More notes: A bunch of people asked what the pairings, if any, would be. I honestly don't have an answer to either one. I want to indulge in some romance but I may not depending on how long I want this story to be. It's already looking pretty long. A lot of people have suggested Kagome/Hiei, and while I am a major Inuyasha/Kagome fan, that pairing actually might be fun to toy with. We'll see. Just don't hold your breath.
Chapter 5 – Division
Kuwabara blinked in confusion. “Huh?”
The rest of them were also confused. Those who even knew about Koenma and the spirit world could just stare at Botan like she’d lost her mind. Those who didn’t know about Koenma and the spirit would also stared at Botan like she’d lost her mind. But of course they really had no idea what was going on with this other strange group of people, and for the moment said nothing. Kagome, however, took the initiative and knelt beside Botan, not knowing how to help or even what to say. She placed a hand on Botan’s shoulder and said, “Are you alright?”
Botan gave her a look of sorrow. “No,” she replied. “I…we need to go back…we have to go back through the well. I can’t stay here. I can’t contact Koenma. I can’t go through this.”
“Botan, get a grip,” Yusuke said, sounding a little irritated. “Just explain to us what the hell you’re talking about and maybe we’ll know how to deal with it. Just calm down.”
“Yeah, Botan,” Kuwabara added. “None of us really know what’s going on, anyway.”
Botan sighed, still trembling, and sat up on her knees, folding her arms. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Start by explaining why the spirit world is gone,” Kurama said.
“Like I said, I don’t know where to begin,” she repeated.
“First of all,” Miroku interrupted, having decided that it was time for him to speak up. After all, he had knowledge of the supernatural, so perhaps he could help. “Explain to those of us who are in the dark, here, so to speak. What is the ‘spirit world’ you speak of?”
“The spirit world is technically what I work for,” she replied. “The others aren’t necessarily directly employed by Koenma, but I am. I was sort of created for it. I’m not exactly human, myself. I suppose that merits a deeper explanation but at this point let’s just say that I’m a ferry girl…I take souls to the spirit world where they can then go on to achieve eternal peace or torment. The ruler is Enma Daioh, who oversees this transition, with the help of his son, Koenma, who really does most of the work. The spirit world does not intervene much with the human world, but it does help keep the demon world at bay.”
Miroku stared at her, a look of deep thought on his face. “In all of my learning of the history and beliefs of our people, I have never heard of this spiritual world in the way that you speak of it. But I have heard of a world that existed long ago, it is a legend. A myth, though all myths hold their own elements of truth. It speaks of a world in which the dead resided and were, as you say, held until they could move on, and were cared for by these spiritual rulers that you speak of. But it was destroyed. A great host of demonic forces broke through the barrier of this spiritual world, and many souls became lost to torment. It was then that the spiritual rulers of that world took up residence here. It is said that they are still here, living among the people, in order to keep the demon population under control. They appear as any normal human.”
Botan nodded. “That’s exactly right. That’s exactly what happened…that’s why I can’t reach Koenma from here. My powers are cut off…since the spirit world is no longer there. There’s no way I could find him here…not if he’s disguised as a human. He wouldn’t know me, either. We need to go back…”
“Really, Botan, why would we need to contact Koenma?” Kurama asked. “If we already know what we were sent here to do.”
“What exactly were you sent here to do again?” Inuyasha asked, not hiding the note of disdain in his voice at all.
“Find the jewel,” Kurama replied. “Or in this case, the shards to complete it.”
“And what makes you think that you can do a better job than we have?” Inuyasha bit back. “We’ve been searching for the shards of the jewel for months! We haven’t had much luck finding the shards or keeping them. The dangers we face are great. Naraku could chew all of you and spit you out without blinking an eye.”
“Who is Naraku?” Yusuke asked.
No one noticed the look that had briefly crossed Hiei’s face. Naraku? Hadn’t he heard that name before? In the demon world, he was sure it had been a fairly popular name.
“Naraku is an extremely powerful demon,” Kagome explained. “His power is not something to be taken lightly. He has directly affected all of our lives in some tragic way, except perhaps me and Shippou, our young fox cub we left behind in the village. He, Naraku that is, lives to create discord and despair. We’ve been so close to catching him so many times, but he escapes every time.”
“He can take different forms,” Miroku added. “He uses it to his advantage. He also has several subordinates that technically are just an extension of himself.”
“He’s very manipulative and can make you believe almost anything,” said Sango.
