Sorry that this is late everyone. I couldn't get any inspiration for some of the scenes and it was much longer than any of the other chapters. I've also started preparing to leave for college so my updates will take longer than usual to do. I truly apologize for that my readers. Anyway, this will be the last of the chapters with pov that's not Kagome, Sota, or Itachi. I will try and limit this fic to those three povs from now one. A few reminders, I welcome all reviews and constructive criticisms. If you see anything wrong plz let me now. I don't own Inuyasha and Naruto.

Blahah=Demon Language

Blahah= More than one person speaking at the same time

Blahah= Thoughts


Makai

He had a bad feeling about this mission, and it wasn't just because he wanted to go back home. It was the same kind of feeling he got when that youkai went after him and ouji-chan. Sota unconsciously tightened his grip around Byakurō, his sense on high alert. Looking at his teammates it seemed he wasn't the only one that was feeling paranoid and jumpy. Hiei's grip was tight on his own katanna as he and the rest of the team ran around the forests of the Makai, crimson eyes gazed straight ahead as black hair shifted from the speed they were going. The only thing that gave away his tension was the stubble tensing he could see from his black clad body along with the Jagan's aura being restless. Kurama's emerald eyes were as equally focused in front of him, a hand already combing his bright red hair for the proper seed to create his famous rose whip. Even Yusuke was focused instead of his usual crass self and Kuwabara... Well he seemed focused but it was hard to tell with him.

They were all told the mission though: find the shadow youkai and stop them from taking over whatever other youkai they chose for their host. Course, Sota had wished that he'd been given a chance to change out of his still bloodied clothing, but with Koenma emphasizing speed he couldn't complain. Being a monk in training gave him even less of a right, Kagome had drilled the duties of monks and mikos into his head all through out his training. They were defenders of regular ningen(humans), keepers of the holy arts. 'The youkai hand protects, humans sustain and we are the balance in between', was how she explained it. He couldn't argue with her when he worked with the Rekai to stop youkai from breaking through the Kekkai barrier to get into the ningenkai. Or when the both of them had more youkai friends than ningen.

However as they traveled, Sota wished that he'd been born normal. The normally red sky of the Makai, usually oddly comforting, seemed almost menacing today. "Kurama are we getting closer to where the brat said these youkai were last seen?" asked Yusuke, stopping them to look around a thick patch of trees.

"Hai(yes) Yusuke," Kurama replied, his voice soft while he took out his communicator and starred at the screen. "According to the intelligence Koenma collected we should be nearing the area where he thinks the shadow youkai will be joining to their host."

"Hiei can the Jagan sense anything?" Yusuke asked, his expression serious.

"No need," Hiei answered getting into a fighting stance. "They're here."

No sooner had Hiei announced that that the sound of trees being crushed followed. Sota tensed drawing Byakurō from it's dark grey sheath, the blade almost pearly white. Everyone else drew their weapons, ready. They didn't have to wait long. The youkai literally came crashing toward them.

"Boar youkai, watch out!" yelled Sota, jumping out of the way of it's deadly tusk and landing in a tree-branch. It was easily one of the larger youkai that Sota'd ever seen. A large hulking body covered in coarse brown hair the size of a two storing house, tusks the color of aged paper and eyes a crazed yellow; one with red scrella the other with black. Kurama and Hiei also jumped into trees, Yusuke yelled "Spirit Gun!", hoping to at least wound the large boar youkai. The technique seemed to just bounce off it. And piss it off. Yusuke managed to to jump out of the way when the youkai started to charge him, Kuwarbara wasn't so lucky. He was shoved and crashed into the nearest tree, no longer moving. Sota, worried that he might have been seriously injured, probed at his aura, relieved that he'd just been knocked unconcious.

"Yusuke get Kazuma out of there!" Kurama shouted his rose whip forming in his hand. "We'll hold it off!" Yusuke nodded that he heard and Kurama attacked, Sota and Hiei following his lead and distracting the youkai for focusing on him.

(Please go easy on me, fighting scenes are difficult for me to do)

Kurama's whip struck at the boar's flank making it squeal out in pain. It turned to Kurama it's odd mismatched eyes filled with a maddening rage and charged. He jumped out the way and Hiei took his place at the youkai's back and used his signature fire attack. The youkai's flesh didn't catch fire but it did make the beast cry out in pain at the burn it received. Sota came after Hiei, lifting Byakurō, which glowed with the blue light of his reki, "Tsuki kiba o funsai!(crushing moon fang)" charged in a downward slash to the boar youkai's flank. Three lines of reki clawed down at the boar youkai and the ground around it.

