Blood Stained

Thanks Eve for Beta-Reading, and making a piece of art from the main scene of this chapter.

Same to LunaticNeko.



And thank you all for the reviews.



Blood Stained



Chapter 26: Dreadful Meeting







All Kagome could hear was her own heart pounding within her chest. The sound echoed in her ears. She could not move, she could not think. All she could do was watch him as he took a seat at the table. He seemed to be patiently waiting for Kagome to come back to her senses and sit back down.



She could feel her blood rushing through her veins as she blinked away a tear. Slowly she cast a glance around them, before she sat back down at the table nervous as ever. She gulped, her mouth extremely dry. Kagome couldn't bring herself to form anything coherent in her mind.



It hadn't even been a week since the last time she had seen him face to face, for him it had been five hundred years. He would try to keep that in mind during their conversation. It was obvious she still hadn't recovered from everything that happened, which was understandable.



"Sir? Would you like anything?" asked the waiter who had rushed to their side when Sesshomaru had arrived.



"Black Coffee," he answered, his eyes still focused on Kagome.



The waiter nodded before turning his head in the direction of Kagome.



"Miss, would you like something else?"



Kagome gently raised her head, her eyes watery. "Hmm- I- Its- No," she finally managed to answer.



The waiter tilted his head forward before leaving them. Meanwhile Kagome had a million things running through her mind, but she didn't want to ask. She didn't want to talk to him. Gosh, if at that moment she could sink into the floor and disappear, she would have.



Quickly enough the waiter came back and gave Sesshomaru his coffee before bowing and going away from them. Sesshomaru placed his hand on the mug but did not drink it. His green eyes were still locked on her frame and she felt uneasy.



Was he waiting for her to speak first?



Kami knew she didn't want anything to do with this youkai! Nonetheless, she took a deep breathe, trying to calm her nerves so that she would be able to find her voice and speak. She licked her dry lips feeling her heart ache.



"What do you want?" she inquired, her voice cracking.



He seemed to sigh before finally breaking eye contact from her.



"There are a few matters we need to discuss."



Her eyebrow arched slightly as his answer only confused her more. What could they possibly have to talk about?



"I don't understand."



Sesshomaru was rather astonished that she would prefer getting to the point, than asking all the questions she had on her mind. Perhaps the first one being about his altered appearance, but she did not.



"Miko, this will be a long tale." Telling one thing would provoke another and so on. There was no way to cut corners here, because for every thing he would reveal, she would want to know more.



Kagome closed her eyes for a brief second. She wanted this meeting to be short.



"Just tell me what you want. I don't want to know anything else." A nauseous feeling had already taken over, she was edgy and there was no need to stretch this out more than was necessary.



Sesshomaru put his hand in his black jacket's pocket, reaching in for something. Kagome observed a small metal box as he pulled it out of his pocket. It was covered by what looked like a sutra. For a second, her heartbeat sped up. Sesshomaru slid the box across the table, until it touched her fingertips.



With a shaky hand she reached out for it. Gently, she peeled the sutra and proceeded to open the box. What she saw inside caused a small gasp to escape her lips as her eyes widen. She weakly shook her head.



"No," she breathed out.



Inside the box was the incomplete Shikon No Tama, shining its darkness upon her face, leading her to believe it was still filled with hatred. It had never been purified. She felt her hold on the box weaken as she squeezed her lips together. From what she could see, about three shards were missing and she sensed she couldn't be too far off.



The only question left was what happened.



Why wasn't the jewel completed? Did that mean Naraku still existed in this time period? What happened to her friends? Gently she closed the box, but did not return it to him, instead she kept it close to her body.



"Naraku?" she asked, nearly breathless from the shock.



Sesshomaru shook his head. "He was killed a few months after you left."



She pointed to the box, still confused. "Then why isn't it complete?"



"Your presence was required to locate the shards. Your pack was unable to complete the task without you." It would be much easier and faster if he only started from the beginning, but she wanted to have it her own way.



Kagome couldn't help the feeling of guilt that overwhelmed her. The jewel had never been completed because she left? Did that mean she never tried going through the well?



"I never came back?"



"I strongly believe the well stopped working." He had seen the flash of light and he remembered the blinding pink color that overflowed out of the well when she had passed through. He could recall everything about that day quite vividly.



Stopped working? Her eyes shifted from one side to the other, as she quickly thought. Could it be that the well had allowed her to pass that time at the cost of never being able to go through again? Technically if she tried now, it wouldn't work… if it did, he would know the well still worked, right?



