AN: It's been a while... Gomen nasai -bows- I hope 5 pages (started on 6th) long chapter is long enough to compensate the long wait.

Some scenes might be familiar, they're from the series, modified to fit the story. Not much of those left, though. Also, non-flashback Soul Society scene ahead.

DISCLAIMER: Neither Bleach or Inuyasha belongs to me. Kubo Tite and Rumiko Takahashi own their creations. Aurora and Gabriel Sakura are mine.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

When Aurora wakes up next morning, she has a feeling that something isn't as it should be, and she gets to her feet quickly, looking around her for the 'thing that's not right'. Then she senses a Shikon shard.

She's about to go to Naraku to tell him that she can sense a shard's presence, but stops, frowning before she can leave the room. The shard seems to be near…

Then she remembers last night, and the shard Naraku placed in her.

She sighs and raises one hand to her throat, on the spot the shard is now in. Perhaps it would be wise for me to remove it.

Are you sure that would be wise? Aurora recognises the voice as Moonflower's.

She nearly rolls her eyes. He is controlling the boy with a shard. He might attempt to control me.

The other voice is quiet for a moment. Then it responds. You still haven't remembered everything, have you? Inside you the shard is clean, and he can't taint you, you're a pure soul, born in Soul Society. And if he can't taint you, he can't control you. Simple.

Aurora sighs. Her Soul Slayer has a point. He could still attempt to remove it.

Worry about it then.

Slightly confused, she decides to get dressed.

She puts her Shihakusho on, and is just reaching for Moonflower to place the sheathed sword on her sash, as she senses Naraku and Kagura approaching her room.

Hastily she puts the sword in its place and then moves to open the door, only to come face to face with the two she had sensed. She also notices Kanna. How could I not sense her? She sighs inwardly. Right, the Void. I always tend to forget how difficult she is to be sensed.

Her train of thought was stopped by Naraku's voice. "Ah, Aurora. I have a job for you and Kagura."

Aurora glances at Kagura, then turns her gaze at Naraku, inclining her head. "What is it?"

She notices that a frown flashes through his forehead, but she can't think of it any further as he speaks. "You two will go to fetch more shards. If you face Inuyasha's group, you can destroy them."

She frowns. "I believe you stated earlier that you would keep me beside you."

The look on Naraku's face gets odd, and she blinks, confused. She doesn't have time to ask him about it before he responds. "I know. It's only a short trip, though. And you'll be travelling with Kagura. You'll be right back."

Aurora sees something odd in his eyes, something that almost gives her the creeps. Then Naraku suddenly leaves with Kanna, and she is left alone with Kagura.

The youkai clears her throat gaining the shinigami's attention. "Let's go, shall we?"

The two women are riding on Kagura's feather, flying towards a place Aurora can sense a presence of a shard coming from.

The travel had been a silent one, until Kagura breaks the silence. "You said yesterday that you could defeat Naraku, right?"

Aurora startles. What is this about? "Yes I can. Why do you ask?"

Kagura glances back at her quickly, before turning her gaze forward again. "Did you know that he's got my heart in his hands?"

Aurora blinks. She hadn't known that. She tells this to the youkai. "I did not know. What of it?"

The youkai is quiet for a short moment before speaking. "Listen, what are you planning to do when you remember everything?"

Aurora doesn't miss that the youkai is apparently changing the subject. She's not sure what the youkai is after, asking these odd questions. Still, she decides to respond. "I have yet to decide." She chooses not to tell her yet that she actually remembers almost everything now.

The youkai's next question confuses the shinigami even more. "Have you ever wanted to be free?"

Aurora's sure she can't hide the confusion from her voice, when responding. "I am free."

Kagura shakes her head, not looking back. "No, you're not. As long as you can't leave him without coming back, you can't be free. He might be literally holding my heart in his hands, but he's also holding your heart, if only proverbially. I can be free only if he gives my heart back, or if I take it back from him. You can take yours back, if you just want it."

