InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tenseiga ❯ The Journey Contiues ( Chapter 8 )

I love reading reviews and I am grateful you all seem to like my stories. I will try to be better about updating. I hope you enjoy this. I have several more segments I want to clean up before I post them.

Enjoy.

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Kagome felt as though her head was in a vice and mouth was stuffed with cotton. Slowly she opened her eyes and let out a little moan. This was not Africa, at least not the part she knew. Slowly she sat up. She had been laid on a mat on the floor and covered with a light blanket. Morning sunlight streamed in through the open entryway. Sighing softly she pushed herself up and walked into the sun.

India. She felt her stomach sink. She may not know much about the subcontinent, but she did recognize the dress and the scent of the food that wafted toward her. Where exactly she didn't know. The village appeared to be small, it also appeared to be dying. How she got that sense she wasn't sure, but it was there, pervasive and constant. Death walked these narrow lanes. She saw adults, their faces gaunt with starvation, and children, their belly distended as they slowly died.

She felt tears prick her eyes. What cruel fate had rained down upon these people? Her thoughts turned suddenly to Yuka and Eri, but just as quickly she dismissed these worries. Sesshomaru would see that they were cared for. She trusted him that far. Gripping the Shikon no Tama she began to walk through the village. Everywhere she went conversations died and people stared. Women herded their children from sight and men glared ominously. At last she came to the edge of town. Here a ravine only a few feet deep cut through the countryside, meandering off into the distance.

"A dry river." She shook her head. "No wonder the village is dying."

"So you see it too."

She whirled, shocked she could understand the elderly voice. An old man, his beard as long as her hair, stood leaning on a stick almost as knarled as he was. She swallowed, then bowed.

"Grandfather, why is the river dry? Why do the people remain to die instead of moving to a new land?"

He nodded slowly as he considered her words. Kagome decided to chalk her sudden comprehension of the language up to magic and go with it. Answers were what she needed and this was far better than spending weeks learning to speak to them.

"The river bank has been dry for generations, but water still flowed beneath the surface. Now even that is gone."

She cocked her head considering. "The people must have depleted the aquifer during a drought and it has not had time to replenish itself."

"Aquifer?"

"A natural underground reservoir of water. They can be found in many places, but are easiest to reach in old river and lake beds. Have the people dug the well deeper?"

"They have, but it is no use. All they find is more dirt."

Kagome drew her lower lip into her mouth. How could she help these people? They obviously did not trust her, but she had been sent here for a reason. Sighing softly she took another look at the river bed. She would figure out the long term later. Right now they needed a miracle, and that was exactly what she would have to give them. Bowing again to the old man she addressed him.

"Grandfather, will you show me where the people farm the land?"

"I will, but there is little there but dust."