Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Uragirimono ❯ Chapter 13 - The Search Begins ( Chapter 13 )

Uragirimono

 

Notes: I was just bored one day so I sat down and started writing. I have no intention for this piece. I don't even know why I'm writing it when I have so much still unfinished. I guess I just need a break so I can sit down and get some fresh ideas into my head. I'll go back some day and re-watch some anime and finish some of my ficcies, but I really don't know when. I'm tired of writing the same old cliche fics and I just wanna have a lil fun again. Anyway, this'll be a Sailor Moon, Inuyasha ficcy (since that anime rox^^ I finally got to see it, fansub of course ~.^). Anyway, I really don't want to make this a romance, but if it takes that turn *shrugs* gomen. Well, that's all I'm gonna ramble on about for now. Please review or email me at pokahydee@mysticallegends.com. Also, check out my fanfiction contest on my site http://www.mysticallegends.com. There is currently no deadline until I receive more entrees. If this is good enough, maybe I'll enter it in that contest I'm a judge of *thinks and shrugs*

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Inuyasha, they are owned by other people with alot more money than me *sniffle* The story belongs to me, though, steal and you'll have a hoard of hungry muses on your ass ready to beat the living crap outa ya and drag your beaten bloody carcass back to their master Naraku who will eat every last bite of you :P (^^; that was kinda violent ne? *blushes*)

 

Thoughts are 'italicized'
Dream Sequences are 'italicized' (thoughts in dreams aren't)
**** Change of scene, time, etc…

 

Chapter 13 - The Search Begins

 

The sound of rushing wind or rushing water, Usagi wasn't truly sure which it was, filled her ears and drowned out all other sound. A blinding white light forced her to shut her eyes as the rushing sound grew louder. She put her hands over her ears and screamed as pain ripped through her head from the sound that seemed deafeningly loud. Just when Usagi thought that it would never end… everything grew quite quiet… She was dimly aware that she was on her knees on the ground with her hands over her ears. She took her hands off her ears and placed them on the ground so she could catch her breath. 'Nani?!? Where am I?!?' Usagi wondered as she saw green grass under her hands. She looked up and found herself in a small clearing with trees on all sides.

 

She stood up and began to walk toward the trees with no real direction in mind; her body seemed to know where it wanted to go… No… that's not it… Usagi wasn't in control of her own body! The sudden realization dawned on her as she tried to raise her arm so she could see the outfit she wore because it was so warm. She wanted to push her sleeve up because the sun beating down on her from the clearing was making her hot. 'Why can't I move?' She wondered vaguely as she walked forward purposefully. She could tell that she was holding something in her right hand, but she was unable to see what it was. It was very unnerving for her because it could be anything! She felt herself raising her right arm while her left arm reached over her shoulder and grabbed something from the article strapped to her back. Before her mind could even register what was going on, she her herself speaking.

 

"Be gone seeker of the Shikon no Tama, or I will end you." Usagi's voice was cold and quiet. She could feel her eyebrows knit in concentration as the arrow was pulled taut against the bowstring with such speed that Usagi hadn't even seen it happened.

 

She saw a figure in red emerge from the woods in front of her and the arrow was let loose. Usagi watched in amazed shock as arrow after arrow flew from the bow in her hand and effectively pinned the figure to a rather large tree directly in front of Usagi. 'Weird… this girl is really amazing…' She thought vaguely as she walked toward the figure pinned to the tree.

 

"What are your intentions, demon?" She questioned slowly as she felt her eyes narrow on the face of the intruder. 'Inu… Inuyasha?' She thought as she recognized the dog demon immediately.

 

"Keh!" Was his answer as he turned his head to look away from her.

 

"Leave this place now and I will spare your life." Her cold voice said as she turned away from the half-demon whose clothes were pinning his arms and legs down to the tree. "You must be the hanyou I've heard of that's been roaming around these parts, am I correct?" She said as she glanced back at the pinned boy. When he didn't answer, she turned back to the path ahead of her. "I suppose we shall meet again." Usagi felt her legs moving as she walked away. She reached her hand up to her neck and felt a necklace with a large, round bead hanging from it. She lifted it up and felt her eyes widen as her reflection stared back at her with sad, dead eyes.

 

Her mind screamed with unanswered questions as the rushing sound filled her ears once more and she felt herself being ripped from the body and flying backward, unable to see where she was headed. Pain throbbed in her head as the sound reached an unimaginable pitch; she squeezed her eyes shut and put her hands over her ears.

