InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted ❯ A Marionette ( Chapter 20 )

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

AN: More responses (Thanks!) And WOW! I can't believe I'm on Chapter Twenty already… (If things had gone according to my original plan, I would've been done by now… this would've been the second-to-last chapter.) Sorry if I've missed anyone on the responses. My computers doing mysterious things, and I keep missing reviews. I need to work out a system… And if I've missed anyone before, I'm very sorry! It's not intentional, I swear, and I apologize!:

reader1: Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

AkeryouSesshoumarusMate: Ayumi will be home in the beginning of this chapter. As far as Inuyasha's concerned… well, you'll see. Sesshoumaru might turn up, but I can't be completely sure. He's like that…

Earthclaw: Thanks! Sesshomaru… hm. He might pop up somewhere, he might not. He's enigmatic like that. (Or, as you said, he might've died like that…) If Sesshomaru lived in the future, I've always seen him as more of an elite businessman. But who knows? Five hundred years would certainly change him a lot… he could be anything!

Animekitty07: Thanks! I agree; biscuits are yummy, and cats are cool. (Don't have one myself; I'm allergic, but I love them anyway.)

Auxana: Hee hee. I know whatcha mean about the typing. I can't sit and type for very long, either. I always end up doing something else. Then I'll suddenly remember that I'm trying to write something, and I'll come back. Not much of a system… And thank you for reviewing!

PippetJimmy: Well, I'm glad that I'm not a horrible person! And thank you! I don't do much humor; I wanted to put something a little sillier than the regular story in, so that's where the car scene came from. Wow, 1:00! Of course, it is Inuyasha… I can see how you'd be exhausted, though. I would be, too. Just for the record, I don't consider reading reviews a waste of time; they make me very happy, so thanks for taking the time to do so!

I hate stupid peepo: Thank you, and I'm glad that you like it!

Tiamath: Uh… (clears throat) Oh, my. Now, that's embarrassing. I'll hafta correct that, immediately. Thanks very much for the heads up! I agree; Inuyasha got quite a bit of abuse in the last chapter. I felt kinda bad, even as I wrote it…

fluffyrachel: Hehe! But I know the feeling; every time Rozefire's story "Zero G" is updated, I get all happy. I'm sorry that I haven't provided enough InuKag fluff yet; right now they're not exactly happy with each other, though. But there will be fluff! (I love the stuff.) The last chapter will definitely be fluffy. A fluff storm thing. Yeah, my computer's very nice: an iMac. It was a bribe from my dad, actually, and I fell for it. And wow, I'm impressed and really, really flattered that this is your favorite story! (grins) Thank you so much! Truly, that goes on my little mental list of the highest compliments I've ever received!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

Haunted

Chapter Twenty: A Marionette

Leaves murmured quietly, familiarly, and the rough bark beneath him was comforting. Inuyasha sighed deeply and felt more relaxed than he had for a while. This was where he belonged; in nature, resting in a tree, surrounded by familiar noises with crisp air blowing by him.

A white ear flicked as a twig snapped beneath him. The hanyou hadn't even realized how much he'd missed it, how out of place he'd felt indoors despite the friendliness of the others. He snorted derisively.

"Friendliness?" he asked the surrounding trees and the forests denizens, sarcasm dripping venomously from his voice. "Oh, sure. Being kicked off a car and then leaving me in the dust is friendly," the hanyou spat bitterly. A little voice in the back of his mind wondered if Kagome was still mad at him, if he'd gone too far.

With a sigh of pent-up frustration, the irritated hanyou leaped from the tree and landed on the forest floor with a cackle from the leaves beneath his feet. He needed to go somewhere, stop thinking about it, because he was afraid that if he did, he'd go trotting back to her.

With a low growl rumbling in his chest, he took off. Tree trunks whizzed by and blurred into one brown mass as he ran faster and faster. Snowy bangs brushed across his eyelids, half-closed against the wind.

He didn't know where he was going. He didn't care. Kagome's voice, berating him, rang in his mind as clearly as if she was standing next to him. "…impulsive, reckless…"

She was right. So what? Better to make decisions quickly than to sit and think forever, indecision plaguing your thoughts and torturing your mind. He knew from first-hand experience.

Running calmed his nerves, silenced his mind. Don't think, just keep running. The steady thudding of his feet against the damp earth, then tree branch, then sodden leaves went in cadence with the steady beating of his heart, a rhythm as old as time, one of primordial instincts and pure, voracious, life.

Frankly, he could run forever.

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(•. •)

(><)

Kagome sighed and flopped down on the couch next to Sango, palms pressed over her eyes. "Ugh," she complained.

Brown eyes flickered from the black and white printed paper of Sango's novel. She sighed. Right when it was getting interesting. Ms. Marple was just about to find a "suicide" note, then the adventure would begin. "What?"

