Unasareru

Chapter 9

Dedicated to the wonderful reviewers, especially Tiger of the Wind and Aeyikie. Also to shadow wraith and Megera and everybody else who reviewed more than once!

Disclaimer- The lie-detector test

Dr Chair- Do you like Inuyasha?

Kitty- yes.

(Truth)

Dr Chair- Do you collect Inuyasha stuff?

Kitty- yes.

(Truth)

Dr Chair- Do you own Inuyasha?

Kitty- I wish.

Dr Chair- Yes or No.

Kitty- NO! I don't own it, okay!?! That's a sensitive area...

(Truth)

By the way, Ijin's thought patterns will be the same as Inuyasha's, remember? -Thought- - *Voice 1* - - 'Voice 2' -

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* (Kagome's flashback, through the ..........)

A thought struck the girl as she began to blink sleep from her eyes. She was being carried. She felt the dull pain of a headache somewhere in the back of her brain. She opened her eyes completely and stared right at Ijin. His dark eyes flashed. She yelled and struggled for a moment. It was pointless.

Ijin growled. Carrying around violent girls wasn't his idea of a good time. He rolled his eyes. A small voice piped up in his head. -'Why did you need those shards so much?' *Well, you know why! * 'No, enlighten me!' *You remember my sister in Tason! [A/N- Remember, this is the village the Inu-gang were headed to in the beginning of the story.] * 'Yeah, the sick one. What does she have to do with anything?' *I don't plan on using the jewels forever, but I need them to heal her. She's the only family I have left. * 'Oh, right. And the point of kidnapping and killing and abusing was- what?'

*I did everything for my sister. I never planed on killing anyone. I even spared the life of that useless hanyou. And I had to scare Kagome, too. Tsuru didn't understand. I never wanted power or riches. I want my sister back. * 'Touching. So, couldn't you have requested the jewel peacefully?' *Right, that wouldn't be suspicious. "So, I'm a full youkai trying to save my little sister from some unidentified disease. Can I borrow all of your jewel shards to help her?" Besides, it's always been like this, the first thing every single person with a fragment did when they saw me was run! I'm not taking the chance of losing more shards. * 'I think you need counseling.' *Did I ask what you thought? * -

(Ijin flashback, through the )

An eleven-year-old girl lay still on the small mat. The priestess shook her head. "Nothing we can do," was all she said. A young youkai looked over his stepsister. [A/N- I'm not sure what is typical of youkai maturing, but as of this time in the flashback, he hasn't grown his wings or horn.] No one could have realized how much each meant to the other. In most essences, they were polar opposites. He was dark skinned, with black hair and deep chocolate eyes. The girl was a fair, with blonde hair and grey eye. He fought constantly to survive; the girl was a creature of peace. They had had a great relationship since the beginning.

When he was eight, she was three, his father, a youkai lord, had been killed by another demon. Her mother, a human, had died in birthing her. Her father and his mother met by chance and a new family was born. They had been so happy together. When her father left to make his fortune in the east, his mother died and they were alone.

He and his sister had survived for a while, but barely. He would steal and fight for food and money. No one in his village would willingly help a youkai. As far as they were concerned, the family was and always would be trouble. She would make things- be they blankets, coats, or pottery, not to mention everything else she would slave over for days at a time. He'd admired how skilled her handiwork was. Then, one day, she'd come home from market with a raging fever. When he could do no more to help her, he took her to the priestess. That was last year. He'd promised that he would go back with an antidote.

When he'd heard about the Shikon no Tama shards, he formulated a plot to get them. The first ones were unsuccessful. Being polite and asking never worked, and barely anyone believed his story, or they were too busy using the shards for their own selfish purposes. When he threatened and attacked, he had managed to get a hold on several jewel shards, but had developed a bad reputation in the process.

He heard of the miko from the future and the stubborn hanyou. The youkai exterminator and the monk. The cat and the fox. They had accommodated a large percent of the jewel. He knew if he could just get their shards, it would definitely be enough. He would give them back when his sister got better. Probably, anyway.



