Unexpected Places

Disclaimer: “I will never give up.” Is still looking for ownership papers. Thanks Rumiko Takahashi for letting my imagination run wild.

Surprises are the mysteries to life Part I

She was riding the clouds with him with anguish, despair and fear in her heart. Being semi-conscious was a bitch. She couldn’t tell which way she was going and there would be no way for her to find her way back. A picture of Inuyasha walking off into the forest flashed before her closed eyelids. She wouldn’t be able to escape, maybe, without his help.

It was all her fault anyway. She let her emotions get the better of her. If that wouldn’t have happened then she wouldn’t have lowered her guard and become careless. It seemed she had been doing that a lot lately. Ever since meeting dog-boy did her training start to slip. She sighed mentally, since there was nothing else to do… but to maybe fear. Yes, there was always fear. But lately she had felt content and at least a part of something. She felt like she had belonged. Neara remembered it like it was yesterday…

After defeating The Thunder Brothers, Inuyasha had found a nice area next to a running stream. It didn’t matter to him that he had to practically carry Neara to it. She was feeling fatigued from her battle and he laid her gently down on the soft grass. He ran off knowing what to find and was back almost instantly. She told him to soak the cure-all and then he applied it to her shoulder wound. Neara smiled showing her thanks to him and was touched that he actually remembered something that she taught him. The miko let him know of this. He blushed slightly and said “Keh,” but in a gentle way before she fell asleep.

The way back to the village was short since she wanted to get back as soon as possible. She was being carried by Inuyasha as she carried both a sleeping Shippo and Toka. What worried her was how those two youkai were able to get nullifying spells. A witch surely didn’t have the spell and neither did mikos. Youkais definitely had no knowledge of this. The only ones who had it were Godds that she could think of, but then why would a Godd want to help youkai? This was a puzzle that needed some more heads to ponder on.

Neara relayed the message to Toka and he ran off with it to ones who would know more about it than she. There was nothing more she could do, but to wait; to wait on some sort of plan of attack, or to wait to receive an order to investigate even further. Why did she hound around for them anyway? She sighed at the reason why. Even to this day some still blamed her for it. And to top it all, that was the day that she had displayed her powers.

No use came from pondering on the past. You couldn’t change the past, but you could always change the future and that was her goal. She wanted to rectify her mistakes by doing what she thought was right. Her uncle agreed with her and agreed to let her provide them with her protection.

After her messenger was sent, she had relaxed back into her mundane life of a miko. Shippo began to fall in love with her home because of the wonderful space to play around in.

“Shippo, where are you?” Neara called out to the little fox kit. He was no where to be found, smirking when she found that he was playing one of his games with her. “Where o where could the little Shippo have gone?” she sang quietly as she walked into the forest. He was around here somewhere because she could feel it. Spinning around on her heel and jumping she was able to catch him before he was able to sneak up on her.

“Neara, I can never catch you off guard,” he whined with a cute pout on his face.

“It’s because you make too much noise. Not all humans have dull hearing. I am used to the sounds of the forest so I know when something is amiss. Learn to become one with the forest little Shippo and you will be as silent as the breeze that ruffles your head full of hair,” she explained watching him laugh as she ruffled his head. “Would you like to come to the village with me? You haven’t been down there yet and I think it’s about time you got away from the hut. Inuyasha is starting to become a bad influence on you.”

“Keh,” Shippo protested. Neara only laughed while the kit smiled at his best impersonation of the dog-boy. A thought crossed his mind and he had to voice his concern. “But what if they won’t accept me? I am youkai and humans hate youkais.”

She kissed his forehead, “Shippo, don’t you worry about that. I will protect you if anything happens, okay?”

