Chapter 15:
Soul Split
(Opening: Euphoric Field ~ Japanese ~ - Elisa)
- "Kaede, catch me if ya can!" – said a boy laughing.
- "Hehe, I'm on it!" – said she laughing as she ran after him.
- "We're also doing it!" – said another girl.
The group had just returned to the village from their little time travel trouble and saw how Kaede was playing with the other village children. Dusk was beginning to set in.
- "It's good to see that at least she's enjoying herself" – said Kagome with a little smile – "After everything she went through…" –
- "Right, though we're not the ones to talk here, huh?" – said Gerardo with a sad smile.
- "Though we could say that it's like the silver lining of a cloud" – said Miroku thoughtfully.
- "I'd like to go play with her too if I wasn't so tired…" – said Gabriela yawning and stretching.
- "Agreed. I'd like to let Miko out for a while and let her play with Kaede too, though it'd feel so weird… Not to mention there's no way we could explain this to her…" – said Kagome laughing, but she began getting sad as she talked.
- "Well, can we go to her hut? I wanna rest a little…" – said Inuyasha crossing his arms. The others nodded, so they took their eyes away from Kaede and the other kids playing tag and went to the hut. They then began discussing the plans they had for the next day as they prepared the stew they would have for dinner.
- "Okay then, where are we going now?" – asked Sango as she stirred the pot.
- "I think we should continue searching for the Fragments of Shadows. If we can gather more than Tenebross, we'll have an advantage and he won't regain enough power to be a major threat" – suggested Gerardo placing his hands over his knees.
- "And what 'bout searching for Naraku?" – asked Inuyasha in a serious voice as he crossed his arms.
- "They are always together, remember? So if we find one, we'll find the other for sure" - said Gerardo as he grabbed his Seirei Crystal with his right hand – "And I know you're itching to rip that bastard to shreds, but we can't just search for them without an actual plan" -
- "Though it's pretty strange: we've been already over a week on this search and they only appeared before us once" – said Kagome as she placed a hand on her chin – "When they captured and cursed me…" –
- "Yeah, you're right. But they're also so cowardly, that they're always sending their ridiculous elemental demons instead of facing us directly!" - said Gabriela scowling and looking downward.
- "Well, we should do some information gathering tomorrow and then decide the course of our journey" – said Miroku with a smile – "As it would be foolish for us to leave the village with no set destination" -
At that point, a little bit of white steam began seeping out from the pot on the hearth, so they began pouring the stew into bowls and started eating it. Kaede arrived a few minutes later to eat too.
- "Hi everyone!" – greeted her as she bowed. She then went to the wooden floor, took off her zori, sat down at Kagome's side, who served her a bit of stew, and started eating.
- "Hi Kaede. How are you today?" – asked Kagome with a little smile.
- "I'm a little better, though I can't remember everything that happened yet…" – said her as her lips curved upward. She then drank a bit of the stew – "So far I've remembered when you first arrived, when the seal on Inuyasha broke… and my sister's death…" –
This instantly soured up the atmosphere in the entire hut.
- "I see…" – said Inuyasha in a low voice as he looked downward – "We just saw that last part again a little ago…" –
- "What? But how!?" – asked Kaede as her eyes widened.
- "One of our spells went haywire and it threw us fifty years into the past. It was a mess and it took us a lot of work to get out of that" – said Gabriela as she looked at her bowl with a saddened face.
- "I see… I guess it must have been as painful for you as it was for me…" – said Kaede as she fixed her gaze in her stew bowl.
- "It was… Kagome and Inuyasha couldn't stop crying when they saw how Kikyou died" – said Shippou saddened. Initially it seemed like Inuyasha was going to hit him because he turned in his direction, but he then turned back to face Kaede.
- "Yeah, it was a pretty sad moment. I admire Kikyou-sama a lot too, so it hit me pretty hard too…" – said Gabriela as she gripped her bowl more tightly.
- "Though I'm kinda wishing I could have stayed unaware about all that…" – said Kaede as she closed her eyes with a sad expression – "I wish my sister didn't tell me anything about that…" -
- "It couldn't be helped. Honestly, I feel Kikyou does some strange things at times" – said Gerardo in a sad voice as he adjusted his glasses a bit.
- "That's true… I wonder what intentions she had when she told you that…" – said Kagome in an unsure voice as she ate a bit from her bowl.
- "But there's a good side to this too, as I can still help you… by giving you some information" – said Kaede with a smile.
- "So, have you heard about some strange happenings in the area?" – asked Sango smiling.
- "Yeah. I heard Rikiichi-san this afternoon talk about how he saw some black lights falling over the mountains to the west" – said Kaede – "Do you think it's got anything to do with Naraku or Tenebross?" –
- "It's very possible that's the case. At the least we have a lead to start searching" – said Miroku pleased.
- "Thanks… Kaede…" – said Inuyasha as he stood up, walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
- "Inuyasha...?" – asked Kaede as she looked puzzled at him, as it wasn't common for him to show gratitude to anyone.
- "I swear… I'll make these bastards pay for everything they've done…" – said Inuyasha as he looked at her with a great sadness.
- "Okay… but please, take a lot of care out there…" – said Kaede as her eyes filled with tears, which made Kagome go and hold her.
Next morning, they left the village to head to the mountains that Kaede told them about, which were located at the other side of a forest.
- "It's in this direction, right?" – asked Inuyasha.
- "Yes. That's where the mountain Kaede told us about is located" – said Miroku as he and the others stepped up the pace to follow Inuyasha.
- "I just hope we won't end up lost in this forest…" – said Shippou worried.
- "Don't worry about that. We all have a map of the area on our Dragtemns, and we can use its radar and communicator functions to locate each other if we get lost" – said Gerardo to reassure him. He then opened the map in his Dragtemn and used it to check their route.
- "But honestly speaking… there's something here giving me a bad feeling" – said Kagome looking first to the ground and then to the sky.
- "Don't worry. We'll make sure that nothing happens this time" – said Sango patting her friend's shoulder to cheer her up.
- "And I'll be sure to not commit more mistakes from now on" – said Gerardo as he continued taking the role of navigator for the others.
- "And I'll make sure he doesn't!" – said Gabriela skipping around, much to her brother's exasperation.
- "Hehe, thanks a lot for the support" – said Kagome smiling as they continued walking up a small slope.
Meanwhile, in Naraku's and Tenebross' hideout…
- "Looks like you haven't managed to do anything Tenebross" – said Naraku in an arrogant tone upon seeing how their last scheme failed – "And even worse, you only made them stronger" –
- "If that idiot hadn't awakened his half-dragon form, we would have gotten rid of them by now" – replied Tenebross irritated to then sigh – "And for now, I don't have any other new plans prepared…" -
- "Well, I do have an idea… what do you think about taking control of Kagome?" – said Naraku as he laughed in a sickening manner.
- "Oh, by that you mean possessing her, huh?" – asked Tenebross in an interested tone.
- "Correct. None of your elemental demons has that ability?" – asked Naraku.
- "Huhuhuhu… Of course there's one that has it…" – said Tenebross to then make a white circle appear in front of him, though the white didn't have the same shine and glimmer to it as Gabriela's magic – "Ist Ikuak ChelkRe Illyusea Ilg Ical, Ili Couma Cust Phaph FaleaRe Necla Ical!" –
There was a flash of grayish light, and a creature similar to an angel, but with black torn wings instead of white whole ones, appeared before him. He had white hair with greenish borders, which was tied in many golden braids near the point, wore a white helmet-less samurai armor, and had as weapons a couple of twin katanas. He had several red markings on his face, and his eyes also were of a soft red. He had such a gentle look to him that anyone would hardly believe he was an elemental demon.
