InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Unexpected Ally ❯ No Vacation Part 3 ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Unexpected Ally

Disclaimer: YYH belongs to Yoshihiro Tagashi; IY belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

Chapter 8: No Vacation Part 3:

“This ‘vacation’ is over. We’re going back now!” Inuyasha insisted, stuffing clothes into the suitcases he had finally wrenched from Kagome’s grip.

“I said we’re staying!” Kagome declared equally as stubborn, snatching back a suitcase and grabbing clothes out of it by the handful to put back into one of the empty dresser drawers.

“We’re going!” Inuyasha shouted, grabbing the empty suitcase and stuffing its former contents back in.

“We’re staying!” Kagome yelled, getting in his face.

“Going!” They were nose-to-nose now, glaring into each other’s eyes with equal determination. Their breathing was ragged, and mingled hotly under their touching noses, as they were still catching their breath from the tug of war they’d had over the suitcases just a few minutes ago. Suddenly, they both became very aware of the contact and blushed, separating immediately. They were silent a few moments, feeling awkward and not sure how to break the silence.

Finally, Inuyasha did. “Kagome, it’s not safe here. We need to go back to my time.”

‘Uh oh, wrong words!’ he realized, seeing Kagome’s slight blush turn red with anger.

“Inuyasha! Your time is just as dangerous, if not more so! We’re never safe if the jewel is involved, and there will be youkai after us no matter what! I promised Mama that Souta could have a nice vacation, and we’re not cutting it short just because I was almost kidnapped, just like I am every other day in Sengoku Jidai!! Now, we’re staying, and that’s final!!!” Inuyasha swore he saw steam coming from her head.

“But, Ka-’’

“OSUWARI!!” she bellowed. Ignoring the loud crash and violent shake of the floor, she calmly picked up the suitcases, dumped their contents back in the drawers, and left the room to hide the suitcases in Juri’s room.

Luckily, the 19-year-old was asleep on a textbook and hadn’t heard a word of the fight. She stirred from her sleep, however, when Kagome opened the door to her closet to put the suitcases away. The girl rubbed the sleep from her eyes and let her long, dark hair out of its bun, tousling it a bit at the scalp to get the dark brown locks to lie naturally again. She looked up at Kagome from her position, propping herself up on her elbows as she lay on her stomach on her bed.

“Ne, Kagome-chan, what are you doing in here?” she asked with a yawn.

Kagome smiled at her friend. “Gomen ne, Juri-chan. Just putting the suitcases in your closet. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She bowed to her and turned to leave.

“It’s okay, Kagome-chan. I shouldn’t be sleeping anyway.” She seemed not to care why the suitcases were all in her closet now, and Kagome was grateful she didn’t need to think up an excuse.

Just then, Kagome realized how quiet the house was. “Hey, where are the boys, Juri-chan?”

“Oh, we went to the beach for a bit and ran into some school friends of yours. They said they’d keep an eye on the boys and drop them off for dinner so I could continue studying. They must still be with them.”

“Friends of mine? What were their names?”

“Um… one of them was Eri, I believe. The other two, I don’t remember their names.”

“Oh, Kami-sama! They’re here, too? They didn’t tell me they were coming!” Kagome exclaimed at the news.

“Do you want to go see them? They were right down on the beach not too far from the path we take out of the woods. Why don’t you go and I’ll make dinner? You can invite them back, if you like.” Juri offered.

“Hai. Arigatou, Juri-chan.” Kagome bowed again and went to slip her sandals on before she left to find her friends.

************ *

“Oh, where is he?”

“Where could he have gone?”

“I know I saw him run in here. Do you see him?”

Three bikini-clad females flitted about the woods, peering through bushes and around trees, searching for their lost prey.

Above them, in the dark branches of a tree, their prey scowled down at them, waiting for them to abandon their search. The girls, however, seemed to have an immeasurable amount of patience, and just continued looking for him. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they appeared to be heading back out of the woods. Claret eyes watched in anticipation as they started off down the trail. The scowl returned, however, when something made them retrace their steps. Or, rather, someone.

A girl with long, black hair, wearing a pink sundress and sandals, was walking down the opposite end of the path, calling towards them. Hiei groaned inwardly when he realized another female had just been added to their numbers. Realizing he may be there awhile, Hiei settled down in the tree, his legs crossed ankle-over-ankle in front of him on the branch as he leaned against the tree trunk with his arms behind his head. He tried to concentrate his senses on the rest of the forest in an effort to tune out the onna no baka, and vaguely noticed the scent of dog as the girl got closer, but thought nothing of it. He found he was unable to ignore them completely, and, giving up his futile efforts, he let the conversation occupy his attention fully.

************ *

As Kagome walked down the path, she could see three girls ahead of her near the end of the path. Drawing closer, she saw it was the very three girls she was on her way to find.

“Eri, Yuka, Ayumi!” she called, waving her arm above her head in greeting. She quickly covered the distance between herself and her friends, smiling brightly as she stopped right in front of them.

“Kagome-chan!” they greeted in unison, hugging their friend.

“I didn’t know you guys were going to be here!”

“Well, we just couldn’t let you be stuck with four grade school boys for your summer break!” Ayumi explained.

“Yeah,” Yuka agreed, and pointed a finger at Kagome, “We know you, Kagome-chan. You’d be completely selfless and let them have all the fun, losing the perfect opportunity to find a guy!”

Kagome rolled her eyes and sweatdropped. Even on her vacation, she couldn’t avoid the interference of her friends on her love life. “You guys, I don’t need to find a guy. I’m perfectly happy just how I am! Besides, I’m not here all alone.”

“Yeah, we know,” Eri spoke up, “Juri-san told us you were staying with her. That’s gotta be boring, ne? She’s like 19-going-on-50! All she ever does is study!”

“Well, a lot is expected of her, Eri-chan. If I had her determination, maybe I would do better in school. I really respect her devotion to her studies. She’ll make it to University for sure.”

“Yeah, well, I like having a life.” Yuka remarked.

Kagome scrunched her nose up at her friend’s comment, then remembered why she had been looking for them in the first place. “Hey, where are Souta and his friends? Juri-chan said you guys were keeping an eye on them for her.”

“Oh, yeah,” Ayumi answered, “We left them with Houjou-kun when we followed a group of girls who were going to watch this guy.”

Yuka cut in, “Kagome-chan, you should’ve seen him! He was practicing with a katana at the end of the beach, and it was so cool! He was cute, too. Short, but cute, with this tall, spiky black hair that had a white star-shaped patch in front…”

“Yeah, and we tried to get him to talk to us, but he started running and we followed him in here. You haven’t seen anyone in here, have you?” Eri asked hopefully.

“Nope,” Kagome answered and giggled. “You guys chased a guy into the woods? Poor thing. I’d run from you, too, if you weren’t my friends.”

“Kagome-chan!” the three exclaimed, but Kagome just smiled, closing her eyes in her mirth.

“So Houjou-kun is here, too?”

“Hai. We figured you wouldn’t be getting any guys on your own, so we brought Houjou-kun along since he’s a sure thing. I mean, you guys have a thing going already, so we invited him with us.” Yuka answered.

‘Great, here we go again.’ Kagome groaned in her mind. Aloud she said, “You guys, there’s nothing going on between Houjou-kun and I. We went on one date that you guys pushed me into, and I don’t intend for there to be anymore!”

“You don’t like Houjou-kun, Kagome-chan?” Ayumi asked.

