Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Uragirimono ❯ Chapter 14 - Selenity-hime ( Chapter 14 )

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!

 

 

Chapter 14 - Selenity-hime

 

"Odango!" A familiar voice called out as Usagi and her newfound friends walked toward the school building. After everything that had happened, it was strange for Usagi to go back to school with the same boring classes and such. She was extremely nervous about attending school simply because she wasn't sure if they would be attacked while class was going on. She didn't want any innocent people to get mixed up in the crossfire.

 

"Eh? Seiya-kun?" Usagi questioned as she looked back at the dark-haired idol. His arm was in a sling as he approached her group. Taiki and Yaten followed behind her, neither looked too happy to see her.

 

"I'm sorry you were hurt, Seiya-kun." Usagi said as she bowed and closed her eyes shamefully.

 

"Daijoubu, odango. I would do it again if you were in danger." Seiya said as he ruffled her hair with his free hand.

 

"They didn't keep you in the hospital for very long, did they?" Usagi said as she smiled up at Seiya.

 

"It wasn't as bad as everyone seemed to think, and I heal pretty fast so that helps." Seiya said as he began to walk toward the school with Usagi. Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were chatting quietly amongst themselves as they approached the building.

 

"Usagi-chan," Sango broke into their conversation after they had entered the building. "I think you need to touch up your make-up a little bit." She said with a serious look on her face.

 

"But I'm not wearing any-" Usagi started, then stopped when she saw the serious look on her face. Sango tipped her head slightly to the side in a manner that Seiya couldn't decipher and Usagi's face turned to peer in that direction. She saw a glint of silver in a tree outside of the building and her face fell. "Ah! Yeah, I need to go fix my make-up a bit, ja ne Seiya-kun!" Usagi called as she and Sango ran in the direction of the restroom. They turned a corner and headed for the nearest exit. Kagome and Miroku hadn't followed; they were headed to their classroom. They had decided the night before that neither Usagi nor Kagome should be left alone at any point. They were both too vulnerable to attack if they were alone.

 

"Baka Inuyasha…" Sango muttered as she pulled Usagi out a side entrance and they headed for the tree out front of the school. They heard the warning bell inside of the school and the grounds began to clear out very quickly as people rushed into the building. They reached the tree and peered up at the silver-haired dog demon.

 

"Inuyasha!" Usagi called up the tree to the half-demon who appeared to be napping. "I know you can hear me!" She called again; she was rewarded with a slight twitch of the ear. "Mou! You're not going to make me climb up there, are you?" Usagi whined. Sango sighed in exasperation. Inuyasha was really a stubborn guy. They had told him not to follow them to the school and he had done exactly what they hadn't wanted him to do. He was very defiant. "Oi! Inuyasha!" Usagi called again, his ear twitched once more. "Ne, Sango-chan, you should go inside. If anything happens, Inuyasha is right here. Besides, it's a study hall first period."

 

"I can't just leave you here with him," Sango said as she glared up at the half-demon in the tree. "I don't trust him."

 

"Daijoubu," Usagi said as she smiled at the taijiya warmly. "He protected me before, he's a friend. I trust him. Please trust my judgement, ne?" Sango sighed in defeat. Usagi didn't look it, but she was just as stubborn as Inuyasha was in some ways. She was also way too trusting for her own good.

 

"Fine, but make it quick. I don't like leaving you out here alone after everything that's happened these past few days." Sango said slowly as she glanced up at the dog demon. "If you let anything happen to her, I'll kill you myself, Inuyasha!" Sango called up the tree so the dog demon could hear. There was a slight twitch by his eye when these words reached his ears, but that was all the reaction that she received.

 

Once Sango was well on her way back into the school, Usagi began the difficult task of climbing the tree. Usagi had never been the best a tree climbing. She had broken her arm at the age of ten when she'd tried to climb the tree in her yard. Her brother, Shingo, had to run to the grocery store to find their mother since she had been out shopping. It had been an experience that Usagi would never forget. She had been forced to lie on the ground for nearly and half an hour before her mother and brother got back from the store. They had to call the ambulance because they only had one car and her father was using it because he was at work.

