Inuyasha: The Story Continues

Chapter 26: The Sacred Tree

Izayoi's POV

I remembered. Uncle Sesshomaru had said that. He said that that was what Naraku wanted all along. I completely forgot to tell the others that. 

"The sacred jewel?" Kayuma asked. 

"But, the jewel is no longer in this world." Mochigo said. 

"Yes," Arrosa said. "But it is also in this world." 

"I'm confused." I spoke. "So it's here but it's not here?"

"You see, the jewel was wished away but it can be brought back," Arrosa began to explain. "There's a legend behind the jewel saying this; the jewel will only truly leave this world if a person that has both spiritual powers and the powers of demon is able to banish it for good." 

"So in other words, a half-demon with a spiritual parent." Shippo figured out. 

'So someone like me?' I thought.

"That's correct." With that, Arrosa began to walk away. I didn't know if she had been talking to me or Shippo. Then again, it was probably Shippo because she probably didn't have the power to read minds. 

"Hold on a sec Arrosa," I said. The young priestess turned to look at me. "Arrosa, what does Naraku plan to use the jewel for?" 

"He wishes to retrive his body that was lost in the final confrintation with him and Inuyasha," Arrosa explained. "You see, even though his body was destroyed, his soul survived. The form he has now is weak. If he has the jewel though, he can regain his body." Arrosa then left without looking back again. 

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As I laid down that night, I thought about what Arrosa had said. So I had to find the sacred jewel and somehow rid it from the world. Yeah, no pressure. Still, there was the matter of the fact that Papa was under Naraku's control, and maybe the same was for Mama, Aunt Sango, and Uncle Miroku.

I looked up at the sky and saw all the stars. They all sparkled in the nighttime sky and made me think of my family. All of the things I had been through had caused me pain and sorrow. Sure I had my friends to turn to but I needed family comfort to help me. I needed someone there to actually guide me, someone I could really talk to about things. 

The night was long and restless. I got no sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I would see Papa looking at me with his soulless eyes. It made me want to cry for the rest of my life honestly. 

The next morning, Ayuma led the way back to Kaede's villae, saying that we needed to tell Kaede what was going on. When we arrived in the village, I went to my hut and cried myself to sleep in my bedroom. I woke-up a few hours later to see that the Sun was high in the sky, burning down on me. 

I left the village for a while and went to the sacred tree, where Mama and Papa first met. The hole where Kikyo's arrow struck Papa was still in he tree, reminding me of the pain that Papa suffered not just physically, but mentally, because of Kikyo's death. He loved her and Naraku twisted that love and made Kikyo and Papa hate each other. However, because of this, Papa met Mama and found love again. 

My left hand touched the sacred tree and it was as if the flow of time was different than anything else. As I touched the tree, something strange happened; a purple flow of energy went from the tree and into my body. I felt a strange sensation as the wind surrounded me. When it died down, I saw that everything was the same. 

"What happened?" I asked out loud. 

That's when I heard footsteps. "Who's there?" I asked as I grabbed my sacred arrows. 

A figure soon came into view. I saw that it was a young girl with black hair placed in a ponytail and a orange kimono on. She had a bow and some arrows in hand and prepared to fire directly at me. I rolled out of the way as an arrow hit the sacred tree. 

"What the heck?!" I yelled. "You almost hit me! Are you blind or something?!" 

The girl went to the tree and as she did, she went right through me, like a ghost! "This is harder than I thought." the girl muttered as she took the arrow out of the tree. 

A woman, who I recognized as a priestess then arrived. "Kikyo, it's you!" the girl said with joy. 

'Kikyo?' I thought. 'How is that possible? Kikyo's suppose to be dead. Well she was the living dead and then died for good. Wait, maybe I'm somehow in the past.' 

Suddenly, the wind picked up again. I covered my eyes as grass and dirt came at me. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself still at the tree. I looked around to see that a fire was raging in the village. I was about to run to help when I heard someone running. 

"Ha, the sacred jewel's all mine." I heard a person say. I turned to see that it was Papa, with the sacred jewel in hand. He had a smirk of victory on his face. "Now I can become a full fledged demon." 

"Inuyasha!" Kikyo's voice yelled. 

My head only turned quick enough to see Kikyo fire a sacred arrow right at Papa. It hit Papa and caused him to stick to the tree with the sacred jewel falling from his hand. "Kikyo..." Papa spoke. "I thought...." Then Papa was unconscious. 

I turned to see Kikyo was on the ground with blood going down her shoulder, right at the spot where Naraku had attacked her using Papa's form. 

The wind sped up yet again and I covered my face as it did. It soon died down and I looked around to see that Papa was still pinned to the tree with tree roots right around his body. 

That's when the sound of someone running was heard. I turned to see that a younger looking version of my Mama was there in a junior high school uniform. 

"Uh, hey you there, are you okay?" Mama asked as she approached Papa. 

She got on top of the tree roots and looked at Papa with curiosity, like a child who has received a shiny new toy. After staring for a few moments, Mama began rubbing Papa's dog ears. She stopped after a minute. "Glad that's out of my system." she sighed. 

I couldn't help but bust out laughing. Mama had told me that when I was a baby, I would always grab at Papa's ears, making him wince in pain. 

Before long, the wind picked up again and I was forced to cover my eyes again. When I was able to see again, I saw that the sun was setting. That's when I heard two people coming to the tree. I looked to see Mama and Papa were coming, holding hands and smiling at each other. 

Papa led Mama to the tree and made her sit on the tree roots. "What did you want to tell me Inuyasha?" Mama asked. 

Papa cleared his throat before he spoke; "Kagome.....I thought that after losing Kikyo, that I wouldn't find love again.....Then, I met you." He took a firm hold on Mama's hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Kagome, will you.....be my wife?" 

Mama gasped. I gasped as well. I had no idea that Papa had proposed to Mama right at the sacred tree. 

Tears of joy ran down Mama's cheeks and she smiled. "Yes, of course I'll marry you." Mama answered before kissing Papa on the lips. 

For the final time, the wind picked up and I found myself back at the tree with my hand sticking to it. The memories at the tree were special. Some were of times of happiness, others were of times of despair. 

I began making my way back to the village with 2 goals in mind; to save my family and defeat Naraku.