"I think there are pieces of yourself that you will always guard."

by Kiera Cass.

It was meant to be a normal birthday. I was just supposed to go out to eat with some friends and have a movie night back at my place—nothing major for my 21st birthday, right? It was pretty tame. The basement reeked of coffee and too buttery popcorn.

One of my friends' who dabbled in the ancient arts of magic—she was from Japan, I believe. She decided to give me this cool long furred thing that she called Moko-moko which I forgot what it meant in her language. I wasn't sure why the fuck she was giving me this real furred thingy because firstly, it was made out of real fur and secondly, what the hell was I supposed to do with this thing? It was in the middle of spring, I couldn't even wear this without dying from heat stroke.

Nevertheless, I accepted the gift because of the happy look on her face.

"Do you want to know the story behind it?" Mei asked with a smile as we settled in a circle—our typical way of sitting whenever the group was together.

I had the Moko-moko wrapped around me and was surprised that it was so super soft and very comfortable. I wrapped it around my body since it was very long. Mei had watched with interest as I stroked the soft fur and tickled one of my male friends with it.

"Sure," I responded seeing the eager faces of the others', "You know we love your stories from your home, Mei." I giggled. The rest of my friends' are whole-heartedly agree with me.

"Well, the legend behind this Moko-moko is that it once belonged to a great demon lord thousands of years ago," Mei began her tale, "His name was…err, I forgot," We all groaned at this and laughed. Mei's stories were always fun but there was always some detail she forgot, "Anyway, he was a full-blooded demon dog and he ruled the lands that his father gave him before he died," Mei smiled, "He disliked humans because he thought they were weak. He had a half-human, half-demon brother too that he hated but secretly cared for too,"

"Ever since he was young, he had this mokomoko with him. It gave him great powers and I forgot the other stuff about the mokomoko," Mei giggled and shrugged with a sheepish look. I simply rolled my eyes as she continued, "One day though, he was tricked by a witch. You see, this great demon warlord was missing an arm due to his half-brother chopping it off in a battle in their father's grave,"

"This warlord refused to let this get in the way of his rise to power but after the wars with this demon named Naraku, he sought out to gain his limb back," Mei took a drink of her orange juice as I hugged mokomoko tightly, "This witch only wanted one item in return and that was his precious mokomoko. The warlord refused at first demanding another payment but this witch insisted on her payment. The demon warlord was angered but relented. He gave this witch his beloved mokomoko in exchange for his arm,"

"But unbeknownst to him, the witch tricked him. She vanished the moment she touched the mokomoko leaving the demon furious. He searched high and low for his witch but never found her. He finally concluded that it was his own mokomoko that was masking her scent and hiding her from him. He destroyed many human villages to find this witch but to no avail,"

"Thousands of years have passed and the mokomoko was passed down through generations of witches even after the blood-line died down to normal humans. Eventually, I got my hands on it through my mother and find it rather dull." Mei shrugged.

"So," I pursued my lips, "You're giving me the mokomoko of a great demon lord that your ancestor stole from him?" I questioned and added, "After thousands of years?"

Mei nodded happily, "Yup!"

"And you don't think that would freak your family out?" One of my friends asked.

Mei shook her head, "My mother was the one who insisted that I give it to you." Mei answered and grinned, "I thought it was an awesome idea."

"But," I was seriously confused. This was basically a family heirloom given that it had been stolen at one point, but a heirloom nevertheless. I was puzzled that they would give something so well-cared for away like it was nothing. "I mean, this looks so well-cared for, Mei. I don't understand why you're giving it away so freely." I voiced with a frown.

"You're my best friend," Mei rolled her eyes; "We've been friends since I moved here. I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing this damned thing for a while." There's something more to this, I know it, but I opted to be quiet for know. I didn't want to make a scene in front of our friends on my birthday.

"Was this demon guy cute?"

Mei shrugged, "From what I heard, hell yeah. He was rather cruel though. See, his father married his mother for political gain and then married a human whom his father deeply loved. In the end, his father died protecting the human woman and his half-breed son which elicited the hate from the demon lord." Mei explained.

