Sunday, October 2, 2005

Synchronicity 2: Varied paths
*episode 6*

It’s late, and every one is settling in for bed. Koga’s pack have been sent into the forest of Inuyasha for the night; and Ginta and Hakkaku, exhausted from chasing after Koga all day, are already asleep. Koga was upset that he was unable to convince Kagome to sleep in his arms, but he takes solace in the fact that at least the mutt isn’t sharing her bed. He and Inuyasha have heeded Kagome’s warning to not fight; but the two are glaring at each other and are likely to continue to do so well into the night. Kaede stops before bed, to try to remember when she agreed to house every vagabon human or demon that Kagome and Inuyasha brought back from their adventures...for the life of her, she can’t recall.
*The End*
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Saturday, October 1, 2005

Synchronicity 2: Varied paths
*episode 5*

Later that evening, Koga and Kagura happen to be alone for a few minutes. After an initial silence, the wolf says, “So you’re still tailing around after Kagome.” Kagura says, “Not her more than any of the others; but yes.” Koga says, “From what they’ve been saying, it sounds like Naraku’s built himself a new family without you in it.” She says, “That is little concern of mine.” He tells her, “We still got business; you killed my comrades, and I’ve sworn to have my revenge.” The demoness stops in thought. Looking up, she says, “I noticed you told your pack not to feed on the village.” Koga says, “Ya, but that has nothing to do with…” She cuts him off, “Just go along with it. Why did you do that?” He says, “It would have upset Kagome. They know they’re not supposed to kill humans anymore; but we don’t usually spend the night in a human village.” Kagura says, “So you don’t kill humans anymore. Have you ever felt the need to seek out the families of the people you did kill to feed your pack, to apologize to them?” “No.” he says. “And I feel no need to apologize to you.” she concludes. Koga says, “Now wait just a minute! This ain’t at all like that.” She says, “Actually, it is different. The humans you killed were most likely defenseless; and they had done nothing to you. Your comrades sought me out and attacked me. They started a fight, and I finished it. Now, if you insist on forcing a confrontation with me, one of us is going to die. If that’s you, then you’ll have my condolences; but if it’s me, you’ll have driven an insurmountable wedge between you and the woman you say you love.” Clearly considering the conversation over, Kagura turns and walks away.
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Friday, September 30, 2005

Synchronicity 2: Varied paths
*episode 4*

Late in the afternoon, Kagome comes to Inuyasha who is still sitting in his tree. She calls to him, “Inuyasha, we’re going to have company soon; I think it’s Koga!” Not even this news can break the half-demon’s glum attitude. He hops down and follows Kagome back to the others. On their way, Miroku runs to them and shouts, “Inuyasha, Kagome, I sense an evil presence coming this way!” “Relax,” Kagome calls, “I’m pretty sure it’s Koga. His shards must have been tainted like ours.” The three continue; and sure enough, a tornado appears, drawing closer to the village. Lagging behind, of course, are a pack of wolves and two wolf demons not gifted with jewel shard. By the time Ginta and Hakkaku arrive, Kagome has already gone through the ritual of rebuffing Koga’s overly intimate greeting. Koga is saying, “…wish I could say I just came by to see your smiling face; but there’s something else that’s come up.” Kagome cuts him off, “I know, your jewel shards, ours too for that matter; take them off and let me purify them.” With that done, Inuyasha finally speaks up, “There, you’re done, now get lost!” Kagome steps between the two before Koga can respond; and he, reluctantly, holds his tounge. Hakkaku says, still breathing heavily, “Sis, come on!” Already having sat down, Ginta says, “Can’t we just…catch our breath?” Kagome stands in thought for a moment, then she says, “Ok, fine, they’re staying the night;” she looks first to Koga, and then to Inuyasha, “and if either one of you starts a fight, you’ll both regret it.” As Kagome goes to talk to Kaede, Miroku reflects that she sounded more like a mother scolding her sons, than a woman talking to the rivals for her love.
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Thursday, September 29, 2005

Author’s note
I guess I must not have written it too well, but Miroku did try to wake Sango up. She was asleep and the tainted jewel shard was affecting her mind and her dreams. Miroku was taking the only course of action his half-asleep mind could think of to move his friend out of harm’s way. That said, I think Inuyasha also did exactly the right thing.
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Synchronicity 2: Varied paths
*episode 3*