Kagome watched his facial expressions change as he pulled up bittersweet memories. Eventually he turned to her and gave her a half- hearted smile. "I'm sorry, Kagome." He whispered. "This is my fault. Entirely my fault." She gave him a scowl. "What do you plan on doing now?" He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Fair enough question. I'll take the other jewel shard and-" Kagome interjected. "What other jewel shard?" Then she thought about it.

Inuyasha had come back through the well, meaning that he had been in her time, but to be in her time, he would have needed a- Oh, that jewel shard. "My motives may not be accomplished by the shards that I have, so maybe one more will do the trick."

Kagome struggled for a bit longer, but realizing it got her nowhere, she stopped. "I want to walk." She demanded, thought she had no idea where they were headed. He dropped her. Kagome winced in pain for a moment. He had dropped her hard. She stood up and followed him as he began to walk again. She did know better than to run away. "Why did you kidnap me? And why did you try to kill me?"

Ijin sighed and stopped, turning to the girl. "I needed to lure the hanyou here. Do you see the way he looks at you? I knew he would come. I would have weakened him through his dreams," Ijin gave a tiny smile. "but he's so stubborn." Kagome's face relaxed slightly, and she had to stifle a giggle. She knew exactly what he meant. "You remind me so much of my sister." He finished, seeing a smile creep on to her face. Kagome cocked her head. "Your sister? And you didn't answer my second question." Ijin pushed her into a room. "While you are here, no harm will come to you. I have absolutely no intention of hurting you." He promised. "Sweet dreams." He cooed as a snow of Tsuru's white powder poured from the ceiling.

Kagome fell asleep. Some time before she slammed into the back wall of the cell. She would be there for hours. Ijin quietly shut pulled the door slightly closed behind him.

........................................................

Her next memories were of being carried again. She blinked powder out of her eyes. And figured she'd check out who was abducting her this time. She rubbed her eyes. "Inuyasha!" [A/N- YAY!] He smirked down at her. She tossed her arms around his neck, causing him to stop short, and tumble gracelessly on top of Kagome. She didn't let go. "Uh...Kagome?"

She pulled back. "You're okay." She said happily. He nodded, obviously embarrassed, and questioned her. "Are you okay? 'Cause I swear, if he laid a finger on you, I'll kill him. I'll-" Kagome shook her head. "Where are the others?" she inquired of the boy in front of her. He jerked his head toward the end of the hallway. "Back there, fighting."

She tried to stand, but found that her ankle was twisted and she couldn't bear weight on it. Inuyasha picked her up without a second thought. They took off down the long hall to help everyone else.

They entered the room and Inuyasha immediately joined the fight, leaving Kagome sitting on the floor. Tsuru limped over to her. "How do you feel Milady?" Kagome acknowledged her with a nod. "Just fine."

Miroku and Sango had pulled back at Inuyasha's request, or rather, at his threat. It was clear that Inuyasha wanted to fight the Black Angel himself. Now the youkai and hanyou crossed fully powered swords. They glared at each other.

"Give me the jewel shard and you will be free to go." Ijin whispered harshly.

"In your dreams."

The two broke apart, their moves smooth and graceful, rivaling Sesshoumaru with their poise [A/N- C'mon, Sessh at least had to be mentioned!]. It seemed a battle not of strength alone, but every cell of their beings was at war. Their eyes bore into each other. Their grip on their swords threatened to break the weapons themselves. Their power crashed against each other, energy rolling off them, like the sweat they were already producing.

A loud clash rang out as Tetsusaiga and Ijin's sword were slammed mercilessly together. The two quickly broke apart, leaping back to prepare for the next attack. Ijin broke into a run, Inuyasha followed suit. At the end, the familiar sword sound was heard.

Sango, Miroku, Kirara and Shippou had come to stand next to Kagome. They watched in awe. No one dared speak, or even move, for fear of breaking the fragile balance of power between the fighters. They only looked on in shack and awe of the battle before them.

Then came the deciding attack.

As Inuyasha began to swing Tetsusaiga from his right to left, Ijin prepared to block the blow. It never came. At the middle of the swing, Inuyasha shifted his weight and twisted himself quickly, so that without a moment of hesitation, he changed direction and swung the sword from bottom to top vertically. Ijin flew backwards.

