I do not own or make a profit from Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi do. :'(

Only the original characters and the plot are mine.

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先見

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Senken

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Chapter 3

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She's Gone

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"So where are we going again?" Kagome asked just to have something to talk about as she and Kuwabara climbed the mile-long staircase, which was no exaggeration. Kagome was surprised that someone would even want all these steps, much less be able to afford them. They literally dwarfed her family shrine's staircase, which her friends in high school had always told her was impractically long. Oh, if only they could see this monster, Kagome thought to herself with a small smirk. They'd probably have a heart attack.

I bet Shippou could make it up without even breaking a sweat, Kagome mused, smiling at the thought of her teenage son. He may not look it, as small as he was, but he had explained that five-hundred years was about the time it took for his species of kitsune to reach puberty, so if his age were to be calculated in human terms, he would be about sixteen now, seeing as he had been alive for about a hundred or so years before Kagome found him in the Sengoku Jidai.

He still acts like a little kid, though, Kagome thought, remembering how much he had wanted to come with her on this little expedition today. Unfortunately, he had remembered that today was Friday, and as such, he had a job in the city. Turns out, Shippou was able to keep his kitsune appearance and continue to cast illusions under the guise of a famous magician, as long as he covered up most of his aura so that people who had a strong sixth sense but didn't know about youkai wouldn't get suspicious. Who would've guessed?

"Higurashi-san! Higurashi-san, are you listening to me?" Kuwabara called, seeming as though he had been trying to gain her attention for quite some time now.

"Woops! Sorry, Kuwabara-san, what did you say?" Kagome asked, turning her head to smile sheepishly at him.

Kuwabara just rolled his eyes and shook his head at her. "Are you sure you're up to this, Higurashi-san? We could always come back tomorrow or something," he offered.

"No, I'm fine," Kagome insisted. "I just didn't get much sleep last night." It was the truth. She'd been too busy worrying about how Keiko was doing and if she would really find Urameshi Yusuke today and what she would say to him and how in the world the main characters in her book were going to escape the evil youkai's assassins. Through all that, she had come to the conclusion that she needed much more coffee if she was to be expected to have a normal thought process that late at night. Translation: She accomplished nothing.

Kuwabara just nodded absently, watching her curiously out of the corner of his eye. Even if he did refuse to take her any further now, she would most likely forsake his guidance and go it on her own. Scratch that, Kagome would definitely find Yusuke, with or without his help.

"So, are we there yet?" Kagome asked after a moment, feeling awkward in the sudden silence.

Kuwabara looked up the near never-ending flight of stairs, noticing that he could almost make out the shape of the torii that stood guard at the front of the shrine. "Kinda. I can see the entrance now, at least."

"Really?" Kagome asked excitedly, squinting as she looked at the gateway to the shrine in the distance. "We're getting closer! Hey, I'll race you to the top!" she challenged, not wasting any time as she began to take the steps two at a time, smiling and glancing back over her shoulder at a confused-looking Kuwabara. Now that she had something to live for again-even if it was just to track down her new friend's runaway fiance-Kagome's outlook on the world had brightened considerably, and she couldn't just let all that new energy stored up inside of her go to waste.

"You're on!" Kuwabara accepted, taking the steps three at a time as he charged after her. Ascending at this ever-increasing pace, they made it to the torii in record time, leaning over with their hands on their knees to support themselves as they panted from exertion.

Kagome smiled up at her guide, having used up much of her energy but feeling even better for it. "I'd call that a tie, wouldn't you, Kuwabara-san?" she asked.

They laughed together for another moment before realizing that they had company. "Yukina!" Kuwabara cried, running up to greet the girl as Kagome stayed behind to study the newcomer. She had a kind face, framed by long, teal hair, and wore an ice blue kimono with a dark violet obi. As Kagome neared the two-trading greetings and friendly smiles-she noticed something peculiar about the girl's appearance.

Her eyes were red. Not red like she had seen before on other youkai-and she knew this girl was a youkai; she could feel it-but calmer somehow. It was not the red of bloodlust, but more the red of compassion, and Kagome thought it fit her overall appearance quite well.

"Higurashi-san!" Kagome was pulled from her inspection by Kuwabara's voice as he motioned for her to join them. She strode over to the pair, smiling at the other girl, who looked to be slightly shy, but curious about this new arrival. "This is Yukina. Yukina, this is Higurashi Kagome-san."

Kagome bowed slightly in greeting. "Konnichiwa, Yukina-san. It's nice to meet you," she said, holding out her hand to shake in greeting.

Again, the girl-demon looked hesitant-She can probably sense my mikoki.-but she reached out anyway and shook hands with the girl who was supposed to be her kind's mortal enemy. "Konnichiwa, Higurashi-san. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said in a steady, sweet voice. It made Kagome smile instinctively.

"Yukina, have you seen Genkai around here? We need to talk to her..." Kagome tuned out Kuwabara and Yukina's chatter as she felt out over the grounds for the youki she was looking for. Kuwabara had said that Genkai owned practically the whole mountain, so she had a lot of ground to cover.

Minor youkai; minor youkai; minor youkai; taiyoukai, but that's not his aura; minor; minor; tai, and again, wrong aura. Gah! How many youkai does this Genkai have on her property, anyway? Kagome thought in exasperation, sighing heavily.

"Is something the matter, Higurashi-san?" Yukina asked from where she was standing a little ways away, having heard the girl's sigh.

Kagome shook her head. "I just can't seem to find the youkai I'm looking for, and his aura seemed too out-of-control for him to know how to hide it, so..." She shrugged. "I guess he's not here. Back to square one, then."