“I like him just fine as a friend, Ayumi-chan, but as a boyfriend is another story. He’s not exactly my type, and it wouldn’t be fair to lead him on when I don’t feel the same way for him that he does for me. Besides, I’m here with Inuyasha.” Kagome slipped this last comment in quietly, knowing she would soon get a tirade from her friends.

“You’re still with that two-timer, Mr. Possessive?” Yuka demanded to know.

“He’s not a two-timer, Yuka-chan. You can’t two-time someone you’re not even with to begin with.” Kagome spoke softly, contemplating the facts of their relationship. They were still just friends, even now that Kikyou was gone. It hadn’t been very long since then, but she could never expect to take Kikyou’s place, truly. She was Inuyasha’s first love, after all, and Kagome was just a reincarnation. Even if things did become romantic between them, would Inuyasha be seeing her, or Kikyou?

She was brought out of her thoughts by Ayumi. “Well, why’s he so possessive if he’s not your boyfriend?”

“He’s just very protective of me, that’s all. C’mon, you guys, we don’t have to completely deconstruct and analyze my relationship with Inuyasha right now, do we? Let’s go get the boys and you can all come back to our cabin for dinner.”

With that, she put her arms around her friends and directed them down the path and onto the beach.

************ *

At first, Hiei thought of the incessant chatter as an annoying buzzing in his ears. At the mention of the name Inuyasha, however, his ears had perked up. ‘Dog Demon?’ He listened a bit more intently after this, but no more information was given about the owner of the name, other than his being accused of two-timing and possessiveness. Hiei thought the two personality traits were contradictory, but couldn’t help thinking that possessiveness, at least, would be expected of an actual dog demon. He thought it more likely that the name was one of those human “nicknames” rather than an actual given name, though.

Finally, the girls left the woods, and Hiei dropped from his haven in the tree. He left the woods in a different direction than they had, hoping to avoid another mob coming after him. The three girls hadn’t been the only ones to chase him, just the most determined. He couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face when he remembered how the girls had said he was cute. The memory made him think of Kurama and his fanclub. He was glad things like this weren’t a regular occurrence in his daily life, and wondered how Kurama could stand it.

Hiei made it all the way to the hotel without being noticed. Unfortunately, inside the hotel, some girls had waited in the lobby to see if he would return there. As soon as he walked in, he was swarmed by Junior High fangirls. Just as he was losing his patience, which didn’t take long, Botan pushed her way through the girls saying, “There you are!” She grabbed him by his ear, dragging him back through the way she came, and didn’t let go until they were on the elevator.

They entered the Spirit Detectives’ room with Hiei still glaring daggers at Botan.

“What?!” she finally exclaimed, exasperated. “Did you really want to get torn to pieces by them? I saved your butt, Hiei, the least you could do is take that scowl off your face.”

“I don’t think it was necessary to abuse my ear in that manner, onna.” He stated, rubbing his ear with an annoyed look on his face.

“What happened, Hiei? Did you get attacked by the youkai we were chasing?”

Hiei ignored Kuwabara, sitting on the couch and turning his face towards the window as usual.

“Oh, he got attacked, alright, but not by any youkai; though they were just as vicious, in my opinion. Maybe even more so.” The blue-haired girl answered with a laugh in her voice.

“Who was attacked?” Yuusuke asked as he entered the room with Keiko, who was carrying Puu.

“Hiei was.” Kuwabara answered simply.

“By who?” the dark-haired boy wondered.

“We were just about to find out. Please continue, Botan.” Kurama implored, growing amused at the darkening scowl on his short-statured friend.

“Well,” the Grim Reaper continued, “it seems our Hiei, here, has himself quite a following of the female persuasion.”

“Huh?” Kuwabara and Yuusuke both asked.

“It’s simple,” Kurama answered, trying to keep his laughter under control, “Hiei has a fanclub.”

The two human detectives broke down in fitful laughter at this, imagining hordes of screaming girls chasing after Hiei as he ran for dear life. Most of them would probably be taller than the fire apparition by at least a few inches. Kurama couldn’t contain his amusement anymore and joined in their laughter, though he didn’t make quite the fool of himself that his friends did. The two girls in the room also started giggling, and soon a soft growl could be heard from the Jaganshi. This is the scene that Shizuru happened to walk in on.

“What the hell is going on?” the girl muttered around her cigarette.

Kurama, Botan and Keiko quickly composed themselves, and Keiko and Botan grabbed Yuusuke and Kuwabara from where they were rolling on the floor and smacked them to bring them to their senses.

“We were just about to discuss the events of this afternoon, but we were waiting for everyone to get here.” Kurama explained to the girl.

Kuwabara finally settled down, and added to Kurama’s answer. “Yeah, and we were gonna find out where the heck Yuusuke and Hiei were. Well, Hiei was being chased by a bunch of crazy girls. Where were you, Urameshi?”

Yuusuke shrugged and put his arm around Keiko, who blushed. No one pushed the issue for the girl’s sake, figuring they had been off making out somewhere. A closer look at her slightly ruffled hair and both teenagers’ slightly swollen and pinked lips could easily confirm these suspicions.

“Okay, then, let’s get down to business.” Botan directed everyone to sit. Shizuru opted to lean against the wall and Hiei perched on the arm of the couch while everyone else sat down.

Kuwabara and Kurama recounted the events of the afternoon since Botan had informed them of the breakthrough. Once they were done, Kurama had a little more information to add that Kuwabara didn’t know yet. First, though, he needed to make sure of something.

“Hiei, onegai, tell me again what you noticed after you killed that youkai on the cliff.”

Hiei turned his attention to his friend. “His prey seemed to be a silver van passing under the cliff. I didn’t notice anything special about it, so I left.” He answered simply, not sure what Kurama was looking for.

“Okay, but you said something about what you smelled, ne? Like an inu scent?”

Hiei looked slightly confused at this line of questioning, “Hai.”

“Well, before the trail we followed was cleaned up completely, I noticed a faint scent of inu, along with the youkai and the onna.”

“What? There was?” Kuwabara asked.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean the two are related. I mean lots of humans have dogs. That girl probably had a dog and its scent was on her.” Yuusuke reasoned.

(No, I know this fact is important, Kurama. I have a feeling about it.)

‘I agree with the fox on this one, Kurama.’

‘I know, but it doesn’t mean anything until we know why it’s important.’

“Well, I for one think this should at least be reported to Koenma-sama.” Botan stated matter-of-factly. With that, she produced her oar out of nowhere and flew out an open window.

************ *

Inuyasha sat in a tree near the cabin, frowning out at the dark woods. Inside the cabin, Kagome sat on the couch chatting with her friends. Including that boy; that “Hobo” boy. Inuyasha stifled a low growl at the thought of him.

Kagome’s friends had spent most of the night trying to push Kagome and “Hobo” together. At dinner, they had literally sat her down right next to the boy, shoving Inuyasha to the opposite side of the table. Yuka took Inuyasha’s former place on the other side of Kagome during the meal, and Eri and Ayumi sat on either side of the inu-hanyou. The rest of the household were allowed to sit wherever they pleased. The dinner conversation had been monopolized by the three girls’ chatter about the upcoming beach party, and ended in the living room, with the girls declaring that the party would be the perfect time for a date between the two unsuspecting teenagers. Kagome had tried to get out of it, but her friends seemed not to have heard her, as they just kept on blabbering about what they should wear.

