InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shards of Foxfire ❯ Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha OR Earthbound, so phooey!

Thanks to my reviewers:

Born-Of-Elven-Blood: It'll all be explained in the next few chapters, I
promise, I'm glad u liked it!

Hedi Dracona/the-SeVeReD-HaNd - Thanks for reviewing!

Chinita: I updated, like you asked, too bad its so short, and ends in
ANOTHER cliffhanger! Muahahahah!!!!!

Robin5791 (and everyone else that has no clue who Ayame is, I feel so sorry for you!) : Look up episode summaries for episodes 83 and 84

Miroku sped out of the department store, eager to start his mission. He had agreed to them that he would meet them at the food court around noon for lunch. Rin shook her head. "I wonder what he's looking for?" "Never mind that, does this look okay on me?" Sango said as she held a dress up to her face. Rin sighed, exasperated. It seemed like nobody else cared anything about what Miroku was up to. Rin thought that it probably had something to do with one of the girls, because he wouldn't tell them. It was most likely something special for Sango, because he really cared about her. Rin's train of thought was interrupted as she stared at the dress of her dreams, stars in her eyes.

Kikyo looked around at the shrine, pinpointing the location of the problem. It was one of the ancient Higurashi heirlooms. Most likely, it just needed to be resealed. "Just stay in the house for a while until I can reseal it, ok? It may get dangerous, so stay inside, I'll be fine." Kikyo said as she made her way to the old object, a wooden statue of a dragon. The rubies that functioned as scales and eyes glowed brightly with light from within. Strange, what an evil aura. It's so overpowering I can hardly breathe. Kikyo approached it slowly, almost hypnotized by its crimson stare. As she reached out to place the spell scroll onto it, it came alive, becoming huge. Before she had a chance to cry out, the soul was sucked out of her. All that remained of what had happened was an innocent-looking dragon sculpture next to a pile of clay and dirt.

Miroku walked quickly until he found the store he was looking for. He entered, and went straight to the nearest saleslady. He took a moment to catch his breath, and then asked the woman something quietly. She thought hard for a moment, then smiled and nodded. She went behind the counter, unlocked a cabinet, and got two items out quickly. She brought them to Miroku, and he stood stock-still for a moment, amazed. These are perfect for Sango! I'll ask Kagome what she thinks once we meet for lunch. She won't tell anyone, I'm sure of it. Miroku thought as he paid for the two items and left the store with a smile on his face. He knew the girls would be a little late, so he went ahead and ordered some lunch and sat down at a nearby table, waiting for everyone else.

The other guys were at the beach, being bored. There wasn't very much to do, and swimming a lot was very tiring. They rented the boat for a while, but that got boring, too. Deciding to go somewhere else, they drove all around town, looking for things to do. After a pretty much fruitless search, the guys agreed to go to the local arcade, and play there all afternoon. Inuyasha was overjoyed at getting to play video games all day that he acted like a little kid, his eyes glued to the screen as his sharp claws made imprints in the buttons as he pressed them. Amused by his little brother, Sesshoumaru decided to have a tournament, to see who was the best video-game player. A lot of other kids in the arcade thought that that was a great idea, and the arcade's manager even threw in a plastic trophy as a prize. This is definitely better than the beach! Inuyasha thought as he beat his brother for the 30th time, becoming one of the finalists in the competition.

The girls sat down with a sigh at the table, tons of shopping bags at their feet. "Well, we definitely stocked up!" Sango said sheepishly. "It'll take the rest of the afternoon just to show you all of the stuff we got, so what did you get, Miroku?" Kagome said. Miroku shrugged, and held up a white plastic bag, with no markings on it at all. Miroku looked over in Sango's direction, and Kagome nodded. He couldn't tell them while Sango was there. Sango, oblivious to the exchange, asked Miroku to show them, but he shook his head, saying that they'd all see it eventually. They talked all the way through lunch about random things, and then went to go throw their trash away. Kagome told the others that her and Miroku were going to go look at a kiosk nearby, so they went to the nearest one and got on the other side, facing away from the others.

"Well, here's what I got her." Miroku said as he pulled the objects out of a bag. Kagome gasped. "They're beautiful!" She was right. One of the objects was a silver necklace with a bright red ruby gem in the middle. Small diamonds dangled on each side, catching the light like tiny prisms. The other item was a by diamonds. "So silver ring, a ruby in the center surrounded, you like them?" Miroku asked, wanting to make sure he heard right. Kagome nodded, and Miroku smiled. "I'm planning on asking her to marry me tonight, so don't spoil the surprise, ok?" "Aww, that's so sweet! Sure, I won't tell a soul!" Kagome smiled widely and the two of them went back to the table together.

"So, are you ready, puppy?"

"SHUT UP, you mangy wolf!"

"Little brother, stop arguing and start the game. We want to watch the final round, not you two hurling insults at each other."