"I thought that Ayumi would never stop asking questions!" the black-haired girl exclaimed irritably. "She just kept going, and going… are you sure that Miroku's forgetting spell worked?"

A small smile quirked the corners of Sango's mouth. "Do you think that they'd be able to conceal the knowledge if it hadn't?" the demon exterminator quizzed. "No, it worked. She was just curious."

"But why wouldn't she believe me when I told her that he was albino? She wouldn't believe me about the fact that he had a spell plastered to his back…" she sighed again. "I thought that that thing was hidden underneath his hair!" In actuality, she wasn't worried much by Ayumi's questions; it was a certain hanyou's disappearance that was bothering her.

Sango knew it, too. She lowered her book and shut the worn paperback with a decisive snap. Ms. Marple would have to wait. "He's fine," she told Kagome firmly. "He's a hanyou," At Kagome's unconvinced look, she explained; "He's quicker, quieter, and more dangerous than any of us. And his hearing and sense of smell are superb."

Kagome nodded uncomfortably. "Yeah… I guess you're right…" She twisted her hands in her lap and bit her lip slightly. Sango was right; Inuyasha could fend for himself, there was no question of that.

"But that's not what's bothering you," Sango interpreted. Kagome looked up, startled. "You're feeling bad about knocking him off the car and leaving him in the dust."

Kagome smiled despairingly. "Am I that transparent?" But the demon exterminator had hit the nail on the head. She kept playing the scene over and over in her mind; his betrayed expression, her sarcastic smile. Had it really been that bad?

"You are," Sango replied with a small smile.

"I really, really wish that I hadn't done it now," the black-haired girl admitted. "What if he got lost? He hasn't been off this property in five hundred years! What have I done?"

Sango looked at Kagome pityingly. She was really getting worked up. "How could he get lost? You just go straight down the road. And if he really wanted to, he could've caught up with us."

The black-haired girl nodded in agreement. "I know, but he's such an idiot! What if he did something stupid, like got run over by a truck? I can see him, just sitting in the middle of the road, pouting, and then this big truck comes…" She gulped.

Sango laughed in incredulity. "Kagome, I'd be lying if I told you that what you just said was plausible in any way."

"So you're saying that he just doesn't wanna come back, and he's run off somewhere because he's mad at me."

"Probably. It sounds like something that Inuyasha would do, don't you think?"

"Man…. He must hate me."

Sango glanced up sharply at the younger girl. She was just about to open her book again. "What makes you say that?" she asked carefully, though she thought that she was already aware of the answer.

"Do you really have to ask? You were there." She frowned. "But he did push me too far. He was really rude, even for him!"

Sango just shook her head. Let Kagome puzzle it out herself. She and Ms. Marple had a mystery to solve…

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

"Three weeks, two days."

Kagura sighed irritably. She'd been waiting for hours, but Naraku hadn't withdrawn from Kanna's mind at all. She was getting impatient; the sooner she got the sword and gave it to the monk, the better. She glanced at the weapon on the far side of the tunnel. As a demonic weapon, it could not yet enter the cave. But she couldn't take it until Naraku was reduced to merely a collection of dark thoughts and twisted emotions, bottled up inside an urn; he had to rest sometime. If he stayed within Kanna's mind too long, his consciousness would meld into hers and he'd be trapped within her.

"Three weeks, two days."

Scarlet eyes rolled derisively. And he wouldn't stop saying that, either! The fool. He'd wish that three weeks and two days never came, when it did. Fortunately for her, Naraku could only inhabit one mind at a time; her more carefully guarded thoughts were safe from him.

The wind witch glanced at Kanna. Her eyes were deep, bottomless pits again; Naraku was gone at long last, unable to see, hear, or otherwise perceive what she was about to do… Keeping her eyes on Kanna, she picked up the sword and rushed away. They stayed the same; black, expressionless, blank.

The sword had that same numbing effect on her hands as she rushed towards Maebashi. The wind witch gritted her teeth, unwilling to let go of the weapon. If she put it down on the feather, it would warp , and ultimately, destroy her transport, and she didn't have another one yet.

The cool air rushed past her face as she flew on, whipping her bangs into her face and tugging on her clothes. It was cold, but pleasantly so. Scarlet eyes scanned the landscape below. Maebashi was off to her left, which meant that her old house was to the far right… There it was.

Slowly, she descended towards the roof. Her hands literally ached to be free of the destructive force in her hands. With a muffled thump, she landed smartly in the back yard and dropped the sword hastily. Wringing her hands, she stared pointedly at the two girls who were gaping at her on the couch.

Sango quickly closed her mouth and stood up, eyes narrowing slightly. Just because Kagura said that she came with a "peaceful intent" didn't mean that she might try anything. She could tell that the wind witch was the kind of person who cared for none but herself.

