InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Curse Of The Shikon No Tama ❯ Chapter 1 - The News ( Chapter 1 )

Sango watched as the sun sank behind the hills, the sky giving away to darkness. She lay down on the grass, absently stroking Kirara. The battle was finally over. Naraku was dead. After so many hard ships, so many losses the group had finally found and killed the REAL Naraku. Not some fake or kugutsu. The person that had caused so much pain for so many people was dead.

Sango smiled, as leaned back. The villagers had prepared a huge feast and a celebration was to take place soon. She sighed. ~Ah, yes, soon. Soon I might be able to tell a certain houshi how I feel about him without worries. ~ There had been many times before the last battle with Naraku that Sango had come so close to expressing her feeling to Miroku, but she had always stopped. For the fear that, even if he returned those feelings, he would someday leave her. Soon, everyone would be happy. Soon, that is after a certain hanyou dragged a certain reincarnated miko back from the future. After all he had promised.

Sango frowned at that thought. Usually, the hanyou could be expected to be back within moments after dropping through the well; sometimes with Kagome kicking and screaming. Despite the happy aura that radiated from the village Sango couldn't help get rid of the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. Once again Sango sighed and shrugged the feeling away. Nothing was going to ruin the festival, nothing. Not even Miroku's perverted moves.

~~~~

Shippou sighed. He was very bored. What was taking Inuyasha so long? ~I wanna see Kagome!~ At the moment the kawaii kitsune was sitting by the well waiting for the hanyou to return with Kagome. The inuyoukai had left three days ago, after giving Kagome a short time to spend with her family. Shippou had been expecting Inuyasha to return shortly after leaving. He had been surprised that, after five minutes, Inuyasha still hadn't returned. The others had been surprised too, at first, but then Sango and Miroku had exchanged a knowing look and went to help the villagers prepare for the festival. Shippou was the only one that stayed by the well.

"Inu-ya-sha!!! You better hurry up and bring Kagome back!" Shippou climbed to the lip of the well and yelled into it before getting up and heading back towards the village. Maybe Kaede would have something for him to eat.

~~~~

Miroku surveyed the village. Everything was ready. All that was needed now was for Inuyasha to return. The delinquent houshi looked in the direction of the well. Something told him that when the hanyou returned that things would be different. That Inuyasha wouldn't constantly be fighting with Kagome. ~If I'm right Inuyasha will be spending a lot more time alone with Kagome - sama just as I hope to do the same with a certain taiji-ya. ~ Miroku's lips curled into a rare smile as he though about Sango. Her creamy skin, her dark eyes so full of life's fire… There were so many things about her. Things he couldn't describe. For a few moments Miroku just stood there, a goofy, lop-sided grin on his face as held onto his staff, thinking about Sango.

A light wind brushed pass Miroku, ruffling his hair. He looked up, startled. ~Wha? This feeling?~

"Houshi-dono?"

Miroku looked up to see Kaede coming up to him. The old miko looked tired, but also excited about the upcoming festival.

"Kaede-sama?"

"Did you feel it that ominous wind?"

"Yes, what do you think it foretells" Miroku asked as he nodded his head in agreement.

Kaede shook her head.

"That I do not know. We should probably tell Inuyasha when he returns with Kagome. Until then keep your guard up. I will go tell Sango."

Miroku just watched as Kaede silently walked towards the hills that Sango was resting on. ~Naraku is gone and Kikyou-sama is at peace. With Kagome-sama in her own time there is no way anything could threaten us, ne?~

