Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or anything associated with it. I have written this story solely because I enjoy writing.

Secret of the Cursed Mask: Michiru's Journey

Chapter 2: Not In Kansas Anymore...

As Michiru's mind slowly rose up from the depths of unconsciousness, he became subtly aware of certain things. His nose was pricking at the strong scent of plant life, his ears were filled with the gentle sounds of birds singing, and he felt something hard and lumpy beneath him. And while he had not yet fully awakened, he was capable of realizing that these sensations were wrong. That they were not the sort of things that he should be waking up to in the morning. Or any other time, for that matter.

"Ohh..." Michiru blearily groaned as his eyes slowly cracked open, only to be greeted with a big, light blur. "Where...where am I...?"

Slowly, more and more of the fog of sleep lifted from his mind, and Michiru's eyes fully opened...and revealed the boughs of many trees to him. And beyond them was a brilliantly blue sky with fluffy white clouds wafting past, carried on the gentle winds.

All of which were very pretty, and under normal circumstances, Michiru might well have continued to lay there and enjoy the serene experience. Except for the fact that he was waking up more and more, and recalling what exactly happened before he had awoken.

"Hang on...I remember -!" Michiru got out, immediately returned to full alertness as he shoved himself up off of his back and propped himself up into a seated position. There he began looking wildly about, his eyes widening with ever increasing shock as he took in his new surroundings.

There was absolutely no sign of the storehouse or the foundation of it where Michiru would have expected to have wound up after falling through the floor. Nor was there any sign of his house, his family, the Kururugi Shrine or the city or absolutely anything that he would have expected to wake up seeing. Instead, all the Kururugi boy could see were trees and plants and bushes as far as the eye could see. He could see and hear birds fluttering overhead, and as he looked at the ground, he could see that the stiff and unpleasant thing he was lying upon was a path cutting through this wooded area.

"Wait...a forest?! What am I doing here?! I just fell through the floor...and now I'm out here?!" Michiru demanded incredulously. Shaking his head in disbelief, he slowly clambered to his feet and surveyed the situation more. "Where's my house?! How - how the heck did I get out here?! Wherever here is?!"

Michiru had no answers to his questions, nor did there seem to be anyone around to provide him with those answers. "I don't recognize...any of this!" he declared, speaking aloud if only for the sake of hearing a human voice. "I - can anybody hear me?!"

There was no answer to his call. No voices. No sign of any people. Nothing at all that was familiar.

"Father?!" Michiru cried out in mounting desperation. "Father?! Can you hear me?!"

Again, there was no response. Nothing to indicate that anyone knew where he was or would be coming to his aid.

"Mom?! Dad?! Kaname?!" Michiru cried out once more, well on the road to full-blown panic. "Can anybody hear me?! Where is everyone?!"

Still, no response. No sign of anybody or anything familiar. Nothing at all.

Fear gnawing at his insides and without any ideas as to what else he could do, Michiru started down the path. He moved slowly at first, cautious and fearful in this unfamiliar place. But as he continued to move forward and his anxiety mounted, his pace quickened into a fretful jog. But when this failed to bring him within view of any landmark he could identify or any person that might help him, he sped up even more, and was soon running along the path, casting looks this way and that, searching for anything and anyone that might be able to help him.

But Michiru's search was in vain. There was nothing to be seen but plants and birds and a few small animals going about the daily business of survival. No sign of his home or a city or anything. And eventually, his efforts took their toll on him. His legs began to burn from the exertion, and his lungs heaved desperately, unable to take in enough oxygen to sustain his efforts.

And there was still nothing but this forest. Nothing and no one.

His panic giving way to despair and confusion, Michiru heeded his body's demands and slowly ground to a halt. And for a long time, he stood there, hunched over and bracing himself up by placing his hands upon his thighs as he stood there, sucking in breaths of precious oxygen and allowing himself to recover...and think.

"This...how can this be?!" Michiru slowly panted out. "There's...no one...nothing here?! How did I get here?! Who took me, and...and why, and...?!"

The questions echoed through the woods, but once again, there was no answer. Leaving the Kururugi boy to wrack his brains, to try and come up with a way of finding his way out of this mess. And eventually, an idea came to him.

