A/N: Thank you reviewers onewaywardgirl, Western White Tiger, chenimax, and Lorien Legacy for their kind reviews in the last chapter. About why I am rewriting this story, it is because I was not satisfied with the plotline and the writing style and quality of the previous version. Aside from fixing spelling, grammar, and other stylistic issues, I have also revamped the plot with new ideas. The reason for Kikyou's survival (because of Kaede wishing on the Shikon Jewel) is one such change, and more major changes are planned in upcoming chapters. Unfortunately, it will still be a couple chapters before Kikyou rejoins with Inuyasha, as both of them will be responsible for bringing together the rest of the team, as well as unravelling the mystery of Naraku. As for why Inuyasha cannot sniff Kikyou out, and why Kagome can't sense the counterpart to her soul, that will be explained by revelations in this chapter. Hope you'll enjoy reading it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.


A Different Journey

The story of Inuyasha, and the miko he loved who had survived death


Chapter 7

Kikyou had come across the village tracing the aura of Shikon shards nearby. It was only logical that those shards would lead her to the locusts' nest. In her search, she came to a ruined field. The shinidamachuu that had rejoined her once she came out of the village's limits were now swirling above in a disturbed flight. Kochou landed by Kikyou's side.

"Are they coming?" she asked.

Kikyou nodded. "By the thousands, six carrying Shikon shards."

It was suspicious why so many shards would fall under the possession of the locusts. While they were strong, they were not the most powerful in the land, nor was their range so far that they would come across so many shards by chance. Could it be possible that they were puppets of a greater power at work?

There was no more time for further analysis. Loud buzzing of steel wings cut through the silence and filled the entire field before them. Kikyou notched her arrow. She was going to aim for the locusts carrying the Shikon shards but recalled her experience with the leech and the shinidamachuu. If she shot at them, their underlings would only take the shot in their stead. Instead, she spoke to Kochou. "Cast barriers around the shinidamachuu. I will use them to herd the locusts."

"I will do my best."

Kochou cast the barriers and Kikyou willed the shinidamachuu around the locusts. The locusts attacked them, but could not break their barriers, so the shinidamachuu swarm was able to flank the locusts into a smaller area. Kikyou infused her arrows with as much power as she could, blasting them off in quick succession to wipe out the lesser locusts. Soon enough, only the few with the Shikon shards survived, too fast to be caught in Kikyou's attacks. She focused on one, shooting a few arrows after it. Not fast enough. It darted up and down, side to side, just inches away from the violet streaks of energy. She needed to widen the range of her power to catch them. The question was how?

Kikyou notched five arrows onto her bow. Only an expert archer could even balance the arrows and draw them at once, and even so, their physical power would be far compromised, unable to travel as far. She did not need them to. The locusts, confident in their speed, were not keeping a distance. In fact, they were flying towards her, thirsty for blood. She released the five arrows which spanned out like a fan. The locust directly in front of Kikyou had dodged, expecting the shot, but the two besides it had not expected to be caught in the wave of energy. They blasted apart, leaving only the trails of falling Shikon shards behind.

Kikyou summoned the shards to her, but the locust that had avoided her attack was faster, catching the shards in mid-flight. It did not seem to change in appearance like the other youkai after consuming the shards, instead its wings beat at an even higher frequency. It shot at Kikyou at a speed she could not even fathom, nearly gutting her if not for the barrier she erected at the last split second. The barrier did nothing to injure the locust, but deflected it just short of slicing into Kikyou.

"Kochou, we will take care of the other three with the single shards first," Kikyou said. Kochou nodded in determination. She reached out her small hands to either side to cast two planar barriers that spanned out to catch the locusts. The one with three shards was too fast to be caught, as expected, but the others fell into the trap. With a clap of Kochou's hands, the barriers sped shut. The locusts within flew upwards quickly, managing to escape. But what they didn't expect was Kikyou waiting for them from above. Could humans fly? No, but she was no longer human – she was a half-sage.

Kikyou released her arrow which skewered the two locusts closest to her. The third ducked just in time and caught the Shikon shards from its fallen companions. Kikyou landed, keeping a distance to regroup. Four locusts down, but the two remaining now had three shards each. She didn't know whether she was in a better position now, or worse.

One of the locusts sped towards her. She ran to meet it but knew if she released her arrow in a straight path, the locust would avoid it easily. Instead, she threw a Shikon shard, not at her enemy, but at a shinidamachuu. The shard was thrown without purifying energy, allowing the shinidamachuu to consume it and become larger, faster. Kikyou jumped, just before she would meet the locust, and landed on the giant shinidamachuu. From there, she drew her arrow.

She aimed not for the locust below, but the unsuspecting one behind it.

"Hama no Ya," she uttered the name of the sacred arrow, strengthening her will within it. She shot, the arrow flying true to rip apart the locust completely so that all three shards fell at once. The remaining locust sped towards the shards and Kikyou had no time to draw another arrow. Still, she would not let the insect reach the shards.

