InuYasha Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Miko ❯ Hello and Goodbye ( Chapter 8 )

MIKO

By L.O. a.k.a. azn_otaku

Crossover: InuYasha and Trigun

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A/N: Have you all waited long enough? I hope this satisfies your needs for the next week or two, I think this chapter is a bit longer than some of the others. So at least you haven't been waiting in vain!

VASH THE STAMPEDE: Knives? I only omitted him from that last chapter, seeing as it was supposed to be focused on Kagome meeting the Trigun trio and her flashbacks of InuYasha. But Knives makes a comeback in this chapter, don't worry. And gunfights? I really can't say that I'm good at describing gunfights, but there will be a large battle at the end of the story. I'd say around chapter ten or eleven. You don't have to wait too long, but this story isn't focused too much on gunfights. Gomen. As for your favor, it's all cool with me! I don't think I've ever been asked this question before, so I don't know what to do. But if you want to try it, I'm all cool with that. And I wouldn't take the credit for your incredible writing skills either! Lol. But if you want to email me about the dealio, that'd be nice. Are you sure you can't get onto ff.net? Do you already have a login screen name and all that?

alexz: Why thank you! This fic is getting better reviews than `Sunshine'! Lol, I think it's cuz I had started this fic after `Sunshine', so my writing is a lot better. And I had learned from experience, so I'm taking in a lot of facts into account, trying to keep it a lot more realistic. ^__^

Niku: More compliments! Heheh, I like compliments. Of course, constructive criticism is good too. What kinds of crossovers do you like? There's this really good Ranma/SM crossover, that's called `All the Small Things'. Perhaps you should try that!

Dragon's Lover1: If you have time, you should keep on reading! I don't know if you'll get to read this reply any time soon, but I hope you do. Thanks for the nice comments, did you mean `intense' in a good sense? Are you hooked yet?

katierose91: Hey thanks! And you gave me such high scores in your review! Wow, I feel so loved...^__^

Thanks for all the replies guys, it really makes me feel good!

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"......" Dialogue

[......] Thoughts

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Chapter Eight: Hello and Goodbye

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"Can you get that Milly?" Meryl didn't look up from her place at the window, her eyes staring off into the distance. She didn't even flinch as the sound of knocking on the door could be heard. Mike was away at his office, telling them to go ahead and make themselves at home for the time being. It seems that the townsfolk had warmed up to the three outsiders, seeing as Meryl, Milly, and Vash knew the secret of Youkai and didn't even try to hurt a single child. Of course, with Vash in their group, Meryl and Milly were used to such beings.

Milly looked at Meryl with a concerned frown as she stood up from her place at the table. It was lunch time, and she had taken a break from helping out with some construction work outside of the fish market. She was a big hit with the old ladies of Youkai, as they adored her bright outlook on life and her happy disposition. But as of right now, she was too worried to be very cheery. She headed towards the door, keeping her eye on Meryl's unmoving gaze.

Since the two had gotten back from wherever they had gone to yesterday, Meryl had done nothing but sit at the window and look out at the children playing in the main plaza. Her face was somewhat paler than before, Milly had been traveling with her sempai long enough to be able to tell when something was on the short woman's mind. She had done nothing but watch the little children play. Sometimes switching her gaze to stare at the older kids, the ones who were teenagers already. Her eyes were always sad, always unmoving.

Vash wasn't any better off. The tall Plant had enclosed himself in his room, refusing food and claiming that he had not been hungry. Milly had set down a tray of soup for him just this morning and he had yet to touch it, let alone look away from the ceiling. He too had a lot on his mind and it was that burden that made Milly attempt to think of what the two could have encountered just outside of town so late at night yesterday. She had been writing more letters to her family, and she didn't even get a comment of the large stack of envelopes from Meryl this morning. All she had gotten was a quiet "Ohayo" and a thin smile. She didn't even know what "Ohayo" meant.

"Konnichiwa! Ano....Is Meryl-san here?"

Milly turned hurriedly to the door that she had opened without a thought. She blinked as she realized that she was looking at a young woman around Meryl's height, with straight black hair and a hesitant smile on her face. She had a comfortable yukata on, the worn deep purple cloth setting off her warm brown eyes. She looked up at the tall woman in front of her, tugging at the side of her yukata.

