Chapter 1 - Dramatis Persone
Kagome had always known how important human speech was when dealing with strangers. But she'd never considered how important human shape was. Now she has neither--in a world stranger than either side of the Bone Eater's well…
This is a Pokémon/Inuyasha crossover that takes place late in the Pokémon first season but before the Pokémon League championship, and follows the last episode (#167) of the Inuyasha television series.
Before anyone writes to comment on Kagome's eye color, yes, it's a complicated subject--even before this story begins…
Disclaimer: I do not own and did not create Pokémon, Inuyasha, or many of the characters and locations mentioned in this story. This is after all fan fiction, which by definition means I use characters and settings created by others to tell stories the original authors never envisioned. It's also done without their knowledge or consent but since no one makes any money on fan fiction most original authors turn a blind eye...
I hope this poor attempt does justice to the works of both Satoshi Tajiri and Rumiko Takahashi, the creators of Pokémon and Inuyasha respectively. If you like this story please make sure to check out their original works. Both are phenomenal authors who deserve high praise for their outstanding creations!
Finally, the story hook that inspired me came from CatgirlKitsune's incomplete story The Nine Tailed Miko. Although I tried, unfortunately I was not able to get in touch with her for permission to continue her story. So I took the story hook and created a brand new story around it.
I hope she approves of the result. :)
Author's Note: Although Inuyasha and Pokémon are extremely popular around the world, you may not be familiar with either show, especially if you live in the United States. Even in Europe or Asia children may not have seen Inuyasha (intended for more mature audiences) while adults may have dismissed Pokémon as "just for kids".
Both shows have worlds with intricate and rich histories developed over many years. For example, Inuyasha has 167 animated episodes and 4 movies which cover only one half of the storyline. Pokémon has over 400 episodes and 11 movies--and currently adds new episodes weekly!
Don't worry if you haven't seen Pokémon before. It isn't much of a spoiler to reveal Kagome ends up in that world, and needs lots of things explained to her...
Unfortunately there's no such convenient plot device if you aren't familiar with Inuyasha. Instead I provide a dramatis personae, a small summary of who the characters are and their relationships to one another. There's also a small glossary of important Japanese words and customs, plus a short list of important items featured in the show.
I hope you find it useful. If you're familiar with Inuyasha, feel free to jump straight to chapter 2 which is where the story really begins.
Remember, I did not create either show--I'm just a fan-fiction author. :)
The World Of Inuyasha
Plot Overview: A 15 year-old girl is kidnapped by a demon that emerges from the old well at her family's Shinto shrine. The well is a magical gateway that sends them both back in time 500 years, to the Sengoku period (Japan's feudal era). While in the past, she and the other main characters hunt for shards of a dangerous and powerful artifact called the Shikon Jewel.
Main Characters
Kagome Higurashi – The main heroine, an otherwise typical 15 year-old Japanese girl who is the reincarnation of the priestess Kikiyo, the original guardian of the Shikon Jewel. She and Inuyasha have a--complicated--relationship.
Inuyasha – A half-demon, whose father was a Dog demon (of noble blood) and whose mother was human noblewoman. He was romantically involved with Kikiyo 50 years before Kagome's appearance in the past. He still has feelings for Kikiyo, which is part of the complexity in his relationship with Kagome--who strongly resembles Kikiyo.
Miroku – A Buddhist monk whose family has been cursed by Naraku so that the eldest living male would have a magical hole in the palm of their right hand. The hole (called the Wind Tunnel) acts like a black hole, sucking in everything in front of it. Eventually it will grow so powerful it will suck in Miroku himself, killing him. Miroku is Sango's fiancé--and a notorious pervert.
Sango – Miroku's fiancé and a demon-slayer, from a village of demon slayers. (Think a whole village of Buffy-esque ninjas, male and female). The Shikon Jewel was originally created in her village. Naraku destroyed the village in his relentless pursuit of the Jewel, leaving Sango and her brother the only survivors.
Kirara – Sango's companion, mount, and active partner in demon slaying. She normally appears to be a long-haired white kitten with two tails and large pinkish-red eyes although she can transform into a huge saber-toothed version of her kitten form. She is devoted to Sango, and very fond of Shippo. She has human level intelligence although she cannot speak.
Shippo – A young fox demon who appears to be a 7 year old human from the waist up and a fox from the waist down, complete with tail. He dotes on Kirara, considering her his best friend.
Important Items
Shikon Jewel – A lavender pearl the size of a golf ball. Unfortunately, an accident caused the Jewel to explode and scatter shards of itself across the countryside. While the intact Jewel can amplify the powers of any demon a thousand-fold even a tiny shard can boost a demon's power (and aggression) ten-fold. Did I mention there are hundreds of shards?
Bone-Eater's Well – The name of the well Kagome uses to travel back and forth through time.
Hiraikotsu – Sango's giant boomerang, her preferred weapon. It's about two meters from tip to tip and wide enough to be used as a shield. It is made of demon bones fused together and has a limited awareness.
Tetsusaiga – Inuyasha's (magical) sword, left to him by his father.
Minor Characters
Kikiyo – A priestess pivotal to the events that occur in Inuyasha. She actually died 50 years prior to Kagome's emergence into the past. It was during this time Kikiyo and Inuyasha met--and fell in love. Due to a deception by Naraku Kikiyo was killed, and died believing Inuyasha had betrayed her.
