A New Ally

"Wind Scar!"

InuYasha threw his sword down to the ground, unleashing his attack against Naraku. It hit head on, but seemed to have little effect. Kagome knocked her bow, and sent one of her Sacred Arrows into him, blowing a hole through his torso. It sealed up in mere moments, though, as all of their attacks had been so far.

Sango threw her blade with all her strength, shouting her battle cry of "Hiraikotsu!" as she did. Miroku threw his Sacred Sutras at Naraku, but it all seemed for naught. Even without his barrier, Naraku seemed to be unbeatable! His regenerative powers have increased exponentially since their last battle, to the point where he heals almost as soon as a wound is inflicted.

"InuYasha! We don't have enough power! We need to think of something else!"

Kagome cried at her knight-in-furry-red-armor. "We should fall back for now!"

"No way! We're not letting him get away this time! We'll just keep pummeling him until there's nothing left to regenerate!"

Suddenly, there was a slight rustling in the bushes near where Kagome was standing. Out of them emerged a young woman with long red hair, dressed in very strange clothes, considering the time period. She was wearing a yellow shirt, a very dark violet cape and black form-fitting pants. She raised one hand and cautiously asked "Excuse me, but could you tell me where I am?"

Kagome looked at the newcomer, and a look of surprise and disbelief slowly spread over her face. No way, it's impossible…, "Umm, we're kinda in the middle of something right now, but I'll be able to help you once we finish. If you could just get out of the way for right now…" It can't be, but I think it is…

"Oh ok, I guess," the newcomer said, looking around confusedly for a few minutes, then she began to stumble off.

Then, she entered Naraku's field of vision. That girl! She has incredible power within her! I will make it mine! He lunged at her, forgetting about InuYasha and the others.

Kagome saw Naraku's lunge, and immediately knew what he was planning. She yelled after the girl "Lina! Look out behind you!"

She turned around just in time. "Yaaa!" flew from her lips as she jumped to the side.

Kagome shouted at her "He's trying to absorb your powers!"

"Like hell he's gonna! EXPLOSION ARRAY"

Suddenly, the ground underneath Naraku experienced a massive explosion, flinging Naraku into the air, with such speed and velocity that it is unlikely he'll land anywhere nearby.

"Now then, if someone could please explain what's going on, before I toast all of you to cinders?"

"Calm down, Lina. I'll explain everything once we get somewhere comfortable"
"Is she threatening us, Kagome? I hate getting threatened!" InuYasha growled.

"Easy, boy. Don't make me go through the S treatment again, ok?"

InuYasha continued to growl, but quieted down sufficiently for Kagome. She then turned to Lina and said "If you would please follow us, we have a lot to explain." She then led a bemused Lina, angry InuYasha and confused Sango and Miroku on the long journey back to the Bone-Eaters Well, so she could take them all back to her time and explain things properly.

Once they were back in Kagome's time, she asked them all to wait outside while she got the inside of the house prepared. While they were waiting, Souta got home from school. "Hey, Dog bro! How's it been going?" he asked cheerfully. Then he looked around, commenting "Sango and Miroku too! What are you all doing here? Hmm? Who's she?"

The "she" he was referring to introduced herself, saying "Me? I'm Lina Inverse."

Souta looked completely in awe when he heard this. "Lina Inverse? No way! What are you doing here?"

To this, Lina replied "I have no idea. I was adventuring in the mountains of Sangoost, when there was this weird smell, and the next thing I know I'm coming out of some bushes next to a fight with some guy who tried to absorb me! The girl said she would explain, and she went inside to try to prepare some stuff."

At that moment, Kagome came out and said "Ok, ready. Oh, hey Souta. How was school?"

"Eh, same as ever. Not much changes there."

"Well, at least you're not doing badly. Now, come on inside everyone. We have a lot of talking to do.

Once everyone was inside, Kagome asked her brother to go get something she called "Slayers." While he was off getting it, Kagome introduced everyone to each other, including herself to Lina. "You're probably not going to believe this, Lina," Kagome told her, "but your exploits in this world are famous."