"Damn you Rekai BASTARDS!" The blade and reki cut into the beat, flesh sizzling and blood poured out of the wound. The boar squealed again, tusks and head coming at him almost faster than Sota could defend himself. Tusks and steel clashed painfully and Sota flew backwards several feet into a tree. His back slammed hard against it knocking all the air out of Sota's lungs. "Sota!" "Brat!" He slid down, blood sliding down his face. He heard Yusuke calling him, but he couldn't take in enough air. How could a boar youkai TALK? Sota wondered, Their usually too stupid, even the S-class are known mostly for their monstrous strength. They're incapable of speech- That's it!

Sota stood up using Byakurō to steady his shaky legs. It was difficult to breath and his vision was becoming disjointed the more he moved, but using the familiar sounds of battle as a guide he made his way back to his teammates. He stopped at a tree near the edge of the battle feild, it had almost become a clearing if it wasn't for the numerous tree stumps. Kurama, Yusuke, and Hiei were still fighting the youkai, which now sported more serious wounds than just the ones he'd made from his reki, as did his teammates. It looks different Sota realized. Instead of brown hair and odd colored eyes it was now all black except for it's tusks, still a sickly yellow.

"Kurma we can't keep fighting this bastard we gotta find the shadow youkai before they join!" yelled Yusuke releasing another spirit gun at the youkai as Kurama's whip wrapped around a tusk in a attempt to still or at least influence the youkai's direction.

"We're trying Yusuke!" Kurama yelled right back, his feet digging into the ground as he tried to stem the boar youkai's charge. With a abrupt jerk he was flying into a tree much like Sota did. Only Kurama managed to catch himself and land on his feet before he touched the tree.

I have to tell them. Before it's too late. Sota took a deep breath, his ribs protesting the expanding, crap he might have broken a rib also, "Yusuke!"

His freinds turned to the sound of a familiar voice. Yusuke was confused while Kurama looked releived, so was Hiei but it didn't show in his face. "Sota you gotta-"

Sota shook his head, stopping Kurama from telling him to get to safety, "The shadow youkai-" He wheezed, blood sliding into his eye "-is merging with the Boar youkai!"

The shadow/boar youkai turned in his direction. Enraged that he still lived he suddenly charged in his direction, more than intent on getting to Sota's battered state. No one was close enough to help Sota before the shadow/boar youkai's tusks jabbed deeply into his body. Sota screamed at the pain in his torso and arm, dropping Byakurō uselessly on the ground. He screamed even louder when the youkai battered his body against a tree, making it's tusks dig even deeper into his body.

It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! ITHURTSITHURTS-MAKE IT STOPMAKEITSTOP! Time slowed from the pain, it was getting harder and harder to breath, his head felt oddly like it was stuffed with cotton and he tasted copper in his mouth. His vision blurred, shapes, images, turned into black blobs.

Let go. I'll stop the pain, a voice said.

It was so soothing, like his nee-chan. He wanted his sister, she'd be able to stop the shadow youkai. She was more powerful than him, she'd be able to do it in a snap, then she'd heal him with her aura and baby him for a while. That sounded nice. He could almost feel her aura covering him already.

So soothing. Peaceful.

His eyes lowered at the feeling of contentment. He didn't hurt anymore but he was so tired. Koenma interrupted his sleep before, and it was quiet. Almost.

There was a nagging feeling. Something was wrong, telling him, snarling at him, not to sleep. He couldn't sleep. Don't sleep! His nee-chan's aura thickened around him...

Something was wrong. Kagome's aura was warm, thickening like a blanket that could have been removed. This felt cold.

Chilly, cagey. Enforcing the feeling of sleep, not comforting. This was not his nee-chan's AURA!

Let go... Sleep...

No, Sota thought rebelliously. I will not give in to you!

Foolish ningen... Sleep!

He could feel the shadow youkai trying to join to his body now. He wouldn't let these youkai take his body. He'd never be able to see his friends again, images of his teammates flashed in his clearing mind. His family. Images of his kaa-san(mother), ouji-chan. His sister. Images of Kagome teaching him, teasing him, healing him. She'd done harder things than he in the Feudal Era. He wouldn't disappoint her by giving in to some low-level shadow youkai!

NO! Sota snarled, his reki reacting to the youkai. Fighting it for control. He wouldn't lose! Not to this two-bit youkai!