Well, Kyoubou has been doing better. He still doesn’t say much, and almost never about himself. But he seems less depressed. That’s good; but the incident with the jewel has me worried. Normally, the jewel maintains a balance between good and evil which is only tilted by the actions of the one who possesses it. But nothing that happened to those shards could possibly explain their change. For that matter, all of them were affected equally. I can only assume that something happened to affect the whole jewel; regardless of where the pieces were. That can only mean one thing; my old friend has suffered a defeat. If Midoriko were to weaver in her struggle, even for a moment, the evil in the jewel would begin to take control. I refuse to believe that after all this time Midoriko would allow her will to falter; or that the demon found some new strength to draw upon. That means that, for a moment, she focused her power elsewhere. I can’t imagine what could be important enough to require her to do such a thing; but the very thought disturbs me.
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Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Synchronicity 2: Varied paths
*episode 2*

Inuyasha has been quite and aloof since last night. Finally, Kagome comes to try to talk to him. He’s sitting in his tree outside of town. Kagome comes and calls to him. Reluctantly, he drops to the ground and sits next to her. He say nothing, so she decides to begin, “Look Inuyasha; you didn’t know. We all saw what it looked like; even Miroku doesn’t blame you.” After a long pause, he says, “I never tried to kill a human before; not as a half-demon anyway. But I was gonna choke the life out’a him. He’s my friend.” Kagome says, “We all saw that; and none of us complained until Kaede saw the shards. If had been trying to…you know, we would all have let you do it. Maybe you overreacted; but then again, maybe not.” Seeing that he needs more time, Kagome rests her hand Inuyasha’s shoulder for a moment, and then goes back to town.
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Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Synchronicity 2: Varied paths *episode 1* When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide Where I stop and I turn And I go for a ride Till I get to the bottom And I see you again John Lennon & Paul McCartney Naraku holds his jewel shard and contemplates its dark depths. He knows that he has lost three shards: first the shard he gave to Kikyo in the hope that she would kill Kagome, second the shard of his incarnation Yuukanmaru which he had never recovered, and finally the shard which he had allowed Da-ku to keep after she recovered the others from Kyoubou. However, all of that seems unimportant now. In the middle of the night, the jewel flooded with a dark luster and an evil presence flowed through it. For several seconds the jewel seemed to grow more and more evil of its own accord. Sadly, it stopped as suddenly and with as little cause apparent. Naraku is vaguely curious as to the nature of this change; naturally he would love to trigger it again. But without some clue as to what caused it; he admits that he will just have to accept it as a dark miracle.
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Monday, September 26, 2005

Thunder Road: Kikyo’s path
*episode 6*

At last, Kikyo approaches the dead village. Unlike most villages, the absence of sentinels and their watch fires bespeaks the downfall of their way of life. The stockade still stands, but it is clear that it has received little or no care over the past months. But the village is of little concern to the priestess. Her interest lies in the limestone cave beneath it. At the entrance, she is unsurprised to find the barrier raised against her. Leaving her bow at a distance, she sits and meditates; hoping to find inner peace. After hours spent in thought and prayer, Kikyo senses the change within herself necessary to continue. She rises and walks into the cave. She can see and hear the spirits trapped around her; although they remain confined to the stone. Finally arriving in the main chamber, Kikyo looks upon the woman who, in life, she had hoped to emulate. The warrior priestess, Midoriko, remains as ever trapped in her pillar of fossilized demons. In her own stone chest is the hole from which the sacred jewel emerged. Kikyo does not flatter herself by thinking that her purpose is unknown to the other. Instead she merely stands awaiting judgment. With an inward smile, she reflects on the other time she had stood in this chamber: how young and nervous she had been; and her shock and elation when she had been chosen by the stone maiden to bare the burden of the jewel. That time, there had been no obstacle to her entering the cave. Now, however, only by great effort could she make herself worthy to enter the lower realm. Even now, in the presence of the great one, Kikyo must focus her mind to prevent anger from welling up within her. If Midoriko had not passed the burden to her, she would never had met Inuyasha, or Onigumo. She might have lived a full life if not for…no, she realizes she must stop herself from thinking such thoughts. Now she can only wait and hope that Midoriko had the strength and will to grant her this boon. At long last, a light appears within the crevasse in Midoriko’s armor. It shoots forward and engulfs Kikyo, lifting her off the floor. When the light fades, she lies on the floor in a crumpled heap.
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Thunder Road: Kikyo’s path
*episode 7*