His body made contact with the hard marble wall and he slid helplessly to the ground. Kagome, from her position on the floor, knew Inuyasha's next move. He would finish Ijin off with the Kaze no Kizu.

He felt the presence of the cutting wind and, upon looking closely, discovered the rip. Every one of his senses trained on the youkai slumped against the wall, looking up at him. Ijin showed no fear, only a glare set his face in stone as he readied himself for the strike. Inuyasha raised his sword high and with a cry, thrust all his strength into the attack.

In the chaos of the moment, two words were uttered that would stop the battle in its trcks and that Ijin would be thankful for for the rest of his life. They came from the most unlikely catalyst.

"Inuyasha, OSUWARI!"

And suddenly, all the hanyou's senses were trained on the ground. He could certainly /taste/ the ground very well. After the spell had worn off, a very annoyed Inuyasha stomped over to Kagome. "And what the HELL was that for?" Kagome didn't look at him directly. "Inuyasha, he didn't do anything to anyone... Look, none of us are hurt at all. None of us ever were hurt." The hanyou looked around. He had to admit, she was right. Sango and Miroku were completely unharmed, but they panted slightly. So were Shippou and Kirara. Tsuru was a little bit dirty, but really nothing more. Even his injuries had healed, and none of them had been life threatening, anyway. He looked at Kagome. She'd come out with a twisted ankle and a cut on the cheek, nothing deadly. She looked back pleadingly. "Please, Inuyasha."

The hanyou mentally noted that if this got out of hand, it would be Kagome's fault and he had said it was a bad idea from the start. He stood over Ijin with Tetsusaiga. "Okay, Talk. Now." Ijin shifted uncomfortably. Inuyasha turned to Miroku and Sango. "The Shikon no Tama is down the long hall, to the left." He informed them. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Miroku nodded and he and Sango left swiftly. Shippou hopped up to Kagome's shoulder.

"Well, out with it!" Inuyasha exclaimed. The youkai squirmed, and began his tale.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Please tell me if you want me to rewrite the story of Ijin's past, or if you can get enough from his little walk down memory lane in this chapter. I don't mind doing either.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tiger of the Wind- 'S okay. Frying Pan of Doom? Usually I just use my foot. Best Fanfic award? Oh my dog (yes, that's supposed to be dog)! Inu, we won! I want to thank all my wonderful reviewers and the lovely cast and... (Three hours later) So, in retrospect, the meaning of life is- oh, I'm ranting. Sorry.

I'm glad it isn't too stiff. I tried to stick in a touch of humor here and there and I'm glad it's noticeable. I love writing the thoughts sequences. They are fun, because I can go safely a little bit off character. - 'You sound stupid.' *Leave me alone, I'm trying to respond to this nice person who reviewed our story.* 'Hi person!' *Stop harassing the reviewers!* 'Hmm. I'm hungry.' *You're always hungry.* 'Don't criticize my eating habits!' *Go away!* 'Fine!' *Fine!* 'Fine!' *GO!* - Right, anyway, If you sort of didn't get the hanyou thing, I'll specify it. It becomes morning and Inu changes back, simple as that. I should have specified the time of day and everything...

Did I resolve your Kagome/Jewel conflicts? How could he not help Kagome? That doesn't seem like Inu. There isn't a guarantee that she would stay safe.

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Aeyikie- Lol, sorry 'bout that! 'Aye! This is a big one! Crikey! The flying monkeys are an endangered breed in Australia! Maybe it's because Steve Irwin's face scares them away... *ties collar on newly captured monkey. * I'll call 'er Sheila! I wonder where I could get a three-eyed cow.

Yeah voices in your head tend to be a bad thing. At least that's what the man in the funny white coat told me. Most of these inner conversations (which, may I add are wicked fun to write!) are modeled after my own. Inuyasha's second voice is modeled after my first, and Ijin's second is modeled after my second.

- *Dang! Now she's going to think I'm weird. * 'You are weird, damn it!' *Don't make fun of me! I'll maul you! Hmmmmmmmmmm...* 'You're spacing out again! Get back to the responses! I'll find other ways to bother you.' *Oh, fine! Osuwari! * ' BAM! Ugh. Damn you!'-

I love long reviews. If that annoys people, I'll have authors coming after me constantly! I tend to write really long reviews myself...