A bit outside Konoha

Tsunade waited at the clearing that outlined the Forest of Death, re-reading the instructions for the summoning ritual once again and trying to ignore the feeling that she was being watched by something from inside the forest. That was how it always felt before but the feeling had only intensified since the demons started appearing. One could never be too prepared, she had Jiraiya with her along with Kakashi and she'd sent Naruto and Sasuke to get Itachi. It might have been overkill for a ritual that she had no idea if it would even work, but Konoha needed it to succeed. Without it she feared that her village would soon fall to the increasing number of demons.

Tsunade sighed, too many worries were ruining her already frazzled nerves and she needed to be calm. This ritual couldn't fail. Jiraiya put a comforting hand on her shoulder, telling her that he was there to support her. Oddly enough, having her old teammate with her made her feel, not safer, she didn't think she'd ever get used to the feeling the Forest of Death now gave her, but she felt more confident about doing this. Jiraiya had done as much research as he could about the ritual, spending hours pouring over old tombs and scrolls. Struggling to understand the ritual's make up. In the end he'd done all he could.

The summoning, according to Jiraiya, wouldn't take up much chakra but the conditions were the tricky part. They'd painted a five pointed star about the size of a grown man in white chalk. It was encircled by candles, none of them lit, with five larger ones at each of the star's points. At the center point of the star was the kangi for balance, written in blood.

Actual blood.

Tsunade didn't know what disturbed her more, that human blood was needed for this ritual, or the kangi that was written with it. If Jiraiya hadn't assured her, she would have thought this some kind of forbidden jutsu.

"The ritual will work Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, his usual masked face and silver hair seemingly indifferent to what they were about to do.

Tsunade looked at the star and kangi, more than a little uneasy, "I hope so Kakashi or Konoha will fall. As Hokage I refuse to let this village fall to demons." He nodded solemnly, he could still recall the nine-tailed fox demon that attacked 16 years ago. The times were like back then, only instead of a single huge demon attacking there were hoards of them.

Three puffs of smoke suddenly appeared next to Tsunade. "Baa-chan! We got Itachi and are ready to start, believe it!" Naruto cried once the smoke cleared. Sasuke and Itachi just bowed their heads slightly, faces in their usual Uchiha expression, and joined Jiraiya and Kakashi besides her.

"Naruto! Be quiet and get behind me then we'll start," Tsunade said, too apprehensive to bash the blond like usual for his nickname.

Naruto just grinned, "Hai baa-chan!", and moved behind her.

Taking a breath to calm herself Tsunade stepped to the edge of the candle circle. Kneeling down, she bowed her head and grasped her hands together as though she was praying. Like instructed she let her chakra flow from her body but made no move to direct it, it was simply there.

"Enma-sama hear our plea," Tsunade said, beginning the summoning. Suddenly a single candle lit, almost like whatever Kami the ritual instructed to call upon heard her, and gave an indication that it was paying attention.

"Master of Death," Another candle. "Lord of the Spirits." Another. "Keeper of the Gates." Another. "Creater of the Kekkai" And another.
All the candles at the star's points were aflame now and Tsunade moved to the next postition for the ritual. Still kneeling she unclasped her hands and put them next to the first two candles that lit.

"This one humbles herself before you," as soon as the words let her mouth she could feel something almost grab her chakra. It was strange. "This one asks, King of Kings, Lord of Lord, not for herself but for others. A balance broken." More of her chakra was grabbed and 2/5ths of the remaining candles lit. "A gift forsaken." The rest of the candles lit. "A servant's murder." Now Tsunade was really starting to become nervous. Something was happening, she didn't know what was happening but something was. The blood in the star seemed to... steam. Tendrils of colored mist rising up from the edges of the kangi.

"As the mortal hand sustains." The tendrils started to circle but no wind blew. "The youkai hand protects." The tendrils thickened till they were an opaque bubble at the center of the star. "And the holy hand brings balance." The bubble grew, expanded, darkened. According to the ritual, Tsunade was supposed to remain where she was or the whole thing would fail. But for the first time in her life, she wanted to flee. Whatever this ritual was supposed to summon was giving her a chilling feeling up her spine. But she needed to do this!

"Bringer of balance, reveal thyself to this one!"

The bubble exploded and a scream filled with pain and defiance clawed up the spines of everyone present. Even the Forest of Death stilled at that cry. Tsunade could do nothing but stare. Something that didn't, couldn't be, human formed from the remains of the bubble. Twisted arms with deadly looking claws, body deformed and covered in what looked to be tar. She couldn't see a face, only a gaping mouth with jagged white teeth. It gave another piercing cry, one of it's twisted, gnarled hands, releasing something that fell to the ground. Tsunade felt her shinobi tense behind her.

