*I don't own InuYasha, Naruto, or any of their characters.
The rain fell steadily as hundreds upon hundreds of feet thundered forward.
All of their owners had one destination- the battlefield where their enemy was facing the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Naruto Uzumaki. Spurred on by the leader of the Intelligence Division's declaration that he, alongside his fellow Jinchuuriki and two of his teachers, had pushed the false Madara back, the Second and Fifth Divisions of the Allied Shinobi Forces were heartened by Naruto's ability to once again seemingly do what no one else had done before.
One kunoichi in particular couldn't wait to reach their destination. The one who had always loved the blond prankster, even when he was hated by the rest of their village. She, who shared his nindo of never going back on her word.
Naruto, thought Hinata Hyuuga, I've always... always been chasing after you… even now. But… once this war ends, I'm going to stop once and for all. Lips pursed in determination, she continued, Next time, I'll be next to you, holding your hand… walking with you! Hoping her thoughts could reach the boy… no, the man she loved, she pleaded silently, Wait for me!
Suddenly, an explosion of mud and rocks appeared right in front of the two Divisions. As they skidded to a halt, the familiar white forms of their enemies started to climb out of the crater.
"Not again!" groaned Kiba Inuzuka. Hinata couldn't help but agree with her teammate as she immediately activated her Byakugan. Soon enough, they were once again engaged in battle.
As several of the White Zetsus started to break off from the rest of the pack, someone shouted, "Don't let them get away!"
"On it!" Hinata called back as she finished off her current foe. As she pursued the fleeing enemies into the surrounding forest, she could see Neji, Kiba, and Akamaru running to join her. "You know, you don't have to do this," she commented with a small smile, using her Byakugan to enable her to continue looking forward.
Predictably, it was a grinning Kiba who answered, "What kind of a teammate would I be if I let you go off on your own?" Akamaru barked his agreement while Neji just gave her a look that spoke volumes of his feelings on the matter.
Hinata felt a small warmth ignite in her heart at this, and doubled her speed, knowing her cousin and teammates would easily keep up with her. The four of them caught up with their foes in a clearing that appeared to be empty except for an old, rotting well. Kiba and Akamaru sped up and started to circle around the small clearing, hoping to trap their prey. Sensing this, their enemies stopped trying to escape and prepared to battle against the four of them.
There were several brief moments where the two sides waited for the other to make a move.
"Well," the ever-impatient Kiba finally roared, "what are you waiting for?"
Kagome Higurashi, the pregnant mate of the hanyou Inuyasha, tossed and turned as she dreamed of the oddest standoff.
On one side stood two boys, a girl with a startling similarity to the elder of the previous two, and a large white dog who stood at the side of the younger boy. On the other, strange white beings that vaguely reminded her of Naraku's puppets.
As her dream-self stood a distance away, her eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to think of why she would be dreaming such a thing. Granted, thanks to her pregnancy her miko powers were acting strangely… however, this still seemed extremely bizarre, even for her (and that was saying something).
Suddenly, she felt a tug on her soul that she had not felt since before the final battle against Naraku. Turning around, she gasped to see the one whose soul she shared walking towards her.
"Kikyo?" she exclaimed.
The elder priestess smiled at her reincarnation. "Hello, Kagome," she greeted.
Realizing that this was no ordinary dream, Kagome stared as Kikyo eventually stood next to her. What was going on? Why would Kikyo be contacting her from beyond the grave?
"Kagome… how aware are you of the current situation between the North and the West?" came the sudden question, along with one of Kikyo's famous sidelong glances.
Confused, the girl who had once traveled through time answered, "Uh… I know that things are tense between the two, and that they may soon go to war. However, what does that have to do with what's going on here?"
As the two sides suddenly rushed towards each other, Kikyo answered, "Everything." Turning completely towards the younger, she stated, "We are currently standing in the near future of another world… where Naraku is planning on breaking free of the dimension that the gods themselves imprisoned him in."
Kagome stiffened with shock and horror at these words. "Naraku? Didn't… didn't he vanish along with the Jewel? " she finally stammered out.