Kagome felt an ill feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought that she was never to set foot in the feudal era again. She had no intention of returning any time soon, but it was not supposed to be forever. She wanted to see her friends again, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. Her little Shippo… The simple thought caused tears to roll down her cheeks.



"Why is it black?" she asked, a sob catching in her throat.



Sesshomaru leaned back slightly. "After Naraku's death, nobody could purify it."



Then came the obvious question, the one thing she truly believed shouldn't have happened. He was the wrong person to have this in his possession.



"Why do you have it?"



To him it seemed pretty obvious, but apparently it was not in her eyes.



"I eliminated Naraku. Also, I was the only one who possessed the strength to defend the jewel."



At that moment Kagome noticed the change in his speech. He did not refer to himself in the third person anymore and it almost sounded off. She had been so used to it. Even though she despised him, she had to agree, he would be the one to fight off the youkais, or anyone with an evil heart who would try to take hold of the jewel.



But, apparently he couldn't do everything by himself, which was probably why he was sitting in front of her at this very moment. Why was it now if he had spent the last 500 hundred years with an incomplete jewel, why couldn't he have waited a little longer? Give her some time to recover, or something. This felt so sudden and rushed.



"Why now?" she asked, her voice shaking. Somewhere deep inside, she had a feeling it wouldn't be good.



Sesshomaru lifted his cup and drank a sip of coffee before answering her.



"The jewel has been incomplete and filled with darkness for five hundred years. It has neither been absorbed nor wished upon. I do not have any desire for it; it holds no power over me. For that reason the black jewel has been feeding off of the darkness from your world. There is no light here, Miko. Every day for five hundred years, it has grown darker."



He paused letting her take in his words.



"Youkais are still looking for it, if it is stolen or taken, I do not wish to see what will occur."



Kagome felt her guts twist as her breathing slightly accelerated. She had been able to see over the years what the jewel did to people and she was aware of the kind of people who usually desired its power. It had always been a dangerous object and it would always be.



She had a feeling as to where this was leading. Her heart was skipping beats simply thinking about it. Before they even got to that part, she had another question.



"You've been protecting it fine for five hundred years. Why is it a problem now?"



He arched his eyebrow slightly. He thought his appearance would have gave that away, but apparently he had been wrong.



"Perhaps Miko, you have not noticed my appearance."



Kagome titled her head slightly.



"It's different." Obviously she had noticed, but she didn't understand why it had changed, or what it was supposed to mean.



As the world had changed, it had probably been the hardest thing to accommodate himself to. Out of all of it, cutting his hair had been the most frustrating. Of course, he could have kept the length of his hair, but it did not feel like the respectable environment humans had set up for the world.



Sesshomaru raised his left arm showing off his silver watch. Kagome looked at him, confused.



"This is not just a watch, Miko. It suppresses my youki, making me look nothing different than any other human."



Kagome's lips were tightly glued together, as she swallowed hard. A question was on the tip of her tongue and she needed to ask it, but it caused her heartbeat to speed up.



"What- -" She halted. "What about him?"



The one who had done all these actions to her, the one who had abused her, made her life a nightmare and tortured her soul every day. She would feel safer around Sesshomaru if she could at least know that he wouldn't come around. Perhaps it would rest her mind and help her settle down slightly.



This time Sesshomaru broke the eye contact and looked away. He knew the subject would have eventually come around, but once again that strange feeling of guilt over came him.



"He is part of my youki. As long as it is suppressed, he cannot take control."



A strange wave of relief flowed through her, for the first time since he had arrived, she felt as if she could breath a tiny bit easier. Kagome closed her eyes tightly, preventing more tears from falling. She had already been so vulnerable, this meeting taking every bit of her energy and now this was shaking her emotionally. For no particular reason she slowly nodded, not being able to form words to express what she felt, not that she wanted to share it with him.



She finally opened her eyes before slowly blinking. It felt as if she had been holding in all of her emotions and a feeling of weakness washed over her, sucking away all her strength. Kagome felt heavy and she tried to reposition herself on the chair. Trying very hard not to show him how very weak she felt.



Sesshomaru raised his hand, attracting the waiter's attention. It didn't take too long for the man to come near their table.



"She'll have a bowl of Butajiru."



The waiter nodded before walking away.



Kagome opened her eyes quickly before staring at him; he knew what she was about to say. He spoke quickly in answer to her gaze.



"You are pale and I assumed you haven't eaten yet today."