"Oh um-" Milly stuttered as she was caught off guard. She managed a smile for the woman, "Hello! Are you a friend of Sempai's?"

The woman tugged at a long lock of ink black, "If your sempai is Meryl-san, then yes. Is she home?"

"Oh yes! Perhaps you can move her? I'm a little worried...." Meryl looked towards the small window again where Meryl still sat before shaking her head and smiling brightly, "My name is Milly Thompson. I don't believe we've met."

"It's nice to meet you Milly-san. My name is Rin, Meryl-san had helped me out yesterday and I'd just like to thank her...." She scratched her nose before nodding apologetically, "I didn't get a chance to express my gratitude yesterday. She had run off so suddenly with that man in the red coat..."

"That must have been..." Milly's cheery blue eyes widened in realization, "That must have been right before she had become so depressed! Oh do come in Rin, perhaps you can cheer Sempai up?" She opened the door wider to allow the short female to enter. Rin nodded her head gracefully before stepping into Mike's small home, looking around in curiosity.

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[The pain will go away, I can wait.]

It had been a long, long time since she had last hoped. She must have had hope sometime before, she couldn't remember. She hadn't known that she could still feel that happiness...that anticipation of a great moment. She had wanted so very badly to go with the humming woman. She had tried, one time out of hundreds, to express her loneliness to the two that had been outside her tank only just several hours ago.

[This pain...it will go away.]

If she could just be patient, everything will go back to its normal haze. It had been foolish of her to feel again, she shouldn't have let her heart awaken. The only thing she had gotten out of that was another beating and a crushed dream. It had been one dream that she had cherished in the back of her mind ever since she could remember. She had been afraid to think of it, afraid to remember what it was like to be within reach of freedom. She had the gall to hope for something ridiculous...

[It is impossible. They will not come back.]

She had tried to ease her pain during her beating that night, telling herself that surely they would be brave enough to rescue her. That thought had been the only thing keeping her from shutting her heart off completely. She had grasped onto the dream that had finally surfaced, and had felt it slipping through her fingers. It was time for her to face reality.

The young woman's demeanor seemed even more laconic than normal, not in one of her usual visions. Of course her deep grey eyes were still glazed over, but this time it was in thought and not in unconsciousness. She had let her body remain at the bottom of her prison, opting to lean against the clear green walls instead of floating as she normally did. She did not feel like being suspended in liquid, her heart was too heavy.

[I am sad. They will not come back.]

How could they? Surely her master will seek revenge upon them now. She would have to kill them. For the first time, she would have to kill beings that she had begun to care for. Had that ever happened? Could she close off her mind enough to ignore the looks of betrayal they would have on their faces? She should have just destroyed them the first time, then they would not have followed her here. They would not have seen her in her home.

[They saw.]

Of course they would be disgusted with her. She was nothing more than an animal. No mind of her own. No way of knowing how to gain a mind of her own. She let herself get beaten day after day, century after century. They wouldn't be interested in saving someone so far gone into despair.

[If I could cry, I would.]

But no....she had cried too many times in the past. Her tears were all dried up.

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Kikyou had watched him fade, trying to stay proud and strong. She knew in her heart that she would have been calling for him to come back...had she been selfish. But her life was devoted to righting past sins, she didn't have the right to seek love. Her chance for love was gone the moment she mistrusted faithful InuYasha. He had found another, and she had to accept the fact that she was left with nothing more than the earthen husk that foul ogress had concocted for her hatred.

He was so much like her, trapped in his own sins that he had no idea of how to repent. She at least knew that she would be free after Kagome awoke. But he....he had yet to see the light. His ice blue eyes had searched within her own, and they had understood the suffering she had hidden deep inside of her breast.

[You have made me feel happy. If only for a moment in Time.]

She knew that this could have changed her entire life, had she met Knives after being awoken by the ogress. If she had found love, she would not have tormented Kagome so much. She would not have aided Naraku in the collecting of the Shikon shards. She would not have goaded him on to set his goals higher.