The demon exterminator grabbed Hiraikotsu on her way out as Kagome called for Miroku. They assembled outside, all of them tense and wary, but only Kagura hiding the fact well.

"There's the sword." She indicated the weapon with an inclination of her head. "I recommend… caution while handling it." She flexed her fingers gingerly. They were still numb.

"What .. kind of caution?" Miroku asked warily as he moved across the grass towards the destructive weapon, eyeing the dead grass around it warily.

"See for yourself." The wind witch pulled the feather out of her hair again and whipped it around elegantly, her transport growing larger as it rotated in the air. "I'll be back in two weeks to collect it."

She was about fifteen feet in the air when Miroku looked up, the sword gingerly in hand, and called, "Wait! We'll need longer than that to prepare!"

Kagura looked down coldly. "You don't have longer than that. Naraku will be ready in three weeks and two days." For a moment she reveled at her own daring; in the blink of an eye, Naraku could kill her, and he would for offences more minor than what she was doing now. Without waiting for a response; they were all staring at her stupidly anyway- she flew off.

Miroku blinked. "Three weeks?" he repeated mildly. "Well, that doesn't give us much time to prepare, does it?" To himself, he muttered, "I think we're in over our heads."

Sango looked at him concernedly. "You don't think we'll win?" She'd been practicing so much, too. Sango was used to being the best when it came to martial arts and combat; for her, it came as a shock that others could be that much better. But then again, she reminded herself, they're demons. Super-human strength, poison, extra body parts, and above all, cruelty.

Despite all her expertise, she'd never fought to kill. It had always been practice. Perhaps that was why her father and brother had died; they'd never fought for real, without rules where the enemy would pull underhanded tricks at any time, because it wasn't just a contest. Now, it was kill or be killed. There hadn't ever even been an enemy; it was you and a friend, or family member. No matter how much she practiced, noting could prepare her for that. None of them but Inuyasha knew what that was like; Kagome was merely a schoolgirl with priestess powers that she didn't even know how to use, Miroku was an amateur monk, and she was a "demon exterminator" who'd never exterminated a demon before.

Miroku was right; they were in way over their heads.

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(0.0)

(><)

Inuyasha decided to rest for a moment in the branches of a tree that seemed vaguely familiar, though he was nearly positive that he'd never been in the area before. It was nice to run again after so long. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it. It almost seemed to fill up another hole that had strangely appeared in his chest. He tried to ignore it, and turned his mind away from angry brown eyes and equally wrathful words, spoken by a usually kind voice.

With a growl born of frustration, he dropped from the tree and ran again, his destination clear in his mind. Inuyasha knew that he was somewhere near here; his memory was nearly complete of the incidents leading up to his Curse. He still didn't understand, though. Why would Kikyo…? He leapt over a fallen tree and forgot about it.

He knew that it was in the Tokugawa Domain somewhere, and he also knew that he'd remember if he saw it. A cave, a monster and other warriors who didn't trust him. But that wasn't so suspicious; no one trusted a hanyou.

A small voice protested. What about Sango and Miroku? He lived with them. If they didn't trust him, why would they do that? And Shippo, too. But then again, he was just a little kid. And Kagome…

The hole in his chest gaped wide open, like a yawning bottomless hole filled with despair as angry brown eyes haunted him. He'd really pushed the limit. Kagome was furious at him. But, he quickly reminded himself, he was too. Right?

He dashed across an empty road that stretched off into the distance in both directions as the a large puffy cloud crawled across the sun, suddenly blanketing the earth below in a darker shade. Grass brushed his feet as he raced effortlessly across an empty meadow and into another wooded area. The scenery was completely foreign, but oddly familiar, as if he'd stepped out of what he considered the future and into the time that he still felt that he belonged in.

The sun was still high overhead when he stopped for a break. He paused at the base of a tree before sitting down upon its roots. Nature. He was surrounded by it. A stream babbled quietly to his left and bushes rustled quietly with the movements of various small animals. Dark trunks loomed up from the shadow dank earth below into the canopy above as small birds sang occasionally, their voices as smooth and sweet as the brown syrup that Kagome had put on the "pancakes" he'd eaten.

He didn't understand how Kagome could stand being cooped up in this "Tokyo" that she came from. All the loud mechanical noises, the smells, how crowded it must be. Why did she want to go back so badly, and leave all of them behind? The hole in his chest yawned, the black depths immeasurably deep within him. How long before she left? Less than a year, that much he knew. A year from now, he'd be alone again; the Higurashis would sell their house and Sango, Miroku and Shippo would disappear. He took it with weary acceptance.

"Naraku, you bastard, where are you?" he murmured, amber eyes roving the hillside. But he spoke merely to distract his mind rather than because of his search. In fact, he was very surprised to get a response at all.

