Shortly after the conversation ended, Matt and the others reached the village. Kaede:"So, I see that the three of you met. Am I to assume that he is to be your guest for the time being?" Kagome:"Yeah, Kaede. He's going to be traveling with us, at least for a while, and he has no other place to live, so...would you be willing to let him live in the village for a while?" Kaede:"Most assuredly. If he doesn't wish to live in your hut, he can stay in mine." Matt:"I'm much obliged, but I can make my own accommodations." Kaede:"Very well. I'll leave you to make your own arrangements."
Soon, night fell. Inuyasha and Kagome were staying in a hut near Kaede's. Suddenly, Kagome heard strange music coming from outside. Kagome:"Huh? Where's that music coming from. It sounds...so...sad." Inuyasha:"I don't know. We should go check it out." The couple went out of their hut, following their ears. Eventually, they came to a tree where Inuyasha used to spend a great deal of his time. Near the top, oddly enough, on the branch where Inuyasha would always sit, they saw Matt laying on his back, looking towards the star lit sky. Matt's Dragon Chains (which were only 30 feet in length in his normal state) were extended partially, and the music was emanating from them! Kagome:"Is that music coming from...those chains?" Inuyasha:"That's what it looks like. I've heard of some demons that have extendable limbs can use those limbs to express what is in their hearts." Kagome:"Well, if that's right, he's really sad. Well, I guess I'd feel the same way if my whole family was gone..."
Leaving him be, Inuyasha and Kagome went back to their own hut. A few hours later, morning came. The loving couple went back to the tree to find that Matt was still lying in the tree. Inuyasha:"Did he stay there all night?" Matt sent one of his chains down. Matt:"Yeah." He ended up startling Inuyasha and Kagome when he spoke through his Chain. Matt:"You were right about the whole 'Song of the Heart' thing, Inuyasha. But, unlike most of that kind of demon, I can speak through my Dragon Chains as well." With that, he leaped down from the tree branch. Matt:"And I must say, that tree branch was a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be!"
Kagome:"Well, I don't want to rush you, Matt, but we were planning on leaving for that neighboring village rather early. Even during the day, the forest in between is almost pitch black, and it gets even worse during the night. The sooner we leave, the better." Matt:"That's fine." So, after a quick breakfast, the threesome was off towards the aptly named Forest of Shadows. It was about a four hour walk in between Kaede's village and the Forest. At the entrance, they sat down and had a quick lunch. Immediately afterwards, they all proceeded into the Forest of Shadows.
Even at the entrance there was almost no light. Matt:"Jeez. You guys weren't kidding; I can't see an inch in front of my face!" Inuyasha:"Even with torches its almost impossible to get through the forest; the torches always go out before you get out of the forest. The forest path is about a 10 hour walk, which means it will be nightfall before we know it." Therefore, it wasn't long before a brief, gold flash filled the forest followed by the constant light of Matt's aura. Matt:"Torches might not last, but as long as I'm in my transformed state, this light will never go out!" Kagome:"That's good to hear. Even better is that now demons can't sneak up on us. We've had to take this forest path before, and it wasn't an easy trip. At least that time, though, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kilala were with us. That made fighting the few demons that roam these woods a lot easier." Inuyasha:"What are you talking about, Kagome? I can sniff out any demon that comes near us before it has a chance to do any damage." Matt:"And I can sense their souls. So, there needn't be any worries; we'll all get through this, completely unscathed!" Kagome nodded, put at ease greatly.
The group continued for another four hours, without incident. Finally, though, the walk took its toll on Kagome. Kagome:"Hey, Inuyasha, can we stop here? I can't take another step." Inuyasha:"If you're tired, I'll carry you on my back for a while, but we should get through this forest as quickly as possible." Matt:"I agree with Kagome. Besides, I can hear your stomach growling from here..." Matt extended a Dragon Chain up through the trees, above the tallest branches, to look at the sky, then added, "...and it's dark outside the forest, which means we've been traveling for at least 9 hours."
Inuyasha finally succumbed to his hunger and agreed to stop. Matt used his power to "see" through his Dragon Chains and gathered firewood, all the while not leaving Kagome and Inuyasha's sides. After a sufficient amount of wood had been gathered, they started a fire; this served two purposes, cooking supper and giving off additional light. Once the fire was started, Matt changed back to normal. The amount of light in the woods was decreased greatly, but it was enough to allow the threesome to see in a twenty foot radius. After a short time to cook "Ninja-food", as Inuyasha called it, the three of them sat down to eat.