That seemed to catch the attention of... the creature. Hollowed eyes gazed at them for a second. Then dissipated in whirl of blackness, all the candles no longer lit.

Tsunade fell back, shaking badly. "Tsunade!" "Hokage-sama!"

Jiraiya knelled down to her, putting an arm around her shaking form. Suddenly she felt the oppressive chakra of the nine-tailed fox. She turned to observe Naruto, pupils becoming slits and irises red. He snarled at at the circle but made no move to get closer to it.

What is he snarling at? Tsunade wondered, following his line of vision. There in the center of the cirlce was what appeared to be a young man holding onto a dark gray sheath and covered with blood. She turned around to Kakashi, who wasn't taking his visible eye off Naruto, and nodded.

Kakashi slowly passed Naruto, unsure at why the fox wasn't attacking if it was out. Very slowly he picked up the young man from the cirlce, the blade slipping out of his hands and dropping to the ground. To say that he was surprised when he got a closer look at the boy would be a understatement. If Kakashi didn't know better he could of said that the boy was defiantly an Uchiha. The pale complexion, unusually handsome face, hair that looked almost ebony but had blue highlights in the sun was tied in a low ponytail. If he had black eyes then he was defiantly an Uchiha. At first glance he even looked like Sasuke!

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"You don't happen to have any living relatives do you?" Kakashi asked, needing Sasuke, more Itachi, to confirm what he was seeing.

"Hn, no, all the Uchiha's were killed when Aneki(big brother, I think) slaughtered the clan. Why Kakashi-sensei?"

"Because this kid looks too much like an Uchiha not to be one," he said, bringing over the unconscious boy to show the others. Everyone looked at the boy, especially Itachi and Sasuke, eyes wide. The skin tone, hair color, heck he even had the Uchiha's handsome features!

"Return him." Everyone looked at Naruto, his eyes no longer red but their normal blue. He looked the most uneasy any of them had ever seen the blond prankster of Konoha ever look

"Naruto? What do you mean?" Tsunade asked, her shaking finally stopping at the incredulousness of the young Uzumaki.

Naruto shrugged, "The Kyuubi wants him gone. Nothing good will come of him staying here. Keeping him here will bring something bad, baa-chan. Something worse than whatever that... thing... was, is what Kyuubi says. He seems more frightened about that might come looking for him than anything I've ever seen before."

"We have to see if the summon worked Naruto. Even if he does look like an Uchiha," Kakashi argued, unsure of how to take his student's new seriousness or the fact that they'd just summoned someone who looked very much like a member of the deceased Uchiha clan.

Tsunade released Jiraiya and stood up, "I have to agree with Kakashi on this one Naruto, until we know that this young man can help us he'll stay. And if's a relative of the Uchiha's the council will have to be told anyway with so few left. If he can't help us or isn't a relative then we'll send him back to where he came from."

Jiraiya briefly looked guilty before he masked it, no one but Itachi saw it. Everyone else was either looking at the young man that the Hokage had just summoned or at Naruto's odd behavior, so no one would have noticed. But Itachi was trained by some of the best, to be the best, so he saw the look.

He wouldn't have that look unless something was wrong. What's wrong about returning the boy to his home? Did the Sanin not tell them everything about this ritual? And Naruto's words, something actually worse than that black creature... The idea made him a little ill , even with all that Itachi had seen in his life as a shinobi. But that was for another time and place. There were too many unanswered questions for now, and this boy that they'd summoned had the answers to many of them.

Tsunade sighed heavily, this was just too much. First that thing, then the person that she'd summon to help Konoha just happens to look like a member of the Uchiha clan, now her successor and the Kyuubi were acting odd. As if she wasn't going to have a field day with the Council already!

"Let's take him to the hospital for now, he seems to have been injured if his clothes are anything to go by. And we'll be able to run some tests on himto find out if he is an Uchiha."

"Hai Hokage-sama"


In the Rekai

Koenma wished, more than anything that he'd ever wished before, that Kurama hadn't just told him what had occurred in the Makai. The red headed male was obliviously worried about his youngest teammate even while he was giving his report, as did the others. The worry, surprisingly, came from actual affection for the young boy. Koenma would have found it kinda ironic that his youngest detective would be so accepted as a good friend by his rekai tanti, even the always stoic and violent Hiei, if his sister didn't have the same gift with making friends with almost anyone and everyone.

The thought of Sota's sister made Koenma shiver in fear. What she might do when she realized that he was missing nearly made him wet his diaper. Which means that she can't find out, he thought.