The little kit smiled his thanks. Placing him on her shoulder and returning back to her hut to gather her basket and a single sword, she was ready to head into the village. The passage went through the forest as they both admired the foliage and the changing colors that signaled the beginnings of autumn. This was the time of the year that the cherry blossoms would become the most beautiful; their white blossoms contrasting with all of the browns, golds, yellows, and reds. Neara loved the path she had made to reach the village just because of the cherry blossoms. The breeze was light as it stirred the falling blossoms in the air to perform a graceful dance as they journeyed to their resting place on the ground. She had planted these cherry trees along the path to serve as a scenic route and for somewhat as a safety measure. The scent of the trees was prominent here and she would easily pick out an unusual scent plus the blossoms seemed to tell her if a youkai was nearby. Since their dance wasn’t erratic then Shippo and she were safe for the moment. The forest animals were at peace and therefore she was at peace.

The forest just ended at the fields for the village as she continued to walk the beaten path. She could tell Shippo was becoming nervous as they neared the small population of humans. The miko could easily protect him if anything were to happen. She wouldn’t dare tell him about the incident with Inuyasha. It would scare him even more and she only did it because the hanyou would piss and moan if she were to tell anyway.

Neara happened to cross the paths of the children playing outside of the village.

“Young ones, you mustn’t play too close to the forest. You need to stay near the village,” she chastised gently.

“But Neara-sama we have Inuyasha-sama protecting us from the bad youkai,” one small boy said running up to her. She looked up to said hanyou resting in the branches of a particular oak tree and made eye contact. She smiled as her waist bent to perform a slight bow towards him with a fist within the palm of the other hand. She had acknowledged him as a warrior and gave him her respect. What surprised her was that he had inclined his head to acknowledge this, but his fist was also within the palm of the other recognizing her as a fellow fighter as well. Neara came back to reality when she felt a small tug on her hakama. Looking down she saw a small girl looking up at her.

“Who is that?” she asked pointing at the kit.

Neara looked back at the fox, but he just hid behind her hair. “His name is Shippo. He is a kitsune. Would you like to say hi, Shippo?” She felt the shy boy shake his head. “I’m sorry Seiko, but it seems like he is still nervous. See, a village not too far from here gave him quite a scare. Inuyasha and I came across them before they were able to do any harm to him, but given time I’m sure little Shippo will come around.”

“I’m sorry for what they did to him if that helps,” Seiko pouted an apology.

Neara ruffled her hair, “No need to be sorry for something you did not do.” The girl looked up and smiled.

The miko turned to head into the village as the girl waved goodbye. “Bye Neara-sama and Shippo.” That girl was very enthusiastic, but had a very gentle heart. Neara noticed how Shippo looked back at the group of children playing watching little Seiko as the miko walked towards the center market. The small girl happened to look back to see Shippo looking at her. The kit blushed and turned around to see where they were going. Neara crossed onto the main road that runs through the village. She climbed up the flight of stairs onto the slight plateau where the huts resided. The fields were somewhat in a valley surrounded by forest. It seemed like the terrain reminded Shippo of a bowl. The fields were the bottom of the bowl while the village and the surrounding forest was the rim. This was safe for the village because when it rains it pours and the valley tends to flood. The miko said hello to quite a few of the women and mothers. One in particular was swollen with child, but her husband had been called off to war. He was a samurai for the lord of Musashi. Neara knew the mother-to-be missed her husband greatly and wished for his safe return. It seemed that a lot of women were coming up to her and saying hello. That was quite strange. She knew what had caught their attention when her hair moved to the side as she bent to examine some herbs and they caught sight of Shippo and his fluffy tail. She heard them squeal in delight at the sight of him.

“Alright girls I think you are making him nervous,” she said to the fawning ladies.

“Oh, but Miko-sama he is so cute and look at that fluffy tail. Can I touch it?” the mother-to-be politely asked Shippo. The kit looked at Neara and she lifted her other shoulder into a shrug as if telling him it was up to him. He couldn’t smell any deceit on the woman so why not.

“Okay,” he timidly answered. She gently stroked his tail as if petting a cat. Other women walked up and asked to pet his tail. He obliged them as he enjoyed the attention they were serving him.

“You ARE cute. I didn’t believe Seiko when she told me about you,” one woman said as she stroked his tail.

