By: indosilverphoenix
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha or The Lord of the Rings.
Author's Note: Italics represent spoken Japanese. Some actually might be Japanese, but I'm not fluent in the language.
Chapter One: The Journey and Unknown Destination
A young looking girl with white hair ran through what was left of the Western forest. Modern times had shortened the boundaries of the proud kingdom and had forced the lord of the land to change his grand palace into a large mansion in the middle of the Western Estate. His half-niece (as he always liked to remind everyone) was (much to his distaste) the heiress to his lands. And at the time, the five hundred year old girl was following an evil presence through the lands.
"Hana-chan, slow down. It's not like it's going to leave anytime soon, not with your miko barrier in place." A young looking male kitsune with long orange hair and sea blue eyes followed a few steps behind the girl, panting for breath as he dodged tree branches.
"Mistress Hana, Master Shippo is correct. Your miko barrier will most definitely keep the demon from leaving. There is no need to rush." The little voice coming from the old flea demon hanging onto a strand of her hair.
"Myoga, you know full well as I do that the only demons that are alive in this area are the ones that live within these boundaries and him. I can't just let him enter without repercussions. Beside, I believe that it is time for that pesky karma to come around and bite him in the ass." The girl drew her sword as a smile came to her purple striped face, her gold eyes shining with the hope for a fight.
They arrived at the clearing where, on the other side, stood a man in a black business suit, with inky, black hair and red eyes hidden behind dark glasses. Even though he was without his baboon pelt, Naraku was still intimidating, though she would never admit it aloud. "Hello, my little flower. My your looking quite…delicate, today. Are you sure you're up to fighting me?"
"First of all, I'm not yours and I never will be. Second, I'm not delicate." She said it with a smile and with that she charged forward with her sword.
"Now, now, little Hana. Don't you know that this a trap?" And in a flash he was gone and in his place was a swirling, black vortex. Hana had stopped when he had made no move to dodge or counter her, but her body was being pulled toward the vortex.
'He set me up. Kami, damn him, he set me up.' She turned to her brother and shouted, "Shippo, run or you'll get sucked in too!" But she saw that it was already too late for that. "Take my hand! If we go in, we're going in together!" They grabbed hold of each others hands just as the force took them off their feet and into the black hole, closing right behind them with a pop.
OIn the middle of a forest, a hole ripped open above a clearing. Before closing a few seconds later it let two figures drop out and land on the ground. They groaned as they got up onto their knees. "Daijouba, Shippo-chan?"
"Hai," He said as rubbed his head. "Where are we?"
"I don't know, ooaniki. But we definitely aren't in Japan." She snapped her head to the side, just before arrows were pointed straight at them. "Mou, this just isn't our day."
O
After being removed of their weapons and having their hands bound, Hana and Shippo were taken through the forest by the hooded figures. They could have fought back, but in truth they were too tired and just wanted to lie down for a while. The trip through the black rip had drained them of their energy, and with out weapons for that matter, they were completely at the mercy of their captors.
Eyes downcast, they let their captors lead them. When they stopped minutes later, the two youkai looked up and their jaws dropped. "Shippo, are we dead? Cause, I think we're in heaven."
"I don't know, maybe we just hit our heads really hard when we landed and now we're hallucinating," Shippo said, still slack-jawed.
"Silence, you two. Keep walking." The figure behind Hana poked her in the back with his arrow. She growled at him silently as they, once again, began to walk through what the two thought to be heaven. The buildings were white and glowed in the sunshine. The trees only added an ethereal look to it. The water in the streams were clean and the birds sang merrily in the branches above.
They were taken to a covered courtyard where a regally dressed man sat in a throne. The leader of Hana and Shippo's captors stepped forward and bowed to the man. He then began speaking to him in a strange tongue, that even Hana, in her 500 years of living, had never heard.
After their brief exchange of words, the man on the throne stood up and approached the bound youkai. It was then that Hana noticed the man's pointed ears. "A…are you…demon?"
"Silence. Do not speak to Lord Elrond in such a manner." One of the people behind her hit her sharply on the back of the neck. She didn't flinch. He held up his hand to still her attacker.
"I am not a demon, young one, but an elf."
"I am sorry for my assumption milord, but we do not have elves in our homeland, only humans, spirits, demons, and… things in between." She bowed her respect for the lord, her brother following suite. "I am Hana Higurashi of the Island of Japan, heiress to the Western Kingdom. And this is my older brother, Shippo Higurashi, of the Western Kitsune Clan."
Lord Elrond spoke in the strange tongue to one of the guards. They approached the two and cut their bonds. "I welcome you both to Rivendell, Master Shippo and Lady Hana. I will allow you to stay here for as long as you wish. And if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask me."
"Thank you my lord. It is generous of you to offer us a place to stay while we are in this strange land. I unfortunately cannot accept your offer without repaying you in return. My I offer my services as a gardener for the duration of our stay." A murmur of surprise spread through the courtyard.
"You would actually work for a place to stay?"
"Of course. It is the honorable thing to do."
O