"We have no idea where he and the youkai could have gone, even Hiei's Jagan couldn't pick up any traces of his aura anywhere. It's like he just vanished," Kurama finished, narrowing his eyes when he saw Koenma shiver. He felt Youko shift, curious why his scent was beginning to smell of fear.

"We'll just have to find the brat and get him home," Yusuke said, his exterior gruff as usual but chocolate brown eyes worried for his teammate. "We'll probably have to tell the kid's family though, that he's missing."

Koenma jumped up, "No! You can't tell his family."

Kurama's eyes turned to regard Koenma coolly. He and Youko disliked the idea of not telling his family, mostly out of a kitsune's natural instinct to have connections with family members. "Why not? We were told that his family is aware of the existence of the Kekkai barrier and that he's a rekai tanti, there shouldn't be-"

"No!" Koenma rejected, vehemently. "You are not to tell any member of the Higurashi family about Sota's disappearance and that's final."

"What the hell Koenma?! You're telling me we can't tell the brat's family that he's honestly missing and we have no fucking clue where he is? Is you're diaper on to tight?"

"Yeah Koenma!" Kuwabara said, "The Higarashi's already know he works for the Rekai, there's no reason not to-"

"You idiot!" Koenma yelled, throwing his rubber stamper at Kuwabara's head, which he unfortunately ducked in him and avoided getting hit. "If you told his family than she will know! And if she knows..." Koenma felt it then. Her aura, she was here! The doors to his office slammed open, doors nearly flying off hinges at the force.

"Koenma! You little bastard you LOST my BROTHER?!"

She was here, and he was going to die at the hand of Kagome Higurashi, the Shikon no Miko. Last, and most powerful, miko to be born since the time of Midoriko.

"K-Kagome-sama!" he squeaked.

Kagome's eyes flashed. "You bastard Koenma! We had a deal! You let my precious ototo be one of your blasted detectives, you keep an eye on him, and I never return to this thrice damned hell of a world ever again! And now Hiitsuki tells me that Byakurō and Sota's auras are gone!" she snarled.

She stomped her way to his desk, her anger so focused on him that she didn't even seem to see the others in the room. She was wearing her miko clothing, the sight would normally make her look lovely, ivory white haori contrasting with her ebony blue hair nicely and hakama the same sapphire blue as her eyes. His father had once told him that if he ever enraged anyone in his long life, to never piss the Shikon Miko off because she was as vicious as she was beautiful. "Kagome-sama, please! Allow me to explain! Please!"

She grabbed his light blue kimono with one hand, the other glowing a light pink. He could feel her power wrapping around his throat, choking him, even though her glowing hand wasn't anywhere near him. "No, Koenma! You knew the terms! How hard is it to watch a 15 year old kid? He'd a monk for Kami's sake! The only other soul with reki in all the three worlds. And now he's gone because you let some youkai take him!"

"Kagome," said Hiei, looking almost, happy, for the first time anyone had ever seen him. Kagome turned, looking for the one that called her name. Ruby and sapphire met, and she squealed in delight, "Hiei!" Releasing Koenma, who fell to the ground with a thud, and hand no longer glowing she skipped to him and gave him a hug.

Eyes widened when Hiei made no move to stop her from wrapping her arms around his waist, and widened even more when he seemed to return the hug. He even seemed to smile. Kurama coughed, having known Hiei the longest and never see him be remotely affectionate with anyone, Yukina notwithstanding. Yet here he was, hugging a woman, a miko no less if the sting he'd felt from her power was anything to go by. And who just a moment ago looked ready to murder Koenma right then and there.

The two looked up at Kurama, Hiei's eyes widened marginally then narrowed at him as if daring him to say something. Anything. Kurama merely smiled, "Hiei aren't you going to introduce us to this lovely lady?"

Kagome blushed, embarrassed at her lack of manners in front of friends of Hiei's. Not wanting to leave the embrace of her long time freind she twisted to look at the red head, sensing her thoughts Hiei dropped one arm from around her waist. But he too made no move to leave the comfort of her embrace, too long denied to him and her presence.

"Forgive me, Youko-san, for my manners. I guess I was just too happy to see Hiei again that I forgot to introduce myself," Kagome said, not noting how everyone but Hiei starred at her in shock. "I am Kagome Higurashi, the Shikon no Miko. It's very nice to finally meet you"

Kurama took a step back, "The Shikon no miko? The Shikon no Miko that defeated Naraku over 500 years ago? The mother of the current bandit king of the south Makai?"