Matt:"So, tell me you two, why are Miroku and Sango not hanging with you like they did in the past?" Kagome:"I guess it would be because we started to require different things. Inuyasha and I were still focused on finding and destroying an evil demon named Naraku, while Miroku and Sango were concentrating on finding a cure for Miroku." Matt:"Cure?" Inuyasha:"Yeah. A while ago, that lecher of a monk used his Windtunnel on Naraku. But, as a result, a small portion of the demon's miasma was swallowed up into the Windtunnel." Matt:"Is that bad?" Inuyasha:"Under normal circumstances, no. He could swallow up hundreds of demons and trap them in an infinite void that exists in his right palm. But, since he absorbed miasma along with some demon parts, it's slowing spreading a blood virus throughout Miroku's body. If it reaches his heart, he'll die. To top it off, using his Windtunnel quickens the process." Kagome:"Miroku knows that he'll die unless he can find cure to his ailment; his veins shoot out in a disfiguring red scar that spreads as the virus does. The last we saw of him, it was this far along." Kagome pointed to a part of her chest, only six inches away from her heart! Kagome:"So, Miroku and Sango went from village to village, trying to find a cure or at least a way to slow its progress."
Matt:"Wow, that sucks. Whatever happened to your buddy, Shippo?" Kagome:"Well, he grew up a lot from five years ago. He sort of went his own way, but said that the five of us would meet again in the future. I'd imagine that, since we're going to meet Miroku and Sango in the village outside of these woods, Shippo may have met up with them along the way." Inuyasha:"Yeah, if the little coward didn't get himself killed yet." Kagome:"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha:"I'm kidding. I'm sure that even he can take care of himself." Matt couldn't help but chuckle at the display, as it reminded him of the almost limitless times similar events occurred in the Anime he watched when he was younger.
However, his chuckle was cut short. In a westward direction, he sensed four souls approaching. Inuyasha and Kagome saw him look in that direction with a stern look. Inuyasha:"What is it?" Matt:"We've got company." Inuyasha:"I don't smell anything." Matt:"I guess my Soul Sense has more range than your sense of smell. But anyway, you two stay here. I'll go check it out." At that, Matt transformed and flew off in the direction of the souls. Kagome:"Inuyasha, you don't suppose it could be..." Inuyasha:"It's possible. Well, if it is them, then Matt's going to be in for a surprise..."
It turned out that Kagome was right; Miroku and Sango were also traveling through the woods, just taking a different path. They continued walking for a ways, until Matt suddenly landed in their path! Matt:"I'm not too keen on being tracked!" With the light that was being emanated from his Dragon's Soul, Matt could see that there were four people: a man, a woman, a large cat-like demon, and a small fox demon. Before Matt could explain his mistake (he'd realized that the group of four he'd confronted was really Miroku and the others), Sango lashed out.
Sango:"We weren't tracking any demons, but if you were tracking us, we won't go down without a fight! Hiraikotsu!" Hiraikotsu was a gigantic boomerang made from demon bones, and capable of slicing through most demon flesh with ease! She threw the boomerang straight at Matt, who used his four arms to block the boomerang. Matt's skin was already thick enough that Hiraikotsu wouldn't penetrate, but his adamantium bones enhanced this trait. Matt:"Ugh! Man, that thing's got a kick! Hey, can we all just calm down!" Shippo:"Wait! How can we just trust something that just attacked us?" Matt:"If I wanted to hurt you, Shippo, I would have!"
Miroku walked into the light of Matt's aura, slowly; it was obvious that the virus was taking its toll on him. Miroku:"How..do..you..know Shippo?" Matt:"The four of you and I have two mutual acquaintances." Sango:"You know Inuyasha and Kagome?" Matt:"Yeah. Those two lovebirds are waiting for me about 30 miles back. If you'd like, I can take you to them." Shippo's fox nose picked up traces of Inuyasha's scent flowing from Matt's clothing. Shippo:"I can smell Inuyasha on his clothes. I trust him." Miroku weakly nodded in agreement. So, Kilala, with the other three on her back, followed Matt back to Inuyasha and Kagome.
When they got back to the couple, they found them in the middle of a long kiss. Miroku:"Did we...come at a...bad time?" The couple was startled, but excited to see their old friends. Kagome hugged the other four to welcome them back. Matt stood back and added more wood to the fire, increasing its size. With the extra light being emanated, Matt was able change back to normal without fear. Matt once again stood in the background and watched the scene unfolding in front of him, with a huge smile both on his face and in his soul. Now that the original five heroes were back together, all that Matt knew for sure was that the journeys ahead would only get better!