 

"Iie! Stop!" Her own voice brought her back to her senses. When her eyes opened again, she was breathing heavily and staring back into a pair of golden eyes that held hatred she had never seen before. She took a step backward and tripped over something. "Nani? What happened?" She questioned as she looked around her. She had been vaguely aware of where she was and saw Inuyasha standing back quite a ways running toward her. When she glanced back in the direction of the golden eyes, she saw claws coming down toward her with a green gas-like substance coming from them. She held up the sword she forgot she'd been holding and put it in front of her like a shield as darkness descended upon her.

 

****

 

A blinding white light lit up the area, which caused Inuyasha to shield his eyes. Sesshoumaru had been just about to kill Usagi when the light surrounded the girl and blocked everything from view. With his eyes closed, he saw something that surprised him a great deal… a woman with flowing silver hair, an elegant gown, and a glowing golden crescent moon burning on her forehead. She was reaching her hands out to him as a small silver jewel burned brightly in her palm.

 

"Nani?!" He cried as he opened his eyes back up. The light had died down and he watched in shock as Sesshoumaru lunged toward the blond human. He began to run toward her, knowing that he would not make it in time. The poison from his claws struck the girl and melted the wall behind her, burying her in a matter of seconds. His eyes narrowed as anger he hadn't known existed began to build up from the inside. "Sesshoumaru!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "She had nothing to do with this!! I'll kill you!!" He yelled as he lunged at his older brother. He didn't notice the look of surprise on the older demon's face as his claws ripped through the armor that ran across Sesshoumaru's chest and shoulder.

 

"Hmm… if I would have known killing that human girl would make you fight, I would have done it long ago." Sesshoumaru said with a smirk as he snapped the glowing whip in his right hand.

 

"Temee…" Inuyasha growled as he attacked his brother once more.

 

"Nani?! He couldn't even touch Sesshoumaru-sama a few minutes ago!" Jyaken said as he saw Inuyasha's claws rip through the fabric of Sesshoumaru's shirt and scratch the flesh underneath.

 

"Heh, all of this for one dead human girl." Sesshoumaru said with a smirk. His smirk changed to a frown as he snapped his whip while he jumped into the air. "A hanyou should know his place! And lick the ground! Worthless hanyou!!" He growled as he smashed Inuyasha into the ground as if it were nothing.

 

"This is for Usagi!" Inuyasha yelled as he jumped into the air and slashed his claws across Sesshoumaru's already bleeding chest. The pain didn't seem to phase Sesshoumaru one bit as flecks of blood flew through the air.

 

"I thought I was a goner!" Usagi cried as she drew in a deep breath. She was breathing heavily as she stood up from the midst of the melted section of bone wearing a long white gown. There was a slight silver glow clinging to her skin and a golden crescent moon on her forehead. Inuyasha stopped his attack when he heard the voice and landed several feet from Usagi.

 

"Eh? Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Inuyasha questioned as he looked in Usagi's direction.

 

"Huh?" Usagi looked down at herself and saw a long white dress that seemed to weigh her down as she stepped out of the slimy cocoon Sesshoumaru had tried to encase her within. "Hey! You tried to kill me!" Usagi cried as she pointed the sword toward Sesshoumaru. "I can't believe it!" Usagi bent down and picked up the red shirt Inuyasha had put around her shoulders and held it clutched to her chest in one hand and the sword in the other. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he walked slowly toward her with his eyes narrowed and his teeth bared.

 

****

 

Seiya's head flew up off the pillow all of a sudden as he felt a strange sensation. There was a sudden power that had flared up with a strength that he had never known existed.

 

"A new Star Seed has been born…" He said vaguely as the power seemed to dim slightly. He could still feel it, but it was somewhat lessened than what it had been at first.

 

"Do you think?" Taiki said slowly as he stood up and faced the window.

 

"Our Princess?" Yaten finished as he too, stood and walked toward the window. The sun was slowly setting behind the clouds in the distance, but it was a very distinct power that could not belong to any of the Sailor Senshi on the planet Earth. It was much too strong to be any of them… so there was only one person it could be.

 

"Kakyuu-hime…" Seiya breathed as he tried to raise himself from the bed.

 

****

 

"What did you do to it?!?" Kouga cried as he saw the piece of the jewel lying in Kagome's hand.

 

"Gomen, I didn't know it would break." Kagome said as she closed her hand around the jewel. "This is bad…"

 

"All right, now to get rid of the other one!" Sailor Mars said as she jumped down from the tree branch she stood on and landed beside Kagome and Kouga. "Release Higurashi-san, monster!" She cried as she prepared to release another of her flame arrows straight at Kouga.

 

"Get lost, human!" Kouga growled as he stood in front of Kagome protectively.

 

"We've got you surrounded so you'd be better off to give up!" Sailor Jupiter said as she landed behind Kagome and Kouga.

 

"Look, he's not hurting me." Kagome said as a sweatdrop slid down her face. "It's because of him that I stopped the crow!"