She blocked the last locust with her own body. Despite her barrier, the locust's momentum crushed her, breaking ribs, jabbing them into her. A line of blood dripped from her lips. She clenched her teeth to withstand the pain, summoning the three Shikon shards to her. They embedded in her free arm, and with a whirlwind of power, she plunged the arm into the locust's steel armour.

"May you find peace in the afterlife," she said, ripping through the locust with her hand. The Shikon shards fell in a shower of youkai flesh.


Kagome's eyes snapped open. There was no rain. There was no lightning. She was in bed, in the safe confines of her modern home. But that feeling of imminent danger did not leave her.

"It's just a dream. Besides, even if I were there, I probably wouldn't be much help…" she muttered to herself.

This did not shake off the uneasy feeling. It was as though she heard someone call for her help. She decided to dress and exit her room for the well in her backyard, passing by the kitchen to grab a knife along the way.

"Actually the first-aid kit might be more useful," she mumbled under her breath, putting down the knife to grab the first-aid kit from the cabinet instead. She slung it over her back, but as a second thought, she grabbed the knife too. "Might as well just bring both!"

She knew how awkward she looked, a sushi knife in hand, first-aid kit bumping her butt as she ran. Luckily nobody was there to see her miserable state. She came to the well, gulped at how ominous its dark depths looked, but still took the jump anyway. Come on, for her to be able to time travel she must be some sort of chosen heroine or something. She wouldn't die so easily…right?

She didn't have time to ponder more as she plunged through the fabric of time. This time, she thought she was prepared for the landing, trying to take it on her feet. It came as a humungous splash instead when she found herself landing in a foot of rainwater at the bottom of the ancient well. Just like in her dreams, the night overhead was dark with swirling storm clouds. The rain slashed down so hard it felt like sandpaper on her exposed skin. She struggled to climb out, the well's inner walls cold and slippery. A pair of hands reached down towards her.

"Kagome, is that you?" The person who reached down to her called. She recognized his voice.

"Houshi-sama?"

"Thank the enlightened guardians above that you have arrived. I have been shouting into the well for a while."

Kagome grabbed hold of Miroku's hands and with his help climbed out of the well. "You were the one who called for me? Is something wrong?"

"Horribly wrong."

At first, Kagome thought Miroku's hands were shaking from her weight, and that they were cold because of the rain and wind. But by the time she got a closer look at Miroku's face, she knew that wasn't the case. He was poisoned. Again. Even in the darkness he appeared pale, his lips blue. There were shadows beneath his eyes.

"You sucked in something poisonous with your wind tunnel again?"

"Yes. Saimyoushou. They are venomous wasps. His servant was carrying it with him…"

"Who are you talking about?"

Miroku recounted the events that led to his collapse. After he had returned Kagome to the well, he had visited the village where the miko, Kaede, had generously offered him a warm meal and shelter for the night. He took her up on the former offer, but declined shelter, wanting to make sure to catch up with Kagome once she returned, and to check if Inuyasha had also returned, as he suspected. Sure enough, by the time he got to the well, Inuyasha was there at the goshinboku not far away from the well. He looked deep in thought – a rare occurrence it seemed – so Miroku left him be, that was, until the storm struck. Miroku was about to approach him and try to convince him to return to the village, but that was when the youkai lord who bore resemblance to Inuyasha came.

"What are you doing here, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha hollered at the newcomer. Sesshoumaru, huh? The name struck as familiar. Miroku thought he might have heard it during his travels. Considering that Inuyasha was the son of the past Lord of the Western Lands, could this youkai be the current lord?

"You will be the one to answer my question," Sesshoumaru said, coming up to Inuyasha. Inuyasha clawed at him, but missed. Sesshoumaru was too fast. Before Inuyasha could make a second move, Sesshoumaru was already behind him. With a slash of his forearm, a wave of crushing demonic energy blasted Inuyasha into the trunk of a tree. He fell hard to the ground.

"Fuck you…" Inuyasha cursed between his teeth.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes down at Inuyasha while stamping his head into the mud. "You will only speak when you are asked, and you will now tell me where my father's grave lies."

"Ha!" Inuyasha spat out the mud. "You talk as though he was only your father and not mine, and you ask me where his grave is? How ironic. Wouldn't you, the much beloved son, know this?"

Sesshoumaru drowned out Inuyasha's words by pressing down harder with his boot, grinding Inuyasha's face into the ground. Miroku had to do something to help. He ran towards them, releasing the beads around his hand that sealed his curse.

"Just as he said…" Sesshoumaru muttered something to his imp subordinate, "Jaken."

"Right away!"

The imp named Jaken stepped forward just as Miroku's wind tunnel was unleashed. He took out what looked to be a hive from his robes and held it before him. In an instant, thousands of wasps buzzed out the hive towards Miroku, sucked in by his vacuum. Miroku tried to shut his wind tunnel as quickly as possible, but the insects he already sucked in were enough to poison him. He felt burning pain travel up his arm and settle in his stomach. He was knocked down to the ground.