- "Lord Tenebross, I await your orders" – said the demon kneeling down in front of Tenebross when he appeared.
- "Kouin, do you see the girl dressed in white and green?" – asked Tenebross to the demon as he made her image appear on her mirror, to which he only nodded in response – "I want you to take possession of her body and bring her to me this instant" -
- "Lord Tenebross, are you sure I am suitable for this task?" – asked Kouin worried as he felt the energies Kagome emitted – "I'm not sure my possession abilities will be enough to overpower her enormous quantities of spiritual energy…" –
- "I'm sure that you are, as you are the best of my demons for a reason…." – said Tenebross closing his eyes.
- "Very well. I'll get on that at once" – said Kouin as he turned transparent until he vanished. Tenebross then opened his eyes.
- "Huh, who would have said you could be so gentle…" – said Naraku in an ironic tone seeing how Tenebross was acting toward Kouin.
- "Kouin is an exception, as he is the only one of my demons that has something special to him" – said Tenebross as he closed his evil red eyes again – "Plus, I have to be more tactful toward him because he has some confidence issues at times…" -
- "Hmph, whatever. I just hope he'll bring some good results for once…" – said Naraku crossing his arms.
- "Wait and see…" – said Tenebross in an enigmatic tone.
Inuysha and the others stopped to rest a bit from their climbing. It was still early for lunch, so they either just leaned against the trees or sat on the grass.
- "I'm…exhausted…" – said Gerardo gasping as he let himself fall on the grass.
- "You have no physical condition…" – said Inuyasha irritated.
- "And what do you want me to do about it if I hate doing exercise?" – retorted Gerardo.
- "Sloth…" – said Inuyasha, to which Gerardo had no defense against.
- "Okay, I admit it, I'm a sloth" – he said annoyed – "And that's something that's pretty hard to change for me" –
- "Well, it's just a matter of making an effort" – said Kagome smiling as she gave everyone some juice so they could quench their thirst before proceeding – "All attitudes can be changed with some effort, right?" -
- "Right. I actually should put more effort if I really want to improve on that" – said Gerardo smiling.
Kagome smiled back, and then she put in the packing of the juices in a plastic bag to store it in her backpack.
- "Now is my chance…" – said Kouin from behind a tree. Miroku felt the danger.
- "Kagome-sama! Be careful!" – said he jumping to his feet wielding his shakujou.
- "Huh? What is it, Miroku-sama?" – said Kagome as she began looking around alarmed.
At that moment, both Inuyasha's nose and Gerardo's senses felt Kouin.
- "There's something with Tenebross' smell here!" – shouted Inuyasha as he drew Tessaiga.
- "And it's a Light-elemental one! Be careful, as it must be very strong!" – said Gerardo drawing Ryuuga and Fuuinryuu.
But then Kouin appeared right behind Kagome…
- "I'm sorry to say this, but you have lost already…" – said the demon as he turned transparent and entered into Kagome's body. She began screaming in pain.
- "Kagome!" – shouted everyone as they powerlessly saw what happened. Inuyasha moved in and looked like he was about to strike Kagome with his sword, but Kouin began speaking through her mouth.
- "I must warn you though, that if you try attacking me to force me to leave her body, she will be the one injured" – said he in a rather gentlemanly voice, despite what he was doing.
- "Damn it!" – said Inuyasha lowering his sword.
But a couple of seconds later, Kagome's body began shining intensely in white and the next instant, two spheres of blue and pink light were expelled from her chest and fell over the grass, which took on the shape of two little girls. One was identical to Kagome after the time she received the kosode from Orimi, but a bit older; while the other was basically identical to her during her time as Miko. Both girls were unconscious and Kagome also collapsed on the grass. The shine dimmed until it disappeared the next instant.
- "Kagome! KAGOME!" – shouted Inuyasha as he held Kagome's body, until she opened her eyes… but they were completely clouded and didn't look at all like they usually did.
- "Hehe, looks like I managed to do it" – said Kagome as she raised her hands and looked at them to then smile in a pleased way – "I've accomplished my mission, Lord Tenebross" -
- "What!?" – said Inuyasha, but he was forced to separate from her due to a light blast he was shot – "What've ya done to Kagome!?" –
- "I'm very sorry, Mr. Hanyou, but I must take my leave now" – said Kouin: he was now completely in control of Kagome's body – "I have to deliver this body to Lord Tenebross. Oh, by the way, I think the person you are seeking is one of these girls" -
At that moment, both girls awakened but reacted differently to this: the one in the green kosode was looking at the scene with widened eyes and her mouth gaping, while the one in the orange and red kosode was looking around confused and scared.
- "What!?" – said Miroku divided between rage and surprise – "Impossible! You expelled her soul to take control of her body!?" –
- "I actually didn't have any intentions of expelling her soul, or better said, souls. It was just a side-effect of the possession and of her spiritual power, though her soul itself seemed to be split from before. And as an aside, both of these girls are the halves of her soul given physical form" – said Kouin as he explained this as if they were discussing it over a cup of tea.
- "Hold it!" – said Gerardo as he tried to keep him from escaping, but he vanished when he tried to get hold of one of Kagome's hands.
- "Damn it! We failed again!" – said Inuyasha punching a nearby tree.
- "I know, but it's possible their plan won't have any results because that body is now empty" – said Miroku frowning as he looked at Inuyasha – "Remember the source of Kagome-sama's powers is her soul, like it is for me" -
- "Inuyasha… what happened to me?" – asked the girl in the green kosode as she looked at her own hands shocked.
- "No way… Kagome? Is that you?" – asked Gabriela as she went to her side and helped her stand up again. Kagome just nodded.
- "But if yer Kagome…" – said Inuyasha shocked to then look at the girl in the red and orange kosode – "Who's she!?" –
- "She might not be Kagome… but she looks identical to her… they both could pass off as twins…" – said Gerardo surprised looking at the girl, who had raised her head startled when Inuyasha shouted.
- "This can't be real… are you… Miko?" – said Sango with bated breath as she walked to the other girl and helped her stand up.
- "Yeah, but…" – replied Miko as she looked around and grabbed her hands tightly. Seeing everything being such a large disconnect from what she knew was scaring her to the border of tears – "What's happening here…? Why does she look exactly like me? How Inuyasha got so big? And who was that girl that disappeared?" -
- "So many questions… and none of them have a simple answer…" – said Miroku in saddened voice as his lips curved upward.
- "I'd like to explain it all, Miko…" – said Kagome raising a hand in her direction – "But I don't really know how I should…" –
- "I think I could… but…" – began Gerardo, but when Miko looked at him with expectant eyes, he was taken aback and began hesitating, remembering how Kaede reacted when Kikyou revealed the truth to her. He didn't want to cause her that same pain – "It could be very painful for you to listen to what I have to say… actually… I think it would be something you wouldn't be able to bear…" –
- "I don't care! I wanna know the truth about everything!" – said Miko as she began shedding tears.
All the others were well-aware of why Gerardo was hesitating so much and looked at both with sadness.
- "Gerar…" – said Gabriela as she held to his arm.
-"Very well… if you want to hear it so badly, okay… but it's going to be very painful for me too" – said Gerardo as he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply to then let out a long sigh, knowing there was no turning back now. He looked at her with eyes that showed both sadness and pity while he took Gabriela by the hand and started squeezing it – "Let's just settle it with this question: you have never wondered why you have holes in your memory? Why do you wake up in a place without even knowing how or why you got there?" -
- "No… I've never wondered about it…" – said Miko as she looked downward for a moment, but then her eyes widened in realization as she pondered these questions. Now Gerardo asked her this, it began seeming obvious to her that she always was waking up in unknown places without knowing how she got to them, and never remembered what happened during the time she was asleep.