 

"And it's your fault the jewel was shattered, onna!" Kouga growled as he turned to face Kagome.

 

"Hey! Who's side are you on?!?" Kagome demanded as she faced Kouga. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, you're the same way Miroku and Sango said you would be. You're a stupid jerk who isn't worth my time or pity!" Kagome said as she turned away from him, crossed her arms over her chest, and began to walk away.

 

"Oi! Where do you think you're going?!?" Kouga demanded as he jumped into the air and landed in front of her. "You have something of mine." He said as he put out his hand.

 

"Oh, do I?" Kagome asked as she opened her hand to reveal the jewel shard. "Go to hell!" She yelled and slapped him across the face in the process. Kouga fell backward on the ground with the force of her slap and sat there holding his throbbing cheek.

 

"Iteiteiteite…" He said as he held his cheek. "Oi! Matte, hime!" Kouga said as he followed after the dark-haired girl.

 

"Oi! We weren't done with you, monster!" Sailor Mars called after the pair as a sweatdrop slid down her forehead.

 

"I don't think they're listening…" Sailor Mercury said as she touched the side of her visor, which made it retract.

 

"Kagome-sama!" A voice called from the air. She looked up and waved as she saw Miroku, Sango, and Shippo riding on the back of Kirara. The two of them had apparently stopped at Kagome's house before they had continued on their way to find Kagome so they could pick up Shippo and Kirara as well as their weapons. It was much easier and faster to fly than to run throughout the city. It had been surprisingly easy for Sango and Miroku to find their dark-haired friend, as they only had to follow the bright pink light that had filled the sky several moments before. They were slightly surprised to see those same weird girls in mini-skirts pursuing Kagome and Kouga, though.

 

"The Sailor Senshi?" Sango questioned slowly as the cat demon landed and the three people riding climbed off.

 

"Kagome-sama, what happened?" Miroku asked as he approached the young priestess-in-training.

 

"Umm… we had a little accident… I need to go see Kaede-obachan…" Kagome said as she held up the small shard for her companions to see.

 

"We told you to halt!" Sailor Venus said as she landed in front of Kouga.

 

"Oi! Leave me alone already!!" Kouga growled as he shook his fist at the blond human girl. "No one wants to see some weak human running around in that outfit! Go find someone else to harass!"

 

"Are you saying that I can't go running around in my school uniform, Kouga-kun?" Kagome questioned as a vein thudded in her forehead. The green skirt she wore was nearly as short as the Sailor Senshis' skirts. "Is it so disgusting to see a weak human dressed this way that you have to say such nasty things?"

 

"I didn't mean that, hime-sama." Kouga said as a sweatdrop slid slowly down his face. His face turned serious and he took both of Kagome's hands in his own. "Hime, I will take my leave now." He said as he brought her hands to his chest and stared into her eyes. A slight blush touched Kagome's cheeks at the sudden serious look that had spread across his face. "I shall rescue you from these fiends when we next meet."

 

"That's really not-" Kagome started but was cut off mid-sentence as he leaned forward and placed his lips gently against her forehead in a gentle kiss. Kagome's face turned the color of a tomato at his impulsive move, but before she was able to say anything, he was gone.

 

"Chotto matte, Kouga!" A familiar voice sounded from behind Kagome. She turned to see blurred figures and a pack of wolves headed in their direction, which caused Kagome to jump out of the way in surprise as they rushed past.

 

"Ja na, oneechan!" Hakukkai [4] called over his shoulder as the two wolf demons waved back to Kagome. They had apparently been running at full speed since they had been separated from Kouga earlier.

 

"Oneechan?" Kagome questioned as she ran her finger lightly over the spot on her forehead his lips had brushed across. The skin still tingled from the contact and she was aware that her face was quite warm.

 

"What's wrong, Kagome-sama?" Miroku's voice broke into Kagome's thoughts. She turned to face him and shook her head with a smile on her face. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

 

"Of course he didn't. He's really a sweet guy when you get to know him better." Kagome said as a slight blush touched her cheeks and a small smile crossed her lips.

 

"I get it, you want him, ne?" A small voice piped up. Shippo seemed oblivious to the shocked expressions on every face and continued as if he had not said anything weird at all. "I'm not sure what that means, but mama said that before about daddy when we were all taking a bath in the hot spring together." A sweatdrop slid down Kagome's face and everyone seemed to breathe a small sigh of relief. To think that a parent would say such things around a young child like Shippo was horrible. They were just glad he didn't know what it meant.

 

"So, what was that strange light we just saw?" Sango asked to break the silence that had fallen on the small group. A feeling of dread hung in the air as they waited for the answer to that question. Kagome stiffened visibly and then laughed nervously as a sweatdrop slid down her cheek.

