AN: For those of you who want action, here it is!
Chapter One.
"Get out of here, you, right now!" Kagome's grandfather shouted as he chased Inu-yasha from Kagome's room early one morning.
"Hey, what's the big deal?" Inu-yasha asked as he ran for his life from the broom wielding maniac.
"I told you before that if I ever caught you sleeping in Kagome's room again, I'd have you neutered! Now get out of here and go back to your own time and wait for her!"
"Gramps don't hurt him!" Kagome shouted as she ran outside in her pajamas. Inu-yasha ran screaming from the house with Kagome and her grandfather following close behind.
"I'll be dead and in my grave before I'll see some han-you freeloader soil my granddaughter's honor!" Kagome's grandfather yelled.
"I never touched her, I promise!" Inu-yasha squealed. "All I did was sleep at the foot of her bed! I do that every night!"
"Oh, the shame that has befallen my poor family since that horrid day you crawled out of the well!" Gramps cried, grabbing his head. "I will not stand for this indignity any longer! If you want to see Kagome, you will call on her in a suitor's fashion!" He threw a cooking pot at Inu-yasha's head. The han-you ran into the mini shrine, and leaped down the well.
When Inu-yasha was gone, Kagome's grandfather turned to Kagome and scolded her. "Oh Kagome, why didn't you stay with that nice Joey, fellow. He was a good boy and never did anything except to eat and be friendly and he never once slept at the foot of your bed."
"No, but there were plenty of offers for me to sleep in his." She muttered under her breath, remembering a time when her friend Joey Wheeler had invited her to a very exclusive boy/girl sleepover but Joey's father had conveniently ordered that he bring only one guest.
'"You see I was going to have all my friends over but my old man said he didn't want a whole lot of noisy kids around, so I can only invite one very special person and I wanted it to be very, very special person."' Joey had said on that day. An offer to which Kagome had greatly expressed no such desire to take him up on.
"That jerk, and where are Yugi and the others today anyway?" Kagome wondered, later as she finished getting dressed.. She was supposed to meet them that morning and go to the mall with them but here it was after eight that morning and they hadn't shown up.
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"So that date you had the other day, how'd it work out Yugi?" Joey asked as he and his diminutive friend sat outside of Tristan's apartment. "Was Tea good, or was she more than you could handle?"
"No way, I got to second base with her." Yugi bragged, though in actuality he'd only gotten a kiss on the cheek when the date was over.
"You Dog, tell me everything!" Joey insisted but just then Tea came walking up the street and ended their conversation.
"Hey guys, Tristan still not up yet?" Tea asked when she walked up in her platform heels. She was wearing a short skirt, platform heels, and a jacket.
"Naw, he's probably still sleepin," Joey said. The wind picked up, and he buttoned his letterman jacket. "Geez, it's too cold for late summer," he muttered.
"Tell me about it," Tea said, zipping her jacket up. "And the weatherman keeps getting it wrong."
"No surprise there," Yugi remarked. Just then, the door top Tristan's apartment opened. As their friend walked out, they all got up. "Hi guys," Tristan said, "Been waiting long?"
"Yeah," Tea said, "We were supposed to be at Kagome's an hour ago."
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Star sat sleeping in the chair next to Lady Viola's sleeping body. She had not moved from this room since Star's cousin Mai and her friends brought them here. But that was several weeks ago. And Viola had not woken up. Then, she heard a crash. She woke up, and saw her mistress sitting up in bed, her green eyes wide with fear.
"Viola?" Star asked.
"He…He's coming…" Viola said, shaking with dread and fear. "He's coming for me."
"Who?" Star demanded. "Who's coming for you?" She vowed that no matter who it was, she would protect her Lady.
"Fa…Father…" Viola whispered. Then, a mighty wind burst the glass of the windows open. The chairs and bed were thrown against the far wall. When Viola was thrown from her bed, Star tried to catch her, but the girl was raised up into the air by an unseen force.
Then…A figure floated into the room through the broken window. He was shroud in the fur and face of a white baboon. Then, a croaking, old voice came from the figure.
"Viola," he said. "You must come home. Your brother misses you."
"No." Viola said, grabbing for anything she could. She grabbed the onto Star's outstretched hands "I don't want to go back! I want to stay here! I want to stay!!"
"It's too late for that," he said. A section of his shroud opened. It started to suck in everything around them. Star felt her Lady's hands slipping from hers.
"Don't let go of me, Star! Don't let go!!" Viola begged, tears streaming down her white cheeks.
"I'm trying!" Start cried back. But the force of the vacuum was too much. Viola's weak hands slipped from Star's, and the child screamed as she was pulled into the black hole.