Inuyasha’s fists were clenched just thinking about it. “He will pay! No matter how long it takes, he will pay for what he’s done.”
“And he’s got shards of the jewel?” Yusuke asked.
“Oh yes,” Kagome replied. “He’s got most of them. Including many that he’s stolen from us.”
Inuyasha bared his teeth at them in a snarl. “Look, don’t think that you can join us just to have a shot at getting your hands on the jewel. Once we find the last shard, the jewel is mine!”
Kurama stared at him evenly. “What makes you think we would want to join you?”
All eyes turned to Kurama in shock. Yusuke was especially surprised, even though he had been thinking about blowing off this bad-tempered brat and his group and going to look for the jewel shards with his own. But still, he’d been expecting Kurama to offer his assistance. What was Kurama thinking?
Even Inuyasha was taken aback by the redhead’s cool reply. He smirked. “So you’ll go after Naraku yourselves? Feh! You don’t even know where to look. You all wouldn’t last ten minutes out there.”
“Oh yeah?!” Kuwabara yelled. “You probably wouldn’t last ten seconds against any of us!”
Botan smacked him. “Don’t include me in on this!” she yelled back at him. He cursed and rubbed the back of his head, glaring daggers at her.
“You wouldn’t want to test me!” Inuyasha growled, and once again pulled out Tetsusaiga. The sword transformed, and everyone could hear the metallic ring of the fang as though it were singing. Inuyasha held it in front of him, silently daring them to attack.
Yusuke rolled up his sleeves, ready for anything this Inuyasha had to dish out. But Kurama held up his hand, giving Yusuke that same warning look. Yusuke’s look grew dark. Kurama was treading on thin ice, here.
Looking back at Inuyasha, Kurama continued. “With the exception of Botan, all of us have fought more battles than you could imagine. And we can fend for ourselves, having done so before. Our motives for collecting the jewel are not personal, but strictly business, you might say. I offer no hostility towards you all. If it would be possible to work together to perhaps achieve a negotiation, I would gladly offer an allegiance. However, if our help would not be wanted, then we will do what we set out to do, regardless. We will accomplish our mission, whatever possible.”
“Wait!” Kagome said quickly. “Why don’t you at least come back to the village with us? Maybe Kaede knows something about these spirit-people and can tell you where to find them. At any rate, there’s food, and a place for you all to sleep. It’ll be crowded in Kaede’s hut, but at least it will be warm. And tomorrow morning you all can decide what to do.”
Kuwabara was all for this idea. “Food! Ok, my vote is in, I vote we go to the village.”
“I second that,” Botan said quietly. “I’m exhausted. Yusuke?”
Yusuke took one glance at Inuyasha, who was sulking and not looking very happy. He had not sheathed his sword, either, but had lowered it. He didn’t seem that dangerous to Yusuke…more like a mouthy punk. Not that Yusuke would know anything about being a mouthy punk…
“Sure, why not?” he said, shrugging. “Kurama?”
“It sounds like a good idea to me. Hiei?”
“Hn.” Hiei was still trying to think of where he’d heard the name ‘Naraku’ before.
Kagome clapped her hands. “I guess that’s it. There will be time for introductions later. Let’s just go back to the village.”
***
When Kaede saw five more people accompanying the four that had left an hour ago, she looked at the pot of stew she had cooking on the fire. Never one to question strange things anymore, nor was she one to get angry over surprises such as these, she merely started chopping more vegetables for more stew. And when Kagome walked through the door, apologizing to Kaede that there were more people and she’d explain later, Kaede merely waved her hand to dismiss the apology. She would also have to find more blankets, and her small hut would be rather cramped, but first things first. She went to do the door and Kagome introduced her as the village priestess.
“At least tell me their names,” Kaede admonished, staring through her good eye at the band of strangers standing outside her hut. She gave them each a once-over quickly as Kagome went through their names.
‘Yusuke’ at first glance looked bored and extremely agitated. Another young punk. But Kaede could see much more clearly, and could see that this boy held the spirit of a man; a fierce warrior and group leader. She detected faint demonic power within him, but also great spiritual power and a temper equal to Inuyasha’s. She had the impression of pressure building inside of him to the point of explosion. And that explosion would be powerful and awe-inspiring.
‘Kurama’ wore the body of a human, but the soul of a demon. This was odd, but not surprising to her, as again, she was not one to question strange things, but accept them. A great conflict lay within him, one that he covered up well. His eyes were gentle, but she could see intelligence behind them. While Yusuke was the brawn, Kurama was the brains of this group.