Inuyasha clawed at the mud in efforts of reaching him. "What the fuck did you do to the monk you son of a bitch!?"

Sesshoumaru turned around to face him, but did not inflict more violence, as though Inuyasha wasn't worth further sullying his boot. "Was that an insult to my lineage? When you were the one born from a dirty human?"

"You…" Inuyasha shook now with anger, "You will not disrespect my mother!"

"Your talk of respect and humans in the same sentence is baffling. Is that why you became infatuated with a miko who sealed you for fifty years?"

"That was a trap!"

Sesshoumaru's lips curled up slightly in amusement. "So the rumours are true. Then it must also be true that you continue to chase the woman aimlessly. Let me guess, you cannot sense her presence because she has barred you from her?"

The comment hit harder than any of Sesshoumaru's physical attacks. Inuyasha needed not be reminded the frustration of not being able to trace Kikyou's trail. He had tried the morning he left the village, and after meeting Kikyou at the snake's cave. But though he could pick up a faint scent it was not distinct enough to trace. The only explanation would be that Kikyou had put up a barrier to stop him from following her. Did she still believe that he was the one to almost kill her? Was she unwilling to let him even explain himself? It hurt to know that was how little she trusted him. And here he was, still thinking of her, still wishing everything could've happened as planned and he could've given up his own immortality to become a human – for her!

The pain in his heart burned, so much that the physical pain of his injuries didn't seem to hurt anymore in comparison. He somehow managed to stand, and with gritted teeth, lunged towards Sesshoumaru.

"Stop it, Inuyasha. He is too strong for you!" Miroku shouted after him. He did not listen. Sesshoumaru stood in place, not even looking at him. Jaken stepped forward to shield his lord, holding forth the hive of saimyoushou once again. The wasps swarmed out the hive and shot towards Inuyasha, who tried to dodge but could not evade cleanly in his state. He ran his claw through where the swarm was thickest. Though he did catch a few in his attack, most scattered between his fingertips and darted down upon him once more from above.

Miroku knew this could go no longer. He took up his staff and used it to support his weight so he could walk towards the village to call for help. Sesshoumaru did not seem to care about his escape. Still, he could not go much further than the well, the village still beyond the woodlands. He knew he had one choice left – to call for Kagome. He did not know whether Kagome could help, nor whether his shout could even reach her. But if she did come back, at the very least she could reach the village and ask Kaede-sama for her aid, or convince Inuyasha to give up the impossible fight with his brother.

That was how Kagome was summoned. She listened to Miroku's quick words and nodded in understanding, all the while touching Miroku's poisoned arm to try and heal it as she did last time they encountered the snake. By the time Miroku was done his recollection, the dark shade on his arm had vanished, but he still seemed weak. Kagome opened her first-aid kit and put what looked like a pen in Miroku's hands.

"I don't know if this would work for demon wasps, but like…this is a needle pen that you use when you get an allergic reaction to bee stings. Um…so yeah…if you start feeling really bad then just take off the cap and jab it into your thigh, okay?"

Miroku surveyed the modern contraption curiously. "Okay. I think I understand."

"When you feel well enough, go down to the village and ask Kaede-sama for help. I will go find Inuyasha and try to stop him from fighting."

"That is a good plan. But please be careful, Kagome. The demon lord, Sesshoumaru, is powerful and ruthless. He will not hesitate to kill you if you stand in his way."

"I know. I will be careful."

Kagome left Miroku and sprinted in the direction he indicated where Inuyasha was located. She found him prone on the ground, snarling at his brother in the distance.

"Fight me, Coward!"

Sesshoumaru snorted. "I seek only to fight the strongest, not the lowly likes of you."

Jaken smirked in agreement to his master. He stepped onto Inuyasha's back. "This will teach you not to be rude to my lord!"

He jabbed his two-headed staff right onto Inuyasha's lower spine. He thought he would draw Inuyasha's scream, but there was laughter instead. "Why are you laughing?" Jaken muttered, but before he could find an answer his master had come and thrown him off Inuyasha's back. It was then he realized it was not Inuyasha who was laughing, but the old man's head on his staff.

Sesshoumaru gripped Inuyasha by the collar of his robes and hulled him up by a single hand, his other pointed at Inuyasha's eye. "I had thought you might know something about my father's tomb, but had not expected that it was hidden within you."

Sesshoumaru pulled something from Inuyasha's eye. Kagome screamed at him to stop. Inuyasha wanted to move, to push Kagome away and make her go home again, but he couldn't, limp in Sesshoumaru's crushing grip. Sesshoumaru extracted a black pearl from the eye and flung Inuyasha onto the ground after. "Jaken," he called. The imp hurried towards his master, who threw the black pearl to him. He placed the two-headed staff atop the pearl.

A dark hole appeared above the pearl and expanded till it towered before them. Sesshoumaru stepped towards it and spared Inuyasha a final, taunting gaze. "Father's treasure shall be mine alone to take. Stay and reflect your failures, Hanyou."


End of Chapter - reviews appreciated