When Viola was gone, the hole closed up, and the figure began to laugh, low and slowly. Star's whole body went cold with that laugh. She curled up on the floor, wanting to get away from him so badly…but still hoping there was a way to get her friend back…
"She is gone…" said the figure. "You must accept that. The poor child would not have lived without me, anyway. I was the only thing sustaining her life force, and I could bear it no longer. You humans…So weak…" And he disappeared. The masked coward who'd taken her only friend…was gone.
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"So then, I said," Kagome was telling Tea as she and their group walked along the road from the mall. But their conversation was cut short. They heard police sirens coming up behind them. They turned, and saw a great many police cars whizzing by, heading for the hospital. The police cars were followed quickly by a News van.
"What's all that about?" Tea wondered. Then, they were passed by a large group of people. They were heading to an electronics store. They followed the mob, and pushed their forward to the see the TV's in the window.
An anchorman stood talking with police, and tuned to the camera, and said, "Only moments ago, from this hospital, the notorious leader of the international gang, known as The Rare Hunters, Miss Viola Shepherd, was taken by a mysterious man, with apparent gift of flight. The only witness, Viola's guard, Star Valentine, refuses to speak of what she witnessed. All we know, is that the only suspect is the girl's supposed father. More on this story in twenty minutes."
Kagome turned to Yugi, and said, "Weird."
"Totally," Yugi said. "WHy would Viola's own father kidnap her?"
"Could the Rare Hunters be behind this?" Tea asked.
"I don't think so," Yugi said, "Last I heard from Ishizu, the rest of the Rare Hunters are still loyal to her brother, and have honored his wishes to disband."
"Then who would kidnap her?" Tristan asked.
"Let the police handle it," Joey said. "We left that stuff behind with that island." They turned from the store, and continued on to the Shrine. During the whole walk home, Kagome had a very bad feeling about this.
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Inu-yasha lounged in the branch of a tree, on the edge of the village. Again, nothing. It seemed like every time he was home, the hunt for shards and Naraku turned up nothing. And though it meant that things were peaceful, it also made Inu-yasha bored. He was itching for something to do. And worse, Kagiome was in her time, hanging out with her other friends. The han-you jumped from the tree, and started to sharpen his claws on the bark. He felt pathetic! In his frustration, he swiped at the tree a little too hard, and split it in two.
After the tree crashed, he shouted, "What the heck does a guy have to do for a little excitement!!?"
"You swine!" Songo's voice carried over the wind. Inu-yasha turned around, and saw various pots, pans, and other bric-a-brac being hurled about. In all the confusion, a young lady from the village fled the hut, her face redder than a tomato. Then suddenly, Miroku can running out after her, and Songo after him.
"Wait, fairest flower, be not offended by Songo, she's like a sister to me," the monk called after the girl.
"You're dead, monk!" Songo shouted, ready to fling her hiraikotsu at him.
"Not what I had in mind," Inu-yasha said to himself, "But it's better than tedium." The han-you sat back, and watched as Songo soundly thrashed Miroku for his lechery.
"Songo, let me explain!" he begged as she pounded repeatedly on the noggin with her fists.
"Explain? You mean lie! You mean weasel out of! You mean-"
"I'm sorry!!" he cried, covering his head. "I am only a man, cut me a break!"
"I'll cut something, alright!" she said, looming over him. "If you so much as touch another girl like that again-!"
"Have mercy, Songo!" Miroku pleaded. She stared down at him, on his knees, and put away her weapon.
"Fine," she said. "I'll forgive you once more."
"Darn it," Inu-yasha said from the sidelines, "And it was finally getting good."
"Have you nothing better to do than watch us fight?" Songo asked him Inu-yasha.
"Naw, not really," the han-you replied.
"You might try putting in an honest day's work now and again," Miroku suggested.
"This from the guy who's 'honest day's work', includes lechery?"
"My intentions were honorable," Miroku said, "I was counseling the poor girl on a spiritual matter."
"With your tongue halfway down her throat?" Songo asked angrily.
"You said you forgave me," Miroku said to her.
"Oh, that's right, I did," she said, crossing her arms.
"Will you quit making up, I'm bored," Inu-yasha complained. "I might as well go down the well and get Kagome back. At least with her around, nothing's so boring."
"You're going to Kagome's time?" Songo asked, perking up. "May I go with you? Please?"
"Oh, what's got you so eager, now?"
"I simply miss a dear friend," Songo said.
"You want to that boy again, don't you?" Miroku asked, accusingly. "Why must you break my heart every single day? Why must you flee from my arms to his?"
"I thought I was like a sister to you?" Songo said, sarcastically.
"If you're going, then shut up and come on," Inu-yasha said, going into the forest, along the trail they'd made from all the times they'd gone from the village to the well.