"Why shouldn't I believe that? I already know I'm famous, though I must admit that this place has me slightly confused as to where I am."

"I'm getting to that, just be patient. While you are famous here, you are considered a fictional character." Lina had to let that sink in for a few minutes before she fully realized what this meant.

"I'm what? Fictional? Well, that makes no sense at all. If I'm a fictional character, then how do you explain yourself standing here talking to me?"

"I don't know, but I do know that I'm telling the truth, and when Souta gets back, he can verify it." As if on cue, at that minute Souta came dashing into the room, carrying a silver disk of some sort.

"I got the DVD, sis!"
"Great! Put it on, and maybe Lina will understand what it is I'm saying."

Lina was absolutely flabbergasted when she saw the main character on the screen, who looked exactly like a badly drawn version of her!

"What is this, some sort of magical device that lets you see into the past? I remember this stuff, and it was a long time ago!

"It's called a TV, and no, it doesn't show the past. It shows what others want it to show, based on what they put into it. It's too complicated to explain, but trust me, this is a movie based on a popular television series (a series of shows that are all based on the same story and follow a continuous timeline) based on your madcap adventures, regarded as fantasy entertainment by the greater populace. You'll notice that the voice is exactly right, which would not happen if it were a typical historical reenactment."

After thinking for a few minutes, Lina replied "I don't understand a lot of what you're saying, but I think I understand the basics of it. Somehow, I've crossed over to a different world, where my world is nothing but fantasy for the amusement of others. Is that about right?"

"Unfortunately, yes. That is what I'm saying."

Lina looked a little doubtful, but from the way little Souta was gazing at her with adoring, unbelieving eyes to the suspicious scowl on the face of, what was it again, InuYasha, she knew that this was nowhere in her world, so she decided to just go along with it for now. "Ok, say I believe you. Do you know of a way for me to get home?"

"No, sorry. I've never heard of this before, so I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help you."

"Then why should I stay here?"

"A good question, Lina Inverse. If you'll stick around long enough to have dinner, hopefully you'll see at least one good reason why.

At this, InuYasha got angry again. "Why should we let her eat with us? Just give her some of the money of this time and let her go do what she wants!"

"InuYasha, Lina will be staying with us for dinner, if she is ok with that, and that's that!"

"But…."

"InuYasha! SIT!"

The resounding splat was enough for Kagome's mother in the kitchen to hear. Oh dear. I wonder what he's done this time.

Back in the room, InuYasha was still grumbling, but he knew better than to actually complain with Kagome in this mood. Lina, looking and sounding very inquisitive, asked "is there any way you could teach me…"

She never got to finish that statement. InuYasha, speaking angrily, and Kagome, very apologetically, both said "no" at the same time, cutting her off.

From the direction of the kitchen, Kagome's mother's voice rang out "Kagome! Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes, ok?"

"Right, Mom!" Kagome turns to Lina and tells her "I think you will be impressed with my mothers cooking. I made sure to tell her to make a lot. That's why it will be a bit longer than usual."

"Well, I guess I can stick around for dinner, if you're sure you'll have enough."

"Don't worry, we will." I hope.

When they all sat down to dinner, everyone except Souta and Kagome were surprised at how big a portion Lina took. After Miroku offered his thanks for the food, as per usual, they dug in. Even InuYasha ate his steak slowly, distracted with the sheer quantity that Lina was eating.

"Man, you were right, this stuff is delicious!" She said through a half-empty mouth, before wolfing down another helping of rice.

They all, even Kagome and Souta looked at each other across the table, with a slightly surprised expression on their faces. Kagome's mother was worried if she had made enough for the stranger who seemed to have the appetite of a horse. Suddenly, a knock came at the door.

"I'll get it!" Kagome and Souta volunteered at the same time. They both got up and hurried to the door, as a familiar voice rang out, calling "Mind if I come in?"

