaku cheered, running toward the door.

 

“Kohaku! Don't run in the…”

 

“It's okay, Sango-chan.”

 

The three of them walked down to the courtyard of the castle. Sango was right, it really was a beautiful day. Sango spotted her Hiraikotsu out.

 

“Oh yeah, I forgot to put it up. I'll be right back, Kagome-san.”

 

“Alright,” Kagome said, not really paying much attention. She was too busy inhaling the fresh air. It's been a while since I came out here. I've been spending a lot of time in the castle. She looked down the hill over the village. I think, for some reason, it makes me kind of sad.

 

“Excuse me, young lady,” came a deep voice from behind her. Kagome spun around, a little startled, but was relieved to see a young man. When she turned around his expression changed a bit, “Oh! Kagome-sama! That is you right?”

 

“Hai,” she replied. Okay…who is this guy??It was a young man, about twenty-three, wearing a purple monk kimono. He held a staff in one hand, and his black hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. His right hand was wrapped in a cloth encircled with white prayer beads. Kagome wondered what they were for in the back of her mind. She looked him over, not recognizing him at all. “Can I help you, houshi-sama?”

 

The monk took her hand and got down on one knee, his head bowed in reverence. “Lady Kagome, would you do me the honor of bearing me a son??”

 

“Wha…!?!?”

Before anything else could happen, the monk's staff was yanked out of his hand and smacked across the top of his own head. He fell backwards, looking dizzily up into a pair of glaring eyes.

 

“How dare you!!!!” Sango exclaimed, “You hentai!” She yelled, throwing the staff down at him. He almost caught it as it landed on his stomach. Kohaku stood at a distance laughing. “Now you get out of the princess's sight before we call security!!!”

 

The monk got up, holding out his hands and backing away. “Message received! I take my leave of you now!!”

 

Sango took a step toward him and he ran for his life into the castle. She turned back to Kagome, looking back one more time to make sure he wasn't coming back. Kohaku was doubled over with laughter, but a death glance from Sango soon shut him up.

 

“Who was that, Kagome-san?”

 

“Not a clue.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

“26…27…28…29…30! Ready or not, here I come!” Kohaku called out.

 

Sango hid behind a water fountain on the other side of the courtyard, giggling like a little girl. Hey, sometimes it's fun to be a kid again. Kagome had ever so skillfully pulled off the old movie stunt of dressing up as a guard. She stood in plain sight at the entrance to the castle in a guard's uniform. (How she did it, we'll never know.) Kohaku ran through the courtyard, searching all the best hiding spots. (He had been playing it, of course, since he was a little kid.)

 

Kohaku ran around the fountain, spotting Sango.

 

“Found you!!” He ran after her, chasing her in several circles around the water fountain. He came to a sudden halt when she waved her arms at him, pointing mischievously at the castle door. Kohaku looked over there, trying to see what she was pointing at. Not wanting to miss a perfectly good opportunity to escape. Sango took off in the other direction. Kohaku stood for a moment at a loss. As Kagome started to shift a bit, getting ready to run, thinking Kohaku had already spotted her, her really did see her, and he started running toward her. Kagome squealed and took off the helmet, running inside the castle. Kohaku didn't hesitate to go after her. Sango saw them, and she turned around and made her way after them.

 

Kagome ran down the marble-floored hallway, taking off the guard's outfit as she ran. She stopped at the downward stairs and turned to see Kohaku running straight for her, she squealed in laughter and ran down the stairs, skipping three at a time. Kohaku grabbed the railing and swung himself nearly halfway down the flight of stairs. Sango ran not far behind them.

 

The three kids ran past a couple of very startled maids that were mopping the floor. Kagome leaped over the wet floor, turning her head back to hear to maids yell:

 

“You should be running in the…eh, forget it.”

 

Kohaku wasn't as lucky as Kagome had been, she failed to see the shining water on the floor, and he slipped and flew through the air, landing on his face. Sango caught up with him.

 

“Are you okay, Kohaku!?!”