After sharing some "Ninja-food" with Miroku and the others, the original group began to talk. Sango:"So, how did you two come across your new friend?" Inuyasha:"He is not our friend! He's just some wanderer who agreed to help us travel through the forest, that's all." Kagome:"Actually, we should be thanking him. He's saved our lives once and helped us in our second encounter." Shippo:"Saved your lives? What did you need saving from that Inuyasha couldn't take care of?" Inuyasha:"Nothing!" Inuyasha's pride was preventing him from admitting he needed help. Knowing her fiancé's pride, Kagome told the others what they wanted to hear; Kagome:"Well, there were mysterious demons called 'werewolves'. They seemed to be impervious to all of my Sacred Powers, and resistant to Inuyasha's demonic powers. Inuyasha managed to take out half of the 50 wolves that attacked us, but there was too many. Even the Windscar, which can take out 100 demons with one shot, only killed 13 of them! I was already mortally wounded and Inuyasha was also close to death; we would've died for sure if nothing had happened. But, Matt showed up and fought the werewolves long enough for us to get away. After that, we're not exactly sure what happened...but Kaede told us the rest of the story. After Inuyasha managed to get me back to the village, he collapsed from exhaustion. The werewolves came to village and attacked. Kaede was almost killed by one of them, but once again, Matt flew down and stopped them."
Miroku:"But...if you were mortally wounded...how are you alive?" Kagome:"Well, that's the rest of the story. Supposedly, after he'd killed the werewolves, Matt came back to the village to see if everyone was ok. After learning that we were in Kaede's hut, he entered and used some sort of spell or something to cure our injuries and heal us completely! We were both 100% when we came to the next morning! In fact, I don't think I've ever felt this good!" Suddenly, everyone turned towards Matt, who was leaning up against a tree.
He stayed away from the group, as he didn't feel entirely welcome, mostly due to Inuyasha's stubborn pride. Inuyasha:"Yeah, what did you do the heal us, Matt!" Matt seemed reluctant to answer. Kagome:"Ah, come on. We won't reveal your secret to the rest of the world." Matt:"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I guarantee that you won't want to know." Inuyasha:"Ha! What could possibly..." Matt:"Blood." Inuyasha:"...be so ba...blood!" Matt:"Yeah. Blood. I've got the power to heal instantaneously, extremely quickly. If I put a drop or two, depending on the severity of the injury, I can temporarily transfer that power to other people."
Sango:"B..b...blood!" Matt:"I told you that you wouldn't like the answer." Inuyasha:"So...you bled all over both of us while we were unconscious!" Matt:"I don't know how else I can tell you. Yes, I bled over you two to heal you. Would you rather I didn't? You might've survived because of your demon-blood but I'm sure that your girlfriend wouldn't have been so lucky! Kaede gave me an estimate that she'd've lasted until the next morning at best if I hadn't've done something!"
Matt had kind of expected what happened next; Inuyasha leaped up and smashed Matt up against a tree. Inuyasha:"How dare you! I'm gonna..." Matt:"What? Kill me?" Inuyasha growled an smacked Matt several times in the face. Inuyasha tried again, but Matt blocked the punch. Matt's lip was bleeding golden blood, another change to his DNA Structure from his final power evolution. Matt:"I might not be as strong in my normal state, but I've got enough muscle to match you any day!" Matt forced Inuyasha away with a push. Matt:"But, I have no wish to fight with any of you." With that, Matt walked away, out of the light, and out of sight.
Inuyasha growled and shouted, "HA! Good riddance!" Kagome:"Sit, boy!" Inuyasha plummeted to the ground with bone smashing force. Inuyasha:"What was that for, Kagome!" Kagome:"Whether you wanted to hear it or not, he was telling the truth! Instead of exploding on him, you should've been thanking him for saving our lives! Not only that, call me naive, but I get the feeling that he considers us to be friends! And the only friends he has at the moment to boot! I think you need to go apologize to him!"
Inuyasha started to speak, but then realized that she was right. Inuyasha:"Grrr...alright." Kagome:"I'll even go with you." So with that, the two of them took a log and made a torch, going off to find Matt and talk to him. Inuyasha soon picked up his scent and found him shortly afterward. Inuyasha was extremely reluctant to say anything at first, but eventually, after Kagome gave him a "look of death", started talking. Inuyasha:"Hey, Matt. I..." Matt:"Don't apologize. What I said was out of line. I'm the one that should be apologizing." Inuyasha:"Well, grrr...I shouldn't've picked a fight with you and I should have said 'Thank you for saving our lives' a long time ago. Truce?" Matt got down off of the tree he was sitting on and, with a smile, replied, "Truce." Having settled their differences, the threesome returned to the rest of the group.