"And what do you want with Naraku?" A soft, childlike voice caused him to whirl around. He stared incredulously at the little girl before her. Granted, she had eerily empty eyes blacker than Kagome's hair and her own locks was a naturally snowy white, like her clothes, but she was still just a child.

"And why would you care?" the hanyou shot back. "You're far too young to've met 'im." Beneath his statement, there was a question implied; Are you from Naraku?

The child merely blinked and didn't respond. "Do you have an appointment?" These days, more than a few were coming and going. Perhaps this hanyou was one of them.

The demi-demon cracked his knuckles ominously and stared at the child. "You could say that," he replied, a low growl underlying his words.

Kanna turned wordlessly and wandered down the grassy slope, face expressionless. She knew that the hanyou was following her; his feet brushed against the long grass as it waved slightly in a weak breeze; Kagura was nowhere nearby.

"Hey, whelp. Can you hurry up?" the impatient hanyou demanded from behind her. Kanna decided that ignoring him would be best. "Are you deaf?" Or perhaps not.

The pale demon turned, eyes as expressionless as ever. "No," she replied simply, and kept going down the slope. The silvery mirror in her hand glinted in the sun, but absorbed the light rather than bouncing it back.

He frowned at the mirror. And then Inuyasha understood. "You're a demon." Mentally, he kicked himself. He should've realized that before, though she didn't give off any demonic aura, or anything else for that matter.

Kanna didn't reply to that, either. She slowed and circled a large black stone in the ground. On it, kanji marks were deeply carved. The white-haired demon disappeared around the other side.

Inuyasha frowned, then realized that the entrance was on the other side of the stone. Eyes widened as he took in the kanji; this was the place. Naraku was underneath him, at this very moment. Instinctively, he grabbed Tetsusaiga with a white-knuckled fist and followed the white-haired demon into the dark tunnel. Perhaps he was walking into a trap, but if it meant seeing- and perhaps destroying- Naraku, it would be worth it.

Kanna walked into the familiar cave and the hanyou stopped behind her at the caves entrance, amber eyes wide with awe. The cave was littered with sutras, some of them glowing, but the majority flickering. Quite a few were blank and useless on the dry sand of the cave floor.

"Ah, Kanna. You've received our visitor." A silky, soft voice stepped into his mind with the dark magnificence of a panther, brutal yet elegant. "Nice to see you again, Inuyasha."

The hanyou shook his head violently. "Get the hell out!" he bellowed, his voice reverberating against the cave walls, eyes burning with fury as they scanned the room. "Where are you, Naraku?"

"Right in front of you," Kanna's soft, hollow voice replied. This time, there was an underlying tone of menace that hadn't been there before.

With a low growl, Inuyasha strode into the cave, Tetsusaiga transformed and raised. He fell back with a yell as golden bolts of lighting struck him from the glittering kanji. He fell back against the wall outside, gasping from pain and sudden exhaustion.

"You cannot hurt me. Stop trying." Again it was Kanna who spoke as she took up a comfortable seat in the dry sand, her mirror on her lap.

Inuyasha laughed breathlessly. "You're a little girl? Fitting, isn't it?" He stood up using the rust katana as a support. He glared at the white-haired figure.

"And you're just as blind and ignorant as ever," she/he replied. "Kanna is merely my voice, eyes and ears. As I said, I am right before your eyes."

Suspiciously, Inuyasha gazed around the cave. His eyes rested incredulously upon the urns for a moment. "You're in there?" He pointed a clawed finger at the darker clay creation.

"Not for long," Kanna replied softly. "And how is it that you're alive? The last time I saw you, you were in a urn of your own." There was soft, deadly humor behind the pale child's expressionless voice.

"What's it to you?" Inuyasha growled hostilely. "I didn't come here to talk with you." Tensing, he tried to step back into the chamber. Teeth gritted against the pain, he tried to ignore the miniature lightnings playing across him.

"It's no good. You'll just get yourself killed." Kanna watched the hanyou's struggles with impassive dark eyes.

"If… you can do it, than so can I," Inuyasha retorted stubbornly through gritted teeth. He still didn't understand it; how was it that the child could sit there, without the sutras affecting her?

He was forced to retreat, gasping from the pain. He glared furiously at the white-haired girl. She chuckled softly. "Kanna is the essence of nothing. She has no demonic aura for dear Kikyo's sutras to purify."

"Don't call her that!" the hanyou barked. Things were not turning out the way he'd expected; he assumed that Naraku would be like him, flesh and blood. He thought that he'd fight him, kill him or get killed, and leave. Above all, Inuyasha had certainly not expected to be talking with him.

"Very well." There was a tone to Kanna's -Naraku's- voice that suggested that he was being very tolerant. "Now, down to business. I have a proposition for you."