Actually she hadn't eaten really anything these past two days, not finding the strength to, and she had been way too nervous to eat anything. Although she should eat something, she didn't need him to make decisions for her, they were not in that situation anymore.



"I can order for myself, I don't need you doing it for me," she said, her tone slightly harsh.



To her surprise, he nodded in agreement and she found once again herself puzzled by his behavior. Why in the world would Sesshomaru agree with anything she says? The only other time that had happened was when they planned to trick the beast so she could escape. Kagome found herself without a reply and simply nodded back at him.



As they waited in silence for the waiter to come back, Sesshomaru's eyes traveled down to her stomach. When he promised to look over Rin's descendant he unknowingly made the promise to not only protect the Miko, but also the pup she was carrying, which was also his. How things had became so intertwined he did not know.



Five hundred years ago, he had made it clear he did not want a hanyou for an heir, nor did he want the Miko to be the mother. He wouldn't have thrown the pup away, he had more honor than that, but now things were so different. Not only did many hundreds of years pass, but also the amount of youkais had declined basically making anyone with youkai blood, somewhat important. The pup now represented a lot more.



He would take care of him.



The waiter interrupted his thoughts as he put the bowl in front of Kagome. She nodded in a sign of thank you, but did not touch the food. Perhaps she wanted to show him she had no intention of doing what he wanted, but what she pleased. He seemed to notice, but he did not say anything.



Kagome had a question stuck in her mind, even though she had a feeling she knew the answer, she dared to ask.



"What do you need me for?"



Obviously there was something he wanted her to do, or he wouldn't have met her. This wasn't about her, the mating, the beast, or the baby. This was about the jewel, nothing else, nothing more. She closed her eyes, as the scent of the food filled her nostrils.



A tiny smirk appeared on his face, he had been expecting that she would not want to be in his presence.



"Locate the shards."



The déjà-vu feeling was hard to ignore and she felt like she was back to being a shard detector for a second.



"Of course," she whispered. It appears there was one universal thing people needed her for, no matter what time period she was in. Although, the fact that no one could locate the shards, made her wonder.



"What, couldn't Kikyo do it?"



"She followed Inuyasha into the other world a few weeks after your departure."



The circumstances of Inuyasha's death had not been really discussed, at least not with her former pack. He had announced Inuyasha's death to them a few weeks after it had happened, once his main problem had been dealt with, although he hadn't mentioned how he died, Sesshomaru knew they had their own little ideas of how it happened.



They had seemed to be quite affected by his death, but it was obvious they also had other questions in mind. The taijiya had hurriedly to ask him about the whereabouts of Kagome and had not seemed convinced when he had told her she went through the well. Sesshomaru had let them come to his castle, where they had seen Kagome and they had also been confirmed by Rin, that Kagome was no longer in there.



He had not seen their reaction afterwards when they had left, but the sent of tears had been present. The worst had probably been Rin. She had forced a smile on her face when he had announced Kagome returned to her family because of some emergency. Inside though, he knew she was broken. Rin had remained silent for weeks before she had begun talking and laughing like she used to. He knew as she grew up, she never forgot the miko, her presence had been short, but her influence had been great upon the girl.



Kagome stared down at her bowl of soup, as she ran his words through her mind. To be honest, it didn't come as much of a surprise that Kikyo had died with Inuyasha. After all, her goal had been to drag him with her for so many years. Nonetheless, she felt a pinch in her heart and hoped Inuyasha had finally found peace.



Now though, something else was bothering her. Finding the shards. It had been five hundreds years since the jewel had been broken, the shards could be anywhere? The location or people who had them could have traveled anywhere in the world! Was she supposed to do a global wide search? Kagome felt her eyes grow in size slightly as this thought occurred to her.



Without her even uttering a word, he answered.



"No. I have a general location for the three missing shards."



Kagome licked her lips, nervously.



"You want me to go on a trip to find the missing shards?" He nodded. "With you I presume?" she said, her tone extremely bitter.



This time he didn't answer right away, he sighed first.



"You cannot go by yourself, especially not in your condition."



"Since when do you care about my condition?" Her tone seemed angry, but her body was shaking slightly. This felt too much for her and she was getting the impression that she was pushing her body past its limits.



Something about this didn't feel right. Kagome could understand his reasons for keeping her alive in the past, but now it didn't make sense. He was being, decent, perhaps polite and seemed worried? Guilty? She couldn't quite figure it out, but whatever it was it was out of character for him.



"Why are you doing this?" A sob was caught in her throat, as she asked her question.