He had, in the end, attempted to kidnap Kagome to help him in the quest of seeking shards of the Shikon no Tama. It had occurred to both of them, herself and Naraku combined, that Kagome's little group had gathered so many shards in the short amount of time because of the miko-in-training's ability to sense the shard's power. Kikyou never really had that strong of a sixth sense when it came to the Shikon no Tama, preferring to let Naraku collect the shards for her. But the jewel had actually resided within Kagome for such a long time, that it essentially had become a part of the girl's soul. Without it, she would have slowly deteriorated into a sort of empty shell. Kikyou knew that Naraku had only quickened the process of Kagome's deterioration, having beaten her so many times that Kagome closed in on herself. Without the Shikon no Tama, without her proper memories, Kagome was even more of an empty shell than Kikyou had anticipated. Any longer and the girl would destroy the entire planet she resided on with her unleashed power.

If Kagome could not die, if InuYasha could not wake up and save his love, Kagome would use her power until she could not release any more. Then she would fall to the ground. But seeing as she could not die, she would only get up once more and continue with the destruction. Without her soul, Kagome would not be able to control the unlimited amount of miko power residing within her. And with each time she collapsed, she would regain whatever she lost by sleep. If she could not die...

[Kami-sama. I pray for their safety.]

He would help Kagome. She trusted the look in his ice blue eyes. She knew that look was very much like hers, and so she trusted him.

[I had worried about Kagome for so long, that I had forgotten what it was like to care for another.]

For one single moment, one insignificant moment, He had made her look at him in a way she had never looked at someone before. Even InuYasha hadn't captured her heart so soundly. It had all happened so suddenly, she hadn't been able to focus upon what exactly she liked about him. She had just felt her soul fit into his, like a jigsaw puzzle.

[If I never see you in this world again, I will wait for you in the next.]

[Forever and a day...]

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"She hasn't stopped staring. I don't know what to do." Milly watched from the doorway, whispering to Rin. They spied upon the woman with the dark blue hair, before Rin dusted off her yukata.

"I'll see what I can do. Perhaps this has something to do with the gunplay I had seen happen yesterday. It had been the same man with the red coat..."

The two approached Meryl cautiously, as if fearing that she would suddenly spasm and attack them. Rin cleared her throat hesitantly, and raised a hand towards the senior insurance girl.

"Ano...Meryl-san...."

Meryl did not stop her staring. It seems she had even forgotten where she was.

"Meryl-san....did something happen...after you had left with that man? The one in the red coat?"

"Sempai?" Milly gently nudged the woman's shoulder.

"Huh? Milly? What is it?" Meryl blinked and turned slowly to her tall companion in confusion, "If this is about lunch, it can wait...I have something on my mind..."

"Sempai, this woman is here to see you. We had been trying to get your attention."

"Oh..." Meryl stopped herself from looking at the window again to smile and nod in Rin's direction, "Yes, I remember you. How is little Haruko-chan?"

"Perfectly fine, thanks to you. Is everything alright? Milly-san was just telling me about your...odd...behavior this morning and I am a little concerned."

"Gomen," Meryl smiled apologetically and stood up. She straightened her white skirt, tugging at the ends of her sleeves before looking up with a slight blush, "I have been very distracted, I'll admit it. I suppose I should have told you, Milly, what Vash and I had been doing yesterday night..."

Milly sighed in relief, having the old Meryl back again. She bustled around to make some tea for everyone, taking out the teapot from the wooden cupboard and setting it upon the stove with a small clink. Her smile was a little more genuine as she accepted Meryl's apology.

"I was just worried about you Sempai, you're normally so collected in serious situations, that I had thought that something very big must have happened for you to act like me!"

Meryl chuckled, sitting down across from Rin and clasping her hands in front of her on the table, "I suppose so. But before I relate to past events, did you have something you wanted from me Rin?"

"It's nothing much. I was just going to invite you over to my home today, my mate wanted to thank you personally for keeping Haruko-chan safe. He is very protective of all our children, Haruko had been the youngest and most recent. We never got a chance to thank you properly for all your help." Rin gratefully accepted the cup of tea Milly handed to her and began to carefully sip at the hot liquid.