"Forget it," Inuyasha replied flatly. "I'm not doing anything for you." His voice was hoarse and his amber eyes glazed with pain from the sutras' shock.

"For one so young, you certainly are close-minded." There was a cynical pause. "Oh, wait. You're over five hundred years old, aren't you?" Kanna's dark eyes mocked him.

"I told you, I'm not doing anything for you. Whatever it is, it's not in my best interests if you want me to do it." It was no good. He'd have to come back later if he wanted to kill Naraku. That is, if Naraku let him go again…

"Oh, but I think it is," Kanna contradicted, dark eyes narrowing slightly. "Unless I'm mistaken, I think that we can be of use to each other…"

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

"She was right about one thing," Miroku told the other two, wincing as he held the sword. "No one should handle this without protection." He dropped the weapon onto the ground. They'd decided that because of the sword's corrosive effects, it shouldn't be brought inside. When they'd tried to, the lights flickered and one short-circuited.

Sango peered at the monk's hands curiously. "What's wrong?" Miroku flexed his hands in a weak attempt to make his bones ache less. Sango frowned. "I don't see anything."

"Try picking up the sword yourself," the black-haired man suggested. "On second thought, don't," he said hastily as Sango moved towards the weapon. The ache in his hands finally subsided, but left them feeling weak and feeble. A curious side effect… Miroku found himself wondering what exactly the sword was supposed to do.

Kagome watched in horror as the grass beneath the sword withered and died. The earth became dry and powdery, and she could feel the sword giving off a numbing feeling that made her knees weak. The black-haired girl sat down heavily, Shippo watching the weapon anxiously.

With reckless daring, he poked at the hilt with one finger and yelped as the illusion spell on him was sucked away. He scrambled away from the weapon and onto Miroku's head, teeth chattering with nerves. "That felt so… weird!" the kitsune exclaimed. "It just sucked the spell right off me…" he shuddered and glared angrily at the weapon on the ground.

Miroku looked at Kagome. "I suggest that you don't get too close to it, Kagome." At the black-haired girl's inquiring look, he explained. "I think that it absorbs spells, such as Shippo's illusion. I assume that it would do the same to your… spell." If it was a spell…

Kagome nodded. "That makes sense…" she glanced anxiously at the sword. "Then how am I supposed to put a spell on it?"

"That's a good question," Miroku admitted and ran a hand through his black hair.

"Do you know that answer?" Sango asked, her eyes still on the sword as the dirt beneath it began to sink lower into the ground. She didn't think that it was a good idea to have the thing around them at all.

"I'm sure that it can be done," the monk replied enigmatically. "Hm." Purple eyes stared into the distance. "Perhaps Mushin might know…" He stood up and walked into the house, leaving Sango, Kagome and Shippo very confused behind him.

"Maybe the sword does things with your mind, too," Kagome suggested. "He was holding it for a while."

Shippo blanched and stared at the sword as it started to sink into the pile of greyish dust that had once been dirt. "I hope not!"

Kagome smiled. "I was just kidding, Shippo." She looked back at the sword with a frown. It was starting to sink beneath the sandy stuff… She gingerly grabbed the end of a string that was wrapped around the weapon and put it onto a new patch of ground. Hastily, she let go of the string and rubbed her fingers ruefully. "Miroku's right. The sword makes your bones all achy."

Inside the house, Miroku finally remembered the phone number of his foster father. He picked up the phone in one still-achy hand and dialed, hoping that he really had gotten it right. A vague voice on the other end assured him that he was right.

"Hello?" Miroku smiled. It was certainly Mushin. His foster father coughed. "Hellooo?"

"Mushin, it's Miroku." There was a moment's silence from the other end as Miroku waited patiently for the older monk to remember him.

"Oh, Miroku! How are ya?" A note of suspicion entered his voice. "You aren't calling because you need money, are you?"

Miroku grinned. "No, but I was wondering if you know how to cast a spell without touching the subject." He glanced out of the window; the others were still sitting around the dangerous weapon.

"Mm…" The older man paused to think. "What's the base?" In the background, Miroku heard him mutter, "And where's that sake bottle?"

Miroku sighed. Mushin was a hopeless drunk. "You know," he said conversationally, "I'm surprised that you don't have a liver disorder by now."

"Mm." There was a clatter of glass bottles in the background. "Whoops. Found the sake!" Mushin exclaimed triumphantly. "Now, what were you saying?"

Miroku sighed. "Never mind. The base?" he recalled. "Oh, a sword." He tried to sound casual.

"What?" Mushin's voice on the other end was outraged and there was a crash of glass in the background. "Miroku, what on earth are you doing?"

"Umm…" Miroku glanced outside again distractedly, this time from nerves. "Well, you see, I'm trying to save the Earth from imminent doom. I think."

