Wow, I hadn't expected any reviews immediately! After all, I noticed that Star Wars and InuYasha crossovers are very rare on this site. Thanx, people!

Disclaimer: …Don't make me say it…(lawyer glares) Fine! I don't own InuYasha OR Star Wars! There! Happy? (lawyer nods and leaves)

"speaking"

'thinking'

"Huttese"

Ages:

Shmi Skywalker – 40

Chapter II: Sandstorm

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"Jinn always does things his own way, always sure he is right, always incredulous if we do not see it his way. Some think he is a gray Jedi."

~ Master Tyvokka (12 years deceased)

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"No ahgain! No ahgain! Da beins hereabouts cawazy! Wesa be robbed 'n crunched!" said Jar Jar nervously, waving his arms at Qui-Gon.

They had found shelter between two adobe-like buildings, perfect for keeping out of sight. And for good reason, for beyond them, in the street, were many dangerous-looking beings going about on their daily business.

"Not likely; we have nothing of value. That's our problem," said Qui-Gon in response to Jar Jar's statement.

The Jedi Knight turned and went back out into the street, followed by Jar Jar and Padmé. R2-D2 whistled and chirped, following the others.

They passed a stall that had many small, amphibian-like creatures on sale for eating. Jar Jar paused and decided he wanted one. Looking around to see if anyone was watching, he used his long tongue to grab one of the amphibians and pull it into his mouth. Unfortunately, the creature was tied up on a wire, and the vendor noticed him.

"Hey! Hey! U wamma wonka (you going to pay for that)?" asked the vendor angrily.

"Huh?" said Jar Jar, his mouth full of frog or whatever it was.

"Toe hawa wupe upee (it costs seven wupiupi)," said the ugly vendor, and Jar Jar's reaction was very noticeable.

He let go of the 'frog' with an exclamation, which ricocheted backwards on its wire. It came off the wire, and landed into the drink of someone he didn't want to mess with.

"Chuba (you)!" said the 'someone', clearly pissed off.

"Oops," said Jar Jar, who seemed to have noticed he was in trouble.

He began to walk away, whistling innocently. But that put him closer to the ruffian, who leapt up out of his seat with a snarl, and kicked Jar Jar backwards. The Gungan sprawled into the sand.

The ruffian was an interesting-looking fellow. He preferred to use his arms to get around instead of his legs, both of which seemed very underdeveloped. The appendages also seemed to have swapped roles; while the arms did the walking, the legs and the feet were used to carry or grab things. But Dugs, which was his race, were able to use their arms and legs ambidextrously.

"Ni chuba ni (is this yours)?" asked the creature, towering over Jar Jar with the 'frog' clasped in one of his hand-like feet.

"Who, mesa?" began Jar Jar, who was cut off as the ruffian grabbed him around the throat, cutting off his air.

"Kulka du pom pom (do you want to be squashed)…mmmm?" questioned the creature harming Jar-Jar.

Qui-Gon seemed to have finally noticed what was going on, and turned around. Padmé noticed Jar Jar, as well. But the creature let go of Jar Jar when Anakin suddenly appeared.

"Chess ko (careful), Sebulba. Cha porkman ootman geesa (he's a big time outlander). Me teesa rodda co pana pee choppa chowa (I'd hate to see you diced before we race again)," said Anakin, laughter in his voice.

"Neek me chowa, wermo, mo killee ma klounkee (next time we race, boy, it will be the end of you)! Una noto wo shag, me wompity du pom pom (if you weren't a slave, I'd squash you right now)!" said 'Sebulba'.

The ruffian turned to look behind Anakin to see Kagome, who was not standing up close him, unlike the boy. He narrowed his eyes and they gleamed, but he returned to his original seat.

"Eh, che bana do mullee ra (yeah, it'd be a pity if you had to pay for me)," said Anakin disdainfully.

Qui-Gon, Padmé, and R2 approached. Kagome came up behind Anakin hesitantly, since Sebulba was so near.

"Hi," said Anakin friendlily as Qui-Gon came up to him.

"Hi, there," said Qui-Gon.

"Your buddy here was about to become orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug, an especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba," explained Anakin as Qui-Gon helped Jar-Jar up.

"Are you alright? Does your neck feel okay?" asked Kagome from behind Anakin, her blue eyes worried.

