Yuuna woke up to the sun shining in her eyes through the bedroom window. After rubbing her eyes she glanced at the clock, the glowing numbers showing quarter after ten. "Ugh…I slept in too late." She mumbled getting out of bed. Standing in front of her dresser she glanced in the mirror as she brushed her hair. However a different person was staring back at her, she continued to stare at her reflection showing her in her hanyou form. Her hair was the familiar raven black with black ferret ears with white tips perched at the top of her head replacing her human ones. Smiling shown fangs and glancing at her hands she saw claws.
"I didn't think the effects would wear off overnight…" Yuuna shook her head, glancing towards the pull out bed. Mai was gone but Inuyasha was still asleep, his red kimono sprawled on the back of the couch. Yuuna smirked, 'I told him he was going to get hot.' Yuuna thought and stared at the vacant place Mai was laying the night before. 'Mai is probably running around the house somewhere…she should still be normal. I have at least one more day till demons will start to pick up my scent.' Yuuna thought continuing to brush her hair and then braided her hair starting at the base of her neck.
Walking in the closet, closing the door behind her, she changed clothes choosing her regular black cargo pants held up by a blue plaid studded belt, a white beater under a black hoodie and a dark blue scarf. Walking out of the closet Inuyasha disappeared, assuming to try and find Kagome. Sniffing the air for Mai's scent she followed it till she reached the bathroom. The door was already ajar and once she opened it she saw Kagome's mother helping Mai take her toys out of the bathtub, Mai still in her human form.
"So this is where you disappeared." Yuuna smirked catching Mai's attention. "Sister, you're back to your old self again. Does that mean I'm going to change back as well?" Mai asked but Yuuna shook her head. "Not yet but pretty soon."
"Good morning Yuuna, I hope you don't mind but I went ahead and gave Mai a bath already." Kagome's mother said. "No, thank you. I appreciate it." Yuuna responded. Mai twirled in a circle, her arms outstretched. "Look sister, I'm wearing my new clothes!" She wore a gray ruffled skirt with a matching headband pulling her hair away from her eyes and a white shirt with gray stars going across the front and down the right sleeve with a matching wristband.
"I see and you look adorable! We'll have to get a picture of you before we leave." Yuuna smiled at Mai's excitement. "Oh Yuuna, Mai has already eaten but I made you and Inuyasha breakfast when you are ready to go down and eat." Kagome's mother stated.
"I'll go retrieve him, thanks again." Yuuna responded heading to Kagome's room. Kagome and Souta should've already left for school hours ago. Opening the door she saw Inuyasha sitting on top of her bed teasing the cat Buyo. Hearing the door open he looked towards her, surprise etched on his face she assumed was because of her changes appearance.
"Come on, Kagome's mother made both of us breakfast and it's probably getting cold." At the mention of food Inuyasha stood immediately, a certain noodle food passing through his mind. Yuuna led the way to the kitchen, Inuyasha on her tail.
Sitting on the kitchen table was a bowl of ramen and a plate full of eggs, bacon, and toast. Inuyasha pushed past her taking a seat at the table, instantly started consuming the noodles. Yuuna shook her head and took a seat as well, starting to eat her own breakfast. After she finished eating Yuuna left Inuyasha at the table to continue his noodle cannibalism while she went to her bedroom to start packing. Just about to walk into her bedroom she stopped at the sound of the bathroom door opening, Mai and Kagome's mother stepping out. "Sister," Mai yelled excited.
"Hey Mai, go ahead and do me a favor and start packing some of your clothes. We're going on a little trip." Mai nodded at Yuuna's request and obediently walked in to the bedroom.
"Where are you going?" Kagome's mother asked, a slight worried tone to her voice. "I have to go see an old friend about producing some more of this fabric for me and I have to get Mai out of here before the effects ware off. I would be able to go by myself but I can't nor will leave Mai here unprotected. Not only for her sake but your family's as well." Yuuna responded.
"And how do you know that you will be able to protect her?" Inuyasha's voice carried. Yuuna looked seeing him leaning against the top railing of the banister, arms crossed in his sleeves. Yuuna gaze was piercing from his tone but he continued, "You said last night that fabric of yours will start to take your own life force right?"