"Ouch," I muttered, "Did he ever fall in love?"

Mei shook her head, "No, he never found love. No demon woman was worthy in his eyes but eventually he married for the sole purpose of having an heir." She responded.

"Wow that must suck." One of my friends' spoke up.

Another snorted, "That woman was bred like a cow then!"

This riled some conversation in the group and we moved on from the story attached to my new mokomoko. Mei would always look at the mokomoko with this strange look in her eyes which confirmed that she was withholding something from me.

It was growing very late and I was growing tired. My eyes were heavy and I was yawning very few minutes. I decided that my small party was officially over. We began to clean up in the basement by picking up our discarded bags of chips and wrappers from candies. Mokomoko was draped over my shoulders as I moved about picking up trash but my mind was on Mei and what she was withholding from me.

We had been friends for many years since we were in middle school therefore I knew when something was up. Mei caught my gaze and smiled as if nothing were wrong. I narrowed my eyes with a frown and pointed to mokomoko while mouthing, "What's up with this thing?"

Mei simply looked at me with faux confusion.

I huffed and walked up to her with a harsh whisper, "Don't act coy, Mei! There's something you aren't telling me about this fur thing."

Mei pursued her lips as if thinking about her next words. She knew I wasn't one to beat around the bush and that I didn't take to liars very kindly. "Mokomoko hasn't let anyone touch it since it was stolen." She stated as if that would make sense to me.

"So, how did you know that it would let me touch it?" I asked trying to keep my voice low.

Mei's mouth was in a firm line as if she wasn't going to tell me anything. I was about to give her a piece of my mind about giving me objects that could be potentially cursed but our other friends' had called out our names and diverted my attention.

I guided my friends' out with a smile, "Thanks for celebrating my birthday, guys. It means a lot!" I said as I watched them get into their cars.

"No problem, we'll see you tomorrow for our workshop classes!" My girlfriend spoke waving as she got into a car with her boyfriend.

I watched most of them drive away and one of my friend's walk down the street to where their house was. I turned to Mei with my eyebrow cocked, "Well? Spit it out." I asked her as I closed the front door.

Mei frowned at me, "I'm not supposed to tell you." She says which only infuriates me.

"Mei, don't test me." I warned her.

She groans loudly and rubs her temples, "I lied. My family are still considered witches, okay?"

"Yes because all that witchcraft shit at your house wasn't a dead giveaway," I remarked sarcastically, "Your crazy grandmother told me years ago that you all practiced witchcraft."

Mei's eyes widen, "Seriously? She fucking told you?" She almost shrieks. She seems so taken-back and surprised.

"Your grandma was bat-shit crazy," I reminded her, "But yeah, she told me."

"That crazy woman," Mei muttered, "No wonder why you didn't fall for the story."

"Was the story a lie too?" I questioned with a frown. What else has she lied about? Mei shuffled into the living room and I turned on some of the lights. My parents were out of town for the weekend and my older brother was out working a late shift.

"No, the story was true!" Mei blurted out, "My mother always sensed something otherworldly about you," She explains in a lower voice, "I sensed it too when we first met but after so long of being friends it dulled my senses. My mother took a gamble and said that you would be able to hold mokomoko even though I was skeptic, but she convinced me to give you mokomoko anyway."

"What typically happens when you try to touch mokomoko?" I asked stroking the incredibly soft fur.

"It shocks you," Mei mumbles, "It used to drain your soul but my ancestor managed to put a spell that forced the mokomoko to find another way to defend itself."

Mei reached over to attempt to touch mokomoko but the item began to cackle with blue electricity and very angrily. Mei leaned away immediately, "Honestly, I'm not sure the reasons my mother had giving you mokomoko." Mei revealed with sincerity.

Reassured that Mei wasn't hiding anything, we spoke on lighter topics that weren't important. When the sky began to lighten, Mei left to her house. I rubbed at my eyes tiredly as I began to make way to my room upstairs. I rubbed my eyes and yawned as I entered my room that smelled like lavender and vanilla. I stripped out of my clothes and opted to sleep in a community college tank top and some sleeping shorts. I eyed mokomoko as it lay on my bed and decided that I wanted to be fancy and sleep with it. I tended to sleep with a body pillow because it was easier for me to fall asleep with my leg draped over a pillow.