At this point, Inuyasha had been beyond irritated, and had begun to protest. The three matchmakers quickly wrestled him out of the room.

“What does it matter to you, two-timer? You’re just friends anyway, ne?” Yuka had uttered before snapping the shoji shut.

Once more, Inuyasha had to stifle a growl. What the hell was a two-timer? And what right did they have to decide who Kagome would “date”? He didn’t know what that meant, exactly, but it obviously had something to do with them spending time alone together; something Inuyasha was wholeheartedly against. He decided if he couldn’t prevent this “date” completely, he would at least be there to keep an eye on “Hobo”.

************ *

Kagome’s friends finally left around 10, and Kagome breathed a sigh of relief at the silence that occupied the house. Souta, Satoru, Aki and Haru had gone to bed early just to get away from the giggly chatter. Houjou had left soon after Yuka had finalized the plans for his and Kagome’s date, so he hadn’t had to endure what the other boys did. Thinking of this, Kagome groaned. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? She’d already told them she didn’t want to date Houjou, but they seemed to have completely ignored her, thinking they knew best.

‘Oh well,’ she thought resignedly, ‘at least once we’re alone I might be able to get a word in. Then I can tell him I’m not really interested.’

Kagome went to her room, changed, and went to bed. A few minutes after she was asleep, Inuyasha crept into the room. He stared at her moonlit face a few moments before getting a pair of pajama pants and going to use the bathroom and change.

************ *

“Yukimura Keiko.” The brown-haired girl introduced herself with a slight bow and a bright smile.

“Higurashi Kagome.” The raven-haired girl did the same. “And these guys are my brother Souta, and his friends Aki, Haru and Satoru,” she continued, pointing out the owner of each name. The boys were currently sprawled out in the sand, tired out from racing Inuyasha all over the beach. “He’s Inuyasha,” she added, pointing down the beach.

The silver-haired, black-bandanaed boy was currently racing another vacationer’s dog, having found no competition in the boys whatsoever. He had a lot of energy he needed to use up, especially considering his bad mood from the night before had not completely dissipated. Having been forbidden to take his frustrations out in the usual destructive manner, he’d quickly found that a good physical competition could be almost as helpful. He was also partially trying to keep from being alone with Kagome, since, when he was near her today, he couldn’t help but think of that “Hobo” kid. Those thoughts… were not pleasant in the least. So, he kept himself busy so he wouldn’t have to think.

************ *

When Koenma had been informed of yesterday’s events, he had given the Tantei two orders. Yuusuke and Kuwabara were to do regular patrols of the resort, while Kurama and Hiei were to go into Makai and hunt for information. The two youkai were also going to find out if the kidnapping of the girl had been successful or if she had escaped when the youkai was killed.

Keiko and Shizuru had been left to occupy themselves. It had been easy last night, as it had been past dinnertime when the boys had left. Today, however, the older girl had decided to practice her katas in the hotel gym, so Keiko went for a walk on the beach, leaving Puu with Botan. She had been watching four young boys chase after a silver-haired boy about her age, and noticed a girl laughing and calling to them. Deciding she felt like making friends, Keiko had strode up to the girl and commented on how easily the older boy had outlasted the younger ones, who were now sprawled out in the sand. She then introduced herself to the girl, whose name, she learned, was Kagome.

************ *

“Are you going to the beach party tonight?” Keiko asked Kagome, after they had been talking awhile. The girls had made fast friends.

Kagome groaned slightly, “Hai, Keiko-chan. Are you?” She liked sitting and talking with the girl. She was much more relaxing to be around than her three school friends were lately.

“I’m not sure. What’s the matter? Don’t you want to go?” she questioned her new friend.

“Oh, it’s not that. It’s just that my friends set me up on this date with this guy I don’t really like that way, even though I told them so, and I’m kind of dreading how to let him down easily. He’s so nice and always giving me gifts, but he’s a little overbearing and I just don’t feel the same way for him that he does for me.” Kagome looked questioningly at the girl beside her. “What about you, don’t you want to go?”

“I’d love to go, but I don’t know if my boyfriend will be able to take me. He and his friends have been really busy lately. They might have to patrol tonight.” It slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself and Keiko hoped it didn’t sound too suspicious.

“Patrol? What are they, beach security?”

Keiko silently cheered the provided excuse. “Hai, beach security. That’s exactly what they do.”

“Well, I hope he can come. If he can’t, though, you should still come. It’ll be so much fun, and you can hang out with me. Give me an excuse not to be alone with Houjou-kun.”

Keiko laughed. “You know, I think I will come. After all, it’s not everyday you get to go to a costume party on the beach, ne?”

The girls continued their conversation, discussing their costume ideas, and agreed to meet up again on the boardwalk after lunch so they could shop for their costumes.

************ *

“Man, this is boring. We should’ve gone to Makai with Kurama and Hiei.” Yuusuke and Kuwabara walked down the main strip of the boardwalk, still patrolling. They had found nothing so far today, just as they hadn’t the night before, either.

“Yeah,” Kuwabara agreed, “I bet those guys are getting all kinds of fighting action.”

Yuusuke put his hands in the pockets of his shorts and kicked at a pebble.

Suddenly, Kuwabara exclaimed, “Hey, isn’t that Keiko-chan?”

Yuusuke looked up and followed Kuwabara’s gaze through the window of a shop across the street. Sure enough, his girlfriend was in the costume shop with a dark-haired girl he didn’t know. Smirking, he slinked into the store and snuck up behind Keiko, preparing to surprise the girl.

************ *

Kagome and Keiko had been to a few different costume shops on the boardwalk, but hadn’t found anything they liked yet. Kagome was grateful she had been able to talk Inuyasha into keeping the boys at the beach so she could shop. She couldn’t imagine trying to go into all the little boutiques with all five boys in tow.

Finally, it seemed they had found the perfect outfits. Kagome had had to stop herself from having a giggle fit when the shopkeeper told the story of the historical priestesses the outfits were based on.

~~~Flashback~~~

Keiko and Kagome entered the shop with hopeful looks on their faces. They’d been shopping for two hours almost, without finding anything they liked. Scanning the store for anything that caught their eye, Keiko gasped and pulled Kagome over to the ‘Historical Figures’ wall. She quickly reached up to pull down two priestess outfits, identical except for the color of the sode-nashi-hanten worn over the typical white, bell-sleeved shirt. Where one was red, the other was sky blue. Instead of the traditional red hakama, they were white. It gave Kagome a feeling of déjà vu.

She was trying to think where she had seen outfits like them before, and almost jumped out of her skin when a voice spoke up behind her.

“Ah, excellent choice, girls,” the old shopkeeper croaked out. “Of course, you must know the story of the two young miko whose own traditional clothing these were fashioned after?”

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t.” Keiko stated.

Kagome hesitated, but decided to go ahead and speak up. “I’ve seen these outfits somewhere before, but I can’t remember where.”

The old woman looked at her for a moment, seemingly inspecting her, then went ahead with her explanation. “Momiji and Botan; the legendary Red and White Miko, and the last two miko to be taught by the very Master that also trained the legendary Kikyou, Protector of the Shikon no Tama. Momiji and Botan were very advanced in the use of paper seals and shikigami, and traveled the country during Sengoku Jidai, ridding villages of youkai and other evils. They were also miko of great friendship and were said to spread good will wherever they went. These costumes, girls, have great meaning, and if two friends such as yourselves were to each go as one of the pair it would surely bless your friendship.” The shopkeeper finished with a twinkle in her eye and both girls stood staring at her. Keiko, because she was still taking it all in; Kagome, because she was trying to get over the shock of having known two legendary miko before they became legends, 500 years ago. The implications of such a thought sent her head spinning, and she felt like giggling madly.