- "It's because of this… it's because you…" – began Gerardo as his face began twisting due to how hard it was for him to say this, while the others closed their eyes in pain. Sango held Miko tightly from behind and Kagome started crying – "It's because… you aren't a real person…" -
- "W… what you mean…?" – asked Miko as she felt like she was about to faint.
- "You are just one half of the Kagome's soul, or in other words of the girl that looks just like you. Apparently, she got caught up in an incident involving a strange kind of water that turned her into a child and also split her soul in two halves, and you both were finally separated in full and given bodies when a monster expelled you both from her body" – continued Gerardo as his voice began cracking – "It means… you have her same powers, abilities and potential due to being part of Kagome's soul, but... you don't have anything else…" -
- "No… this can't be… true…" – said Miko falling to her knees. She felt as if her entire world was crumbling around her.
- "I'm sorry… that's why I didn't want to tell you…" – apologized Gerardo as he lowered his gaze and covered his face with one of his hands, as Gabriela started crying too, with both gripping each other's hand as hard as they could – "But… that's the truth…" –
- "I'm sorry… I'm really sorry…" – repeated Gabriela over and over as she sobbed.
- "Everything you told me was lie!? My name, even my own existence… are all a lie!?" – shouted Miko infuriated as she began crying, and then looked at Kagome who was still kneeling on the ground crying covering her face with her hands - "I was born just because she was playing dumb with some weird thing!? And I'll disappear when we go back to her body!?" –
- "I'm sorry, Miko…! I never meant to do this…! I…!" – cried Kagome as she lowered her hands to look at her. She was trying to reason with her, but it was impossible.
- "Shut up!" – screamed Miko as she continued shedding tears, struggling to release herself from Sango's grip, who was still shocked – "I won't let you… I won't let any of you to erase me!" -
She broke free from Sango's grasp, grabbed the bow and quiver Kagome had dropped when she was possessed, and ran into the depths of the forest.
- "MIKO!" – called everyone out to her, but it was useless because she had already disappeared from their sight. They began trying to run after her.
- 'It can't be…' – though Miko as she ran crying through the forest – 'Even my own existence is a lie… and they all… Inuyasha… Houshi-sama… Sango… Kaede-obaa-san… Gerar-nii… Gaby-nee… they all lied… I'm not real… Me... Miko… never existed in the first place…' -
Once she got exhausted from running, she curled up below a tree and began crying even more loudly.
(End Song)
Meanwhile, in Naraku's and Tenebross' hideout…
- "Kouin, you failed!" – said Tenebross infuriated – "You have brought the body of the girl, but it's empty! We can't extract her powers if her soul is absent!" -
- "Allow me to apologize please, as I didn't take that in account when I possessed her" –said Kouin as he left Kagome's body lying on the ground and placed a seal of light around it – "However, apparently her soul was divided in two parts and took physical shape as two human children" -
- "Two human children?" - inquired Naraku – "Hmm… this could be interesting…" -
- "Yes… if one of these came out without her memories, it should be easy enough to capture her" – said Tenebross with evil satisfaction.
- "As a matter of fact, both have memories, but one doesn't have Kagome's memories… rather, she has something more like a false group of memories" – explained Naraku.
- "Oh, that makes it even easier" – said Tenbeross to then turn to Kouin – "At least you did something well, Kouin. You're dismissed for now" –
- "Are you sure you don't want me to keep watching over the body of this girl?" – asked Kouin intrigued.
- "No, you have done enough. We'll leave that task to Douin" – said Tenebross satisfied. Kouin just nodded and vanished, while Naraku transformed into a miasma cloud to go after Miko.
- "Bring her unharmed. Remember we need her alive" – said Tenebross.
- "It won't be necessary, it'll be child's play to convince her to come here, huhuhu…" – said Naraku.
- "And are you sure that the half you're going to kidnap is the one with the powers?" – asked Tenebross as he closed his eyes – "I felt they had rather unbalanced bonds, so it wouldn't be a surprise that one took all her powers when they separated" -
- "Oh, I'm fully sure about it" – said Naraku in an evilly cheerful voice – "Remember that generally the stupider they are, the more power they have…" -
He then disappeared…
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and the others continued searching for Miko everywhere.
- "Miko! MIKO!" – shouted Inuyasha.
- "Miko, please come back!" – shouted Kagome.
- "It's useless… looks like she got too far away from us" – said Sango as she shook her head.
- "And I'm worried something could happen to her…" – said Kagome as she bit her lip.
- "And that's all the more reason to continue our search for her. Anyway, let me try something…" – said Gerardo as he opened the holographic map of the area on his Dragtemn and focused on it. However, he didn't get what he wanted: the energy and aura radar only picked up the signals corresponding to everyone in the group except Miko – "It's no use… either something is jamming the elemental signals I'm sending to search for her or Miko is trying to keep her powers low so we can't find her… nor she has a Dragtemn we can use to track her…" -
- "Yeah, because my Dragtemn is on my body…" – said Kagome showing her wrist: she didn't have one either.
- "Inuyasha, can't you find her with your nose?" – asked Miroku crossing his arms.
- "I can't... Their scents changed when they separated, and I didn't have enough time to perceive Miko's before she ran off..." – replied Inuyasha in a low growl.
- "Can't you feel her, Kagome?" – asked Gerardo worried – "As far as I know, when a soul gets split, its parts call out to each other in an attempt to get back together" -
- "I can't… and to make it worse, I feel as if all my powers had disappeared…" – said Kagome scared.
- 'Did Miko take away all her powers when they were separated?' – thought Miroku as he looked at Kagome with widened eyes.
- "Well… probably it's because you're tired from the separation… you should rest a little" – said Sango as she sat down and made Kagome sit with her. However, she, Miroku and Gerardo were thinking the same thing.
Meanwhile, Miko continued crying under the tree, and she began feeling tired and hungry.
- "I… wanna… go back with them…" – she told herself between sobs – "But I can't… they'd just get rid of me to get that girl back to normal…" -
- "Well, well… what do we 'ave here…?" – said a voice that came from a bush close to her – "A little girl all alone in the forest?" –
A horrible-looking man emerged from the bush: he was bald, covered in scars and wore a battered and worn armor. From his appearance, he was obviously a bandit.
- "How weird ta find someone like ya here… did ya get lost?" – asked the bandit in a mockingly gentle tone as he smiled evilly.
Miko stopped crying and began trembling in fear. She had already faced more horrible creatures before, but had never fought against a human or battled all by herself.
- "I wonder how much ya'd be worth…" – said the bandit – "Or how fun it'd be to tear ya apart…" –
- "Please, go away and leave me alone…" – said Miko with a trembling voice from the fear.
- "What!? What didja say, brat!?" – said the bandit enraged as he took out a dagger from his armor. Miko got even more scared, as she was sure he was going to kill her and no one would come to her help.
- "I SAID, LEAVE ME ALONE!" – screamed Miko as the bandit ran to her, but when he was about to reach her, Miko's body released an explosion of blue light, which sent the bandit flying so far it wasn't possible to see him anymore.
- "It's Miko!" – said Gerardo, Miroku and Gabriela surprised from another part of the forest, as they managed to feel her due to the large amount of spiritual power she had just released.
- "Let's go after her!" – said Inuyasha as they all ran off in the direction they felt the energy coming from.
Miko was still gasping from fear, even though she was safe now.
- "Huh, how interesting…" – said another voice behind Miko, scaring her again – "Who would have imagined such a young girl would hold such a great power?" –
Naraku's face emerged from among the trees.
- "Please, don't be afraid…" – said he to Miko as he finished coming out from the forest's shadows, though he changed his appearance so none of his demonic parts were visible – "My name is Kagewaki, and I am a noble from a neighboring region" –
- 'This man…' – thought Miko when she saw his face – 'I don't know why, but he seems familiar to me… and I feel disgusted from looking at him in the eye…' -
She lowered her gaze to not continue seeing his face while rolling her hands into fists.
