Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.
They ran. They ran hard, fast and for as long as possible. In this world with a purple and red sky that neither was used to, it was the only thing they could do.
Making a sharp left, they dove into the bush at the edge of a forest.
"We have to go into the forest! It's the only way to lose them!"
The large one looked down at the much smaller one, nodding his head and scooping the smaller one into his arms. He began sprinting in the general direction of plant life, and seconds later the bush they'd been hiding in exploded.
He tripped and the tiny body went flying from his arms, but immediately it came bounding back.
"Get up! Get up!" The little one urged him and seeing the intense fear on the little guy's face, he picked both himself and the child back up before running again. Ignoring the hisses and growls following him, he made twists and turns in any and every direction, before losing their predators, and eventually coming across a cave.
He stopped a few feet away from it, something deep in his mind screaming at him not to go in there, like always, he listened to that little voice.
"We can hide in there, can't we?" the little boy asked, confused as to why they were leaving a potential safe haven.
"No," he began, "Something dangerous is in there."
He started running again.
He listened to the directions the little voice gave him; a small, miniscule tug in different directions. Eventually, they happened upon another cavern, one he did not hesitate to enter.
The first thing he noticed was one side of the cave was leaking; a black liquid streaming down from the ceiling. A strange plant was growing a few inches above the ground, and catching the liquid. What dripped down from the plant looked like, dare he hope, water.
He gently placed the child down on the floor, before the severity of his wound caught up to him and he collapsed.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine, I've had a lot worse before."
"Oh." The kid didn't look very convinced. His bottom lip trembled and the larger man's heart went out to him.
"So, kid, where do you live?"
"I don't live around here." There was something off about the boy's reaction.
"Okay, but where do you live? I need to know so I can get you back there."
"Umm…" he held back a sigh of frustration.
"Come on, kid. I don't bite or nothing. You're just a kid, and it is my duty as a man, to make sure you get home to your parents, safe and sound."
The little boy seemed to be thinking. His eyes suddenly lit up as he remembered something.
"The Higurashi Shrine! That's where my friends and I are staying!"
"A shrine, in the Makai? That's a little weird, well, where is it exactly?"
"What's the Makai?"
The kid looked up at him with such a sincere look, he felt a pit of dread in his stomach.
"You're a demon, how can you not know what the Makai is?"
"Mama, never mentioned it before."
"I repeat," he said astounded, "What kind of demon doesn't know about Makai?"
"Mama is human." That made more sense.
"What's your name, kid?"
"I'm Shippo. And you?" His tails twitched slightly.
"I'm Kuwabara Kazuma."
"Ah." There was no recognition in Shippo's eyes, and that lead Kuwabara to the belief that something very wrong was going on. "We should patch you up."
He looked down and noticed the gaping hole in his side, and the pain that had been temporarily forgotten again returned.
It had taken a little while but the jacket he had worn, had been torn to shreds and turned into makeshift bandages. They had also migrated deeper into the cave, and confirmed that it was water, that was leaking from the plant.
"So, Shippo, how did you end up here?"
Silence. He sighed softly to himself.
"What type of demon are you?"
"I'm a fox demon!" he chirped.
There was a lot of pride in those four words Kuwabara noted.
"Oh really? What kind?"
"I'm a fox demon." There was no small amount of confusion in his response. The kid was staring at him like he was crazy.
Kuwabara studied him carefully. He distinctly remembered Kurama telling him that about three hundred years ago, fox demons became endangered. In response to that, they were broken up into three different categories, in order to determine which abilities and type was dieing out.
"I know that, but are you a Forest Fox, a Spirit Fox, or a Celestial Fox?"
"Umm… What's the difference?"
Now, Kuwabara could confirm something was wrong here. The part that wasn't adding up, was the fact that he knew, deep down he just knew, the little kit wasn't lying.
"There a very few fox demons alive, Celestial Foxes are the most common, they have no special abilities besides a small ability for transformations and illusions. Spirit Foxes are fox demons with a natural and amazing ability to control plants. Lastly, Forest Foxes have all but died out, they have an unheard of ability to transform, create illusions, and some have been able to exert a little control over the elements."
And Kurama had said he wasn't paying attention to that discussion.
"Hmm… In that case I'm probably, a Forest Fox." He watched the little kid analyze his decision very carefully, before he eventually came to a conclusion.
From there he carefully brought Shippo into a meaningless conversation, doing his best to lure the kid into a sense of security so he could finally get some answers. He felt a little bad tricking the kid into this, but it couldn't be avoided. Shippo couldn't be helped if he had no real information on the problem.