~~~End Flashback~~~

“I-I think we’ll take them, ne, Kagome-cha--aaah! Hentai!” The smack of her palm against Yuusuke’s cheek echoed slightly in the mostly-empty shop as the girl blushed from being goosed. “Yuusuke! What kind of greeting is that?”

Yuusuke chuckled and smiled, despite his stinging cheek. “Keiko, I didn’t know you were going shopping. Where’s Shizuru?”

“Shizuru-san’s still at the hotel. And I wasn’t planning on going shopping, but I decided to go to the beach party tonight and needed to get a costume for it. Kagome-chan needed to get one, too, so we decided to go together.”

“Kagome-chan?” he asked, regarding the black-haired girl questioningly.

“Hai, Higurashi Kagome.” She introduced herself, starting to bow.

Yuusuke stuck his hand out for a handshake instead, “Urameshi Yuusuke. Nice to meet you, Kagome-chan. How do you know Keiko?”

Kagome smiled and shook his hand, “We met on the beach just this morning.”

“Hai,” Keiko agreed, “and we’re going to the party together tonight since you probably can’t take me.”

“Huh? Well, maybe I can… I’ll hafta talk to Kurama and Hiei first, though.” said Yuusuke.

Just then, Kuwabara walked into the shop as well, “Oi, Urameshi, we better finish patrolling and go check in with Botan.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Keiko exclaimed, turning to Kagome, “we still need to pay for our costumes.”

As they paid, the old woman reminded them that Momiji wore the red and Botan wore the blue. Keiko decided to go as Momiji and Kagome as Botan. They then left the shop and stood together on the sidewalk.

“So who’s your friend, Keiko-chan?” Kuwabara asked.

“Oh, forgive me. This is Kagome-chan. We met on the beach earlier. Kagome-chan, this is Kuwabara-kun.”

“Kuwabara Kazuma.” The boy stated with a stiff bow.

“Higurashi Kagome.” She repeated for the third time that day, returning the bow.

“Well, we’d better be on our way. It was nice meeting you, Kagome-chan. Maybe we’ll see you later on the beach.” Turning to his girlfriend, Yuusuke kissed her cheek and said softly, “Bye, Keiko. I’ll see you at the hotel.”

“Kagome-chan,” Keiko addressed the girl, “you said the costumes looked familiar, but according to that woman they were unique to the Red and White Priestesses. Where could you have seen them?”

Luckily, Kagome realized she had the perfect excuse for this question. “Well, my family is a shrine family, and we live with my Grandfather at our shrine. I must’ve seen a picture of them in one of his scrolls. He’s always bringing those things out and making Souta and I study them.”

“Oh, wow, so you’re a shrine maiden?”

‘You don’t know the half of it.’ Kagome thought. Aloud, she said, “Well, sort of, yeah.”

Keiko and Kagome decided to part ways, and made plans to meet in the hotel around seven that evening, since Kagome would be meeting her other friends there as well.

************ *

“Come on, Inuyasha, it’ll be fun.” Kagome pleaded.

“You know, that sounds strangely familiar. Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah, that’s what you said about coming on this vacation, but, since we got here, we’ve been attacked twice; plus I had to endure the company of those pushy girls you call your friends. I don’t think of that as fun, and I’m sure this “party” will be no better, especially with all the people you say will be there. I’m not going.”

“Fine, Inuyasha!” Kagome said, exasperated. “I am going, though, so have fun with Juri-chan and the boys tonight.” With that, she stalked off to the bathroom to get ready.

Inuyasha knocked loudly on the door and called in to her, “Kagome, you can’t go. What if you’re attacked again?”

“I’ll be fine, Inuyasha,” he heard her answer, though it was muffled a bit by the door. “I’m taking my bow and arrows with me. The party has a Sengoku Jidai theme, so no one will think twice.”

This didn’t soothe Inuyasha’s unease, however. Finally, he sighed in defeat, “Fine, I’ll go, but only to keep an eye on you. I’ll keep a lookout while you have your “fun”.”

Kagome peeked her head out the door to smile at the hanyou. “Okay, Inuyasha. Thank you. Now go change into your fire rat kimono. Your normal clothes will actually fit in much better tonight.” She shut the door again and continued getting ready.

************ *

“Okay, you two, I guess it’ll be okay. Youdid check the city thoroughly, and Kurama and Hiei still haven’t returned since last night, so Koenma-sama has no further orders as of yet. Go ahead and go and I’ll stay here with Puu and Shizuru-san.” Botan gave Yuusuke and Kuwabara the approval for a night off on the beach.

Yuusuke went to tell Keiko. He and Kuwabara didn’t have costumes, so they would just wear their beach clothes, but at least they could go. Once Keiko was ready, the three friends left to meet Kagome, leaving Botan and Shizuru to entertain themselves. Currently the older girl was practicing her hairdressing skills on the blue-haired girl, a cigarette hanging from her lips, and the last thing they heard before closing the door to the room was, “Aiee! Shizuru-san you’re pulling my hair!”

************ *

Kagome waited in the hotel lobby with Inuyasha, both dressed in their feudal clothing; for Kagome it was a costume; for Inuyasha it was normal, everyday garb. Kagome, as she had said earlier, had her bow and arrows with her, having packed them knowing about the theme of the party already. Inuyasha wore his sword unconcealed for the first time since coming to Kagome’s era five nights ago; he also wore a red bandana instead of the usual black. Costume party or no, Kagome didn’t want to risk him being found out. She had also re-cast the spell over his youki, just to be extra cautious.

Keiko, Yuusuke and Kuwabara were the first to meet up with them a few minutes after Kagome and Inuyasha had entered the building. The girls took charge of the introductions and the guys stood around eyeing each other suspiciously, sizing each other up. The girls simply rolled their eyes at them, simultaneously thinking, ‘Guys!’ It wasn’t long before they were asking Inuyasha about his costume and his sword. He did his best to answer their questions without giving away what he really was, or when he was actually from. When they asked about his bandana, he stated simply that he wanted to wear it, and they accepted the answer.

Within five minutes of the introductions, Yuka, Eri and Ayumi also joined the group. They looked displeased at the number of people hanging around Kagome. She was, after all, supposed to be on a date with Houjou. One person in the group, in particular, brought distaste to Yuka’s face.

“Kagome-chan!” Eri and Ayumi greeted their friend cheerily, unaware of the sour look on Yuka’s face.

“Konbanwa!” Kagome greeted with a smile. She introduced the group to each other as they waited for the final addition to their gang.

Yuka glared at Inuyasha, something that wasn’t missed by the hanyou, but that he wisely chose to stay quiet about. He did, however, glare right back.

“Kagome-chan,” Yuka got the girl’s attention from the chat she was having with the other three girls.

“Hai, Yuka-chan?”

“You do remember that tonight you’re supposed to have a date with Houjou-kun, ne? So, why did you bring him?” She pointed her finger at Inuyasha, as if accusing him of a crime.

“Yuka-chan!” Eri and Ayumi were surprised at their friend’s attitude. Sure, they thought Houjou and Kagome would be a perfect couple, but they had nothing against Inuyasha. They had just met him, after all, and he’d given them no reason to dislike him.

