Prologue: Hidden in the Darkness

March 21, 2021 New York

The rain was relentless in its downpour blinding the girls as they ran down the alley ways to make it back to their hideout before they were found. Men in black were running them down, chasing them to their wits end trying to flag their hideout. They knew that they wouldn't be stupid enough to just run straight to it, these two extraordinary girls have stayed hidden and out ran them for ten years. They knew they weren't going to give in easily.

"Don't lose them, stay on their tails!" yelled one of the men in black, "They both must be captured and brought back to the lab!"

The girls heard this order through the sound of feet pounding the pavement, over claps of thunder, in the rush of the wind over their ears.

"What do we do? We can't keep running like this." They thought breathlessly to one another. "We'll split up take them on two different trails then meet back up at the hideout".

So they each set out on separate paths. It seemed like hours (when in all actuality it was only about ten minutes) before they lost their pursuers and made it back to the makeshift home. As soon as they were inside they immediately started to pack their things and get out before they were discovered. Finally ready to go five minutes later, their stamina and strength diminished by the work they had stressed upon themselves using all their powers at once, are exiting the hideout when the men in black enter.

"Aw Shadow, Night, it's so wonderful to see you two brilliant subjects again. How have you been? It's not every day you get to see the research, tests, and studies that you worked on for 30 years return back to you after ten years of being avoided. I must admit, you really did give me a run for my money. Always one small step ahead, but now we finally have you".

"How did you find us? We ditched you guys back at Brooklyn Ave." asked Night as they situated themselves for a bloodbath to the death.

"It was easy; we simply just had to follow your movement by computer. That new security camera they installed at the bank can pick up anything within a ten meter radius. Shouldn't have run so close to the bank I suppose", said the doc as he slowly stalked forward causing them to take cautious steps back.

"I guess you feel pretty proud of yourself to talk our ears off", sneered shadow, "in fact I think you just hit an all time high on my 'boring speeches' record", the sarcasm thicker than molasses. Both girls smirked as they watched the professor's face turn beet red in anger. "Awww, poor Doc, did we hit a sore spot? Is there no way to tweak it even more", said Shadow as they carefully produced smoke bombs in their hands to try and make for the escape.

"You think you're so funny don't you?" growled the professor, "Well I Guess the joke will be on you seeing as you haven't figured out how to do anything besides telepathy and super speed and strength.

"Well I think we'll just have to show you your true potential and then maybe you'll learn why we created you in the first place".

"Hmm, sorry Doc, gonna have to skip out on that offer. Not interested in becoming another one of your lab rats or weapons of war", they said simultaneously. At that moment they noticed that the professor had a strange object in his hand. It was a small spherical object that reflected in the dim lighting of the hideout.

The professor noticed their glances toward his hand and held up the object to let them get a better look. The item looked to be some sort of teleportation device. It was at that point that they knew they had to get away before it was too late.

"Now now don't fret. It will be a painless experience if you just come along quietly and don't try any funny business", explained the Doc as he took yet another step forward. The girls not liking the gleam in his eyes as he spoke gave them that final push to their survival instincts.

"How are we gonna get that teleportation device so we can get out of here?" thought Night as her and Shadow stood back to back preparing to fend off a whole hoard of specially enhanced thugs that worked for the same organization that funded the nutty professor's work.

"I'll go after the Doc's teleporter, you just keep those goons off my back until I get it", instructed Shadow as they got ready to put their plan into action.

Time seemed to stop waiting for someone to make the first move. The professor slowly smiled and said "Grab them". Then the battle began immediately you start hearing fist fly and connect with flesh and bone. The screams of pain and agony soon filled the small area and the dark laughter of the professor penetrating it as he stood to the side and watched the ensuing battle. As Shadow worked her way to the unknowing professor on of is first test subjects spotted her and started to work her way toward but knew he wasn't going to make it in time.