"You think." Miroku winced. He knew that it wouldn't go over well with Mushin. "Miroku, what are you doing? And tell me everything. I won't be able to help you otherwise," the older monk coaxed.

A sudden idea lit in Miroku's purple eyes. "Can you hold just a moment?" he asked quickly. Before Mushin had time to answer, Miroku had put down the phone and opened the back door. "Kagome! Do you mind if my foster father spends some time here?"

"Sure!" Kagome yelled back. "I'm sure that my mom won't mind!" Miroku started to slide the door shut again and stopped when Kagome called, "Is he going to help?"

"I hope so!" Miroku shut the door and hoped that Mushin wouldn't get too drunk in the Higurashis house. He picked up the phone. "Mushin?"

"Who is it?"

"Still Miroku," the black-haired monk replied patiently. "Why don't you come and see for yourself?" Mushin made a vague noise of agreement. "The house is on Priestess Lane, near Maebashi. Do you have that?"

"Think so."

"Write it down," Miroku insisted. "You'll forget." Mushin grumbled a reply. "And Come as soon as you can."

"You're getting awfully demanding, Miroku," Mushin complained. "But I'll be there in… a few days. I'll hafta arrange a taxi and stuff."

"Well, then I'll see you in a few days," Miroku told him and hung up, feeling slightly relieved.

Sango stuck her head into the house. "Miroku, I think that we need to work out the thing with the sword…" she looked anxiously over her shoulder and they hurried outside. "It's putting holes into everything. At this rate, Mrs. Higurashi will come home to find that her entire yard is dust."

Miroku nodded and crouched down next to Kagome, who was watched the sword with a sort of horrified fascination. "I suppose we'll have to find a place where it can't do any harm."

"If we don't, one of use will hafta be out here all night watching it," Kagome complained. "I for one don't wanna do that." Sango and Shippo nodded in agreement.

"What's the cloth around it made of?" Miroku wondered aloud staring at the weapon. The sword was wrapped in a plain white cloth with a brown cord wrapped around it. Surprisingly, the cloth hadn't corroded at all, and neither had the scabbard or the cord.

The others noticed the same thing. "Huh?" Shippo peered over Miroku's shoulder at the sword. "I didn't notice that before." He shuddered as the dirt melted into powdery ash and sank into the ground slightly. "I'm going back inside. This thing scares me."

"Suit yourself," Miroku replied absently and gingerly fingered the cloth. "It must be spelled," he decided with a frown. But as far as he could see, the sword sucked up spells, or perhaps just Shippo's magic. That was the problem with magic; there was no logic to it.

Sango yawned slightly. "So, someone's going to hafta watch it, right?" She shot a sideways glance at Kagome. After a moment's silence, they both dashed inside with muttered excuses, leaving Miroku alone with the sword.

The black-haired man sighed resignedly and poked at the sword with a stick. The end crumbled slightly. "Why is it always me?" he wondered aloud.

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(•. •)

(><)

"Let me guess." Inuyasha raised a sarcastic eyebrow at the white-haired girl sitting on the floor. "This is when you reveal your diabolical scheme to overrun the world or country with demons with you as their king, and ask me to join you."

Kanna chuckled softly. "Not quite," she explained. "I just want to be free. Taking over the world comes later. It's a bit ambitious for one stuck in an urn as myself, don't you agree?"

"I hope you stay in there," Inuyasha muttered darkly in response.

"Now, now," Kanna chided mockingly. "Is that any way to treat a potential ally?" Dark, bottomless eyes stared into flashing amber.

"If that's what you think, then you're not getting out of that urn any time soon," Inuyasha retorted. "You're no ally of mine. I don't give a damn about whatever you have to offer."

"Really." At this, Kanna's black eyes narrowed slightly in irritation. "You truly are a fool," she all but spat at him. "You're throwing away a once in a lifetime opportunity. And for someone over five hundred years old, that's quite an opportunity."

"Shut up," Inuyasha retorted. "I don't care what you think." He heaved himself upright. With a growing sense of alarm, the hanyou realized just how much those sutras had weakened him.

"Thick-skulled as you are, you don't honestly believe that I'd let you go so easily?" Kanna asked softly, menace dripping from each syllable. She paused to reconsider. "I don't really care what happens to you, but I'll give you a warning; interfere, and you'll regret it."

Inuyasha snorted derisively at the white-haired child. "I don't care about your threats, warnings, whatever you wanna call 'em."

The child shrugged. "Why interfere? I just want to be free, just like you do." Inuyasha flinched, and a small smirk curled at the corners of Kanna's pale lips. "You didn't think that I noticed, did you? You've stolen someone else's life force."