“Listen, you, Kagome already tried to tell you she doesn’t want to date “Hobo”, but you wouldn’t listen! She asked me to come with her tonight. I didn’t want to, but I agreed so that I can make sure your little golden boy doesn’t try anything funny, along with anyone else that might try to start somethin’. So you just keep your big nose in your own business and let me worry about Kagome.”

There was silence in the group as they were shocked by the outburst of both the girl and the boy. Kagome’s eye twitched, and she couldn’t decide which she felt more of: embarrassment or anger. Anger at whom, she wasn’t sure; maybe it was at both of them. She wished they weren’t in public so she could sit the inu-hanyou, and realized that if she could sit Yuka, as well, she would.

Just as Kagome was about to scold the two of them for acting childish, Houjou appeared beside Kagome, and grabbed her hand to put a gift in it before she even noticed he was there. “Here, Higurashi-san, some special tea blends and aromatherapy ointments in order to help keep your health up. I wouldn’t want you to miss the first day back at school because you don’t take care of yourself on your vacation.” He then held out another bag that he had set down beside his feet. He pulled out a dark blue haori and put it around Kagome’s shoulders. “Please wear this, as well, since it can get chilly on the beach at night. We don’t need you catching cold, now.” He said with a smile.

The whole group sweatdropped at the boy’s behavior.

“Uh… arigatou, Houjou-kun. I’m fine, though, really. This outfit is rather warm.”

Looking a little rejected, he returned the haori to the bag, but turned a bright smile back to her and said, “Okay, well it’s right here when you need it.”

“I hope you don’t mind, Houjou-kun, but I invited some other friends to come with us as well.”

“No, not at all, Higurashi-san.”

Once again, Kagome introduced the people that didn’t know each other, and they all left for the beach together. When they made it to the party, they saw the whole main beach area decorated with torches, with lanterns strung around the main stage, in front of which people were dancing. There was a band playing traditional music from the themed era, but soon a local band took the stage and started playing more modern things. Inuyasha stayed on the sidelines, pacing the perimeter of the main area and keeping a lookout for anyone or anything suspicious.

Eri and Ayumi danced together and scoped for guys. Yuka dragged Kuwabara onto the dance area, just to have an excuse to be there and keep an eye on Kagome and Houjou. The orange-haired boy tried to resist, but Yuka ignored him, completely focused on making sure Kagome stayed with her date. Yuusuke and Keiko danced together away from the rest of the group, and Yuusuke held her close during the slow songs. Kagome really wanted to tell Houjou their date wasn’t real, but she also wanted to dance. Her earlier attempts to get Inuyasha to join her had crashed and burned, so she was left with Houjou. She didn’t think it would be right to tell him she didn’t want to see him, and still expect him to dance with her, so she kept quiet. She knew it probably wasn’t any better to deceive him just so she could dance, but if he had truly paid attention to anything she’d said about the date the night before he would already know her feelings about him and their date. He was just a friend, and this was just a party.

After about forty-five minutes, the band took a break and a DJ set up music to play on the sound system. Most of the dancers took a break to get drinks and snacks, Kagome and her new friends included in that crowd. An announcer got on the mic as they were standing together near a patch of bushes, and started talking about how great the party was going that night and how accurate so many of the costumes were. He announced that there would be a contest for best costume and encouraged people to enter before announcing what time the night’s fireworks would start. Kagome’s school friends ran up to her just then to tell her to enter the contest. They weren’t going to, as they had worn simple kimonos for the occasion and knew they wouldn’t win, but they adored Kagome’s costume.

“Well, if I enter, Keiko-chan should enter with me. After all, our costumes are part of a set. We wouldn’t want to disrespect the Red and White Priestesses by entering separately.” She said with a smile and playfulness in her voice.

“Hai, you are right Kagome-chan!” Keiko giggled, thinking of what the shopkeeper had said earlier that afternoon.

Just as they were making their way to the side of the stage where the registration for the contest was, the earth began to rumble and shake. It wasn’t much more than a tremor, but people soon became frightened when the sky at the end of the beach near the woods began to spark. A loud hissing noise could be heard, growing quickly to a shriek and sending people running back towards the hotel. Even those staying in the cabins ran to the hotel in order to keep as much distance as they could between themselves and the odd phenomenon near the woods.

As soon as it started, Kagome felt a chill go through her soul and knew this was just the beginning. She turned to Keiko, “Keiko-chan, you, Yuusuke and Kuwabara should go back to the hotel. Could you please go get my friends and take them back with you, also? Tell them I’ll be there soon. I have to find Inuyasha first, though, okay?” The brown-haired girl nodded vigorously and ran off to get Eri, Yuka, Ayumi and Houjou. Once she was out of sight, Kagome took her bow off her shoulder and steeled herself for what was to come, whatever it may be.

************ *

Yuusuke and Kuwabara knew something was about to happen. Kuwabara had felt uneasy for the last five minutes before the tremor had even begun and had told Yuusuke about it. Yuusuke saw Keiko running back towards them, and grabbed her to tell her to go back to the hotel with her new friends. She quickly told him what Kagome had asked her to do and went off to find the others.

The two boys looked at each other in worry, realizing Keiko’s new friend would be in danger when the barrier finally opened up, as they knew it would soon. From the behavior of the atmosphere, they suspected it wouldn’t just be one or two youkai coming through this time. They had to find the girl, and her silver-haired, strangely-named friend, and get them to safety before a horde of nasty Makai inhabitants could have a chance to tear them apart. Kuwabara quickly ran off in the direction he had last seen Inuyasha and Yuusuke went after Kagome’s last-known whereabouts. Quickly making it to the side of the stage, the girl was no longer there and Yuusuke looked around for where she could’ve gone. He couldn’t tell which footprints were hers in the sand because of all the other people still running around trying to get back to the hotel.

The tremor grew in intensity suddenly and Yuusuke looked back towards the growing hole in the barrier in horror. The sparks shooting from the baseball sized hole had grown to span out twenty feet in radius from the hole. This wasn’t what had the blood draining from the boy’s face however. It was the fact that he had finally spotted Kagome… and she was running towards the opening barrier!

************ *

Gulp. “Aah, no, onegai! I’ll tell you anything, I swear!”

The sniveling youkai was currently trapped in one of Kurama’s faithful vines, with both a deadly thorn-covered vine and a gleaming katana aimed at his neck. They left no room for argument.

“Good. We thought you may see it that way.” Hiei replied with an evil smirk.

“What do you want to know?” the trapped youkai asked nervously, staring down the katana.

“Yesterday, around 5 in the afternoon, was a human girl smuggled into Makai?” Kurama questioned him.

“A human girl? I never heard nothin’ about no human girl.”

“Do you know who might have been planning a human kidnapping?”

“I know lots of youkai that would love to have a human on the menu. Especially a girl.” The youkai oozed out. He gulped again as the vines squeezed a bit tighter and the two weapons aimed at him drew closer. “I don’t know anyone that’s specifically planning any kidnappings! If I did, I swear I’d tell you!”

“What about the barrier breakthroughs? Have you heard anything about who’s planning them?”

“There’ve been breakthroughs? I ain’t heard nothin’ about it! Damn, what’s a guy hafta do to get a little heads-up around here?”

“Actually have a head, for one.” Hiei pressed the length of his blade against the tender skin just under the youkai’s Adam’s apple. Moonlight glinted off the blade, making it appear even more deadly, if that were possible.

“No, onegai, I’m answering your questions. I can’t tell you what I don’t know!”

