Inuyasha: The Story Continues

Chapter 77: Izayoi=Sacred Jewel?

Izayoi's POV

"What did you say?" I asked Arrosa. Did she just tell me that I was a part of Naraku's plan to get the sacred jewel? "You can't be serious."

"I am very serious," Arrosa stated. "Naraku needs you to get the sacred jewel."

"I'm confused," Shippo sajd, scratching his head. "Why does Naraku need her?"

"Let me explain; the jewel of four souls that my Mother protected all those years ago was created from the priestess Midoriko's soul and that of the souls that attacked her. She was able to achieve this through positive balance between the four souls- Aramitama, Nigimitama, Kushimitama, and Sakimitama- combined with her immense spiritual power, which I'm sure you are all aware. Then there's also the matter of the jewel being able to not only give demons their desires, but humans as well.

"Now for the ritual Naraku plans to commence in, he needs a being that has achieved balance with all four of the souls, has demon blood in their veins, and has strong spiritual powers. That's where you come into the picture Izayoi."

"Me?" I questioned. "B-But there's no way I'm just as strong as Midoriko. She was in a league of her own! I can't even match Mama's spiritual abilities."

"That's where you are wrong," Arrosa continued. "Since your Mother had the sacred jewel inside of her body, some of its essence transferred into you when you were born, since you are her child."

"But how can Naraku truly bring the sacred jewel back?" Mochigo asked. "Kagome wished it was destroyed for good."

"You're right. In fact, if it were not for this ritual, Kagome's wish could've stayed true. However, now only a being that has demon and spiritual blood coursing through their veins can wish the jewel away for good."

"i'm still confused," Ayuma admitted. 

"Could you explain more about this ritual?" Kayuma inquired. 

"Yes; the ritual is one that, much like the creation of the jewel, will require a sacrifice of the soul." 

We all gasped in shock...This couldn't be happening; this just couldn't be real. 

Arrosa continued despite our shock; "Naraku will extract your soul from your body and combine it with his wicked demonic aura in order to form a jewel incapable of being purified. He will wait for the right opportunity though to strike though, giving us ample time to find him and finish him off once and for all." 

"What do you mean?"Mama asked. "Why will he have to wait?" 

"If my hunch is correct, he assumed that Shuichi would've been successful in his efforts to capture Izayoi. In doing so, Naraku more and likely prepared for the ritual, which is time sensitive. Without Izayoi, it will not work and will take a month's time to prepare for. That should give us the time we need to find him and end this nightmare before it begins." 

"And knowing Naraku, he would not want us to have a chance to try and rescue Izayoi if he were to capture her now," Miroku concluded. "He would wait until it were the last pinnacle moment to complete the ritual, giving us little to no time to stop it." 

"Precisely," Arrosa agreed. 

"Time is of the essence then," Sango stated. "We have to find Naraku and end this once and for all." 

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

**********

As the night waned on, I stared up at the ceiling above my head in the hut. My life could be used to bring back the jewel that had caused everyone such pain and suffering. People and demons had killed just to get a taste of its power and now it could all happen again because of my soul being extracted and bond to Naraku's demonic power. That's a lot of pressure to have on your shoulders let me tell you that. Every move I made from that point on meant the difference between life and death not just for me but for most of humanity as well. 

After being unable to get my sleep, I decided to take a breather outside. I walked out to a tree that was in the manor garden and climbed up to one of the top branches. I looked out over the landscape that stretched in every direction. Somewhere out there Naraku was lying in wait, being patient in order to fulfill his devious plan. I have to stop him, I thought as I felt the light breeze flow past me. I have to end this once and for all. Not just for my friends and family, but the world. 

"Psst, hey," Someone from below said. 

I looked down and found Papa down below with bandages wrapped around his torso and reaching to his upper chest. I quickly jumped down and landed in front of him. "Papa, you shouldn't be out of bed," I scolded him. "You got hurt pretty badly and you still need time to heal." 

"Izayoi, please," Papa retorted. "I've been through worse than this." 

"Papa." 

"Look, your Mother told me about what Arrosa said." 

I froze up. I hadn't thought about what Papa would've thought about everything. Worry soon seeped in, making me shake a little. What would Papa say? Would he want to go charging after Naraku despite not fully being healed? 

"I promise you that I'll protect you, Izayoi. I won't let anything happen to you." 

"I know Papa, but....I don't want you, Mama, or anyone else to get hurt because you're trying to protect me." 

That's when Papa wrapped his arms around me. "Quit being so self-righteous Izayoi and let your Mother and I do the worrying, you got it? All you gotta worry about is being safe." 

I smiled. My Papa wasn't the most thoughtful or considerate speaker, but he still found a way to calm my ever-racing mind. I looked up at him, noticing that I had grown a bit on this journey and was just an inch or two from reaching his shoulders in height. "I'm gonna fight Naraku." 

"We're gonna fight Naraku," Papa corrected, showing off his ever famous smirk. "And we're gonna beat him." 

So now what will our heroes do? Can they stop Naraku from using Izayoi as means to get the sacred jewel? With only month to do so, time is of the essence. (I've finally gotten a break from school and work and have trying to update this! I feel accomplished! Please comment below and tell me what you guys think).