 

Usagi looked up and saw that she only needed to go up a few more branches to reach Inuyasha's perk and hoped that she didn't have the same misfortune befall her again. Two more branches… one more branch… Usagi gasped in shock as the branch she stood on gave a menacing crack and she was falling. She squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the impact; something closed around her wrist sharply. She peeked open one eye and looked up. Inuyasha had leaned over and grabbed her wrist as she had started to fall.

 

"Keh, you're such a klutz." He said lazily as he pulled her up onto the sturdy branch he lay on. She straddled the branch as if she were riding a horse facing Inuyasha. "What do you want, anyway?" He asked as he leaned back against the branch and closed his eyes.

 

"I just wanted to know why you followed me. You know you can't be seen by these people, they don't know about youkai or hanyous," Usagi said as she looked at Inuyasha with concerned eyes. "Besides, someone might recognize you as the person that hurt Seiya-kun."

 

"Heh, you mean that pretty boy that was talking to you a few minutes ago?" Inuyasha asked as he opened his eyes and smirked at the blond girl. Usagi puffed out her cheeks in agitation.

 

"At least he feels concern for people other than himself!" Usagi said as her eyes narrowed on Inuyasha. All she received for an answer was a soft 'keh'. "Don't 'keh' me, Inuyasha." Usagi said in annoyance as she shifted her position on the tree branch. It wasn't a very comfortable place to sit. "I was worried someone would see you and try to do something." Usagi said as her annoyed look changed to one of worry.

 

"Don't waste your time worrying about me, Usagi." Inuyasha said in a bored voice as he gazed off to the left. "I can take care of myself."

 

"Eh?" Usagi said quietly as a sudden realization dawned on her. "You just said my name!" Usagi said as she pointed a slim finger at the dog demon. "That's the first time you've said my name!"

 

"…" Inuyasha didn't even look in the blond's direction. Usagi saw a slight tick in his face, though.

 

"I knew it!" Usagi called as she giggled. "You're all talk, you don't hate me at all!"

 

"Keh!" Inuyasha said as he refused to meet the blond's eye. For some reason, he couldn't find it in himself to tell the girl that he hated her or even disliked her. She was a welcome change from all of the humans he had ever known. She didn't seem to care at all that he had demon blood in him. What an odd girl indeed…

 

"Ne, Inuyasha?" Usagi started as she turned her attention to the sky. "Will you help us? You know, gather the pieces of the jewel?"

 

"Humph, I'll gather the pieces myself and become a full demon. Then I won't have any use for weak creatures like you." Inuyasha said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

 

"You know you're a really bad liar," Usagi said thoughtfully as she watched a cloud shaped like a flower float by in the sky. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at this comment, it reminded him of the incident with the television at Kagome's shrine. She was the bad liar, he was telling the truth. He would kill or drop them as soon as the Shikon no Tama was in his hand. They were just humans; it's not like they really meant anything to him. A hanyou didn't belong with humans or demons; the blond girl had no way of understanding the way he felt about anything. "Ne, Inuyasha, when do you think they'll come after us again?"

 

"No clue." Inuyasha said as the subject was pushed to the side. He put his hands behind his head and lounged back against the tree once more in a bored manner. The blond girl really got under his skin at times, but she intrigued him somehow. He shook the thought from his head and turned his mind back to the strange visions. Usagi seemed to be the reincarnation of the blond girl from the visions; there was no other explanation for it. She was a photocopy of the girl he remembered, even if his memories were fuzzy and incomplete. He felt a longing to see the rest of the visions, but also willed them away. He was worried that the visions would make him see something inside himself that he wasn't ready to see. He had denied having a human heart even though he had a human mother ever since his awakening. The only human feeling that he felt was his attachment for the dark-haired miko in the youkai cavern.

 

Usagi shifted her weight again as her position in the tree became unbearably uncomfortable. Her hand slipped over the bark of the branch and she fell face-forward right into Inuyasha's lap. Inuyasha's arm instinctively reached out to her shoulders to steady her as he sat up to keep her from falling. Their faces were mere inches apart as a bright blush broke out across Usagi's face.

 

"You really are a klutz," Inuyasha murmured as he gently pulled the blond girl into his arms. Usagi felt her cheeks burning as Inuyasha embraced her tightly.