“Are you Seiko’s mom?” he asked shyly.

“I sure am,” she said with pride, “My baby girl adores you. She still wants to know if you want to go play tag with her and the other children.”

“Can I?” he turned and asked Neara who stood patiently as the kit was showered with womanly affection.

“Go on and have fun, but stay in sight of Inuyasha,” Neara permitted.

“Where is Seiko?” he asked her mom. The woman pointed through the crowd to a small girl standing near a hut close to the center market. “Excuse me,” he politely said before jumping down and running over to the short-haired girl with ebony tresses. The miko watched the kind hearted girl wave to him and they ran off to play with the others their age.

“I never thought some youkai could be so cute. Where did you find him Miko-sama?” one woman asked.

“Near a village where the villagers were trying to kill him,” she said honestly still remembering what they had almost done to Inuyasha. She handed a vendor one form of her cure-all medicine which would take care of his daughter’s ear ache and he handed her a loaf of bread and a bag full of rice. It was an equal trade.

“Accept our apologies,” all of them remarked letting the cheery mood slip between their fingers as they started to walk away with guilt on their faces. Apparently they still remembered as well. Yes, she did forgive them. She forgave them that night after it happened. It was an act of stupidity and not having the courage to stand up for themselves. They all lacked backbone except for maybe the headman. He instigated a lot of the shit that they did in fear of the unknown. Hell, they didn’t even know about mikos until she came along. They didn’t get many travelers and were wary of them if any showed up at all. They were somewhat isolated from any of the larger villages being up in the higher terrain and all.

She walked to another vendor to look at the fabric that he had. It was getting close to colder weather so she had to be sure to make something warm for little Shippo. His youkai blood helped him stay warmer than the other children, but he still wouldn’t be able to withstand the cold with what he had now to wear.

Something disturbed the wind and her senses as she began to look over the thicker and coarser materials. Slowly she put the fabric she was looking at back in its place as she listened to her surroundings. What came to her wasn’t something that she heard; no, it was something she felt. She felt a very powerful aura getting closer. Neara looked all around trying to figure where it was coming from. Her eyes took on a look of horror as she realized where it was. Dropping her basket that hit the ground with a thud, she grabbed the sheath of her sword and ran towards the fields as a scream for her name pricked her hearing. It was Shippo who called out to her.

She skidded to a halt once the enemy came into her view. Her eyes widened in shock at what youkai was now in the process of trying to rid the earth of Inuyasha. She was surprised to see him battling a dragon. Only the mainland to the west had dragons. What was this dragon doing here? Her eyes slipped to Inuyasha who was in a defensive stance between him and the children who were stuck between the rocky wall of the village’s natural table and their protector.

“I can’t see you, but I can smell you Neara so get your miko ASS down here and HELP ME!” He was getting very irritated at this dragon almost to the point of getting really pissed off. “Watch out for his acid…. He spits,” he commented rather casually.

“I hope you have something up your sleeve,” she said feeling his aura turn into animalistic satisfaction. His instincts were kicking in. She dashed to her right around the huts and slid down the steep slope, kicking off once her feet hit the field below. Rushing out to get behind the large youkai, she readied her weapon.

The miko stopped just behind said dragon taking on an aggressive stance. She whistled.

“Here lizard, lizard, lizard, lizard,” she called letting her power rise to make him see that she was the biggest threat now. Her purification sizzled around her creating sparks in separate areas. The land animal forgot about Inuyasha now and turned to set his sights on the miko. If at all possible, he gave a sadistic grin. She didn’t necessarily see it, but felt it more than anything. She heard Inuyasha growl. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who sensed it either. Neara gave the dragon one of her own smirks. This was a smirk full of pride in her ability to outwit and bring this youkai down. Digging her feet into the ground, she prepared for battle.

Jumping into a sprint, she headed straight for her enemy. Said enemy wobbled towards her in its run. Dodging a spitting acid attack, she began to jig-jag to keep it from being able to aim at her properly.

