The Spider Web

There was a faint ringing in her ears as Kagome regained consciousness. She tried to move, but her midriff hurt, making her fall back to the cold ground, gasping for air. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dimly-lit room and realized that she was in some kind of cell. Iron bars blocked the other side of the prison and the rest were whitewashed walls, rough and jagged.

Forcing herself to sit up, she groaned as her mind played back what happened. The youkai horde… the ambush… and she realized that all of it was just a distraction. It had been Naraku's objective to divert everyone's attention to the youkai onslaught so that Kagura could swoop in and kidnap her.

Sighing, she leaned against the cold, uneven wall to inspect her body for any serious wounds. Her palms and knees had scrapes, and she felt dried blood on her left temple where she must have been hit when she was thrown to the ground by Kagura's Fujin no Mai. The left sleeve of her uniform was torn, and underneath revealed a deep gash on her arm. She tore the hem of her shirt and wrapped it on the bleeding wound, whimpering as she did so.

After tending to her wounds, Kagome slumped and took a deep breath to fight the panic and anxiety building inside her. The gravity of her situation was fully sinking now and she was beginning to fear for her life. She was Naraku's prisoner. If it weren't for the Shikon shards, she'd be—

She gasped.

The shards! Her hands shot up to her neck, finding nothing but bare skin. The necklace… it was gone! Kagura must have taken it while she was unconscious. Now Naraku has most of the pieces he needed to complete the Shikon no Tama—except Koga's, Kohaku's, and Kikyo's.

Oh, no. A new wave of terror and dread enveloped her. The spider hanyou was getting stronger but they still had no clue how to defeat him. She mulled this over for a while, until she heard a faint moan somewhere in the cell.

A slump figure lay in the corner and Kagome slowly crept closer to see what or who it was. In the darkness, she caught a glimpse of a scarlet red hakama and a dirty white haori.

Kagome gasped. "Kikyo!"

The woman looked weak and drained, her breathing was shallow and ragged. At the sound of Kagome's voice, her eyes fluttered open. "You…" she whispered softly.

"Inuyasha has been looking for you! Is there anything I can do? You look pale and sick!" Kagome tried to ease Kikyo's position by cradling the woman's head on her lap. Her skin was pasty, her hair a bedraggled mess.

"Shini…damachu…" Kikyo whispered over and over, as if in a fevered hallucination.

She's referring to her soul collectors. How long has it been since Kikyo was captured by Naraku? It must have been during that time when Inuyasha went off to find her… but it was several weeks ago! How did she survive without her soul collectors? It must have been difficult keeping her clay body animated. Kagome felt immense compassion for the suffering miko, and she did her best to remain as still as possible to keep her comfortable.

After a long while, the two young mikos drifted to a dreamless sleep, only to be awakened later by Kikyo's labored gasping and coughing.

"Let me try to lend you some of my reiki," Kagome whispered hesitantly, afraid that Kikyo might reject her help. The woman remained motionless, however, as most of her attention was focused to keep herself breathing. Without another word, Kagome put her right hand over the miko's chest and concentrated her spiritual power to it. Her hand began to give a pinkish glow and she could feel her life force flow out of her like a current.

Kaede once told her that a priestess could help another priestess by channeling a definite amount of reiki towards the other so she can replenish her own spiritual power. Kagome was never able to learn how it was done because Kaede was never able to train her properly, but she somehow managed to read a scroll about the process.

Already, Kikyo's breathing was getting steadier by the minute. Her chest no longer heaved and her skin was becoming less and less ashen. Kagome panted, her focus strained as she tried to keep her reiki flowing. When the growing pain in her head became unbearable, she reluctantly broke the connection and took her hand back.

"I'm sorry, it was all I could manage," she huffed, slumping against the wall to rest. "I'm not as powerful as you are."

Kikyo watched her through thick eyelashes. "You did well, Kagome."

The young miko nodded shyly, flushing at the unexpected compliment. Kikyo weakly sat beside her and took a few deep breaths. Kagome kept her voice light. "Hang in there just a bit more. I'm sure Inuyasha is coming."

Kikyo turned to her sharply. "He must not come."

"What?"

A long moment passed before Kikyo spoke again, quieter and softer this time. "If Inuyasha comes, Naraku wins."

Kagome frowned. "But I don't understand."

"You love Inuyasha." This was a statement, not a question. Kagome blushed fiercely. "Naraku is well aware of your feelings, and he will use this against you."

"I won't let him," Kagome said determinedly.

"Don't you see? Naraku is scared of you, Kagome. Your miko power might be untrained, but it is undoubtedly vast. He will do everything to get rid of you. And the moment he captured me, he discovered something that allowed him to devise the perfect plot against you."

"And that is?"

"To break your heart, Kagome."