"I would like to meet the rest of your family very much. At what time would you say?"

"Any time at all is fine with us. We weren't sure when you would have some free time available today. But that is all I needed to say. You can go ahead and tell Milly-san what had you so distracted this morning, I am slightly curious as well."

Milly sat down upon one of the empty wooden chairs, taking a small tea cup for herself and holding it between the palms of her hands. She nodded to Rin's statement, looking expectantly at her sempai.

"Well...."

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Sesshoumaru kept a watchful eye upon his youngest half-ling while doing the dishes. They had had a pleasant lunch together, just the two of them. The others had gone out for the day, including his mate. He had requested that she invite that woman that had helped Haruko-chan out the other day over. His deep amber eyes flitted over the soap suds in the small wooden tub, a small ration of water that was reserved solely for cleaning: dishes, clothes, baths, etc. It was at times like these that he missed the days of Earth, when water ran free in streams and rivers.

"Haruko." The young girl looked up from her crouched position on the kitchen floor towards her father. He nodded his head towards the table to the girl's left, "Give me your plate."

If that hanyou brother of his could see him now...he would most likely die from shock. Or laughter. Whichever came first. It had been several centuries since he had last seen his brother alive and well, many years of meditation tended to change the soul. He knew that the more time he had spent with Rin, the softer his heart had become. Even now, he knew that if he ever saw his brother again, he would have asked forgiveness for all that he had done in the past. It had been sibling rivalry to the point of a deadly feud.

He had spent seven hundred years without his brother to pick on, the only motive he had for living was keeping Rin safe and searching for the other half of the Shikon jewel. When InuYasha's mate had given him her half of the Shikon no Tama, and when the incident with Naraku had come to an end, he had resolved to keep the Shikon no Tama from Naraku's hands. At the time, he had thought that the weaker Naraku was, the quicker InuYasha's final battle would have been with him and the quicker he could get at his hanyou sibling himself. Of course, youkai change over the years. Now he merely wanted to help InuYasha and his mate come to happiness.

It had only taken a century to complete the jewel. He dared not to keep the sacred orb for himself, opting to head towards Kagome's time, where Kikyou had stayed behind to protect InuYasha and the others, and have her bespell Rin. By that time they had been mates, he had taken her for his own the minute she had turned into a woman. She had a good heart, and so Kikyou let Rin keep the jewel around her neck with a thin silver necklace that the older miko had fetched from the ruined Higurashi home. She had placed a blessing upon the young woman, hiding the presence of the Shikon no Tama away from anyone. It was only unless Rin allowed herself to reveal the jewel could another see the truth of its existence. That had been the second time that Sesshoumaru had encountered Kikyou.

They had spent four hundred years living together, expanding his lands and keeping up with the times. By the time they had found themselves in Kagome's present, Sesshoumaru had gained a large corporation and a vast amount of wealth. Throughout that time he had heard of Naraku's name lingering in the air, it had appeared that the evil hanyou had made a name for himself as well. It would have been the most logical path to follow, seeing as the hanyou had not been strong enough at the time to defeat a full-blooded youkai. He had attempted to expand his assets and power, to destroy Sesshoumaru with backhand politics and the power of big business.

[Naraku.]

Sesshoumaru paused his scrubbing to look into the air and blink without emotion. Naraku had stayed in Kagome's present after that incident, hiding himself away from the others. Sesshoumaru was not one of those demons that could sense other youkai, he went by smell alone. And so he could never pinpoint where Naraku had been in the present, when he and Rin had been building their business empire. A century passed like that, before the Earth had become too polluted. Sesshoumaru remembered the Project SEEDS ship that he had boarded with Rin, remembered smelling the many youkai that had somehow gathered from around the world into a mere handful of ships. They had departed together like that, all of them connected. When they had landed on this desert planet, all the youkai were in one place, as well as a few small ships of humans. He knew that after all that time living with the mortals, the youkai were not so bloodthirsty as they had been before. And a peace treaty had been made, Youkai had been born.

[InuYasha.]