"So, Shippo, how did you end up here?"
He asked the question again about an hour later, after the two had gotten to know each other a little better.
The little boy bit his lip, nervously chewing on the flesh.
"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone."
Kuwabara straightened immediately. He looked Shippo right in the eye.
"I, Kuwabara Kazuma, swear on my honour as a man, not to repeat anything that you tell me, unless absoulutely necessary. I give you my word, and as a man, I never break my promises."
Shippo looked a little stunned, his eyes wide with amazement. "Never?"
"Never."
"Not even if someone kind of annoyed you, and you wanted to hit them, but you promised not to."
Kuwabara gave Shippo a weird look but answered truthfully. "Not even then."
"Wow! You're even cooler than Inuyasha!"
Kuwabara felt himself swell with pride. It was hard to get praise when your closest friends were: the unbeatable and tough Urameshi Yuusuke, the wise and graceful Kurama, or the fast and furious Jaganshi Hiei.
Half the demons he had defeated didn't even respect him, simply because he was human. Take Rinku for example; if he had got back into the ring the second he had risen from the ground, he would have won that fight, and everyone knew that. Sadly, that didn't make Rinku respect him, hell, Hiei didn't even respect him, and they had been fri— teammates for years.
"Shippo, you never answered my question." he chuckled.
"Okay," Shippo took a deep breath his tails twitching nervously, "Here's what happened…" (1)
"Naraku!" Inuyasha leapt after the fleeing demon.
The sun shone brightly in the sky, wiping away the remains of a moonless night.
It was obvious to everyone, even to Inuyasha that his weakness had leaked out. For Naraku to have attacked on a moonless night, despite the fact that they were in a village meant something, especially when they were all targeting Kaede's hut.
Naraku had long ago learned that when protecting the innocent, their power tended to grow, and new abilities were unleashed. After that realization, he tended to corner them, and separate them instead, because he had come to another realization: united they stand, divided they fall."
It was an irritating realization, as with every plan he created the more he saw how pointless it was to try to divide them. They were so intertwined by fate that they kept coming back to each other.
The Hiraikotsu swept by him, and he easily dodged it. He tossed the hive of poisonous insects behind him, before Miroku had the chance to use his wind tunnel. Flying off to one side he landed near Kohaku and the next part of his plan.
"Dance of the Dragon." Kagura's voice flowed over the area, as large tornadoes flew through the small opening. He tapped into the Shikon's power feeling more irritation as it was noticeably less than the last time he had done this.
Still, hundreds of demons from all over the area swarmed the clearing as Naraku used the Shikon no Tama to influence them. His right hand ran over the jewel hidden in the sleeves of his cloak. A quarter of it was missing, at one time all that had been missing was the shard in Kohaku's back, but that cursed wench had shattered it again!
Once he felt Sango and the others arrive he started his show. The demons parted and he smirked at his most annoying adversaries.
"Watch now, as I demonstrate how weak you really are."
There would be no breaking of his barrier this time. With Kohaku in front of him, they wouldn't dare attack.
"Naraku, you coward, stop hiding behind Kohaku and fight me!"
Naraku chuckled lightly as Inuyasha began yelling at him.
Slowly, ever so slowly, his flesh began to expand, and engulf Kohaku. Immediately the boy began to struggle.
"Oh, and Kohaku," he made sure to speak loud enough for Sango to hear, "This is also the punishment for traitors."
"Sister!" Kohaku's frightened cry left his mouth, as he reached for Sango, before he was gone, completely absorbed into Naraku's flesh.
"Foolish boy, he actually thought I wouldn't notice he had broken away from my control." he chuckled to the others.
He watched in amusement at the rage, distress, and shock that clouded over Sango's face.
"ADAMANT BARRAGE!"
His barrier came crashing down and he laughed. "I repeat: this is a punishment for traitors."
Kagura let out a scream as a pain seared through her body from where her heart should have been. Seconds later she crashed onto the ground and was absorbed.
"Wind Scar!"
The next attack came out of nowhere, and Naraku grunted at the pain it caused. The Hiraikotsu shouldn't cause him that much pain.
It was the look of intense anger that informed Naraku that he'd done his job, and the group would be both depressed and vulnerable. It was then he would strike.
He turned to flee, mentally wondering where the fox kit and the damnable wench, who had managed to shatter the jewel twice, had run off to.
