InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Shikon no Tama ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned any part of Inuyasha or his world. This is a work of fanfiction made entirely for the fans of Inuyasha to enjoy. This story is based off of Inuyasha characters that I do not own.

This is also a work of fiction. Any simularities to any real person, dead or alive, is completely coincidental.


Chapter Four:

Kagome walked behind the others. The book still weighed on her mind. It was getting to the point now, that she couldn't stop thinking of it. She knew she would have to talk to someone. To ask someone about it. There were only two people she could think of who might be able to help her.

She watched as Miroku and Sango walked together, talking in hushed tones. There was no telling what they were talking about, but it didn't matter to the young priestess. She knew Inuyasha and Shippo were further ahead.

Kagome quickened her pace and walked up to the monk and demonslayer. Sango smiled. "Hello, Kagome," she greeted. "Are you feeling better?"

The miko shook her head. "I was wondering if I could borrow Miroku for a sec? I need to ask him something in private."

The demonslayer nodded and ran to catch up with Inuyasha. Miroku studied Kagome curiously. He asked, "What is it, Kagome?"

She stopped for a second and knelt on the ground. Pulling her backpack in front of her, she opened it and pulled out a large, heavy bounded book. She closed her pack again and stood up. She continued walking as she flipped through the pages. Finding the right page, she handed the book to Miroku. "Don't read it aloud, but I want you to read this passage and tell me what you think," she told him.

Curious, the monk took the heavy book and began reading the passage that had been bothering Kagome for the passed three days now. His eyes widened as he read and his eyebrows seemed to crease. "The Shikon no Tama is a woman?" he whispered, careful to keep his voice down so only Kagome could hear him.

The priestess nodded then pointed out a paragraph. "And there it describes... Well, at first I thought it was describing me, but now I'm not so sure," she stammered. She lowered her head in grief before lifting it up again to see Miroku's response.

"Hm," he thought aloud as he reread the paragraph she mentioned. "I think you're right. If I'm not mistaken, this book is, in fact, describing you. Think about it Kagome. You possess the completed Shikon no Tama. And you travel with a monk and demonslayer as well as a young kitsune demon that you've pretty much adopted as your own. And Inuyasha does stay with you a lot."

"Yeah, " she agreed, "but Inuyasha and I aren't lovers."

Miroku looked at her. "This book came from the future, did it not?" he asked. At her nod, he continued, "Then, perhaps, though you are not lovers now, you may be destined to become such. Then again, the book mentions 'legend' not fact. It's quite possible somewhere along the way, people began to believe you and Inuyasha were lovers, even if you aren't."

"But, the book talks about a Demon Priestess. Someone who not only has the ability to purify demons, but to make them stronger as well. I don't know how to make a demon stronger. And even if I did, why would I?" she asked.

He pointed to the bottom of the page. "The book also mentions a great battle that will take place. Perhaps, you are able to call upon demons to help you defeat whatever foe this is. If that's true, then, to help them, you just might grant them more power."

"But, who would I call? I don't know any demons... At least none that would help me," she said. Then, she caught herself. She did know at least one demon... and he had a whole pack of demons at his beck and call! "Koga?"

Miroku nodded and closed the book. He handed the book back to Kagome. "I don't know how it comes to be that you are the Shikon no Tama, but one thing remains certain. That book wasn't talking about anyone else."

"I thought it could've been talking about Kikyo..." she mumbled, softly. But, walking this close to her, Miroku heard her words.

"Kikyo is dead, Kagome. She's the walking dead. Not to mention, she doesn't have a monk or a demonslayer for a friend. And she would never consider adopting a kitsune demon. The woman in that book is very much alive. She would have to be. To possess a pure heart?.. No, the book is talking about you," he concluded more firmly.

That's what Kagome was afraid of. Her. The Demon Priestess. The Shikon no Tama. The Sacred Jewel of the Four Souls. Then, something caught her attention. "I don't have four souls..."

Miroku thought about that for a moment. He reached up and touched her neck where the chain that held the jewel lay. "Perhaps there is a way to possess the sacred jewel. To make it a permanent part of yourself. If that's possible, then you could very much have four souls. Yours, Kikyo's, and the ones in that jewel."

"Possess it? Make it a permanent part of myself? How?" she inquired.

He dropped his hand and shook his head. "I don't know. We should probably talk to Kaede about it. She might know more and be able to help us with this," he answered. "I wouldn't mention this find to the others," he added when he glanced up and saw Sango's form walking next to Inuyasha.

Kagome didn't need to be told that. She readily agreed with him. There was no way she was going to tell any of the others. At least not yet. Especially considering that now she knew it was her the book talked about.

"Is this what has been bothering you?" Miroku asked her suddenly.

