Disclaimer for this story: xxxHolic is property of CLAMP (Satsuki Igarashi, Mick Nekoi, Mokona Apapa, and Nanase Ohkawa) and InuYasha is property of Rumiko Takahashi. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author, punkish furball. The author, punkish furball, is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

punkish furball—Yay! Woohoo! xxxHolic and InuYasha crossover! I'd like to thank Bishounen'sFoxyMiko for helping me get my ideas together for the first chapter.

Words to Ponder:

The story takes place in the first volume of xxxHolic manga right after Watanuki goes to work for Yûko. I will be using manga and anime to help me write this fiction. Not sure if I will integrate Tsubasa into the story or not. I still have time if I want to add it or not. Also not sure if any InuYasha guys will be in the story. I do have an idea, but not sure if this is the story for it.

Normal transition: -O0o0O-

Flashback transition: -O0o0O-

With all this being said, let the story begin!

Prologue

'Three months…' These words rang through the teenaged black haired girl's head like a mantra. It was three months ago; she was not in the modern world walking the streets so aimlessly like she was doing right now. She had continually bypassed the laws of time and space by using a dried well on her family's shrine. She traveled into a land of magic where demons reigned over ordinary humans, Feudal Era Japan.

Three months ago, she was in a battlefield with a round fading pink jewel clutched tightly in her blood soaked hand. Blood…the ground was stained with the sickening red liquid. It dripped down her sides and down her arms and legs soaking her clothes and hair. Her companions weren't fairing any better than she was. The demon slayer was on her back, her clothes ripped open and a rather large gash down her side to the swell of her thigh. Several shallow cuts were etched into her stomach. On top of her bruised abdomen, she cradled the head of a young monk close to her. He was bleeding heavily from the palm of his right hand. The small feline demon was curled into a small ball of bloodied fur next to her mistress. The white haired half demon was not in sight nor was the raven haired one whom they fought. The kitsune cub was not present for the battle and justly so.

Large tears leaked through the girl's tightly closed lids as she remembered the horrifying events of her last day in the surreal, dangerous world. A few more tears slide down her cheeks before she too succumbed to the sweet embrace of unconsciousness like all the others around her…

Kagome walked down the city streets with no real purpose or destination in mind. Her hands were shoved in the pockets of her navy blue hoodie and wore jeans resting on the swell of her hips. Her onyx bangs fell over her forehead and the rest of her long hair pulled into a high pony tail. She wore no other distinguishable garments except of the two ornaments that adorned her neck: the completed Shikon no Tama, a clear and weakened gem attached to a silver chain and a necklace made of black and white prayer beads. Both accessories were worn and weathered, visible evidence of her travels that lay in the past.

'What's this?' Kagome thought. She was about to pass a very peculiar looking building. No one else around her seemed to take notice of how strange and out of place it looked and continued to pass it.

'Not often you see something like this in the city,' Kagome noted. She sped up a little to get a closer look of it. Once she stood in front of the building, she placed her hand on the fence surrounding it for a brief moment. There was a gentle hum of magic surrounding it, something that beckoned you closer to the old looking building.

'There's some sort of ward here,' Kagome mused, 'This also seems to be a good place for spiritual activity to take place.' Kagome tried to move away from this building and continue on her way; she did not want to stay in this place for much longer.

'I've already been through enough,' Kagome thought sadly, 'I don't want anymore trouble so I will just pretend I never saw this place.' Before Kagome could move away from the fence, her feet moved of their own accord toward the building. She struggled to overcome strong hold the ward on the fence had on her legs but couldn't.

'Looks like I'm going in anyway,' Kagome thought bitterly, 'Dammit!' She gave up and let her feet continue into the yard and towards the front door. Right when Kagome reached it, the door was slid open as if anticipating her arrival. She was confronted with two girls looking about as old as her brother about ten or eleven years old. One had long light blue, curly hair pulled into pigtails that reached the wooden floor at the side of her head and wore black. The other had short, straight pink hair tucked under her chin and she wore white.

"Welcome to our humble home!" they said in unison and bowed.

"Yes, thank you," Kagome said and bowed in return. Even if she was here against her will, she was still going to be polite.

'There have no souls,' Kagome immediately noted after taking a quick observation of their auras.