Miroku wakes with a start and a shout. He reaches into his robes and pulls out a small pouch of cloth which he tosses across the room. Taking a moment to compose himself, he looks to his companions sleeping peacefully…all but one. Sango sleep is restless, she seems to be in fear or pain; or both. She is lying on her side and her right hand is clenched across her breast. Realizing what is happening, the monk rushes to her side. He tries to pull her hand aside, but even with both hands and consciousness he cannot overcome her sleeping strength. Dispirit for a solution, Miroku tries to wake her. Realizing what must be done, he grabs her butt with his left hand. Smack. Well prepared for Sango’s unconscious reaction, Miroku uses his free hand to pull open Sango’s garment. For once not interested in her naked body, Miroku grabs a similar bag from an inside pocket and tosses it into the same corner. With a start, Sango awakens and screams. Everyone awakens; and in the ensuing confusion, too much happens to record. On the other side of the chaos, Inuyasha is on his feet, pushing the monk against the wall of the hut with his fingers wrapped around Miroku’s throat. Sango is huddled against the wall clutching her clothes to her and shaking; and Kagome, Kirara, and Kohaku are sitting by her trying to comfort her. Inuyasha says, “I thought I knew the depth you could sink to monk; but this is unforgivable! Just be glad, your death will be nothing compared to what she’d do to you herself.” That said, Inuyasha begins to tighten his fingers around the monks throat. Miroku calls, with less and less breath, “Inuyasha…I didn’t…the jewel shards…look!” Old Kaede is the only one to look where he points. Seeing the two bags and sensing their contents, she says, “Inuyasha, all is not as it seems; let him go.” Anger apparent in his voice, Inuyasha says, “He was tryin to RAPE her; what part’a that are you not getting, you old hag!?!” Her interest drawn by Kaede, Kagome turns to look. She reaches to her bag then recoils in pain. She turns to Sango and asks, “Sango, did you keep your jewel shard in your clothes?!?” After getting a shaken nod, Kagome turns to Inuyasha, “Put him down! It’s not what it looks like!” Upset, Inuyasha gives a final squeeze before dropping the monk to the floor. “Then what the hell is it!?!” he asks turning to face her. Kagome says, “All our jewel shards have been corrupted! Miroku and Sango both sleep with their shards in their clothing; he was trying to protect her!” Inuyasha goes to Kagome’s bag and fumbles with the zipper. Getting it open, he grabs the bottle holding the jewel shards and looks carefully at them. With a humph, he goes to the get the other two shards. He pours them all on the floor and picks one up. He carries it to Kagome, pausing when he sees that just being near it is painful to her. He waits for her to extend her hand before giving it to her. The instant it touches her palm the darkness fades and the evil disappears. As the others watch in silence, Inuyasha continues to bring them to her one at a time until they have all been purified. Kagome looks to him, “Inuyasha, you are half human. That must have hurt.” He says, “I’m fine.” He takes a deep breath and looks to the monk. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come. For nearly half a minute, he struggles to form the words. At last, he turns around and heads for the door. As he stands holding the curtain aside, he says in a low voice, “…sorry.” He goes out into the moonlight.
*The End*
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Sunday, September 25, 2005

Thunder Road: Kikyo’s path
*episode 5*

So by a long road of doubts, hopes, and days of introspection; Kikyo came to a wood leading to a dead village. However, to her surprise, there is one obstacle she must face first. Standing in her path is a woman, wearing much the same outfit as herself. Only her lower garment is black instead of red. Kikyo says, “You? No, you’re not her. Who and what are you?” Da-ku says, “You know, for a long time, I looked for a reason to hate you. But I came up empty. You want Inuyasha, take’im; see if I care, as long as he’s dead. Naraku lusts after you; but he doesn’t want to and he sure as hell doesn’t want you. You’re not the one I want to be; and I don’t need to be your reincarnation, my powers exceed both of you. So like I said: Take Inuyasha and go to hell.” Kikyo says, “While it may have been inadvertent, you have answered my question. You are a spawn of Naraku, formed to satiate his desire for me.” Da-ku doesn’t respond and Kikyo continues, “However, if all is as you claim; why are you here?” Da-ku says, “Because I’m wondering; why are you here?” Kikyo thinks for a moment before saying, “I’m here…to visit an old friend.” The incarnation says, “Nobody here but corpses; but hey, knock yourself out.” With that, she walks past the priestess and walks in the same direction Kikyo had come from. After watching her go, Kikyo proceeds.
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