"Wait - my cell phone!" Michiru gasped as his eyes lit up with hope. Reaching into his pocket, he hurriedly dragged forth his cell phone and switched it on. "I can call home or the police or something and - huh?!"

The cell phone was fully charged, that wasn't a problem. Nor did it appear to have broken over the course of whatever had transpired to bring him to this place. But as Michiru studied the screen of his phone, he saw something that made no sense whatsoever. "No...no bars?!" he incredulously demanded as he looked at the display that showed reception strength and saw not one of the bars that signified his ability to reach the outside world. "But - that can't be right! I'm outside, but there's no signal?! Just where am I, anyway?!"

His cell phone had no answers. And without the ability to connect to the outside, it was completely useless. Which left Michiru to groan in disgust before shutting the device down and shoving it back into his pocket before contemplating his options. Which at the moment were remarkably few; he could stand around and do nothing and hoped that someone would eventually find him, or continue to follow the path and hope it led him to something vaguely resembling civilization.

"What a choice," Michiru frowned as he once again studied his surroundings. "Still...this path is pretty worn. Must be used a lot, so...if I keep following it, I'm bound to find...something." Pausing to issue a sigh and shake his head, he then muttered, "I just hope that whatever I find, it isn't a bear or a wolf or anything like that..."

Annoyed and scared and not liking this in the least but without any better ideas, Michiru set off down the path. Making certain to stay on the alert for anything that could indicate someone who might be able to help...or something dangerous.

Michiru had no idea how long he wound up traipsing down the path. It was definitely longer than minutes, but not long enough to be hours. All he knew was that it had been long enough for his fears to fade and be replaced with a deeper pessimism and even boredom. There was simply no sign of anything human or made by human hands as far as the eye could see. Nothing to indicate that anybody was looking for him or that there was a source of shelter and other necessities anywhere nearby. Something made even worse was that the path Michiru was on branched off from time to time, and without any better ideas as to what to do, he would just take a path with impunity, hoping that it took him somewhere that was at least closer to home

Then, with fear far from his mind and dejection having long since settled in, Michiru wended his way past yet another fork in the path...and felt his heart leap with joy. For well down the path he was on, past the trees and bushes, he could see three heads. Three very human heads. And while they were still a distance away, he could tell that they were talking about something.

"Oh...thank goodness!" Michiru gasped in absolute relief. "Maybe if they tell me where I am, I can get to a city or village or something and get back home!"

Hope renewing his flagging energies, Michiru hastened down the path, and before long, he was past all the trees and bushes that obstructed his view of the three people, allowing him to get a better look at them. There were two men, an older man and one that appeared to be about his own father's age, as well as a woman. They were definitely talking about something and even seemed worried. But Michiru didn't care about that. All he cared about was that there was someone who could help him. Someone who...could...

"Wait a minute...!" Michiru started, slowly stumbling to a halt as he got a better look of the trio down the path. "Kimonos? Wh-why are they wearing kimonos?"

But even as he asked this, Michiru realized there was more to it than that. The kimonos the three people wore were worn and old, like they had seen a lifetime of service. Also, the look of the people...they were clearly scared. As scared as Michiru had been not that long ago, if not more so.

But why?! What's going on?! Michiru wondered as he began to slowly back away, getting a very bad feeling about this. Who are they? Where -?!

Michiru's foot came down on a dead branch, which snapped so loud that he practically jumped out his skin. And even worse, it snapped loudly enough that the people down the path heard it as well. As one, they turned in Michiru's direction, and their features creased in shock.

"What the - what is that?!" the elder man demanded.

"I don't know!" the woman wondered, glancing at the younger man. "Father?!"

"I - that must be it! The demon!" the man declared, his expression instantly shifting from fearful concern...to sudden rage.

"Huh?! A demon?! Where?!" Michiru started, instantly whirling about to look back the way he had come. For a few seconds, he glanced this way and that, searching for whatever had so alarmed the three odd people. But he saw nothing, heard nothing, to indicate danger. "Wh-what are you talking about?!" he shakily wondered as he turned back to the trio. "I don't see any -!"

"You're right!" the woman seconded, her features twisting with anger. "That must be it!"

"What?!" Michiru started, getting an even worse feeling now. And it was a feeling that steadily got even worse when he saw the man raising a scythe. "Wh-what are you -?!"

