Well, I amazingly got my second chapter back promptly from my beta! I 
haven�t even written the third  but I�m going to work on it tonight! @.@ 
Promise! :D

Anyway!

Enjoy the latest chapter! :D




Fragment of the Dream
A Dark Alternative For Inu-Yasha

By Amanda �Seifergrrl� Lever

Chapter Two: Miko


The village was not as they remembered.

The place that had once housed the shikon no tama, that would one day be 
Kagome�s home, had never lacked vitality. Despite--or maybe because of--the 
trouble that came here so often, the villagers were a hardy breed; 
resilient, hard working, and as they watched the group work out of the 
shrine, struggling to reconstruct the shattered Shikon no Tama, they grew 
more and more tolerant of things odd and outlandish.

This village was a now strange to their eyes, like a dead reflection of the 
place they had known. The villagers were tired, thin and poor, moving to 
and from their jobs like zombies. There was not a face they recognized, and 
they were shunned by the populace.

�Something has gone terribly wrong,� Miroku breathed, clenching his gloved 
hand into a fist.

�Should we go up to the shrine?� Kagome suggested. �Perhaps� Kaede-baba is 
there?�

A double set of nods were given, and the trio headed up the steps toward 
the shrine on the hill. Kagome paused for a moment, and then looked over 
her shoulder at the Goshinboku from the steps  and then froze, her mouth 
agape in shock.

�The tree! The tree!� Her hands latched onto Sango�s arm with a painful 
intensity, and she turned and pointed.

They all looked to the Goshinboku, Sango and Miroku trying to figure out 
what she was pointing at.

�Kagome, what�s wrong?� Miroku asked, peering over her shoulder. �I see 
nothing out of the ordinary.�

�Here� here�s where she shot him�� Kagome insisted, her voice rising in 
pitch.. �If she stood here, and pinned him to the tree there, then� why is 
there no place where the bark was stripped away by his body?� Her voice 
cracked, and she shrilled, �Why is there no scar on the tree?� If there was 
no scar, had there been no Inu-Yasha? Had Kikyou taken Inu-Yasha away so 
completely that even the Goshinboku didn�t remember the boy that had been 
sealed against it?

All stood silent for a moment; in the chaos, none of them had looked at the 
Goshinboku, or realized the alteration to the God Tree. Now, it was made 
clear; Inu-Yasha had never spent half a century pinned to any of the trees 
in the grove around the shrine.

Sango�s hands closed on Kagome�s shoulders, and she gently turned the 
distraught girl away. �We�ll ask those questions soon, Kagome-chan,� the 
taijya promised her. �But we should keep going.� Giving a fretful glance to 
Miroku, Sango worried. All they needed was to see something else strange 
and abnormal, and she was certain at least one of them was going to have a 
breakdown.

Kagome tried to pull away from Sango, but in the end her friend�s strength 
pulled her back from the grove and guided her back to the stairs, this time 
forcing her to continue up to the shrine. Miroku�s hand found Kagome�s 
again, and this time she gripped him as tightly as he gripped her.

Fear shared was fear lessened; while the sealed kazaana confused and the 
scarless Goshinboku disturbed, they clung to each other for support and 
found solace in each other on the long trip up the stairs.

Soon, they stood before the shrine�s doors in silent contemplation.

It looked normal. There was damage to the roof and to the torii before 
them, where it had once been attacked by demons  perhaps even by the 
missing Inu-Yasha. It, at least, seemed a bastion of normality in this 
otherwise crazed world they had woken to.

At least, until they walked up and opened the doors and found themselves 
face to face with the kuromiko Tsubaki� Or that�s who the aging, withered 
woman seemed to be. She was well into her seventies, wrinkled and frail, 
but the fall of white hair and the wickedly green eyes that stared into the 
trio�s faces invoked memories of pain and suffering, struggle and hate.

Kagome fell back, her hand reaching for her bow. Tsubaki would not harm her 
again, if she could help it!

The woman who who looked like Tsubaki fell back, her eyes widening  and 
then threw up her hands and covered her head. �Mercy! We are merely miko, 
tending to this poor village! Mercy! We have nothing you could want!�

Everyone stopped; a breath was collectively drawn by and held. This was not 
their fearsome enemy, was it? The woman who had played Kagome like a puppet 
against them, she�d never cower before three young travelers� even if 
Kagome had reached for her weapon.

�Hold,� Miroku said gently, first to recover. �We are not here to rob or 
hurt you, miko-sama,� he explained to the woman. �We seek the senior miko 
of this temple.�

�If you seek the senior miko,� the woman with the eyes of Tsubaki said, 
�you must depart. She sees no one.�

�But we�re lost!� Kagome protested, panic in her voice. �And nothing is the 
same!�

Miroku lifted his hands again as Sango tried to shush the frightened girl, 
attempt to explain� but those green eyes were fixed on Kagome�s distressed 
countenance and sought nothing else.