Now Aurora is beginning to get the point of the youkai's questions. "Get to the point, if you please."

The youkai's voice gets anxious, a bit scared. "I want to be free. Please, help me. First, take your heart back, and then help me to take my heart back."

Aurora closes her eyes for a moment. So that was what this was all about. Betrayal. "You wish for me to betray him."

Kagura gulps. "I just want to be free, like the wind."

Aurora holds her silence for a while. This isn't the first time someone has said something similar to her. She shakes her inwardly. She has to admit, those all have been correct. She seems to have trouble letting go of Naraku.

Then, she makes the decision. "Were you aware that he placed a shard of the Shikon Jewel in me yesterday evening?"

Kagura sounds afraid. "He did?"

Aurora can tell that the youkai was worried that Naraku might control her with the shard. "Yes. However, you do not need to worry, he can not control me with it, until he gets darkness in my soul. This is something that will not happen."

Kagura glances at her, and there is hope shining in her eyes. "You will help me?"

Aurora nods. "I will assist you to retrieve a shard or two for Naraku, and I will make sure that he will not learn of this betrayal. However, from this journey, I will not return to him. I will keep the shard in me, in order to control when it is completed. And, when time comes, I will do what I can to help you to take your heart back. Do you understand what I am saying, Kagura?"

Kagura nods her head slowly, then she frowns. "I do, but what will happen when you meet again?"

Aurora shrugs. "I do not worry it now."

Kagura looks like she would like to ask more, but Aurora cuts her off with a wave of her hand. She can sense Shikon shards.

Aurora points at a small forest below them. "There are two shards of the Jewel in there."

Kagura nods and heads the feather towards the forest.

In Soul Society Gabriel Sakura, also known as Aurora's father and the commanding captain of the Royal Special Task Force, has invited one of the captains of the Thirteen Court Guardian Squads to visit his home. Byakuya Kuchiki is the captain of the Sixth Division and Aurora's childhood friend.

Gabriel is worried about his daughter. She went missing some while back, and until recently, there have been no clues of her whereabouts. The clue he received this morning, stated that the people investigating the disappearance had found traces of a time portal.

Time portals are otherwise similar than the normal portals between Soul Society and the Living World, with the difference of time vortex that allows the portal to take someone not just to different world, but also to a different time.

Time portals can be created deliberately, but it's never easy and requires a lot of energy. Of course, Sakura blood is infamous in creating the time portals on its own. When a member of the family is losing control of their Reiatsu, the Sakura blood forces it to concentrate in a small area, to prevent it from harming others. This tends to create a time portal.

Luckily it's possible to tell to what time the portal has taken the one or ones that have gone through it. The investigators found out that Aurora has ended up about half a century back in time.

Now someone should go there and get her back. And there are only three she listens to. Gabriel himself, her mother Thea, and the childhood friend Byakuya.

His train of thought is stopped when Byakuya arrives. The Kuchiki head of the house seems concerned. Not that anyone else could see the concern on the younger man's face. Gabriel just has known this boy ever since the two young nobles were born, and he could see the concern in the grey eyes. "Ah, Byakuya. Come in."

Byakuya does as asked and kneels in front of the desk. "You said Aurora has been found."

Gabriel inclines his head. "It appears that she was losing control of her Reiatsu, and a time portal was born." By this point he notices that the young noble's eyes have widened in surprise, so he tells him about the clue. "We know that she has gone back five hundred years."

Byakuya closes his eyes. "She is in Feudal Era."

Gabriel takes a deep breath, and lets it out before he reveals why he invited the other one here. "You know she only listens to three people in the Soul Society, and two of us can't go due to family matters. So, I need you to go to that time, find her, and bring her back."

The young captain doesn't hesitate. "I will go, of course. How do I get there?"

Gabriel can't tell he's surprised. The two had been mistaken as twins more than once in the past, and they had spent a lot of time together. He's also sure that if it was Byakuya that had went missing, Aurora wouldn't have hesitated to find him.