"Demon!" the scythe-wielding man snarled hatefully. "Where have you taken my daughter?! Answer me!"

They think I'm a demon?! Where the heck am I?! Michiru thought. Slowly backing away from the three irate strangers, he held out his hands in protest. "Wait, but I'm not a -!"

"Don't let it escape!" the woman ordered. "Get it!"

"Don't let it get away!" the scythe-wielder roared before rushing towards Michiru.

"Stop! Wait!" Michiru initially cried out. When these words failed to have any effect and without any better ideas, he turned on his heels and ran. He ran as fast as he was able, hurriedly dashing down the path that had once seemed so empty and boring.

"Stop the demon!" the scythe-wielding man whose sanity Michiru was questioning roared as the trio pursued the Kururugi boy.

Such was the sheer outrage and desperation in the man's voice that Michiru found himself glancing over his shoulder at his pursuers. This was a decision he immediately regretted, for the look of panic-fueled fury quailed him, very nearly sending him stumbling to the ground. Gasping as he returned his focus to the road ahead where it belonged, he pushed his body for all of the speed he could muster. Which wasn't very much, unfortunately.

I swear, if I ever get back home, I will never slack off in gym ever again! Ever! Michiru vowed in his heart of hearts. As he made the mistake of darting another glance back at his pursuers, however, it looked like the odds of him having a chance to keep his vow were very poor.

Then, a faint stroke of luck befell Michiru. The eldest of the three stumbled, falling to one knee and prompting the other two to pause and look back, already moving to assist him. "No! Don't waste time on me!" the old man begged of the others. "Get the demon! You have to get Sachi back! You...!"

But even as the old man spoke, Michiru was taking full advantage of this lapse in pursuit to put more distance between himself and three strangers. Panting desperately, the Kururugi continued to run in spite of his burning lungs and protesting legs, until at last he came to a fork in the path that he had passed earlier.

Which way do I go?! Which way?! Michiru demanded of himself as paused, glancing between one path and the other. I have to lose those lunatics before they catch up! But which way will -?!

Then Michiru spotted something that made his decision for him. A short distance down one of the paths was a smooth stone, roughly the size of a softball. And the instant his eyes fell upon it, a plan formed in Michiru's mind. Not much of a plan, but perhaps enough for him to be able to shake his pursuers and put some distance between himself and them.

Dashing down the path, Michiru scooped up the stone and then darted into some underbrush. Once off the path proper, he knelt down out of sight and looked back towards the path he had been on, not doubting for an instant that at least two of the trio from before would not be long in pursuing.

As he waited and watched, his breathing sounding heavily in his ears, Michiru then gasped in realization and clamped his hands in front of his mouth. But even so, he could still hear his heart pounding like thunder in his chest as he waited and watched, trying not to think about all the ways that this potential gambit could backfire horribly. Trying hard to fight down the urge to start running again. To run and run and keep running...

And then it was too late. For it was then that Michiru's pursuers emerged into view.

Fighting down the urge to cry out, Michiru watched as the scythe-wielder and the woman appeared. And he watched as, like he had before, they paused when they came to the fork in the path and started glancing between one path, then the next. "Which way, Father?!" the woman plaintively wondered as she looked frantically about. "Which way?!"

The scythe-wielder scowled furiously, making it clear that he didn't know which path Michiru had taken, either. Which was all the incentive the Kururugi boy needed to put a plan that he had seen in more than a few movies into action. Here's hoping that they don't watch too many movies! Michiru grimly thought as he carefully reared back before throwing the stone far down the path into another patch of bushes. Then he shrank back into the underbrush, hoping against hoping that he hadn't signed his own death warrant.

The instant the stone struck the brush, the sound of a bird crying out in protest was heard. And between the brush and the bird, enough noise was made that the two lunatics looked straight down the path, with the scythe-wielder snarling. "There!" he cried out, pointing down the path with his scythe. "That way! Get him!"

Without wasting another moment, both lunatics started running down the path at full speed. Not even bothering to look to their sides and notice a terrified teenager scrunching down into the bushes, clasping his hands over his mouth in order to muffle his own breathing. Watching with wide eyes as the two apparent refugees from some tourist trap or an insane asylum continued their frantic pursuit. Apparently unaware that they were presently leaving their intended prey further and further behind.