Kagome's eyes softened, "That's me. Though I didn't know about that. I'm going to give that kit a stern talking to, keeping something like that from his mother." She sighed, a smile full of love and pride for her child on her face, "My darling boy has gotten so famous so quickly, but I suppose it's no surprise. Shippo always tried to steal treats from me when he was a kit." She giggled. "I suppose now I have another reason for trying to get him a mate, well besides giving me grandkits to spoil."

Hiei rolled his eyes, "As if that fox would settle down. He went missing for 13 years the last time you tried to get him to mate, he isn't going to be anything but lecherous for decades more."

Kagome sighed eyes gazing heavenward, from the way she reacted this was a old disscussion, "I know. But is the idea of giving his mother grandkits to spoil such a bad thing? Shippo certainly didn't complain with the way I spoiled him, stubborn kit."

"Whoa, whoa, just wait a second," Yusuke said, "First you barge in here, then you almost murder the toddler and now you're complaining about your son?"

"That's right," Kagome said, confused to what the young man was getting at.

"Are you bi-polar or something?" he blurted out, a deadpanned expression on his face.

"Yusuke, you don't ask the Shikon no Miko, a miko who can purify you with a touch of her hand, that kind of question," Kurama sighed, an 'You're an idiot for asking' went unsaid but still there. "Wow Uremsehi, really smooth," Kuwabara said, tone indicating he agreed with Kurama.

Kagome just giggled, completely at ease with the question. She'd been asked it many times in her life, at first it was a little annoying but was so common nowadays it was like asking if the sky was blue. Still amused she answered, "No Yusuke-san, I don't think so. Though you might want to listen to what Youko-san is saying, if I was any other miko you'd be a pile of ashes on the floor." Then she remembered why she was angry in the first place.

Her aura rose with her reki, carefully controlled to avoid hurting her friend, but making Koenma float up from the ground where he'd been trying to crawl away. He struggled against her power but couldn't do anything but float to their little group by his ankle, the rest of him dangling in the air. Kagome's eyes narrowed at the child ruler, "But unless Sota is found soon I'm afraid that you'll have to look for someone else to run this pathetic excuse for a dimension in his father's stead. And then find someone to replace his father. Cause when I'm done with these two there's not going to be anything but purified bits and pieces."

Koenma stilled, not doubting her threat in the least. And the other males looked very uncomfortable, though Hiei didn't look to care at all.

Clearing his throat, a difficult thing since her reki was making his entire body tingle with painful little pin pricks, "Kagome-sama, perhaps you'd be capable of helping us find Sota since you're a miko of great power yourself." Immediately Koenma fell to the floor and the sensation of her reki disappeared back within her body.

"Youko-san you're a genius!" she smiled, "Thank goodness someone in this pathetic world can use his brain to think outside the box."

Kurama smiled despite himself, "Thank you Kagome-sama, please call me Kurama."

"Only if you call me Kagome," she replied, "I don't really like titles."

Even though he knew that she could purify him in a second, she and Sota had the same spirited innocence and friendly personality about them. It made Kurama like Sota the moment that he'd met the kid, and now he was starting to like his elder sister. 'Look at those eyes Red. Besides she has a kitsune son, she's used to our kind. Plus she's beautiful! And that power! She'd make an excellent mate.' Though he wished Youko would stop whispering about her.

"Well then let's go. The sooner we head to the Makai the sooner we get my ototo back."

Koenma finally roused from being dropped unceremoniously on the floor, "But Kagome-sama you can't allow the Shikon into the Makai! It would become corrupted from the yoki laced lands and every youkai there would be able to sense the jewel's aura. You would be target by the entire population!"

Kagome just smiled, eyes alight with mischief. "The jewel will be fine Koenma. I have kept it safely hidden among youkai before, I am more than capable of doing it again."

"But-"

Her temper was quick to resurface and she left Hiei's comforting embrace, "You have no right to dictate what I do when you are the one that lost my brother's aura! I will go to the Makai, with or without your tantai, and I will find my ototo." A pink glow surrounded her body and her hair moved with an invisible wind, the promise of death by purification more than evident. She turned around to face the rekai tantai, eyes still alight with temper, "I hope that you all would be kind enough to escort me to where Sota disapeared, please?"

"Of course, Kagome," said Kurama. Hiei nodded, "Hn." "Tch, fine."

"No offence Kagome-chan," Kuwabara said. "But a lady such as yourself really shouldn't go into the Makai without some kind of protection."