“Tell us something you do know then. Any rumors popping up in the popular circles?” Kurama ventured.

“No, not that I’ve heard.” At this, Hiei narrowed his eyes and prepared to strike. “Wait! There is something! I didn’t think of it right away ‘cause it’s nothing about what you’ve been asking, but who knows, right?”

Hiei lowered his weapon.

“Please continue.” Kurama implored.

“Okay, okay, well there’ve been some rumors going around that a bunch of youkai have been disappearing. In the past five days, at least eight guys from three different gangs have gone missing without a trace.”

“That can’t be an uncommon occurrence. Our race isn’t exactly known for its loyalty. There must be many youkai that desert gangs they claim allegiance to, only to try to gain more power themselves.” Hiei remarked snidely.

“A couple of them were already prominent members of their gang, though. There was no reason to try to break off. Other demons are becoming superstitious because of it. All of them seem to have disappeared from around the same area in Makai, near the Forest of the Void.”

“Don’t tell me a bunch of grown youkai are scared of a children’s story!” Kurama remarked, amused.

“Children’s story?” Hiei questioned. Growing up with the bandits, he hadn’t been exposed to many things normal youkai children would learn from their parents.

“Hai, Hiei. There are stories many Makai parents tell their children when they’re young. Many Makai superstitions stem from these stories and are followed even into adulthood by some.” Kurama explained, “One of these stories is about the Forest of the Void. The story goes that, centuries ago, there was a youkai child spawned from a collection of many youkai parts. Her creator had no love for her and used her for his own selfish quest for power, yet the girl was loyal to him to the end. However, one day the end did come, and the girl was left all alone. She left her Master’s castle and wandered until she found a cave deep in a forest. Since she had been created instead of conceived, she had no soul and no true purpose; she was nothing more than a shell. She had no place among others and became a recluse in her cave. Yet, somehow, the will to survive came to grip her heart, and slowly emotion seeped into it as well. She began to feel lonely, and her lonesomeness grew to bitterness. She longed to take retribution for her forced solitude and began to collect power. The only way she could do this, however, was to steal it from others, and she began to set traps for wandering youkai in the woods near the cave she lived in. When she caught them, it was like a spell came over them and they couldn’t fight back. She would suck out their very soul and use it to fill the void where her soul should have been. The soul would eventually die, along with the powers she gained with it, and so she would set even more traps to fill the emptiness. No matter what she did, though, the only true power she could claim as her own was the very emptiness of her shell that she despised so much. To this day, she is said to still plague her forest, and no one who ventures inside ever makes it out. Or, at least, that is the superstition of the tale.”

Hiei was silent for a few moments, letting the story sink in, then he turned back to their hostage, “And you believe this nonsense?”

“Hell, I didn’t used to, but now that all these disappearances have been happening, I’m not taking any chances. After all, most folk tales have some basis in fact, ne? Just the fact that no one can even find a trail to follow to find them is enough to keep me outta there!”

“Hold on,” Kurama interjected, “what did you just say?”

The youkai looked puzzled. “I said I’m sure as hell gonna keep my distance from the Forest of the Void.”

“No, about not finding a trail.”

“Oh, that. Well, a couple search parties were sent out to look for some of them-the ones whose last whereabouts were known for sure. All of them were within a couple miles of the Forest. But no trail was left behind to follow them. Their scent was gone, there was no detectable youki, and no one in the area seemed to know anything about what had happened. It was the exact same story for each missing demon.”

Hiei and Kurama looked at each other with the realization of what was being said. This was what they had been searching for. They nodded to each other and Kurama let the youkai free from his vines as Hiei sheathed his katana. The informant dropped to the ground unceremoniously and looked shocked at his new freedom.

“You’re… just letting me go?”

“You answered our questions, didn’t you?” Kurama answered with a question.

Hiei smirked, resting his hand on the hilt of his katana, “If you prefer, I can still relieve your neck of the weight of your head.”

The youkai’s green face paled to almost white. Shaking his head furiously, he scrambled to get up and ran away.

‘Perhaps there is actually more to this childhood story, after all?’

‘I think you may be right, Hiei. It certainly deserves looking into. We should tell the others what we’ve found out so far, first. I think it most likely that the girl was able to escape, because the presence of a human female would be hard to keep secret. Especially since it’s already been a full day since the incident.’

(Especially if she was anything like our human female.)

Kurama groaned. Not again. ‘Don’t start that again, Youko. We need to focus.’

‘Your human female? Don’t tell me you’re finally giving in to one of your rabid fangirls, fox.’

‘Please,’ Kurama said with a roll of his eyes, ‘I’m not out of my mind.’

‘That’s a matter of opinion.’ Hiei replied, his mouth quirking up in amusement.

(I would never become that desperate, hybrid.) Youko replied haughtily. (None of those silly onna could compare to mine.)

‘Youko, you’ve never even met her! And, besides, she was with someone already.’

Youko made a sound of indifference. (Once she meets us, that won’t matter.)

Hiei laughed quietly at the audacity of the silver kitsune. Kurama simply stared off in disbelief. He could feel the fox grin on Youko’s face deep in their soul.

‘Youko, this is not the time or place for this discussion. We need to inform the others of our new information.’

(Fine, Kurama, but don’t think this ends the issue. I won’t allow you to continue torturing me by remaining a virgin forever. What we could do with that girl…) Youko trailed off, preferring, instead, to send graphic images of his plans streaming through Kurama’s imagination. The sudden rapid onslaught of sexual fantasies hit Kurama hard, and he blushed when he noticed he was becoming aroused.

Hiei grinned slyly. ‘Do you two need a room?’

(Only if you are offering your company, hybrid.) Youko’s smirk could be heard in his voice. How he loved taunting his teen host and his fire apparition friend.

‘Kitsune no hentai.’

Kurama blushed further. ‘Youko, I swear, if I ever find a way, I’m killing you.’ Not even looking at the fire apparition, Kurama created a rift in the barrier and the two--or three, if you want to be particular--of them entered Ningenkai.

As soon as they set foot on the trembling earth, they knew something was wrong. They could hear the screams coming from the beach from where they had come out near the residential section. Kurama could faintly smell the poisonous vapors of Makai coming from the same direction as the screams, and the two youkai quickly took off towards the beach.

************ *

Inuyasha was on the other end of the beach, near the rocky cliffs, when the ground under his feet started to shake. Soon afterwards, his ears flattened to his skull underneath his bandana when the high-pitched hiss started and people began screaming. He quickly turned back towards the main stretch of beach and his nose instantly wrinkled in disgust from the odd smell. He desperately searched for Kagome in the running crowds. Of course, he realized, she wouldn’t run like she should; she would want to protect the people running.

As he neared the place he had last seen Kagome and her friends, he came upon Kuwabara.

“Oi, Inuyasha, right? Kagome-chan went to look for you. Urameshi went to get her and he’s gonna send her to the hotel so he and I can take care of this.”

Inuyasha took off running again, towards the woods and the crackling dimensional rift; and towards Kagome.

“Oi, where are you going? Urameshi’s getting her; you should wait here for her!” Kuwabara started running after the silver-haired boy. If the Makai barrier opened up while Inuyasha and Kagome were over there, he didn’t want to think about what could happen!

