Chapter 11 – The Temple Shikon

"Are ye heading out, Inuyasha?" Kaede asked.

Inuyasha gave a stiff nod. "I gotta get goin' if I expect to defeat that bastard Naraku. There's no tellin' what he's doin' now."

Kirara mewed, pushing away from the arms of the woman that held her. Once her form hit the ground, she moved to stand beside him. He gazed down at her for a moment, but as she began to lick lightly at her paw, she knew that he knew what she meant. The village would be safe with Kaede and the guardians of the forest around them, they did not need her to stay. So, she would go with him. Though, as she went to scratch behind her ear, she winched a bit at the shallow wound marring her flesh.

"And, pray tell, where do ye plan on going first?" Kaede continued. She smiled a bit when she saw the dedication that Kirara had to her friends. She knew from tales of old perfectly well whose companion she had once been, and she was glad to see that even now Midoriko's teachings were followed somewhere.

"Well, I was going to go visit those damn panthers, but I figured that I didn't feel like getting my hide burned or frozen just yet. So," he scoffed, "I'm going to go see these dragons that rule the east. I wanna see if they're as strong as they're made out to be."

"Hm," Kaede nodded. "I see. Just do keep in mind that ye must keep yeself safe, Inuyasha. The climb to the Dragon's Keep is not an easy one, and they say that most do not survive the few dragons that guard the entrance."

Inuyasha scoffed again, "Yeah, well, if what the kid said is true, these guys have a debt to pay. And I plan on makin' them pay it, whether I have to kick their asses or not."

"Do not grow overconfident, Inuyasha," Kaede warned. "Even the best ally can turn out to be the one who will stick ye in the back when ye have turned away."

Shippo jumped to Kaede's shoulder, grabbing onto the old woman's haori with ease. "And don't forget to come back alive," he said. "Kagome-mama and the others might still be out there, remember? So, you have to come back to see them."

Inuyasha shook his head, before turning away. He raised his hand into the air, "Sure thing, kid." After a few steps, Kirara came to perch herself on his shoulder, her tails twitching down his back. He walked a bit more, turned to cast one last look at his companions, and then shot off into the forest as fast as he could.

Shippo frowned, "Do you think he'll come back, Kaede-sama?"

"He is a strong hanyou, Shippo-kun," Kaede replied. "I am sure that he might get himself hurt a bit, but he will pull through for everyone's sake. After all, I doubt he wants Kagome and the others to return to a land controlled completely by Naraku."

"I know, but don't you think we should have told him the easier way to reach the Dragon's Keep?" Shippo asked. He did not understand Kaede's wish to keep the information from Inuyasha, since it would save him nearly a day's travel. However, he did not go against the wishes of his elder when he had remembered the piece of information.

"He will get more respect out of climbing the mountain than taking the path, Shippo-kun," Kaede smirked. "Ye do not need to worry over such things. Inuyasha will climb the mountain, he will prove himself, and he will convince the dragons that it is best to be with him rather than against him. As I said, he might get a little hurt along the way, but the lasting effect will serve its purpose."

Shippo nodded. Kaede's words were true, since it made more sense for Inuyasha to earn their respect before be started mouthing off to them. At least that way he would not be condemning himself to a nice little cell they decided to build just for him. Or get himself thrown off the cliff that he would have to climb if he said anything really disrespectful to the dragon lord. "I understand."

oOo

Ah-Un knew that something was not right in the world. His heads turned to the small girl curled up on his side, tears leaking down her face from the argument she had had with the toad. He did not believe that his master was dead, none of them did. Yet the toad had decided to debate with her on whether or not he might be. Damn toad, he had never trusted him. It did not matter how much he worshipped the ground that his master walked on, he had most likely always been waiting to see what could destroy such a powerful being.

However, the toad was a fool, because his master was not dead.

Turning both heads, Ah-Un gazed around the area, before Ah decided that it was safe. Un continued to watch for any sudden movements in the foliage for a while, not entirely convinced as his counterpart. However, Ah-Un eventually rested both heads against the ground, listening to the small girl as she cried. Ah wished to comfort her, but did not know how, and when he gave a snort to Un, he found that the other did not either. So, they continued to listen, feeling her hands rub against the hide of their back.

Un lifted his head when he heard a nose, and snorted when he realized the toad was returning. Ah then lifted his, as well. Ah-Un watched him carefully – the way he walked; the way he carried his staff; the way he huffed in annoyance; the way his eyes were a bit guilty. Ah was not entirely convinced that much of this information was relevant, and Un agreed as the toad moved forward. Ah-Un still watched, four eyes narrowing when the toad came to stop before them.