I got under my sheets and snuggled with mokomoko and for the first time tonight, I noticed the smell that came with the fur thing. It was an earthy smell like trees after a fresh spring rain and something almost magical. I found it bewildering that I didn't smell it earlier.

It was very…comforting.

It didn't take long for me to knock out and fall into a blissful sleep.

"Who is she?" A child-like voice asked.

"I don't know, Shippo, but she's near the bone eater well." Another voice had murmured sounding very confused.

"She reeks of demon blood." A deep, agitated male voice growled.

What the hell? I thought as I began to wiggle out of my slumber. "She has Sesshomaru's mokomoko, Inuyasha."

I opened my eyes and found several strangers standing around me. I stared and they stared; there two adult males, one teenager boy, and two adult females. The taller of the two males seemed…well, he had dog ears for crying out loud. His hair was flowing and white while his eyes were a light gold color. He had sharpened nails and was wearing a red…weird outfit.

That was enough to send me screaming.

"What the fuck!" I screeched as the group jumped back startled by my sudden roar. "Holy shit, you have fucking dog ears!"

"Well, yeah, I'm a dog demon." The dude stated grumpily.

"Holy shit," I whispered feeling very freaked out, "What the fuck is going on and where the hell am I?" I demanded hotly gripping mokomoko tightly. My eyes were drinking in everything around me and recognized nothing. The air felt so light and fresh that I was about to scream out from how frazzled I was. Everything around me was super green and beautiful.

The sky was different somehow.

Where was I?

"Kagome, do you think she came from your time era?" The other woman with black hair and dark brown eyes questioned.

The younger female with light brown hair and eyes looked at me with curiosity, "I don't know, maybe. The well has been sealed for a few years now."

The other adult male was dressed like a monk; with black hair and kind eyes. The teenage boy was similar to the supposed dog demon but had brown fox ears and even a small, bushy fox tail.

"Hey, where did you get this?" The white-haired demon demanded going to reach for mokomoko but the item snapped at the demon with angry electricity which made him jump back.

"It's protecting her." Kagome spoke looking surprised.

"Sesshomaru has been missing this for two years." The monk man confirmed with a thoughtful expression.

After internally freaking out, I decided to calm down. Nothing good would come if I freaked out which these strangers. "Where am I? Who are you people?" I asked catching their attention.

"We should be asking you that." The dog demon hissed.

The younger woman, Kagome, glared at the man, "Inuyasha! Can you please have some compassion? She must've been transported here but she couldn't have come through the bone-eater well." She said gazing at mokomoko.

"I'm Kagome," She introduced kindly, "This is my husband Inuyasha. This is Sango," She gestured to the other woman, "That's Miruko and Shippo." She introduces with a smile but I stared at them unsure what to say.

"You're in a different time era," She added in a bit unsure, "It explains your lack of clothing and your confusion."

I look at her as if she was crazy but then I looked down at mokomoko and it clicked. A growl rumbled from my throat as I hissed, "Mei!" That stupid bitch, what the hell did she do?! No, it couldn't have been Mei because she wouldn't have kept this from me…no it was her fucking mom.

"Holy shit," I muttered finally piecing the puzzle together, "Oh my god," I looked wide eyed at these people, "Um, yeah. My friend gave me this mokomoko for my birthday. She said that it belonged to a great demon but it was stolen from him by her ancestor." I explained still not letting go of the damned thing.

Was I going to be able to go home? That girl…"Kagome, are you from a different time era, too?" I asked her.

Kagome nodded, "Yeah, I fell down the well in my time era and ended up here. I was able to go back and forth between eras but eventually the well sealed itself up." She mumbled looking sad.

I winced, "So, you aren't able to return home?" I asked crest-fallen.

"I made a choice," Kagome says firmly, "Either go back home forever or to stay with the man I love." She looks at her husband with tender love.

"So, does that mean I'm stuck here?" I demanded hotly.

"Probably." Inuyasha states bluntly.

I glared at him and look at the sky with a sigh. Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.