 

****

 

"You're tardy, Tsukino Usagi." The teacher said as Usagi entered the classroom a little while later. A small sweatdrop slid down the back of Usagi's head. "Since this is a study hall, I will let it slide this time. You will receive an after school detention the next time, though."

 

"Hai." Usagi said as she blushed ferociously and hurried to her seat. She sat down in her normal seat and prepared for another boring lecture from their teacher.

 

"What happened, Usagi-sama?" Miroku asked as Usagi sat down by her friends. There was still about ten minutes left before their next period so she had time to tell them what was going on. She left out the last part where Inuyasha hugged her, but her cheeks burned nevertheless at the memory.

 

"I think he's going to help us find the shards, though." Usagi finished as a smile touched her lips. Inuyasha was really turning out to be someone she could trust. She just had to find meaning from the strange vision, though. Was it a memory of a past life? Or was it just a strange vision she had been given when that strange power had warmed her from within and healed her wounds.

 

"All right, study hall is over! Please take your assigned seats!" The voice of their sensei called over the low din of the people in the classroom. As quietly and quickly as possible, the students rearranged their desks and took their proper places. "Please turn your books to page 157 and read the first three paragraphs to yourselves silently."

 

Usagi sighed and began to leaf through her book to the proper page. Another boring day of school ahead of her. At least she had something to look forward to when they were out for the day. Inuyasha was waiting outside for her in the tree in front of the school.

 

****

 

Usagi stretched as she walked out onto the roof of the school for lunch. She and her rag-tag group had decided that was the best place for them to congregate so they would be able to see if any demons were approaching the school building. It didn't seem that they were interested in their group any longer, though. Now that the jewel was shattered, their attention was focused elsewhere. Usagi walked to the fence on the edge of the roof and cupped her hands around her mouth.

 

"Inuyasha!" She called as loud as she could muster. She had told him about their meeting place and offered to share the lunch Higurashi-mama had made for her with him. Sango, Miroku, and Kagome had already torn into their lunches when Inuyasha climbed up over the fence. He jumped down and landed next to Usagi with the usual scowl on his face.

 

"What the hell are you yelling about now?" Inuyasha demanded grumpily as he looked down at the blond girl.

 

"It's lunch time," Usagi said as she held up a rather large box wrapped in a bandana of some sort. "I'm sure you're hungry, you can't have eaten, you've been sleeping in that tree all day."

 

"You're annoying…" Inuyasha said as he walked past Usagi and sat down cross-legged with the rest of the group. Usagi followed and sat next to him, undoing the knotted fabric as she sat down.

 

"Ta-da!" Usagi said as she pulled the lid off the top of her lunch. The box was positively heaped with food as Usagi picked up her chopsticks and her spare chopsticks. "Ikidekimasu!" Usagi said as she dug into the box.

 

"Mou! Math class was so hard today!" Kagome moaned as she pulled her notes out of her bag. "I can't believe he's testing us on polynomials already! We just started them the beginning of this week and I haven't had a chance to study with everything that's happened!!"

 

"Daijoubu, we'll go through it together." Sango reassured the dark-haired girl. She had been lucky, though. Since she and Miroku had just transferred in, they were just using the test as a gauge to judge how far they had gone in their previous schools. Though no one was really fooled to believe that Miroku belonged in their school. He looked like he should have already graduated High School, though his perverted demeanor made them see him as being younger.

 

"Oi, Odango!" A familiar voice called out as they heard the sound of a door opening. Usagi choked on her onigiri and bits of rice flew onto the rooftop.

 

"Osuwari!" Usagi said as she heard his footsteps coming closer. Inuyasha slammed into the roof and Usagi quickly pulled the bandana her lunch had been wrapped in over Inuyasha's head to hide the dog-ears on his head. Too bad the bandana was purple with little white kittens and silver crescent moons.

 

"I've been looking all over for you, odango." Seiya said as he sat down on the opposite side of Usagi. She had just finished tying the bandana under Inuyasha's head as the half-demon sat up rubbing his face.

 

"Baka onna!" Inuyasha spat out. "If you do that one more time, I'll-" Bam!

 

"If I do what, one more time?" Usagi questioned as she took another bite of her onigiri. She had muttered 'sit' out of the corner of her mouth so only she could hear. Inuyasha growled low in his throat as he sat up, but said nothing more.