"Mistress, we have a guest! Mistress, we have a guest!" they both shouted. Each of them grabbed one of Kagome's hands and led her further into the house. The two girls stopped in front of a sliding door. Both of them let go of Kagome's hand and slid the door open.

Kagome looked into the room and saw a woman lodging on a couch not too far from where she stood. Kagome blushed at the sight of her; she was a very attractive, seductive looking woman. An elegant kimono hung delicately off her shoulders and was draping the rest of her form with a large slit that showed off her legs. Her head was resting on one of her hands while the other held an ornate pipe in between her slender fingers. Her hair, long and smoky black in color, fanned over her shoulders and down her back. Her bangs shadowed her lidded golden eyes. A long seductive smile was etched on her face like she had been waiting for Kagome to arrive. Smoke filled to room giving the woman a celestial air.

"Hello," Kagome said unsure of what else to say at the moment, "I'm not sure why I came in here at all. The ward…the one on the fence…"

"That proves that you're coming here was Hitsuzen," the woman explained, her voice as sultry and smooth as the rest of her.

"I beg your pardon?" Kagome asked. She didn't quite understand what this woman was referring to.

"You're a holy person, aren't you?" the woman asked, "A miko if I'm correct."

"Yes," Kagome answered with some hesitation. What was this woman? How could she tell what kind of power she held?

'She's not a demon; that's for sure,' Kagome thought, 'She must have some power, but I can't really be sense it. I'm not certain what kind and how powerful she is.' It was exceptionally dangerous to continue to interact with someone whose power couldn't be determined but, Kagome didn't waver.

"Your life…what a troubled life it has been," the woman continued, "So many hardships…and something else…you have been in the presence of those with blood that runs darker than yours and mine. You can see demons…spirits…apparitions…and you also have the power to defeat them. You have something very precious that you protect with your life. Demons flock to you because of it and you destroy them. The weight of murder is nearly crushing on your shoulders and the blood…it can never be washed away from your hands." The woman paused and twirled the pipe around her fingers.

"Tell me, what is your name?" she asked

"Higurashi Kagome," Kagome answered, "That is my name."

"Kagome," the strange woman repeated like she was testing the name with her voice, "like the children's game?"

"I guess," Kagome said quietly; she had been told that before.

"Do you like children?" the woman asked.

"I suppose so," Kagome answered. What was with this woman? Why was she asking such odd and random questions? What could possibly be gained from her answers?

"Do you have a wish, Kagome-chan?" she asked.

"A…wish?" Kagome repeated.

"It is what I do," the woman said and stood up from her place on the couch, "Here in this shop, I grant people's wishes... whatever anyone desires I can make it reality." As she talked, the woman came closer. Once she was close to her, she lifted her hand to Kagome's cheek.

"Of course, there must be a proper…payment," the woman said with a long smile giving a glimpse of her pearly white teeth. Kagome didn't say anything; her mind was buzzing with possibilities.

"You do have a wish, Kagome-chan," the woman pressed on, "Tell me what it is, and I will make it so."

Before Kagome could stop herself, Kagome spoke. Her secret desire…one she never spoke aloud or even admitted to herself…ever since the day blood washed and bathed the earth she walked on…

"I don't want them," Kagome said quietly with her head lowered, "The memories…the power…the demons…I don't want any of it."

"So you want to forget all that you have endured and return to the life of an ordinary human," the woman said and lifted Kagome's head by placing her finger under her chin, "Yes, that is what you say." The woman's hand traveled downward and touched Kagome's neck.

"This necklace," she said, "This will be your payment." Kagome instinctively reached for the Shikon Jewel around her neck but the woman shook her head.

"The prayer beads," she clarified. Kagome gripped the beads in her hands; she would have preferred it if the woman pointed at the jewel. Biting back tears, Kagome lifted the beads from around her neck and placed them in the woman's open, waiting hands.

"You can call me Ichihara Yûko. These children are Maru-dashi- and Moro-dashi-," Yǔko said. Kagome had to hold back giggles.

"You go to school near here, yes?" Yûko asked and Kagome nodded.

"Well, not exactly," Kagome corrected, "I transfer to Cross Private School tomorrow."

"Be here promptly after school," Yûko instructed.