 

"Umm… that was…" Kagome started as she looked down at her hands that still clutched the small fragment. "I sort of… umm… brokethejewel." Kagome said in one breath in the hope that they might not understand her clearly.

 

"You… what?" Miroku cried as he saw the small shard she held up for them to see. His eyes bulged and Sango's mouth dropped.

 

"Gomen nasai…" Kagome said slowly. "It was the only way to stop the crow. He was too fast, we couldn't seem to keep up with it, so I shot an arrow at it."

 

"We should go see Kaede-sama about this. We need someone who knows the capacity of the jewel." Miroku suggested.

 

"What about Usagi-chan?" Kagome questioned as a sudden look of concern spread across her features.

 

"Kirara, Shippo, and I will go look for her." Sango suggested as she climbed onto Kirara's back with the kitsune and her boomerang strapped firmly onto her back. "Do you two think you can pick up her scent?" She questioned as she looked down at Kirara and the kitsune seated in front of her on the flying cat.

 

"I'll do my best." Shippo said as he nodded and turned his face forward with a look of satisfaction at finally being useful.

 

"If anything happens, get out of there. We'll meet back at Kagome's." Miroku said as the cat's feet left the ground.

 

"Wakatta!" Sango called back down as Kirara flew higher into the air.

 

****

 

"You couldn't pull the sword out! That means it isn't yours!!" Usagi cried as Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed harshly on her.

 

"Hand it over now or I will kill you, human." Sesshoumaru growled at the strangely clad woman standing in front of him. He was aware that her scent wasn't human, but she still had the same frailty and faults of a weak human, which included having compassion for others. When he had bit down on her neck, she still bled like a human even if her weird powers healed the wound. He growled low in his throat at the mark left on her neck. Who would have thought that he, Sesshoumaru, would have bestowed his mark onto such and unworthy creature.

 

"Don't be stupid, just give him the sword!" Inuyasha urged her as he wiped more blood from his eye.

 

"I won't!" Usagi yelled as a determined gleam came into her eye. She lifted the sword and held it up in a defensive way against the advancing dog demon.

 

"Baka!" Inuyasha growled as he jumped into the air and landed in front of Usagi. He hadn't expected to see the look he saw on Sesshoumaru's face, though. Inuyasha went rigid as the whites of Sesshoumaru's eyes turned blood red and his snout began to lengthen. His youki grew and began to swirl around them and picked up skulls from the floor. His growling echoed off the inside of their father's remains as the youki began to lash out, which sent the flying skulls crashing into Inuyasha who stood in front of Usagi protectively. A gray cloud surrounded Sesshoumaru and they watched as he flew into the air into a ball of light. They were forced to shield their eyes as the light reflected around the cave as bright as the sun. When the light dissipated several minutes later, a great gray and white dog stood in Sesshoumaru's place. He growled menacingly and dropped his head in a defensive stance. Thick drool dripped from between his teeth and landed on the skulls beneath their feet. They sizzled and slowly began to melt, which sounded like an egg cooking in a frying pan [1]. A thick gas filled the air with poisonous fumes as the skulls continued to melt under Sesshoumaru's feet.

 

"What's happening?!" Usagi demanded as she took an involuntary step backward. As frightened of Inuyasha as she had been when she'd first met him, it was nothing to how frightened she was of Sesshoumaru at that point. She had never seen Inuyasha transform into a true monster. Sure he talked big, but he was still protecting her from the giant demon that had kidnapped her earlier that day.

 

"Look out!" Inuyasha cried as he grabbed Usagi around the waist and jumped into the air as a giant paw came down where he and Usagi had been standing a few moments prior. "Kuso!" He growled as he landed near the edge of his father's remains.

 

"Here, use this." Usagi said as she thrust the sword into Inuyasha's hands. "Use this to fight him. And take this back, I think you need it more." She said as he closed his fingers around the tattered sheath and she draped the red shirt around his shoulder once more. Usagi coughed and fell to one knee a moment later. The air was thick and there was a strange scent and it was hard to see much on the opposite side of the remains.

 

"Not even a youkai can survive in theses fumes for very long. Head for higher ground!" Piped a small voice from Usagi's shoulder.

 

"Demo-" Usagi started as she turned to face Inuyasha with a worried look on her face.

 

"I'll be fine, just go!" Inuyasha ordered as he saw her hesitating to climb up the rib cage. He smiled inwardly at the worried look on her face. It was somehow nice to know that someone was worried about him. He shook that thought from his mind and turned his attention back to the snarling, drooling dog demon that he was preparing the fight. "I'll follow once I deal with this bastard!"

 

"Hai!" Usagi said as she turned and reached for the ribs that were lowest to the ground.