He knew she wasn't referring to the jewel, but herself. The only thing that perhaps would make sense to her was the truth. Nobody, except Jaken was aware of the way he watched over Rin's descendants, but since he was putting a lot of stress and demand on her, perhaps the least he could do was tell her the truth.



"You are Rin's descendant," he said, his voice unusually soft. "From your mother's line."



Kagome's lips slightly parted as shock took over. She stared at him as if she thought he was going to come out and say it was not true, but his face remained still. Kagome also knew Sesshomaru would not throw around such a statement lightly. Especially when it came to Rin.



She breathed out heavily, as a tiny smile crept up on her face. Kagome had felt so bad when she left Rin behind, she had grown quite attached to the little girl and yet all this time, they were a part of each other. Rin had preceded her, she was her ancestor.



And then everything made sense. The different way he was acting around her, the fact that he somewhat seemed to try and spare her feelings. Of course he saw her differently now. She was not simply an annoying human miko who had perhaps ruined his life for a little while.



Rin had been a daughter to him, not one of his blood, but one of choice, and now apparently Kagome was related to her. There was only one word that came to her mind.



"Ironic."



He remained silent, but she could see it in his eyes. Kagome imagined he had felt regrets and perhaps guilt for the very first time after learning this. Deep inside, she couldn't help but be glad. He had not really suffered while the beast had been in control, she was the one who had been put through the abuse and had to smile and pretend.



If he knew she was Rin's descendant, it meant he had known where she was for a very long time. That brought another question.



"Why didn't you stop me?" She spoke with some anger in her voice. The question caused her eyes to burn with pain, and her heart felt crushed.



The same question was in his mind, because he wished he had been able to stop as well.



"I couldn't." He knew what she would ask next, so he answered before she could inquire.



"It wouldn't let me."



She bit on her top lip. "I thought you said that thing kept him locked away?" she said, pointing to the watch on his wrist.



"He stopped me from the inside."



It didn't make much sense, but it was the only explanation he had. After all, the beast had no control over him and it was proven during this meeting. If he could take over, it would have done so a long time ago. Therefore, Sesshomaru was not worried about that.



Kagome covered her mouth with her shaky hand, too many things going through her mind at once. At that moment she was overloaded with information and feelings, her body was not processing it very well. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, scorching her skin as they did so.



This had been meant to be a one time meeting, she wanted to find out what he wanted from her and then leave, never to see him again. Now he wanted her to complete the jewel with him? Technically it was indeed her responsibility, especially since she had broken the jewel and it had come from her body.



Kagome had unknowingly left the task with her friends who had been unable to complete it. Sango. Kagome closed her eyes, before breathing in and out slowly.



"What happened to Sango… and Kohaku?"



Sango's life had also been broken to pieces, shattered until there was nothing left to break. All she could hope for was that things had gotten better for her over the time. She never had a chance to say goodbye and apparently, she would never get the chance to. The thought did not help to stop her tears from falling.



"After Naraku's death, it was safe for Kohaku to keep the shard. He married Rin and he was maintained in life until Rin's death, when he then removed it." The day Kohaku married Rin was the day she officially stopped traveling with him. It had been somewhat of a difficult task to let her go.



"The taijiya did as well get her wish. Both the monk and her were present when Naraku was killed, but the monk almost made one fatal mistake. He opened his wind tunnel to protect her and it cracked. It was then that the final blow was delivered to Naraku. His life was spared because everything happened seconds apart."



Kagome felt extremely thankful that both Miroku and Sango had at least been able be with each other. They had been through a lot, both of them and someone deserved happiness in all of this. Kagome looked down, before closing her eyes tightly, the last tears falling out onto the table. She took a few minutes to collect herself, before looking at him again.



"So this is it? I'm supposed to agree to go along with you, and collect the shards. Travel around, for three shards."



He shook his head. "The process can be sped up with your help. You are the jewel's original guardian, this is meant to be yours. In 500 hundred years of time, you are the only one able to see them. I have only been able to determine the general location of the last three."



Kagome took a deep breath, as she imagined herself for an instant spending days and days in his presence. Yes, he said the beast was not present, but what if he needed to remove the watch, what if something happened and he needed his youki? Then she was screwed.



This wasn't just anyone.



He was the one –or part of him- who raped her, took her body, her virginity and tried to crush her soul. He had tried to steal her spirit away, to force her into a love she never wanted. Every day she had fought for her survival, trying to pull through. Could she really take the risk of being caught in that spiral again?