"Shut up!" the hanyou snarled. Naraku had hit a sore point. "I didn't steal it, and if I could I'd give it back! But she won't let me!" Guilt seeped into his mind like water through a leaky hull. Here he was, living Kagome's life miles away from her. Truly, he owed her his life and he was being stubborn and pouty.

Kanna looked at him, a trace of irritation in her black eyes. "I didn't bring you here to listen to your conscience, Inuyasha," she said smoothly.

"Hell, you didn't bring me here at all!" the hanyou retorted. "I came looking for you!" He stood up shakily and pointed Tetsusaiga at the darker of the two urns. "And I'm gonna do what I came here to do!" He raised the transformed sword high over his head and brought it down. "Kaze no-"

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

"Still wallowing in guilt, Kagome?" Shippo asked with wide-eyed sincerity. The ginger-haired kitsune took a seat next to her with a frustrated sigh. If Inuyasha would just come back, Kagome would stop acting like someone had died! She'd been moping for the past two days since Inuyasha had left.

"What makes you say that?" the black-haired girl asked with a frown. "I was just thinking." They still hadn't come up with a solution to the sword. Sango was watching it now and had been for the past half an hour. By now, Kagome knew from experience how boring it was to sit out there and watch the lawn decay.

Kagome watched the older girl's dim figure pick up the sword with fraying oven mitts and a pair of melted, warped tongs and put it down somewhere else. Meanwhile, Miroku had holed himself up in his room, trying to figure out what was so special about the cloth that the sword was wrapped in, meaning that Sango was left outside with a much more corrosive weapon.

"…I said, Kagome, that I wanted some ice cream!" Kagome was jolted from her thoughts and Shippo stared at her accusingly.

"Sorry, Shippo." Kagome stood up slowly- her back ached from sitting on her heels and watching the sword, and trudged into the kitchen, the eager young fox demon trailing behind her with green eyes wide in anticipation.

Kagome pulled open the freezer door and looked at the ginger-haired kitsune as he scrambled onto the table, a bowl and spoon already in his hands. "I remember what happened last time, when Sango gave you too much ice cream," she reminded him. "So only a little, okay?" She really didn't want another episode of hyper-Shippo running around the house, wailing and breaking things again.

Shippo nodded and held out his bowl. Kagome grabbed his spoon and shoveled a small amount of mint ice cream into his bowl and the kitsune looked up indignantly. "That's all?" he demanded irately. He looked down at the bowl. "It's so, so little."

With a sigh of resignation, the black-haired girl ladled in another scoop. "There. And no more!" She picked up the tub of ice cream and shoved it back into the packed freezer. Shutting the door with a bang and a billowing cloud of cold air, Kagome wandered out of the room and returned to the couch.

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(•. •)

(><)

Inuyasha blinked sleepy eyes and yawned hugely. Rubbing one eye with a clawed hand, the hanyou noticed that he was still exhausted, which was puzzling. And he had the oddest notion that he'd somehow met Naraku again…. But that wouldn't explain why he was still in the exact same tree in which he'd dosed off.

Bits and pieces of "the dream" floated back into his consciousness; the sutras, the two urns, Kanna the white-haired child, the cave… He frowned and scratched his head irritably. His memory seemed to leave off when he was about to kill Naraku. Then, he was here.

Suspiciously, amber eyes roved the scenery below him. Trees were as they had been, animals bustled around below in the underbrush, birds chirped now and again, and nothing seemed out of place.

"I didn't bring you here to listen to your conscience, Inuyasha." The words rang in his mind with more truth in them than he'd seen before. With a scowl, the hanyou realized that he was indeed brought to Naraku in some way. How else would his fragmented memory known where to lead him, and how else could he have disappeared so quickly, only to wake up right where he'd been before?

The demi-demon sat up in the tree limb with a furious expression on his features. He'd let his guard down somehow, and someone -one of Naraku's people, had taken him back. It had been the perfect opportunity to kill him, surely. So why hadn't he done it?

Silently, Inuyasha grimly promised himself that he'd never let it happen again. Vaguely, he wondered what would happen; he was still a poltergeist when all was said and done, though he was using Kagome's life force… With a jolt, he realized that it might kill Kagome.

Weakly, he stumbled from the tree limb and managed to remain upright as he staggered away in search of a stream. A white ear twitched as a twig snapped somewhere ahead. His hand went to Tetsusaiga's hilt, but…

…found nothing. He stared down at the scabbard in surprise. The sword was gone. Hot anger bubbled up from the depths of his mind and glittered in his eyes. "That bastard!" the hanyou bellowed. Immediately forgetting about the creek he'd been searching for, the tired demi-demon took off through the forest for the second time that day.