‘Botan’ was neither human nor demon, but also held the potential for spiritual power. She appeared weak, but Kaede knew otherwise. This girl could fight if she had to.
‘Hiei’ was also demon. Very much so. Kaede saw him as a blazing fire, for that was his element, and the flames could never be extinguished. Fierce loyalty lay deep within him to those he trusted. He returned her gaze with defiance and self-assurance, silently daring her to say anything to him. She did not, but her gaze spoke volumes to him, that she was not one to back down from a challenge, and she was not afraid of him.
Finally, there was ‘Kuwabara’, who was a mountain of spiritual energy. This man would have been a priest in her time. A fighting spirit much like Yusuke’s lay within this man’s soul. And he, like Kaede, was completely human, an oddity in his group. Kaede smiled warmly at all of them.
“Well,” she said. “You all are welcome to my stew, and are welcome to stay as long as you like.”
“Thanks,” Yusuke replied. “I’m pretty hungry now, too.”
“I’m starving!” Kuwabara exclaimed once more. “Is it ready?”
“Help yourselves.”
There was little more talk as the entire group devoured Kaede’s stew. As they sat in the small hut, however, a rift between the groups was evident. They kept glancing at each other, still trying to figure one another out. Shippou had barely said anything, choosing to huddle close to Kagome, as he stared at each of these new, strange people. Kagome found it odd that Shippou was so quiet…normally the little fox cub had everything in the world to say. Maybe he was just overwhelmed. She felt quite overwhelmed, herself.
Finally Shippou whispered to her, “Kagome…what are these people doing here?”
“They’re looking for the shards of the jewel,” she replied calmly.
“What?! Why?!”
She sighed. “I guess someone they work for, some spiritual leader, told them to look for the jewel shards. That reminds me…Kaede, what do you know about the spirit world and spiritual leaders?”
Kaede rubbed her chin. “I’ve heard of them, but the stories and legends are so old, barely anyone talks about them.”
“Would you know where they reside?” Kurama asked.
“Anywhere,” she replied. “They could be anywhere. Even in this village. I have heard that they travel all over the countryside.”
“I wonder if we’ll run into them while looking for the jewel shards,” Botan mused.
Kaede looked thoughtful. “This one you work for…why does he want the jewel shards?”
Yusuke shrugged. “Who knows? We’re obviously not supposed to ask questions.”
“He didn’t exactly specify what he wanted us to do with them,” Kurama said, though he knew very well what Koenma had ordered. “He just wanted us to find them.”
Kaede nodded. “I see. How does Inuyasha feel about this?” she asked, glancing at the half-demon sitting in the corner, scowling. He mumbled something under his breath and looked away, saying nothing. Kaede chuckled. “Are you planning on joining together to find the jewel?”
The two groups exchanged glances and said nothing. Kaede sighed. “Let me just say,” she began. “That joining forces would not hurt, certainly.”
“Just so they know that the jewel is mine,” Inuyasha growled.
“Inuyasha, would you hush?” Kagome snapped. “It doesn’t matter who the jewel belongs to at this point. What really matters is that we get the shards back from Naraku and destroy him. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“You’re right,” Kurama spoke up. “Obviously none of us would be getting anywhere if we left the shards in possession of this Naraku. I, for one, would be willing to put aside the mission itself for the time being if you would be willing to accept our help.”
Inuyasha snorted. “Feh.” And looked away again like he wasn’t interested. “We don’t need help.”
“Don’t they say in your time, Kagome, ‘the more the merrier’?” Miroku asked.
She nodded, smiling. “With so many people joining our search, we could split up and cover more ground.”
“True,” Kaede said. “That’s a very good idea, Kagome.”
“How do we know that they won’t take whatever jewel shards they find?” Inuyasha asked pointedly giving the other group a sharp glare.
Kagome caught Kaede’s eye, and Kaede winked. “Well, Inuyasha,” Kagome began. “We travel in separate groups. Some of us go with some of them in one group, and the same in the other group. That way you’ll be satisfied if Miroku and Sango are there to watch and make sure they don’t steal the jewel shards.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Kurama noted. “A smaller group is also less likely to draw unwanted attention.”
“But…who goes with who?” Yusuke asked, wondering if they’d make him travel with that white-haired brat.
“We can decide that in the morning,” Kagome suggested. “That is if all of you would want to join us.”
Kurama glanced at Yusuke, who shrugged again. “I’m game.”
“I’ll go,” Botan chirped.
Kuwabara raised his hand. “Count me in.”