At this point in time Inuyasha relied on his olfactory glands as he scented Neara’s speedy approach. In his handicap he was able to smell the dragon’s aura as it clashed with his own and therefore with Neara’s as she made her appearance for battle. The clashing of auras smelled like the faint swirling of wind and this pricked his instincts. Now he relied on what Neara was going to do in order for him to perform his attack. It seemed like second nature how they seemed to quickly adapt and second guess the other in battle. It was only a recent development since the fight with the Thunder Brothers.

She was getting closer now.

The dragon reared back getting ready to bite or swallow her whole. Getting close to its forepaws, she flipped her sword back and gripped it like a throwing spear keeping the blade close to her right hip. Giving her sprint an extra spurt of speed, she was able to baseball slide on her left hip and leg bypassing his massive maw to glide underneath his belly and split him wide open with her weapon from his chest to his anus spurting an odorous green blood all over her person.

This monster was beyond finished. He was not giving up the fight. If he was going to die then he might as well bring them down with him. The gargantuan figure turned on a dime and readied himself for his last attack.

“MOVE!” Neara yelled as she shot into the air.

Inuyasha growled at Shippo to not move a muscle as he leapt into the air as well. The miko flipped over the hanyou to keep from colliding with him to land just in front of the protective Shippo. The massive youkai let loose a hefty sized column of flame towards the children and her. The damn dragon definitely went all out on his last attack. Signaling her hands to help her concentrate her power faster, she was able to erect a barrier just before the first of the flames began to lick at the protective shield. Just as she brought up her barrier in the nick of time, Neara heard Inuyasha’s Kaze no Kizu attack.

She held the barrier long enough for the gusts of wind to cool down the field to a more comfortable temperature. The shield came down and the only thing that served as a reminder that it was there was the patch of green grass amongst the scorched earth. The children ran up to their respective parents as they came to see how their offspring faired. She wiped her brow of sweat that had accumulated during the battle and the flames, but mostly from the flames.

Looking down at Shippo she inquired, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but the others are a little shook up from the ordeal. I have to admit that I was a little scared when I thought the dragon ate you.”

“Hey! Can I get a little help over here?” Inuyasha interrupted.

Neara sighed, “Hold on, I’m comin’. Don’t get your undershirt in a wad. Uh, Shippo would you be a dear and go get my basket. I kind of dropped it on the ground back in the market.” The kit went off to go get what she asked for as she walked over to the impatient hanyou. The first thing she did when she reached him was pull on his ear uncomfortably.

“Dammit! What the fuck was that for?!” he growled.

“That was for earlier when you cursed in front of the children. That’s what the fuck it’s for,” she replied.

“I only said ‘ass.’ That isn’t bad. Hell, a donkey is called ‘ass.’ Why can’t I say ‘ass?’”

“Because you said it in a derogatory way; talking about getting my ASS over here to help save your ass,” she smiled playfully.

He was indignant. “I didn’t say I needed you to help save my ass. I said I needed you to help me. I would NEVER need your help to save me.”

“Don’t ever say never,” she chastised, “Now stay still so I can look at you.”

He grumbled a “never” as he waited for her to look him over. He gasped and pulled away at her hot and sweaty hands. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of the dragon’s blood all over her, but then the wind changed to make her downwind of him where he couldn’t smell it as badly. Funny how the slim didn’t coat her hands as she grabbed his head once again and made him open his eyes.

He definitely got a good dosage of the acid in his eyes and his body was trying to fight it. His emotion filled orbs were now lifeless suns.

“Alright, you can close them…. It looks as if it only got into your eyes and I can’t sense the acid anywhere else in your body, but I will have to purify it in order for you to see right away…. Or, if you want to you can wait until your youkai blood can cleanse it for you but you don’t know how long that will take. If I purify it then you will have perfect human eyesight until your body can fight my purification. Now, would you like to wait or would you like to wait?”

“Just purify this damn acid. It’s irritating my eyes. I can deal with human eyesight until it wears off,” he huffed.