 

"All right, let's see if this sword is really worth anything." Inuyasha said to himself as he tucked the sheath into his belt and slowly pulled the sword from it's tattered cover. He looked skeptical by the tarnished, nicked up blade before he lunged at his much larger brother with the sword raised. "Take this!" Inuyasha cried as he brought the sword down on his brother's left shoulder. The sword clanged loudly and bounced off the thick fur of the huge dog, which did not even leave behind a small scratch. "Shimatta!" He said as he dodged Sesshoumaru's teeth at the last second. "Oi! Myouga-jiji!" Inuyasha called in Usagi and the flea demon's direction further up the rib cage. He narrowly dodged the swipe of Sesshoumaru's abnormally large paw and landed awkwardly several paces to his right. "I thought this sword was my inheritance! It can't even bruise, let alone cut [2]!"

 

"Well, it is probably more like a treasured antique than an actual weapon." Myouga called back down as he strapped a large bundle onto his back. Usagi was already near the top of the skeleton by this point as the fumes rose in continued torrents, higher by every passing moment.

 

"Kuso…" Inuyasha mumbled as he struck again and landed several feet to the left of Sesshoumaru. His body seemed reluctant to move and he coughed weakly. "I can't take much more of these fumes." He mumbled as he leapt into the air to escape the clutches of the potent cloud of poisonous shouki. He heard a loud growl beneath him and turned just as Sesshoumaru's teeth closed around his middle and sunk into the soft flesh of his chest and back. He cried out in pain and anger as the huge demon dropped back down into the bottom of the chamber. Before Inuyasha could get his bearings back enough to attempt a break out from his slimy prison, Sesshoumaru leapt into the air and crashed completely through the metal plate armor on the shoulder of their father's remains.

 

Usagi cried out in surprise and shielded her face and head from the debris that showered down on her from the fight between the two brothers. She lost her balance as a tremor ran through the ground she stood on and fell to the ground painfully. When the shaking stopped, she slowly picked up her head and saw that Inuyasha was pinned between Sesshoumaru's jaws.

 

"Piece of junk!" Inuyasha growled as he turned the sword in his hand and jabbed it harshly into Sesshoumaru's open eye. This caused the dog demon to let out a howl of pain as he released Inuyasha and brought his paw up to his eye to rub the pain out.

 

"You hit him!" Usagi cried happily as Inuyasha landed on his feet and fell to his knee with his hand over the puncture wounds on his chest. His back was pretty much okay because the Hinezumi no Koromo had protected him, but he hadn't had a chance to close it over his chest.

 

"Are you blind?! This thing isn't going to work! It's a piece of junk!" Inuyasha growled as he jumped into the air and landed beside Usagi.

 

"Is that it? There's no hope for us?" Usagi questioned as the light began to fade from her eyes. "Are we going to die?" Usagi questioned as tears filled her eyes.

 

"Ne… Are you crying?" Inuyasha asked as he caught the salty scent of tears as she lowered her face and brought her hands up to her eyes. "Stop crying!" He yelled over the sound of her soft sobs

 

"I don't want to die here…" Usagi sobbed quietly. "In this place I don't know... Why shouldn't I cry? Should I laugh instead?!" She said as her sadness and despair gave way to anger.

 

"You should shut up and let me protect you! [3]" Inuyasha yelled back as he glared at the blond girl standing in front of him. Usagi's eyes widened in shock at his words. 'Did he really say what I thought he said?' Usagi thought to herself as a slight blush touched her cheeks. He turned his back toward Usagi and walked back toward the waiting dog demon that was currently rubbing his eye with a huge paw.

 

He paused in front of Sesshoumaru who growled low in his throat and narrowed his eyes angrily on the half dog demon that approached him. Inuyasha didn't say anything but put the sword in front of him protectively to prepare for an attack.

 

"Nani?" Inuyasha said as he looked down at the sword in his hand. It had begun to do something very strange… It was pulsing, as if it had a heartbeat of it's own and power radiated from the blade. "The Tetsusaiga… it's pulsing…" He said as the power grew with each pulse. Right before his eyes, the sword grew in size, the blade repaired itself, and fur sprouted around the bottom of the blade. "It looks like a fang…" Inuyasha said slowly as the weight of the sword increased slightly. "Is this the true power of the sword?" Inuyasha mused to himself as a smirk spread across his lips slowly. "I don't really care either way, but I'm going to kick your sorry ass!" Inuyasha said as he leapt into the air and charged at Sesshoumaru with the sword raised high above his head. "Shine!"

 

"Nani?" Usagi said as she watched in horrified wonder. The blade sunk into the soft flesh of Sesshoumaru's left paw and drew upward along the length of the arm. Near the top of the arm, Inuyasha brought the sword down and severed the paw right at the base. Usagi was forced to turn her face away as blood poured from the wound and covered the surface of the shoulder armor of the giant skeleton.