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Ryou Bakura went to his bed room window. The day was almost over, and the sun was setting in the west, casting an array of dazzling colors about the horizon. He did not notice when he began to hum. To tell the truth, he didn't even recognize the tune. He simply began to hum. Then, his vision blurred, and he heard other voices humming the same tune he hummed. They were enchanting. And then the voices were accompanied by music. One thought filled his mind…To follow this music. He had to know from where t came.
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Kagome and her friends were sitting in her living room, just hanging out, as usual. They were snaking on all the food available to them in the house (Kagome's mom had learned to keep her cupboards and fridge stocked since back when Kagome had dated Joey), and watching TV. Another dumb reality show, where people did stupid things for a few lousy yen. Then, the show was interrupted by a news bulletin.
"This is a Channel 97 special bulletin," the reporter said. "Filling for our Kate Lynseed tonight is our own Mai Valentine. We go now to the scene were Mai is bringing you live footage of a strange phenomenon."
"Thank Sojiro. Dozens of people have taken to the streets in what looks like a fit of mass hysteria, humming a strange, and eerie tune. I've tried to talk to several of these people, but none seem to respond to anything." She turned to something off camera, and gasped. "Bakura! Bakura, wait, it's me, Mai. Don't you recognize me?" The camera followed her as she tried to stop Bakura, who pushed her aside, and continued on blindly.
"Bakura?!" They all exclaimed.
"This has you-kai written all over it." Inu-yasha said. He grabbed a ball cap, and unsheathed his sword. While Kagome ran up to her room, and grabbed her archery gear.
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"Turn that stupid thing off!" Mai commanded her camera man. He obeyed, and Mai dropped her microphone, chasing after Bakura. She grabbed his arm again, pleading, "Bakura, say something! It's me!" Then, she felt hands lay hold of her. It was two of Kaiba's goons! They were under this same enchantment. They pulled her off of Bakura, and tossed her to the ground on rear.
"Come back here, now!" Setto Kaiba's voice called from behind. Mai got up, and saw him running towards his deserting henchmen. "You come back here this instant, or you're both fired!"
"Kaiba," Mai said. "Do you know what's going on?"
"Of course not!" Kaiba said. "One second I'm working, the next, I'm told that two of my body guards and one of my cooks are leaving the building for no good reason."
"They're humming the same song as Bakura and all these people," Mai said. "And more people are leaving them by the minute."
"Well what do you propose-?" Kaiba said, but someone knocked him in the shoulder as they passed by. He turned to yell at them, and recognized two faces he'd seen from Kagome's school.
"Do you now them?"
"Hojo and Ayumi," Kaiba said. "Their part Kagome's entourage. "
"What should we do?" Mai asked.
"We've got to go after them, and find out what's causing all this," Kaiba said. He and Mai burst into a sprint, following the hoard.
"This song s getting monotonous," Kaiba said after a time of chasing their friend and acquaintances.
"Tell me about it," Inu-yasha said, coming behind them. He was followed by the rest of their group, all prepared for a fight.
"I should have known you'd be here. Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go," Kaiba remarked.
"You got it backwards," Inu-yasha said, running beside him. "I follow trouble. And there's plenty to go around."
"Don't lose you head, Inu-yasha," Yugi/Yami said, catching up with them. His puzzle was glowing brightly. As they ran, Kirara bounded down the street, with Songo, Miroku, and Kagome riding on her back. When the Cat you-kai stopped, they were in front of Bakura, Ayumi, Hojo, and the two stray body guards.
Songo jumped from Kirara's back, and got in front of Bakura. "Ryou," she said, frightened, "It's me, Songo. Speak to me, why are you doing this? Where are you going?"
"Out of my way," Bakura said harshly.
"Hojo, Ayumi, have you both gone nuts?!" Kagome asked her school friends. She walked backwards, in front of them, trying to reason with them. But it was no use.
"They're calling us," Hojo said absentmindedly.
"The music," Ayumi said, "It's so soothing." The two walked on past Kagome, but she followed closely, until them came to Tokyo Tower. Where they all stopped. Kagome looked up, and floating in the sky above them was a woman with long black hair. She had a pipe in one hand, a drum around her neck, and guitar slung on her back. She looked down at them all, and lifted her hands, and began to beat the drum in a loud, steady beat. She opened her mouth, and began to chant in time with her drum beats, and the air filled with a strange melody, nothing like the hypnotic tune before. She chanted, and the people below chanted with her, all in one frightening chorus:
Ergo
Oceanus, maritimus,
Ergo
Opacare, matutinus,
Ergo,
Septentrio, meridies,
Ergo,
Occidens et orientis,
Ergo,
Oceanus, maritimus,
Opacare, matutinus,
Septentrio, meridies,
Occidens et orientis,
Ergo,
Terra, stella,
Hiems et aestas,
Ergo
Autumnus et
Tempus vernum,
Ergo
Radius solis
Et umbra,
Ignis, aqua,
Caelum, luna,
Terra, stella,
Hiems et et aesta,
autumnu et
Tempus vernum…
Tempus Vernum!