He jumped over the Bone Eaters Well, and that's when everyone's worse nightmare happened. A blue arrow flew from over head pinned Naraku sending him into the depths of the well. But another light, one they all recognized had appeared, and when they glanced into the well, Naraku wasn't there. (2)
Miroku's mind worked fast, coming up with theory after theory as to how this was possible, and mere seconds later he had his answer.
Inuyasha had jumped down the well, and was already fighting Naraku, but that didn't help them in the least.
"How?" Kagome's horrified voice floated through the clearing as Shippo landed, and once she was safely on the ground ended his transformation.
"Is it because Naraku had a jewel shard?" Sango wondered.
"No, just having a jewel shard isn't enough, but if my theory is correct, it might be part of the reason. Kagome give us a jewel shard."
Kagome rushed to do so, her hands trembling at the thought of Naraku in her time. They arrived at a bit of a problem, when she went to hand a shard to Kirara, but it was quickly solved when the feline opened her mouth.
"Let's go," Miroku mumbled to the others before turning to Kagome. "Stay here."
Kagome listened to Miroku carefully, because at the moment his calm firm voice was the only thing keeping her grounded.
Sango scooped up Shippo, and jumped into the well, followed by Miroku and Kirara. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. "Now, Kagome, fire a sacred arrow at us."
"What?" Everyone turned to stare at Miroku.
"I'll explain it later, but right now we don't have time for—"
Miroku was cut off by Kagome's arrow shooting towards them, as it neared them they felt the ground beneath their feet disappear. After what felt like hours of floating around in the blue abyss, solid land formed under their feet, and the sound of fighting reached their ears.
They scampered out of the well, relying on the strange contraption hanging from the top. They rushed outside, and Sango threw her Hiraikotsu, which had barely fit into the well, at Naraku. Kirara transformed at the sight of Inuyasha being tossed aside by Naraku, and caught him with ease.
The fight was slowly crawling towards the forest that lay behind the shrine when it happened.
"Wind Scar!"
"Inuyasha, you're here!" Sango froze up at the sound.
A little boy, only a year or two younger than Kohaku, was approaching. She already knew who it was; Kagome talked fondly of her brother.
"Souta, get back!" she screamed.
Miroku immediately ran towards the boy, Shippo slightly ahead of him. Naraku lunged at the boy as well, but a sacred arrow forced him to dodge out of the way.
"Don't even think about it Naraku!"
Seething slightly, at having that wench foil another plan, he smirked to himself as he thought of the perfect way to grab that boy.
"Kagome, why didn't you tell me you had a little brother?" he purred.
Once again he tapped into the Shikon's power, as Miroku stood in front of Souta and Shippo accidentally tackled the boy to the ground.
Demons of all sorts flew out of the gaping hole in his chest, none of them smart or strong enough to defy him. They flew in a large swarm towards Miroku and the two children behind him.
Miroku tightened his grip on the prayer beads, before closing his eyes so as not to see the poisonous insects.
"Wind Tunnel!" The quickly approaching demons were sucked straight into the void, but still more swarmed around him going after the two boys.
Out of nowhere, he received a blow to the head that rendered him unconscious, and left Shippo and Souta defenseless. (3)
Throughout Shippo's whole lifetime, there had never been a time when being stronger was the only thing on his mind. He would know, he was currently watching his life flash before him, and wishing that he was stronger. Strong enough to at the very least be able to protect Souta.
It was frustrating. He was a demon too! He wanted to help keep everyone safe, even if he was just a kid. Even the enemies Inuyasha hacked away with one swing of his sword were stronger, than he was! Why couldn't he do this!
Angry tears poured down Shippo's, as the uselessness, fear, anger, and protective instinct kicked in. It was those feelings and that exact situation that was needed to do something his father would have been proud of him for. It was something that had taken him many more years than Shippo had experienced to achieve.
A strange feeling shot through his tail, which he ignored. It wasn't exactly painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. His mind focused on how to swap places with Souta.
It was true that he could transform into the boy, but that wouldn't do, Naraku would simply grab them both instead. He needed to become Souta, and Souta needed to become him. If only…
"Why aren't I strong enough? !" his voice rang through the clearing as he suddenly felt tired, and a puff of smoke filled the small area. At this point he passed out.
The others watched as one of the demons grabbed Souta and took to the air, Naraku smiling cruelly at them.
"I'll be seeing you later."
Inuyasha and the prepared to take off after him, when Shippo was suddenly whipped at his face. That moment was all it took for Naraku to get away, leaving several of his Advance Guard behind. (4)
"After that I woke up and bit the demon carrying me, and it dropped me when you came and saved me. But Kuwabara, how did you break free of Naraku's control so quickly, and what did you do to the jewel shard in your back?"