He grabs a small grey device, and he gives it to the younger man. "I will open the time portal from this side. It will take you to the time and near the place the one she created took her. When you have found her, you can both return when you activate this. Good luck."

Aurora hurries through the forest towards a place she can sense Inuyasha and his group at. She had left Kagura on her own after telling her what to say to Naraku, so that the man wouldn't blame her escape on the youkai.

Soon enough she finds the group that has made a camp by a river. She halts in her steps when she realises something odd. Inuyasha's youki is gone.

And not just that. The hanyou looks quite human at the moment, with his black hair, grey eyes with round pupils, and human ears. "Inuyasha?"

All eyes turn on her. Inuyasha looks surprised. "Aurora-" He's cut off by Kagome's gasp. He turns to the girl, worried. "What's wrong, Kagome?"

Kagome is staring at Aurora's throat. "Aurora, is that what I think it is? A shard of the Shikon Jewel?"

The other members of the hanyou's group glance at Kagome, confused, and then turn their attention to the Shinigami.

Aurora inclines her head. "Yes, it is. I allowed him to place it in me. However, there is no need for concern. He can not control me. Also, I can prevent him from completing the Jewel."

Kagome blinks. "But the light from the shard… It's pure?"

Aurora smirks. "Naturally. There is no darkness in me, nor could it exist for long. Without darkness he can not control me. Also, you should not forget that I am not a human. I am a pure soul, and not part of this world. Shikon can not control someone such as myself."

Now Aurora can see hope shining in Kagome's eyes. "So, will you stay with us even if Naraku would come?"

Aurora smiles and nods. "Yes."

Kagome seem to get a bit dubious. "So… You don't like him anymore?"

"I did not say anything such." Aurora blushes. "My task is to protect souls. This is the way I feel is correct to make sure that I will not fail."

After her last words, Inuyasha walks to side, and is followed by Kagome. Miroku and Sango, on the other hand, approach Aurora. Miroku speaks first. "I'm glad you decided to stay with us this time."

Aurora inclines her head. "I am glad as well." Then she glances at Inuyasha, before turning her gaze back at Miroku. "What is the matter with Inuyasha?"

Miroku sighs. "Tonight is the night he loses his youki. It happens to all hanyou. Don't worry, he'll be himself as soon as the sun rises."

She shakes her head. "That was not what I meant. Earlier today his aura felt… odd."

Miroku and Sango exchange a glance before the monk takes a deep breath, and begins to tell the tale of how Naraku's detachment, Goshinki, had been able to break the Tessaiga, and how after that, Inuyasha had changed.

He tells her how the hanyou's fangs and claws had grown longer, his eyes had turned red, and jagged stripes had emerged on his cheeks, one each.

It had been as if he would have become a youkai.

A couple of hours later Inuyasha and Kagome had joined the rest, and they all had been quite comfortable, until suddenly everyone gets to their feet, alerted by something. At first they see nothing, but then a youkai appears, and the youkai is carrying a sword.

Aurora gets creeps by just how the sword's aura feels like. To her, it seems to be more malicious than its carrier.

She unsheathes Moonflower, only to gain attention of the youkai, who narrows his eyes at her. "You are not Inuyasha whose blood Tokijin craves." The blade then moves to point at Inuyasha. "So, you're Inuyasha."

Before Inuyasha can react, both Sango and Miroku intervene, telling that they'll handle it. They ask Aurora to protect the others.

Aurora glares at the two, but moves to Kagome, Inuyasha, and Shippou, raising Moonflower's barrier around the three, then she turns her attention to the rest of the group.

Sango's Hiraikotsu can't harm the youkai; it only ends up cut in two by the sword. Miroku uses his sutras, managing to break the youkai's skull with his staff.

Too bad the youkai just gets to his feet, and challenges Inuyasha.

Aurora is determined to stop the youkai. "Moonflower could defeat the youkai within seconds."

