i apologize for any character flaws. i have not watched inuyasha in years. i'm going off of memory because it was torture trying to get through the whole anime and manga... i'm hoping not to do it again. but let me know if i need to try harder...

"Yes, Kikyo, I would like to know. What have you done with them?" Kagome growled.

Kikyo only stared at her without any expression, doing a very good job of acting like Sesshomaru.

"I'm not inclined to tell you anything."

"Then what is that thing and where did it take them?"

"It's a vessel, that's all. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Ugh! Stop talking in riddles! You said it was timed, so does that mean they'll be brought back out at some point?"

"That's what 'timed' means. I wonder sometimes how you get by in life…"

Kagome frowned and picked up the small pot. She looked over as Kikyo turned away.

"You can keep it, for it will serve no purpose for me after they have left it. Once they are out, you will see what it does."

Kikyo slinked away into the forest again as Kagome stood there like an idiot holding the pot in her hands. When Kikyo was finally gone, Kagome looked in the pot.

"InuYasha! Sesshomaru! Can you hear me?!"

She shook the pot, she reached in it, and then she yelled into it a couple more times. Nothing happened and she sank to her knees.

"Kikyo said it was timed but that doesn't comfort me at all! Timed could be hours, days, years! What will I do? How do I get them out of there? Oh, I know! I'll go ask Kaede for help; maybe she knows what this is."

She gathered her belongings and the pot and headed back to the village.

Kaede inspected the pot with her one eye and nodded to herself, making grunting noises every so often. Kagome was in a small panic but tried to keep the panic to a minimum.

"It seems that this is a sealing pot."

"A sealing pot?"

"Yes… but I've never really heard of a timed seal. That's what my sister told you? That it was timed?"

"Yes, but I don't know what she meant by that. Does that mean hours, months, days? I mean the last time she sealed InuYasha, he was stuck to the Sacred Tree for fifty years."

"That is true, but the seal was supposed to last longer than that. When you came, since you are her in a sense, you were able to break that seal. The same should be for this one as well. Did she do any sort of incantation?"

"No, she just threw it out into the flowers and after a couple of minutes, when InuYasha kicked it, a bright light shown out of it and sucked him and Sesshomaru in it."

"Sesshomaru? He was there?"

"He was picking flowers or something weird. It was really odd though because for a moment, none of us could sense that Kikyo was there, as if she were hiding her presence. Then, I could suddenly feel her and they got sucked in."

"So she was even able to seal InuYasha's brother… She must has used all of her strength to make this particular seal. That might be why she said it was timed."

"What do you mean, Kaede?" Kagome said, turning her head.

"Since my sister is not really alive, her powers are probably powerful but not durable. When she said 'timed' she probably meant that it would wear off soon. Whatever she was doing, she knew it wasn't going to be permanent and that's why she told you. I wonder what she has planned though if she sealed both InuYasha *and* his brother?"

"Maybe it was a mistake? Maybe she just meant to seal InuYasha but Sesshomaru got caught up instead?"

"No… My sister could have done that while you were gone and InuYasha was waiting for you at the well. This was done intentionally with InuYasha and Sesshomaru sealed together in mind. She waited for the exact moment that the brothers were together… What on earth could she be planning?"

Kagome wondered the same thing. Kaede handed the pot back to her and smiled.

"I have a feeling it will wear off in either a few hours or days. Keep it with you. Your spiritual pressure might even make the seal wear off faster."

"Or make it stronger…" Kagome said with a sigh, taking the pot. "I hope they're not fighting in there…"

Kaede smiled and Kagome went to her room, putting the pot in the corner.

Two days went by and nothing happened, making Kagome worry even more about what was going on and when they would come out of there. It was annoyingly embarrassing that she couldn't go out and look for the jewel shards herself, but although she could detect them, InuYasha was the most durable of all the group. Three of them were merely human (one inexperienced, one who would get tired doing everything, and the other who couldn't do anything if the Saimyosho were about, which was usually the case) and the other was just a fox kit. Kirara was alright, but her getting hurt was a pointless thing; for all it did was dwindle down their defenses.

So, sadly, most of the fighting was done by InuYasha, who seemed to enjoy it anyway. But without him, they would be risking their lives frivolously and it made Kagome mad that they couldn't continue on without him.