 

"Who's your… ummm… interesting friend?" Seiya asked as he noticed the feminine bandana tied around the silver-haired guy's hair.

 

"Him? Oh, he's no one. He just came for lunch, he'll be leaving soon." Kagome said to try and save Usagi from thinking up a lie. Usagi wasn't so good at making up mistruths and lies. If she was a klutz when she was walking, imagine how klutzy her mouth could get when she was nervous.

 

"I finally managed to shake off the fan club to come and talk to you, odango. Good idea of hiding out on the roof." Seiya said as he turned his attention away from the pouting silver-haired dog-demon and onto the blond odangoed girl beside him. Usagi laughed nervously as a sweatdrop slid down the back of her head.

 

"I really, umm, just wanted some fresh air. There were too many people in the grounds." Usagi said sheepishly.

 

"I agree, they just seem to flock to us." Seiya said with a heavy sigh.

 

"Well, that tends to happen when you become a pop star." Sango said dryly as she watched Seiya run his fingers through his hair. She took another bite of her rice and watched the dark-haired guy flirt with Usagi, who seemed oblivious to his pickups. The vein in Inuyasha's forehead pulsed as Usagi chatted happily with the dark-haired idol. Seiya's hand slid behind Usagi's back and he pulled her close to whisper something into her ear. Usagi's cheeks turned bright pink at the contact from the dark-haired idol and didn't say anything in return.

 

"Get your hands off her." A low voice growled as a hand clamped down on Seiya's shoulder. Usagi looked up to see a very angry Inuyasha growling at Seiya.

 

"Inuyasha?" Usagi questioned as Seiya stood up, Inuyasha's hand still on his shoulder. Seiya was only about an inch taller than Inuyasha, but didn't seem intimidated by the glare he was receiving from the half-demon.

 

"I think you need to remove your hand." Seiya said as he pried Inuyasha's clawed hand from his shoulder. "What does it matter to you if I speak with odango? By the length, style, and color of your hair, the length of your nails, and the pretty purple bandana on your head, you shouldn't be jealous. Unless you're jealous she's getting the attention instead of you?" Seiya questioned as he dropped Inuyasha's hand.

 

"N… nani?" Inuyasha questioned as a sweatdrop slid down the back of his head. Miroku and Sango snorted into their food and Usagi just stared on oblivious to the insinuation. "Did you just call me gay?!?" Inuyasha demanded as he raised a fist to the dark-haired idol. Seiya looked amused for a second, then slightly puzzled.

 

"You're not? I was sure you were…" He mused to himself, then scratched his chin in thought. "Then are you jealous that you're not being included or something?"

 

"Temee…" Inuyasha growled low in his throat as he cracked his knuckles. "I'll tear out your throat…"

 

"Osuwari." Usagi said as she noticed that trouble was brewing. "Ne, maybe you should go, Seiya-kun. Besides, lunch is nearly through." Usagi said as she lead Seiya back to the door to the roof and shoved him through roughly before closing the door behind him.

 

"I'll kill him." Inuyasha growled in the back of his throat. 'The nerve of that guy! Me? Gay? Keh!' Inuyasha thought to himself as he growled low in his throat. That pretty boy was really getting on his last nerve. If it hadn't been for Usagi, he would have had him at his mercy.

 

"Ne, Inuyasha. Why do you hate Seiya-kun? He's really a nice guy." Usagi said as she grabbed Inuyasha's arm and helped him to his feet. He pulled his arm out of her grip and turned around, immediately crossing his arms over his chest.

 

"Keh!" Inuyasha said as he refused to turn around. "That guy is an asshole. I don't know what you see in him." Usagi looked at him in puzzlement. If Seiya was anything, an asshole wasn't one of them.

 

"Ahh! The bell just rang!!" Usagi yelled as she grabbed her box and crammed the lid back on. Sango, Miroku, and Kagome did the same and the four of them headed back into the building, leaving Inuyasha on the roof to pout.

 

"Wow, Inuyasha sure is jealous, isn't he?" Sango mused to herself as they headed for their next class.

 

"Yeah, I thought he was going to clobber Seiya-kun for talking to Usagi." Kagome replied as she let out a sigh of relief.