How long would it be before he would see his brother again? Would he ever have a chance to apologize? The last he had seen of InuYasha was when he said his goodbye to Kikyou before leaving to board the Project SEEDS ships. Kikyou had stayed behind, a spirit could do no harm to the earth. Besides, she had been bound by duty to InuYasha and his little pack. He remembered giving her a friendly hug, her form had started to fade by that time. It took a lot of her energy to keep the Go-Shinboku tree well protected, her earth husk had already been only semi-solid the last he had seen of her. He wondered if she was still haunting the burial grounds of Kagome's family, was she completely see through right now?

Taking off the rough cotton apron, Sesshoumaru stepped back to admire his handiwork. He rolled up the sleeves of his plain, collared white shirt. The buttons of his cuffs had been unbuttoned, allowing him to fold the long sleeves up to his elbow. He dusted off his black jeans and headed on towards the living room, preferring to listen to a bit of radio while finishing off his novel. He had been working on it for a few days now, just getting to the climax. It was a moment he anticipated.

[Rin will come home soon. I will wait for her here.]

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"Kikyou."

Kikyou turned from her reverie to see someone come up from the Sunset shrine steps. His long white hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail, a business suit adorning his figure. It had been at least several years since she had last seen him. She smiled thinly, preparing to greet her first guest in a long time. She didn't allow anyone else to come here but him and his two companions.

"Did you come from the past?"

"Iie, it has been five hundred years, our past is already our present."

Kikyou looked him over, noting the changes in his appearance. The expensive suit, the concealed markings on his face and claws...

"You have glasses."

Sesshoumaru smiled and took off the lenses, observing the thin glass and the metallic frames. He held them up for Kikyou to take a look, "They help me see."

"I know what glasses are. I've been in the present for long enough." She thought for a moment, "Did you know that I was here? You have seen humanity evolve for at least five centuries, the last I saw you was a year or two ago, when you had me bespell Rin."

"I have been busy maintaining business. Of course, I had seen Kagome some time ago..." He frowned, "But that was when she was merely a little girl. I did not approach her, it would have caused too many time discrepancies."

The nodded together, knowing what confusion that would have caused, had Kagome come back to the past and had known Sesshoumaru. The miko noted that the youkai was alone.

"Where is Jaken? And Rin?"

"Rin is taking Shinsetsu to his soccer practice. Jaken..." He looked down, "Passed away not too long ago. He had already been old when he was bound to me."

"I am sorry to hear that."

He smiled with amusement, "No you're not."

The two of them shared a laugh as it was obvious that Kikyou had felt distaste for the little toad. She shook her head and looked towards where Shippou slept, placing her hand on the young kitsune's soft head. It was a little while before she turned back to the full-blooded youkai, her eyes somewhat misty.

"You are not the same youkai that I had known. Do you still hunt Naraku with the intention of stealing the Tetsusaiga from InuYasha?"

"You are observant. I have..." He put his glasses back on, "...changed. For the better. I could not have made Rin my mate with such a cold heart."

Kikyou nodded and smiled. She was happy that Sesshoumaru had found someone. She had to thank Kagome, for bringing all these emotions into her wooden heart. She may not have a true body to call her own, but her soul of hatred was turning back into it's once soul of purity. Kagome was a miracle girl, she brought so much happiness...

"I have not had much contact with anyone. Do you know where Naraku is?"

"No. I have heard his name, he has become an important man apparently. Other than that, he has not approached me and I can not find him with merely my nose."

"You cannot track him down?"

"He is smart, there is no trace of his true identity online or in any records. He goes by a new name in this time, "Naraku" is merely a nickname given to him by his employees."

"I see. So why are you here?"

"To say goodbye."

"What?"

She looked up at him in surprise. Nearby, a mother and her son walked home from the grocery store. Their voices rang in her ears, laughter filling the air. She let her mind recover from the mild shock before composing herself and taking in a breath. Her ears perked at the sound of her friend explaining.

"Have you watched the news recently?"

"Only some. The neighbors nearby have a television set on most of the time."

"And you know of Project SEEDS?"

"Hai..." Kikyou jerked, "You are planning on joining them?"

"I have a feeling that Naraku will not let up until he had taken the Shikon no Tama from me. He will keep on living, as he knows that I will. Enemies do not die with unfulfilled missions."

"I see..."