"What? How is that possible?" Kagome's mother asked causing Yuuna to clench her fists, this worry was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Yuuna ignored her and turned towards Inuyasha. "Yes, I believe I mentioned that last night."
"And you also said the shards power will hold the effects longer than the fabric will but what if the shards are stolen from you in case something happens?" Inuyasha asked. "Yuuna, why don't you have Inuyasha come with you?"
"Because…I didn't want to bring anyone else into this, particularly why I didn't completely explain myself to you before and I didn't explain the other side nasty side effect the fabric holds. Once I take the choker off after it begins draining me, if it's not too late, it will take my strength instead of my life to counteract the remaining power that was linked with my body. It takes me at least a day or two before I retrieve all of my strength back on my own without any remedies.
"The trip normally takes a few days. The woman who makes the fabric travels and she's never in the same place for long so I first have to visit a friend who lives in the mountains, miles away from civilization. She can find the woman's location for me. That's the easy part, the hard part is finding the woman if she's still alive. There are humans and demons alike who want to hide their auras from others and dedicate their entire lives hunting her down…anyway this is something I have always done on my own and aside from that happy note Kagome and Inuyasha need to get back to the feudal era to search for the shards."
"Feh, you do realize you have the shards we're looking for. I'm not letting you get away with those in you possession, especially if you're saying the woman you're going after is always fleeing from danger and there's no way I'm letting some lowly demon steak the shards." Inuyasha said. Yuuna looked at him with disfavor wanting to argue but had to agree with him all the same.
"Fine…we're leaving as soon as I'm done packing. Be ready." Yuuna didn't wait for a response walking into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. "Thank you for your help Inuyasha. I'm sure she appreciates it." Kagome's mother stated. Inuyasha mumbled a thank you before retreating back downstairs.
Yuuna glared at her bedroom door long after closing it, receiving questionable gazes from Mai. "Sister, why are you staring at the door?" Yuuna turned seeing Mai standing by the bed, her stuffed bear in her grasp. "It's nothing Mai…have you already started getting some clothes like I asked." Mai nodded and pointed to a bag set in front of the closet. The bag was stuffed to the brim with clothes. "Mai, we're only going to be gone for a few days…you didn't have to try and bring all your clothes." Yuuna laughed.
"I know but I didn't know which outfit I liked more so I wanted to bring them all." Mai cheered. "Sister, where are we going?" Yuuna grabbed another bag from the closet and started packing some of her own clothing.
"We're just going to visit one of my friends to see if I can get her to make me more of this special cloth we both wear with the pretty gems." Yuuna responded. "We're going to a different part of town where all you can see are the mountains and trees filled with different types of animals. I've never taken you there before because there are normally a lot of demons but Inuyasha will be coming with us to help protect you."
"Inuyasha is coming? He seems like a nice man." Mai said cheekily. Yuuna smiled. "Yes, he does seem like that doesn't he? Why don't you go see if he wants to play a game with you while I finish packing?" Mai nodded and ran out of the room.
Minutes pass until Yuuna was completely finished getting all the essentials. She threw both bags over her shoulder and opened the top drawer of her dresser grabbing two black beanies. Quickly placing one on her head she ran downstairs to the living room where she found Mai and Inuyasha sitting across from one another, cards sprawled between them and holding a few in their hands. Mai was smiling but Inuyasha however seemed completely frustrated.
"What are you two doing?" Yuuna asked. Mai looked up, her smile broadening responding, "I'm teaching Inuyasha how to play go fish."
"I'm sorry Mai but we have to get going so put it away. I'm sure you can play some other time." Mai pouted but did what she was told meanwhile Inuyasha stood coming to Yuuna's side.
"I thought you said the effects of that cloth lasted longer for Mai." Inuyasha whispered causing Yuuna to look at him confused. "They do, why do you ask?" Yuuna questioned. "Her scent has changed. She's starting to smell like a hanyou, not a human. Don't you smell it?"
"My senses don't come back quickly but if she's starting to smell like a half demon that means I'm completely off with how long it's been since the effects started to fade."
"What, how do you get something like that wrong?" Yuuna glared at him. "Well it's not like these things have a tag attached with an expiration date." She retorted. "You have to take that thing off; we can't have you dying halfway there!" He said. "If I take it off now that will slow us down. I won't even have the ability to walk."