- "I'd like for you to come with me to my palace…" – said Naraku in a sweet voice – "Will you accept my invitation?" –
- "Thank you, Kagewaki-sama" – said Miko as she continued looking at anywhere but Naraku's face – "But I think I wanna stay here…" -
- "Are you sure about that?" – asked Naraku as he began tempting her to come with him – "There is a high chance of there being more bandits around, not to mention the forest is filled with savage beasts and youkai… do you still wish to remain here regardless?" -
Miko thought it over: if she stayed there, it would be very probable she would end up dead, or that the bandits took her away and she would either end up a slave of them or get sold off to someone. She didn't expect anyone to be searching for her or that anyone would save her if she got in trouble either.
- "You're right… I don't really trust you… but I'll go with you…" – said Miko as she gulped down.
- "Oh, I don't mind it. Please follow me, and I'll take you to the land I rule over" – said Naraku as he began leading Miko.
- 'How easy. But it'll be even easier to extract her spiritual powers if I break her mentally first… the more she suffers when I destroy an illusion I'll make for her to enjoy herself, the better it'll be for us' – thought Naraku as he looked at the girl that followed him with a serious face.
- "No! I've started feeling Naraku's scent!" – shouted Inuyasha out of nowhere as he took the lead of the group and began running in the direction of the scent.
- "There's no doubt about it! I've begun feeling his demonic aura at full intensity!" – said Miroku shocked when he noticed the fuyouheki didn't have its effects active anymore.
- "Let's hurry! If we don't, Miko'll…!" – said Sango scared as she began running faster.
Then, a large amount of Naraku's miasma began shooting up from the forest, which everyone could see at the distance…
- "Damn, looks like we're too late!" – said Gerardo gritting his teeth.
- "Why did that bastard have to appear right now!?" – said Inuyasha bitterly as he jumped above the trees to see where Naraku was heading. As he rose, he turned briefly to see the others – "Don't let him get away!" -
- "Understood!" – replied the others. When Inuyasha landed again, he saddled Kagome on his back, while Miroku, Sango and Shippou rode Kirara. Gabriela and Gerardo summoned their armors, and while Inuyasha and Kagome advanced by jumping on the trees, the others flew through the sky to follow Naraku. Finally, the miasma cloud stopped on a plateau close to the mountain to which they were heading before all this began.
Meanwhile…
- "Little one, we have arrived" – said Naraku gently.
Miko thought their entire trip was on foot, but they were actually flying around surrounded by Naraku's miasma. This was because Naraku placed an illusion on her eyes, so she was completely unaware of what was actually happening. According to what she saw, they were in a very bustling village.
- "You can stay here if you wish" – continued Naraku – "I'm sure you would be very happy here" –
- "Yeah… I guess I'll stay here…" – said Miko in a dreamy and pleased voice, with her eyes dulled out.
- "Oh, by the way" – said Naraku before going away – "I'm afraid you would do well to leave these zori, tabi, bow and quiver here. You might have spiritual powers, but you aren't a full-fledged miko or related to one, not to mention you aren't a member of nobility either, so I don't want to see the other villagers getting envious of you over these items" –
- "Okay…" – said Miko as she obediently took off the bow and quiver from her back, and slipped the zori and tabi out of her feet to give them to Naraku.
- "Very well. I'll take you to a hut so you have somewhere to stay at" – said Naraku smiling as he walked with her to the nearest hut – "Here is where my servants live, so I think you will get along with them just fine" -
- "Okay, thank you..." – said Miko with a smile. Naraku then helped her introduce herself before the other servants – "My name is Miko… pleased to meet you…" –
The other villagers welcomed her in and offered her a bowl of stew they were cooking, while Naraku observed Miko a bit surprised over how she behaved: a little too well for a girl her age.
After this, Miko spent the day making friends with the village children, and helping with the chores in the palace. While it was pretty busy for her, she apparently had found a place where she was happy, though she had forgotten about everything that caused her sadness… even about Inuyasha and the others…
- "This is perfect… we just have to wait a little more. Once her happiness reaches its climax, I'll undo the illusion and we'll extract her power" – said Naraku as he laughed between his teeth.
- "Hmm, interesting plan. I didn't expect you to use an illusory village to break her mind and make things easier for us" – said Tenebross as they saw how Miko was playing hide-and-seek with the other children.
- "It'd been better to use an actual village and destroy it, but there is none as perfect as this one" – said Naraku a bit irritated.
- "As far as I know, the only village like that in this world is Ryuusei, but as that cretin Iadlast is protecting it, we can't use it for our purposes" – said Tenebross annoyed.
Inuyasha and his friends arrived at the plateau shortly later, and they were shocked to discover that it was completely covered by a barrier.
- "I wonder what could be behind this" – said Gerardo puzzled as he looked at the barrier with a serious face - "I know Naraku and Miko should be close, but as we saw them landing a bit far from here, it's hard to think he'd be inside this" -
- "Kagome, can't ya feel any presences or anythin' yet?" – asked Inuyasha worried.
- "No… I think I lost all my powers when Miko separated from me" – said Kagome saddened.
- "And what reason would have Naraku to place such a large barrier if he himself isn't inside to use it as protection?" – said Sango confused.
- "Maybe… he doesn't want to use it for protection… but to conceal something…" – said Miroku thoughtfully.
- "Or maybe… for experimenting…" – said Gerardo as he realized something with a horrified face.
- "No… what do you mean by experimenting…?" – asked Kagome spooked.
- "Damn… I think I have an idea of what he's planning!" – exclaimed Gerardo hitting his own forehead with the gauntlet he had on his hand – "You know how spiritual powers get unstable from an emotional shock? He must be trying to make something that shocks Miko so badly that she'll break down, and he'll be able to extract her powers more easily!" -
- "What!?" – shouted Inuyasha infuriated as he unsheathed Tessaiga and turned it into its red form – "We gotta get in there at once then!" –
- "Agreed, so let's get started already! Alt tok nulast tast maha ika!" – said Gerardo as he prepared his Dragon Dispel skill – "This barrier must be more resistant than the previous ones we've seen, so we must use our powers to their max" –
Meanwhile, Miko was going through the happiest moments of her life: everyone loved her, everyone respected her, and everyone acknowledged her… but in a second, everyone and the entire village they were in vanished, leaving behind a sterile plateau surrounded by darkness, so not even the sky or its surroundings could be seen.
- "What…? What happened here?" – asked Miko scared when the illusion disappeared.
- "Stupid brat… you really thought all that was real?" – said Naraku's voice in a mocking tone – "Are you disillusioned? You should, as that place is as inexistent as you!" -
- "No… no… NOOO!" – screamed Miko as she began crying while holding her head in her hands… until she collapsed on the ground from the sadness. Her mind had already reached the limit on how much distress it could handle…
Naraku grabbed and carried her over to a magical circle, leaving her lying at the side of Kagome's body. Over them, there were some Fragments of Shadows, as well as the almost-complete Shikon Pearl Naraku had on his hands, suspended in the air. Then, Tenebross began intoning a horrible song:
- "Zyacc Ikuak… ah... Bioucoulla, Phinamcou… CouliaZa Hilla... CellarZa Qaiz Leiya Pawatz Ical… Phaph JeiliAria Lyachhyzat Rakileimzat..." – as he intoned, a small blue and pink energy flow began coming out both from Kagome's body and Miko, which gradually began increasing in size as it flowed into the Fragments and the Pearl. As the energy flowed into them, the fragments began emitting an evil shine and the Pearl began darkening, while Tenebross' shadow began exiting the mirror it was sealed in…
But then, a loud crash similar to a glass pane being broken was heard.