"Mesa okay. Mesa hatin' crunchin'. Dat's da last thing mesa wantin'," said Jar Jar, shrugging.

Kagome giggled at his accent.

"Nevertheless, the boy's right. You're heading into trouble. Thanks, my young friend," said Qui-Gon, nodding to Anakin.

"But, mesa doin' nothing!" protested Jar Jar as they set off down the street once more.

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," said the blonde-haired boy to Qui-Gon.

"And I am Higurashi Kagome, but you can just call me Kagome, or 'Gome. That's what my friends call me," said Kagome, managing a small bow as they walked.

"You say your last name first?" asked Padmé.

"Well, yes. That was the custom where I came from; at least, I think it was the custom. I can't really remember," Kagome said, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Kagome, we have to get some groceries, remember?" Anakin reminded her.

"Oh, yeah! Kaa-san (mom) would be upset with us if we forgot!" said Kagome, pounding a fist into her open palm.

Everyone else except Anakin, Jar Jar, and R2 raised an eyebrow at the term 'kaa-san', but said nothing. Anakin didn't because he was used to it, and Jar Jar and R2 because they didn't have eyebrows. Jar Jar merely blinked in confusion.

To Qui-Gon, the faint accent and the word usage the girl used was elusively familiar, but he couldn't recall why it was for the moment.

"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn," said the Jedi, smiling a little at the children.

The girl Kagome smiled cutely at him and nodded.

"Here, Ani (1)! Jira's is this way!" she said, pointed down an adjoining a street.

"I do know my way around here," muttered Anakin darkly.

-o-o-o-

The wind was starting to pick up on the outskirts of the city. Obi-Wan was standing out in the swirling dust, his eyes shaded with his hand.

"This storm will slow them down," he stated to Captain Panaka, who had just come up beside him.

"Looks pretty bad," said Panaka, and then his com-link buzzed.

"Panaka," he said, putting his com-link up near his mouth.

"We're receiving a message from home," said one of the officers on the ship.

"We'll be right there," acknowledged Panaka, turning to go back to the ship.

Obi-Wan followed him with a swirl of his Jedi robes.

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Qui-Gon was looking at the sky, sensing the oncoming sandstorm.

"Here, you'll like these pallies. Here," said Anakin, holding out a package to Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon's group had joined up with Anakin's, and Anakin was currently shopping for food. He had just bought 'pallies' from Jira, one of the poorer and older human vendors that sold fruit. She was fond of both Anakin and Kagome.

"Oh, thank you," said Qui-Gon, noticing that Anakin was talking to him, and took the little package.

He lifted up his poncho and tucked the package into his belt, revealing for a second the lightsaber strapped to it. Kagome and Anakin noticed, but said nothing and turned away.

"Oh, my bones are aching! Storm's comin' up, Ani! You'd better get home quick!" said Jira, patting Anakin on the arm.

The group walked away from Jira's vending stall, and the blonde-haired boy looked up at Qui-Gon.

"Do you have shelter?" Anakin asked Qui-Gon.

"We'll head back to our ship," said Qui-Gon as they went out onto the street again.

"Is it very far?" asked Kagome.

"It's on the outskirts," said Padmé.

"You'll never reach the outskirts in time. Sandstorms are very, very dangerous. C'mon, I'll take you to our place," said Anakin, leading the others to where he lived.

"The sandstorm will be here in a few minutes. You won't be able to see anything, what with the sand in your eyes," explained Kagome, walking beside Anakin.

R2 beeped as he followed along behind the others.

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Several minutes later, they had reached the Slave Quarters in the city of Mos Espa. The sand was starting to blow, and they had to shield their eyes in order to reach Anakin's home. The boy reached for a switch on the outside of one of the hovels and opened the door.

Entering the hovel, Anakin sighed and Kagome shook her head vigorously. For some reason, she seemed to accumulate a lot of sand in her hair whenever a sandstorm happened to roll in.

"Mom! Mom, we're home!" called Anakin into the depths of the small house.

"Ooh, dissen cozy," said Jar Jar, as a middle-aged woman emerged from one of the doors leading deeper into the house.

The woman paused when she saw Anakin and Kagome had company. She gave the two children a questioning look.

"These are our friends, Mom," said Anakin, looking at Padmé.

"There's a sandstorm going on," said Kagome, who had taken out her ponytail and was scratching at her scalp to dislodge any stray particles of sand.

