=Remnants of a Memory=

By: kijotenshi (devilsangel)

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A/N: Yes, I changed my penname to "kijotenshi", because of the FF.Net changes. And, it's official. I've put "DevilsAngel" on hiatus.

Why?

I need a *major* break from it. Though, I will be redoing the chapters. "DevilsAngel" may get updated once in a while, but don't expect anything too extravagant. Lol. It's just that 'X' is a little too depressing, and writing "DevilsAngel" will make me even more depressed. .. GOMEN NASAI!!!

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=Chapter Two: Remember=

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"You are much too predictable, Inuyasha."

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She shuddered.

From suddenly remembering the same nightmare she had been having for several months. Within the dimly lit cavern, she took head count, her mind still quite foggy.

There were ten.

Of the seventy-three Ningens that had been left behind, their group had diminished to the remaining ten survivors. It was a hard life, and only the strongest could survive. The strongest were the ones who traveled the swiftest, had the endurance to last through the day, got to shelter before the lightning storms. ..

And, there were many dangers. The dust storms, the risky death of lightning, the dehydration, the starvation. One by one, Kagome watched helplessly as her friends dwindled to the hardy, remaining ten. Helpless to a fault.

If her entire existence for this fight was futile, why was she still striving? Why keep trying?

It was because of her dream.

In her dreams, her world becomes a playback movie. She, the audience. Watching from the very beginning of her soul was born, to the time that she lived in. And then?

Beyond that.

Glimpses of the Future. But, she was not a DreamSeer, she was a Scryer. Perhaps this ability was one that the soul held naturally? But, not within the physical body. .. or the physical mind.

In her dreams, she sees all Ningens living on a new planet. A new planet much like the Earth's past. .. that she sees from within her mind. Full of life and greenery, and happiness. And prosperity.

That was what her fight was for. For her dream to be fulfilled. It was what she wished, hoped, for.

For the Ningen race to be restored to their prime. To forget all about the Androids. The Last Invasion. And most especially, the Reborn. She seemed to have had the blunt end of her experiences with the Reborn race. And, she fervently wished to forget the pain of it. She wished that the lingering remains of her race would forget the pain of it.

That is why she still lived, and why she still fought.

But now, it all seemed for naught.

Yet, only the Future can reveal what has yet to be.

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Inuyasha glanced at the control board in front of him. The blinking green diagram he had grown so familiar within his Cycles of training. He was gradually getting closer. Earth was only a couple hundred lightyears away now.

"Nearing Planet 6601's gravitational rotation. Current speed is 76 lightyears per D.C.*. Milky Way Galaxy is currently on the Federation's protection. All disturbances will be prosecuted immediately. Solar rays on 6601's surface are currently code red. Vague traces of Beta rays are found. Be careful if exiting the craft. Temperature on surface is-"

Inuyasha zoned out, his mind blocking out the mechanical voice of his speeder. He was in a state of utter concentration, a trick he learned from the Council Master. When in this state, he could block out all sound and actions around him, leaving him in a 'space' by himself.

But, what was his problem?

How to find Kagome. It was a large planet. (A/N: lol. Totally contradicting the "it's a small world". XD.) And he would only have a limited time on it. The Solar rays as well as the gravitational pull were things he had grown out of. It took years of adaptation to be able to stay a maximum of 9 Star Cycles* on it.

He brought himself out of his reverie to glare at the controls. There was no way he could achieve such a feat. Unless. ..

He used a UV scan?

UV scans were dangerous for the ones it was targeted for. In this case, Kagome and her group. But, unless he wanted to lose her again, he would need to risk it.

"Initiate UV scan. Code 23658791."

(A/N: The modern time was controlled by a series of numbers. All living things had a 'barcode', of sorts. He just entered, by voice control, Kagome's DNA code number. I don't know. It came off the top of my head. Yes, I know, it is a slightly stupid idea. But, hey!, what can you expect from me?!)

The system beeped as the UV scan was activated.

"Scanning for 23658791."

Inuyasha sat back, slightly leaning his head to his right side. It was a position he found most comfortable as he grew accustomed to it. And he waited for the results to come in.

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Kagome's spine tingled ominously with apprehension. The same tingling she had felt before the Rangers had come to try and retrieve her.

The realization slowly dawned upon her.