Inuyasha glares at her. "Don't interfere. This is my fight."

Then he charges at the youkai, only to be forced to a halt by a flying ox that lands in front of him. On the back of the creature there's a youkai Aurora can't recognise, but she hears Shippou call him Toutousai.

And he's carrying a fixed Tessaiga.

Inuyasha grabs the sword and charges at the youkai again. At first he's losing, but then the Sun rises, and he gets his youki back. With the change Tessaiga takes its real form.

The hanyou states that it's heavier than usually. Then he attacks the youkai again, and the two blades push against each other. The victor is clear. Tokijin is able to take the pressure of Tessaiga, but the youkai's body doesn't, but it breaks into pieces instead, leaving the sword to stick up from the ground.

Inuyasha then goes to Toutousai. "How do you think I could handle Tessaiga now that it's so heavy?"

Toutousai hints that he should train his body. This earns him a few bumps, by courtesy of Inuyasha.

Then the group moves on in an attempt to decide what to do with the sword. Being as dangerous at it is, the choices are limited. They can either create a barrier around it or destroy it.

They are still trying to make the decision when they are interrupted by a double-headed dragon that lands from the sky. The dragon is carrying Sesshoumaru on its back.

The taiyoukai's eyes find Aurora. "I see you found the half breed's group."

Aurora shoots a warning glance at growling Inuyasha, holding out an arm to prevent him from attacking his brother, before she turns to look at the taiyoukai. "I already found them soon after I left your company last time. Little after that I returned to Naraku. This is the second time I left him, and joined your brother's group."

Sesshoumaru narrows his eyes. "Have you left Naraku for good?"

Aurora misses the shocked expressions of the faces of rest of the group as they listen to the conversation. Inuyasha especially is very surprised.

The shinigami inclines her head. "That is my intention."

Before Sesshoumaru can ask or comment more, Inuyasha speaks up. "What are you doing here, Sesshoumaru?"

The taiyoukai gives a 'hn'. "I could ask you the same. I came for the sword. Apparently it wished for revenge. The oni whose fangs were used to forge it was killed by you."

Miroku's eyes widen as he realises something. "By you knowing that… Does it mean it was you, who…"

Sesshoumaru grins. "It was I who ordered it."

Then he proceeds to reach towards the hilt, causing Toutousai to shout. "Don't touch it! Even someone like you will be controlled by the sword!"

The taiyoukai snorts and grabs the hilt. "Who do you think I am?"

As he raises the sword, the dark aura of the sword weakens, until it vanishes completely, prompting a thought mutual to all observers. What a creepy guy, having aura that can defeat Tokijin's…

Then he points the sword at Inuyasha, asking him to draw his sword, for he wishes to verify something. The others suggest against it, but the hanyou doesn't listen to them, instead he charges at his brother.

Too bad Tessaiga is still too heavy for him, and he has no chances against the taiyoukai, and he ends up having his blade flown from his hands, in the courtesy of Sesshoumaru.

As if losing his weapon would stop Inuyasha.

He charges at Sesshoumaru, once more. And when he's pushed back, he attacks again, and again, and again.

Kagome asks him to retrieve the sword, but Inuyasha insists that he could manage better without the heavy blade.

Then Sesshoumaru decides to end the game, and strikes at Inuyasha with air pressure, using an ability of Tokijin. The strike hits, and the hanyou is flown backwards until he is left in a crouch.

Sesshoumaru charges against him, only to stop in the middle of the strike, earning a surprised reaction from Aurora.

The shinigami blinks at the halted taiyoukai, but understands his action as soon as she turns to look at the hanyou, sensing his aura changing. It begins to resemble that of Sesshoumaru. So, that is why he halted. He must have sensed it as well. Was this the matter he wished to verify?

Before she can think about anything else, Toutousai steps in, blowing flames at Sesshoumaru. He also urges the group to take Inuyasha with them and flee. And that's exactly what they do, with the help of Kagome's 'sit'-command.