Broken But Not Shattered by Jessica

Chapter 1

Broken But Not Shattered

Chapter One                                 The Beginnings Of A Treacherous Plot

-oOo-

((Disclaimer: One and only time I say this. I do NOT own Inuyasha.))

((A/N:  Will probably resemble other fan-fics because of some of the characters I have used but this is in no way that this is a copy of fan-fictions. The only simialarity is two of the character's in it. Nor am I using anyone's OC. I think I covered it. Anyway. This will somewhat follow The Final Act, with big deviations here and there, I haven't decided if I will diverge completely yet. Constructive criticism and ideas are welcome, but please don't flame. I am not forcing you to read this story. This fic is rated M, but for those that will read it anyway, don't tell me and don't complain. There will be warnings at the beginnings of the chapters when it is needed. ))

-oOo-

She awoke to the sound of wind howling through the remains of the slayers village that the seven of them had stayed in the night before. A violent scream that had her running to the entrance and pulling back the reed mat. Instead of being greeted by the bright light of a new day, her eyes took in the violent swirling of blackened clouds churning across the horizon. Feeling a shiver of fear skate down her spine, Kagome chalked the ominous sensation up to being human and residual apprehension over the events of the night prior.

Sighing softly, she just knew this was going to put Inuyasha in a bad mood wherever he was, Kagome allowed the reed mat to fall back into place before turning to face Miroku who sat in front of the crackling fire in the center of the hut, his face calm as he gave her a small smile.

"It sounds as though we are going to have quite a storm today." Miroku observed, making sure to keep his voice low enough so as not to disturb Shippo, who, despite the noise outside, seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

"Yeah, it doesn't look good." Kagome replied just as quietly as she lowered herself to the floor next to her backpack. Sticking her hand into the cavernous depths she easily located her hairbrush, lifting her arm to go through the daily motions even as her thoughts turned inward. Her mind flashing over Kagura after Naraku had allowed them to destroy Hakudoshi.

Kagura had sat down abruptly on the stone ground beneath her, eyes downcast, and expression screaming that she didn't have a chance in hell.

Though Kagome held no particular love for the wind witch, she couldn't find it in herself to hate her either. Though the demoness had committed violent and irrevocable crimes, she had been under the control of the vilest creature Kagome had ever had the displeasure of meeting while in the Sengoku Jidai*. There was no true way for anyone to rightly judge those actions against her.

"Do you think we will be able to save Kohaku, and Kagura?" Though she hated to express her own doubt, Kagome couldn't stop herself from seeking even a slight reassurance.

"I hope so Lady Kagome, I truly do, but we have to be willing to face the possibility that we may not be able to save anyone," Our own lives may even be at risk at this point. He didn't share that particular thought out loud, knowing it was not constructive. "Even as we hope we can save the world."

Feeling her spirits lift slightly, she allowed a small smile to pull at the corners of her lips as she finished brushing the tangles out of her hair, knowing that before too long she would just have to repeat the task, the humidity of the coming rain sure to make her hair very unruly.

Replacing her hairbrush into her backpack, she pulled out her small tea kettle and a bottle of water. She needed tea, anything to help calm her thoughts and keep them from racing in a hundred different directions.

-oOo-

"It has been found." Kanna's feminine, montone echoed through the empty hall, finally speaking the four words he had waited nearly a year for.

He couldn't stop the smirk from tipping his mouth, while the bright red of his inhuman eyes nearly glowed with malice as he stared at the beating heart that rested in the center of his hand.

"Good. Then I believe it is time we visit your sister." Delight filled him with the thoughts of his plan. Soon . . . soon everything would come to a close.

-oOo-

The sky was a swirling mass of vengeful darkness, the violent wind whipping her clothes around her body as she sailed forward on her trademark feather. The weather had been fine not a few hours before, but something had changed. The storm was violent and deadly, sure to cause destruction in the land below, but unable to touch her.

Lost within her own thoughts, it took Kagura a moment to realize that the object of her torment was floating lazily before her, Kanna standing beside him inside his customary barrier. Halting her feather several feet from the disgusting hanyou, she couldn't help but wonder if he was there to kill her as well.

"Kagura, apparently Hakudoshi has died." His voice was light, mocking, matching his               twisted expression.

Every muscle in her body tightened, and she could feel the beginnings of a snarl twisting her lips. 'You know it couldn't have happened if you didn't want it to.' Naraku had allowed the child-like demon to be killed; there was no doubt about that.

"I have a bargain for you, Kagura. One I think that you will readily agree to." His voice was silken soft as he raised his right hand, and her heart materialized.