- "Miko!" – shouted Inuyasha.
- "Damn it, why they had to appear right now!?" – said Naraku annoyed as he raised a hand – "Douin, I summon you at your master's behest!" -
A yellow circle appeared in front of him, and from it, a demon shaped like a mole man with large claws emerged. He was covered in dark yellow armor and had his claws coated in steel.
- "Naraku, I see Lord Tenebross allowed you to summon me if he was busy with the extraction of the powers of girl… though you are an utter failure for not being able to summon me with the proper Dragonian spell…" – said the demon in a mocking voice.
- "Save your complaints for yourself. Now go and accomplish your guardian role. Don't let them take away these girls!" – said Naraku angry.
- "I know" – said Douin as he stretched in preparation for a battle. Inuyasha and the others entered the area enclosed by the barrier and looked around in search of Miko.
- "And where's Miko?" – asked Gerardo as he looked around while being on guard.
- "Look, over there!" – exclaimed Shippou as he pointed to a place in the ground.
- "It's Miko… and my body!" – said Kagome from Inuyasha's back.
- "And Tenebross too!" – said Gabriela feeling uneasy from the circles and the song Tenebross was intoning – "Looks like he's doing something terrible…" -
- "We have to stop him!" – said Gerardo when he heard the song and saw the energy flow – "He already started extracting the spiritual powers from her!" –
- "Well then, how we will be fighting?" – asked Miroku in all seriousness – "Do you have any strategies?" –
- "I do: Inuyasha and I will take care of Naraku and the demon with him, while you stop Tenebross, rescue Miko and recover Kagome's body" – said Gerardo. He was thinking that as Tenebross would be busy with the extraction, and Gabriela would get a considerable boost to her powers due to how much sunlight was coming into the area due to the hole they made in the barrier, saving Miko would be far easier for them.
- "Okay!" – said everyone in agreement.
- "And what about me?" – asked Kagome worried – "I can't really fight like this…" –
- "Stay with them and try to not get separated. Even if you don't have your powers right now, we can't allow them to take you away either" – said Gerardo. Kagome nodded in response and stuck to Miroku's side. They then split up and began fighting.
- "Naraku!" – screamed Inuyasha enraged – "It's time for us to settle this!" -
- "Not today, Inuyasha. However, I'll leave here a little present for you and your friends to have some fun, as I'm very busy right now" – said Naraku as he laughed in a sickening way, to then turn into a cloud of miasma and run away. Then, Douin rushed and began attacking them.
- "Shit, an Earth-elemental demon… Inuyasha, don't let him get out your sight! If he burrows, he could attack us from below!" – said Gerardo in a tone of warning.
- "I know! I won't let him get underground!" – exclaimed Inuyasha enraged. He then shot a Kaze no Kizu at it, but Douin avoided it by moving to a side quickly.
- "Damn, it's pretty fast for its element and size!" – said Gerardo as he prepared to use one of his skills – "Watsa ya hydrast xyaza cezet paewat ika, yst hakisa tastsaks ika... Water's Scar!" –
The blue wave missed its target too, as Douin jumped into the air and burrowed into the ground before it made contact.
- "No!" – shouted both at the same time, while a group of stone pillars began coming out from the ground and lunged at them.
- "Dammit…!" – said Inuyasha while both did everything they could to avoid the attacks.
Meanwhile, Tenebross had to interrupt his song to avoid a light arrow Gabriela just shot him.
- "I won't miss this time!" – said Gabriela as she readied another arrow and charged it with her energy – "Ikuyu poak lay lusya wiras sos couyuu, yst sos royawfle hakaisa tast ika..." -
- "Curses… they had to interrupt me right at this moment, when the song was at its most important part…" – said he as he enclosed himself in his mirror to make it levitate, leaving only his head out.
- "You won't get away!" – said Miroku as he threw an ofuda to Tenebross' forehead. It stuck to his head, and made him growl in pain.
- "I still don't have enough strength to withstand this…" – said he as he invoked black flames to burn the ofuda, and began gathering shadows in the mirror – "Ikuyu poak pinamsaimat, nutzagathea hag xi, yst fuzallea tast paewat sos eols ika! Shadow Cannon!" –
He launched a large shadow beam in Gabriela's direction, so Sango had to grab her by the arm and drag her away for the beam to not hit her. They rolled a bit on the rocky ground, which caused them to get some scratches, but they were unharmed aside of that.
- "Are you okay?" – asked Sango.
- "Yeah, I'm fine, but… Watch out!" – said Gabriela as she pointed up, and they got away from the place they were in right in time to avoid a rain of black spikes Tenebross had just shot at them.
- "That thing doesn't know how to fight fair!" – said Shippou from Miroku's back.
- "Tsk, tsk… And who said that we evil Wills have to fight according to your pathetic rules, kitsune?" – said Tenebross mockingly.
- "Argh! You make me so mad!" – said Shippou jumping from Miroku's back.
- "Shippou, no!" – said Miroku to try to stop him, but it was in vain.
- "Kitsune-baku!" – shouted Shippou trying to use the same attack he did as an adult during the Time Compression. However, he only got out his normal kitsune-bi, which didn't even singe Tenebross.
- "Fool… that is the extent of your powers? How pathetic!" – said Tenebross as he laughed – "Watsa ya Oira dea Pinamsaimat yst Biocrast toi, nila koulltam! Shadow Hand!" -
Several shadows gathered at Shippou's feet and took on the shape of a large claw.
- "Aagh!" – screamed Shippou as the claw grabbed him and began slamming him against the ground.
Meanwhile, Douin had Gerardo trapped between several stone pillars and was continuously launching him at them. He had received so many impacts from these attacks that his armor and helmet were now covered in cracks while his face was covered in bruises and bleeding scratches. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was on the ground covered in bruises from a similar beating.
- "Ahahaha, looks like you aren't much for being Iadlast's favorite, huh?" – said he mocking Gerardo when he finally emerged from the ground.
- "I'll shut you up…" – said Gerardo irritated while he lied on the ground extremely weakened. He closed his eyes and began singing – "Ochis meya hydrast dragyuu toi hilsec tast ika..."" –
- "You're an idiot if you're planning to heal yourself at this point" – said Douin preparing to rip him apart with his claws.
- "…Healing Water… And who said I was targeting myself with it?" – smiled Gerardo triumphantly – "Inuyasha, now!" –
- "What!?" – shouted Douin as he was struck by a Kaze no Kizu from the right. He was left sprawled on the ground.
- "Keh, looks like he isn't very bright" – said Inuyasha as he began cutting off the stone pillars that kept Gerardo prisoner.
- "Thanks, I needed a hand out there" – said Gerardo as he stood on his feet again, though he was grabbing his chest in pain and his breath was labored.
- "Shouldn't ya heal yerself?" – asked Inuyasha with a serious face – "Ya won't last much longer like that" -
- "Let me guess: you don't want me to become a burden while we're fighting?" – said Gerardo with a smile. Inuyasha nodded without changing his expression – "Don't worry about me. Even if I don't heal myself right now, I can still go on" –
- "Keh, whatever ya say. Not my fault if ya get killed though" – said Inuyasha as he turned and prepared to continue fighting, as Douin was beginning to recover from the Kaze no Kizu.
- "We better leave the chatter for later, then" – said Gerardo when Douin charged at them. When he was about to hit them, Gerardo raised a hand and shouted: - "Shiazeae!"
The same water barrier he accidentally used against Inuyasha several days ago appeared before him. Douin was left paralyzed mid-charge as he crashed into it, and his body also began turning into mud and to break apart.
- "Graagh! No, water no!" – screamed Douin as crazy, as the entire front of his body began turning into mud from having made contact with the water barrier.