She could recall his lips on her body, his hands roaming over, caressing what it pleased. The feeling of him violating her, pounding inside of her, not stopping until he humiliated her by bringing her release. Her heart was being squeezed and she felt her stomach turn upside down.



Before she knew it Kagome was on her feet, frantically look for the bathroom and when she found it, she was nearly running to it. It didn't take her too long to empty the acidic content of her stomach. It burned her throat, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She hadn't eaten in so long that there was nothing to throw up. Nonetheless, liquid came up as she emptied whatever her stomach had launched back up.



She tried to hold her hair out of the way, as her knees hurt from the hard ceramic floor. After a few more moments, she felt it was safe to back away from the toilet. Kagome couldn't help but sit down fully on the floor before running her fingers through her hair, exhausted.



The memories had been so real and the thought of being anywhere near it had been too much for her. Deep down she knew it was her task to do this. She had broken the jewel and it had been assigned to her, but how could she do it when it involved him?



Obviously he intended to be there in case she got attacked. She also presumed he wanted to help financially since traveling was expensive. She could say they didn't have to, or it wouldn't matter that it was incomplete, but it did.



By herself, she could not offer much in the form of protection for the jewel and apparently, he was often in this human appearance, meaning he could not do the job either, or at least, not enough. In matter only of the jewel, it did seem like the only way to go, but when it came to her making the decision…



Kagome sighed heavily before grabbing unto the handle and lifting herself up. She then walked toward the sink before splashing water onto her face and trying to wash the taste from her mouth. She had a feeling Sesshomaru would not give up on this, perhaps for the only reason being that she was a part of Rin.



Sesshomaru would not renounce on a promise he made to the little girl. Now, he was set on being her help in completing the jewel. She rested her palms against the cold sink before sighing heavily. Even though there was nothing left to throw up, her insides were still twisted.



Once again, she had to consider the possibility that she would have to be around him. The meeting had been a hard enough decision, but now, he was putting this on her. Somehow she felt like it was planned. Sesshomaru knew her somewhat, he was aware that eventually this would drive her insane with guilt. She knew she had to complete the jewel and now that she had the knowledge that it was not only incomplete, but also corrupted, it left her with very little choices.



She agreed with him on the fact that if it did fall in the wrong end, it would be terrible. Humans apparently had the upper hand at the moment, but how upside down would the world be turned if a youkai laid his hands on the jewel. With such a huge fragment, it would be an immense surge of power.



From what her grandfather had told her once, during his many tales, she was the one who made the right wish.



How? She didn't know.



She sighed heavily before carefully exiting the washroom, the horrible taste still present in her mouth. As soon as she came out, she easily spotted him looking at her. Kagome looked away as she made her way to her seat, the ambiance around them was extremely uncomfortable.



"I can't do this," she said, her voice a whisper. "I don't want to do this. Being around you… I can't."



Sesshomaru nodded, before reaching for something in his pockets. He then pulled out what looked like a business card and handed it to her. Kagome took it, but didn't look at it. She didn't need him to talk to know what that meant, a way to contact him.



"Do you require a ride back?"



She shook her head in answer.



"Will you keep it?"



Kagome quickly realized he was referring to the jewel, she found herself wondering, what was the best choice. He had kept it safe for a long time, nothing happened, although if she could prevent it she didn't want him in possession of the jewel.



She decided to keep it, so she nodded her head.



Sesshomaru didn't seem to have a problem with it, and he reached brought out his wallet, before dropping a few bills upon the table. He looked her way one last time, for perhaps too long before he exited the coffee shop. He had known this whole time that this was too soon. He had left some details out, perhaps not to overwhelm her, but he wasn't sure it was such a good idea now.



From the start, this was her task. He had taken it over, because he wished for the jewel to be completed, for if it fell in the wrong hands it could be problematic. For now, he would not tell her more. There was much more to the jewel except for the fact it was filled with darkness.



The jewel surcharged of darkness was not only causing vibrations and influencing anyone near by within a wide range, but it was also bringing an unbalance to the world. During all these years, Sesshomaru had done a lot of research on the jewel, and not only was this the first time that the jewel had been broken, but over the years, good and evil had battle inside of it.



Sometimes one side would win, sometimes it would lose. There had been a constant change, maintaining not only its power under control, but creating that balance. Now for 500 hundred years the jewel had been incomplete and filled with darkness. It had remained in a stale mode.



Unless Kagome was able to put the jewel back together, there was no chance of bringing the light back inside. He knew it would be hard to convince her, especially considering past events between them, but this was her task. He had tried to accomplish it for her, it had not been successful. The best he could do and perhaps to try to erase his beast's actions was to help.