"Why?" Kagome asked. She had a bad feeling the she had bitten off more than she could chew with this wish granting idea.

"That is so you can begin your employment here," Yûko said without batting an eyelash.

"Employment?" Kagome shouted, "Who ever said anything about working for you?"

"It is part of your payment," Yûko said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "The necklace alone is not enough to pay for such a great wish. That and your employment here will properly pay for my services. Once my payment is acquired, your wish will be granted."

Kagome nodded slowly. There was nothing to gain from getting into an argument with this woman.

"I see," she said, "Well, I asked for this. No use crying over it now. I'll see you tomorrow I suppose." Yûko smiled at Kagome.

'She is much more pleasant and better tempered. I do think I will grow to like this girl,' she thought.

"You and I," Yûko began, "we are connected."

"I suppose so," Kagome said with a grin, "If Hitsuzen is really exists." Yûko's smile grew larger.

'Yes I do believe I will like her much more than him,' she thought.

"And another," Yûko began, "you will meet him soon. The connection between the two of you will grow deeper than any other bond between any other person you'll ever meet. This is, of course, if Hitsuzen can be believed." Kagome just grinned and made her way out of the building. She paused for a moment before walking out of the door.

'I don't really think she can grant my wish,' Kagome thought, 'but at least, I won't be bored for a while. Hitsuzen…a naturally ordained event…inevitable…destiny… '

"I think I'll just have to see what Hitsuzen has in store for me," Kagome said before she walked out of the building.

'I guess I'll be destiny's plaything for a little while longer,' Kagome thought.

-O0o0O-

Watanuki Kimihiro panted as he ran toward Yûko's building. He was running late for his job. Watanuki scowled at the thought of that place.

'A job that I got tricked into,' he thought, 'Dammit! Sometimes I wonder if all this is worth it.' While lost in his thought, Watanuki ran into somebody. The smaller person was knocked to the ground.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Watanuki explained and held out his hand to help the person up. The person ignored his outstretched hand and stood up on his own.

"You should be more careful," the person said which Watanuki identified as a girl by the length of her hair and soft tone of her voice. She was facing him but didn't look him in the eye.

"What is your problem?" Watanuki shouted, "I try to help you and you tell me off like that?" Normally, he wouldn't explode at a person like that, but with the girl's attitude—or lack thereof—and the fact he is on his way to see that insufferable woman, he couldn't help it.

"Tell you off?" the girl repeated in a confused voice "I was just pointing out that you should watch where you're going instead of muttering to yourself like a lunatic." The girl didn't even give Watanuki a glance before walking right past him with her hands in her pockets. Watanuki couldn't help but snarl slightly as the girl passed by him.

'Great just what I need,' Watanuki thought, 'Not only am I going to be bothered with that witch and work I get all worked up before I do. Then again, I guess I am a little to blame. Oh well, on bright side of things, I'll never see that girl again.'

-O0o0O-

"I'm here," Watanuki announced as he opened the door and slipped off his shoes.

"Watanuki-kun," Yûko said as soon as she saw the boy, "I want you to prepare a room for me in the back of the shop."

"A room?" Watanuki askeô.

"It's for a customer of mine," Yûko said, "and a new employee."

"Why does this new employee need a room?" Watanuki asked.

"She has…promise," Yûko said and smirked, "and I'd like the room ready before you leave tonight."

"So soon?" Watanuki exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"She just came in today," Yûko said looking perfectly innocent, "What did you want me to do about that?"

"I bet you knew she was coming!" Watanuki shouted accusingly, "You saw her coming and then you got her in your clutches!"

"In your clutches! In your clutches!" Maru and Moro both said in unison and skipped in circles around Watanuki.

"You're irritating me," Yûko said with a vein pulsing on her forehead.

"Fine," Watanuki said and began his chores, grumbling all the way. Yûko just smiled behind him as she watched the boy go to work.

"I wonder," she began to say to herself, "How will Watanuki-kun react to Kagome-chan. Yes, the two of them will be very close indeed."

-O0o0O-

punkish furball—That's the prologue. (sigh) A little short, but still good in my opinion.

-Maru-dashi and Moro-dashi mean both mean going out naked in public in Japanese

Questions? Comments? Words of Wisdom? Review/Contact me. L83R, DUDES!

(edited 04.06.2011)