Shadow sprang up and over the doctor's head and snatched the device from him. "Seems that you still need to figure out that we learned more than just a few beginners skills", she said to the stunned professor's face as he stared between her and a clone she produced that was fighting alongside Night. At this point in time the thug has made it to Shadow and starts the battle to the death in the throes of uncontrolled rage. Somehow she managed to slip away and made her way back to Night and was about to teleport to Kansas, Nebraska when he showed up and asked, "Why don't you just give up?" and in the struggle unannounced to anyone the teleporter cut on and caught the destination that no one knew was still in existence.

"And why don't you just transport yourself to the feudal era of Japan?!"

Then a blinding flash of light appears and stops all movement. After the light fades every looks around and finds that the subjects and one of their best guards were gone and the teleportation device was destroyed.

The professor roars furiously, "DAMN IT!"

Chapter 1: Falling from the Skies

Feudal Era Japan

"Inuyasha! SIT BOY!" yelled Kagome as she watched the enchanted beads around his neck drag him into the dirt creating another crater in the ground.

Inuyasha yelped as he met the ground and growled around the dirt and shouted "What was that for wench?!" He waits for the spell to wear off then jumped up and got in her face. Kagome just stares at him with her hands on her hips "There's no need to bully Shippo" she exclaims while pointing to Shippo's crying form, holding his head and rubbing the three huge lumps on top.

"He started it, it's his own fault!"

"He's just a child, years younger than you. You're supposed to be the mature one yet you act like you're younger than him."

Inuyasha crossed his arms and started to grumble. It was at this point that she knew she won this round too. As the gang finished up lunch and got ready to start moving again in their search for Naraku and the Sacred Jewel, the sky suddenly turned dark. They look up into the sky startled by the sudden darkness and immediately went on the defensive.

"What the hell is going on?" shouted Inuyasha as they saw a rip appear in the sky. As the rip grew in size the wind picked up causing it to rotate and generate lightning.

"Inuyasha, do you think it is Naraku?" shouted Miroku they watched the whirlwind rift in the sky shine. Inuyasha sniffed the air and shook his head in the negative. "It doesn't smell like him" he stated as his face contorted into confusion.

All of a sudden three creatures fall from the hole. As soon as they start their descent the rift closes and the sky lights up again. The three creatures looked to be human in form but were falling down to fast. And in different directions. One looked as if it were headed straight for them.

"Look out!" shouted Inuyasha as the person fell right in front of them skidding to a halt a few yards away. The gang approached it slowly as they started to see some of the basic features.

"It's a girl" said Shippo as they got closer. She looked to be about five foot six, with waist length hair with black and white stripes running through it. She was tan with high cheek bones and large round eyes. She had on faded form fitting jeans and simple shirt with a tank top under it. White and black running shoes were on her feet, which looked broken from their angle. With her she had a backpack, a duffel bag, and an assortment of weapons on her.

"Where did she come from?" wondered Sango as they took in her form and state of health. She didn't seem to be breathing as they got even closer to her. Kagome kneeled down beside her moved the hair from her face. She had a huge gash going down the side of her forehead that was bleeding profusely. Inuyasha stepped closer and nudged her with the scabbard of tessaiga.

At this slight pressure to the center of her spine she awoke with a start and instantaneously was reset back into her fight or flight mode she was in before the teleportation/time jump. She jumped up and started to attack the first thing that was closest to her, Kagome. Inuyasha was instantly in front of her blocking the girls attack and started to brawl with her.

"This girl is moving faster than that damn wolf Kouga" said Inuyasha. As she came at him relentlessly he started to notice something off about the way she was attacking. He saw that her motives weren't to kill but were completely done in self defense. With one last block he jumped away and tried to calm her down.

"Oi, we're not trying to hurt you. We just wanted to see if you were alright" explained Inuyasha as he watched her halt her advances. She looked confused. It was as if she didn't understand what he said.

"She's looks like she's an American" Kagome said as she retold what Inuyasha said in English. "Can you speak Japanese" she asked as she watched her loosen her shoulders from their tense position for a more comfortable stance. The girl nodded and asked in Japanese "Who are you people? Where am I? And why do I have a headache that feels like I've just been hurtled through ten brick walls?"