Without thinking, Kagome nodded. "I was at my friend's house and we were studying about the Feudal Era for history class. She had found the passage and read it out loud to me. I nearly fainted right there."

Miroku nodded. "It's a lot to take in at first. I'm having a hard time believing it myself. I keep wondering what battle the book is talking about."

"Perhaps the battle with Naraku? You know he's still alive and still wants the jewel," Kagome suggested.

Miroku looked at his right hand. "Yes. I know very well that he still lives," he whispered.

In her shock of learning about the jewel, she had forgotten about Miroku's wind tunnel that was still in his right hand. She quickly apologized.

The monk shrugged and threw an arm around Kagome's shoulder. "No worries," he commented. "Perhaps if I'm lucky I'll be able to actually see my baby be born." Knowing how Inuyasha was, Miroku withdrew his arm and walked alongside Kagome in silence.

Kagome felt terrible for Miroku. She wished with all her heart that there was some way she could stop that curse. Course, she knew the only way was to destroy Naraku. That bothered her even more. Why should they have to wait for some half-demon to die before Miroku could be healed?

Then, she thought of something. "Miroku? Let me see your hand," she commanded, holding out her own hand.

Confused, he watched her with caution. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm going to try something," she answered as she took his right hand and held it palm side up.

With her other hand, she took out the sacred jewel. She then placed the jewel in Miroku's hand and closed her eyes. She willed for the jewel to heal his hand. Suddenly, she began to feel warmth spread over her. It started at her toes and worked it's way up. The warmth then engulfed her.

Miroku watched in amazement. A pink aura engulfed Kagome and his hand. Inuyasha turned as he felt the prickly feeling of magic in the air. Sango turned too, alarmed.

They watched as Kagome's body was overtaken with the pink light. Miroku felt a strange warmth in his hand. He wasn't sure whether to be alarmed or comforted by it. Then, just as suddenly, the light was gone.

Kagome felt the warmth leave her body. She felt what had to be a spell decimate. Ever so slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at Miroku's hand. She lifted the jewel and drew away the prayer beads and bit of cloth.

Miroku looked with her. To his amazement, his wind tunnel was gone. He pulled his hand out of hers and looked at it. He flexed his fingers and held his hand up. He turned his hand so his palm faced outward to the sky. Nothing happened. The wind tunnel was gone. He looked blankly at Kagome. "How.."

She shook her head. She didn't know how she did it. At the same time, she didn't know how she knew the words that came out of her mouth, "When you wish to use the tunnel again, all you have to do is call upon it. The magic still exists in your hand, but you are no longer in danger of the tunnel pulling you in. Plus, you don't have to live in fear of pulling others into the tunnel. It will only show when you call to it," she whispered in a soft voice that was not quite her own.

She felt different, distant and she was suddenly very tired. Stiffling a yawn, she looked at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, would you mind carrying me for a while?" she asked him.

Before he could answer, she felt her world go black.

Inuyasha watched as Kagome blacked out. With lightning speed, he caught her and picked her up. His golden eyes turned accusingly to Miroku. "What happened? What did you do to her?" he demanded.

Miroku held up his hands in defense. "All I know is that she wanted to see my hand. Next thing I know, I'm holding the sacred jewel and she's covered in a pink aura," he answered.

Sango took Miroku's hand and examined it. "She healed you," she observed in blunt shock. "But... how?"

The monk shook his head. "I wish I knew. All we can do is wait until she wakes up."

~~~

Inuyasha carried Kagome the rest of the day. Mostly because she slept the rest of the day. At first, he was worried about her, but her breathing was pretty regular and she didn't seem to be hurt. Just tired. She was even able to wake up long enough to eat something around noon.

Not that it did much help. She didn't seem to remember healing Miroku's hand, nor about the comments she had made right after. All she remembered was talking to Miroku about some book. And she didn't even mention what was in the book!

Inuyasha had a bad feeling that the book she was talking about was the same one he had found her crying over the night before. If that were the case, the hanyou wanted to know what was in the book. What was it that caused Kagome to cry? What kind of answers did it give for, basically, saving Miroku's life?

He thought again about Kagome. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it. She was always on his mind. She had become the most precious thing in the world to him. More precious than...

"Inuyasha, it's Kikyo's soul collectors," Miroku's voice warned, jolting Inuyasha out of his thoughts.

The hanyou looked up into the sky and saw the long, silver dragon-like things. He stopped walking and went to Miroku. He gently placed Kagome in the monk's arms. "Set camp. I need to talk to Kikyo about something," he told them.

"Inuyasha, I don't think this is a good time. Kagome is still out," Sango spoke up.

The hanyou shook his head. "My mind is made up. If I don't do it now, it will never happen. I'll be back, I promise," he swore.

Inuyasha gave them one last glance before turning and following the soul collectors.