Kagome looked down at her clothes, what he'd said was true. Her usual clothing wasn't really suitable for traveling around a world full of youkai, it didn't really offer any protection other than the charms that were sewn into it. Plus other than Hiitsuki, who was always in her reach, she didn't have any of her weapons with her. How considerate of him to remind him of me of my saftey, she thought kindly.

"Don't worry though! I the great Kazuma Kuwabara will protect you!"

Ignoring what Kuwabara was saying Kagome used her reki to summon her armor onto her body. The tantai stood, transfixed. Another haori, this one a dark blue with silver cherry blossoms and curate of ebony colored leather appeared on her, the armor fit tight against her haori and body, accentuating the feminine body underneath it. A silver and red obi wrapped around her waist and held a black sheath with crimson feathers to her side. Solid black shoes replaced her shrine sandals and a white ribbon wound into her hair, gathering it into the back and away from her face. Gauntlets appeared on her hands looking to be made form the very same material as her curate. Across her back a halberd, it was as tall as she was, appeared and secured with a leather sheath that buckled at her heart.

"You still carry Banryu." Hiei said it more of an observation than a question.

Kagome smiled, and caressed the buckle, "You know I could hardly refuse his previous owner, Hiei. He'd never forgive me if I'd refused." He nodded at this. "Besides Hiitsuki rather likes Banryu staying close to me, she prefers a more sneaky approach to her abilities, than to cause destruction. And Banryu certainly likes to destroy things."

At the mention of destruction her halberd's aura become ruthlessly gleeful, and that unnerved them, a lot.

She unsheathed the blade at her side, it was a curved katana with a tauntingly wicked sharp edge, the blade glowed light gray and handle was a bloody orange. She cut a X in the air and re-sheathed her blade. The space unfolded in the same shape as she had cut and she turned to each of them, "Shall we go then?"


Makai

They soon arrive at the area where Sota and the youkai fought before they disapeared. The area certainly looked like it had seen battle. Trees had been crushed or torn from their stumps, jagged pieces of bark jutting upward where the rest of the tree was ripped off. The once grassy forest floor had burned areas, Hiei was responsible for those no doubt, and other areas had slash marks cut into the earth. That was from Sota, Kagome could feel the residue of Byakurō's attack at the edges. Kagome narrowed her eyes and focused on her ototo's aura, it was different. That couldn't happen, no ones aura can be changed, it was the very expression of their self, their feelings, personality, memories, could be sensed in an aura.

They brought her to where the youkai and her brother vanished. A single tree. "This is where they disappeared," Kurama said. "According to Sota the shadow youkai was trying to merge to the boar youkai we were fighting. It knocked Sota away with minimal injuries at first, maybe it thought that he wasn't a threat. But when he told us they were merging it reacted more violently. It forced him into the tree." Kagome touched the red mark on the tree, it was still wet to the touch. She probbed it with her aura, hopping to find something, anything to lead her to her ototo. She visibly flinched back at what she felt. Her ototo had been in so much pain and his reki had been trying to fight off the possessed youkai. "Sota screamed, then he got quiet. Then he released a large blast of reki and the two of them vanished."

Yes, his pain and reki were soaked into the blood on the tree. But there was something more, she coudln't feel it with just her aura she had to touch it. So she did. The bark was smooth despite everything that had happened to this particular tree, and what she had sensed was there. There was more than just his pain and reki under her hand.

Her brow furrowed in confusion, what the hell. "There's spirit energy here, but there's something wrong with it" she said.

"Spirit energy? Like what Uremeshi uses?" Kuwabara asked.

Kagome nodded taking her hand off the tree, "Yes, like what Yusuke-san uses but it's been altered. Which is very odd."

"How so?" Yusuke said.

"Well usually spirit energy is just that, spirit energy," Kagome said, trying to explain. The tantai watched her tap her chest, right where her heart was. "It originates from the soul much like reki does but reki is only used by holy people like me and Sota, who are given our power from the Kami themselves with our souls used as mediums. Spirit energy can be used by any regular ningen if they have the right training, it won't always be a large amount but it will be there." She waved at the tree, "This though is different. Instead of pure spirit energy, it's a mixture of spiritual and physical energies, and even stranger I can sense residual intent. Like someone was trying to summon something."

"Why would anyone want to summon Sota?"Kuwabara asked.

"Idiot," said yusuke. "Some ningen could have been trying to summon the shadow youkai, since the brat's weak." Kagome bristled at the insult at her ototo but held her tongue, focusing more on the left over emotions and strange energy mixture than giving into her desire to let Banryu slash the idiot.

"Hn, if it was a summoning of some kind they'd want Sota. He's the only other person with actual reki in the last 500 years, shadow youkai are vermin. They're found everywhere."