"Hello," said Jar Jar in a friendly way.

"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn," said the older man to Anakin's mother.

"I'm building a droid. Do you wanna see?" Anakin eagerly asked Padmé.

"Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter," continued Qui-Gon.

"C'mon, I'll show you 3P0!" said Anakin, taking Padmé's hand and dragging her off to his room.

Jar Jar was busy examining everything he could see, bending down and peering over things. Kagome seemed very interested in him.

"Ano (um), you look like you come from somewhere very wet and green," Kagome said to him.

"Mesa homeworld isa muy muy wets. Mesa lives in da water," said Jar Jar.

"It must be a bit of a culture shock for you, then, coming to such a dry planet as Tatooine," said Kagome, smiling.

"Yessa, itsa muy dries hereza," agreed Jar Jar.

Qui-Gon and Anakin's mother watched this exchange with amusement.

"Will you tell me about your world? I'll tell you about Tatooine, in exchange," asked Kagome, though her eyes were clearly begging him to tell her.

Jar Jar blinked his googly eyes at her and then smiled in his strange, toothy way.

"Okey-dokey!" he said, and Kagome led him by the hand to sit in the kitchen in one of the adjoining rooms.

"Anakin and Kagome both love to hear about other worlds. It makes them happy. I'm Anakin's mother, Shmi Skywalker," said the woman, confirming Qui-Gon's suspicions.

"Kagome lives here, as well?" asked Qui-Gon.

"Yes. When Watto acquired her, I was happy to take her in. She and Anakin are just like siblings, complete with the quarrels," said Shmi, smiling.

Qui-Gon chuckled and said, "That seems to be the job of siblings; to make each other's lives as difficult as they can. But, tell me, what does 'kaa-san' mean?"

Shmi gave a small smile and replied, "That's the word for 'mother' in her language. She knows several, including Basic and Huttese. They both have their own gifts, she and Anakin."

"Why does she dress like a boy?" asked Qui-Gon.

"It's for her protection. She's at a very vulnerable age," answered Shmi.

Qui-Gon nodded, but the suspicion in him grew. The two children put off a weird vibe. Both of them drew the Force, like Jedi did, though it was stronger with the boy. Disturbances in the Force were like rocks in a river; it created gaps and the Force flowed around them. It was usually easy to spot these types of disturbances. Until the person in question started their Jedi training, their presence in the Force stayed like this. But what confused Qui-Gon was the fact that the Force was already starting to flow through the girl, as if she had started to train in the ways of the Jedi.

Qui-Gon strongly suspected what Anakin was, but the girl…had she had Jedi training prior to becoming a slave?

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"Isn't he great? He's not finished yet," said Anakin as he pulled the cloth off of the droid he was working on.

R2 had followed them into Anakin's dimly lit room, and Padmé was looking at the droid Anakin had uncovered.

"He's wonderful," said Padmé, amazed that this young boy was building such a thing.

"You really like him? He's a protocol droid, to help Mom. Watch," said Anakin, and pushed a switch up near the droid's neck.

The eye of the droid – for he only had one at the moment – glowed yellow, and the droid jerked to life.

"O-oh! Where is everybody?" asked the droid as it sat upright.

"Oops!" said Anakin, and reached over to grab the droid's other eye lying nearby.

He blew on it a little, and said, "Okay," once he confirmed it was clean enough.

He then put it into place with a little 'click!'.

"Oh, hello! I am C-3PO, Human-Cyborg Relations. How might I serve you?" asked the droid in an annoyingly intelligent voice.

"He's perfect!" said Padmé, and C-3PO turned to look at her.

"Huh? 'Perfect'?" said 3-P0.

"When the sandstorm's over, I'll show you my racer. I'm building a podracer," said Anakin proudly as the protocol droid walked near R2-D2.

"I'm not sure this floor is entirely stable," said C-3PO, wobbling back and forth.

He spotted R2 and said, "Oh, hello, I don't believe we've been introduced!"

R2 beeped and whistled at him, the light on his head flashing from red to blue a multitude of times.

"R2-D2! It's a pleasure to meet you! I am C-3PO, Human-Cyborg Relations."

R2 looked down at the protocol droid's body, and then back up again, beeping quickly.

"I beg your pardon, but what do you mean 'naked'?" asked C-3PO.

R2 explained in the only way he knew how, by whistling and beeping.

