Chapter 2: Deductive Reasoning

He stood silent a moment at the base of a large tree in a remote area on the edge of the city. Dietrich gazed thoughtfully at the ever-glowing moon. Finally, it was time. Now, the board was set and the pieces were moving. It was just a matter of time before he would have the humans bow before him. Soon, very soon, the entire world would be his.

However, he had not anticipated that an actual reincarnation would stumble upon his pawn.

He grimaced at the thought. Apparently he was going to have to work around this problem that occured. Thanks to that meddlesome twerp they call Destiny he was going to have to reconstruct centuries worth of scheming.

Not that it really mattered to him. The whole thing may actually benefit him. He smirked and rubbed his hands together greedily. He turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder to the two people awaiting him.

There a boy with lifeless eyes, stood with them.

They had the boy. The survivor. Excellent.

He walked over and took a moment to regard the boy carefully. Though he was still very much a child, the scars and harended set to his features said otherwise. The years weighed heavily on him, and Dietrich wondered how long this boy had been hiding from time, avoiding as many people as possible. Unable to stay in one place too long for surely the people would realize he was not aging. His life must have difficult for him to survive this long. Obviously this boy had no reconciliation of his past anymore. So he was of no use for the time being.

But no matter. The time will come.

"Dietrich... how long are we going to keep this up?" One asked so irritably, impatience rising.

Oh right. He kept them patient for far too long. A slow chuckle, low and menacing filled the night air. "Soon, my dear marionettespieler, very soon." He smirked. "As your saying goes..."

"Igne natura renovatur integra."

---

If he had been in his right mind at all, he might have rethought the situation before doing what he did. As it was, he didn't, and just as the girl made herself comfortable in his arms he tried to move slightly causing him to place himself in a more awkward position. Rub, rub.

A surprised squeek slipped from Sango's mouth and the sound of a rather loud SMACK followed thereafter. "You lecherous…you… You haven't changed a bit!!!!" Sango was stunned beyond all words. She still had tears running from her eyes. She was still rather glad that Miroku was alive.

That sense of him alive... died.

The expression on the boy's face spoke in a way that brought shock even into Sango's eyes. It was as though she did not know him. He had quickly retaliated bringing his arms to shield his face from any more damage from her beastly strength.

Okay. He understood that his accident would make her slap him but he didn't know this woman was that strong! Daisuke was quickly returning to the idea that she was the leader of some yakuza clan. The Ooeda Clan, maybe? He took a quick glance at the girl's facial expressions. The yakuza thing faded quickly. He felt guilt in his stomach watching different emotions play on her face. She's been through a lot and all he could utter was,

"I'm sorry... I think you've... mistaken me for someone else."

It still hurt him to say that.

Could he be telling the truth? She wasn't sure what to believe. She did see Miroku die right in front of her. She broke into tears again but knew crying wouldn't solve her problems. It wasn't exactly a happy set of circumstances—waking up in a strange place, in nothing but her breast bindings and what looked like a pair of Kagome's pajama pants, in the company of someone who looked exactly like Miroku. It could be demon trickery but there were no demonic aura present. Still, she didn't really have many other options. She had no idea where she was and whom to trust at the moment.

But that face... it made her trust him.

"Where am I?"

Daisuke relaxed after the tense moment she began to cry again and smiled softly to show no harm. "You're in the Souryo Household by the Souryo shrine and dojo."

It was then she noticed something very peculiar about her surroundings. Her eyes scanned the room nervously, trying to get a feel for her new environment. Such a strange room—definitely not from her era. It looked familiar but it was more refurbished. Eventually her gaze fixed on Daisuke and noticed the strange black thing hanging from his neck. Now where did that come from? Suddenly a realization dawned on her - she was getting the idea how far away from her home she was.

"What... age is this?" She dared to ask.

He began to realize that she was really not from around here. Well around this time anyways... It was a crazy idea but he never doubted what his gut told him.

"It's 2003, and I happened upon you by chance." Daisuke said with concern evident in his voice.

"Perhaps you would like to share your story, when you feel ready?""

He knew she needed the time to bring this all in seeing it was too much for her to take. "My name is Daisuke, by the way. It's uh, pleasure to meet you -?"

Huh? Oh. Yes. She wouldn't want to be rude, she was given another chance to live yet again. It was painful but she had to show she was also thankful. "It's Sango."

"Sango? Isn't it the name of that demon slayer in the Shikon Legend?" A voice that came from the door.

Several people entered the room.

Daisuke looked up to his siblings. "Ah um..." They looked to Sango who was a bit taken back from the many people who actually lived in this place.

There was a slight pause.

Sango was the first to speak. "Shikon... legend?"

A word about Daisuke.

Daisuke is the fifth oldest child out of the six Souryo children. The oldest of the residence is Tsubaki (24; science teacher), the twins - Ryuya and Yuto (22; Ryuya is a priest and Yuto is the sensei of the dojo), Amane (20; student at Tokyo Beauty Academy) and Tatsuyoshi (15; 1st year at Shirokin Boys Academy).