She sighed, “You’re lucky you’re hanyou. If Shippo were in your place then he would be walking around blind until he could recover.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah; just work your magic already,” he complained impatiently. Placing her thumbs over his closed eyelids, she worked her power into his eyes. Her digits glowed momentarily before she pulled away, seeming finished with her healing. She watched lids flutter to reveal violet human eyes. It contrasted nicely with his shining silver hair. When picking out a piece of debris, she found that it was surprisingly soft. She couldn’t help but laugh at him when he began to stumble upon upturned roots and various rocks and such in the road. Since he didn’t have his half-demon eyesight then it was harder for him to see as a hanyou with human sight.

***

The encroaching darkness began to plague her mind, but she didn’t seem to notice it as the last tension filled week played out in her mind’s eye.

Everything seemed to be going right. Inuyasha was beginning to fit in with the villagers. Little Shippo did his chores and went to play with the other children his age. And of course she was able to do more help for the villagers with her miko abilities, but there were times when she didn’t do it by herself. Surprising enough it was Inuyasha who helped her the most. He was an avid learner. He learned everything that her apprentice Kikyo had taken many moons to study. Inuyasha’s memory was vivid. He did everything by touch and by doing it himself. This was how she learned to do the many procedures of the cure-all for different ailments.

Neara didn’t really respect her apprentice because of the stick the girl seemed to have up her ass. She was very snobbish. Kikyo was another miko, but was an orphan along with her sister Kaede. The teenager seemed to think that since she had purification power that everyone was below her, but of course not her teacher. Yes, the only person the girl respected was her beloved teacher who taught her how to hone her power. She wasn’t very strong, but one could pretend, right? Neara chortled within to think that the teenager thought herself to be so powerful. The woman-child wouldn’t be able to purify Inuyasha if she tried. It was definitely a very humorous thought.

Alas, that wasn’t the person she continued to think about. No, it was the silver-haired dog-eared man who had her attention. He was brusque and crude and so full of emotion. Inuyasha tried to hide his gentle side with his rough and rude exterior, but that was him. He was naturally rude, but that wasn’t who he really was. Deep inside he really did care. He cared enough to use his strength to help a villager remove a dead ox off a farmer in the field. The ox was killed by a youkai and after the hanyou killed the youkai did he help the farmer, grumbling all the while, without encouragement.

Neara couldn’t physically laugh, but mentally she did and hard. A villager, whose husband was called to war, went into labor. Neara was called up in the middle of the night to help with the delivery. Without asking Inuyasha rushed her over to the woman’s hut and retrieved her apprentice. The teen needed to learn this. After remarking that the woman was to be brought to her hot spring did grumbling occur, mainly from Kikyo. Neara was somewhat surprised not to hear anything from Inuyasha. He understood the necessity of helping the woman in labor. The hanyou carried the woman as Neara dragged Kikyo by the hand to her hut to change. The elder miko stripped down to a simple yukata using her tasuki cord to hold back her sleeves. The younger did the same with much fuss. Neara made sure to cleanse the water from any sickness before letting Inuyasha place the woman on a submerged boulder. She bid Kikyo to hold on to the labored woman. Walking up to the hanyou, she silently thanked him with her eyes. She wasn’t done with him yet.

Silently, “Inuyasha, It would be helpful if you would take the father’s place behind her. As you know, her husband is off at war with the Lord of Musashi. She will need a strong man to help her through her labor and to help her from slipping and drowning. Kikyo will be helping me deliver the child.” She didn’t have to say anything more. Just as silently, he answered her by removing his haori and dropping it on the ground.

He said naught a thing as he slipped in the water behind said woman and leaned her against his chest. His lack of words was a comfort for the struggling woman and Neara. She noticed his eyes upon her as she worked to sooth the child and the mother. Kikyo just stood by and waited for her next instruction. She only observed being very nervous and clumsy when Neara told her to retrieve some cloth for the sweaty in-labor woman. Everything for her was clumsy and nervous.