"When you wished the Jewel out of existence, you freed all of the souls trapped within… which unfortunately included Naraku. The gods had decided that rather than him going to Hell and risk him turning into a spirit like So'unga, Naraku would instead be imprisoned in a specially-created dimension cut off from any of the worlds he was familiar with," explained the elder priestess. "Unfortunately, Naraku found a way to escape… by using this world's gifts, he intends to establish a new existence here."
The pregnant priestess fumed at this. "Damn that Naraku!" she growled, sounding almost identical to her mate in that moment. "Why can't he just stay defeated?"
Kikyo patted her reincarnation's shoulder sympathetically. "Indeed, Naraku has never been one to accept defeat… however, the gods are now angered by his arrogance, and have come up with a plan to stop him." Inclining her head towards the only other female on the battlefield, who was sending several of her foes flying with a strange spinning move that Kagome had never seen before, she continued, "And that plan is her."
"Her?" Kagome parroted, studying the girl more closely now. The girl, with veins now protruding next to her strange eyes, battled with a grace that Kagome had only seen before in Sesshomaru… not that she'd ever mention that to her brother-in-law. However, despite her skills, the pregnant woman could definitely tell that she wasn't ready to take on someone of Naraku's caliber yet. "How is she the gods' answer to Naraku?"
"The man she loves is threatened by the man Naraku plans on using, and by extension Naraku himself."
"Ah," breathed an enlightened Kagome, recalling how it was his love for her that had led her mate to fight his way through the Shikon Jewel in order to find her. Frowning suddenly, she asked, "But… how will she be able to face that stupid spider? While she's skilled, she's unfortunately not at his level yet."
A new voice, deep and masculine, entered the conversation as it said, "That is where Sesshomaru, Kikyo, and I come in."
Spinning, Kagome immediately gawked at the sight of the handsome male standing there. She had seen him once before, back when So'unga had been sent to the Underworld where it belonged and a proud father had appeared before his two sons…
"I-Inu no Taisho?" At her shocked exclamation, her unborn baby's aura flared for the first time in welcome, seemingly recognizing its own kin.
The daiyoukai smiled at this, and despite her love for Inuyasha Kagome could instantly see why Izayoi had fallen for this male. He really was too handsome for his own good… vaguely, she wondered when she had developed Miroku-like tendencies before brushing them all off to the side. This was no time for thinking these sort of things.
"My son will be facing powerful foes in the upcoming war against the Dragons," he began, "and soon he'll find that he needs help if he's going to defeat them."
Confused, Kagome asked, "Why would Sesshomaru need help? He's the strongest youkai I've ever known!"
Frowning, the father of her mate answered, "Because they have developed attacks that young Hinata," nodding towards the female warrior, "will, thanks to those eyes of hers, be able to counter with ease."
"How?"
"Watch this attack closely," he ordered, "and then tell me what you sense from it."
Obeying, she watched Hinata seemingly shoot a column of air out of her hand with not only her sight, but her miko powers as well. What she felt was one of the most surprising things of all.
"It's like when Inuyasha and I combine an attack- she's using both youki and reiki," she breathed.
"Exactly," rumbled the Inu no Taisho. "All of the humans on this world have this same strange combination, although there are some who are more in tune with either the youki or reiki aspects of it- they call it yin chakra and yang chakra, respectively."
"Hinata's clan, the Hyuugas, have a special birth trait," Kikyo interjected, smoothly taking over from the daiyoukai. "They call it the Byakugan- whenever the veins surrounding their eyes are visible, they can see anything they wish to see… including where their foes' 'chakra' exits the body."
Kagome was speechless at the implications of Kikyo's words. If this Hinata Hyuuga had eyes that could see where youki or reiki exits the body, and her skills were needed to combat attacks that the Dragons had developed, that meant…
"The Dragons have figured out how to seal youki, haven't they?"
"And not just youki, but reiki as well," growled the daiyoukai, displeasure at his longtime enemies evident in his voice. "Those infernal lizards don't know that you're pupped, so they wanted to be sure that they had something to counteract your potential involvement in the war."
Kagome shuddered at that, unpleasant memories of Magatsuhi surfacing. "How did they figure it out?"