After all the introductions, a change of clothes for Sango - a large t-shirt and the same pajama pants, and such (which took place in the den seeing Daisuke's room was rather small for seven people), all eyes were turned to Daisuke and Sango.

"So, Sango-chan, do you know what exactly happened before we found you?"

Sango was hesitant for a moment. However, it would be rude not to explain herself even if she sounded very strange. "I was fighting a demon named Naraku and -"

"You, a half-demon by the name of Inuyasha, a mysterious girl, a fox demon child, a nekomata, and a monk by the name of Miroku - our ancestor, fought and died to protect the Shikon no Tama from the half-demon Naraku." interrupted Daisuke who sat on the wooden floor from lack of seats, back against the wall, feet drawn in. "The legend no doubt."

There were doubts on the adults' faces but allowed her to continue.

Sango sat quiet for a moment before continuing her story, "Yes... and after the battle, I saw a man... passed out and ended up here, in the present as Kagome called it."

"Kagome?"

"She's... the mysterious girl from the story... who is... in this time period!" Remembering all so suddenly.

Daisuke stood and walked away from the group. "Ok, I believe her."

The same expressions were set on everyone's faces. What was this idolent young man talking about?

"Dai, you can't be serious! For all we know she might have amnesia," Yuto stated in defense from the nonsense, "I mean it might just be a mere coincidence her name is Sango but the demon slayer from the actual legend?"

"Yes and it would mean that the legend is true. The last demon slayer travel through time and ended up several eras ahead of hers which is scientifically impossible." Tsubaki added to the arguement being a science teacher and what not.

Sango felt hurt but understood what they were saying. For a moment, even she didn't believe herself until...

"When I say I believe her, I believe her." Daisuke defended.

"Daisuke..."

"You're all looking at this in a very logical explanation. However, you have to look at this through the eyes of someone from the Sengoku Jidai era."

"But Daisuke -!"

"Remember that Japan in ancient days, went through a time period where people believed demons, magic of shikigami and onmyou wizards existed. In a way, shikigami magic was known to send users or anyone they wish through time. Now we're in a time where science began to rule and those beliefs are now classified as fantasy. Myths." He paused to see if everyone was keeping up. "I recall that they had a very exact description of a very beautiful demon slayer, the strongest of her time. In the legend, it also stated that before joining the group of shard hunters, she was critically injured by her very own brother. A scar that marked her body."

He made his way towards Sango, who was at the moment occupied with her thoughts of his actions because of the remembrance of the exact attitude of a monk. "I'm sorry if this seems perverse but..." He turned her around so her back was turned to his family while pulling up her shirt from the back. A few complaints came from the ladies and Sango (she just realized what was going) but it was too late to stop Daisuke. He had already pulled off her breast bindings his eyes solely on her back and placing the tip of his forefinger on a rather large scar. Something from only a scythe blade could make.

A few gasps were heard.

Sango blushed at his touch. She had crossed her arms over the shirt to cover any other skin she did not want to show. Her head hung low when he had reminded her of her brother and the scar she bore. This boy. His deductive reasoning and trust in people were amazing. Just like him...

Daisuke took his dress coat off placing around Sango's shoulders with a tint of pink visible on his cheeks. Possibly from embarrassment. He hadn't really wanted to embarrass her, and he was definitely worse for the wear, but he was successful just the same.

His two sisters stood up with annoyed faces not forgetting what he had just done, suddenly sent a mass amount of slaps, punches and kicks while scolding him all the while. Amane led Sango to her room for another change while glaring at the watchful boys - quickly looking away or returning to their posts - but before she did, Sango walked over to Daisuke and sent him sprawling with a rather nasty left hook.

"You perverted mo- er - pig!"

"There." Amane said with pride. Sango, dressed in denim jeans and white wool turtleneck sweater, stood in front of the mirror examining the new strange clothings she was given. It was very different from the kimonos she was more accustomed to. What they called a bra... and underwear were very unique and comfortable to wear. She wished she had these in her time. "Thank you for everything... Amane-san." She bowed softly. Amane sighed and offered a reassured smile. "It's fine. You can drop the -san and call me Amane-chan. I'm just very sorry for Daisuke's actions."

"Although... he did make a point... You don't see someone like yourself with such a beautiful body and have it marked by the very essence of a scar..."

There was a knock on the door before Sango could respond. "Sango-san, are you ready?" Daisuke's voice heard from the other side of the door. Sango and Amane shared a questioning glance when he asked but before either could answer the door flung open and Daisuke answered what he knew was on their mind. "You did say your friend lives in this era, correct?"

Sango nodded in slight confusion.

"Well... since I do believe and trust you, I did some research with Tatsu-bozu. I figured someone who traveled through time to the Sengoku Jidai era must have been absent a lot from their school since the events of the legend took place for about two years and also stated the mysterous girl was a mere fifteen years of age. You did say her name was Kagome so I had Tatsu-bozu check all records in every single Junior High and High school in the city wide and found one girl who had so many different kinds of diseases and was always absent from school. She also lives in shrine that also obtains a well called the Bone-Eater's Well. So I concluded that this was her." He exlplained.

"Her name was Higurashi Kagome. Second year of Narumi-Nishi high school."

Thanks for the reviews!