Miroku sighed and headed towards the fields. Right now there was nothing that he could do about this ominous feeling. He just had to wait until Inuyasha returned. Miroku looked up at the women that were working the fields. He smiled half-heatedly. ~At least I'll always have one way that well pull me out of my depressions.~ He thought as he headed towards the giggling girls that were working the fields.

~~~~

Shippou ran into Sango, who was heading towards Kaede's hut with Kirara in her arms, on his way back to the village.

"Sango!"

The taiji-ya turned her head to look at the kawaii kitsune cub that landed on her shoulder.

"Konnichiwa, Shippou. What are you up too?"

The said kitsune sighed.

"I'm bored! When is that dog-breathed jerk gonna get back here with Kagome? I miss Kagome.

Smiling slightly, Sango set Kirara down, ruffled Shippou's hair as she pulled him from her shoulder into her arms. She knew how Shippou felt. She also missed Kagome. It was nice to have a girl to talk to. She knew there was the village girls, but they were too ditzy and giggly. It just wasn't the same. Kagome had been there for Sango as a friend during the after the many times when the taiji-ya was feeling depressed. (Mostly because of the situation with her brother.) Ever since the final battle Sango rarely got depressed anymore, but it was still nice to have someone to talk too.

"She'll be back soon, Shippou. Remember, today's the day of the festival. Inuyasha has to bring her back today."

"What if he doesn't? He and Kagome are the only ones that can go through the well."

Sango paused at that comment. Shippou was right. How would they get Kagome back in time for the festival if Inuyasha wouldn't bring her back? The girl surly didn't know about the festival. (Unless Inuyasha told her, and Sango doubted that he would.) Sango pushed back the depressing thoughts of no longer having someone to talk too, of no longer seeing the girl from the future ever again. She forced a smile on her face, and tried to set Shippou's fears of never seeing the girl that was like his second mother at ease.

"Don't worry Shippou. Kagome-chan will come back. Even if Inuyasha doesn't tell her about the festival, she'll come back. If at least just to visit us."

Shippou nodded, finally satisfied with the answer that he had gotten.

"Yea, you're right. Sango?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm hungry."

Sango laughed as Kaede's hut came into view.

"Well, then let's see if Kaede has anything that you can snack on before the festival."

Despite her cheery outward appearance Sango couldn't help but feel slightly worried about the fact that Kagome and Inuyasha were late. Sango shook her head in another attempt to chase the dark thoughts from her mind.

~Stop it Sango! You're worrying over nothing. There is nothing to worry about! Kagome will be back in time fore the festival! She'll come back! She always comes back.~

"What's wrong, Sango?"

Shippou's voice brought Sango out of her worried state. Looking down at the kitsune, she shook her head.

"Nothing."

Shippou just shrugged and jumped out of Sango's arms and chased Kirara into Kaede's hut.

"Sango?"

She turned to see Kaede standing a few feet from her.

"Hai, Kaede-sama?"

Kaede shook her head. She had seen the troubled look in the taiji-ya's face shortly before Shippou had run into the hut. This girl had felt it also.

"I want you to be careful. There is an ominous presence nearby. Miroku has felt it also."

Sango only nodded at the old miko's words. She was about to say something else when Shippou poked his head out of the opening of Kaede's hut.

"Hey, Kaede-sama can I have something to eat."

The old woman smiled slightly at the young kitsune hoping that she and Miroku were wrong. She would talk to the houshi and taiji-ya later, preferably when Inuyasha and Kagome where here.

"You might want to talk to Miroku child. I do believe he is in the fields." She added, her concentrating on Sango's worried face. The girl merely nodded, a vein popping briefly on her forehead, because she knew exactly why the monk was there.

Sango sighed as she walked towards the fields that the village woman were working in, gathering any extra food that they could spare for the festival.

~Everything looks so peaceful. Nothing could possibly happen, ne? You'll come back soon, ne, Kagome-chan?~

~~~~

Inuyasha stood before the well house. He knew that this would be the last time that he would ever go through the well. It would just be too painful to come back to this time and be reminded. The memory of his failure. His betrayal to Kagome. The pack that she would use to travel between the two times was hoisted over his shoulder. It contained the four books that Sakura had made for him and the others. Inuyasha had yet to look at them. He had no idea what they contained. He only knew that the books would help keep their memories of Kagome alive. Along with the four books it also contained something that Souta had given him before the funeral, Kagome's diaries. Inuyasha was glad that he had been given these things. Even though he would never again return to this time, the hanyou wanted to hang onto the memories of the times that they had together for as long as he could.