"My name is Kagome. That's Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Inuyasha, and Kilala" she said as she pointed to each one of them. "You're in the feudal era of Japan."

"What type of creatures are your friends? I've never seen experimental subjects like them before. And my… wait a sec, did you just said the feudal era of Japan?!"

"Yea, the feudal era. And my friends aren't experiments, their demons. "

"They're demons? As in the kind that posses bodies and take people or the kind that'll just kill people for the fun of it?" shadow asked cautiously as she got back into a defensive stance.

"NO, they're the nice kind. They wouldn't hurt another human being ever" she said as she waved her hands in a dismissive gesture.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are you from Shadow?" said Miroku "And how did you get here?"

"Well I can't remember much. The last thing I remember was running from the Doc's goons in New York and fighting for my life then all of a sudden this blinding white light appears and next thing I know I feel a hard pointed object in my back and I'm fighting once again" Shadow explained as she rubbed the side her head wincing as she felt the cut on her head.

As the adrenaline rush started to fade, Shadow swayed on her feet as the fatigue and dizziness from lack of blood. She sinks to the ground to keep the world from spinning.

"Are you ok?" ask Kagome as she rushed over to her side with the first aid kit she grabbed from her bag. As she started to clean the wound, she saw her eyes bleed red and close.

As she fell to the ground, an azure mist seeped from her chest into the air. "What's happening to her" yelled Shippo as they all stared in awe at the sight in front of them. The azure mist started to separate creating to separate colors. One part was tinted blood red, as dangerous and fiery in looks as well as induced through feeling. The other was tinted a deep shade of blue, as cold as the ice in the Antarctic in the middle of winter.

As the red part of the misted drifted back into her the other blew away in the wind and an even deeper shade of red seemed to blow in from the north in place of the blue, this one also returning to the body.

Ten minutes later Shadow awoke from her fainting spell and was met with twenty different questions coming at her at once.

"What was that?"

"Who are you truly?"

"How did you DO that?"

"WHAT are you?"

"Are you a demon?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down one at a time." Exclaimed Shadow as she took in all of the questions and answered them one by one. "What was what? I told you my name is Shadow. How did I do what? And no I'm not a demon. I'm a 21 year old girl who is and will be stuck on this earth forever" she said painfully as she remembered what happened to her 13 years ago.

They all looked at each other. "Why don't you tell us what happened from the beginning" said Miroku as he motioned for her to sit down again.

"In all honesty I'm only 16. When I was 14, I was kidnaped from my home by a group of scientist who worked for the part of the government that dealt with bio weaponry. They went to one of the local blood donation clinics and gathered samples of blood from the various people and combined them with a new form of mutated animal blood that if mixed with human blood could cause extreme mutations to the DNA, causing the person to transform into that animal if the blood wasn't completely destroyed in the process.

"Although many blood types were compatible to the transfusions only a handful could change into multiple beings at once. They incorporated an experimental drug called MA-212, a virus that enhanced the natural abilities in the mutated animal blood, giving them the power of super senses and abilities. One day I came home from school having participated in a blood drive and was given a pill of the new experiment. Everyone was given one, but I was the only one to choose the one with the multi-animal enhancement and reacted almost immediately to the drug. They monitored my movements for a month after that. How I acted, how I ate, moved, slept, everything.

"One of the operatives who were supposed to monitor me figured he could get better information by interacting with me" she explained scornfully as her face contorted into that of anger and pain "we became best friends. We did everything together. His name was Eric, and he was my first real crush" her eyes filling with the pain of ages past flashed through her eyes as she continued.

"One day he came over to my house to participate in our family fun night. We spent hours playing various board, card, and dice games when someone came and knocked on the door. My dad went to answer it and next thing you know, we hear a gunshot followed by heavy thud. They walked into the house with some of their earlier successful experiments. They said that they worked for the government's bio weapon institute and told me that I was one of the very few people who could bond with their most recent attempt at creating a creature that could transform into anything they wanted to. I told them 'I don't give two fucking shits about you and your crazy experiments and I want no part in it'".

She stopped and took a deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves. The others looked sympathetic and waited for her to continue.