Several seconds watched as Michiru continued to watch, not even daring to breathe as the two lunatics disappeared down the path. Once he could no longer see them or hear their hurried footsteps, the Kururugi boy slowly, shakily raised his hands from his mouth, allowing his burning lungs to draw deep of the blessed oxygen.

I have to keep moving! Michiru thought, his mind a jumbled mess of confusion and fear. Sooner or later, they're either gonna give up or figure out they were tricked! And when that happens -!

The image of once again facing his pursuers and their cruel scythe shaking him to the bone, Michiru gulped loudly before practically falling out of the brush and out onto the path proper. Practically jumping out of his skin at the noise this made and half-expecting this sound to lure his pursuers back after him, he then scrambled to get back up to his feet. Jumping nervously about as if he was on the verge of leaping clear out of his skin, Michiru glanced up the path his pursuers had taken, then back down the path they had come from. Taking just long enough to make sure that there was no one else in sight, Michiru began running down the other path.

And Michiru ran. And he ran. And he kept on running, fear carrying him as far away as possible.

It wasn't until Michiru reached a small field of flowers that the fuel provided by fear gave out, and his legs sagged beneath him like jelly and his lungs forced him to suck in one heavy breath after another. Gasping in lungful after lungful, the Kururugi boy glanced back the way he had come and saw nothing. No sign of his pursuers, or anyone else. He was alone again. And even more thoroughly lost than before.

"I...I lost them..." Michiru sputtered out, utterly exhausted and barely able to stay on his own two feet. "But...why? Why did they...a demon? Why would they...?"

As this question echoed through Michiru's thoughts, it was promptly joined by the dozens of other questions that had mounded up in his mind since his arrival in this strange place. And as they multiplied without end in sight, what little strength remaining in his wearied frame gave out, leaving the Kururugi boy to fall to his knees. "How did I get here?!" he cried out, just barely catching himself with one hand as he stared at the ground beneath. "Where's my house?! My family?!"

There were no answers. There was no one to help him. And with tears of fear and exhaustion and frustration welling up in his eyes and the floodgates of his emotions breaking down more in the face of his latest crisis, Michiru cried out in despair and smashed his fist into the ground. "Where am I?! What's happening?!"


"Grrr...what a nuisance!" InuYasha grumbled sourly as he glared down at the ground and, more importantly, the remains of the pitiful excuses for demons he had just finished slaying. "Next time, stick time to going after someone who can't fight back!"

The corpses didn't respond or remark on the fact that they would not have a 'next time'. InuYasha took a deep breath as he heaved his monstrous fang-shaped blade, the Tetsusaiga, and sheathed it. Noting the sound the demonic blade as it reverted to an old katana as it slid into its sheath, the half-demon glanced about, searching with all of his senses for any more troublemakers that might make their way to Kaede's Village.

"Lately, it seems like every demon across the land is going crazy!" InuYasha muttered, shaking his head sourly as he thought of recent events. Lately, a person couldn't go so much as ten steps outside of a village without the chance of running into a bunch of demons. And while they weren't much for him, they were certainly dangerous to the mortal traveler, especially when attacking in a pack. "Dammit...I sure hope Sango and Miroku can get some answers about what the hell is going on..."

Scowling as he thought about the fact that two of their number, as well as Sango's two-tailed companion Kirara, InuYasha considered their overall situation. On the one hand, they needed to get some kind of lead in finding their archenemy and finding out what was stirring the demons into such an agitated state. But at the same time, that left InuYasha and the others that remained at the village shorthanded. And while InuYasha had nothing but confidence in his strength and capabilities, he had to admit that he could only be in one place at a time. And with the local demons multiplying with such speed that they were putting rabbits to shame...

"Where am I?!" came a voice from somewhere in the distance, prompting InuYasha to look about as his keen ears locked in on the source. "What's happening?!"

Narrowing his eyes as his ears oriented on the source of the cry, InuYasha then swore vehemently. "Dammit to hell!"

Whoever had cried out had just made a target of himself. With all of the demons roaming the woods, pathetic as they might have been, there were bound to be at least one or two heading in the direction of whoever had just cried out. But what made it even worse was the fact that InuYasha could tell that, judging by the tone of voice and the words spoken, the person in question wasn't under attack, and had broadcast his location and apparent distress to every demon within earshot of his voice.