- "Looks like water is effective against him" – said Gerardo as he smiled evilly at Douin – "I didn't have a chance to hit him with any of my Water-elemental spells due to how quickly he attacked us, but… Hehehe, I'm gonna make you pay for having left me in this state" –
- "And I'm gonna kill you for doing this to me!" – retorted Douin enraged.
- "And whatcha ya gonna do, stinking mud pile?" – said Inuyasha. In response, Douin turned one of his melting arms into a mud hammer and swung it against them. Gerardo tried to block it with his water barrier, but it instantly broke from the impact of the hammer and it sent them flying from the sheer strength of the swing. Inuyasha was severely injured, while Gerardo, when he fell to the ground from the hit, got his helmet, and the arm and leg guards of his armor broken into pieces.
About to fall unconscious, Gerardo had to use an even more powerful song so he and Inuyasha wouldn't get defeated.
- "Alt... tok... ah... lay hydlaiar... dea biosat, baprou... hilsecalia sossaks... zarairsalia sossaks... Restorative Water…" – he sang with bated breath and between moans of pain.
- "Die!" – screamed Douin after he transformed his other claw into a hammer and tried crushing them. However, they used the last remaining strength they had to roll out of the way of the hammers, and then, on the point where they were left lying, two large springs of water materialized, which healed their wounds and restored their strength. They stood up.
- "Ahh, I'm feeling a lot better now!" – said Inuyasha stretching.
- "All thanks to the water's power…" – said Gerardo as he thanked Iadlast silently. He then turned to face Douin as he retook his combat stance – "Well, we can't allow ourselves to lose now…" -
- "That goes without saying" – said Inuyasha as he retook his stance as well.
- "Damn you!" – shouted Douin as he rushed them.
Meanwhile, Tenebross' Shadow Hand was interrupted because one of Gabriela's light arrows struck him, forcing him to null out his attack. Shippou was left unconscious on the ground and was having difficulties breathing.
- "Shippou!" – shouted Gabriela as the four ran to see him. He was in a very bad shape, and apparently, the claw had a poison on contact property, as his face was turning green and he seemed to be about to choke.
- "I gotta heal him at once…" – said Gabriela as she prepared to sing Healing Light.
- "I won't let you!" – said Tenebross as he shot multiple shadow arrows, but Sango blocked them with her Hiraikotsu.
- "And I say that back to you!" – said Sango as she threw the Hirakotsu to Tenebross, striking him on his left claw.
- "Ist Altyyaok ShuxuaraRa Illyusea Phaph Zyoskz Biousakatse Ical, Ist Altyyaok, Shuxuarara Phaph Kluceia Biousakatse... Healing Light!" – said Gabriela as she finished singing. At once, all the scratches and bruises disappeared from Shipou's body, his breathing recovered its normal rhythm and his face went back to its usual color.
- "You healing abilities are amazing, Gabriela…" – said Miroku upon examining Shippou after the healing was complete. Kagome nodded with a smile in agreement.
- "Thanks, but shouldn't we talk less and help more?" – asked Gabriela.
- "You're right. I better stay here and watch over Shippou with Kagome" – said Miroku as he got close to the little kitsune and put a spiritual barrier around them, while Kagome sat next to him – "Your powers are much more effective against him" -
- "Okay, and please make sure to protect Kagome well, okay?" – said Gabriela as she looked a bit angry at him.
- "Very… welll" – said Miroku nervously.
- "Be careful!" - said Kagome. Gabriela looked around, and remembering everything Tenebross had made them go through so far, she was so enraged that she focused in a single thought: defeating him no matter what.
- "Zyacc Wasryats, ah... Leiya Repushial Illyusea, Vaplu, SatplSa Bieccelle Zosph Uira Pawatz, Oli KiabzeSa Zosph, Pawatz Dea Draggyach! Illyusea Pawatz! Half-Dragon!" – she shouted as she took out the key from her medallion, inserted it on the keyhole on the back and turned it to the left.
When the transformation was complete, she came out from the white sphere as a teenager of Sango's age, but her hair had turned violet and her arms, legs and hips had been replaced by equivalent white dragon parts. Her eyes turned white, horns appeared over her ears, and two wings and a tail sprouted from her back. Markings similar to runes appeared below her eyes, and a white sphere with a crescent moon inside appeared on her forehead. She had the breastplate and shoulder protectors of her armor, and she had what seemed to be her kimono under the armor, which reached down to her knees.
- "Alt tok lay lusya, baprou, gaivz tast pawatz sos oira ika! Light Claw!" – shouted her as she rushed Tenebross and slashed him twice with her white shining claws. Tenebross tried to avoid her, but he could do nothing due to the speed at which she moved. He began screaming loudly when she struck him.
Then, his shadowy body began turning transparent…
- "Damn it… looks like I'm getting close to my limit… if I stay any longer fighting here… and if any other of her Light-based attacks hit me… I better withdraw for now…" – said Tenebross as he enclosed himself on his mirror again – "But it doesn't matter… we could find the Fragment of Shadows that was in this area, and I could stain a bit the ones we had alongside with Naraku's stupid Pearl… Mwahaha… at least it wasn't a complete loss" –
- "You won't go anywhere!" – said Gabriela as she began charging energy for a silver beam.
- "I'm sorry, dragon of Light, but I can't stay here playing with you any longer… We'll meet again… huhuhuhu…" – said Tenebross laughing creepily as his mirror rose up into the air and disappeared. The remains of the barrier that surrounded the place then faded away completely.
Meanwhile, Gerardo and Inuyasha noticed the disappearing of the barrier as also did Douin. They immediately realized it was because either Tenebross had been defeated or fled.
- "Lord Tenebross… impossible… they defeated him!?" – said Douin as he continued fighting the two boys.
- "Looks like Gaby and the others did it" – said Gerardo as he began cheering up.
- "Great! That means we can't let this bastard defeat us!" – said Inuyasha as he held Tessaiga aloft – "Kaze no Kizu!" -
- "Ist Garrse, ah... Leiya Iadlast, VulualwaeSa Zosph Wihatslag, Oli Quieralm Zosph Valzat... Water Charge!" – shouted Gerardo as he flew in front of the Kaze no Kizu and rolled up the water he had behind with Inuyasha's energy wave: apparently, they had created yet other combined technique – "Spiraling Twister!" -
Gerardo began spinning in the center of the Kaze no Kizu's waves, using the water around him as a barrier to then combine the power of both techniques and charge Douin with his sword and the combined energy. Then, the remainder of the Kaze no Kizu's energy came in and finished off the work. Douin was left lying on the ground from the attack.
- "Lord Tenebross… I have failed you…" – said he as his body began dissolving into the ground, leaving behind only a Fragment of Shadows.
- "Great, we did it!" – said Inuyasha as Gerardo fell to his knees gasping and the remains of his armor dismissed themselves.
- "It was hard, but we managed to defeat him" – said Gerardo as he smiled at Inuyasha, having stuck his sword on the ground to sustain himself – "Should we go and check on the others?" –
- "Yeah, I hope they're okay" – said Inuyasha as he saw how Gerardo used his Healing Water on himself to regain some of his strength – "Can ya walk by yerself?" -
- "Yeah, as I've just healed some of my wounds" – said Gerardo trying to get up – "Just give me a second…" –
After Gerardo picked up the Fragment of Shadows and put it away in his Satchel of Light, they ran off to see the others. Needless to say, they were surprised to see Gabriela in her half-dragon form.
- "You reached that level already!?" – asked Gerardo with his eyes wide as saucers.
- "Yup. I just did this from getting angry at Tenebross…" – said she, and then she began shining and returned to her usual appearance after some seconds – "Uh, looks like I used up all my energy…" –
- "And you both got pretty badly beaten up, huh?" – said Shippou as he looked at the wounds they both had.