"BE QUIET!" Inuyasha and Koga yelled in unison, and continued arguing. Sesshoumaru stared at them, shocked that they would tell him, Demon Lord of the Western Lands, to be quiet. Inuyasha realized what he had said, and elbowed Koga. He figured out the same thing, and stopped talking, plugging the game in. An air of tension set in as the game began, both guys leading and then falling behind. Both of them only had one thing in mind: To prove to the other that he was more worthy of Kagome by winning the tournament.

"Kikyo?" Sota timidly called her name as he entered the storehouse. Kikyo wasn't there, only a wooden dragon statue with a pile of smashed pottery and dirt nearby. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except that the ancient priestess was nowhere in sight. Sota wondered where she could be, and then thought of something else. That dragon couldn't have killed her, could it?" Sota wondered as he stared at the pile next to the dragon. He paled as he realized something, and ran for his mother, calling her name.

Finally finishing lunch, the group decided to finish shopping together, Kirara carrying the bags. They wandered around the mall aimlessly, going into some stores and completely ignoring others. Miroku found a small store called Earth Bound, and he motioned the girls in. It turned out to be a very interesting store. Paper lanterns and stars hung from the ceiling and giant fans adorned the walls next to tribal masks and mirrors. There were all sorts of things, like macramé jewelry and hermit crabs, and lots of incense. The group wandered around in that store for a long time, and they each bought a lot of stuff for themselves or to decorate the tour bus. It was almost time to leave, so they loaded up the car and drove to the hotel, music blaring all the way.

They arrived at the hotel with everyone else, surprisingly enough. Kagome's family walked quickly, nervous about something. Inuyasha was practically skipping for joy, as he had won the video game competition. Koga slouched behind them, and Sesshoumaru sailed by, as though it was all a worthless game that didn't matter. The girls were way behind everyone, dragging along their heavy bags, Kirara helping as much as she could. They took the elevator up to the room, and stayed there the rest of the afternoon to rest and unpack bags.

Kagome went into Sango's room. "Let me help you with your bags, ok?" Sango nodded gratefully as Kagome took the items out of their bags, admiring them. "Are you okay? I heard you crying last night." Kagome said, worried about her. "I was having another nightmare, about Naraku and Kohaku." Sango said in a dull monotone. "Oh, not again…"

"Yeah, again. Of course, last night I just couldn't stop crying. At first, I was hoping Miroku didn't notice, but I'm glad he did."

"What'd he do?"

"Well, he sat up with me and listened to me, and made me feel better. He also told me…"

"Told you what?"

"He told me that he loved me, and that everyone wanted to help me get my life back together, even Inuyasha."

"Wow. It seems like when he's not being a pervert, he's a really nice, sweet guy."

"I wonder if we'll ever figure him out."

"Probably not, he's a guy!" The girls were laughing as they finished unpacking Sango's things, and they went into the other master bedroom to unpack Kagome's bags.

Meanwhile, the others were becoming unnerved about what Sota and Mrs. Higurashi said. "And all that was left was some clay and dirt." Sota said as he finished the story. Rin looked frightened, but Inuyasha looked grave. "And that's all that's left of her?" he asked slowly. "Yes, I think the dragon has her soul, but the spell scroll she tried to use keeps it from moving anywhere." Inuyasha sighed, and said, "Well, as much as I hate to say this, we'll have to ask Grandma Kaede." Disdain was evident in his voice, because he hated Kaede for meddling in his life too much. "But, how will we ask Lady Kaede?" Miroku's voice interrupted his thoughts. "The well was sealed five years ago, and we can't go through there." Inuyasha shrugged. "Well, if nothing happens, there's no reason to go to Kaede's, right?" The group nodded and the discussion ended.

The two girls finished putting their things away, and Miroku explained everything to them, about what had happened at the shrine. Kagome brushed it off, like Inuyasha, but Sango was worried. "Why did it come alive in the first place? Something about this entire problem bothers me. Something is very wrong." "I agree, but there's nothing we could do. It would be helpful to ask Kaede, if we could find her…" Miroku said, and then went to the bedroom Sango shared with him, and got something out of his suitcase. "Well, there's no sense in worrying. If Kaede can't be reached, she'll find us somehow." He left the room, going into the other bedroom.

"Come on, we've gotta get ready for dinner!" The other girls came into Sango's room, new clothes and makeup in hand. They all sorted through their new clothes until they found an ensemble that matched. Sango chose a pretty red sleeveless shirt covered in gold glitter with a short black skirt and a silver chain belt. Kagome found a cute pale pink top with a darker pink skirt. Ayame got out a navy blue short dress with light blue glitter all over it. Rin picked a green glittery top and a short denim skirt. The girls pooled their jewelry together and each chose earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet that matched their outfits. They found matching silver hoop earrings, but the rest of their jewelry was completely different. Sango had a red ribbon choker with a silver dragon charm, and a matching bracelet. Ayame chose a long gold necklace with a light blue stone, and a small gold bracelet. Kagome had a silver necklace with pink rhinestones, with a matching bracelet. Rin had a silver choker with green beads, and two beaded bracelets that were a pretty green.