"If that's true Hiei," Kurama said. "Why would someone need Sota? Though he posseses reki he's not the most powerful, and he has very little battle experience."

Kagome finished analyzing the energy, more than a little disturbed, and angry. "That's cause whoever did this wasn't looking for Sota specifically," she said, voice rough with contained feeling.

"Why would you say that Kagome?" Kurama asked.

"I was taught this very techniqe by my sensei(teacher). Though it lacks yoki and has been modified to compensate for it, the base is still the same technique a young youkai would be taught to bring forth their yoki before they do a particular spell."

"I don't get it," Kuwarbara said, clearly confused, as was Yusuke. Kurama and Hiei just waited for her to explain it to the two idiot tantai.

"It means Kuwarbara-san, that whoever intended to summon sota wasn't targeting him specifically. It was basically looking for anyone with substantial reki, not him. Like doing a general search, when your looking for something with reki as the tag. But there's one thing I don't get..."

"Hn, what onna?"

"Damn it Hiei! I told you to call me by my name!"

"Kagome, I think that you should finish explaining before you decide to argue with Hiei."

Kagome's face flushed with embaressment, but she felt better argueing with Hiei over something relatively normal. Well, arguing with stubbornly stoic demons to call her by her proper given name was normal for her. She huffed, willing herself to focus, "I taught Sota most of what I know from my time being the Shikon's gaurdian. And while he's powerful in his own right, Kurama is right, his reki dosn't even compare to my own. If this summoning was looking for a person with large amounts of reki it would naturally gravitate to the person with the greater power. Namely, myself."

"And what does that have to do with anything Kagome-san?" Kuwarbara asked, a little less confused.

Kagome motioned to the tree, "I was in the ningenkai at the time this happened and part of my own training was to mask my aura and reki, I hadn't taught Sota the technique yet because he needed more experience facing youkai before he could understand the foundation of it. But with Sota being impaled by the youkai it caused his reki to fluctuate wildly. His reki would have tried to purify the youkai, seeing it as a foreingn invader. The sudden flux of reki would have purified it mostly Sota's strong enough to do it, but it also must have brought the attention of the technique to him since I was masking my own."

"So your saying that because you kept your reki masked this particular summoning thought you were an anverage human," Kurama said, putting the dots together. "And that's why you are still here and Sota is not."

It sounds like It's my fault that he was taken when you say it like that, she thought, even though it wasn't true, necessarily. Kagome nodded anyway, not allowing her thoughts to show on her face, "Correct, with Sota's own reki flaring out to expel the youkai the summoning thought he was the only being with reki and most likely took him to the ningen who preformed the technique."

"So where is the brat then?" Yusuke asked, irritated by all the talking and nobody doing anything.

"I have no idea." Everyone fell over at that and her deadpanned expression.

Chosing to ignore the silence she continued, "While the energy from the summoning is unique, it would be possible to recreate the summoning using the proper technique as a base while powering it with my reki. It woudln't take me to where Sota is exactly but I would be wherever he is."

"Then do it and let's get the brat back here," Yusuke said, eager to get the show on the road.

Kagome frowned at him, the impatience and insult an unpleasant reminder of someone else, "I'm thankful for you taking me here, Yusuke-san, I'm afraid that I can't allow you to come with me."

"Eh? Why not Kagome-chan?" Kuwarbara asked, stunned.

"Please don't think I'm ungrateful for helping me," Kagome said quickly, not wanting to be rude to them. "But this could be a one way trip, I have no idea where I would be taking you, or if my reki would even react the same way once we arrived. I couldn't ask you, any of you, to give up your lives just to go after Sota with me."

Her words made them all stop and actually think about who they would be leaving behind, sisters, lover, fiance, family. Reluctantly they nodded, though it hurt them too agree. One by one they bid her farewell. Hiei was the last to say goodbye, ruby eyes the warmest Kagome had ever seen. He took her hand with one of his and dropped silver necklace with a single red stone, in it. "Hn, don't forget Ka-go-me." Kagome starred at the stone in her hand, awed by the gift he'd just given her. His own Hiroseki(tear gem). Her eyes started to tear, and she clutched the necklace to her chest.

Warm arms wrapped around her, and she nuzzled her face for the last possible time into his shoulder. "I won't Hiei, put it on for me?"

They let go of each other and he did as she asked. Kagome gave him a watery smile and moved away, "Goodbye Hiei."

She vanished, not in a wide showy way, but a simple fading. As if she was never there at all.