************ *

Kagome ran the stretch of the beach; it seemed like it went on forever. The closer she got to it, the bigger the hole grew. Her senses were tingling with the crackle of youki she sensed coming from the hole. Finally, she got within fifty feet of it just as it finished growing. Kagome stopped and notched an arrow in her bow, aiming at the center of the opening just as the first wave of youkai exploded from it. As she let the arrow fly, she watched in wonder as her reiki infused itself into her arrow from her fingertips; as it soared through the air, it grew to a blinding pink that seemed to explode when it hit its target. Two youkai were purified completely upon impact, and two more, one on either side of them, lost half of their bodies as well. The youkai kept pouring from the portal, however, and Kagome notched another arrow.

************ *

Kurama and Hiei got onto the beach just as the youkai started coming through. They were over 300 feet away still when Kurama noticed a girl standing right in front of the bloodthirsty demons. He couldn’t tell what she was doing as he saw her from the back, but realized it was the same girl he’d been following just the other day. Immediately, he sent out his youki to some bushes growing on the edge of the woods. Instantly, its branches came to life and shot towards the girl with the intent of grabbing her out of harm’s way. Right before they got to her, however, something that looked like a flaming pink arrow seemingly flew from the girl’s hands and disintegrated the youkai in the center of the group. At the same time, a similar pink flame appeared around the girl, glowing as if it were her aura; the branches of the bush started sizzling when they made contact, and retreated quickly.

Kurama didn’t have time for this to register completely, however, since he was promptly punched in the face, as well as Hiei. Both youkai were momentarily stunned and disoriented from the sheer force and passion of the blow, and their attacker instantly turned towards the girl and started running. They could hear him calling to her as they regained their composure and also started running, readying their weapons for the inevitable battle. Deciding to worry about the Makai situation first, they didn’t pursue their attacker as they followed on his heels. Besides, as they drew closer, they saw that he, at least, wasn’t on the side of the Makai escapees, either, since he was helping to kill them as well.

Kurama and Hiei nodded to each other once before heading straight into the fray, slashing at any youkai they could get their weapons near. Kurama’s Rose Whip twirled and snapped in its rhythmic dance of thorns and blood. Hiei’s katana flashed and slashed its enemies to pieces. The heavy whoosh of the steel slicing through the thick air before it met with flesh and bone was music to Hiei’s ears. His red eyes seemed to glow in the dark from his sheer pleasure as he took out several youkai in a matter of seconds and quickly moved ahead more into the next wave.

The kitsune and fire apparition soon were joined by their fellow Detectives and knew they were fighting side-by-side. It was when they noticed that the four of them, plus Inuyasha, weren’t the only ones fighting that they truly started to pay attention to anything other than the hordes trying desperately to break into Ningenkai to wreak havoc.

************ *

When Yuusuke had seen Kagome stop in front of the ruptured barrier, he had been inexplicably frozen in place, unable to do more than stare at her dumbly. He watched as Kurama and Hiei ran towards her, only able to gasp when he saw her flaming arrow and aura and their effects. He was finally able to will his body to move when he saw Inuyasha knock down Kurama and Hiei before running after Kagome, and was quickly joined by Kuwabara as he was running after Inuyasha.

He called to Kuwabara to get Kagome out of there before he, himself, joined his other two friends in battle. Blasts of his Rei Gun took out many of the growling, drooling, grotesque minion youkai. They ranged from E to C class, and were a challenge in number alone. The youkai just kept on coming and Yuusuke began to wonder if he and his friends had enough stamina to last through all the youkai that must’ve been waiting to come through the portal after the others. He was soon rejoined by Kuwabara and they each watched each other’s back as they blasted and sliced their way through the demons.

Yuusuke soon realized that Kagome was still in the same area as them, though she was no longer standing in the same place. He looked towards the girl to see her aura flaring as she loosed arrow after arrow of flaming pink towards gnashing, clawing demons. He didn’t have time to gawk, even as he saw Inuyasha spring into the air near the girl and cry the name of a special move before tearing several of Kagome’s still-whole attackers into bits with his… ‘Claws?’ because he and Kuwabara were soon surrounded and unable to see anything but the ugly faces of their enemies for the few minutes it took to defeat them all. He and Kuwabara could barely make out the sound of his fellow Tantei, or Inuyasha and Kagome, over the screech still emanating from the still-active portal; or the growls, roars and screams of the youkai that had made it through already. They paid it no mind as they put all their effort into their fighting.

************ *

Inuyasha ran full-force towards Kagome, ignoring the boy chasing after him and barely registering the form of Yuusuke as he passed where he was, frozen on his knees in the sand. He was briefly worried as he saw Kagome make no move to get away from the youkai, but felt great relief as she loosed her hamaya. That’s when he saw it; the sneak attack. Just like the other day, a distraction was being used in order to kidnap Kagome. This time, however, the distraction was being used on the girl herself so she wouldn’t be able to protect herself from what was sneaking up behind her. He cheered his best friend inwardly when he saw the branches retreat in pain from the touch of her reiki, and quickly knocked out two human-looking youkai, one of which smelled like the fox from the day before. He had to delay killing them off, however, when he smelled more youkai coming through the hole, aiming right for Kagome. Inuyasha ran towards the masses yelling Kagome’s name, claws bared, ready to defend his best friend and keep her safe.

************ *

Kuwabara went to help Kagome get away as soon as Yuusuke told him to. The girl was standing fearlessly in front of the hole in the barrier, an arrow readied in the bow she’d had with her for the beach party. He had to admit, the girl had balls, but that wouldn’t make a party prop anymore deadly. This girl had no idea how foolish she was being. As he came up to her, he prepared to scoop her up and run like hell towards the hotel, since he sensed that she would not go easily. He stopped short, however, as he watched her scream at Inuyasha, pulling back on her bow string and letting a bright pink arrow fly as her aura also glowed. It hit a youkai that had been about to attack the silver-haired boy from behind, and purified the villain from existence. Immediately realizing she must be the very reiki user they’d been looking for, right under their noses no less, he went to find Yuusuke to tell him. The urgency of the need to dispatch of the youkai, however, quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head as he dove into battle head-on.

************ *

Kagome heard Inuyasha scream her name and looked towards him right after she let her second arrow fly into the swarming youkai. “I’m okay, Inuyasha! We have to get rid of these things before they get away into my world, though!”

Inuyasha didn’t like the idea of her fighting against all these demons with him, but he’d seen enough in the past few days to realize she could at least hold her own fighting beside him. He nodded as he leapt towards the advancing youkai, using his Sankontessou to shred them to pieces. He kept his eyes constantly surveying the situation, in order to not let Kagome get hurt or kidnapped again. He was a bit shocked, to say the least, when he saw the two youkai he had knocked out join the fight… on his side! He was even more surprised when Kagome’s new ningen friends joined in as well, and seemed to be using reiki in ways similar to Kagome’s hamaya… theirs, however, were weapons created from reiki, rather than infused with it.

Suddenly, Inuyasha heard Kagome scream his name and he had just enough time to duck out of the way as her arrow sailed over him and into the youkai that had planned to attack him while he was distracted watching the Spirit Detectives. Quickly focusing back on the fight, Inuyasha leapt towards another group of youkai that were trying to attack Kagome, shredding them like paper with his sharp claws.

************ *

The fight continued in this manner for at least twenty minutes. Kurama used his Rose Whip’s many attacks, Hiei sliced and diced with his katana, Yuusuke blasted his Rei Gun, and Kuwabara used his Double Rei Ken against the still-growing swarm of demons. Inuyasha kept attacking with his claws, as he’d finally become used to the rule of not using his Tetsusaiga. Kagome let loose arrow after arrow until she had none left, feeling the power within her bubble forth and finally realizing how much she had to unlock from within.