"They said that it was too bad that I didn't willingly come with them. They called him to come over. The most incredible friend I'd ever had was working with the people who shot my dad in cold blood without a second thought. And now they were threatening the rest of my family. They told the larger of the animals, a tiger about the size of a full grown grizzly bear, to kill the rest of my family. I didn't know what to do I just knew I couldn't let that overgrown piece of shit near my family and did the only thing I could. I jumped into its chest as it pounced at my mother and baby sister. As we tumbled on the floor they could clearly see the creature that they turned me into come through. Lost in the thrill and blood lust the fight caused, I killed the son of a bitch who tried to attack my family. Can you imagine the joy they felt? The test subject of a new drug, a 180 pound girl, kills a 1,000 pound tiger that has been loyal to them for who knows how many years. They didn't even mourn the loss of him, just said that 'he was expendable' and went about tranquillizing and taking me and my baby sister.

"When I woke up she was turned into a carbon copy clone of me. They had aged us to about 19 and it was every five years that we aged one physical year. Apparently they were supposed to have wiped my mind, but my metabolism got rid of the drug to fast to take affect I learned later on in time, and went about naming me Shadow and my sister Night. Night being so young when she was transformed came to take on my appearance but is almost like my alter ego.

"Think of it this way everybody knows how it is when night falls. Completely dark with minimal to no light. And a shadow is found both in the darkness and in the light. That's how we are, I am the shadows, hidden within the darkness and the light, while she is night, the one that creeps into your dreams and allows the unseen to be seen." As she finished up her story they felt sorry for her and her family.

"What happened to your mother? What happened with Eric?" Sango asked as she petted Kilala's head. Shadow's eyes darkened and said "that traitor is the reason we're here in the first place I believe. If you said there were three bodies that fell from the sky then he was probably one of them. As for my mom" the fire in Shadow's eyes dimmed, "I found out that after they took us they raped and killed her. I promised my mom that I would kill them one day, slowly, painfully" as she says this, the wind starts to pick up and the flames jump but soon calm down as she closed her eyes and took deep breaths. "But enough about me, tell me about your group. How does a half demon, a neko, and a fox demon, travel with a demon slayer, a monk, and a girl from the future?"

"I'll get started on setting up camp" said Miroku as he stood up to gather some fire wood.

"I'll help. I'm the one who held y'all up so the least I can do is gather fire wood" stated Shadow as she got up from the ground and headed for the woods not even giving them a chance to reject the offer.

Ten minutes later she returned to camp with three huge bundles of wood floating behind her. "There you go. That should be enough to where you don't have to go looking for more." She sat them down in a pile in a respective place for a fire and go to work on building it. Five minutes later they had a fire going and food being cleaned to cook.

As dusk turned to night, Kagome told her their story of how the unlikely gang came to be. "…After that we just stuck together and continue to look for the jewel and hunt down Naraku" She said.

"Wow, that's an interesting tale. So this Naraku person has had it in for you guys all because he liked his girlfriend?" Shadow asked pointing her thumb in Inuyasha's direction. At this statement both Inuyasha and Kagome turned similar shades of crimson. They both said together that those two weren't dating.

Picking up on the sudden embarrassment and sorrow she could infer that Kagome liked him a lot but he still likes the dead girl for some reason. Deciding to ponder on it later she said that it was getting late and they should get some sleep. As she got up to go find a good place to keep watch Inuyasha asked "Oi, where you going"?

"To find someplace to keep watch so you can sleep" she said back matter-of-factly as if it was silly to ask her in the first place.

"There's no need I can watch over the camp just fine" he said back a little hotly.

"Hmm, must've hit a sore spot on his ego" she thought comically as she calmly stated "Well two sets of eyes and ears are better than one, don't you think." And with that last comment, she left to find a good spot on the area surrounding the camp.

Shadow watched over the camp diligently, but felt as if there was something missing. She missed her sister. In the form of a wolf she howled a mournful tune that broke the heart of any creature who understood her cry.

Unknown to her, her cries caused more than just a string of songs but attracted some unwanted attention.