"Is she the witch behind all this?" Inu-yasha asked Kagome.
"She must be," Kagome said. "She's the one singing and playing those instruments."
One question," Joey said, behind them, "How come their all affected by her song, and we ain't? There're of people who ain't walking around here 'zombiefied'."
"He's right," Yugi/Yami said, "There's something else at work here. Something sinister." Just , Inu-yasha caught the scent. It was feint, but he knew well. He lifted up his sword, and looked around, wildly.
"Naraku," he snarled. "He's here!" They others looked around, and readied for battle. They all searched the crowd, and the sky for their dreaded enemy as the song continued. Then, they heard him.
"Come to me, my children," his voice said. Though withered and cracked, it was his voice. "Come to me, my children. Come to your father."
AT once, people started to rise from the ground. Kagome looked up, and saw him beside his Siren. He opened his cloak, and a Wind Tunnel appeared in his chest. The black whole began to suck up people from the crowd.
"No!" Kagome shouted. She grabbed Ayumi and Hojo by their ankles by their ankles, and tried desperately to hold them down. But she soon let go of Ayumi. But just as quickly, Tristan grabbed her, and held her down. While Songo and Yugi held down Bakura.
"No…" the you-kai said under his baboon mask. "Inu-yasha…you cannot live?! I destroyed you ages ago…" As the wind picked up, a reaction to Naraku's rage, the mask was blown from his face. It was not the face of the handsome young prince he'd stolen it from…It was the face an old man, withered with age and time.
"What is this?" Inu-yasha demanded, "Another of your tricks?"
"Look on me, Inu-yasha, and see that I have grown old in my years. Without the Jewel and demons to absorb, I am old…and near death…That is why I am calling home all of my children to me. That I might reabsorb them and live again."
"Your children?" Inu-yash said, disgusted. He looked around to the faces, familiar and unfamiliar, who made up the crowd. "You mean that all these are…?!"
"Not all," Naraku said, "Some are, and some once were, in past lives. Now reborn into human form. I have called them home, none the less. And even if you should keep their shells from me, I will still reclaim their souls." At once, those that hadn't been absorbed opened their moths, and the forms of past beings, some that Inu-yasha had actually destroyed, floated up. Kagome saw that Ayumi, her friend, held the spirit of Kagura! The Wind Demoness's form lifted from the girl's body. And Hojo was Kagaromaru…a monster that had eaten a chunk of Inu-yaha's liver once in a battle. Kagome let Hojo's lifless body drop. She began to cry for her friend. Her tears intensified when she heard Tristan beg Ayumi to wake up.
"You won't take them!" Kagome screamed as she let fly a sacred arrow. It's aim was true, and it pierced Naraku through the heart. Though he'd absorbed enough now to look middle aged,. He was still ages old, and to slow and sick to react. When the arrow pierced him, the Siren stopped playing.
"No! I cannot die like this," he said, as the spirits he'd began to summon came to themselves, and saw him. Their faces twisted in fear, and fled back to the bodies they'd inhabited. Save one. The Spirit that dwelled inside Bakura. The spirit of the Evil Bakura, who'd haunted him since he'd gotten the Millennium Ring.
"I will not return to that boy," the spirit said. "I have been held too long in that body."
"Then come to me, Li Zhou," Naraku said, spreading his arms "And be reborn."
"My name," the spirit of the Millennium Ring said. "It's been so long since I've heard it. I've been called many names over the centuries... Amon, The Hidden One…Erebus…and the most detestable of all, Ryou Bakura… It is a great relief to hear my true name! I will return to you, Naraku," he said, "But only if you give me the power to crush my imprisoners! Give me flesh again!"
"It shall be done," Naraku said. He flew down to Li Zhou, and engulfed him. As this occurred, the hundred or so people below began to awaken, and screams of horror filled the night. They were confused, afraid, and knew hey had to get away.
Lightening flashed, and thunder boomed, as Li Zhou pulled himself from Naraku's body. He was still the spitting image of the Bakura, who now awoke.
"Songo…" he whispered.
"Yes, Ryou," she said. "I am here."
"He… he's gone?"
"Not quite, boy," Li Zhou said, lifting his arms, lightening dancing on his fingertips. "I shall punish you for keeping me imprisoned for so long!" He extended his arms, and lightening bolts shot out from his fingers, straight down at Songo and Bakura…
AN: The song featured is 'Tempus Vernum' by Enya. I found it particularly dark and ominous, and perfect for this scene. Review!