You're lucky. I have no friends that watch Inuyasha. *Sob* I just sit up in my room *sob* in the dark *Hiccup* Alone!

I'm updating! I'm updating! *Runs like mad from attack of the flying monkeys* Wow, that was long!

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Megera- I know I didn't describe Ijin. And I feel stupid for not doing so. I realized that a little while back and rewrote chapter 1 to include a description of him. I'll get it posted real soon! Ha ha. Sorry, but I prefer to end with at a least a bit of a cliffie. It makes you want to come back to find out what happened, and I like people to come back!

Hope I didn't confuse you too much (you do so well on your own...Lol) I do plan to keep writing, but your reviews encourage me to update much sooner. To be honest, I've been writing every day since I started this story. I have decided to have a mental health weekend (even though I haven't been mentally healthy for quite some time), because I'm writing so much. The story is starting to not be as well written, so I'm going to freshen up, get some original ideas on where this is going, and continue. It's just two days, so you won't have to wait long.

And you really like the idea? It was sort of inspired (not plagiarized off of) by a Rurouni Kensin fic called Dreamscape. It's a great story. Thanks so much for your encouragement! It really does mean a lot to me when someone tells me that my writing is actually worth reading. I write a lot for the practice and because I enjoy doing it, but I love to get nice reviews like that.

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San-chan- You missed the option that Ijin wasn't so bad after all and his motives were actually very selfless ones. Sorry for throwing you for a curve there, but I decided a while ago not to make Ijin the typical power- hungry youkai, it's a bit too stereotypical for me. It's automatically- "Oh, a youkai who wants the jewel shards. It /must/ be evil." Not necessarily!

Very creative theories, though. I thought of it with the inference that Inuyasha doesn't know Ijin's nature, and therefore, doesn't know if Kagome will remain safe. This is unfamiliar territory for him. I suppose it was all a bit strange... Hmmm. Reading that, perhaps I will change the chapter. Tell me what you thought of this one... I want to write fluff! Really a lot! I can't wait.

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shadow wraith- Ha ha. Sorry about that. I thought you might have gotten bored without /any/ humor. That was me on some sort of weird attempt to not bore you all to death keeping it totally serious constantly.

By the way, it's morning. I redid it after someone else asked me the same question. I'll get it up real soon. It's just a hassle. See my 'note' for the posting stuff. I'll be back soon! Chapter ten has been (very) temporarily halted. Thanks for your review. I might go back and delete that stuff so future reviewers don't murder me.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I had reviews that were somewhat anti-Ijin. What do you think now? Hmmm? Please leave a review, but if you don't, I suppose I won't be crushed *sobs several times*. I apologize for the brevity of this chapter, too.

The remainder of the story will be the gang going to help Ijin save his sister, but if you think that's where we wrap it up, you could have a surprise coming. (A real one, not that whole Kagome/Jewel thing. Honestly, I am a hopeless romantic and could not fathom Inu-chan taking that jewel over Kagome.)

Again, reviews are appreciated. I have decided that I write more for practice, as well as to satisfy my urge to write, as someone recently reminded me. Therefore, I shall never ask for a certain number of reviews to continue a story. I thank you for reading this ramble.

IMPORTANT NOTE- I will not be updating over the next few days! I'm going away, if you didn't already know. I wrote it several times. I have been writing every single day since this story was started and I'm taking a break for a short while to collect my thoughts and see where this story is headed. I won't have access to the Internet, so I may write, but I won't post. Thank you so much for your support! I'll be back after 2 days! (For those of you who reminded me to fix/clarify things, I will be doing so in my free time.)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now and Always, Kitty Katana

That chapter itself was so short, I'm disgusted with myself. It's really /really/ bad when your authoress' notes are longer than your chapter... *knocks herself out with Tiger of the Wind's Frying pan of Doom*

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My love,

give me the color to paint the night

and I will show you a dream.

- Sergey Granitsa -

I think that is pretty. Original poetry/quotes are still being accepted. Review or email it to Kitty_Katt@comcast.net.