Sesshomaru had changed over the past 500 hundred years, but he imagined that was not something she could see. Last time she had seen him, he had been a different person. He didn't expect her to forget anything, because he wouldn't. If someone had put Rin through what the miko had been put through, he would have broken his or her neck, bring him or her back to life and killed them again to prolong their agony to make it fit what she had been put through.



He could not do that in this case. The only thing left to do was try to get her forgiveness.



***



Kagome had remained at the coffee shop for an hour or so after Sesshomaru had left, unable to move. The information had taken a while for it all to sink in and she had shed many tears. She imagined a lot of people inside the café had given her strange looks, but she didn't care about them.



She had wrapped her arms around herself, trying to bring some comfort. She was torn apart from the inside and she wasn't sure what to do. The jewel had to be completed, but did she really require his help? It couldn't be that dangerous… Perhaps the locations weren't even that far!



She sighed heavily. Of course it would be dangerous. Things were worse now than they weren't in the feudal era. At least back then, they were out in the open, you could tell youkais from humans, but now… they blended in. She would never really be sure of whom she was facing.



Though Kagome wasn't sure she was any safer by Sesshomaru's side. Not as long as his beast existed. She felt like there was no one to turn to and that once again she was stuck in a lose-lose situation.



Kagome took a deep breath before she grabbed her purse and took out her wallet. She signaled to the waiter and he came to her with the bill. She took her own money to pay for the soup and drinks, then handed him Sesshomaru's money as the tip. She had no desire to take his money to pay for her things. She would rather pay for his things than use it.



She made her way to her car and as soon as she entered the car, dropped her head, resting it against the wheel, near the horn. Her heartbeat had not slowed down the whole time she had been around Sesshomaru and she felt as if her blood had been pumped through her body entirely too fast.



Not only that, but she still hadn't eaten and she had thrown up. Her body was working on reserves and she was grateful her house was nearby or she would not have made it back home. Slowly and carefully she began driving, though the trip back took longer, since she was not as alert, she still made it home safely.



As she parked and saw her home Kagome felt her eyes start to water again. Right now the only thing she wanted to do was have her mother by her side. She closed the door of the car, before making her way to the house. As soon as she opened the door, she spotted Miyu sitting at the kitchen table, looking worried. She had a mug in her hands and the phone right beside her.



As soon as she spotted her daughter standing in the doorway she rose from her chair, walking towards her. Kagome was the one to reach out for her and she wrapped her arms around her mother, burying her face in the crook of her neck.



Immediately, the tears began to fall and she didn't stop them. Kagome had done her best in the coffee shop, in front of him, but here she didn't have to hold back. Miyu pressed a soft kiss on top of Kagome's head, her heart heavy.



At that moment she felt relieved. Miyu had been worried sick over her daughter's safety and just to have her back home safe, lifted a weight off of her shoulders. Though she was not happy for her daughter's tears, but at least she was away from that man.



After a few minutes Kagome pulled away from her mother, wiping her cheeks. She reached out for the card in her purse and handed it to her mother. Miyu looked over the card.



Sesshomaru Tomoya.



Tomoya Corporation.



She had heard of Tomoya Corporation in the past, it was quite an important company, at least in the region to Tokyo.



Miyu also guessed the reason why Kagome had his business card. Many questions were burning her lips, but she remained silent as Kagome sat down at the table, her purse on her lap. Miyu could see something was bothering her.



She put down the card before taking a seat beside Kagome. She reached out for her daughter's hand and held it tightly. At the same time Kagome reached out for the box in her purse. As she took it out she released her hand from her mother's, before holding out the box to show her.



"I don't know what to do Ma." Kagome opened the box, showing the jewel to her mother.



Miyu had heard enough about the jewel and had seen the replica; she knew right away what was presented to her. She raised her head and look into Kagome's eyes, and worry crossed her own eyes. From the many tales Kagome had told her this could mean nothing good.



Quickly Kagome closed the box, carefully resealing the sutra over it again. She put down the box on the table. She would probably see later what her grandfather had in sutras to try and reinforce the strength of it.



Miyu wrapped her arms around Kagome again. Kagome leaned her head into her mother's shoulder, before closing her eyes. Now she was left with two choices.



Either she didn't call him back, never to see him again, keeping the jewel as it was, or she fulfilled what she had started, complete the jewel with his help, actually putting her safety into his hands.



Two choices; losing or losing.



***