His mind racing as quickly as his feet, Inuyasha quickly deducted that it must've been Naraku's original intent, and probably had something to do with either getting free or disposing of him; surely the demon felt resentful towards him for his part in Naraku's downfall. Perhaps it was just a trap, but why lure him to the cave when he'd already been there? "I'll find out soon enough," Inuyasha muttered to himself.

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(•. •)

(><)

"Is he coming back yet?" Naraku had once again retreated into his urn, leaving Kanna in control of her body once more.

Black eyes stared expressionlessly into the mirror. On the silvery surface, an exhausted white-haired hanyou ran doggedly, amber eyes smoldering in fury. "Yes." The mirror clouded over as if someone had breathed upon it, and cleared. Once again, it was merely a reflective surface.

"Hm." Kanna's eyes clouded, then glimmered with a sharp cunning that was alien to her. Naraku gazed intently at the katana on the ground, just outside the cave. She frowned suddenly. "And what's Kagura up to?" Naraku knew that he'd given her far too much liberty. He had a feeling that even if he didn't, hers was an independent spirit. She'd know freedom, and wanted it back.

In the mirror, the wind witch flew steadily towards "home", her scarlet eyes troubled and distant as her black hair swirled around her face. "Just in time," Naraku decided. Kagura could kill off Inuyasha, and that would be the end of that; he didn't need the hanyou anymore, now that he had what he needed from him.

Kanna/Naraku watched idly as Kagura's eyes widened in surprise. She circled lower and fell in stride with Inuyasha. "Perfect," Naraku smirked. The hanyou stumbled and made a swinging swipe at Kagura. She pulled out of the way easily and smiled sarcastically.

They exchanged a brief, rather unfriendly-looking conversation before Kagura swooped up and into the air. Naraku frowned suspiciously. Now, this was food for though, although he knew that Kagura often liked to play with her prey -a certain wolf demon came to mind. She didn't bloody the hanyou up a bit.

A soft thud announced Kagura's landing on the hill above the cave. Briefly after, she appeared below. "Naraku, you've got company!" Her eyes found the rusted katana on the ground. "And no wonder."

"You were supposed to greet the company, Kagura," Kanna replied softly, dark eyes staring almost hypnotically. "You didn't even try to attack." She watched the wind witch's response carefully.

Kagura shrugged carelessly. "I wasn't aware of that." Crimson eyes met bottomless black. "Shall I go out and give him a proper welcome?" Idly, she flicked her fan open.

"It's quite alright," Kanna said smoothly. "He won't find his way in here. Besides," she idly tugged on a strand of long black hair tied through a wooden peg. "I've got something interesting planned."

"A golem?" Kagura asked dubiously as she sat down cross-legged on the damp earth, next to the sword.

"Yes. A golem." It was an abrupt response, for Kanna had things to do. The silvery mirror in her lap misted over and cleared, revealing a black-haired girl in a green and white sailor suit.

Inuyasha stopped abruptly in front of her, eyes wide in surprise. "Kagome? What are you doing here?" Amber eyes turned distractedly to glance at the surrounding hills.

Kagome smiled sweetly, and glassy brown eyes stared into gold. "I've come to kill you." She took a step forward and the hanyou suddenly noticed the knife in her hand.

Inuyasha laughed uneasily. "You can't be that mad." But there was doubt in his voice; she'd already pushed him off a car, something that would kill the normal person…

"There's no mistake." Kagome's smile was cheerful and sincere and the dagger in her hand flashed orange in the fading sun. "I've been told to kill you."

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

Miles away in a large house, the real Kagome Figurate sat on the floor of the library, her finger tracing dusty lines on the floor. Suddenly, a small urge made her stand up, and soon she found herself walking down the hall.

Feeling slightly dizzy, she decided to sit down on the couch with Sango for a while. No, she had something to do, somewhere to go. The image of a black stone, strange marks carved into its side, flashed through her mind. She had to find the stone.

Sango looked up from her book when she heard the front door open. "Kagome?" Her brown creased in a frown. "Where are you going?"

"Out for a walk. I won't be gone long, don't worry." The black-haired girl smiled cheerfully. "I need some fresh air." To Kagome, it was almost like a dream; everything seemed far away and unreal as she walked down the driveway, the crunch of gravel under her shoes echoing distantly in her ears as if from far away. A big, sunny smile broke out on her face for no reason as she traipsed down the road, even as some small part of her mind was clamoring with alarm. Something was wrong…

She felt lighter and more carefree than she had in ages. Nothing could bother her; what would come, would come. No use worrying about it; how would that change anything? Shedding guilt, anxiety, stress, she bubbled into laughter.

She was going for a walk!

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(•. •)

(><)

AN: Sorry, I know it's been a while! (And this chapter was quite a bit shorter than usual…) I've got finals next week, and I really need to study for math and French. Teachers've been loading review on us….

Questions, comments, ect are all welcome.