Chapter One.
"Get out of here, you, right now!" Kagome's grandfather shouted as he chased Inu-yasha from Kagome's room early one morning.
"Hey, what's the big deal?" Inu-yasha asked as he ran for his life from the broom wielding maniac.
"I told you before that if I ever caught you sleeping in Kagome's room again, I'd have you neutered! Now get out of here and go back to your own time and wait for her!"
"Gramps don't hurt him!" Kagome shouted as she ran outside in her pajamas. Inu-yasha ran screaming from the house with Kagome and her grandfather following close behind.
"I'll be dead and in my grave before I'll see some han-you freeloader soil my granddaughter's honor!" Kagome's grandfather yelled.
"I never touched her, I promise!" Inu-yasha squealed. "All I did was sleep at the foot of her bed! I do that every night!"
"Oh, the shame that has befallen my poor family since that horrid day you crawled out of the well!" Gramps cried, grabbing his head. "I will not stand for this indignity any longer! If you want to see Kagome, you will call on her in a suitor's fashion!" He threw a cooking pot at Inu-yasha's head. The han-you ran into the mini shrine, and leaped down the well.
When Inu-yasha was gone, Kagome's grandfather turned to Kagome and scolded her. "Oh Kagome, why didn't you stay with that nice Joey, fellow. He was a good boy and never did anything except to eat and be friendly and he never once slept at the foot of your bed."
"No, but there were plenty of offers for me to sleep in his." She muttered under her breath, remembering a time when her friend Joey Wheeler had invited her to a very exclusive boy/girl sleepover but Joey's father had conveniently ordered that he bring only one guest.
'"You see I was going to have all my friends over but my old man said he didn't want a whole lot of noisy kids around, so I can only invite one very special person and I wanted it to be very, very special person."' Joey had said on that day. An offer to which Kagome had greatly expressed no such desire to take him up on.
"That jerk, and where are Yugi and the others today anyway?" Kagome wondered, later as she finished getting dressed.. She was supposed to meet them that morning and go to the mall with them but here it was after eight that morning and they hadn't shown up.
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"So that date you had the other day, how'd it work out Yugi?" Joey asked as he and his diminutive friend sat outside of Tristan's apartment. "Was Tea good, or was she more than you could handle?"
"No way, I got to second base with her." Yugi bragged, though in actuality he'd only gotten a kiss on the cheek when the date was over.
"You Dog, tell me everything!" Joey insisted but just then Tea came walking up the street and ended their conversation.
"Hey guys, Tristan still not up yet?" Tea asked when she walked up in her platform heels. She was wearing a short skirt, platform heels, and a jacket.
"Naw, he's probably still sleepin," Joey said. The wind picked up, and he buttoned his letterman jacket. "Geez, it's too cold for late summer," he muttered.
"Tell me about it," Tea said, zipping her jacket up. "And the weatherman keeps getting it wrong."
"No surprise there," Yugi remarked. Just then, the door top Tristan's apartment opened. As their friend walked out, they all got up. "Hi guys," Tristan said, "Been waiting long?"
"Yeah," Tea said, "We were supposed to be at Kagome's an hour ago."
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Star sat sleeping in the chair next to Lady Viola's sleeping body. She had not moved from this room since Star's cousin Mai and her friends brought them here. But that was several weeks ago. And Viola had not woken up. Then, she heard a crash. She woke up, and saw her mistress sitting up in bed, her green eyes wide with fear.
"Viola?" Star asked.
"He…He's coming…" Viola said, shaking with dread and fear. "He's coming for me."
"Who?" Star demanded. "Who's coming for you?" She vowed that no matter who it was, she would protect her Lady.
"Fa…Father…" Viola whispered. Then, a mighty wind burst the glass of the windows open. The chairs and bed were thrown against the far wall. When Viola was thrown from her bed, Star tried to catch her, but the girl was raised up into the air by an unseen force.
Then…A figure floated into the room through the broken window. He was shroud in the fur and face of a white baboon. Then, a croaking, old voice came from the figure.
"Viola," he said. "You must come home. Your brother misses you."
"No." Viola said, grabbing for anything she could. She grabbed the onto Star's outstretched hands "I don't want to go back! I want to stay here! I want to stay!!"
"It's too late for that," he said. A section of his shroud opened. It started to suck in everything around them. Star felt her Lady's hands slipping from hers.
"Don't let go of me, Star! Don't let go!!" Viola begged, tears streaming down her white cheeks.
"I'm trying!" Start cried back. But the force of the vacuum was too much. Viola's weak hands slipped from Star's, and the child screamed as she was pulled into the black hole.