Jaken scowled at the large beast, snapping, "Don't you dare try anything, you stupid animal! I am Sesshoumaru-sama's most trusted servant, and I will have respect!"

Un growled, leaning forward to snort in the toad's face. Ah laughed at the gesture, while the toad began to yell about how it was disrespectful for him to be treated such a way. However, Ah-Un did not care, because both heads knew that they were their master's most trusted vassal. Their master had found and cared for them, allowed them to stay at his side for centuries. They had stood by his side since a date before their master's father had perished, and they knew that the toad was as much of an annoyance to their master as he was to them. If either of them deserved respect, it was not the one squawking at the top of his lungs.

Ah turned his head toward the girl when she shifted, lifting her eyes to look upon the toad. Un continued to occupy the filthy beast's attention, but Ah watched as the girl wiped at her large eyes. He wished that she would not cry, but he knew there was nothing to be done about it at the moment. He had never been able to communicate in a way that the girl would understand, though he had strived for many years to learn the language that many other creatures used. However, knowing what she said was much different than being able to tell her that his master was not dead, he could not be.

"Don't talk like that to Ah-Un, Jaken," Rin snapped. Ah-Un fully turned toward the girl, surprised that she had not said the toad's name with respect and snapped at him at the same time. "Sesshoumaru-sama isn't dead! Rin won't believe it, and neither will Ah-Un. If you wish to, then you're not a true servant of Sesshoumaru-sama, and you don't deserve anything!"

Un turned his head, wanting to see the look on the toad's face. His mouth had fallen open, and he gawked for a few moments, obviously confused with what just happened. However, Un began to chuckle when he felt the girl climb up onto their back and take the reins. The toad continued to look absolutely stupefied, even when he followed Ah into lifting to their feet.

"You—" Jaken finally managed to stutter out. "You despicable human wench! How dare you talk to me, the Almighty Jaken, as if you are superior! If you were not such an important play thing to my lord, I would spite you where you stand!"

Rin ignored him, tugging at the reins, "Come on, Ah-Un. We'll need to go see Kazuya-sama to tell him that Sesshoumaru-sama is missing. He'll know what to do, Rin is sure."

Ah-Un moved where the child directed him, though Un kept a close eye on the toad. The girl had ignored him, and continued to do so even after he kept droning on about how great he was, but they were not stupid enough to do so. The weapon their master had given the toad held many secrets the toad had yet to uncover, but Ah-Un had seen them with their own eyes. They would not allow the girl to be harmed by it, because whether she knew it or not, she was beginning to show their master a better life.

Jaken's eyes widened, "Where are you going, you stupid child? You can't leave me here, I am a valuable asset to the House of the Moon!"

Ah-Un made sure to give the toad a nice slap with their tail when he came running forward. Once the toad went flying for a second time that day, they allowed themselves to pull into the air away from him. After all, it appeared that even angered the toad was too stupid to realize the power he held in his hands. Ah-Un supposed, as they began to travel home, that that was probably the reason their master gave it to the toad. At least in his hands it could not do much harm.

OoO

Miroku rubbed at his shoulders, wishing that the blazing sun were no longer pounding down upon him. The heat was almost unbearable, though the slight darkness of his skin helped to keep him from burning, as Kagome said. Despite that knowledge, he still wished that they had been transported to a place with minimal sunlight. In fact, at this moment, he would much rather be in a place that was cloaked in complete darkness for all eternity. Night would be much welcome, since this blistering heat was causing his mind to shift away from the beauty that was walking around him half naked in order to focus on his plight.

Shifting his gaze from the sand at his feet, he sighed at the image his two lovely companions made. They were speaking softly with one another, not even realizing that their hips were swaying hauntingly back and forth, back and forth. The fact that Sango was wearing an outfit that barely hid her modesty was a huge bonus; he could almost see through half of that fine silk. Oh, how desperately he wished to reach out and take hold of that plump bottom taunting him, but the heat pounding down upon him was depleting him of energy.

At the moment he had no desire to be hit. There would be no telling how long it would take him to recover in this type of heat.

So, sighing once more, he cast his eyes over the city surrounding them. The buildings were created with stone, or perhaps clay, and stood side-by-side against the elements. People moved about the sand covered roads in minimal clothing, most of them dark skinned and unaffected by the heat of the sun. In all, it appeared to be a normal place to him, merely one that was far to close to the sun and surrounded by desert. After living near water and surrounded by large, green trees and other plants it was not a place he would wish to live, though.