 

He sat up, watching Kagome run around a corner at the end of the hall. He leaped to his feet and kept running. “I'm fine!”

 

Kagome slowed her running just a bit, knowing that her pursuer was far behind. She thought, remembering some hallways not far ahead that weaved in and out of each other, creating quite a maze. She knew she could probably lose Kohaku there and she would be home free.

 

He rounded the corner and spotted Kagome again. She turned into the maze, scheming the execution of her plan. Kohaku turned the corner to find the princess gone. He ran down the long hallway, looking down every turn, not seeing her anywhere.

 

{Writers note: lol! Okay, so here's why had to write this. So you know how my family is in the middle of moving, alright so we were putting a whole bunch of our stuff into a storage unit the other day, one of those indoor kind ya know, and me and my sister and two of my friends (one of which was on a bicycle…don't ask why) Why started playing tag through the tiny hallways of this indoor storage unit. We were running around like lunatics and we had a lot of fun. Yeah, so that's where this idea came from. You should try it sometime.}

 

Sango and Kohaku stood for a second, looking down every hall way trying to spot Kagome. (They had teamed up on her by this point. haha)

 

“Is this the way she came?” Sango whispered.

 

“I think so.”

 

They heard running footsteps, but the long and marble corridors echoed the sound all around them, giving them no indication from which hall the sound had originally come.

 

Kagome tip-toed down the back hallway. These halls have no point…she thought, They just run into each other. They must have been made for this very purpose. Yes, I'm certain of that.She stopped her thoughts as she spotted a door at the end of the passage. Okay, I thought there weren't any doors down here…

 

Her curiosity burned inside of her. More hallways maybe? Anyhow, Sango and Kohaku would be sure not to find her. She gently and quietly pushed the door open, hardly making a sound. To her surprise, she found a rustic looking spiral staircase. The walls were made of stone, a torch placed carefully on a small hook ever ten yards or so. The stairs rounded down, and the walls hid the bottom from sight. Now Kagome's curiosity was flaring. She grabbed the nearest torch off the wall. I have to see where this staircase leads! Or it'll drive me insane the rest of my life.

 

She warily put each foot on the next step. The spiral staircase continued going down, continuing to circle, showing no sign of the end. How far does this thing go down??

 

Kagome continued until she finally saw the end. It must have been five flights of stairs at least. On either side of the door way were two unlit torches. The room was too dark to have seen without them, so Kagome used her torch to light them, bringing a light to the room. It was a round room, rustic and dusty. The air smelled stale and damp. The atmosphere was more than eerie, almost causing the princess to turn and go back up the stairs, but she stayed, despite what her brain was telling her to do.

 

In the center, Kagome saw a strange iridescent glow. She walked toward it, holding out her torch so she could see. The center of the room raised two steps with a small stand in the middle. Kagome squinted, then gasped and jumped back at what she saw.

 

The Shikon no Tama hung like a necklace from a small stand in the middle of the table. It was encircled by a glowing, sparkling aura of pinks and silvers.

 

“The…Shi—Shikon Jewel,” she stuttered. She hadn't seen or heard of it in years. Six years to be exact…The legendary Shikon no Tama…one cursed and hunted by humans and demons everywhere, and Kagome was standing right in front of it. This must be the sacred Shikon Shrine. I can't believe I'm standing here! I'm in SO much trouble when I get outta here…

 

Kagome stared in awe at the sparkling jewel. She had heard that it was cursed, so it could never be truly purified. So why did it still look so beautiful? As she looked closer, however, she could see it. She could see, in the very center of the jewel, a tiny swirl of darkness.

 

“Is that the curse?”

 

She looked up. On the back wall of the room, she could see something shining in reflection of her torch. She stepped down from the place where the Shikon jewel rested, walking to the wall. She found that what her torch had reflected off of had been a nameplate. Dust covered the writing. She took the sleeve of her kimono and rubbed the plaque clean, reading the kanji aloud.