When Viola was gone, the hole closed up, and the figure began to laugh, low and slowly. Star's whole body went cold with that laugh. She curled up on the floor, wanting to get away from him so badly…but still hoping there was a way to get her friend back…
"She is gone…" said the figure. "You must accept that. The poor child would not have lived without me, anyway. I was the only thing sustaining her life force, and I could bear it no longer. You humans…So weak…" And he disappeared. The masked coward who'd taken her only friend…was gone.
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"So then, I said," Kagome was telling Tea as she and their group walked along the road from the mall. But their conversation was cut short. They heard police sirens coming up behind them. They turned, and saw a great many police cars whizzing by, heading for the hospital. The police cars were followed quickly by a News van.
"What's all that about?" Tea wondered. Then, they were passed by a large group of people. They were heading to an electronics store. They followed the mob, and pushed their forward to the see the TV's in the window.
An anchorman stood talking with police, and tuned to the camera, and said, "Only moments ago, from this hospital, the notorious leader of the international gang, known as The Rare Hunters, Miss Viola Shepherd, was taken by a mysterious man, with apparent gift of flight. The only witness, Viola's guard, Star Valentine, refuses to speak of what she witnessed. All we know, is that the only suspect is the girl's supposed father. More on this story in twenty minutes."
Kagome turned to Yugi, and said, "Weird."
"Totally," Yugi said. "WHy would Viola's own father kidnap her?"
"Could the Rare Hunters be behind this?" Tea asked.
"I don't think so," Yugi said, "Last I heard from Ishizu, the rest of the Rare Hunters are still loyal to her brother, and have honored his wishes to disband."
"Then who would kidnap her?" Tristan asked.
"Let the police handle it," Joey said. "We left that stuff behind with that island." They turned from the store, and continued on to the Shrine. During the whole walk home, Kagome had a very bad feeling about this.
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Inu-yasha lounged in the branch of a tree, on the edge of the village. Again, nothing. It seemed like every time he was home, the hunt for shards and Naraku turned up nothing. And though it meant that things were peaceful, it also made Inu-yasha bored. He was itching for something to do. And worse, Kagiome was in her time, hanging out with her other friends. The han-you jumped from the tree, and started to sharpen his claws on the bark. He felt pathetic! In his frustration, he swiped at the tree a little too hard, and split it in two.
After the tree crashed, he shouted, "What the heck does a guy have to do for a little excitement!!?"
"You swine!" Songo's voice carried over the wind. Inu-yasha turned around, and saw various pots, pans, and other bric-a-brac being hurled about. In all the confusion, a young lady from the village fled the hut, her face redder than a tomato. Then suddenly, Miroku can running out after her, and Songo after him.
"Wait, fairest flower, be not offended by Songo, she's like a sister to me," the monk called after the girl.
"You're dead, monk!" Songo shouted, ready to fling her hiraikotsu at him.
"Not what I had in mind," Inu-yasha said to himself, "But it's better than tedium." The han-you sat back, and watched as Songo soundly thrashed Miroku for his lechery.
"Songo, let me explain!" he begged as she pounded repeatedly on the noggin with her fists.
"Explain? You mean lie! You mean weasel out of! You mean-"
"I'm sorry!!" he cried, covering his head. "I am only a man, cut me a break!"
"I'll cut something, alright!" she said, looming over him. "If you so much as touch another girl like that again-!"
"Have mercy, Songo!" Miroku pleaded. She stared down at him, on his knees, and put away her weapon.
"Fine," she said. "I'll forgive you once more."
"Darn it," Inu-yasha said from the sidelines, "And it was finally getting good."
"Have you nothing better to do than watch us fight?" Songo asked him Inu-yasha.
"Naw, not really," the han-you replied.
"You might try putting in an honest day's work now and again," Miroku suggested.
"This from the guy who's 'honest day's work', includes lechery?"
"My intentions were honorable," Miroku said, "I was counseling the poor girl on a spiritual matter."
"With your tongue halfway down her throat?" Songo asked angrily.
"You said you forgave me," Miroku said to her.
"Oh, that's right, I did," she said, crossing her arms.
"Will you quit making up, I'm bored," Inu-yasha complained. "I might as well go down the well and get Kagome back. At least with her around, nothing's so boring."
"You're going to Kagome's time?" Songo asked, perking up. "May I go with you? Please?"
"Oh, what's got you so eager, now?"
"I simply miss a dear friend," Songo said.
"You want to that boy again, don't you?" Miroku asked, accusingly. "Why must you break my heart every single day? Why must you flee from my arms to his?"
"I thought I was like a sister to you?" Songo said, sarcastically.
"If you're going, then shut up and come on," Inu-yasha said, going into the forest, along the trail they'd made from all the times they'd gone from the village to the well.