"What do you want Naraku?" He'd known all along that she had planned to betray him. There was no sense now in trying to save face.

Movement caught her attention and her gaze, so like Naraku's, shifted to include Kanna as the void-child lifted her mirror, the surface glittering a brilliant blue before clearing and revealing to her the image of an island in the western province, Sesshomaru's domain.

"What is this?" She couldn't help the confusion that colored her voice or the suspicion that showed on her face.

"There is a very powerful demon that resides in the Shrine of Iya Valley. If you seduce and distract him for one hour, I will give you your heart back and you will be free of me."

She paused at his words, unable to stop the small flicker of hope that bloomed inside her chest. He was a demon who used lies, subterfuge, and treachery to get what he wanted. He could be stringing her along, sending her to her death, or simply lying to get her hopes up.

"I swear this is the last request I will have for you, and after you have done what I have asked, I will release you."

Everything sounded so easy, and the result would be the same either way, wouldn't it? If he wanted her dead, she would die. If he truly meant to free her after this, then she would be free.

"What are your schemes now, Naraku?" Her voice was more than a little bitter.

"That is no concern of yours. After all, once I release you, how do I know that you won’t immediately run to Inuyasha and the others?"

Fair enough she supposed, since that was exactly what she would have done. As much as she wanted her freedom, she also wanted the vile hanyou dead.

"You swear you will release me after I have done this?" She couldn't stop the hope that maybe, just maybe she would make it out of this alive.

"I swear."

"Then show me where I need to go." Resolute, Kagura squared her shoulders as she focused once more on the mirror's picture and missing Naraku's triumphant sneer.

Now that that was taken care of . . .

-oOo-

Rain beat against the earth with a ruthless intensity, a loud roaring in her ears as she focused her flashlight forward, the bright beam barely able to pierce the darkness. The wind threatened to knock her down as she struggled to maintain a grip on her umbrella, determined to at least keep Shippo -who sat huddled beneath her hiar -sheltered from the brutality of the storm.

"Myoga, is this the location of the anomaly you spoke of?" Miroku inquired. Though Inuyasha- with Myoga on his shoulder -stood very close to the monk and herself, it was difficult to understand the flea's affirmative.

She didn't know what was going on with the weather, but she was thankful that she could now get out of it. Ducking slightly against the wind and rain, Kagome hurried into the limestone cave, leaving the other's to follow.

Finally sheltered from what was quickly becoming a typhoon, Kagome lowered her umbrella, shivering slightly from the coolness of the cave.

"Hey, Kagome?" Shippo's apprehensive voice came from behind her left ear.

"Yeah, Shippo?" Closing her umbrella, she felt his impossibly small hands curl into the collar of her blouse.

"Don't you think there is something unnatural about this storm?"

"You too? Well at least i'm not just imagining things. Your right something is off, I just don't know what." This wasn't the season for this kind of weather. Dread slithered down her spine as she looked out of the mouth of the cave, the other's already inside. Saplings were forced to bend or break from the force of the wind, while branches fell from their lofty perches and were sent hurtling through the air with surprising velocity.

Somehow, she got the feeling the storm meant something.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, Kagome turned to follow the other's as they walked further into the darkness. Here, her flashlight easily cut through the gloom.

It only took moments for them to reach the end of the tunnel, where the massive cavern opened up before them, and the fossilized remains of Midoriko and the demon's she was still fighting came into sight.

She noticed it immediately, how could she not? The hole within the priestess' chest where she had forced out the Shikon No Tama glowed with a gentle white light. Confused, Kagome and the other's stopped mere feet from the formation.

"That hole in her chest. Is it supposed to be doing that?" Her attention shifted to the miniscule demon resting on Inuyasha's shoulder, and she couldn't help but notice the half demon sniffing the air discreetly before a familiar expression of hopeful heartbreak overcame his curiosity. Her lips lifting into a small, sad smile, Kagome turned her attention back to the rock formation before her, taking the time to study the anomaly before noticing a solid white mass in the center of the light.

"There's something inside it, it looks like a chrysalis." There was no way that was your average, everyday bug, and she couldn't help but to be a little bit worried.

"I'll take a closer look." Miroku announced as he moved to just that, but before he had even placed his foot down to take a step, he ran into a rippling blue barrier that surrounded the stone figures before them. It wasn't a strong barrier meant to hurt whoever came into contact with it, but it was obvious that people where meant to be kept out. The sensation it emitted had become very familiar to her as of late, and she couldn't help but to wonder what was here that she was protecting.

"Oh dear! This must be an ill omen! There can be no other explanation!" She was begining to think that the tiny flea was a drama queen.

