InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chained ❯ A Ray of Light ( Chapter 21 )

A\N: You know, one of these days I am finally gonna have a clue as to what’s going on, and maybe then I’ll stop making a fool of myself. I doubt it though.

Now, since I’ve once again fallen behind in updating, I am once again going update multiple times today. Now, in no relation to the last amount of times I updated, since it’s taken me five days to update, five chapters is was you get again. I don’t know how long I’ll keep this up, buuuuuut...

Anyway...

That’s about all that’s happening at the moment.

And to the Miroku and Sango fans, I didn’t forget my promise, they will be in one of the future chapters, but not this one, I still have some things I have to deal with first before we reach them. Soon though. ^_^

-InuKagome4 - Lol, I’m glad you’re enjoying this. I’m not sure why, but I can’t seem to bring myself to update once and regularly at the moment. It’s simply much quicker to do it like this... Guess I’m just being lazy at the moment. ^_^

-inuyasha cute doggy ears - Lol, yep I did take a bit of a break didn’t I? What can I say-- I’m just being a big sloth at the moment. Still, I’m putting up lots more chapters, so that’s a good thing. Hopefully I can keep you interested for a while yet. ^_^

DISCLAIMER - Own none of the Inuyasha characters, but I can pretend can’t I?   ~*~   A Ray of Light

Kagome’s head snapped up as she heard the door to the prison opening.

The guards had brought her food and water yesterday (or maybe it was still today) so it couldn’t be them back, and only one other person ever came down to see her.

She immediately scrambled forward toward the bars and stared at the stairs and Amaya descended, swifter than normal, and came to stand in front of her.

‘I have news.’ She said slowly ‘of Inuyasha.’

Kagome blinked, slightly surprised, because the sorceress very rarely referred to any of her friends by their names, let alone Inuyasha-- normally calling him “mutt”, “hanyou”, “half-breed” and other such things.

‘What is it?’ She asked instantly, pulling herself up by the bars and standing shakily on her weak legs.

Amaya raised an eyebrow. ‘Impatience is not a strength, Kagome, and will only serve to get you into trouble. I will tell you when it comes to that. But first, I have come to tell you of the two quests you actually sent me upon, not the one that I took upon myself to go on, and have no real reason to explain to you at all.’

Kagome snapped her mouth shut, knowing that there was no way she would win with the sorceress, and waited for her to begin speaking, which the woman more than took her time doing.

‘I visited Kaede’s village, as you asked, and you should be happy to know that it, and the old hag, are fine. The villagers have abandoned it for safer regions, but their homes still remain untouched-- and it seems as though they may stay that way.’

Kagome felt some of the anxiousness leave her, but quickly return as she remembered the other task she had set the sorceress upon. ‘And the forest? The well? Are they still there?’

‘Do not interrupt me!’ Amaya snapped angrily, and Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes, knowing that the sorceress would never leave without finishing what she had started.

‘The forest still thrives, and the well exists there. All is well in that area.’ She said, sounding slightly disgusted at the thought. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief, then tensed again, holding her breath and waiting for the woman to continue.

After several unnecessary minutes of silence, Amaya did continue. ‘The hanyou friend of yours is, as we thought, in the clutches of the miko Kikyo. She holds him in a temple in the mountains with barriers to keep youkai such as Naraku out, and is so sheltered from most of the world, for very few mortals possess the power to reach it.’

‘Then how--’ Kagome began, but was cut off by Amaya.

‘You are very fortunate that I am one of the few mortals who could reach it. I found the temple, and your half-breed, and he was... as well as any could be in that situation.’

Kagome felt panic surge through her at the sorceress’ words, but forced herself to remain calm. ‘What do you mean?’ She asked quietly. Amaya looked at her thoughtfully than spoke.

‘His mind had been under the influence of many spells, binding him to people, blocking out memories-- some of these spells were, perhaps, the reason he did not recognise you when you were faced with him before Naraku.’

Kagome’s eyes widened slightly in worry.

‘I was able to perform a spell that would resurrect his memories, though it risked permanently altering his mind--’

Kagome gasped, raising a hand to her mouth in shock and horror, and Amaya shot her a glare.

‘Don’t be stupid, girl, those conditions are easily reversed by someone well-versed in magic.’ She snapped, before continuing ‘Though he is very confused and scared at the moment, his old self is returning, I can see it in his mind, and he is beginning to remember you and everything else. His memories will take a while to sort out, but they should all fully return soon enough, much thanks to the removal of this.’