Inuyasha gingerly picked the urn that held his beloved's ashes. He griped in a firm yet gentle way. It was time. Time for him to go back and tell the others the news. He stepped inside the well house and headed down the steps and towards the well. Soon he would start guarding the Shikon. He was doing it out of duty for both Kikyou and Kagome. He really hated the blasted jewel. It was the cause of the deaths of the two mikos that he loved more than life. Inuyasha sighed dejectedly, pushing back the tears that were starting to form in his eyes. He would cry later. When he was alone. Then he could mourn her death completely.

~~~~

Miroku approached one of the girls that was heading back from the fields, a basket full of fresh fruit tucked under her arm. Miroku recognized her immediately, Shajina. The girl was young, but she was just recently entering womanhood. ~I think it's time that I've given' Shajina my `introduction'.~ Miroku grinned inwardly. He quickened his pace and met the girl midway. Shajina looked up startled.

"Ah, Miroku-sama, you startled me."

"My apologies. Now how are you doing, Shajina-san?"

Shajina bit her lip, slightly uncomfortable. Her older sister had warned her about Miroku. She had told Shajina that although Miroku was a respected houshi that lived Kaede-sama he was a man with questionable motives.

"I-I'm doing fine, Miroku-sama."

"Such a big basket. The weight must be so overbearing for a petite beauty such as yourself. May I help lighten the load?"

Shajina flushed slightly at the compliment. She really wasn't sure on how to react. True, the basket was heavy, but she really didn't have time to dawdle. Her mother had instructed her to fill the basket full of the required fruit and head strait back so the dishes could be finished. Before she could answer a huge, white, boomerang came crashing down on Miroku's head. Who, in turn, collapsed on the ground. A small `eep' escaped Shajina's lips, and she hurried past the fallen houshi and an extremely angry taiji-ya.

Sango glared at Miroku, her dark eyes narrowed.

"So, houshi-sama, having fun?"

Miroku didn't respond.

Sango frowned, slightly worried. She had hit the perverted houshi over the head with Hiraikotsu many times before, but he had always recovered, almost automatically, in most cases.

"Houshi - sama?" Sango kneeled down next to Miroku, to make sure he was all right. She scooted closer to him when he didn't respond. "Houshi-sama?" Sango's voice took on a worried tone. She grabbed a hold of Miroku's shoulders and pulled him on his back. "Miroku?" Sango called the unconscious houshi by his name, something that she had never done before. Was this what the nagging feeling had been warning her about? ~No, it couldn't be.~ Sango, tentatively, reached out a hand to touch Miroku's cheek and froze when she felt a hand caressing her butt. She just stayed there for a second, her face growing several different shades of crimson, before she reacted.

An angry shriek cut through the cheery atmosphere of the village.

"HENTAI!!!!!!!!!!!"

The shriek was followed by a very sharp smack, the sound echoing throughout the fields. The villagers paused in their preparations for the festival before shrugging and getting back to work.

~~~~

Inuyasha stared dully at the well. He had Kagome's pack over his shoulder, her ashes in his arms. It was time to go. Time to go and tell the others, but somehow Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to step over the lip of the well and leave. This time was HER time. In leaving this time he would have to admit that….that….