"Well, we don't know that," Kuwabara said. "I mean, you can't sense all the way to the edge of the property, right? So we should at least go check..."

Kuwabara trailed off as Kagome shook her head. "No, I can sense that far, and I can't find him any-" Suddenly, there was a new aura on the property, and it gave her pause. It couldn't be, could it? She was still, studying the aura for a moment as it rushed towards them from the northern edge of the property, over the mountain. It has to be. I've never felt so much raw power before in anyone else...

"-san! Higurashi-san! Jeez, is this gonna be a regular thing with you?"

Kagome came back to the present, realizing that Kuwabara was calling her, probably had been for quite some time now, and was reaching out to shake her shoulder to try and jolt her back to reality. She shied away from the touch instinctively, though she was wearing her long coat once again. It was just a habit now.

Noticing her recoil from his touch, Kuwabara pulled his hand back. "What's the matter?" he asked instead. "I've been calling your name for a minute an' a half."

Kagome shook her head, as though clearing the last vestiges of sleep from her brain. "No, I'm fine," she said, smiling and turning to face the mountain, which the aura had now stopped at the peak of. "I think I just found our man."

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"Are you sure he's up there, Higurashi-san?" Kuwabara asked for the twentieth time since they had started their trek, now halfway up the mountain.

Kagome nodded, feeling out his aura once more just to quadruple-check. "Yup, that's definitely the same aura," she commented, looking back at the man who was supposed to be leading her. "Can you not sense him yet?"

Kuwabara shook his head. "I've got a strong sixth sense, but not that strong." Kagome rolled her eyes at him, huffing as she put one foot in front of the other on the barely discernible path ahead of them. Believe me, I wish he wasn't, she thought, hoping Yusuke would decide to be reasonable and come down the mountain to talk to them so that they didn't have to walk all the way up to meet him. It wasn't like it would cost him much energy. He was a friggin' taiyoukai, for goodness sake!

"Higurashi-san, why don't we just wait here for a little bit?" Kuwabara suggested, looking at the little stream that ran beside their path. "Even if he doesn't come down, we can just get some water at least."

Kagome sighed and stopped in her trek, turning to look at the stream longingly. Well, we wouldn't want to get dehydrated, she reasoned, walking over to look into the clear water. "Do you think it's even safe to drink?" she asked, not seeing any visible signs of uncleanliness, but you never did know, she reminded herself.

Kuwabara shrugged, following her to the stream's edge, just happy to have stopped. "Dunno. Can't you purify it or anything?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "If only things were that easy," she muttered, leaning down to dip one hand into the cool, flowing liquid. If things were that easy, then I wouldn't have to shoot arrows to purify youkai, or make barriers to protect myself instead of fighting with everyone else... Her thought trailed off, sadness seeping back into her mind.

"Wait a second, you're a miko, right?" Kagome nodded, not looking up. Wasn't that kind of obvious from the fact that she lived on a shrine and had a holy aura? "Then what do you want with Urameshi?"

This time, Kagome did look up, raising one eyebrow at her companion. He just now realized that I could potentially kill the man we're looking for? "I told you, I have a self-commissioned quest to find him."

"Why? You gonna purify 'im?" Kuwabara asked, immediately taking up a defensive stance.

Kagome shook her head, standing to fully face the teen. "No, I want to-"

"Wait! Something's wrong with Yukina!" And with that, Kuwabara was barreling down the mountain, former exhaustion forgotten. Kagome stared for a moment, blinking in surprise at his sudden departure, then laughed lightly. Wow, he's really smitten, she thought, giving up on the idea of drinking from the stream and continuing on up the mountain.

It took her another hour and a half to reach to top of the mountain, and Kagome paused just before the break in the trees to catch her breath, trying to look more professional. Okay, maybe daily walks in the park aren't enough to keep you in shape to climb mountains, she thought tiredly, wiping the sweat from her forehead before walking forward to face the taiyoukai.

It was definitely him. He was still wearing the same white muscle shirt, midnight hair still slicked back with gel, lightly tanned skin gleaming in the unobstructed light of the afternoon sun. He was sitting on one of the large boulders and stood guard along the edges of a small lake, staring at something he held in his hands. He didn't even look up when she entered the clearing, though she knew that he would have been able to smell her before she got this far, anyway, probably sense her aura, as well.

"Urameshi-san," Kagome said hesitantly, slowly making her way across the clearing towards him. He wasn't that far away, so it wasn't long before she could hear what he had been whispering to himself over and over.

"She's gone. She's really gone," he murmured, staring at the engagement ring he held tenderly in his hands.

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Ha, I think the best part about this chapter is that, right as I finished writing it, She's Gone by Super Junior came on. XD Sad song for a sad chapter, but it'll get better again! Don't know how soon, but it'll get better! XD

Anyway, sorry for the suckishness of this one. It's kind of a transition chapter, so I didn't really know what to do with it. Next chapter there'll be more action and stuff. ^^

Anyway (again), since I'm going to busy for most of the day today and probably into the night, I decided I'd post this chapter up early for you guys, since you're just that awesome. XD All of your reviews inspire me to keep writing. So please give me some more! XD

Now, I don't have the patience to look back at everything I used, but if anyone has any questions as to what the Japanese terms used in this story are, just send me a review and I'll get right back to you on that. ^^

Final note, this is un-beta'd and I plan to keep it that way, but if anyone has any legitimate complaints about my spelling or grammar in the story, please just tell me and I'll fix it right up. ^^ Thanks and enjoy!

Wow, another long author's note. XD