"Look, the only reason I'm doing this is to make sure no one else gets the jewel shards so if you're going to die in the process it doesn't matter either way to me but you can't let the kid try to stick it out on her own. So take the damn thing off." A growl emitted from the back of her throat. "Fine pup but you better make sure Mai doesn't fall behind." Yuuna responded directing her attention to Mai who finally finished putting the deck of cards away.
"Mai, come here please." Yuuna requested, kneeling on the ground. Once Mai stood in front of her she placed the other black beanie on her head and unraveled her scarf. She fingered the choker around her neck before looking at Mai. "Remember when I told you the power of this cloth could be dangerous after I wear it for a long period?"
Mai nodded and she continued, "Well this is that time. I have to take this off and I'm going to give it to you to wear and hold on to for me till we get to my friends. It won't affect you because you're smaller than me and your cloth is still working alright. But you have to promise me you'll keep it on until I tell you to, ok? " Mai looked at her worried but nodded.
Yuuna smiled and nodded. "That's my girl." She unclasped the fabric quickly and placed it around Mai's neck followed by her scarf. Yuuna's breathing became labored and she immediately felt groggy, her limbs became too heavy to lift without immense struggle. She carefully tried to stand but once she was straight up she lost her balance, falling backwards. Inuyasha was able to catch her with ease and picked her up on his back. Yuuna tried to keep her breathing steady but was having a terrible time succeeding.
"Come…come on Inuyasha. We need…we need to get there as soon as possible." Yuuna said. Inuyasha nodded and looked to Mai. "Come on kid, I'm going to have to carry you too for you to keep up." Mai nodded and Inuyasha carried them both outside. Kagome's mother and grandpa were both outside sweeping.
"Bye, bye auntie! Bye, bye grandpa!" Mai called waving goodbye. "Hurry back now," Kagome's mother said. "Yes, have a safe trip." Grandpa added.
"Tell Kagome we'll be back later." Yuuna said and they both nodded their heads in understanding. "Alright Inuyasha, go ahead and start heading north and continue. I'll give you directions as we go." Nodding he ran. Inuyasha continued through the city while Yuuna gave directions. They went through the city and began going through dense forest. Inuyasha continued to run until the sun started to set. Mai was already asleep in Inuyasha's arms and Yuuna was starting to receive some energy back but Inuyasha was starting to lose his patience. "Hey Yuuna, it's been hours. How far away is this damn place?" Inuyasha asked.
"Oh, relax will ya. It's not too far now. We're almost there." Yuuna responded. "Then why don't you get off and run yourself. You sound perfectly fine to me."
Well you could just think about it this way, you are helping a person in need," Inuyasha glared at her and she continued, "Or if that doesn't work then this is an easier way you can keep track of the jewel shards by having them right beside you." Yuuna laughed under her breath when he sighed in defeat. "Relax, we're here. You should see a large line of steps like the ones for the Higurashi shrine. Go ahead and head towards the building at the top."
Just to Yuuna's word it took a minute before he reached a flight of stone steps, a wooden fence at the top. "Yuuna, this is the place right?" Inuyasha asked reaching the top. "Yeah, this is it. The doors should be open, just go ahead in and continue to the building that's right inside." Nodding he followed her directions but once inside Mai tugged on his shirt sleeve.
"Inuyasha, can you put me down?" Mai asked. Nodding, he knelt towards the ground letting her down. Immediately she ran towards the house and knocked one the front door, Inuyasha following right behind.
A minute later an elderly woman answered the door with pink hair and brown eyes. Inuyasha looked down, taking note how small she seemed. "And just who are you?" The woman asked as she looked at Mai then up, glaring at Inuyasha.
"That's a nice way to treat visitors." Yuuna said, lifting her head to look at the woman. When she looked at Yuuna recognition shown within the woman's eyes but it was only a moment before disappearing again.
"So you're back I see, it's nice to see you haven't gotten yourself killed. Who are these people with you?" The woman asked. "This lug carrying me is Inuyasha and the young girl in front of you is my sister Mai. Guys, this old crone for an elderly woman is known as Master Genkai."