It was InuYasha's turn to be startled. "Shunusuke!" He got up from the table and hurried to the door to greet his friend and sparring partner. They shared a brief, friendly embrace, before InuYasha pulled back and asked "What are you doing here, rascal?"

"I was planning on spending some time at my family's condo on the beach, when I sensed a familiar presence here, and I decided to come say hello and see what brought you back."

"Come on in. I'll show you why we're all back again."

Meanwhile, Lina had decided she had had enough for now, and come back to the front room to see who it was who seemed to get her companions so excited. Seeing Shunusuke Asano at the door, she asked "Who's this handsome fellow?"

InuYasha started a bit, wondering when she had managed to sneak up behind him, and told Shunusuke, "This is why."

Kagome knew InuYasha was not the sort for introductions, so she spoke first, saying "Shunusuke, this is Lina Inverse, I'm sure you know of her. Lina, this is Shunusuke Asano, eldest son of the acting Great Youkai of the East, Mikoto Asano. Don't worry though; he's only a quarter youkai."

"Shunusuke! Good to see you again!" Sango and Miroku had decided to give up on the concept of dinner for the time being. Maybe they could try again after greeting their visitors.

"And you miss Sango. I trust you have been well?" Shunusuke always put on the charm when around young women like Sango, though he seemed to be ignoring Lina's obvious attempts at flirtation with her.

"Shunusuke! How long did you expect me to wait in the car? Miroku!" A girl who looked slightly younger than Shunusuke ran towards them and grabbed Miroku in a huge bear hug, planting hundreds of kisses on him as she did so.

Kagome rolled her eyes and said "And this is his younger sister, Yuki Asano. Pay no attention to her man-handling the priest, she can't really help it. He's the same way, though." She pauses just in time for a long, shared kiss on the lips between the reunited lovers. "OK you two, keep it decent! Don't make me get out the rosaries!"

They stopped their kissing right away, though they stayed in each others arms. "We'll behave." They both said grudgingly, then Miroku whispered into her ear "At least until we get alone." She giggled in response.

"One question," Lina interjected, "You said these were the kids were only quarter youkai, then how is their dad the Great Youkai of the East?"

Shunusuke piped up at this point and answered "Our father is only a hanyou, like InuYasha, but he was also a good friend of the former Great Youkai, so when the Great Youkai was killed, our father volunteered to step up and rule in his place until his son is old enough to rule on his own."

"OK, that makes a bit more sense, then."

Kagome's mother came out at that point and said "Is everyone just going to stand out here and let dinner get cold? Come on, everyone, let's finish eating!"

This time, Lina was reserved enough over dinner that the others could eat normally as well. As they ate, she explained about herself.

"As you all know, my name is Lina Inverse, and I am a world-renown sorceress. Well, I guess for different reasons in this world. I go around the world and mop up bad guys for money and food, and have several annoying hangers-on. Most recently, I was looking around for a job on the isle of Sangoost, when all of the sudden, I felt some sort of weird jump, and all of the sudden, I was in that forest, and I heard the sounds of a battle. So, I decided to try to see what was going on, and maybe get some money. I was confused when I saw the combatants, though. I've never seen anything like them before."

"That would be InuYasha and Naraku, right? They're both hanyous, or creatures who are born of a human and a youkai. InuYasha's a normal one, who had one human and one youkai parent, but Naraku was apparently born when a legion of youkai merged with one evil human. He's very powerful, and very dangerous." Kagome stated.

After that, the others explained who they were and what relation they had to each other and to Naraku. By the time everyone was finished with their back-stories, they had finished dinner, so they adjourned to the living room to try and sort things out and maybe get in some planning.

Shunusuke was the first to speak when they had all settled down in different seats. "Something I was wondering at was, when you fight with Naraku, how much warning does he have that you're coming and you are planning on fighting with him?"

"Well, he usually knows we're coming because of his damn Samyoushi that he keep around. They let him know whenever anyone gets near him. As how he knows we want to fight, that's the only thing we ever do with him, so it's sort of a given," was InuYasha's reply.

"I thought so. Everyone gather round. I have an idea that just might work."