The delivery was arduous and lengthy, but finally the baby boy was delivered safe, sound, healthy, and calm. The water did that, Neara found; from an atmosphere full of water to another water-filled environment. Cleaning up the boy, she swaddled him and gave him to his mother as she worked to mend the rip that the delivery had caused the woman. Another successful delivery made her happy and she truthfully smiled. Kikyo was off making the medicine to help heal her in time and to fight off infection of any kind. Inuyasha took the child so Neara could wash up the villager and redress her in some of her clothing. The woman slept soundly as they took her back to the village so the other women could look after her. Of course Neara would check in every now and then, but the other women were closer to her and would be able to help more often then she would. Placing her on her futon and covering her up, Kikyo laid the sleeping babe next to the new mother in what seemed like a basket full of furs to keep him warm. The teenager left soon after and Inuyasha and the miko walked back to a quiet hut and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Neara’s brow frowned replaying the last moments they had before this mess started.

The miko watched as Inuyasha sprang from his futon as she finished cooking a late breakfast. Shippo waited until she awoke to begin his chores and then leaping off to go play with his friends. Dog-boy had a look of surprise on his face. He looked at her as she quirked her eyebrow at him.

Handing him a plate she asked, “What are you so happy about?”

He only smiled as he quickly fed himself. Once finished he said, “I had a dream.”

“Does this dream pertain to this same woman?”

He nodded, “Except I was able to touch her this time. She wasn’t out of reach.”

“So I guess you will go and search for her then. Should I pack you some food for the journey?”

It was his turn to quirk his eyebrow at her in a questioning manner. “What does that have to do with my dream?”

“You seem happy that your dream is telling you that she is near and I think you should go and find her. Maybe she is closer than what you think.”

“What makes you think I want to go and find her?” he asked getting slightly irritated that she would want him to go.

“But don’t you? ---- I mean, don’t you want to find the girl that plagues your dreams at night. Don’t you want to find out who she is? You have every right for answers that you seek.”

His face frowned as he stood to glare at her. “Fine. I see now.” His eyes seemed crestfallen as he turned leaving.

What just happened? Did he take my encouragement the wrong way?

“Wait! Inuyasha!” She scrambled to her feet dashing out the door. He was walking the opposite way from the village. He was truly leaving. “Wait!” she called.

He turned, “Wait for what Neara? I thought you were my friend, but it seems like you are just like every other human, wanting nothing to do with me.”

She ran up grabbing his arm, “I am not like that and you know it. I want you to be happy. And if finding her makes you happy then so be it, but you will always be my friend.”

He yanked his arm from her grasp. “Don’t touch me bitch,” he sneered. “You can’t sweet talk your way out of this one. I could smell your nervousness back there and your deceit now. You fail to think that I have a nose and can smell things like that. I’m leaving and there is nothing you can do about it. I can’t think how well you played me into believing I could trust you.” He turned from the shock on her face and walked away.

She blinked back her tears and turned to return to her hut only to come face to face with Kikyo who held a smile on her face.

“I see you finally ran him off. Good riddance. He was a filthy hanyou who had no business being around here where he isn’t wanted.”

“Excuse me?” Neara said out of shock at hearing her words and Inuyasha leaving her.

“Come one Neara-sama, surely you finally ran him off because you were fed up with him.”

Neara’s hand clenched into a fist at hearing these hate filled words, “No Kikyo, he left because of a misunderstanding. I have to rectify my mistake before he is too far away.”

“No you won’t. I won’t allow it,” the girl said.

“You dare dictate me on how to live my life?” Neara fumed brows coming down into a frown.

Kikyo was becoming irritated herself, “How dare you defend him. He doesn’t and will never belong anywhere, especially with you. You are a miko, a powerful miko. You should have purified him a long time ago.” She seemed so smug with the situation.

“Leave me before you come to any harm. Your hatred sickens me,” Neara said walking around her.