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Ryou Bakura went to his bed room window. The day was almost over, and the sun was setting in the west, casting an array of dazzling colors about the horizon. He did not notice when he began to hum. To tell the truth, he didn't even recognize the tune. He simply began to hum. Then, his vision blurred, and he heard other voices humming the same tune he hummed. They were enchanting. And then the voices were accompanied by music. One thought filled his mind…To follow this music. He had to know from where t came.
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Kagome and her friends were sitting in her living room, just hanging out, as usual. They were snaking on all the food available to them in the house (Kagome's mom had learned to keep her cupboards and fridge stocked since back when Kagome had dated Joey), and watching TV. Another dumb reality show, where people did stupid things for a few lousy yen. Then, the show was interrupted by a news bulletin.
"This is a Channel 97 special bulletin," the reporter said. "Filling for our Kate Lynseed tonight is our own Mai Valentine. We go now to the scene were Mai is bringing you live footage of a strange phenomenon."
"Thank Sojiro. Dozens of people have taken to the streets in what looks like a fit of mass hysteria, humming a strange, and eerie tune. I've tried to talk to several of these people, but none seem to respond to anything." She turned to something off camera, and gasped. "Bakura! Bakura, wait, it's me, Mai. Don't you recognize me?" The camera followed her as she tried to stop Bakura, who pushed her aside, and continued on blindly.
"Bakura?!" They all exclaimed.
"This has you-kai written all over it." Inu-yasha said. He grabbed a ball cap, and unsheathed his sword. While Kagome ran up to her room, and grabbed her archery gear.
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"Turn that stupid thing off!" Mai commanded her camera man. He obeyed, and Mai dropped her microphone, chasing after Bakura. She grabbed his arm again, pleading, "Bakura, say something! It's me!" Then, she felt hands lay hold of her. It was two of Kaiba's goons! They were under this same enchantment. They pulled her off of Bakura, and tossed her to the ground on rear.
"Come back here, now!" Setto Kaiba's voice called from behind. Mai got up, and saw him running towards his deserting henchmen. "You come back here this instant, or you're both fired!"
"Kaiba," Mai said. "Do you know what's going on?"
"Of course not!" Kaiba said. "One second I'm working, the next, I'm told that two of my body guards and one of my cooks are leaving the building for no good reason."
"They're humming the same song as Bakura and all these people," Mai said. "And more people are leaving them by the minute."
"Well what do you propose-?" Kaiba said, but someone knocked him in the shoulder as they passed by. He turned to yell at them, and recognized two faces he'd seen from Kagome's school.
"Do you now them?"
"Hojo and Ayumi," Kaiba said. "Their part Kagome's entourage. "
"What should we do?" Mai asked.
"We've got to go after them, and find out what's causing all this," Kaiba said. He and Mai burst into a sprint, following the hoard.
"This song s getting monotonous," Kaiba said after a time of chasing their friend and acquaintances.
"Tell me about it," Inu-yasha said, coming behind them. He was followed by the rest of their group, all prepared for a fight.
"I should have known you'd be here. Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go," Kaiba remarked.
"You got it backwards," Inu-yasha said, running beside him. "I follow trouble. And there's plenty to go around."
"Don't lose you head, Inu-yasha," Yugi/Yami said, catching up with them. His puzzle was glowing brightly. As they ran, Kirara bounded down the street, with Songo, Miroku, and Kagome riding on her back. When the Cat you-kai stopped, they were in front of Bakura, Ayumi, Hojo, and the two stray body guards.
Songo jumped from Kirara's back, and got in front of Bakura. "Ryou," she said, frightened, "It's me, Songo. Speak to me, why are you doing this? Where are you going?"
"Out of my way," Bakura said harshly.
"Hojo, Ayumi, have you both gone nuts?!" Kagome asked her school friends. She walked backwards, in front of them, trying to reason with them. But it was no use.
"They're calling us," Hojo said absentmindedly.
"The music," Ayumi said, "It's so soothing." The two walked on past Kagome, but she followed closely, until them came to Tokyo Tower. Where they all stopped. Kagome looked up, and floating in the sky above them was a woman with long black hair. She had a pipe in one hand, a drum around her neck, and guitar slung on her back. She looked down at them all, and lifted her hands, and began to beat the drum in a loud, steady beat. She opened her mouth, and began to chant in time with her drum beats, and the air filled with a strange melody, nothing like the hypnotic tune before. She chanted, and the people below chanted with her, all in one frightening chorus:
Ergo
Oceanus, maritimus,
Ergo
Opacare, matutinus,
Ergo,
Septentrio, meridies,
Ergo,
Occidens et orientis,
Ergo,
Oceanus, maritimus,
Opacare, matutinus,
Septentrio, meridies,
Occidens et orientis,
Ergo,
Terra, stella,
Hiems et aestas,
Ergo
Autumnus et
Tempus vernum,
Ergo
Radius solis
Et umbra,
Ignis, aqua,
Caelum, luna,
Terra, stella,
Hiems et et aesta,
autumnu et
Tempus vernum…
Tempus Vernum!
