The sun set on another tense day. Miroku rested on the couch, Sango beside him, watching quietly as a movie flickered in front of their eyes, the volume turned on low. Nami and Shippou were curled up in the chair adjacent to them. Souta, for the first time in a long while, went over to a friends house to spend the night and Ms. Higurashi was curled with with a book she had ordered several months ago, and had anticipated getting it for a long time.

After getting a couple smokes while no one was looking, Marathon was about to crash in her room for another comfortable night. No visions of Kagome that day, and even though she knew she couldn't forever, she wanted to forget it as long as she could.

She was stalling. Maybe everyone was.

InuYasha was about to end all that. The dog hanyou walked in and hovered over her, arms crossed with a determined look on his face. He flicked the lightswitch on, and Marathon shielded her eyes from the sudden light. "Its time to go."

"Wh? Turn the light off, damnit."

"No. We've been waiting around doing nothing for long enough. Kagome's murderer is still out there, he's been out there long enough. In order for me to take care of him and everyone else I have to make sure you are not totally useless." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to your feet. "Pack your things.."

"About that training thing," Marathon rubbed the back of her neck. She knew this was coming and she hadn't figure a way out of it yet, " I think we should do it here. There is no need to go to that era yet, is there?" Marathon dusted herself off, holding back her now growing anger.

"Yes because that is where he is, genius. Since Miroku and Sango are here they can defend themselves and this household from any attack. You however, are about to make yourself useful. Pack your things already."

"I don't need to pack. Fine, I'll go there for a little while, but there is this movie coming on tomorrow that I've wanted to see for weeks and.."

"Ha! You're not coming back tomorrow. You probably aren't even coming back next week. I'm cutting you off from this crutch of an era."

Marathon's mouth hung open. "Wait..you are actually going to force me to stay there an entire week! I hate camping! Kagome may have been the camping type, but I'm a city girl. We stay there a day, and then we go."

"Ive defeated demons that are the size of this house. Can you do that?"

The cat hanyou paused for a moment. "Umm..."

"Exactly. And let me tell you, those are the WEAK ones. You think you can fight and you are all that because you tussled me for some food and beat up a couple of weak humans? Playtime is over cat, you're a half demon and its time to face the demon world. You'll come with me if you care anything about Kagome and all the other people that are going to be hurt by this monster."

Marathon clenched her teeth together. "Just how long did Kagome stay each time she went to your era?"

"A few months at a time."

"Hell no."

"I'm not giving you a choice." InuYasha told her, with more authority in his voice than anger. "You got an hour to pack whatever you can fit in a backpack, and then we are moving out." He rolled his eyes and left, slamming the door behind him.

Miroku got up and met InuYasha at the base of the stairs, "From the sound of the yelling I assume you already told her."

"Yeah. You got any more information on this multifarious thing before I go? Marathon's packing and we're leaving immediately."

Nami yawned and sat up. "What's going on?"

InuYasha leaned against the couch, "I need more information if I can get it if I'm ever gonna track this thing down. "

"Don't try to go off of scents. Unfortunately that seems to change depending on the person," Miroku told the dog-boy. "It seems almost spirit like, being able to possess persons at will, and since it can split itself into many different forms, trying to track down one will get you no good."

"So its just like you told me before," InuYasha growled, "I got nothing."

"Find my godmother, that is what I was telling Ms. Higurashi," Nami yawned and rubbed her eyes, " Her name is Etsuko. She saw the Golden One once. She'll be able to tell you more, maybe even the exact means the Golden One used to defeat the multifarious before."

"Thats all I need to know then. This thing can be beaten, one way or another. I'll try to find this Etsuko and at the same time whip Marathon into shape." InuYasha ran back up the stairs to the attic room, and tried to open the door. It was locked.

"OPEN THIS DOOR!"

"YOU ARE NOT DRAGGING ME THERE FOR A MONTH!"

"YES I AM!"

"NO AC, NO PC, NO DEAL!"

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?"

"GO LOOK IT UP ON THE INTERNET!"

InuYasha slammed his shoulder against the the door and the lock broke. He saw Marathon standing in the corner, obviously steamed.

"You're going." He told her. " That's the end of it."

"Only one one condition."

"What's that?"

"That I get to bring my bike."

"Bike?" InuYasha thought on that for a moment, "That contraption that Kagome rode? Whatever." His voice softened and he put her backpack on her bed. His hand slipped onto her shoulder. "You can do this. And when we get back to my time, I need to talk to you."

Marathon didn't reply, but quietly packed her things. She put in as many clothes as she could fit in that confined space, and everything else she thought she would need, want or think about needing. InuYasha shook his head, he knew for a fact that Marathon was going to regret dragging all of that stuff with her, but he held his tongue (for once ) so she would go with him without argument. Once the oversize bag was packed, InuYasha picked it up and headed downstairs. "I'll wait for you down by the well. Be sure to say goodbye to your aunt and Souta."

Marathon gave her room a sad, longing look. "Goodbye civilization."

InuYasha had been sitting by the well a good half hour before Marathon showed up. He sprung to his feet. "What took you so long?"

Marathon smirked, and pushed her "bike" ahead. More specifically it was a motorcycle, a classic Harley-Davidson practically in mint condition. "If I'm going, I'm not going to be stuck walking the whole way. This was a present from Kashi back in Jersey, yesterday I heard the order came in. What better way to test it out but in the middle of nowhere with no speed limit."

InuYasha stared. He poked the thing and tried to knock it over.

"Cut that out!" Marathon slapped his hand.

"That doesn't look like Kagome's contraption at all! It was much skinnier and lighter."

"Thats because it was a stupid bike, this is a motorcycle. This is closer to a car than a bike and goes much much faster. I'm sorry, is speed a concept you can't understand?" Marathon lifted the bike with two arms and walked over to the well. Her smug grin dropped as soon as she got a good look at it. "Okay...problem."

InuYasha walked to the other side of the well. "What?"

"How do I fit this thing in?"

"Just leave it behind already!"

Marathon ignored him and turned it on its side. "No...that won't work. If Kagome fit her bike in here..wait..she probably took the wheels off her bike. Damn, damn, damn!" She tried a number of different positions and each of them failed. Then she tried stuffing the thing in. Jumping on top of it and trying to pound it in wasn't working either. "Get in there!"

"That isn't working. Just give it up." InuYasha rested his foot on the well, "Move this thing out of the way, you're wasting my life."

"You're a genius!" Marathon smiled and set her motorcycle aside. She walked around the well with a mischievious grin on her face and rubbed her hands together. "Its in the way."

InuYasha stood there speechless as Marathon hurriedly dismantled half the well, and shoved her bike through. She grabbed her backpack and sat down on the remaining ledge. "It was your idea, you coming or what?" She pushed herself in, flipping him off as she did.

Gods I miss Kagome, he jumped through the well, scowling, having the first doubts about training the city-bred hanyou.