So whatever problem's this idiot's got on his hands is going to be a hell of a lot worse unless I get to him before any demons do! InuYasha scowled furiously even as he leaped up towards a branch of a tree. From there, he bounded from one tree to another, tracking the continued cries and noises that had followed in the wake of the initial cry. Already on the alert for any predatory demons that might have caught the sound of potential prey...


Michiru was exhausted, now more than before he had collapsed.

Before, it was his body that was tired from his frantic running about. But now, Michiru was emotionally spent. He had just spent what dregs of energy that still remained to him to vent all of the fear and confusion and despair that had been building up as a result of everything he had been through. He had howled and yelled and ranted and screamed for as long as his wearied lungs could bear, and now he was all screamed out. Leaving him down on his knees, holding himself up by one hand and panting his exhaustion, and with tears of fear and frustration spilling down his cheeks.

But as his frenzied and overwhelming emotions slowly subsided, Michiru's mind was able to reassert itself, and rational thought slowly returned. And the first thing he thought was the fact that his tantrum had been ill-advised.

I...I better get moving... Michiru thought, still heaving deep, weary breaths. If those crazy people are somewhere close and they heard me...

Grimacing at this possibility, Michiru heaved a deep, heavy breath before slowly pushing himself back up to his feet. He had no idea where he should go, or even if he might wind up going towards wherever the crazy people were or if he might wind up running into someone else who was as bad as they had been, but right now, he had no choice but to press forward, and hope that he found something that at least resembled civilization.

Still...where am I...? Michiru wondered in a dazed manner as he started towards the path through the woods. And...those people...why did they think I was...a demon? Were they really that crazy, or -?

A rustling sound caught Michiru's ear, sending his frayed nerves into overdrive as he looked towards the source of the noise. "Wha-?!" he started, instinctively taking a step backward, already searching for the source of the noise. "Was that them, or...?"

Another rustling was heard, this time much louder than before. And it was soon followed a single large, green eye appearing in the shadows of the wood...and Michiru gasping in sheer terror.

"Wh-wha...?!" Michiru gasped in low horror as a massive figure shouldered its way into the field. It was almost twice as tall as he was, with lavender skin and the green cyclopean eye. Its legs were powerfully built versions of a bull's own hind legs, and its body was composed of huge, misshapen muscles with a large, bulging belly. It wore a loincloth composed of green fur with dark spots, and its head was marked by a single large horn. And as the Kururugi boy looked on, it's lips parted to revealed a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth.

Impossible...! Michiru's terrified mind squeaked out as his eyes widened in consummate horror. A d-demon...an actual demon...?!

"Well, how convenient!" the immense monstrosity grinned cruelly as he stomped his ways towards where Michiru trembled and quaked. "I was just getting hungry, and here I find something that smells good enough to eat!"

So close that Michiru could now smell the rancid breath spilling from its lips alongside its drool, the creature advanced upon him. "Wh-what?!" the Kururugi boy sputtered out, terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. "What are - get away from me!"

Without another thought, Michiru turned on his heel to run. But his body was already worn from his earlier exertions, and even as he moved to bolt, a dynamo struck him in the back, sending him flying. "Wha-ha-ha-ha!" the creature laughed cruelly even as the Kururugi boy went crashing down, landing hard on his back amongst the flowers. "You think you can get away from me...lunch?!"

Dazed and drained by the monstrous blow he had been subjected to, Michiru could only look on as the monstrous behemoth stomped towards him. His panic-stricken mind knew that he had to stand, had to get back up and start running, but his body wasn't working right. That blow had knocked him for a loop, and the connection between his brain and his body wasn't responding. Leaving him helpless as the creature advanced, reaching out for him.

"No...no...!" Michiru gasped, pure fear inscribing itself upon his very soul. "Nooooooo!"

And at this, the world seemed to go white around him. With the last thing he saw clearly being a blur of red off in the distance...


Dammit! InuYasha thought frantically as he bolted from one branch to the other, his goal finally coming into sight. Only to realize that he would not be nearly fast enough.