 

"Jealous? Why would he be jealous?" Usagi questioned as she looked at her two friends. "Seiya-kun and I are just friends. The same that Inuyasha and I are just friends."

 

"You're so naïve, Usagi-sama." Miroku said as he came up behind Usagi and put an arm around her shoulders. "Why else would Inuyasha get so angry with him and call him names? Inuyasha is afraid that Seiya will take you away from him."

 

"He can't be, Inuyasha, jealous?" Usagi questioned as they turned into the classroom. Needless to say, Usagi had plenty to think about during her next class, which caused her to zone out even more than usual during that period.

 

****

 

"Give me the Shikon no Tama!" A voice cried out as Usagi walked down the street with her friends toward home. Usagi cried out in surprise as the sharp clawed hand of the bear youkai descended toward her.

 

"Kuso…" Inuyasha muttered as he landed in front of the scared blond with the Tetsusaiga drawn. The blade had transformed into the gleaming form of the fang and the claws of the bear splintered against it.

 

"It has a Shikon shard in its chest!" Kagome cried as she felt something coming from the bear and saw a glowing light from its body. Miroku had grabbed Kagome and pulled her to the side when the bear had attacked.

 

"Go and hide!" Inuyasha yelled to the petrified blond girl. Usagi stood rooted to the spot in fear like a deer caught in the headlights of a car as the bear howled in pain. She could see a glowing pink light coming from a spot right in the middle of its chest. She assumed it was the Shikon shard Kagome had pointed out moments before.

 

"Shine!!" Inuyasha yelled as he leapt into the air and brought his sword crashing down the front of the bear. The sword sliced through the bear's shoulder in an angle all the way out the bear's hip. "Keh, weakling…" Inuyasha muttered as he tossed the blade of the Tetsusaiga on his shoulder and stood over the bear's body triumphantly. Usagi walked forward to the spot that was glowing and plucked a sliver of what looked like glass from the body of the bear.

 

"Eh?" Kagome said as she saw Usagi pull out the shard. "You can see the shard too?"

 

"Aa…" Usagi said as she examined the shard that lay in her palm carefully. She could feel the power radiating off of it and watched as the light become clear instead of a murky black. "That's really strange…" Usagi said as she remembered the vision from the grave sight of Inuyasha's father.

 

"They're getting more bold." Miroku said as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his pants. "To come into the city in broad daylight. It seems that whatever control was being held over them is weakening."

 

"Keh! They smell power." Inuyasha said as he sheathed his sword. "Now that there are pieces of jewel all over the place, they're leaving Naraku."

 

"Did you say, Naraku?" Miroku questioned as the look on his face went cold. Naraku had been the name of the creature that had bestowed the wind tunnel curse upon his hand.

 

"Do you know him, Miroku-sama?" Kagome questioned as everyone turned their attention to the perverted monk. His face had gone dark and a scowl marred his usually handsome features.

 

"I've never met him in person…" Miroku started as he lifted his cursed hand and looked down at the palm. "He's the one that cursed my family with this kazaana." He explained slowly. "Centuries ago, my ancestor fought him. Every time he faced Naraku, the demon was in a different form. The last time my ancestor faced him, Naraku had taken the form of a beautiful woman. When my ancestor was distracted, he tore a hole in the middle of his hand. The kazaana only affects the men of my family… the winds will steadily become stronger, until it sucks you into it… That is my fate if I can't defeat Naraku soon. The winds have already strengthened, I don't know how much more time I have left." Miroku explained, oblivious that he was telling his story to any other person because he was lost deep in thought and memories. He had watched as his father had been sucked into his kazaana years before as a child.

 

"Ne, Miroku, let's get back to the shrine." Sango said tentatively as she placed a hand on his shoulder. The dark look on his face passed and he smiled slightly at the concerned look on the dark-haired girl's face.

 

"You're so kawaii when you look worried, Sango-chan." Miroku said in a sing-song voice as he took her hands in his own. Sango blushed at the show of affection from the perverted monk. "Will you bear my children?"

 

"Eh?" She said as she pulled her hands out of his grasp. "Hentai…" She muttered as her hand met with his cheek.