The sorceress said, holding up a rather large shard of the Shikon jewel, it’s once pinkish colour now a deep, tainted black that seemed to flicker as the souls twisted and churned within the jewel’s shell. Kagome gasped again, her eyes widening further-- a regular shard just barely tainted was bad enough, but this...

‘It was actually three shards in the base of your hanyou’s neck, however, once I removed them, I decided it would be best to combine them to make sure none would be misplaced.’

Kagome stared at the jewel a moment, before the sorceress’ words sunk in, and she looked up at the woman suspiciously.

‘And what do you plan to do with it?’ She asked quietly, watching as the sorceress stared intently at her, before smirking slightly.

‘Do not worry, you foolish girl, I have no intentions of using it. Actually, you should be thankful of it’s existence, for it is the only reason I am revealing this tale to you at all.’ She moved slightly closer, and extended the hand holding the jewel toward Kagome, her long black nails shimmering slightly in the faint torch light.

‘I want you to purify it.’ She said, and Kagome’s eyes, somehow, managed to widen even further at the woman’s words.

‘You want what?’ She blurted before she could stop herself, and Amaya raised her eyebrow again.

‘Perhaps I should put it into terms that even one as simple minded as you could understand.’ The woman said. ‘I wish for you to take this shard of the jewel, the one you and your friends hunted so desperately for, and touch it with your finger, so using your miko powers of purification to dispel the evil that has taken up residence within it. Do I make myself perfectly clear, or perhaps you need a diagram?’

Kagome shook her head, her cheeks heating slightly. ‘I meant... why do you want me to purify it? Aren’t you on Naraku’s side?’ Amaya studied her with eyes devoid of emotion, the same sort of look that Sesshomaru always seemed to wear.

‘I am on whoever’s side I choose to be.’ She said. ‘My side is my own, and it shall remain thus. Besides, I am involved in this now. I cannot so easily be released from the hold you have placed upon me.’ She said, then moved her hand slightly, drawing Kagome’s gaze to it.

‘Now, will you do it or not?’

Kagome glanced from the jewel shard, to the sorceress, as if expecting some sort of trick, and Amaya sighed. ‘Well if you won’t, then I guess I’ll simply have to ask Kikyo. This jewel shard will be purified one way or the other, and you two are the only miko’s with the power to do so.’ She said, beginning to withdraw her hand.

Kagome’s eyes flashed angrily, and she immediately shot her hand out through the bars in a movement faster than any she had made in many months, touching the edges of her fingers to the tainted shard.

It glowed angrily for a moment, and Kagome could practically hear the demon inside shrieking with rage, before the colour began to swirl, and the jewel became a faint pink colour, glowing brightly in the dim room.

Amaya smiled, and withdrew her hand as Kagome’s own fell limp, still hanging through the bars. ‘Thank-you for your assistance, young miko.’ She said, turning toward the stairs. ‘Now I must report to Naraku before he suspects, then perhaps check on your friends, before I shall again have to visit Inuyasha. His mind is still weak, and may be easily penetrated by either Naraku or the miko if he is not taught to defend himself.’

‘Wait!’ Kagome said loudly, straining her neglected and abused vocal cords, and Amaya stopped, foot on the bottom stair, and turned to look at her. Kagome had a million questions racing through her mind she wanted to ask the sorceress, and she wanted to ask them all, but didn’t know where to begin, and so, instead, simply said ‘why?’

Amaya cocked an eyebrow and stared at her, again with the same coolness that Sesshomaru always seemed to posses. ‘I told you-- because I am too deeply involved to simply back out now. Besides’ she said, a small smirk creeping on her dark features ‘I’m sure that if I stopped the boredom would kill me.’

And then the sorceress was gone, not giving Kagome a chance to respond to this.

She stared after her for a moment, then up at the ceiling, where only the smallest hole remained from the sorceress’ earlier departure (the hole apparently under some kind of spell, and it had been shrinking constantly since then) and a thin sliver of light, moonlight, judging by the colour, was shooting onto the dirty floor.

‘Alright, Amaya.’ She thought as she moved back to lean against the wall. ‘Whatever helps you sleep at night.’ And the Miko couldn’t keep the smile from her face that, despite the conditions she was under, she had managed to influence the woman so much. That even in these dark times, she had managed to create a ray of light in the woman, and maybe, just maybe, she would be able to turn that light into a blaze.

All she needed was some time.

And down here, she had lots of that.

END