- "Yeah. Our opponent wasn't easy at all" – said Gerardo as he put a hand behind his head.
- "Um… Gerar… didn't you use your half-dragon form?" – asked Gabriela worried.
- "Ugh… I didn't…" – said Gerardo feeling as if blood was being drained from his head – 'How was I stupid enough to not think of that!?' –
- "Ah, okay then… but did you at least use your armor's wings to gain some advantage?" – asked Gabriela.
- "I didn't think… of that either…" – replied he as he lowered his gaze – 'Damn… she's right. The battle would have been shorter and we wouldn't have gotten as badly wounded if I had done that…' –
- "My respect for his has gone down a lot…" – said Shippou disappointed.
- "You…" – said Inuyasha angry as he cracked his knuckles.
Gerardo fell into a corner of woe.
- "I'm useless… I'm an idiot… I can't do anything without committing stupid mistakes…" – said he as he stayed curled down in it and drew circles with his finger on the ground.
- "Oh come on; don't blow it out of proportion!" – said Kagome laughing.
- "Right, Gerar! Snap outta that!" – said Gabriela as she jumped to him to get Gerardo out of his little depression. Sango, Shippo and Kagome laughed upon seeing this little scene.
- "Well, we just need to wake up Miko now to leave this place…" – said Miroku when the little comedy act had finished – "But… how should we talk to her?" -
- "It's going to be hard… it wouldn't be strange that she wanted to continue running away from us…" – said Gerardo as he and the others got close to her and looked at her with sadness.
At that moment, Miko awakened and got herself startled due to having Kagome's body at her side, and the rest of the group in front of her.
- "What… why are you here!?" – asked her scared as she jumped on her feet and surrounded her body with her arms.
- "Miko, please… listen to us first…" – pleaded Sango – "We won't interfere if you want us to leave you alone, but first… it's important you listen to what we want to tell you…" –
- "B-but…. You didn't need me to disappear for Kagome to go back to being normal?" – said Miko trembling as she began shedding tears again.
- "We never said that…" – said Kagome as she began crying again.
- "And ya better shut up and listen" – said Inuyasha. His lack of tact was coming to the light again, but he couldn't stand seeing both her and Kagome crying – "Or you'll be sorry…" –
Miko went silent and sat down on the ground. She stopped sobbing, but it seemed it was more like she was holding back her tears.
- 'Talking about being rough… he shouldn't have said it that way…' – thought Sango as she looked at Inuyasha irritated, who only turned around.
- "Let me try fixing my mistake…" – said Gerardo as he looked very regretful at the others, and then he turned to Miko – "Miko… I'm sorry for saying you weren't real… you are an actual person, and you exist within Kagome…" –
- "Huh? What do you mean?" – asked Miko confused – "It's possible to exist within other person?" -
- "That means that even if you don't have an actual body, you have a consciousness and personality of yours, separate of Kagome even if you live within her mind" – explained Gerardo.
- "That's true… that's why I decided to drink the water without wearing the medallion that restored my memories…" – said Kagome with tear-filled eyes – "It was for you to come out and enjoy the world for a while… and besides, I always could feel your presence within me…" –
- "She also wanted to make you come out yesterday so you could play a bit, but it'd have gotten so complicated due to many things, that she decided against it in the end" – added Gabriela with a smile.
- "But… wasn't I gonna disappear if I returned to her?" – asked Miko scared.
- "I don't think so. If you personality was latent within Kagome all this time, it'll continue being like that when you go back to her" – said Gerardo in a resolute voice.
- "And besides, what'd you prefer?" – asked Gabriela – "To continue lost in this world, without any place where you can go to, or stay with us? We're your friends, remember? We always wanna have you with us" –
- "We'd never want to do something that hurts you, Miko" – said Shippou saddened – "Please, come back…" –
- "But I can't force you to choose…" – said Kagome smiling – "So I'll let you decide what you'll do, and support you regardless of what is it" -
- "Okay, thanks…" – said Miko as she walked away from them a bit to think it over. She stood over at the border of the plateau looking at the scenery: a large forest that ended in a plain that stretched until the horizon, and a bit to the east, she could see Kaede's village in the distance.
- 'Miko, please… choose what you feel will make you the happiest… what you really want to do…' – thought Kagome as she looked at her. The others did the same, and remained silent.
After some minutes, Miko nodded to herself and returned to the others to tell them what she decided:
- "I've made up my mind…" – said Miko with a serious face, which she then changed into a smile – "I'll stay with you!" –
Immediately, everyone was overjoyed and they crashed into each other in an attempt to hug her in group, during which they all cried in happiness for her. After the emotions calmed a bit and they separated, Gerardo walked to her with some items in his hands.
- "By the way, I think you lost these" – said Gerardo as he returned to her the bow, the quiver, the zori and the tabi Naraku had taken from her - "Naraku dropped them as he ran away" –
- "Thanks! But, Naraku was that tall and black-haired man that called himself Kagewaki?" – asked Miko as she put on the zori and tabi again, and gave the quiver and bow to Sango.
- "Yeah, and he's an evil youkai that has deceived and manipulated people to make them help with his dirty deeds, and he's done terrible things to us all" – said Sango.
- "How mean…" – said Miko as she pouted angry before pumping herself up with both arms – "Then, I've gotta help you defeat him! I can't stay put while you fight against that evil guy!" -
- "I'm glad to hear you say that, and thanks…" – said Kagome as she went to her body and took out her backpack from her Dragtemn to get out her memory medallion. She found it broken in half, but she wasn't surprised when she saw it, as she had a feeling something like this would have happened when they got split. She then grabbed both pieces and gave one of them to Miko – "Miko… let's join the two halves of this medallion together, and make it symbolize the bonds we share… as we're both like sisters… the two parts that form who we are…" –
Miko nodded with a smile. They then brought together both halves of the medallion, and when they made contact, the medallion began shining. Once the shine stopped, the medallion was whole again, but it was different now: the emerald in its center took the shape of a needle and six inscriptions appeared around it, giving it an appearance similar to a dial. The inscriptions said as follows, clockwise and beginning where a clock would mark twelve: かごめ (Kagome), みこ (Miko), 別 (Separation), 封印 (Seal), 封印解除 (Remove Seal), and 特別 (Special Separation).
- "How strange…" – said Kagome as she looked at the medallion with wide eyes – "It has our names on it, and many other things" -
As they checked it, the part that read Seal from the inscriptions changed to 記憶封印 (Memory Seal).
- "Looks like that medallion is more than a memory restorer now" – said Gerardo as he and the others looked at it in surprise.
- "We'll worry 'bout it later" – snorted Inuyasha bored, to then look at Kagome and Miko with a concerned face – "Kagome… ya and Miko should go back to yer body now" -
- "You're right… Miko, are you ready to go back?" – asked Kagome gently after she put the medallion around her body's neck.
- "Yeah… onee-san" – said Miko smiling as they both held hands, during which she Kagome felt a tinge of happiness about Miko calling her the way she did. They then touched Kagome's body at the same time. Upon doing this, they both turned into trails of blue and pink light, which flew above for a while before entering the body. Then, Kagome opened her eyes.
- "Are you okay?" – asked Gerardo concerned.
- "Nothing happened to ya!?" – asked Inuyasha, while the others looked expectantly at them.
- "No, I'm okay" – said Kagome smiling as she stood up, to which the others sighed and smiled relieved in response – "But I'm feeling a bit strange…" -
- "The same goes for me, onee-san…" – said Miko's voice. Everyone got spooked and started looking around frantically.
- "Miko!?" – asked Inuyasha – "Where're ya!?" -
- "I'm here, at onee-san's side…" – said Miko as a little ghost shaped after her appeared beside Kagome with a smile on her face.