As the half-demon had feared, he had not been the only one to have heard the cries of the boy he now saw laying prone among the flowers. A fat, disgusting ogre was even now reaching for the boy with his immense claws, a look of gluttonous joy upon his face as he drooled in anticipation of an easy meal.

I'm not gonna make it in time! InuYasha realized even as he drew forth the Tetsusaiga. He was simply too far away to get to the demon before he could strike a fatal blow to the boy, and if he tried to invoke the Wind Scar, then he was guaranteed to strike the boy as well. Even as the half-demon looked on, the boy quaked with dread. He knew he was doomed, knew he was about to die, and...

And that's when something strange happened.

Before InuYasha's eyes, the boy's fear hit its climax. As his mouth went wide to scream, but no sound came out. His eyes practically bulged in terror, his pupils lost in a sea of fearful white. His heart thundered so loud that the half-demon's keen ears could hear it. And moments before the ogre could take him in his hand, a hazy red aura rose up from his frame.

What in the -?! InuYasha wondered.

"Hey!" the ogre protested, hesitating for a moment as he studied his prey, who was rigid with panic and his eyes had rolled up as if he was about to faint. "What do you think you're -?!"

As the red aura became more intense, a crimson circle with a star emblazoned in the center appeared beneath the boy, slowly spinning as it gradually grew larger, radiating even more of the potent red energy. Energy that rose up into the sky, becoming brighter and more intense as it slowly took greater form and definition. As InuYasha watched, a large paw stamped down upon the ground between the boy and the ogre, and was followed by another, and then two more. A long tail emerged from the growing form, as did a massive head with a mighty mane of flame.

Wait...a lion?! InuYasha thought incredulously as the creature made of flame glowered at the ogre, despite being somewhat smaller in size. What is -?!

"Oh, flame burning bright!" the boy suddenly called out, his voice distorted and strange. "Turn into a sword of wrath! Raging Flame!"

At these words, the lion roared savagely. Seeming to realize that he had bitten off more than he could chew, the ogre moved back a step, but it was already too late as the lion transformed into a massive burst of flame that struck the ogre in its protruding gut, and then enveloped the creature entirely.

Gaping in surprise, InuYasha watched as the ogre screamed helplessly and frantically, writhing helplessly within the grasp of the merciless flames that now surrounded it. Fire danced dangerously across the field, filling the air with a monstrous heat that forced InuYasha to shield his face from the blinding destruction that surrounded the ogre. All the while the hideous beast struggled and screamed and fought to free itself, but to no avail.

Then, mere seconds after the attack had been launched, the flames suddenly disappeared, and the ogre...the ogre was no longer screaming. No longer moving. He was just standing there, still as a statue. And as InuYasha lowered his arms, his eyes went wide with shock.

The ogre's body had been scorched gray, his skin charred and ashen, his fear frozen upon his face. And as InuYasha continued to look on, the creature's body began to break apart, chunks of charred flesh and bone breaking away and collapsing upon itself as clouds of noxious gas erupted from the crevasses left in the wake of the collapse. A collapse that accelerated, the ogre's body crumbling into a pile of char and ash until only the head remained. With the ogre's expression of sheer terror still engraved upon it, the head fell to the ground and bounced once, twice, and then a third time, before rolling to a stop. There it finally succumbed to the fate of the body and broke apart into nothingness.

InuYasha had seen a great many things in his life. He had experienced many horrible, terrifying things that would numb the minds of many. But as he studied the remains of the fallen ogre, all he could do was gasp, "What the hell...?!"

But even as the half-demon numbly studied the dispatched demon, a tired groan reached his ears. Looking about in shock, InuYasha watched as the boy he had once been so certain was about to die sagged on the ground, his eyes closing as he fainted among the flowers. Looking as normal and weak as most humans he had encountered over his life.

Except...

"Wait a minute...those clothes...!" InuYasha muttered, receiving yet another shock as he looked hard at the boy before him. "They're...they're are like the kind of thing I've seen people at Kagome's school wearing! But how -?! What is he -?!"

"Master InuYasha!" came an elderly, familiar voice. Starting at this sound, the half-demon looked about and saw a tiny speck bouncing through the field and make its way towards him.

"Wha-?! Myoga, where did you - what are you -?!" InuYasha sputtered out, caught between surprise and annoyance at this interruption. Only for annoyance to win out when he grumbled, "Dammit, figures you'd show up after the fighting's over! What are you doing here, anyway?!"