"Miroku-san. Miroku-san?"

Miroku blinked, wishing once again that the sun was not so overbearingly hot. Turning his head, he smiled at the young miko standing at his side. He noticed that Sango had flanked his other side, but kept his gaze trained on the woman to his right. "Yes, Kagome-sama? Is there something that you need?" he asked.

"Kagome-chan and I were wondering on your thoughts of this place," Sango replied. "We have our own ideas where the portal of this world might be, but we wished to hear your thoughts, houshi."

Kagome nodded, "I want to ask Sesshoumaru, too. He might have a good idea where it is, since he said he was going to scout the area. He'll probably get to see more than we will. He's really fast, after all."

Miroku nodded, "Yes, that is an excellent idea. It might also benefit us to ask the Prince. This is his kingdom, so he will know the location quite well if Sesshoumaru-sama does not manage to find anything of importance. However, we should only use him as a last resort considering the way he reacted when Kagome-sama mentioned us departing. He does not seem keen on the idea, and I do not wish to reside in a prison because he wishes to stop us."

"I had the same thoughts," Sango said. "The Prince does not wish us to leave because he believes Kagome-chan to be a god of some type. So, it will be best to only use him if we must."

Kagome nodded in agreement to their words. She knew that Sango did not wish to ask Prince Sesshoumaru of anything after she had received that beautiful piece of clothing. Her friend had been suspicious of many people since Naraku had destroyed her village and left her alive as he controlled her younger brother. She was not surprised that she was suspicious of Prince Sesshoumaru, and in a way Kagome knew she was as well. "That sounds like a plan," she said. "But how will we know when we must?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama is a youkai," Miroku pondered, "so he should be able to see everything in the city by nightfall. I doubt that he has thrown himself into the crowd of people around here, which means that he has most likely taken to the rooftops or the sky. So, he should be able to give us a good idea of the area. However, even he might not find the portal within the first day, so we should give him a few before we decide to do anything else."

"It sounds reasonable." Sango turned her head, looking through the crowd of people to her left. She stopped after a moment, her eyes narrowing as she saw the glimmer in the distance.

"Sango-san?" Miroku asked.

"There water over there," Sango stated. "A river it looks like."

Kagome turned to look, blinking at the sight. "Are you sure? Often times in a place like this your mind will start to show you things that aren't real in the distance. They call it a mirage."

"Interesting," Miroku said thoughtfully. "I have heard of men at sea having their minds play tricks on them, but I had not known intense heat could cause such a thing."

Sango scowled, "My mind is not playing tricks on me. Besides, I am used to heat from working with Kirara my entire life."

Miroku smiled innocently, "I made no such assumption, Sango-san. I was merely stating a fact, since I appreciate it whenever Kagome-sama decides to share with us a bit from the outside world. After all, her time seems to know a great deal more than ours about mostly everything."

Kagome nodded in agreement, saying, "From what I know about history, I would say that this is most likely around five thousand years before my time in Egypt. It's a country in Africa that is covered in mostly desert and has the Nile River running through it. Most cities were built along the river, since it is the only source of water unless you lived next to the ocean. So, there's a very good chance that what we're seeing is that river."

"The Nile?" Sango asked. "Such a strange name."

"I am sure that they think our names are pretty strange, Sango-chan," Kagome smiled. "Or at least in our dimension they would have, since many people here seem to have Japanese names. Here seems to be the dimension where our origins began in Egypt instead of in Japan. It would explain why we understand each other."

Miroku tilted his head, "I had wondered about that. But I had thought that it had something to do with the portal, since it is possible we are hearing the language as we need to and vise versa."

"I suppose," Kagome replied. "It is possible, but too much of a headache to think about how such a thing could be created."

"Yes, I must agree with you, Kagome-sama."

Sango nodded at the answer, adding, "The person or god that created such a thing must be very powerful."

"Indeed," Miroku replied. "However, I believe at the moment we should be thinking about perhaps exploring this river. If it is such an important source of life to this country, then perhaps that will be where the portal is located."

"It would make sense." Kagome stated her opinion, before moving to walk in the direction the river was located. It was not as far away as she expected when they began, but with the heat barreling down upon them it seemed twice as far. However, upon seeing the Nile River, she stood almost in awe of the mighty source of water that allowed life to thrive in such a dry climate. Her feeling of awe disappeared in a cold shiver, though, when a shadow settled over them.

Miroku tensed, feeling the spiritual presence that cast over him when the shadow formed. He had not noticed with the blazing sun, but as he glanced up through the shade, he saw a large, dazzling structure standing on the opposite bank of the river. He had never seen such a structure, though he had seen a few in a somewhat similar shape. "Kagome-sama," he asked softly, "what is that?"

