Chapter 1: I'm Where?!




It didn't take long for the four to reach the village, despite the darkness. Inu-Yasha took the front, leading the three girls, being able to see better in the dark than them.

Sango and Miroku were waiting outside Kaede's hut, talking quietly, when they showed up. They greeted Kagome warmly, then looked strangely at the two newcomers. Well, Sango looked at them strangely. Miroku just leered.

"Hey guys, where's Shippou?" Kagome asked, subtly putting herself between the two girls and Miroku. It wouldn't do to have him start groping her cousin and friend.

Sango gestured vaugley to the hut behind them. "He's inside, sleeping. Who are your two friends, Kagome?"

Rei bowed to the two. "I'm Rei Hino, Kagome's cousin."

Miroku slipped past Kagome, taking one of Rei's hands and holding it firmly between his own. "Ah, such a lovely flower. I can see the resembelance. Lady Rei, would you do me the honor of-"

Sango cut him off with one well-placed knock to the head with her giant boomarang. Rei shot the girl a grateful look.

Makoto bowed as well, looking a little perturbed at the scene with Miroku. "I'm... ah... Makoto Kino, Rei and Kagome's friend."

Miroku didn't make any attempts this time, as he was still on the ground, looking swirly eyed.

Sango nodded to the both of them. "I'm Sango, a demon exterminator."

"Demon... exterminator?..." Rei and Makoto shot each other amused looks, then turned to Kagome. "Kagome, do you think you could explain all this now? The well, where we are exactly, and why you're hanging out with a demon?" Rei asked, a note of pleading in her voice.

Kagome nodded. "Yeah... but not here. I don't want to disturb Kaede and Shippou any more than they have been."

So they moved back a little ways from the village and sat in a circle... all except Inu-Yasha, who immediately leaped up in to the nearest tree.

Once they were all settled, Kagome started. She told of how she originally fell in to the well, met Inu-Yasha, and broke the Shikon jewel. Here she told a little about the jewel, and Rei and Makoto could completely understand why demons were after it.

She continued on with some of their adventures, about Kikyo (leaving out a lot of stuff there), how they met Miroku and Sango (Miroku cutting in to tell about his curse, and Sango explaining about her brother). She told them about Naraku, and all the trouble he caused, about Kouga and Sesshoumaru, Inu-Yasha's half-brother.

When the tale was finally done, it was nearing dawn, and Makoto and Rei both wore stunned looks.

"Wow. so... you've been doing this since your fifteenth birthday?"

Kagome nodded at Makoto's question, and Rei tapped a finger against her cheek. "I'd been wondering why your letters suddenly got fewer and far apart, starting from that day. Now I know."

Kagome, of course, didn't mention that Rei had done the same thing when Rei was fourteen. It wasn't the time or place to bring that up.

Makoto looked over at Rei then, a wicked smile spreading across her face. "So, I suppose we have to go beat this Naraku fellow."

Rei laughed. "Of course!"

Inu-Yasha leapt down from his branch, dropping right in front of the two. "Oi! You aren't coming with us!"

Makoto and Rei stood, both looking angry. "And just why not?" Makoto asked, crossing her arms.

"Because, you two will get in the way! The only reason why Kagome comes along is because she can sense and purify the Shikon shards!"

Kagome stood as well, indignant. "Hey! I've gotten pretty good with a bow, you know!"

Rei frowned, and in a quick motion, had an ofuda slapped on Inu-Yasha's forehead that froze him to the spot.

"We can both take care of ourselves. We've had... dealings with demons before, and always came out on top."

Makoto nodded, cracking her knuckles. "Right. We're going to go along with you guys, and help you get the Shikon shards and defeat Naraku. Anyone who objects will get a demonstration of why I was called the 'Karate Maniac' for so many years."

Needless to say, no one objected. Except for Inu-Yasha, but he was still frozen by Rei's ofuda, so we won't count him.

Kagome stiffled a yawn, then said, "Well, I say we get some sleep. We'll have to head out late tomorrow..." she paused, look at the ever-lightening sky, "er, today, but it's better than being exhausted."

The others agreed, and everyone headed back to the village (including Inu-Yasha, who had the ofuda taken off by Kagome, along with a stern warning not to fight with Rei or Makoto. Like he even listened to it).



*******




After getting some sleep, they set out for the well. Kagome needed to get her supplies, and tell her mother where Rei and Makoto were.

It didn't take long, and Makoto and Rei managed to grab an old backpack of Kagome's for themselves and put changes of clothing in it.

They set off, and everyone was suprised by how well Rei and Makoto managed to keep up. Makoto and Rei, meanwhile, were marveling at how different things looked.

"It's all so... green. And open," Rei stated, eyes wide. Of course, she'd known that things wouldn't be like they were in the future, but still...

Makoto nodded. "Yeah. I've only seen this kind of scenery that time when I went on that training trip."

They traveled like this for two days, making good time. It was on the evening of the second day, when they stopped to make camp, when something happened to break up their routine...

Inu-Yasha went off to hunt, Kagome and Rei went to the river to get water, and Miroku gathered firewood. That left Sango, Shippou, and Makoto back at the camp, waiting to prepare the food that the half dog demon brought back.

"So, you are a warrior where you come from?"

Makoto looked up from where she was playing with Shippou, blinking at Sango. For one, frightened second, she thought that the girl had somehow figured out that she was a Sailor Senshi, but then she realized what she meant. "Oh. Well, kind of... I'm in to martial arts. I'm pretty good... I've competed in a few tournaments. Lately, though... I haven't had much passion for fighting. Must have gotten burned out." She laughed nervously, rubbing a hand across the back of her head. She wasn't, of course, going to tell Sango the reason why. The fight against Galaxia had taxed all the Senshi, and Makoto had lost most of her desire to fight afterwards.

Sango nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that. Sometimes, if you fight for too long, you just... stop wanting to. It becomes too much." She looked thoughtful for a second, then shook her head. Before she could open up her mouth to speak again, though, both her and Makoto stood, tensing up. Shippou hid behind Makoto, peering out fearfully.

A few seconds later, a tall, white-haired demon landed in the clearing. He turned cold, golden eyes to the two girls, who were both in fighting stances.

"Where is that worthless Inu-Yasha?" Even his voice was cold, and Makoto shivered unconciously at the sound of it, her stance becoming more agressive. Sango leaned over slightly, one hand on her bone boomarang.

"That is Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands. He is Inu-Yasha's half-brother."

Makoto's eyes flew back to Sesshoumaru. Well, at least she knew where Inu-Yasha got his attitude from.

Sesshoumaru drew out his poison whip, and cracked it, once. "Tell me where he is." Though his actions spoke of impatience, he was ever impassive.

Makoto stepped forward, sliding back in to her stance again. The desire to fight, the one she had thought long dead from Galaxia, welled up inside her.

"You'll have to fight me, first."