Shortly after Kagome arrived in the Feudal Era an evil witch resurrected Kikiyo as a kind of undead golem/zombie servant. Kikiyo promptly killed the witch to gain her freedom and now wanders the Feudal Era, looking for a way to kill Naraku permanently. The fact she's now "alive" doesn't make the relationship between Inuyasha and Kagome any simpler.
Naraku – A spider half-demon, incredibly evil and manipulative, a genius at working from the shadows to further his nefarious schemes. Naraku is the Big Bad of the Inuyasha universe. If something horrible happens you'll probably find Naraku pulling the strings. He delights in setting close allies at each other's throats.
Kagura – A female incarnation of Naraku, literally born when Naraku shed part of his body. She does not serve him willingly.
Hakudoshi – A male incarnation of Naraku, who appears as a white haired demon child, about sx years-old. A willing ally of Naraku, he enjoys killing people, the more gruesomely the better.
Kohaku – Sango's brother, and Naraku's mind-wiped puppet. He has tried to kill Sango several times since falling prey to Naraku.
Koga – The chieftain of the Wolf Demons, he bears two shards of the Shikon Jewel in his legs, making him so fast he can outrun any demon in Inuyasha's universe.
Myoga – A humanoid flea approximately 2.5 centimeters tall. He was the loyal retainer of Inuyasha's father and now Inuyasha. Myoga is incredibly well informed about both human and demon affairs and in spite of his intense cowardice has proven extremely valuable to Inuyasha.
Sesshomaru – Inuyasha's (half) brother (they share the same father). He is known for his dislike of humans.
Jaken – Sesshomaru's loyal retainer, noted for being extremely ugly. He is green, with a beak and huge yellow eyes. Kagome calls Jaken a toad, although he is probably some type of lizard demon. Nobody on the Internet seems to know exactly what he is.
Totosai – A demon blacksmith who appears to be an old man. He forged Tetsusaiga and was a loyal retainer to Inuyasha's father. Kagome has a soft spot for Totosai even though Inuyasha finds him extremely annoying.
Hosenki – Guardian of the "last" shard. After he died the demon Hosenki took the last shard with him to his final resting place, the gigantic bones of Inuyasha's father. There he hoped to protect the shard from Naraku.
Original Characters
The following characters are entirely my creation and not part of cannon.
Akane – The wife of the inn keeper. She appears to be a typical young Japanese woman.
Kei – The inn keeper, a middle-aged man
Tomoko – The twelve year-old daughter of Kei and Akane.
Kenta – A villager.
Sumi – Kenta's dog, a large black Akita.
Some Handy Translations Of Japanese Terms and Customs
-chan, -san, -sama, and -hakubo. Japanese as a language is primarily focused on recognition of status between the speaker and the listener. To this end the language uses honorific suffixes. Three of the most important are chan, san, and sama. Chan is a diminutive, often used when referring to children or pets. Short (1-2 syllable) names simply add -chan, longer names are typically shortened before -chan is added. So Tomoko (a young girl) would be Tomo-chan. Shippo would be Shippo-chan.
San is the all purpose honorific. It is roughly the equivalent of Mr., Miss, or Mrs. In my story I only use san when I want to show the speaker is being extra polite or formal. In real Japanese the only time you omit the san from a person's name is A) to insult them or B) to show an extremely close relationship, such as being a family member or very close friend.
Sama is a sign of great respect, somewhat like sir or madam. It indicates your recognition that the person you are addressing has a higher status than you do. Your boss's boss would be one example. In my story I use sama to indicate the speaker feels they are holding the person being referred to in great respect, or are honoring them. Whenever you hear honored (honored guest for example) you can bet there's a sama or its equivalent in the Japanese word.
Hakubo means aunt. So Akane-hakubo literally means "Aunt Akane". Interestingly there are suffixes for all close family relationships, from brothers and sisters to cousins. Family is very important in Japan.
Nakama – This word pretty much means "family who aren't blood relations". In other words, someone who's just as close as your family members, but isn't related to you. In Japan nakama is a very, very big deal, and people will do almost anything for a member of their nakama.
No – The closest translation would be "of". Therefore the expression kyuubi no kitsune means nine tails of (the) fox. Or "fox with nine tails". Kyuubi no Kagome means "Kagome's nine tails".
Hanyo - Half-demon, literally, half-youkai.
Kami – Literally means "spirit", but (as I use it in the story) it can also be the spirit that protects a place--a town, a house, or even a forest.
Kitsune – A fox demon. Kitsune also means "fox", as in the animal. In ancient Japan any fox who lived long enough became a fox spirit, and the longer they lived the more powerful they became.
Kyuubi – Literally nine tails. Kyuu is the Japanese word for nine, and bi means tail.
Metric System Measurement Conversions
Readers in the United States may not be fluent with metric measurements, so here are some (approximate) conversions of some of the more common measurements I use in the story.
2.5 centimeters – one inch
5 centimeters – two inches
15 centimeters – about 6 inches
A third of a meter – about 1 foot
Two thirds of a meter - about 2 feet
A meter – About three feet. (1 yard)
A meter and a half – About 5 feet (very roughly)
10 meters – About 30 feet (roughly 33 feet)
20 meters – About 60 feet (roughly 66 feet)
200 meters – About 200 yards (656 feet, actually)
10 kilo(gram)s – 22 pounds
20 kilograms – 44 pounds
110 centimeters – 1.1 meters, about 3.5 feet