 

“Shikon no Tama priestess Midoriko-sama. Hm-I think I've heard of that one.” Below the nameplate, was four more kanji. “Courage, Friendship, Wisdom, and Love. A grave, huh? Wow… this priestess must have been one of the ones that worked as a Shikon Shrine priestess.” Kagome walked along the wall. It was lined with graves of dead priestesses, ones that she assumed all worked as shrine maidens protecting the jewel. When she reached the last one, she was surprised to find that the girl had died only 18 months before, at the age of nineteen. “I don't remember ever hearing about that…a girl named Kikyo-sama. Died at the hand of a demon. How sad, she was only just my age too. How amazing.” The kanji for love and wisdom was written under her name.

 

Suddenly, Kagome heard a sound from behind her. She jumped around frightened at the thought of being caught in the shrine.

 

“Nay, child! What are ye doing in the Shikon Shrine!”

 

“Kaede-sama!” Kagome exclaimed. Aw man…now I'm really dead.

 

“Ye should not have come here, leave this place at once! Lest ye be found by someone else.”

 

“Kaede-sama, please will you answer me some questions?”

 

“Ye should not be in the place, ye must leave! I have not the power to answer any questions ye may have. Many dark secrets hover around the Shikon no Tama, I am but a lowly priestess and as such shall not disclose any unneeded information to one such as ye.”

 

Kagome noticed two small bottles the old priestess held in her hands. “Please, Kaede-sama! I won't tell a soul, and if there's something I really can't know, then you don't have to tell me.”

 

“Young Kagome, it would be best if…”

 

Kagome had to think of something or Kaede would never tell her a thing. She did know some things not many other people did. “I—I know about the curse.”

 

Kaede seemed to freeze in her tracks. “Ye…know of it?”

 

“Hai. I do.”

 

“How did one such as ye come to learn of the curse? It is a secret well kept from all but those directly involved with the Shikon no Tama.”

 

Kagome wasn't sure of what to tell the old woman. I walked in on our friend, the hanyou advisor, and he tried to kill me with the curse, which I now have??? I'm not supposed to talk about that…he'd kill me!

 

“I heard about it once,” she said. Not entirely a lie…

 

Kaede walked up to the stand the jewel sat on, opening one of the bottles and sprinkling the powder from inside over the jewel. She bowed her head and said a prayer. Kagome watched. She had always been somewhat interested in the work of a priestess. After Kaede finished praying, she raised her head.

 

“Even I, one who works so closely with the Shikon no Tama, do not know the true nature of the curse. It was cast on the jewel by an evil youkai five centuries ago. He had used the jewel to terrorize the world. It is said, that after the great inu youkai defeated him, he became a hanyou, which was his true form from the very beginning. When the dog demon took the jewel, the evil youkai used the last of his strength to put the curse over the jewel. The curse affected the dog demon, eventually aiding in his death. We Shikon Shrine priestesses work to contain the curse within the jewel until one powerful enough comes that they may finally be able to rid us of the curse once and for all. Though I have tried, there is no way to purify the jewel of the curse unless ye have spiritual powers equal or greater to that of the one who cast the spell in the first place. That would have to mean ye are stronger than the jewel itself. And that, young Kagome, is impossible.”

 

“No, it can't be impossible.”

 

“Hai, but I'm afraid it is. For five centuries no priestess has had the power. Perhaps Midoriko-sama herself could purify it, but she past from this world a near seven centuries ago.”

 

“700 years?? Is that how old the Shikon no Tama is?”

 

“Yes. Midoriko-sama is the priestess who created the Shikon Jewel. She was the only one who was powerful enough to protect it alone. Before long, however, even she died at the hands of the evil youkai.”

 

So Naraku killed Midoriko? Is that right? Dang, he's old!Let's pretend I know nothing about him, see how much others know. “Is that evil hanyou still alive now?”

 

“People say that he died after he lost possession of the jewel,” Kaede said, sprinkling another powder over the jewel. “He hasn't been seen since then, but I don't believe he died.”

 

You're a smart one.

 

“He, even as a hanyou, has the ability to change the form of his body. He could be anywhere, anyone, and we would not know.”