- "Now you can speak and we can see you even though you're within Kagome-sama's mind?" – asked Miroku amazed.
- "Looks like it, and it's so weird… but onee-san…" – said Miko as she closed her eyes and smiled. She then opened her eyes as she exclaimed cheerfully: – "I can see them! I can see all your memories…! My… no, our family… our journeys… I can see everything you've lived so far!" -
- "What? But how?" – asked Kagome surprised, as Miko couldn't see any of her memories before.
- "Is because of the medallion… that medallion you have… is called a Medallion of Link…" – said Iadlast's voice from the sky. Then he appeared accompanied by Illyusea in front of them.
- "Lord Iadlast, Lord Illyusea!" – said Gerardo and Gabriela as they both knelt before them – "We didn't expect to see you here!" -
- "We came to congratulate you and your sister for having reached the half-dragon level, and to explain you about the medallion your friend is wearing…" – said Illyusea.
- "You said it was called a Medallion of Link, right? Iadlast-sama?" – asked Miroku as he and the others sat down.
- "That is correct. It has that name due to that medallion having the power to create a link between souls and personalities when a person has more than one dwelling within themselves" – said Iadlast – "That is why Miko is now like a ghost floating at Kagome's side, and it is due to that same power that a connection could be established between you that allows you two to share memories with each other" -
- "But… why were these medallions created in the first place?" – asked Kagome.
- "If you ever come to Dragonia, we will show you…" – said Illyusea in a mysterious voice.
- "Okay, okay… but how does it work?" – asked Inuyasha.
- "It's very simple. Kagome, could you please change the emerald needle to the second position?" – asked Iadlast.
- "Okay" – said Kagome as she moved the needle to the position in which Miko's name was written and she began shining. The next instant she was the ghost while Miko was the solid one now.
- "Whoa, what happened?" – asked Miko surprised as she looked at her hands.
- "The medallion allows you to change from a personality to another whenever you wish, so you don't need to drink the Water of Restart for Miko to come out anymore" – said Illyusea as Miko rejoiced and Kagome sighed relieved – "And that isn't its only use… try the next position" –
They moved the needle to the Separation marker, and the next instant, both Kagome and Miko were solid. However, this time Kagome got her age reduced to the same one Miko had, and she was wearing the same exact clothes she had when she was expelled from her body. They both wore a copy of the medallion on their necks.
- "This other position splits your souls and body, so the older one will lose part of her age in order to give a physical form to the younger one. And as you have seen, you don't have to worry about the clothes, as the medallion keeps track of the clothes you last wore when you changed forms" – said Iadlast – "However, I don't advise using the Seal position for now…" -
- "Why? What'd happen if they did?" – asked Gabriela.
- "If they do while they are joined, it makes the half in spectral form to fall in a deep sleep until the medallion is changed to the Remove Seal position, and if they do when they are separated, it will seal the memory of the one that changed it to that position" – said Iadlast in a serious tone – "That is why I advise against using it too much. And anyway, when you are joined, the one in spectral form only needs to asleep, as the other needs are covered by the one with physical form" -
- "And the special separation?" – asked Miko as she checked the medallion.
- "Both put the medallion on that position, please" – said Iadlast.
Both did as they were instructed, and the next instant, Kagome had returned to her normal age, wearing her school uniform, though she began feeling tired.
- "As you can see, the special separation allows you to separate without Kagome having to give up part of her age. However, it feeds on her spiritual powers in exchange for Miko being able to have a physical body, so use it with care" – explained Illyusea.
- "And the medallion your friend Inuyasha wears can also have these functions, as his soul and mind are also split" – said Iadlast as he looked at Inuyasha.
- "What!?" – asked Inuyasha as he sent back an incredulous glare at Iadlast.
- "That is correct, as you also drank the Water of Restart. To activate it, you just have to make Kagome's medallion make contact with yours" – said Iadlast – "Once you do, your younger form will understand immediately what is happening and connect your memories, so you will spare yourselves the suffering you had to go through with Miko" -
Kagome put back her medallion in its starting position and she then walked to Inuyasha. As Inuyasha was reluctant to allow her to do this, she had to rely on the little word that made him and Gerardo eat dirt, but in the end she managed to touch Inuyasha's medallion with her own.
The next moment, Inuyasha's medallion shone and took a similar shape to Kagome's, the only difference being that the inscriptions for Kagome and Miko's names said instead 犬夜叉 (Inuyasha) and 幼い犬夜叉 (Young Inuyasha).
- "And is there any difference between them when it comes to the special separation?" – asked Miroku – "As Inuyasha doesn't have spiritual powers…" -
- "They are pretty much the same, excepting for the fact that his medallion feeds from his demonic energy for that, so you will have to be even more careful. If his powers get nulled by any reason, it will begin feeding on his life force" – said Illyusea - "Anyway, we hope these medallions will be useful to you in some way" -
- "And maybe we will be capable of bestowing something even better to you all next time we see" – said Iadlast as he and Illyusea elevated into the air and began shining – "We shall meet again" –
- "Try to not overexert yourselves. The safety of the worlds is important, but your own safety is very important as well. And worry not about having lost that Fragment of Shadows today, as you will have an occasion to recover it and take away the ones Naraku and Tenebross have in their power" – said Illyusea as he and Iadlast disappeared – "We wish you good luck in your journeys" -
- "Inuyasha-nii" – said a giggling voice next to Inuyasha – "This is pretty weird, but it's actually pretty fun too…" –
- "What!?" – said Inuyasha as the spectral form of his younger self appeared – "You too!?" -
- "Yeah, I could wake up thanks to the medallion, so I think we won't have any problem fighting together now, right?" – said the younger Inuyasha with a smile.
- "If ya say so, and as long as ya don't cause us any problems" – said Inuyasha a bit annoyed and embarrassed – "And what should we call ya?" -
- "Eh? Why do you say that?" – asked the younger Inuyasha – "Don't we have the same name?" -
- "It's exactly because of that!" – replied Inuyasha irritated – "We'll confuse everyone if we leave it like that!" -
- "You're right… then, it's okay if you just call me Yasha?" – asked the younger Inuyasha.
- "I think yeah… but why did ya choose that name?" – asked Inuyasha puzzled.
- "Well, I'm your younger self, right? I think a shorter form of our name would be okay for me… and besides, I don't want anyone to call me dog…" – said his younger self – "So, it's okay?" -
- "Yeah, sounds good then… welcome to the group, Yasha…" – said Inuyasha with a smile. The next moment, the inscription in the second position of their medallion changed from Young Inuyasha to 夜叉 (Yasha).
- "Heh, at least we can distinguish between you both now" – said Gerardo with a smile.
- "And that isn't all. Yasha looks a little smarter than before" – said Miroku as he carefully looked at Yasha's face.
- "You really think so, Miroku-sama?" – asked Yasha with a smile.
- "Yeah! Maybe you'll help Inuyasha while you're in that form" – said Sango smiling.
- "Yay! I'll do everything I can to help!" – said Yasha as he jumped up and down.
- "Looks like you'll have to listen to him" – said Sango to Inuyasha as she laughed.
- "I know..." –said Inuyasha exasperated.
- "So, shall we go back to the village?" – asked Shippou upon seeing how the sun was setting – "It's getting dark already…" -
- "That's true. We better get going" – said Kagome to then turn to Miko – "Miko, I'll let you out on the village so you can play a little, and once we're back home, I'll introduce you to our family, okay?" -
- "Yay! Thanks, onee-san!" – said Miko overjoyed.
- "Okay, let's go back then!" – said Gerardo cheerfully. They then started making their way back to the village.
(End of Chapter)
(Ending: Emerald Green - See-Saw)
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