A leaf fell from the Go-Shinboku to land on top of Sesshoumaru's white head. He plucked it off, blowing back hairs from his forehead. Kikyou kept herself from chuckling with amusement. They understood that this would be the last time in a while before they would speak with each other.

"Rin will be back home now. I should get started with helping her pack," He nodded his head, "I wish you a happy existence."

Kikyou walked swiftly over and put her arms around his shoulders, hugging him. By the time she saw him next, she had a feeling that she would have no more of a solid body to touch him with. She wanted the feel of a friend before he left, leaving her to fade away. She tried to smile into his shoulders.

"By the time we see each other again, I might be gone."

[When I see you next, will I only be a mirage? Will I only be able to watch as Kagome's loved ones, my once love, open their eyes to embrace one another?]

[Will I be nothing more than a memory?]

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"You said this man, he had black hair? Did he say his name?"

Meryl watched her new friend closely, she was slightly paler than before. Her hand gripped at her cup of tea with white knuckles, the cup shaking.

"Iie. But we did get some images from the young woman, when we touched the glass...." Meryl held out her own hand, as if reenacting the moment, "I do not think that they are originally from Gunsmoke."

"Why is that?"

"They..." Meryl bit her lip, "In the vision they had been at some sort of shrine, with lots of trees and greenery. I remember one tree in particular, large and foreboding. In the end, there had been some sort of priestess putting this young man to sleep. He had...deep amber eyes..."

[InuYasha!]

Rin gasped at the words that pounded into her mind. She let go of the tea quickly, shooting backwards in her seat. Her eyes were wide, hands moving toward her face. She felt the eyes of the two insurance girls upon her form, her mind reeled with this new information.

Was he here all this time? Naraku?

How many years had it been since she and her mate had arrived upon Gunsmoke? They had searched for Naraku, positive that he had come here as well. Any news that they could have gotten, anything at all. They were so completely sure that all the youkai in the world that had decided to come to Project SEEDS had landed in the same place. They had been so sure that Naraku would come as well...

[He had been hiding from us.]

After several years passed, and not even a mention of evil lurking nearby, they had been lulled into a false sense of security. Surely this meant that Naraku was gone. Perhaps Kagome had been released, and had been transported back to Earth. Surely she would have fetched InuYasha, and it would only have been a matter of time before they happened upon Youkai to visit.

[How could this have happened?]

"Rin? Are you alright?"

"Huh?"

All of a sudden, the room came back into vision. She could see Milly's concerned expression, Meryl's hands on the table. The open window came to life, the sounds of children outside clear. It was as if she had come back to life once more, her panic had pulled her down into something dark.

"You were in shock Miss Rin. Did something bother you?"

"H-Hai..." Rin stood up, gesturing towards the door, "I believe that my mate will want to meet you even more, Meryl-san. You have met someone that we didn't expect to be still alive. Perhaps we should go already..."

"Y-You mean, you know them? The man and the girl?"

"Hai."

"Oh, then I would like to meet your mate! Milly, can you believe this?"

The other two straightened, leaving with Rin to get more answers. They did not hear Vash walk down the stairs until the last minute. He had a confused look upon his face, his hair uncombed and with bristles still on his chin.

"What's been going on?"

"Vash! Come with us, this woman here says that she knows that man and woman from yesterday!"

"What?"

"I know! Come on, maybe we can still save her!" Meryl's eyes were bright with something that had been dead only moments before. She smiled vaguely, picturing the young woman in her mind. She would be so happy to see them again. They would save her. They would be her heroes.

[I can save her still. You'll see, small one. I will guide you to happiness...]

##-------##

Knives sat up, staring up into the hot sun. It had been beating down upon him for most of the day, but he had not cared. From the moment he had woken up, he had felt the need to just lay there and think upon previous events. He had to let his mind know that what had happened was the last goodbye of the miko. He doubted he would see her again.

[Is my mind clear?]

With the locket clutched in his fist, he rolled up his blankets, stuffing them back in his pack. There was still a little water left in the canteen, he used that for clear his mouth. His body went through the ritual of getting dressed and shaving automatically. Inside, his mind was still on the mission at hand. The locket had begun to pulsate within its cage of skin, reminding him to get a move on.