************ *

When her weapons were gone, Kagome’s instincts took over. She felt as if she was watching herself from above her body as her raw energy erupted like a volcano. Kagome’s feet seemed to move of their own free will as she ran head-on towards the charging youkai. She watched her pink aura deepen to purple and shoot from her body in all directions, purifying any youkai nearby that her reiki felt was a threat. She saw the purifying energy actually weave its way around Inuyasha and the two other human-looking youkai she had noticed fighting earlier, leaving them all unharmed. Kagome was further surprised to see that her two new human friends were fighting with reiki as well, though they seemed to have actual control over theirs, unlike her. She had no time to dwell on those thoughts, however, as she grew to realize that no matter how many youkai they took out, they just kept pouring from that strange opening in the sky.

She looked back at Inuyasha, still fighting with his claws, and realized their only chance to win this thing before it got more out of hand. Kagome drew a breath and raised her voice as loud as she could over the deafening battle, in order for the hanyou to hear her.

************ *

Inuyasha felt the flash of energy pass him when Kagome’s purifying sweep shot past him, crackling and sizzling as it turned youkai to dust around him. He chanced a glance at her and was met with the now-familiar purple glow of her eyes as her reiki took over her body. He could tell she was still aware of her surroundings, though, and no longer worried over it since he realized Kagome’s body was finally getting used to its new powers. He suspected it had something to do with her newly-complete soul.

Even as Inuyasha thought all this, he kept fighting, moving ahead to the new escapees after Kagome’s wave killed off the stragglers. When he heard Kagome yell his name, he turned to look back at her. She was running towards him.

“Inuyasha! Inuyasha! We have to take them out all at once, even that portal thing they’re using. You have to use the Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha!”

He didn’t have to be told twice. He’d been itching to draw his sword for almost a week now, and he finally had permission to do so once again. Drawing the demon fang, he swept his eyes over the scene to see where his fellow fighters were. They were all relatively close to his target and he wasn’t sure how he could get all four of them out of harm’s way quickly enough. Kagome had the answer, however. She stood in front of him protectively, and focused all her will on leaving Inuyasha unharmed. She then sent out a mild blast that shot straight out from her, separating Kurama and Hiei from Yuusuke and Kuwabara before fanning out and producing a shockwave that sent all four boys flying out of harm’s way to the right and left of her reiki blast.

Inuyasha smirked his approval and stepped in front of the miko, telling her to get back as well. Taking aim towards the black hole that more youkai were already coming back out of, he raised Tetsusaiga straight out in front of him, watching the aura of the Kaze no Kizu swirl around the fang-blade. He swept it back and brought it down in front of himself again with all his might as he called out the name of his faithful sword attack. The fire of the Kaze no Kizu split the ground along its tracks as it raced towards the youkai and their portal. It burned through them completely and kept going, seeming to climb the very bodies it burned in order to make its way up and into the black hole. As the flames disappeared into the portal, it wavered and started to shrink back down, even as it looked like it was trying desperately to stay open. The sparks of electric-like youki that seemed to have held it open died down to almost nothing as the hole got smaller and smaller. At last, with a final hiss of protest, it closed completely, leaving only the hundreds of scattered bloody youkai parts as proof that the portal had ever opened.

Inuyasha looked back at Kagome, who was looking around at the now-unconscious Spirit Detectives, wondering what to make of them. She wasn’t sure if they could trust them, even if they had helped them fight. Who knew what they were really and what their true purpose was with their powers. She looked towards Inuyasha when she felt him looking at her.

“That redhead smells like the kitsune that was following us,” he seemed to answer her thoughts as he pointed to Kurama. “The little guy is a youkai as well. Those friends of yours obviously have some sort of mastery of reiki, too. I don’t know if we should trust them, Kagome.”

“I know, Inuyasha. I was just thinking the same thing. I don’t think we can risk them finding out who you really are or where you’re from.” Kagome agreed.

They could hear sirens approaching in the background, and Kagome realized someone must have called the emergency line from the hotel. She turned a worried face to Inuyasha just before he scooped her up and tossed her onto his back, leaping in the opposite direction of their cabin, back towards the cliffs. He was heading back to Tokyo… back to the well… back to his time. Where it was safe.

“Kagome,” he called over his shoulder to the girl.

“Hai, Inuyasha?” she answered, hanging tightly to him as he leapt swiftly over the countryside. She knew where he was headed and didn’t protest. All her arguments were cleared out by the events of the night. She figured, they’d been planning to leave tomorrow anyway, and Mama could just call Juri and tell her that Kagome had to take Inuyasha back home early, and that they’d taken a train. Juri would be able to take Kagome’s things back to her house when she dropped off Souta.

“What did you say “vacation” meant, again?”

Kagome giggled nervously, realizing where he was going with this. “Um… I think I said it was a break from everyday life and duties and a time to relax and have fun, so you don’t get rundown by your responsibilities.”

“Keh, yeah, that’s what I thought you said.” He made a few more large leaps after saying this. He would get them back to Tokyo three hours earlier than they would’ve made it by car. After about a minute, he spoke again, “Kagome?”

“Hai, Inuyasha?”

“This was not avacation.”

End Chapter 8
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Words First Appearing in Chapter Eight:
gomen: sorry
onna no baka: stupid women
onegai: please
inu: dog
katas: exercises in form and technique in karate; looks dance-like when performed; is usually used as a stretch or warm-up before karate lessons
sode-nashi-hanten: sleeveless hanten (or happi); a kimono-style, short slip-over jacket; I did a lot of searching on the net to figure out exactly what the red and white priestesses wore over their shirts, and this is my best guess
shikigami: paper gods; basically paper that is brought to “life” to use to attack someone or as a decoy; can either stay as paper, or, more commonly, take the identical form of a real person; for a better description: http : / / www . youkaimura . org / shikigami . htm (remove spaces)
hentai: pervert/perverted
Konbanwa: Good evening
Kitsune no hentai: perverted fox
Rei Gun: Spirit Gun
Rei Ken: Spirit Sword
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A/N: Sorry this is kinda late... my computer completely crashed and, well, yeah, it was loads of fun... and now I have to type in WordPad instead of MS Word and I hate it. *sigh* So once I finally was able to use my comp again and get online, I have five snuggly reviews waiting for me!! ^_________^ Let's thank those snuggly, snuggly reviewers, shall we?

MM . org review replies:

Ryukotsusei: Thanks for R&Ring! Here's an update!

FF . net review replies:

Kagome-reincarnation: Thanks. And now all you and all the other people wondering about pairings know of two possibilities... but I'm still not telling the end pairing yet... MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

YoukoLover: Yeah, Youko is goin' kinda nutty I guess. lol... I'm not thinking of it as him losing control, though, rather trying to gain control... over Kurama's body... so he can get some. He is a sexual being after all, and should not be denied his needs! lol... well, maybe that's just me...

montrith: Ah, sorry for the tease...lol.. I loved doing it, though ^___^ and I guess this chapter is kinda a tease as well, maybe.... Glad to know I threw you off with the female villain... twas what I was hoping for... and it's nice to get someone wondering about something other than the pairing for once... lol (even though you mentioned the pairing as well : P) Just have patience and things will start becoming more clear soon... I think...

AnimeMoonlightGoddess: Well, here's an update, enjoy!
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R & R!!!


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