The hanyou shook his head fiercely. She was dead, and there was nothing that he could do to bring her back. Only the guardian of the jewel could use the Shikon no Tama to grant a wish. Inuyasha took a deep breath. It would do him no good to deny it. Besides the others, his friends - her friends needed to know. Inuyasha took a deep breath and dropped into the well.

~~~~

Shippou quickly downed the small bowl of rice that Kaede gave him. The old miko smiled slightly, forgetting the dark omen that she had sensed earlier momentarily, and turned her gaze towards the direction of the old well. Soon Inuyasha and Kagome would return and she could talk to them about the evil that she had sensed earlier. ~After that~, she thought, ~we can all finally relax and enjoy a night of celebrations.~

Shippou sighed, leaning again a small Kirara. His stomach was content (for the time being) the only thing that he could do was wait for the return of Kagome. He couldn't wait to see her again. She was like the mother that he never had. His own mother had died shortly after giving birth to him. His own father had told him that it wasn't his birth that had killed her, but rather the father of Hiten and Manten that hid killed her while she was giving birth to his twin. There times when Shippou would think back on how the Thunder Brothers and their family had destroyed his, but then he would think about Kagome and the others. They were his family now, and Shippou was perfectly happy with that. Kagome and Inuyasha were like his parents. Sango, Miroku, and Kirara were like his siblings. The young kitsune cub was perfectly happy living a life with them, but if something ever happened to any of them he didn't know what he'd do.

Shippou eyes started to flutter close when two familiar scents drifted to his nose. He jumped up with a start. They were back! Kagome and Inuyasha were back!

He rushed out of the hut and headed towards the fields to where his nose told him that Sango and Miroku where. He didn't know why, but somehow he knew that those two had to be with him to greet the couple returning from the future.

If Shippou hadn't been so impatient waiting for Kagome to return, and if he had been a little bit older he would have noticed something terribly wrong with Kagome's scent.

~~~~

"Ite." He muttered slightly, the force of Sango's slap still throbbing.

Sango glared at him, still breathing heavily from embarrassment and anger.

"It's your own fault Houshi-sama!" A blush slightly growing, she turned her head hoping Miroku wouldn't notice.

Miroku raised an eyebrow at the blush, but said nothing. It wasn't just his lechery that caused him to grope Sango. He loved seeing her railed up, seeing her fire.

"Sango-o! Miroku-u!"

Miroku and Sango looked over in the direction of where Shippou's high - pitched voice was coming from to see him come bounding over the hills, Kirara at his heels. Miroku winced slightly at the movement.

Shippou paused for a moment to stare at the two. Miroku looked to be in slight pain, an angry, red, hand - print mark very much detectable on his pale skin. As for Sango, a blush colored her facial skin a pale scarlet as she continued to breathe hard. By the hostile look that she was giving the houshi Shippou figured that the usual had happened. He shrugged and jumped up onto Sango's shoulder, chatting a mile a minute.

Sango forced herself to get her breathing under control, and tried to decipher what the little kitsune was saying.

"What Shippou?"

"Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back! Kagome's back!!!!!"

After he repeated the words `Kagome's back' over five times the taiji-ya finally got the gist of what he was saying. Her eyes widened, and she plucked the kitsune from her shoulder.

"Kagome - chan's back?"

Shippou nodded happily in response.

"Well, then lets go see her." Sango said warmly and she headed off towards the village. She paused a moment and looked over her shoulder.

"Coming Houshi - sama?" she asked coldly, her voice lowered several degrees.

Miroku shivered slightly at the tome of her voice. ~Ok, so maybe playing dead and groping her wasn't the smartest idea. Oh well, there well be plenty of time to warm her up during the festival tonight.~ Miroku chuckled to himself, for once not a single hentai thought was crossing his mind, and followed Sango and Shippou towards the Bone Eater's Well.

~~~~

Inuyasha sat on the lip of the well, gripping the urn. He really didn't want to head back to the village and tell everyone about Kagome's death, especially Shippou. The poor kid had thought of the girl as a second mother.

~I can't go back and tell the village that she's dead. Dead because I wasn't fast enough. Dead because of me.~

He knew that some of the villagers blamed him for the death of Kikyou. To see those looks on their faces when they found out Kagome was gone was more then he could bear. He just couldn't. Inuyasha continued to wallow in self - pity as he thought of how to tell everyone. The hanyou was so depressed that he didn't hear the approach of his friends until it was too late.

~~~~

Sango smiled slightly as she listened to Shippou's chatter with one ear as they entered Inuyasha's Forest. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Miroku slightly behind them, the mark on his face staring to fade. Try as she might, Sango could not get rid of the feeling of guilt that swelled inside of her.