[Where to now?]

He held the locket up for his blue eyes to see, examining the design for at least the tenth time. It had already revealed so many answers, would this thing show him the way towards its owner? He felt the beating of the locket grow stronger, as if waiting to be asked the right command.

"Er...do you..." He scratched the back of head with his free hand, "Would you happen to know where I can find your owner?"

And instantly, a beam of light shot into the distance.

##-------##

"This is it, the jewel we saw in that dream!"

Sesshoumaru watched as Rin carefully pulled out the Shikon no Tama from under her shirt. The jewel was wrapped in a protective bag, the bag tied to the silver chain. He had heard the tall man's story, and had seen that he was telling the truth. Naraku was alive and well. He had Kagome as his little pet, as an assassin.

"Could we take this with us? I want to give it back to Kagome, seeing as it is rightfully hers."

His gaze moved to the shorter woman, her eyes pleading with him. She wanted to help InuYasha's mate so badly, he couldn't help but smile at her honesty. It was a rare thing to see a mortal from the outside care for youkai and those related to them in such a manner. If she wanted to help Kagome so badly...

"You will not keep it for yourself? Its power can corrupt."

"I swear! Onegai, she was so sad..."

"Let her take it Sesshoumaru," Rin had moved back to stand beside him, her voice soft, "Naraku would sense us too easily. By now he should have too many youkai for us to defeat alone, you do not own the Tetsusaiga and the Tenseiga will not work in this situation. Perhaps they could get in, they have before." She smiled encouragingly.

[I can never refuse my mate.]

He in turn gave a small smile back and wrapped an arm around her shoulder with tenderness, "Do not worry Rin, I had been thinking along the same lines."

Turning to the trio in front of him, he nodded his head towards the woman with the jewel in her hands, "I trust you will get the Shikon no Tama to Kagome. Help her escape, and bring her to us. We will deal with the matter when that happens."

"Arigatou!" Meryl smiled happily to Milly, who clapped her hands. She hadn't understood the slight Japanese that the others had used, but she could understand the happiness in their smiles.

"Miss Rin, I thank you very much for cheering Sempai up," Milly bowed her head, "I'm glad you are a friend."

"I am sure you would have done the same for me Milly-san. Please take care of that jewel, it contains half of Kagome's soul."

"We will. Right, Mr. Vash?"

"Yup! Count on us!"

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Kikyou held her hand up to the chest of Sango. She hugged the girl, feeling her time on Earth coming to an end. She did not doubt that Knives would carry out her wish to find Kagome. It would only be a matter of time before she completed her duty to Kagome's loved ones.

Her head rested upon the soft black material that made up the taiji-ya's uniform. She pressed her ear into the girl's chest when she heard something peculiar.

[A heartbeat?]

[Was that a heartbeat?]

Yes. It had been slow. Very weak, the intervals between beats still a minute or two apart. Demo....

[They are waking.]

The miko wrapped her arms around Sango, hugging her. She smiled sadly, although she knew she should have been happy.

[Soon.]

[I will be gone soon.]

[Sayonara....Knives.]

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A/N: Is the writing okay? Is this stuff too angsty or too sad? I dunno if I'm putting in the right mix of happiness and sadness. Lately, it's been too much sadness. But `Miko' is such a sad story, I don't know what else to put in there!

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JAPANESE DICTIONARY

Ohayo - Good Morning

Konnichiwa - Good Afternoon

Ano - Um, Well

-San - Suffix used for someone you respect or someone older than you.

Yukata - A summer kimono

Sempai - Teacher, someone who is your senior.

Miko - Priestess

Kami - God

-Sama - Suffix for someone you greatly respect. More so than `-san'.

-Chan - Suffix for someone you're familiar with or someone younger than you.

Gomen - Sorry

Hanyou - Half Demon

Youkai - Demon

Shinsetsu - Kind. The name of one of Sesshoumaru and Rin's children.

Kitsune - Fox. In this case, fox demon.

Hai - Yes, Right

Iie - No

Onegai - Please

Arigatou - Thank You

Taiji-ya - Demon Hunter

Demo - But

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