"My parts are showing? My goodness! Oh!" cried 3P0 with horror.

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The Queen of Naboo, her handmaidens, Panaka, a couple of his officers, and Obi-Wan watched the holographic message that the governor of Naboo, Sio Bibble (2), had sent.

"…The death toll is catastrophic! You must bow to their wishes! You must contact me!" said the hologram version of the governor.

"It's a trick; send no reply. Send no transmissions of any kind," said Obi-Wan as he stood and the image flickered out of existence.

He left the room to go contact his master in the control room.

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"It sounds like bait to establish a connection trace," said Qui-Gon quietly into his com-link.

He was standing out of sight and hearing, while the others behind him were preparing lunch to eat.

"What if it is true? And the people are dying?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Either way, we're running out of time," said Qui-Gon, and switched off his com-link.

He tucked it into his belt and turned around to go back into the kitchen, only to find Kagome standing there, silently watching him. Qui-Gon felt pinned by her blue gaze, and then she smiled at him and turned away to help Shmi prepare something to cook. Qui-Gon let out his breath, and realized he had been holding it. Those strange eyes of hers were soul-piercing…

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On the planet Coruscant, two cloaked figures were walking along a balcony that overlooked the huge city. At first glance, one might have guessed they were a Jedi Knight and their Padawan learner out for a stroll or on business. But these two had a darker, sinister purpose.

"Tatooine is sparsely populated… If the trace was correct, I will find them quickly, Master," said one of the cloaked people in a soft, young man's voice.

"Move against the Jedi first. You will then have no difficulty in taking the queen to Naboo to sign the treaty," said the second person, an elderly man by the sound of it.

"At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi… At last we will have our revenge," said the first male.

In the flashing lights from passing cruisers, you could see his face under his hood. His face was crimson red with intricate black tattoos on it, especially around his eyes and mouth. His eyes looked yellow, as well. On his head, you could barely see small, stubbly horns peeking out from underneath the depths of his dark hood. All in all, a scary-looking being, a being known as a Zabrak.

"You have been well-trained, my young apprentice. They will be no match for you," said the elderly man.

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In Anakin's little home, they had finally sat down to eat. The sandstorm was still brewing outside, so Qui-Gon's group was happy to have lunch. Shmi was serving food, and Jar Jar was slurping at his food rather loudly.

"All slaves have a transmitter placed inside their body somewhere," Shmi was explaining.

"I've been working on a scanner to locate mine," said Anakin.

"Any attempt to escape…" began Shmi.

"…And it'll blow you up! Boom!" finished Anakin, thumping his hand on the table for emphasis.

"How wude," said Jar Jar, horrified at the idea.

"I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws are–" began Padmé.

"The Republic doesn't exist out here. We must survive on our own," Shmi interrupted.

At that split second, Jar Jar stuck out his long tongue and snapped up one of the fruits in a bowl on the table. Everyone looked at him, and Qui-Gon gave him a dirty look.

"'Scuse," said Jar Jar, after swallowing the fruit whole.

"Has anybody ever seen a podrace?" asked Anakin, trying to break up the silence.

"They have podracing on Malastare. Very fast. Very dangerous," commented Qui-Gon.

"I'm the only human that can do it," said Anakin, and then cried out when Kagome kicked him in the leg.

"What was that for!" he protested.

"You're such a fibber, Ani! You just don't want to admit that I can do it, too!" said Kagome, glaring at him.

"You're not as good as me! And Watto never lets you race! You crashed a pod the last time, remember?" said Anakin.

"But I can do it, can't I!" said Kagome, and kicked him in the leg again.

"You both must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods," said Qui-Gon calmly, and that broke up the fight.

Jar Jar stuck out his tongue again in a flash and had captured another piece of fruit. But suddenly, Qui-Gon had the Gungan's tongue between his thumb and his forefinger. The piece of fruit rolled away onto the floor.

"Don't do that again," said Qui-Gon casually.

Jar Jar said something that they couldn't understand, seeing as how Qui-Gon had his tongue. Then Qui-Gon let go, and his tongue snapped back into his mouth. The Gungan shook his head quickly to rid the feeling of Qui-Gon's fingers latched onto his tongue. Anakin was silent, and toyed with something on the table.

"You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?" he asked, looking up at Qui-Gon.

"What makes you think that?" asked Qui-Gon, and Padmé watched with a little bit of fear.