Silence. Shippo peered up at Kuwabara with wide eyes.
"So you jumped through a well, and ended up here?"
Shippo paled as he realized what he had accidentally revealed. (5)
"Umm…"
Shaking his head, Kuwabara decided not to think too much about it. After all of these years, he had become able to identify when he had come across something that was just 'one of those things'. Besides, his sixth sense had already determined the kit wasn't lying and nobody sane would make up a story that weird. Not even Urameshi.
"Never mind, Shippo. What is it you want to know?"
"First of all, where you coming from?"
"My friend's house."
"What was that cool weapon you used to kill the demons?"
"My Spirit Sword?" He summoned it, and felt more pride well up inside of him at the sight of the kits excited face. He called it back in soon after so he wouldn't alert every demon in the area of his presence.
"What's it made from?"
"My spirit energy." Shippo's eyes formed a large 'O' and Kuwabara chuckled lightly at the kid.
"What exactly happened when you saved me? I couldn't keep up…" Kuwabara noticed the shame the kid felt at that revelation, and knew he had to do something to make the kid smile. He knew what it felt like to not be able to keep up.
"Well, I can't tell you everything, there was way to much stuff for me to follow, but I'll tell you what I remember."
He smiled softly as Shippo lit up, the shame melting away as he realized he hadn't been the only one to fall behind in the events.
Kuwabara quickened his pace as he headed home. It had been a typical night out with some university friends, which had included Keiko. Naturally after the fun had ended, he made sure to walk the girl home, because she had this ridiculous habit of getting into trouble.
In her defense, it was probably because of all the bad karma Yuusuke had built up. It obviously wasn't affecting him, so it had to be transferred to someone else they knew.
It wasn't long into his walk before he could sense demons, and a lot of them. He did the most instinctual thing that he possibly could. He rushed in their direction with no plan, and no backup should he need it. (6)
It was when he reached the park that he saw a single demon sucking up several others, none of which were resisting, and a small twin tailed demon running to get away from the madness.
"You little brat!" the demon with long black hair had finished sucking up the others and was going after the fox demon.
The demon squeaked a small "Help!" and that was all it took for Kuwabara to rush into battle.
"Get away from him!" The two turned to regard him, before the red-eyed monster snarled at him.
"I've had enough of you humans for the day."
A tentacle shot out of the demon and Kuwabara barely had time to dodge it. Without even thinking about it he summoned his spirit sword. Leaping at the demon he swung his sword over and over again, the demon managing to avoid each blow.
A single punch to his stomach was all it took to send Kuwabara flying across the ground, coughing up blood. One whiff of the blood was all it took for Naraku to realize something.
He took another breath, before growling in anger, there was no denying it. He walked over and yanked Kuwabara's right hand. Meanwhile, Shippo planned how he was going to save the human. He reached into one of his hidden pockets, and pulled out his top since it was his favourite attack.
He readied himself when suddenly, Naraku was pushed onto his back, he watched in amazement as the human immediately pulled his sword out of nowhere again, and sliced part of Naraku's baboon cloak, his other hand reaching in and pulling something out.
"What the hell is this thing?"
Naraku growled low in his throat, ready to kill the human, when a thought struck him. He reached out with one hand, and easily dislocated the elbow of the arm, the jewel resided in. It flew into the air and he caught the Shikon with ease, placing it back into the remainders of his cloak.
"Tell me boy, how is it you knew where the Shikon no Tama was?"
"The Shikon no whata?"
Naraku resisted the urge to slaughter the boy where he stood.
"The jewel. How did you know exactly where it was?"
"It's glowing like fuck, how the hell is it hidden?"
His eyebrow rose slightly at the expression, but a small smirk grew on his face.
"Tell me boy, how would you like the chance at unlimited power?"
He silently chuckled to himself. Humans were the most greedy and arrogant creatures on the planet. They'd do anything to get power. Just look at Onigumo he was "living" proof of that fact.
"Don't do it! You can't listen to him, he's evil!" Shippo could see where this was going. He prepared his top when a tentacle, smacked him to the side and he hit his head hard.
"Shut up." Naraku spoke calmly to Shippo, as if he hadn't tossed him across the clearing and into a tree. (7)
"You're crazy if you think I'd accept power from a… a… a… megalomaniac like you!"
Kuwabara was a little disappointed that his mouth had started talking before he could come up with a proper insult but knew a late insult was always better than no insult.