"Is she the witch behind all this?" Inu-yasha asked Kagome.
"She must be," Kagome said. "She's the one singing and playing those instruments."
One question," Joey said, behind them, "How come their all affected by her song, and we ain't? There're of people who ain't walking around here 'zombiefied'."
"He's right," Yugi/Yami said, "There's something else at work here. Something sinister." Just , Inu-yasha caught the scent. It was feint, but he knew well. He lifted up his sword, and looked around, wildly.
"Naraku," he snarled. "He's here!" They others looked around, and readied for battle. They all searched the crowd, and the sky for their dreaded enemy as the song continued. Then, they heard him.
"Come to me, my children," his voice said. Though withered and cracked, it was his voice. "Come to me, my children. Come to your father."
AT once, people started to rise from the ground. Kagome looked up, and saw him beside his Siren. He opened his cloak, and a Wind Tunnel appeared in his chest. The black whole began to suck up people from the crowd.
"No!" Kagome shouted. She grabbed Ayumi and Hojo by their ankles by their ankles, and tried desperately to hold them down. But she soon let go of Ayumi. But just as quickly, Tristan grabbed her, and held her down. While Songo and Yugi held down Bakura.
"No…" the you-kai said under his baboon mask. "Inu-yasha…you cannot live?! I destroyed you ages ago…" As the wind picked up, a reaction to Naraku's rage, the mask was blown from his face. It was not the face of the handsome young prince he'd stolen it from…It was the face an old man, withered with age and time.
"What is this?" Inu-yasha demanded, "Another of your tricks?"
"Look on me, Inu-yasha, and see that I have grown old in my years. Without the Jewel and demons to absorb, I am old…and near death…That is why I am calling home all of my children to me. That I might reabsorb them and live again."
"Your children?" Inu-yash said, disgusted. He looked around to the faces, familiar and unfamiliar, who made up the crowd. "You mean that all these are…?!"
"Not all," Naraku said, "Some are, and some once were, in past lives. Now reborn into human form. I have called them home, none the less. And even if you should keep their shells from me, I will still reclaim their souls." At once, those that hadn't been absorbed opened their moths, and the forms of past beings, some that Inu-yasha had actually destroyed, floated up. Kagome saw that Ayumi, her friend, held the spirit of Kagura! The Wind Demoness's form lifted from the girl's body. And Hojo was Kagaromaru…a monster that had eaten a chunk of Inu-yaha's liver once in a battle. Kagome let Hojo's lifless body drop. She began to cry for her friend. Her tears intensified when she heard Tristan beg Ayumi to wake up.
"You won't take them!" Kagome screamed as she let fly a sacred arrow. It's aim was true, and it pierced Naraku through the heart. Though he'd absorbed enough now to look middle aged,. He was still ages old, and to slow and sick to react. When the arrow pierced him, the Siren stopped playing.
"No! I cannot die like this," he said, as the spirits he'd began to summon came to themselves, and saw him. Their faces twisted in fear, and fled back to the bodies they'd inhabited. Save one. The Spirit that dwelled inside Bakura. The spirit of the Evil Bakura, who'd haunted him since he'd gotten the Millennium Ring.
"I will not return to that boy," the spirit said. "I have been held too long in that body."
"Then come to me, Li Zhou," Naraku said, spreading his arms "And be reborn."
"My name," the spirit of the Millennium Ring said. "It's been so long since I've heard it. I've been called many names over the centuries... Amon, The Hidden One…Erebus…and the most detestable of all, Ryou Bakura… It is a great relief to hear my true name! I will return to you, Naraku," he said, "But only if you give me the power to crush my imprisoners! Give me flesh again!"
"It shall be done," Naraku said. He flew down to Li Zhou, and engulfed him. As this occurred, the hundred or so people below began to awaken, and screams of horror filled the night. They were confused, afraid, and knew hey had to get away.
Lightening flashed, and thunder boomed, as Li Zhou pulled himself from Naraku's body. He was still the spitting image of the Bakura, who now awoke.
"Songo…" he whispered.
"Yes, Ryou," she said. "I am here."
"He… he's gone?"
"Not quite, boy," Li Zhou said, lifting his arms, lightening dancing on his fingertips. "I shall punish you for keeping me imprisoned for so long!" He extended his arms, and lightening bolts shot out from his fingers, straight down at Songo and Bakura…
AN: The song featured is 'Tempus Vernum' by Enya. I found it particularly dark and ominous, and perfect for this scene. Review!