Ayame offered to do everyone's makeup, as usual. Sango had her customary eye shadow color, with pale pink lip-gloss and some glitter. Kagome nearly matched Sango, but with lighter eye shadow. Rin had pale green shadow and tons of glitter. Ayame had blue eyeshadow, with darker pink gloss and no glitter. The girls even styled their hair different. Rin kept her hair down, but curled it just a little bit, so her hair was wavy. Ayame left her hair down as well; a small iris blossom perched near an ear. Kagome pulled hers up into a loose bun, tied with a small amount of pink ribbon. Sango pulled hers up into a tight bun, secured with two hair chopsticks that matched her outfit perfectly. Finally ready to go, they left the bedroom.

The girls went into the living room and sat down, waiting for the guys to arrive. "Why aren't they already out? We take a lot longer than them to get ready!" Kagome wondered aloud. "It's obvious that they started getting ready about ten minutes ago!" Sango said with a laugh. Sure enough, the guys came in ten minutes after the girls, taking forever to get ready. They looked nice; even Inuyasha had on a suit with his hair actually brushed. Since all of the girls needed escorts, everyone tried to decide who went with whom. Inuyasha decided to take Kagome, much to the disappointment of Kouga, who instead chose Ayame. Sesshoumaru had gravitated over to Rin before any argument had ensued, so that left Sango with two "dates", Miroku and Kohaku. The rest of Kagome's family had decided to go home for the night, and rest.

They went down to the car, thankfully not seen by anyone. Inuyasha and Kagome were already having an argument over why Inuyasha wouldn't let Shippo go with them. Sango laughed to herself as she patted the Kirara-sized lump in her purse. Kohaku and Miroku noticed at the same time, and had a lot of trouble keeping quiet. Kagome, finally exasperated with Inuyasha, ran up ahead, an Inuyasha-shaped dent in the floor of the hotel. He ran quickly to catch up with her, grumbling all the way. He took her arm again, and they slowed down so everyone else could catch up. Koga was halfheartedly holding Ayame's hand, but Ayame looked as if she were in heaven. Sesshoumaru was completely devoid of emotion as usual, but Rin was very hyper, almost bouncing instead of walking as Sesshoumaru led her to the car.

The drive to the restaurant seemed longer than usual, as it would be with Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Koga in the same car. The tension in the air was so thick that even the Tetsusaiga would get stuck. Everyone was glad when they got out of the car, to escape the dagger-like glares and muttered curses. The restaurant was just down the street from where they parked, so they started walking, careful to keep Koga separate from Kagome by putting Sango and her two escorts in the middle of the group.

Suddenly, they weren't headed to the restaurant any more. There was no sign of the modern world left, just a dirt road surrounded by trees. The nearly non-existent moon had become a brightly shining full moon. Nobody was wearing the same outfit, it was like they were back in the… "Feudal Era." Sango whispered as she noticed that her outfit was a lot like her demon-exterminator armor. As they entered a clearing, the group was surrounded by demons. The leader, a spiderhead-like creature, spoke in a raspy voice. "At last, our revenge! Die as we avenge our kin!"

The demons began to get into a formation as everyone else did the same. Sango and Miroku were back to back. "Just like old times, eh, Sango?" Sango smirked as Kohaku got on Kirara. Rin got behind Kagome, who was at the back of the clearing, arrows ready to fire. Koga and Ayame were on either side of her, snarling and ready to attack. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were on opposite sides of the clearing, waiting for the demons to attack.

The first wave of attacks came without much warning. The first bolt of light headed straight for Miroku. Sango looked back, to make sure that he was all right. In that moment of weakness, the second bolt rammed into her stomach. She fell to her knees, bleeding profusely and in great pain. "Sango!" Kagome called her name, worried about her, but Miroku went over to her, and helped her stand. She felt dizzy, and was grateful for the support. She was about to fall again, but Miroku picked her up, carrying her out of the line of fire, and letting her lie down in another clearing nearby. "You okay?" Miroku asked, worried about her. "…So…tired…want…rest" Sango managed to get out. She was in great pain, and wanted to sleep. "Try to stay awake, Sango. We'll go find help as soon as we can." He picked her up again, and raced through the woods, running as fast as he could go. Sango could barely keep her eyes open as trees whizzed past her vision. She was in great pain, still bleeding, her blood staining the monk's robes. Miroku kept telling her to stay awake, and keep her eyes open. "I…can't" Sango said as darkness engulfed her, and her pain disappeared along with her consciousness.