"Yeah we should keep an eye on this place for a while."

Fighting against mixed emotions at the hanyou's* words, Kagome  reopened her umbrella, while Shippo re-hid under her hair. She had long ago accepted their relationship, but it seemed that she may never stop wishing for him to open his eyes and see her.

"I think I am going to head back to the hut since there is nothing that we can do but wait." With that announcement, Miroku joined her, but not before giving Inuyasha an inquiring glance over his shoulder.

"If your sure." The inu-hanyou seemed oblivious to anything but the stalagmite formation before him, while they left with the image of his expression in the forefront of their minds.

-oOo-

Kagura landed several yards from the shrine that Naraku had shown her, already soaked to the bone by the storm that had gotten steadily worse the closer she had come to this place. The wind tore at her hair and clothes, no longer hers to command, while a small voice in the back of her mind told her that she really shouldn't be here. Kagura suspected that to do with the fact that the dark hanyou* was forcing her to trespass on Sesshomaru's lands. Pushing that particular concern to the back of her mind, her cardinal colored eyes narrowed dangeroulsy on the building that stood in the center of the barren, granite landscape.

Opening her fan,  Kagura shielded her eyes from the rain as her attention began to drift to her right. The first thing that she noticed was the relatively wide, though doubtfully deep river that cut straight through the stone some distance away. Her thinly arched brows lowered as she took notice of the multiple piles of smooth, rounded rocks, and occasional wagon wheel that took up residence on this side of the river. A few feet further down and she noticed the bright red bridge that spanned the width of the river, decorated with a white guazy material, with two small afterlife statues at the entrance.

What did Naraku want that was here? The land felt wrong, tainted. A sensation that made her skin crawl. There was darkness here.

"What buisness do you have here?' The sudden booming male voice rang out louder than the sudden thunderclap that illuminated the sky for a few brief seconds. Immediately her attention swung back to her left to see a rather impressive male form standing in front of the entrance to the shrine, only slightly startled.

"I am looking for a place to take shelter from this storm."

Now that she was aware of the man's presense, she could feel the wry amusement that suddenly laced his aura with her words. Was this the demon that Naraku had told her about? He was standing there quietly, as though he hadn't a care in the world, and she decided to take the time to study him.

Long, straight black hair fell over his shoulder's and down his back, while coal black eyes stared at her with an intensity that made it appear as though he could see through her. His features were razorblade sharp, giving a grim, somber expression that in no way detracted from his innate beauty. In stature she was sure he was even larger than the demon lord who'se land he resided on. Was he more powerful than Sesshomaru? Could such a thing be possible? The man wore nothing but a loosely tied yukata*, as though he had done nothing but lay around in bed for the day.

"Do you have any idea where you are, woman?" Though she knew why she was here, she had no idea where she was and answered honestly.

"Not at all."

He considered her for a moment, almost as though he were searching for something. Could he tell if she lied? She hoped not. Or did Naraku plan for this man to kill her so that he wouldn't have to do it himself? If not for her years of practice under Naraku's control, she was sure her expression would have cracked under his scrutiny.

"Very well. Though I cannot say you have found shelter, there is hot tea, and a fire." It was the hardest thing she had ever done, keeping her relief from showing in her eyes, while she decided to ignore his rather strange comment.

"Your kindness is appreciated."

-oOo-

Well that had certainly been uneventful. A frown pulled at the corner's of his mouth as he watched the wind witch walk through the entrance to the shrine, neither her nor the male aware of his presense, which begged the question, weren't god's supposed to be all knowing and all powerful? Should they so easily be decieved?

Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Naraku turned his attention to the red bridge standing just before him. Here was where the ending would begin, and he would finally be able to realize his plans. With what he had in mind, there was no way that he could fail. Feeling a vile smirk replace his frown, he dropped his hand to rest on Kanna's head before drifting to the middle of the bridge, watching at the very air before him rippled and twirled in front of him before parting to reveal him the entrance he had so long been searching for. . .

End of Chapter One.

((A/N:  Constructive critcism is accepted, and ideas to help make the story longer are welcome. I've also realized that in the sixth season, naraku has gone to the underworld to retrieve a shard from Hosenki, but I'm stuck on this Idea so bear with me. Now, there are two entrances to Yomi-No-Kuni, or the Land Of The Dead in Japanese folklore. One is on the northern tip of the main island, while the other is in iya Valley on the island of Shikoku, which, for all intents and purposes in my story will be part of Sesshomaru's domain, I wanted to have Naraku snub his nose at him so to speak. ;) Stones and wagon wheels are placed along one side of the river by various people to help the spirits of children cross over into the after-life. ))