They were back and they were more than ready this time. She stood up abruptly, earning the curious glances of the ten of her remaining group.

"We must leave. They're here. Again." She said, her voice wavering with fear.

She walked to the opening of the cave and turned around to look at the frightened faces of her group. She must stay strong. Not for herself, but for them. If they were to leave her, she would never forgive herself.

"Let's move."

She walked out into the bright, harsh afternoon rays as they scorched her skin.

She stopped abruptly and waited to hear the shuffling of feet behind her before proceeding. The only way those Rangers would ever get her was over her dead body.

She waved for them to follow as they began to trudge across the barren, dusty desert.

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Inuyasha was now leaning forward in his chair, watching the scanners progress.

So far, they had only managed to find traces of Kagome's DNA.

Obviously, she was playing her game now, and it was a game where she was the better. If she kept running like this, she would face certain death.

Inuyasha slammed his fists down onto the panel, in pure frustration, inadvertently canceling the scanning process.

He would not risk having Kagome dead. Especially after the happiness of finding her again.

So, he would not risk it. He would descend onto Earth and search for her by foot.

If that was the case, he wouldn't find her so easily.

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Kagome trudged onward, her knees feeling weaker and weaker by the moment. So this was how Inuyasha felt when he was being chased, wasn't it?

So, that was why he ran away, right?

And she would be caught, just like he was, wouldn't she?

No.

She had come so far. There was no turning back at this point in time. She was already too high up the creek to toss away her paddle and float back down to the waterfall. Kagome straightened her shoulders and corrected her posture as she resolved herself to march forward. Her followers exchanged glances with each other before correcting their gaits to keep up with her pace. Behind the group trailed the dust stirred by the trampling of their feet, the particles still floating in the air in billowing clouds.

Kagome smiled to herself as she heard the thumping feet of her group hit the ground in unison. She shifted her eyes upwards to look, squinting, at the raging light of the sun. Shielding her eyes from the intense light, she scanned around her surroundings for the tall, dust-orange mountain where she found an unharmed bunker a while ago. She spotted the strangely twisted mountain not far in the distance.

Turning around to look at the group of people trudging behind her, Kagome grinned.

"It's not far now."

"That's good to hear. The lightning storms will be starting in a few S. Cycles (star cycles)." Someone remarked. Their voice was hoarse. Water would do them good.

"Well, we're almost there." She pointed at the imposing mountain ahead of her, "Let's keep walking. There will be water waiting for us there."

At the mention of water, small crowd shifted and began to continue their walk. Kagome waited until they were well past earshot of her before following at a slower pace. Without gathering the notice of others, she let her voice carry over to the cliff behind her.

"Whomever you are, you aren't going to get me alive."

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A/N: Well, here is the long-awaited 3rd addition of ROM. It's kind of short, isn't it?

The only reason I typed this up was to stop getting all those annoying emails. (XD. What kind of motivation is that?). Anyways, I'm going to redo "DevilsAngel" in my spare time and start typing up a new A/U fic of mine called "Love is Blind" (I'm going to be needing volunteer BETA-readers for that. XD. Back to the drawing board). "Kuusou" also needs to be typed and BETA-ed.

Ah, which brings to mind. ARIGATOU TO ALL MY WONDERFUL BETA-READERS!!!! You don't *know* how much I love you all! For taking this under your wing right after I typed it and being able to send it right back to me with your critique. The wonders of fuel-efficiency. XD.

Well, thank you YuraNeko-chan, Kokoro-san, and Yami-kun for doing such a favor for me! And lastly, thank you to AkkiTami-chan for editing the whole thing! You guys don't know how much I appreciate this. And I'm so glad that you all decided to continue to help me. THANX!

That reminds me (yes, I am forgetful), I'm in need of one more BETA-reader for "DevilsAngel". Luckily for me, I already got my editor (Demon_youkaiLady@yahoo.com). And 2 wonderful BETA-testers (YuraNeko and BlissfulNirvana). Well, that concludes my *long* Author's note.

One more thing, and I'll stop bothering you. There's a little dropdown menu down there that has a little "Go!" button right next to it. You see the "Submit Review"? Now just click "Go!". There you go (:D).

Love you all, minna!

Is it just me, or is my A/N longer than the actual story? XD.

-Kijotenshi