Don't Mess With a Namikaze

Chapter 22

They stood in front of the well house with a sense of foreboding. If this was the place Midorkio hid the second half of the jewel, Kagome would never see her family again once they woke up. It was a sad feeling. Plastered over the well door was a sealing sutra, which would explain why she hadn't been able to sense exactly where the jewel half was. She was about to reach out to rip off the sutra when something occurred to her. What if Midorkiko herself was waiting for them on the other side of the door? Not for the first time she wished Suhi was here with her, she's practically had that sword with her at all times since she received him. She knew that Midoriko had a sword herself that she was very skilled with and Suhi would help even out the playing field a lot.

Kagome turned to her mom and brother, "Can you two stand back, please? Just to be on the safe side."

Kun-Loon nodded and grabbed her son by the shoulders and walked them back a good few feet. Worry for her daughter was bleeding through but she pushed it down as best as she could. No matter how young she looked Kagome was a grown-up girl who can take care of herself. She had to believe that.

Kagome pulled out a kunai, just in case, and turned back towards the door. She knew her boys were ready for anything so she didn't have to worry too much about them. She took a breath to steady her nerves, not giving herself any time to hesitate, reached out to rip the sutra off. Her fingers glowed pink momentarily as she flared her Ki to negate Midoriko's sutra. The moment the sutra lost its power the full force of the jewel half washed over her. Well, that at least killed any doubts that is where the jewel was. When nothing burst out of the door a sense of being underwhelmed washed over her. That was it? Just a simple sutra between them and freedom? She had low-key expected Midoriko or a demon hoard bursting out at them.

She opened the door up, ready to throw her readied kunai at something, but once again there was nothing. A small frown pulled at her lips as she saw the jewel half, sitting innocently on the lip of the well. This whole dream trap just didn't feel finished. The first half would have been infinitely harder if there had been demons blocking their way, but it had only been empty landscapes. While there were people in this half of the trap it wasn't like they were a threat. Did Midoriko simply throw this dreamscape together the moment she got her energy back from her last attempt, not thinking it through? Kagome would have eventually figured out that she needed to break it and it hadn't exactly been hard to find. She reached out and plucked the jewel up. This really was way too easy.

Kagome exited the well house and showed them the jewel half, "Got it."

"Well, that was easy." Shikaku drawled out mirroring Kagome's thoughts.

"That means you're leaving then. Right?" Sota asked sadly.

Kagome merely nodded, not trusting her voice not to crack. Then she felt the air start to thicken with Midoriko's tainted Ki. Her eyes narrowed in wariness, "Guys, something is happening." she warned them.

Kagome's eyes widened when she felt Magatsuhi's Yoki flaring in panic. She reached through their bond and pulled as hard as she could. In the next instant, she felt the sword materialize in her hand and she instantly felt safer. She only had a second of warning in the form of Inoichi's widening eyes to twist herself around and block Midoriko's sword that was coming straight for her neck.

"You ruin everything!" Midoriko screeched at her, "Just die already."

Within seconds they were engaging in a furious sword battle. Kagome was strictly on the defensive, trying desperately to keep the deadly weapon away from her. While Kagome was proficient with her own sword, Midoriko had years of more training. Kagome had half a year's training with Sesshomaru before she had been brought to Konoha, basic sword training at the academy with more advanced training from Jiraiya, and nightly mental practice with Magatsuhi. Midoriko had decades of training when she was alive, plus however many years she was stuck in the jewel battling all of the demons.