"A pyramid," Kagome muttered, her tongue heavy. "But it's made of… of glass instead of stone."

"Is that odd?" Sango asked. She did not have the large sense of spiritual awareness that she knew her companions did, but she still felt unease while standing beneath the pyramid's shadow. Her footing stood apart a bit, because such a powerful thing could not be trusted, whether it was living or not.

"Well, considering the area and the time period that it seems to be," Kagome continued, "that's very, very unusual. All pyramids I've ever read about are made of huge stone blocks built by slaves. They act as burial sights, normally to pharaohs and the ones that served him, because the Egyptians thought that the items and people placed inside with the pharaoh would go onto the next life to please and serve him there."

"One could not be made of glass?" Miroku asked.

"I don't think glass was in that much supply," Kagome replied. "The only thing they had to use that was in great supply was stone, if I remember correctly. So, I have no idea how that was built."

"It emits a strong presence of both holy and demonic powers."

They turned, watching as the tall, stoic taiyoukai now traveling with them slid out of the shadows. His golden eyes were set on the pyramid, as if waiting for it to strike out at him without cause. His shoulders were thrown back, the gold wrapped around his shoulders making the fact more noticeable the longer they stared. Then, as if he had dismissed the tall structure towering above them, he turned his gaze upon them.

"The structure becomes pink when the sun is shining down upon it, but the side that is not touched or has darkened twists with darkness and turns black. The holy energy is strongest where the sun is shining, and the demonic energy is strongest where the sun does not touch. However, despite the strong demonic presence, the structure does not appear malevolent," he finished.

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru nodded once.

"Do you have any idea of what is it, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Miroku asked.

"The ningen who walk past refer to it as 'the temple'," Sesshoumaru replied. "I assumed by the guards posted at the entrance that only those of high ranking are allowed to enter. They would be easy to kill, however, if one wished to enter without permission of such a ningen."

As if sensing the dark, bloodied thoughts behind his words, the structure darkened more. The cap at the top, clearly see through from the way the sun cast through it, twisted with red and black as it happened. The feeling of demonic energy increased, and Kagome tensed as she watched, because she had the feeling that if the darkness completely took over the structure, the shadows would reach out at its command. However, she still felt the gentle wash of purity radiating from the pyramid, giving her a sense of peace as the thought past through her mind. Almost as if it was reassuring her that even in the dark, light could shine through.

Sesshoumaru turned his head, his golden eyes narrowing. "Ningen."

Miroku turned, sensing the other presence. His eyes narrowed when he saw Prince Sesshoumaru's advisor step through a small area between two buildings close to the river. He had not said anything to the women, since he had not thought the man had enough power to do much, but even this Naraku gave him a dark first impression. He could sense the greed underneath his flesh, rooted deep within his soul, and he knew that even here Naraku was evil.

Naraku laughed goodheartedly, "I see that you have found the pride of the pharaohs here. It is a beautiful thing, isn't it? Made completely of darkened glass, yet even after two hundred years it does not have a single scratch upon it."

"What is it? Kagome-chan spoke of pyramids being made for burials, but what is the purpose of one made of glass?" Sango asked. Her tone hardened, her eyes narrowing at the familiar form that had once tricked her within their dimension. She did not care if this one did good with each cast of his hand, she would never again trust anyone with the name of Naraku in that form.

"It is a place where the high priest and the pharaoh may speak to the gods," Naraku replied. "It has always been used as such, since it is an opened pathway to the afterlife."

"Who are your gods?" Miroku asked.

Naraku smirked, shaking his head. "You truly are not of this world if you do not know of the God Hakai and the Goddess Midoriko," he chuckled. "I believe that I might have to tell my prince of this event, so that he will stop believing that you are all from the heavens."

Midoriko, raced through Kagome's mind. The name of the warrior miko sent a wave of hope through her, since anything related to her would be where Kagome would think the portal would be. "And what do you call this temple?" she asked.

Naraku blinked, casting his eyes over her, "It is known as the Temple Shikon. Home to the Chamber of Souls."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kiba: Okay, another chapter done from the far, far away end that seems to very distant at the moment. So many thoughts, so I'm not quite sure when this story will end. However, I will trek forward and hopefully I will update some other things within the week.

Also, if you want to know where I got the idea of a glass pyramid, it was from Sara Douglass's Threshold, which I do not own. But the book is very good and if you like fantasy, it might wet your palate.

Kiba