Soon, they returned to the rest of the group. Miroku:"So, Matt, when exactly did you get your powers?" Matt:"Well, it'd be about 15 years ago. I was chosen by God, along with six of my friends, to defend what is the second dimension of my Earth. Your world is the 5th from mine. We were successful, but we were called five more times to defend that world. Each time, our powers evolved more and more, until they pecked. Life became too complicated for most of our group; there are only three of us left." Sango:"You mean...four of them got killed?" Matt:"No, they're still alive, they just had their powers removed, so they could live a normal life. I, obviously, was one of the three who was able to take the double life in stride, and not let it interfere with the ordinary life we all lead when not in our transformed states."
Shippo:"What made you come here, anyway? I mean, we've always had things under control here, at least until Miroku absorbed that Miasma..." Matt:"Well, I guess you could say that I got overconfident in my powers; in my transformed state, I'm practically invulnerable. But, my past finally caught up with me. Someone I had put in jail on my world 15 years ago got out a while ago. He tracked me to my family's home, and planted explosives. The result wasn't pretty...I was the only one that survived. So, I came here to try to sooth my soul and help out everyone I could, to try to prevent a similar tragedy from happening in other worlds."
Sango:"Well, I'd say that there are only two things that we need help with. One is finding a cure for Miroku, and the other is finding a way to defeat Naraku." Matt:"[Inner] I'd say three... [Audible] Well, regardless of how many things are required, I'll do what I can to help. First, though, we are all going to the village at the other end of these woods, correct? Then we should get some rest and continue bright and early." Kagome:"I agree. We should get some sleep." So, with that the group put out their fire and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, the group was off again. Matt's aura was lighting the way through the Forest of Shadows. Matt:"So, about how much further is it through this forest?" As Matt looked back, he saw Inuyasha carrying a still very sleepy Kagome on his back, as well as Kilala carrying the sick Miroku and his fiancé, Sango, in addition to Shippo. Inuyasha answered Matt, "Well, let's see...we've been walking for about an hour, so we've got about another hour to go." Matt:"Good. I'm getting just a bit tired of the monotonous surroundings." Inuyasha picked up the pace just a tad to catch up to Matt, while being out of ear shot of the others. Inuyasha:"I've...been meaning to ask you...why did you...even want to help Kagome and me?" Matt:"That's...a good question, Inuyasha. I suppose you can say it was because of a hunch, or even a seventh sense. I just seem to be able to tell a pair of lovebirds a mile away. I just got that feeling from you two. I felt I had to do something to help you, to prevent a tragedy like what had been inflicted upon me."
Inuyasha:"You...could...tell that just by looking at us?" Matt:"You probably won't believe this, but I've been able to see your relationship from the beginning. In my world, your exploits were merely entertainment to be viewed by people on a daily or weekly basis. I was one of millions of people who watched and enjoyed it. But, unlike most of those millions, I knew that what was entertainment, was really happening somewhere in a different world. I was right, it seems. Perhaps, I shouldn't have told you this, but I don't want to lie to a friend; and even if I didn't have this advanced knowledge, you two fight like a married couple, so it was pretty obvious."
Inuyasha:"Well, based on what I know about you, I can kind of believe anything. So, then you know about..." He looked back at Miroku and Sango. Matt:"Yeah. I also know about Lady Kikyo..." Inuyasha growled, as if Matt had struck a nerve. Matt:"Sorry, I didn't mean to strike a nerve. She's resting in peace, finally, isn't she?" Inuyasha:"...Yeah. She was killed in a confrontation with Naraku. I couldn't protect her, but she seemed happy that I at least tried. That was enough to finally put her soul at peace. Since then, she hasn't reappeared, and that was almost five years ago." Matt:"That's good news. In some cases, the past catching up with you can be harsh; a lesson I learned all too well... But, then again, sometimes when the past catches up to you, it is a good thing, or a blessing in disguise. That's how you met the love of your life, is it not?" Inuyasha:"Well, yeah, I suppose it is. I was nailed to a tree by an arrow Kikyo had shot at me...later, I was freed by Kagome, but you know all that already, don't you?" Matt smiled, and replied, "Yeah, I suppose I do..."
By the time this conversation ended, the group was finally out of the woods. Matt changed back to normal and said to Inuyasha, "It seems that talk we had served multiple purposes. It made the time fly, and we both got a great deal off of our chests." Inuyasha gave a short smile in reply, but that was all Matt needed to see; he was finally gaining at least a small amount of the half-demon's trust and friendship, and that was good enough for him.