Kikyo only grabbed her arm before she got out of reach. “YOU sicken me with your need to see EVERY life live,” she spat, but her smug appearance returned, “I saw the way you looked at him when you were helping Mako-sama deliver her baby. If I wasn’t mistaken, you looked at him as if you were in love with him; a filthy, disgusting, ingrate half-breed. That just gives me sickened shivers down my spine.” She spat upon the ground. “It puts a bad taste in my mouth.”

“How dare you,” she sneered clenching and relaxing her fist as her anger and her power spiked sending blue electricity licking across her body. Kikyo released Neara’s arm as if it burned her and backed away slightly to gain some distance. “How DARE you talk about him like that. How DARE you talk about ME like that. How DARE you talk about HIM to ME like that. I will never forgive you for this Kikyo. How blasphemous. How despicable you are,” she said encroaching upon her slowly as the woman-child backed away slowly then stopped with a resolve lighting her face.

“I am not despicable. How dare YOU talk to ME like that you revolting woman!”

Neara’s anger spiked even further to her boiling point.

CRACK!

Kikyo was on the ground covering her cheek on the brink of tears looking at the shadowed face of her once upon a time mentor. “He was right. You are a bitch,” she silently sneered not wanting to incur more of her wrath or worse. As her offended cheek began to throb and bleed, she ran off.

Neara didn’t mean to hit her with her power as well, but you couldn’t change the past and Kikyo had deserved what her mentor had dished out for her. Regret began to leak into her heart at the damage she had caused to her pupil, but she refused to take it back. Kikyo had shown her true colors and hopefully this would be a lesson well taught especially on her part. She needed to keep her emotions on a tight reign if not for her safety, but for others.

Sinking down to her knees as she calmed herself down, she placed her hands to her eyes as she tried to contain her sadness.

What is wrong with me? What is happening to me for me to lose control like that?

Inuyasha came to her mind and she stumbled to her feet to grab some supplies for her journey to apologize to her friend. She rushed inside grabbing everything she needed that was in sight and what she could remember. Shippo ran in with concern written on his face.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Can you ask Seiko’s mom if you can stay with her for a while? I need to do something,” she asked.

“Are you going to find Inuyasha and try to bring him back? ---- I heard everything,” he confessed.

She knelt down to pick him up and give him a hug. “Yes Shippo. I’m going to apologize for what I said and for what I didn’t say. I’m going to tell him the truth…. Now hurry back so I can leave.”

The kit nodded and rushed out the door. Neara continued to finish packing and gathered her chosen bow for her excursion. The relaxing breeze became deathly quiet outside and perked her attention. Something was amiss and danger was written all over it. Her senses were telling her to run, but what could be so dangerous? She crept outside looking around her home and peering into the forest not seeing anything wrong. Walking back to the entrance, her senses hit her hard practically yelling at her to flee.

The wind stirred all of a sudden. She whirled around to look into the most malevolent red eyes ever seen. A smirk crossed his perfect face as his hand jerked out to encircle her throat. Gasping when he tightened, she realized why her senses had screamed for her retreat. His aura was completely and utterly evil; a very familiar evil. This was the Godd whose aura had put a spear of fear through her heart. He was the evil one who made her remember a past best forgotten.

“I see now,” he remarked in a harsh baritone voice, “You don’t merely hold it. It is within you… purified. What a surprise, what a surprise indeed.” Touching the pressure point in her neck, she fell unconscious into his arms as he took flight.

How could I have become so careless? Why did I not listen to my instincts and why did I lower my guard?

This was the last thought Neara had before she completely succumbed to the darkness.

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

A/N: Lady of the evening, Lady of the evening, Lady of the evening (ho, ho, ho) Merry Christmas. Alright, so it's not really Christmas yet, but consider this a present from yours truly. I'll have Part II up A.S.A.P. I'm hoping before Chirstmas, but just in case you got this to hold you guys over. Anyway, if you see any mistakes please bring it to my attention because I don't like mistakes. It only shows how careless you are. I try I really do, to not have any what-so-ever. Anyway, review and have a cookie on me. Until next time.

Love, peace, and chicken grease,
IL20