"I saw your laser sword. Only Jedis carry that kind of weapon," said Anakin.

Qui-Gon sat back in his chair and said, smiling slowly, "Perhaps I killed a Jedi and took it from him."

"I don't think so. No one can kill a Jedi," said Anakin confidently.

A snort was heard from Kagome, and she muttered, "Baka (idiot)."

"I wish that were so," said Qui-Gon, smiling a little.

"I had a dream I was a Jedi. I came back here and freed all the slaves. Have you come to free us?" asked Anakin.

"No," said Qui-Gon quickly, "I'm afraid not."

"I think you have. Why else would you be here?" said Anakin.

"And maybe eopies will sprout wings and start to fly," muttered Kagome.

Anakin glared at her and then looked at Padmé, who looked down guiltily. Then he looked back at Qui-Gon. A creak was heard as Kagome slowly leaned over the table to look past Anakin and gave Qui-Gon an intimidating stare. Her look clearly said, 'Don't you dare lie to him'.

"I can see there is no fooling you, Anakin," said Qui-Gon, leaning forward and propping himself up on his elbows. "We're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic, on a very important mission."

"How did you end up out here in the Outer Rim?" asked Anakin, not understanding why Qui-Gon would be here if that was the case.

"Our ship was damaged and we're stranded here until we can repair it," explained Padmé.

"I can help! I can fix anything!" volunteered Anakin, and Shmi smiled.

"I'm sure you can," said Qui-Gon with a laugh in his voice, "but first we must acquire the parts we need."

"Wit no-nutten mula to trade," piped up Jar Jar.

"These junk-dealers must have a weakness of some kind," said Padmé thoughtfully.

"That's easy. Almost every single one of them loves to gamble on the podraces. Everything around here circulates around it," offered up Kagome.

"Podracing. Greed can be a powerful ally," said Qui-Gon.

"I've built a racer; it's the fastest ever! There's a big race tomorrow, on Boonta Eve! You can enter my pod!" Anakin offered helpfully.

"Anakin! Watto won't let you!" said Shmi disapprovingly.

"Watto doesn't know I've built it! You can make him think it's yours, and could get him to let me pilot it for you!"

"I don't want you to race; it's awful! I die every time Watto makes you do it!" said Shmi, her face showing that she was afraid for her son.

"I'll race it," piped up Kagome, but slumped down dejectedly in her seat when Shmi gave her a stern look.

"But, Mom…I love it… The prize money would more than pay for the parts they need," said Anakin.

"Anakin," said Shmi again.

"Your mother's right. Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who could help us?" Qui-Gon asked Shmi.

Shmi shook her head and said, "No."

Silence fell over the table, and Kagome could feel the depression setting in. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Mom, you said that the biggest problem in this universe is that nobody helps each other," said Anakin, trying to get Shmi to give in.

Shmi looked at him and gave a small sigh.

"I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger. We'll find some other way," said Padmé, trying to make Shmi feel better.

"No, there is no other way," said Shmi, and inhaled. "I may not like it, but…he can help you. He was meant to help you."

Qui-Gon sat and thought gravely. Meanwhile, Kagome was trying to control the feelings that were welling up inside her. Anger at Anakin always getting the attention, disappointment at not getting to race, and fear for her little brother, even though he was the source of her anger.

'Stop it. You can't get angry. You know what happens when you get angry (3),' she told herself.

She managed to control herself, but a little slipped out. Her fork rattled on the table and fell off. Everyone looked sharply at her. The fork lay still on the floor and she gave them a blank look.

"What? My elbow slipped," she lied, and then bent under the table to retrieve the fork.

Padmé stared at the girl. Her elbow hadn't slipped…the fork had moved on its own! And she had lied about it, which meant she had done it! The only people capable of that were… Padmé's eyes drifted to Qui-Gon, and found him gazing solemnly back at her.

"Found it!" cried Kagome happily as she popped back above the table.

End

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Author's Notes

(1) 'Ani' is the nickname that Anakin's mother gave him

(2) What kind of name is that?

(3) You turn into…THE HULK! LOL

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It's the second chapter! Hip-hip-hooray! It's Valentine's Day! Not really. But it is the second chapter! And flames are accepted, 'cause that way I will have something to bitch and moan about and be able to write better. 'Kay?

Ja ne! ;)