 

"Here we are, two brothers fighting over our father's sword." Inuyasha said slowly as Sesshoumaru slowly stood back up onto three paws. "But you know what? We're nothing compared to him. We're just two little fleas jumping around on his body. And I'm done messing around!" Inuyasha yelled as he lunged at the larger dog demon and slashed his sword across the older demon's chest. He howled in rage as the blow struck and fell off of the huge plate armor backward. He free fell for a moment before he was surrounded in a ball of golden light that disappeared after a second.

 

****

 

"Did you find her scent yet, Shippo?" Sango asked as Kirara's feet brushed the tops of a few trees. When they'd reached the edge of the city, Shippo said that Usagi's scent was headed into the forest. They had tried to walk for a few minutes but the brush was too thick so they'd taken back to the sky.

 

"I'm not that good with scents…" Shippo said as a sweatdrop slid slowly down his face. "But Kirara should be able to pick up on her scent, right Kirara?" The flying cat growled quietly in response and continued to fly low over the trees along an invisible line. Shippo and Kirara had rushed to find Kagome and the others directly after they had seen Usagi kidnapped by Sesshoumaru hours before. Unfortunately, it had taken them much longer to find Kagome and the Shikon no Tama than they had expected so there was no sign of Usagi or the demon lord.

 

"Look there!" Sango said as she pointed a finger toward a large clearing just outside of a small town.

 

"What is that?" Shippo asked as his eyes widened and he stared at the black portal that seemed to engulf the entire field. As they approached the 'portal', a ball of white light flew out of it and disappeared into the distance.

 

"I don't like the looks of that…" Sango said as she urged Kirara to land near the strange apparition in the middle of the field. There was no one around the sort of black hole and it didn't seem to suck in any of the surrounding material so it was doing no harm at the moment. She did not want to enter it to see where it went, but she knew she needed to do something about it to stop innocent people from being mixed up in it. Kirara landed softly on the green grass and Sango jumped off with her hiraikotsu held in one hand prepared to throw if she needed. "Shippo, stay back for now, I want to take a closer look."

 

She approached the portal cautiously and just when she thought that nothing would happen, two bodies tumbled from the opening and landed roughly on top of her.

 

"Baka!!" Inuyasha growled as he struggled to free himself from the pile of bodies on the ground. "If you weren't pulling on me, I would have landed just fine!!"

 

"Mou! You're so mean, Inuyasha-kun!" Usagi whined as she disentangled one long streamer of hair from Inuyasha's ear-tails.

 

"Excuse me!! Would you mind getting off me?!" An agitated voice said over the sound of the fighting duo.

 

"Eh?" Usagi said and looked down to see she was sitting on a large boomerang. "Ah!! Gomen nasai, Sango-chan!!!" Usagi cried as she jumped up and leaned down to help the taijiya to her feet. "Are you all right?" She asked as she brushed some dirt off Sango's shoulder.

 

"I'm all right, what happened here?" She asked as she looked up at the portal. The black crackling lightening was weakening and the hole was shrinking at an alarming rate until finally it was a black speck falling toward Inuyasha's upturned face. Usagi and Sango watched as the small black bead landed directly in Inuyasha's eye and he blinked it back into place.

 

"It seems that this story might take a while to tell." Usagi said slowly as she glanced in Inuyasha's direction. "I'll wait until we're with the others to start telling it, all right?"

 

"Aa, that would probably be best." Sango said with a small nod.

 

"Inuyasha, are you going to go back with us?" Usagi asked as she turned to the silver-haired boy. "You don't really have a place to go, do you?"

 

"Keh! I don't need charity from you, onna!" Inuyasha growled as he crossed his arms over his chest and faced the opposite direction.

 

"It's not charity, I just thought that, given what just happened, we were friends." Usagi said as she smiled warmly at Inuyasha. He was taken off-guard by this sudden change of facial expression on the girl and began to sputter.

 

"N-n-nani? Friends? Keh! You thought wrong, then!" Inuyasha growled as he regained his composure a few moments later.

 

"But you said you would protect me, remember?" Usagi said as she gave Inuyasha a puzzled look. "At least come back for dinner, you must be starving. I'm right, aren't I?" Usagi grinned broadly as a loud sound came from the region of Inuyasha's stomach. "Higurashi-mama is a really good cook. We'd better hurry or Kagome-chan will eat it all, though." Usagi didn't give him time to argue, grabbed his arm, and climbed on Kirara's back with Sango and Shippo.

 

****

 

"There they are…" Kagura mused to herself from a huge feather that was floating high above the ground. She had been flying around the Japanese countryside for hours searching for the renegade youkai who had left the main encampment underground. "There is the wolf clan… The mountains in the north… It seems that they've broken into a few different factions…" She mused as a smirk played across her lips.