 

"Hidoi, you're not even going to comfort me in my time of need, Sango?" Miroku asked as he trailed along after the shorter girl down the street.

 

"Matte!" Usagi called as she, Kagome, and Inuyasha followed suit.

 

"Hmm… so that is the guy from the concert…" Seiya said slowly to himself. "What is Usagi doing with someone that dangerous? He's obviously not human…"

 

"We're not human either, Seiya. Sometimes I think you forget that. Our only concern is our princess, you need to focus more on that and less on that girl." A voice said behind him. He turned to see Taiki and Yaten walking toward him.

 

"Besides, what happens to this planet isn't any of our concern. Let them fight their monsters. It doesn't involve us at all." Taiki said as he pushed his glasses up farther on the bridge of his nose.

 

****

 

"More demons have deserted this place. It seems they have smelled the power that is to be had out there." Naraku said as he stroked Kikyo's hair softly. She sat in a chair with Naraku kneeling behind her. "They wish to get the Shikon no Tama first so they do not have to serve under us, Kikyo." Naraku continued as he ran his fingers through her silken hair.

 

"I see," Kikyo said as she stood up. Her Shinidamachuu circled her waist slowly to prevent her from falling. It appeared that the dead souls had done the trick and she stood quick firmly. "I shall prevent any more demons from leaving this place and alerting the humans of our presence." She explained as she walked over toward the high-backed chairs at the front of the throne room. Lying on the floor was a bow and a quiver of arrows that she picked up and slung over her shoulder. "I shall put a holy barrier around this place that the youkai will be unable to penetrate."

 

Naraku smirked inwardly. Now all he needed was the Shikon no Tama so that he could get rid of his human heart and become a full demon at last. The thief Onigumi prevented him from harming the dark-haired miko. Now that she seemed to has lost most of her soul, she seemed much more attractive to the demon side of him. Once she had outlived her usefulness, he would get rid of her as well.

 

Kikyo wandered past the many demons that roamed around the caverns. They dared not to approach the miko; even they could sense the immense power that she held within herself. They also knew that if they were to lay one claw on her, they would be killed immediately by the ruthless Naraku. Even to the demons, the name Naraku made them shudder as chills ran down their spines. He was as evil and heartless as they came.

 

****

 

"Mama, we can't find the jewel shards if we have to stay in Tokyo," Kagome explained with a sigh of exasperation. "Not all of them could be in Tokyo."

 

"But entrance exams are coming up soon, Kagome-chan." Higurashi-mama explained as she stirred the pot on the stove. "I just can't let you and Usagi-chan take that kind of time off of school. You'll get too far behind, I'm only concerned about your education and future."

 

"But this is my future right now." Kagome argued. "If we don't stop them, there will be no future for anyone! They're ruthless mom!" Higurashi-mama sighed in defeat.

 

"I suppose I can't stop you from doing something you really want to do, can I?" She questioned as she looked back at her daughter. "I suppose there isn't a choice, is there?"

 

"There's not, besides, I don't think there's going to be any school tomorrow anyway." Kagome said as she pointed toward the television in the other room. "Swarms of demons have been attacking all over Japan. They've had to call out the military to try and stop them. There are priests and priestesses all across the country fighting them. It's all over the news. We were attacked by three demons just on the walk home from school."

 

"Oh my, I didn't realize it was that bad out there." Higurashi-mama said as she put her hand over her mouth.

 

"It really is, mama. Luckily Kaede-obachan gave me those charms to put up around the shrine or we would have been attacked a lot more than that." Kagome said as she smiled sadly at her mother. The reports of demon attacks were coming more and more often. Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha had been out fighting them for several hours, while Kagome and Usagi trained with Kaede on fighting as mikos. Somehow Usagi could see the shards so she had some sort of spiritual power, though her aim was worse than Kagome's when it came to shooting arrows.

 

"So you'll be leaving tomorrow?" Higurashi-mama asked as she looked down at her daughter. She didn't look like a 15-year-old girl. "My have you grown, Kagome-chan. Just a few days ago, you were crying over a scraped knee. You be careful out there, all right?"

 

"Hai, don't let Souta or jichan leave the shrine, ne?" Kagome asked as she looked imploringly up at her mother.

 

"All right, dear. I want you to check in once in a while, all right?" Higurashi-mama said as Kagome headed toward the door to continue her training with Kaede.