"They had help from a witch, I believe," answered Kikyo. As the deceased priestess shuddered lightly, Kagome knew that Kikyo was thinking of the witch Urasue who had brought her back to a half-life and forced the priestess to absorb other's souls in order to endure.
As the two priestesses shook their heads to get rid of the unpleasant memories, the Inu no Taisho decided to take pity on the two and drew the conversation back towards the young Hyuuga female. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering how Hinata is going to travel to our world, mate of my youngest."
Turning back towards the powerful male, Kagome cocked her head slightly in inquiry. Seeing this, Kikyo was pulled out of her own slump as she couldn't help but giggle at how much her reincarnation was acting like… well, a dog.
The Inu no Taisho smirked at this sight, and continued, "The path that Hinata shall travel is right here in this very clearing… and it's a path that I'm sure you're very familiar with."
Looking around, Kagome soon spotted the object he was speaking about. "Oh, don't tell me…" she groaned.
"That's right- she's going to come through the Bone Eater's Well," the daiyoukai told her, amusement filling his voice.
Kikyo suppressed her latest bit of amusement at Kagome's grumble (she could hear the words 'gods' and 'no sense of creativity' scattered throughout) as she explained, "This is where you come in, Kagome. You'll need to explain to her about the Well, its use… and what we have told you here."
"Kikyo and I will eventually contact her ourselves, similar to how we're contacting you," the Inu no Taisho rumbled. "There, we will instruct her on the finer points of youki and reiki that she cannot get in her world. However, it is Sesshomaru who must teach her how the spider operates, and how exactly to fight against him."
The pregnant miko sighed. Life had been going so peacefully, too… "What is Inuyasha's role in all of this?"
"Inuyasha needs to protect the village- after all, Sesshomaru won't be able to fight while worrying about Rin's safety, and the village would be a good place to hide the rest of the children, as well," answered his father.
At this, Kagome raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know of Rin, and her importance to Sesshomaru?"
Chuckling in a way that she was sure he was thinking about some inside joke, he rumbled, "That is a question that can wait until peace falls upon the West once more."
Eyes narrowing suspiciously, Kagome nonetheless let it slide. "Okay… so, when exactly am I supposed to expect Hinata?"
"Within the next couple of days," answered Kikyo.
As the world around them started to fade, Kagome could very faintly hear her beloved's voice calling out to her.
"It is time for you to wake, miko," stated the Inu no Taisho. "Remember what we have told you here."
As Kagome nodded her acknowledgement, Kikyo added, "And tell Inuyasha that I'm glad he's finally gotten what he's always wanted with you- a family."
Kagome smiled a brilliant smiled as she promised, "I will, Kikyo, you can be sure of that!"
As the two who had intruded upon her dream faded away, Kagome had a thought suddenly occur to her: why was Inuyasha's father with Kikyo?
Once they had contacted Hinata, she decided, she was so going to get the girl to ask them for her...
Decided, she opened her eyes to see her mate hovering over her anxiously.
"Oi, what was happening to you?" he demanded. "You were tossing and turning, and your aura was fluctuating so badly I wouldn't be surprised if my ass of a half-brother showed up to find out what's wrong with you!"
Smiling, the miko sat up and hugged her mate tightly to reassure him. Once they separated enough for her to look at his face, she began, "Well, Inuyasha, I was just having a chat with Kikyo and your father…"
A/N: Okay, I can just sense some questions coming my way about the chakra-youki/reiki thing I have established, so here's my explanation:
Hinata (along with everyone else in the Narutoverse) will technically be able to use both youki and reiki, for their chakra is a mix of both. Some of the shinobi, however, are more in tune with either the youki aspects (like Sasuke- seriously, check out the episode/chapter where Karin notices his changed chakra as he's attacking the Five Kage Summit and tell me that does NOT look like an inner beast) or the reiki aspects (like Naruto- again, I'm going to use Karin as an example here. When she first meets Naruto, she notices that, other than the presence of Kurama, his chakra is warm and bright- similar to how Kagome's reiki is described as being in many fanfics).