 

"Naraku-sama already knew of the wolf clan's location…" Kanna's raspy voice interrupted. "Naraku-sama has given us a new assignment."

 

"New assignment?" Kagura questioned as she looked down at the white child. Her mirror was glowing slightly and grew dim just as quickly. Moments later, a small swarm of saimyoushou approached from the south and by the buzzing, Kagura was able to understand this 'new mission'. "So that light we saw?"

 

"It was the Shikon no Tama shattering…" Kanna finished quietly. "Naraku wishes you to start to gather the pieces."

 

"Humph!" Kagura grunted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "So I have to do his dirty work, huh?"

 

"We were created from Naraku so it is our duty to serve him." Kanna said softly from her place on the feather beside the taller detachment.

 

"Hai hai…" Kagura said as she waved a dismissive hand in Kanna's direction. 'I'll play along with his little game for now.' Kagura thought to herself as a frown crossed her lips. 'Just until I can find someone who is strong enough to defeat Naraku and set me free. I don't like taking orders from him or that dead priestess Kikyou.'

 

****

 

"Kikyou-sama," Naraku said as he bowed beside the large canopy bed. She was becoming stronger every day and with a few more souls, she might even be able to leave the bed or even the safety of the cave. She was a very powerful miko, after all. It was only natural that she may go put a barrier around their headquarters. Naraku had already placed his own barrier around their hideout to keep any unsuspecting humans from finding them. A holy barrier would be better, though. It would hide their youki so if a human with spiritual sense approached, they would be none the wiser that something evil was lurking around. "The Shikon no Tama has been shattered by your reincarnation. I have sent my servants to begin collecting the fragments."

 

"It has shattered?" Kikyou questioned as she swung her feet off the edge of the bed and changed to a sitting position. "Interesting… All of the shards are to be brought directly to my hand, understand?"

 

"Hai, Kikyou-sama." Naraku said as a slight smirk played across his lips. He rose from his bowed position and moved to sit next to Kikyou on the bed. "You should rest, Kikyou-sama." Naraku said slowly as he draped an arm lazily around her shoulders. 'Just a bit longer…' He thought to himself as he smirked at the back of the dark-haired girl's head. 'Once I have the Shikon no Tama, I will have no more use for you, Kikyou. With the jewel, I'll be able to rid myself of this infernal human heart.'

 

"I'm fine, Naraku." Kikyou said as she placed her feet on the floor and rose from the bed. This time the shinidamachou circled around her waist but did not hold her up. "The souls of dead women have brought strength to this fake body." Kikyou said as she looked down at her hands. The body was made from grave dirt and her bones, but it would do for now. It would work until she had her revenge; she was now free to hate. She hated that blond miko who had betrayed her, she hated the jewel for choosing said miko, and she hated Inuyasha for letting her die. 'They both betrayed me…' She thought to herself as a deep frown crossed her lips. Her spiritual power had returned in full force, it was only physical strength that she was lacking now. Just a few more days and she would be able to do as she pleased once more.

 

"Do you wish for the healing girl to be taken care of, Kikyou-sama?" Naraku asked as he rose from the bed to stand in front of the weakened miko.

 

"No, I shall deal with her myself when my strength has returned." Kikyou said coldly as she frowned. "Just gather the fragments as quickly as possible, I wish to return to a real body instead of this fake one."

 

****

 

"So that's how it was…" Miroku said after Usagi had finished telling the group what had happened through the strange portal.

 

"I can't believe you broke it, Kagome-chan!" Usagi said as a sweatdrop slid down her face. "That sounds more like something I would do. I'm the klutz, after all." She continued with another embarrassed look. "So, where should we start looking for the jewel, huh?" Usagi questioned as she looked at Sango and Miroku.

 

"I'm not sure, but I think if the shards are close I'll be able to find them." Kagome said slowly as she scratched her chin. "I mean, when it shattered I was able to find the piece that was left in the crow. If they're not in Tokyo, though…" Kagome started as a sweatdrop slid down her face this time.

 

"That means we'll have to miss school! Yatta!!" Usagi cried out happily. Usagi had never been the best student in the world. There was hardly a day when she didn't have detention. It had been that way for a number of years. She would daze into space or fall asleep during class and the only time her homework was done was if Kagome or Souta helped her with it. Despite his age, Souta was a very smart boy and he took charge if Kagome was busy with something else. Even if he didn't know the answers, he would help her look up definitions and stuff in books.

 

"If we miss school we'll get behind though!" Kagome said in outrage. "It's almost time for the entrance exams! How are we going to be able to get into a good school if we aren't able to study?!?"