"Megalomaniac?" Naraku repeated, the strange word rolling off his tongue nicely.
"Yeah, a megalomaniac." Kuwabara stared at the demon like he was nuts. "You know, a person whose power hungry."
"Ah, that is a rather accurate description. However, if you don't come willingly, I'll just have to take you by force."
Kuwabara opened his mouth for a comeback when suddenly he had a tentacle through his side, and then a blow to the back of his head rendered him unconscious.
Shippo did the only thing he could do. He did what he knew would make Kagome proud. He leapt at Kuwabara and clung to him, wiggling into the man's clothes so that he could stay with the human and try to think of a way to get him out of harms way.
Little did he know, he had subconsciously sent out an illusion of himself without the use of a leaf, one that had fled the scene and had caused Naraku to almost over look his presence. Almost. After all, Naraku had not become a powerful demon without his brain, and ability to thoroughly check his surroundings. (8)
And by doing just that, he managed to find a small hole in the barrier that had always been separating the world. If he was right, then the rule about humans and demons not being allowed to mingle was currently being enforced. (9)
...
When Kuwabara awoke it was to a dark room, and to feeling a lot stronger then he had before. Rising he heard a slight whimper and turned to look at some kid, the poor thing looked frightened.
And for good reason. A demon was about to devour him.
Kuwabara leapt to the kid's defense and slammed his fist into the approaching demon. He didn't stop whaling on the green demon until it had stopped moving. It was only then he realized that maybe, he should have gotten answers from the demon and then beat it to death.
Oh well.
"Hey kid, are you alright?"
The demon nodded at him wide eyes staring up at Kuwabara. After a few minutes of silence, Kuwabara was able to remember the past events leading up to this moment. Finally recognizing the kid as demon he had been trying to save earlier, Kuwabara scooped him up, and walked over to where he could see a door.
Promptly, and effortlessly, he ripped it off its hinges, and entered the room.
Naraku watched Kuwabara intently as the human entered the room.
"Honestly," he smirked when the human jumped, "I thought it would take longer for you to get out of that room."
The demon's voice was coming from all around the room, and to make matters worse he couldn't see. That was something that worried Kuwabara, because he could always see his surrounding.
He closed his eyes and focused; he blocked out the little demon trembling on his shoulder, and focused.
Nothing.
Wait. Not nothing, there was something, it was pure evil. It didn't feel alive, but it didn't feel dead either. He pulled out his spirit sword and launched himself in that direction, his eyes landing on a bright pink glow from in front of him.
He was suddenly thrown back into a wall. He shifted just enough so the tiny demon wouldn't be crushed between his shoulder and the wall. The result though was to much pressure on his other shoulder, and a 'POP!' as it was dislocated.
"So I was right. You can sense the Shikon no Tama!" (10)
Kuwabara didn't reply. He had no idea what the hell this loon was talking about and he didn't really care. All he had to do was kick his ass.
Standing up, Kuwabara snapped his shoulder back into place. He growled at the demon.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"My name? My name is Naraku." the voice purred to him. "And you, Kuwabara, are my slave."
"I am no—how do you know my name?"
"Don't worry about that. You'll be of great use to me."
There was a sudden pain in his back, and he suddenly lost his ability to control his body.
"Now, Kuwabara, kill the brat."
"What? Are you stupid?" He meant to say that out loud, but he couldn't seem to move his mouth. When his mouth did open though, it did not say what it was supposed to.
"Yes, Master Naraku."
"I wouldn't fight it; you'll just wear yourself out." His body had turned to face the little kid. "The Shikon shard I implanted within your body won't allow you to disobey."
The what in his where now?
"He actually thinks I'll attack the kid I was trying to protect. This guy is off his rocker."
Next thing he knew, his spirit sword was out and before he could register what was going on, he had lunged at the kid. (11)
He was swinging rapidly, but thankfully the little red head was dodging his every move. His spirit sword swung straight now, and pierced the ground between the kid's twin tails. He was horrified at the thought that he had almost hacked one of the things off, and he struggled harder for control over his body.
Again and again he swung at the kid; he was getting closer and closer to him. This wasn't fair; he didn't want to hurt the little kid. Why couldn't it have been Kurama or Yuusuke in this situation? Hell, even Hiei would have been better than him. They never would have been controlled this easily, at least then the kid would have had a chance. More importantly, he was letting someone take control of him, and cause him to commit evil deeds. That went against a big chunk of his code!