�Oh gods�� the miko uttered, before making a gesture of warning. �I 
recognize your face! Your face is her face!� The miko stumbled back, 
expression twisting up in horror, her gnarled hands dancing through a 
gesture of warding. �B-But she had no child with him,� she stammered. �He 
didn�t touch her body� and half-breeds sire no young� he didn�t touch her, 
even after his ascension to power� You can�t be their offspring! Who are you?�

The accusing question hung between them, the air pregnant with anxiety. 
Sango�s hands held ice; Kagome was as still as death. There was only one 
other woman who could have her face.

Miroku dared to shatter the silence again when the others seemed frozen in 
shock. Left to function as the voice of the group once more, he cleared his 
throat, and then asked, �Is your senior miko� Kikyou-sama?�

�Who else was the lady of the Shikon no Tama?� The elder miko laughed 
bitterly, her lip curled with disdain. �You�ve come looking for her. Well, 
fine. Come in. Botan and Momiji will see to your needs.� The miko finally 
stepped back from the door, and allowed the three to enter.

Her eyes never left Kagome as they stepped into the shrine of the Shikon no 
Tama.

It was mostly as they remembered it; the room dark and empty, with braziers 
lit and incense burning, a warmth spreading through the air that didn�t 
quite touch the trio. It was simply a meeting hall, for services to be held 
and prayers to be received; the chamber of the Shikon no Tama was elsewhere.

The miko lead them away to a small room off the main hall, and allowed them 
to sit for a moment. She then stepped out into the hall and clapped her 
hands. �Botan! Momiji!�

�Yes, Tsubaki-sama!� chimed two young voices.

Sango and Miroku tried not to flinch when they heard Kagome�s soft whimper. 
The woman�s identity was confirmed. It was as if they were in the house of 
their enemy, instead of their ally, and none were at ease.

The woman who was Tsubaki the Kuromiko gave the unseen girls orders for tea 
and rice cakes; she then returned to her guests, bowed slightly, and 
declared with a politeness lacking any warmth, �I will fetch Kikyou-sama 
for you. It may be a little time before she is able to come to you. Please, 
rest and be comfortable in the meantime. You are our first guests in some 
time.�

All three bowed, finding solace in the simple courtesies, and Tsubaki left 
them alone.

�We�re not in the right place,� Kagome murmured hollowly, echoing all 
three�s fears.

�On the contrary, I believe we�re in the right place,� Miroku said simply. 
�But in the wrong time.�

�Wrong time?� Sango looked at Miroku as if he were daft. �What do you mean�?�

�Kikyou was working a spell at the Goshinboku,� Miroku reminded them. �The 
wood of the Goshinboku is what built the well that connects our country and 
Kagome-sama�s; her time and our own. She was a miko of great skill and no 
small power; she could exploit that connection. Perhaps create a moment out 
of time for herself� and Inu-Yasha?�

�But � she could hardly want to rule this empty village,� Sango offered. 
�If she�s still a miko, then she hasn�t� then��

�Then Inu-Yasha and Kikyou�s promise was still broken,� Kagome supplied for 
them both, seeming to confirm Sango�s suspicion and filling her own heart 
with dread. �Inu-Yasha wasn�t sealed, but he did not become human, and the 
Shikon no Tama was not purified.�

�But� Tsubaki mentioned� a half-breed�� Sango began haltingly, her eyes 
darting to meet Miroku�s.

�Yes. I would have to assume that means that Kikyou and Inu-Yasha were at 
odds once again�� Miroku offered, then considering. �If he is indeed the 
hanyou they�re speaking of��

�Who else would it be?� Kagome asked. She paused, her eyes scanning the 
walls, as if seeking something.

�Kagome-sama?�

The young girl let a breath hiss between her teeth, and her hands fisted on 
her knees. Sango and Miroku waited, the tension drawn out like her bowstring.

�There�s no Shikon no Tama here, either,� Kagome said softly, reaching up 
to grip the vial she had beneath her blouse. �It�s gone. Someone has taken 
the Shikon no Tama from the shrine.�

Her eyes were dark, as she looked toward the door. �Something came between 
them again,� Kagome said softly. �But this time, Inu-Yasha escaped with the 
Shikon no Tama.�

�You can�t be certain,� Miroku began, but his voice was lost as Kagome 
continued.

�No, I can�t. We�ll find out from Kikyou, though, I�m sure,� Kagome 
offered. �But I just can�t shake this feeling��

�What feeling?� Sango said.

�That this time� Kikyou failed.�



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