 

"Hai hai, Kagome-chan…" Usagi said sadly as she let out a disappointed sigh.

 

"What about you, Inuyasha?" Usagi questioned as she looked at the silver-haired boy. "Are you going to help us complete the jewel?"

 

"Keh!" Inuyasha grunted in between bites. "Why should I help a few pathetic humans like you, huh?"

 

"If you do, I'll show you how to use your sword." Usagi said with a smile. She had talked with the flea Myouga a little while ago while Inuyasha was outside pouting. The flea had told her about Inuyasha's human mother and how the Tetsusaiga was created for his father to protect her. That was why it reacted the way it did when Inuyasha said he was protecting her.

 

"What would you know about it?" Inuyasha growled as he looked at the blond suspiciously. The food Kagome's mother had prepared was really good, especially something she called 'Cup Ramen'. He wasn't about to let his guard drop, though. Its not like he couldn't take these people on, but he just found it very difficult to trust anyone. He had been alone for so long that being around people seemed bizarre. It was especially strange because they didn't seem to mind that he was a hanyou. They were unlike the humans he had grown up around. They disliked and feared him because he had a demon for a father, though he had never shown any sign of hostility toward humanity. Why would he? His mother had been a human!

 

"Well, it will work forever if you keep protecting me." Usagi said with a smile as Higurashi-mama [5] placed a piece of chocolate cake in front of her. "Ooo! Cake!! Arigato, Higurashi-mama!!" Usagi said as her mind was drawn away from the subject of the strange sword that was Inuyasha's inheritance.

 

"It's so nice to have a full house." Higurashi-mama said as a smile spread across her face. She walked around the table placing plates with cake in front of the people sitting at the table. "You're all welcome to stay as long as you like."

 

"So you had the Shikon no Tama all along?" Grandpa was questioning Kagome for the twentieth time that night. They had gone over what had happened in the last few days about a dozen times but it seemed the old guy was still missing something.

 

"This is indeed bad…" Kaede was saying as she set her cup of tea back on it's saucer. They had called and asked her to come over so they could discover what to do about the shattering of the jewel. "Minna! Quiet down!" Kaede said over the racket the group of people was making at the table. "Now listen, you are all in some way responsible for the shattering of the jewel. Because of that, you must all gather the pieces together to restore it."

 

"But how many pieces are there?" Kagome asked as her attention focused on the older woman.

 

"There could be a few pieces, and there could be a few hundred. I know not the number, but even one shard in the hands of a demon is enough to double their power. It's not only demons we must worry about either." Kaede said as she paused for another sip of her tea. "Humans with darkness in their hearts will seek the jewel and use it to bring their desires to reality. You must work together to gather the fragments or our world will be plunged into total chaos. We are lucky that the demons have remained in hiding for the time being, but they will not stay that way for long. Not with the prospect of power laid out in front of them."

 

"Hai!" Everyone said in unison, except Inuyasha muttered a quiet 'keh' instead. He'd decided earlier that he would stick with them until the jewel was completed. After that, he planned to kill them and take the jewel for himself. Besides, he wanted to find more out about the blond before he got rid of her, and it seemed that the only one with the ability to see the shards was probably Kagome.

 

::Fin::

 

April 2, 2006

 

Iteiteiteite: I know I didn't spell this right, basically "ouch ouch ouch", this is what it sounds like when a character says 'ouch' more than once in the anime *shrugs*.
Youki: A term used in Inuyasha referring the special power demons possess (its almost like clouds that surround the demon that they can use, but you can't see it).
Shimatta: Shoot, darn (light curse)
Myouga-jiji: Old man Myouga (fairly rude)
Shouki: A term used in Inuyasha referring to Poison Gas/Liquid (Naraku is known best for using this)
Hinezumi no Koromo: Robe of the Fire Rat (this is the red robes that Inuyasha wears. It's like armor).
Shine: Die
Saimyoushou: These are Naraku's poison insects. I'm not sure I have the spelling correct, I will change it when I re-watch a few episodes it if is incorrect.
Miko: priestess

 

1. *giggles* This is just a reference to that goofy commercial we saw when we were kids where someone holds up and egg and says "This is your brain", then they crack it open into a hot frying pan and say "This is your brain on drugs".
2. This line is from the dubbed anime. I prefer the subtitled anime (cuz I hate the American voices >.<) but I chose to use this one line.
3. This line is from the dubbed anime as well, but I just think it's kind of cute so I threw it in here ~.^
4.Hakukkai: I'm sorry, I read the name wrong off the fansubs *sweatdrop* Anyway, I believe this is right, sorry if it's not *sweatdrop*
5. Until I find out her first name, I'm going to refer to her as "Higurashi-mama" because writing 'Kagome's mom' is a pain in the butt!