 

"Hai, mama!" Kagome called as she picked up her bow by the door and headed outside.

 

****

 

"All right, it's your turn for a break, Usagi." Kaede said as Kagome came back out from the house. Usagi's hands were sore from the bowstring and her forearm hurt as well from the arrow sliding across her arm. She was a very poor shot, but considering this was her first time shooting a bow, she hadn't done too terrible. She had actually hit the target the last few times she'd shot the arrow, which was better than when it only made it halfway to the target or sailed over the top of it and hit the ground behind.

 

Usagi walked stiffly up to her room and flopped herself down on her bed with her eyes closed. She heard a familiar purring close to her ears and rolled over to pet Buyo. He seemed to like her room and would always come to cuddle when she was feeling sad or lonely. She rubbed the top of the cat's head as it purred quietly into her ear.

 

"You're such a good kitty, Buyo." Usagi said as she scratched behind the cat's ear. She opened her eyes to see the contented look on the cat's face and was met with a strange sight. It wasn't Buyo that was purring at her, it was a black cat that had a crescent moon bald spot on her forehead. "Eh? A new cat? When did we get a new cat?" Usagi questioned as she sat up to get a better look at the cat. She was much smaller than Buyo and had an intelligent look in her eyes. As she studied the cat, the cat seemed to study her right back.

 

"My name is Luna," A female voice said as Usagi studied the cat more closely. "I've come to-" She was cut off as Usagi let out a high-pitched shriek and fell off the bed backward onto the floor.

 

"T… tha… that cat just talked!!" She cried as she scooted across the room until her back hit the wall. "Cats can't talk?! What's going on?!?" Usagi cried as she grabbed each of her pigtails and pulled.

 

"Selenity-sama!!! Oi!!! Be quiet, I need to talk to you!!!" Luna cried over the girl's panicked yells. When the yelling didn't stop, Luna leapt off the bed and into the young girl's lap. She then jumped onto her face and knocked her to the side on the ground, using her body to hold the girl's mouth shut so she could talk. "Is it really that surprising? After what you've seen?" Usagi's body relaxed slightly and the can moved onto the girl's chest instead. "Now then, I suppose you have some questions. Am I a demon or monster? No, I'm just a normal cat with a few tricks." Luna said calmly. She, of course, left out the part about being from the moon and such, she didn't believe the girl before her could handle that, even after all of the strange things that had been happening to her lately.

 

"Where d… did you come from?" Usagi questioned slowly as she looked up into the cat's eyes. She had been right in thinking that the cat was intelligent. It's not every day that you meet a talking cat.

 

"Where I'm from isn't important right now. You are in very grave danger." Luna said as she looked seriously into Usagi's blue orbs.

 

"The youkai can't get me through the barrier, and my Hama no Ya is getting better." Usagi explained as she picked the cat up so she could sit up. She sat the cat on the floor next to her and sat cross-legged facing her.

 

"I'm not talking about them. There is a greater evil looming in on the planet." Luna explained as she waved off the demons with one paw. "We have been searching for you for a very long time, Selenity-sama." Luna said as she bowed as best as a cat could.

 

"Why are you calling me Selenity-sama?" Usagi questioned as she gave the cat a funny look.

 

"Because you are the reincarnation of Princess Selenity of the Moon Kingdom." Luna explained slowly. She wasn't quite sure how the girl was going to take this news. Usagi just stared blankly back at her before she burst out laughing. A sweatdrop slid down Luna's face as the girl collapsed into a fit of giggles and ended up rolling on the ground in front of her.

 

"Me? A princess?" Usagi paused as another giggle escaped her lips. "I think you must have gotten hit on the head or something. There's no way I'm a princess."

 

"I'm afraid it is true, I sensed your power yesterday even through whatever barrier that separated you from this world." Luna explained as a vein throbbed in her forehead. It was very hard to concentrate and remain serious with the blond girl laughing and rolling around on the floor the way she was. "Oi!! I'm being serious, you need to calm down, this is very important!" Luna yelled over the giggling girl. This effectively ceased the giggling from the blond girl.

 

"I'm sorry, but I'm about the farthest thing there is from a princess." Usagi said with a dry chuckle that ended after a second.

