Kaya's Story (An InuYasha Fanfic)

Chapter 111: A Woven Trap

Several days have passed since InuYasha's battle with Sesshomaru and we were still no closer to finding Naraku. That was the case, until Kagome told us about seeing spider webs, again. Spider webs spelled doom, or at least they did the last time we encountered them. Kagome said they were ending at a shrine in a small village. The village itself seemed peaceful but I still felt like something was wrong. I'm not sure my feeling of uneasiness ever leaves anymore, especially where Naraku is concerned. When we reached the lower shrine gate, several of the village men approached us and asked who we were. Instead of answering, Miroku asked them if anything strange had happened recently. The faces of the villagers said it all, something had happened, and they were reluctant to talk about it. When they finally did explain, I knew why I felt so uneasy. Lady Hitomiko was a strong priestess I had met by accident several months ago. She was kind and knew just what to say when something happened. Her spiritual power was unlike anything I had encountered. It wasn't hard to understand the love the villagers had for Lady Hitomiko; she truly was one of a kind. As the villagers talked, I caught a distinct scent. That was just before the priestess spoke. We were just as surprised as the villagers to see her, but InuYasha and I could tell she was far from being alive. She had spider webs attached to her body in various places, meaning Naraku was using her like a puppet. All we could do for her was recover her remains and hopefully put her spirit to rest once again.

Spider webs covered everything in and around the shrine. Soon, those same webs came down and tried to cover us, as well. Sango took care of them using Hiraikotsu. Lady Hitomiko was standing in the upper shrine gate when the webs cleared. I could see the bells she used to ward off demons were threaded randomly through the webs surrounding the priestess. Kagome shot an arrow and pierced one of the bells hoping to take down the barrier. However, after she pierced the bell, her arrow became tangled in the webs and she was pulled forward through the barrier.

"You're wasting your time, InuYasha. You heard Lady Hitomiko, only another priestess can break her barrier." He of course didn't listen and tried to use the red Tetsusaiga on the barrier, anyway. "If you're going to try and break it down, at least try the approach the priestess suggested," I told him. Granted, I knew my arrow had no chance of breaking down that barrier but I was still going to try anyway. I drew my bow and closed my eyes hoping to put every bit of power I could into the arrow. When I opened my eyes, I released the arrow, and the arrow dissolved on contact. I was going to fire another when the barrier dropped and the spider webs disappeared, so we ran through the shrine gate.

When we found Kagome, she was holding Lady Hitomiko's body. The priestess was finally able to pass on and be at peace, thanks to Kagome. Naraku's presence was gone, but he would be back eventually to finish what he had started here. I don't understand why he would go after Kagome now, after all this time. Unless it has something to do with him regaining his human heart and Onigumo's feelings towards Lady Kikyo. I do know that Kagome's spiritual power grew during whatever happened today. She did seem distracted though, not that that was unusual for her. Even while I patched up her wounds, she wouldn't say how she got them. Everything that had happened at the shrine she wanted to keep private.

After everything was over, the villagers thanked us profusely for putting Lady Hitomiko's spirit at peace. If they had carried out the priestess's wishes in the first place, none of this would've happened; but I understand why they didn't. When we left the village, we decided to return to Lady Kaede's village. Kagome was still deep in thought about something that had happened. InuYasha asked Kagome if she was okay and she said that she was. I didn't buy that, fully. Something had happened that Kagome was trying to figure out. I had a feeling it had to do with her, now, much stronger, spiritual powers.