"Kagome asked me to find you! Said something about there being trouble back at the village," Myoga tersely explained as he came to land upon one of the flowers. But as the little flea-demon looked at the figure that now lay insensate in the field, the aged flea muttered, "But...it seems that there's something else going on..."

"You noticed that, huh?!" InuYasha gruffly retorted, scowling at his late father's retainer before returning his attention to the strange figure before him.

"Master InuYasha, this...this boy..." Myoga hesitantly spoke, looking at the human with an expression of clear surprise. "Do you know who he is? Or where he came from?"

Snorting loudly, InuYasha once more sheathed the Tetsusaiga. "I have no idea who he is, but it's pretty obvious where he came from," he grumbled as he studied the figure before him. "Just look at the kind of weird clothing he's wearing."

Pausing to study the garments of the boy, Myoga narrowed his bulging eyes. "Hmm...the style of his dress..." he murmured in a thoughtful manner. "Do you think that this boy...?"

"Came from Kagome's world?! Where else?!" InuYasha demanded as he came to study the boy, who was presently stirring lightly.

"But...if that's the case, then how did he come to be here?" Myoga wondered in a voice of clear surprise. "We're nowhere near the Bone-Eater's Well, so how -?!"

"I have no idea," InuYasha gruffly admitted as the boy groaned pitifully, sounding remarkably like Kagome when she was waking up, but she really was in no hurry to do so. "But we might be about to get some answers..."


Author's Notes: And here we have InuYasha finding a new mystery on his hands and Michiru just barely avoiding winding up in a demon's belly. Please, read and review! And maybe check out my other stories?

Now those of you who played the game are most likely already noticing some minor changes, particularly with Myoga showing up when he did. But some allowances are made in a game situation that really wouldn't work in a story situation like this, so I will be making some changes here and there. Still, I hope you enjoy.

Fenikkusumaru, well, I figured that I hadn't seen a good novelization of "Secret of the Cursed Mask", I figured I could work on this and use it as a springboard to help get my writing going better on my other stories. And I do plan on putting some original twists in the mix, as well as fixing some plotholes from the game.

Uruz 11, yeah, I've recently been feeling bogged down...well, more bogged down by life. I needed something to help me get my stuff firing on all cylinders again, and this is it. And yeah, while I enjoyed the game, there were a few things that could have been done better. And don't even get me started on trying to slog through all of the demons in the game. And you guessed correctly about those eyes and their owners. I do hope that you enjoy what I have in mind.

WOLFWATCHER12, thank you. I try my best.

Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint, well, we did see that Michiru seemed pretty shy and easily flustered in the game, as was Kaname. And I did think it would be nice to give everyone a glimpse at the way things were between Michiru and Kaname back before everything happened. Yes, we will see Koji in Battle Across Time, once Michiru is spending some time in the modern world after the most recent fiasco. Good point, though. It is nice to see Michiru back when he was an ordinary teenager with ordinary worries and problems. Well, the title seemed natural. Michiru fell down a hole and wound up somewhere else, though no rabbits were involved. I do hope you and everyone else enjoys seeing how I build the relationships between Michiru and the others. That's one of the things that started bugging me in my Legacy stories: we see Michiru having these relationships, but we never really see how they came to be the way they are. I will introduce some original elements, but I will try and stick at least fairly close to the game. And yes, there was a pentagram on the floor where Michiru stepped and fell through the floor. I believe that was important as far as the spell that sent him back into the past is concerned.

Deiru Tamashi, I'm glad you like this so far. I hope I don't disappoint.

inginuyasha, yup, I'm going the Sango route. Well, I have a lot of fave moments between Michiru and Sango, but I really did like the scene with Sango standing among the flowers in addition to the ones you mentioned.

Dragoon Swordsman, yeah, I've seen my share of novelization attempts, and they all fall into the categories you mentioned. Which is disappointing, to say the least. I do hope you enjoy seeing how things started coming together between Michiru and Sango this story.

J4RRE77, I'm definitely planning on showing the thoughts of both Michiru and Sango as their relationship builds.

Gilgamesh The King of Heroes, okay, cool, I'm glad to hear that.