 

"Regardless of what you think or say, you are the princess we have been searching for." Luna explained as the vein thudded again. "At some point yesterday, I felt a huge power from somewhere very far away. Mercury used her computer to pinpoint the power source and it led me to you. Did something strange happen to you yesterday?" A sweatdrop slid down Usagi's face. Lots of strange things had been happening to her lately, she wasn't even sure where to begin.

 

"Well, I suppose there were a lot of weird things that happened yesterday…" Usagi paused for a moment in thought then held up a hand to count on. "I was kidnapped by a dog demon, nearly smothered in his fur, bit and poisoned, nearly killed by his claws and again, by his poison. Then I was nearly killed by the fumes from his poison, nearly killed by his claws again… Either way, I was nearly killed multiple times yesterday."

 

"And what saved you?" Luna asked.

 

"Well, Inuyasha saved me a bunch of times, but something really weird happened…" Usagi paused again to remember the sensation she had felt. "I felt all warm inside, but still cold on the tips of my fingers like I was in cold water or something. There was a loud sound and a really bright light, then my wounds were healed and I was dressed really strange. I just thought it had something to do with my healing ability."

 

"You have the ability to heal people?" Luna questioned as she scanned the girl with a serious look on her furry face.

 

"Aa, I have been for a really long time," Usagi explained, all giggles gone. "If I had been able to get to them… my family wouldn't have been killed… I could have healed them…" Usagi said slowly as her eyes became sad.

 

"Did you have any strange markings? When did it go away?" Luna questioned as she pressed on.

 

"Hmm? Well… Sesshoumaru said something about a mark on my forehead… a noble mark he said… And the dress stayed until we were on our way back to the shrine when we were out of danger." Usagi finished as she remembered how far Inuyasha had jumped when pink ribbons had swirled around her and his hand had met bare skin before she was clothed in her school uniform.

 

"I have no doubts in my mind, you are the princess we have been searching for." Luna said as she stood up from her sitting position on the floor. "I need you to come along with me to the Hikawa Shrine, Rei will protect you until the rest of the girls arrive."

 

"Wait a minute! I'm perfectly fine right here!" Usagi cried out as she stood up. "The barrier will keep the youkai out of here! Besides, what can Hino-san do for me? I know she's the grand-daughter of a priest because her grandfather stops by for tea with jichan once in a while."

 

"You're in very grave danger, Selenity-hime!" Luna cried as the blond girl picked up her bow and headed out the door.

 

"I'm fine, leave me alone." Usagi said as she closed the door and headed back outside. Kagome and Kaede were still practicing when Usagi approached and picked up her quiver.

 

"It's not time for your break to be over yet, Usagi-chan." Kagome said as she watched Usagi position herself facing the target.

 

"Daijoubu, I really need the practice. Besides, I couldn't relax anyway with everything that's going on outside. I want to help Inuyasha and the others instead of being stuck inside the barrier." Usagi explained as she fit an arrow onto the string and pulled it taut. Her face was set as she leveled the tip of the arrow right with the bullseye of the target. She released the arrow and watched as it whizzed toward the target with a whistling sound. The arrow hit on the innermost ring of the target and a smile lit up on Usagi's face. "Yatta!! Look, I got it so close!" Usagi cried in excitement.

 

"So you're the new Star Seed…" An amused voice said coming from behind Usagi, Kagome, and Kaede.

 

"Eh? Star Seed?" Usagi questioned as she turned to face a strangely clad girl in white. She had a curly mouse-tail and two odangoes similar to Usagi's.

 

"I'm Sailor Iron Mouse," She explained as she held up a hand with a golden bracelet on her wrist. "And I'm here for your Star Seed."

 

::Fin::

 

April 2, 2006

 

Ikidekimasu: what they say before they eat, no real English translation
onigiri: rice ball

 

Okay okay, I know, long time no update XD That tends to happen when all inspiration dries up^^;. Besides, I wasn't sure where to go with this story and realized I'd kind of left out the Sailor Moon storyline so I threw it in at the end right here^^; I know, you're all gonna kill me because that's one hell of a cliff-hanger XD Gomen!!! I'll try to update faster this time, though. Anyway, onto the review responses^^