 

Kagome nodded. Okay, now time to ask real questions.“So Kaede, could you please tell me what you wouldn't say earlier at breakfast? About Sango's and my nightmares.”

 

Kaede stopped again to pray. Kagome waited patiently for her to finish.

 

“Tell me, Kagome. What do ye remember of your childhood?”

 

“Remember? I…I remember when I played in the courtyard.”

 

“Were you alone?”

 

“Yes. I was always alone. In my memories, I play like I'm not alone, I remember playing in the gardens. I talked, and ran, I laughed, and my father watched. But I always played alone.”

 

Kaede looked at her and smiled a sympathetic smile that Kagome didn't quite understand. “Ye were alone, child?”

 

“Yes…”

 

“What about in your dreams? Your nightmares?”

 

“I am sometimes. And I'm always so sad.”

 

Kaede nodded.

 

“Except last night,” she added. Kaede looked up at here to let her finish. “I wasn't alone. And I was so happy.”

 

“Who were ye with, child?”

 

“I—I don't know. He was a boy. And I…” the vision of the two red eyes coming toward her popped into her head. She closed her eyes, trying not to scream. Tears filled her eyes.

 

Kaede put a hand to her shoulder. She understood things about Kagome's memories that Kagome didn't. But she was unable to tell her. Kagome still has all of her memories from her childhood intact. It sounds like the images of Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku being there with her have simply been erased, as if her memories were a drawing, and all they did was erase the other children's pictures. I wonder if it is the same for everyone.

 

“Do ye remember the banishment of the youkai, Kagome?”

 

Kagome calmed down a bit. “Yes. I remember.” She thought back on the night with Naraku.

 

--“I, Kagome-sama, was that hanyou.”

 

“You?You're—you're evil.”

 

Naraku chuckled. “You are correct again, Kagome-sama.”

 

“You rid the kingdom of the very thing that you are…you monster!”--

 

Kagome sighed. Naraku did it…“I had been sick in bed for a couple of days. The day I felt better, my father had exiled them all.”

 

Kaede nodded. “Hai, ye are correct.”

 

“Kaede?”

 

“Yes?”

“Do you know—Why…why were the demons exiled? Sango said that demons used to be allowed in and they didn't do anything wrong. Why did Nar…My father make them leave?”

 

Kaede thought for a minute. “There was an accident.”

 

“An accident?”

 

“Yes a…”

 

--It was your fault…--

 

Kagome closed her eyes, mentally yelling at that voice to stop nagging her. Kaede noticed her internal stuggle.

 

“Kagome? What is wrong?”

 

“Is—Is it my fault, Kaede-sama?”

 

Kaede drew back in surprise. “Yourfault, child?”

 

“Yes! My fault!! Was it my fault?!”

 

“Why do ye ask?”

 

“I don't know…but someone…something keeps telling me it's my fault!” she dropped her head into her cupped hands, “I don't know anything! I don't understand why it makes me so sad, either! But they're hurting! They're hurting because of what I did!!!” she exclaimed, bursting into tears.

 

“Kagome-san, dear, what do ye speak of?”

 

“I'm sorry, Kaede-sama! I didn't mean to…” she laid her head on Kaede's shoulder.

 

This poor girl, Kaede thought, the problem they tried to solve by erasing the memories of the children has only hurt them. Kagome needs to talk with her father. There, I think, she may get what it is she needs to hear. But I still have yet to understand why she knows about the curse, and I doubt that all her suffering comes from losing her memories alone. Could it be, perhaps she herself has fallen victim to the curse??

 

Kaede lifted Kagome off her shoulder. “Come, child. Let's leave here and ye can talk with others about this. My time in here is done.”

 

Kagome nodded and walked with Kaede back up the stairs.

 

“You walk these stairs every day, Kaede-sama?”

 

“Hai, of course. How else do ye expect an old woman like me to stay in shape?”

 

They laughed a small, but greatly appreciated laugh.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

A/N: There ya go! See, I told you it'd be a little longer. Next chapter: enter Inuyasha!! Wohoo! Till next time, Jaa!