Damnit, no! His hand stopped for a moment and the kid barely escaped the blow. He could hear Naraku chuckling in the distance. He fought and fought against his body, and realized that this was probably how Dr. Ichigaki's team had felt. He kept struggling even when he mentally felt exhausted.
And when his mind and spirit collapsed from the sheer amount of energy he had used, he struggled some more. (12)
"Damnit! Why can't I stop him? Why can't I stop myself? Why aren't I strong enough? !"
It was that mental outburst that caused Kuwabara to tap into an ability he and only two others possessed. It didn't matter that his power was limited and would never be strong enough to do this again. If Shizuru knew the implications of what he could do, it would have filled her with pride.
A light emitted inside of him, and the next thing Kuwabara knew, he had grabbed the small demon and started running. He broke down a wall, and hordes of demons were after him, chasing him as he ran for safety. His only goal being: Get the child home to his parents.
Naraku watched them go. The demons he had managed to gather up, were significantly weaker than the ones he was used to, he would have to figure where he was before he could plot.
As for the boy, he was useful. It wasn't unheard of for humans to be able to see jewels shards… once they got close enough. Sango was a prime example of that. However being able to sense the shards of the Shikon Jewel made him a valuable asset. He would have to look into the human's life and find out who needed to be killed, maimed, and threatened to get the human to play nicely.
Unfortunately, it would have to wait until he could figure out how to taint the boy's soul. As long as Kuwabara's soul remained as pure as it was, he would be able to purify the Shikon. And even though Kuwabara would never be able to purify a shard that thoroughly again, he was useless if just by touching a shard he could purify it slightly.
Miroku and Sango had some damn annoying descendants.
"And that's everything." Kuwabara wrapped up.
Shippo made a humming noise, before leaning over to examine Kuwabara's back. He examined the area that he had seen Naraku place the Shikon shard. He couldn't really tell much about it without looking at it, but when he moved to remove the shard, Kuwabara tensed.
"Don't." Shippo jerked around to stare at him. "I know it's crazy, but I had a dream and in it, someone told me that not to remove that thing from my back. That she would take care of it with my help. She held up her end of the bargain, so now I got to keep mine."
"Okay." Shippo looked at Kuwabara nervously.
"What is it?"
"Can I… Can I sleep with you? I always curl up with someone but…" When Shippo's big green eyes turned to him, Kuwabara didn't have the heart to say "no" to the kit.
Instead, he merely opened his arms and let the kit hop into them. He did his best to keep Shippo warm and slowly they fell into a light sleep.
Because of these events Shippo never found out it was because of Menomaru that Miroku realized that the Sacred Arrow had the ability to travel through time.
When the roots of the Sacred Tree had filled the well, Kagome firing a single arrow from her time, managed to destroy the roots on both side. Miroku's theory that possessing a shard of the Shikon no Tama and allowing the Sacred Arrow to transcend through time would grant passage to anyone, was correct.
Kuwabara never found out that Yuusuke had dragged both Hiei and Kurama out for a night of partying. Completely unaware of the danger he left everyone in simply by wanting a night of fun, before Keiko yelled at him for not going to work again.
If he had known he was leaving his loved ones in danger, he would never have done it. It was only because Shizuru came looking for Kuwabara that anyone realized something was up, especially when Keiko said he had headed home hours ago.
Koenma on the other hand, found two relatively stationary strong demon energies, and one huge mass of demonic energies all moving together.
Naturally he ignored the stationary ones because he recognized one of them. It tended to get rid of some of the messes in Tokyo before he could send Yuusuke on the case, that is while Yuusuke had been a Spirit Detective. For the most part it would probably disappear in a day or two, nothing to worry about. The other one seemed like a job for the Spirit Detectives, of which he had none, as it had just cut through the Kekai somehow.
Kuwabara and Shippo realized a new adventure was beginning for them. Yuusuke and the others realized something big was on the horizon. Inuyasha and the others panicked over what was happening to Shippo. Koenma resisted the urge to bang his head on the desk at the recognition of the next great evil. As for Naraku, he just gathered as much information on Kuwabara and this new world as possible, perfectly content to bide his time.
TBC
I tried soooo hard not to write this. This just popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. Part of the reason for this is all of the Kuwabara hate in the world. I really don't understand it. Anyways, if anyone for some crazy reason likes this leave me a review, if I think the general population likes it I'll update. This is the prologue, and no other chapter will be this long… I hope. Also, all the numbers are places where I considered ending the prologue. Can you believe I actually managed to write this in one sitting? Man, I have no life.