She kicked the pot angrily but since it was stopped by the wall, she actually stubbed her toe and jumped around in agony.

"Stupid pot! Stupid InuYasha! How could he have just walked over there without thinking something weird was going to happen? And Sesshomaru too! They're both idiots."

"What did you say about my Lord Sesshomaru?" a nasally annoying voice growled.

Kagome turned as Jaken walked in and gave her a glare. Kagome made a face at the imp when Rin stuck her head in.

"Miss Kagome!"

"Rin… what are you two doing here?"

"Lord Sesshomaru had not returned after this impudent girl ordered him to go pick flowers for her! My lord, picking flowers?! Hmph! Disgraceful. I don't know why he still keeps you around, girl." He said, looking back at her.

"I did not make Lord Sesshomaru do that for me. I was going to do it myself and he said no." Rin said back, putting her hands on her hips.

"Either way, he came here to do it and now he's gone. What have you done to him?!" he yelled, waving the two-headed staff around.

Kagome made a face. "I didn't do anything to him. He and InuYasha got sucked into tat pot right there. I don't know how to get them out of it either."

Jaken crossed his arms. "Hmph! I refuse to think that Lord Sesshomaru would get involved with that hanyou and get himself stuck in a stupid pot."

"Yeah, well, he did." Kagome mumbled. "They've been in there for two days…"

"Poor Lord Sesshomaru." Rin said, looking distraught as she looked at the pot. She walked over and got on her knees, leaning over the pot. "Please forgive me, Lord Sesshomaru! I didn't know you would be captured!"

"Yelling in it won't do any good, silly girl." Jaken scoffed.

Kagome blushed in embarrassment of her own attempt at that.

Suddenly, the pot begins to shake and everyone in the room looks at it. Rin crab-walked back from it and stands up, running behind Kagome. Jaken, hides behind her too, both looking from around her legs.

"Look what you did, Rin. Now you've done it."

"I didn't do anything, Master Jaken…"

The three of them watched as the pot shook and shook until it was violently doing it and finally broke, a bright light illuminating the room. Everyone covered their eyes until the light dissipated and it was safe to look back.

Kagome was the first to get her sight back and immediately ran to InuYasha when she caught sight of his red clothing.

"InuYasha! InuYasha, are you alright? Wake up!" she said, shaking him.

He moaned a little and forced himself to sit up, putting his hand to his head.

"What happened?" he mumbled, his hair seeming to block his face.

"You and Sesshomaru went toward something thrown in the grass. It was a pot and it sucked you guys in… Kikyo did something to it."

"Kikyo?" he said, finally looking at her.

Kagome gasped and fell back, crawling away from him. He looked at her in confusion.

"What's the matter?"

"Y-your face… Your ears!"

InuYasha immediately put his hands on top of his head and panicked.

"Where's my ears?!" he yelled, patting around until he got to the side of his head. He moved his hair and touched with is finger. "Oh… but…"

He looked at his hands where his fingernails were longer and magenta strips were swirled around his forearms. He looked at Kagome, who was just staring at him in fear. He knew she probably thought he was going to attack them all because if he had the stripes on his arms, they were on his face too and the only time he got them was when he went full yokai. He crawled over to her, pushing back his hair.

"Kagome, I'm not going to hurt you."

"A-Are you sure? Are you in control?"

"Completely… I don't understand it but I don't feel hardly any different than before. I just… look different, I guess."

"You feel different too. I can sense there is something off about you."

"Lord Sesshomaru!"

The two turned as Rin knelt next to him. Kagome and InuYasha crawled over to them for easier travel and InuYasha turned his half brother over.

Everyone gasped at the daiyokai… or rather was the daiyokai. His markings were gone and InuYasha noticed the ears on his brother's head. He reached out to touch them.

"What the hell…" he said.

Jaken came over and began to bawl.

"No! Lord Sesshomaru!"

"Master Jaken? What's the matter?" Rin asked.

"Can you not see it, girl?! He's been changed into a mere hanyou!" He looked at Kagome and pointed. "What did you do?!"

oh no! lord sessh a hanyou? whatever will we do? am i the only one who thought it funny jaken and rin could just come up in the village without a worry? no one cared haha...