~Stop it, Sango!~ she told herself. ~He deserved it! Pulling a trick like that!~ She sighed. ~Maybe I should apologize. I did hit him a little harder than usual. But, if I apologize than he'll just think that he can… Maybe, I should talk to Kagome - chan about this.~

Sango was concentrating on her own thoughts so much that she didn't notice it when Shippou jumped off of her shoulder, or the frantic note that his voice took on. She was finally pulled out of her daze however when Miroku spoke.

"Inuyasha, where's Kagome - sama?"

Sango looked up, startled and embarrassed that she hadn't even noticed that they were in the clearing by the well. Her eyes widened in shock, however when she saw who stood in the clearing.

There stood Inuyasha by the well, holding some sort of urn, with a frantic kitsune on his shoulder demanding to know where Kagome was. The hanyou looked like a mess. His skin was pale, his silver hair had lost its shine, and his haori and hakama were a wrinkled mess. The most disturbing thing about Inuyasha though, and what scared Sango right down to her bones, was his eyes. The eyes, although a beautiful shade of amber, were dead. They no longer carried any of their fire. The fire that the hanyou exhibited most of the time was gone. Instead his eyes were dull, lifeless. Completely, and utterly, soulless.

It was then that Sango noticed the canvas bag that was thrown over his shoulder. Kagome's bag. Fearing the worst, Sango took a step forward.

"N-ne, Inuyasha, where's Kagome - chan? Is she grabbing something on her side? Ne, Inuyasha?" Sango gripped the sleeve of Inuyasha's haori when he didn't answer. "Answer me! Where is she?"

Miroku looked at Inuyasha, pity etched all over his face. ~So that was what the omen was about. That was why Inuyasha didn't return right away. Something attacked Kagome in her time and he wasn't able to protect her.~ He looked at over at Sango, worried, as she gripped Inuyasha's sleeve. Even though Inuyasha didn't say a word Miroku knew. Kagome was dead. Miroku was use to death. After all, his father had died, sucked by his own Air Rip. He knew that he could take this news just fine. It was Sango and Shippou that he was worried about. Both of them had lost their families, tragically. Kagome had been a good friend to both of them.

"ANSWER ME!"

Miroku winced slightly at the volume of Sango's shriek. Inuyasha also winced, and looked away from her. Telling them was just as painful as he knew it would be. Miroku took a tentative step towards Sango, determined to get her away from the broken hanyou. Before Miroku reached her though she released the sleeve and staggered over towards the well.

"Kagome - chan! Come back!" She gripped the lip of the well, yelling into it. "Kagome - chan!"

Inuyasha closed his eyes, not able to keep the tears from coming any longer, and spoke.

"S-she," His voice caught in his throat, "she won't be coming back, Sango."

Sango stopped screaming into the well to look at Inuyasha.

"Ka-Kagome…s-she's dead."

A/N: I got my idea for Sango's reaction from Fushigi Yuugi. (When Miaka finds out that Nuriko is dead.) I know it's OOC for her, but I figure it would work for her. A type of knowing that her best friend is dead but is in denial. You'll see more of her reaction in Chapter 2. Shippou doesn't really have a reaction yet. That comes later on. Sorry it took (counts) 3 days longer then expected, but I had some things going on: work, writer's block, lack of motivation…. It might take a little longer then I would like for Chapter 2 because that has the Sengoku Jidai funeral and I need to do a little research. No worries though, because I'll also be updating Chapter 3 when I do. (Chapter 3 is all about how Kagome dies.) Originally, I was going to do chapter 1 and 2 together, but this part is nearing 10 pages! That's a lot for me. The next part might be kinda short. Don't know. I'm also going to try to finish Part 2 of Inuyasha vs. Kouga: The Fight For Ramen. So I should be doing three updates. After you see how Kagome dies the gang leaves to kill Naraku (again) and try to change the future…..You people are going to hate me after the final battle. *evil laugh* Anyways, I'll shut up now, (ok, this rambling is longer than usual) just remember R/R!!!! Ja!