Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters.

Wow, this is really past due for an update… Sorry bout such a long wait. I'm not gonna bother you by telling you how hectic my life is- but I was getting sick of never being able to use the computer since my brother is on it all the time, so I just took the laptop he keeps cooped up in his room and am typing up everything in my room right now. Finally.

Oh! And my dad is back from Japan =) I always love looking at the papers and stuff he gets from there, cause it has a lot of Kanji on it and I love trying to learn it :P Ooo- and he usually brings back gifts from there (since he goes there a lot) and this time I got this little deep, mahogany wood box with these lily-type flowers painted on the top. When you open it up, there's red velvet lining the inside. And, I just figured out, that when you turn this little gold nob in it, it plays music =) ((hey, it took me a while to figure out what it was, I was quite proud of myself… lol))

Heheh, and for those of you making predictions for the story in those brains of yours, be prepared… Bwuaha ^_~

Oh, and finally, this is the chapter where information is actually released! Just.. You'll have to decipher for yourself which is true and which is not ^_^

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Fate Gave Three

By Areine

Chapter 5: The Mission, The Escape

Kaiya was beginning to be bothered by the tension in the room. After giving the woman their names Ami had simply asked them to follow her before hustling off to one of the huts, where, once she was some distance away, Inuronin had stated quite clearly that he didn't trust her. Kaiya was finally able to persuade Inuronin to come with her and follow after rather forcefully latching onto his wrist and dragging him- to which he ranted about why he ever chose to let Kaiya follow him.

Presently they were all situated in a rather small, wooden hut. There were various pots and baskets littered around the room, and Kaiya could see some different herbs and water in them. Off in one corner were some futons stacked together for storage, but besides a fire pit in the center of the room there was not much else.

Inuronin was seated with his back to a wall, legs crossed Indian style and his arms folded in his large sleeves. His golden eyes were fixated with distrust on Ami as the elderly woman used a mallet to pound some herbs in a bowl. She had told them they would talk once she had made them some drinks, stating that they must be thirsty. Kaiya was now sitting silently somewhere between the two, sword at her side and her legs pulled to her right as she started to feel a cramp rising in her hip. How long did it take her to make some simple drinks anyway? It seemed like they had been sitting there forever…

"All done."

The girl lifted her eyes in surprise to see Ami holding out a small bowl of dark liquid to her. She took it in her hands, glad to feel a strong heat coming from it… Until she looked at it closely. She could clearly see some bits of dark leaves floating at the top… With something that looked like a bone resting at the bottom. Her nose crinkled in slight disgust as she looked up and behind to see what Inuronin's reaction to it was. He had the bowl in one clawed hand while he held it under his nose. After keeping it there for a few moments Kaiya was slightly surprised to see him look over at her (which seemed to be the first time in a while, the way he kept watching Ami like a hawk). Kaiya tilted her head to convey her confusion, and, in response, Inuronin made a point to pour out the contents of his bowl into a random pot once Ami had her back turned away from them. After receiving a strong glare from the hanyou, Kaiya decided to follow suit, and quickly grabbed a basket that was near her. Surprised when Ami suddenly whipped around to look at her, she quickly upturned the bowl and dropped the liquid into the basket… Forgetting that it was woven and not quite capable of containing anything but solid materials.

Inuronin slapped a hand to his forehead when Kaiya screeched and leapt from her spot on the floor, throwing the basket over her as if that would dry herself. The drink seemed to have been hotter than she had even imagined and burned her lap painfully as she grabbed onto her sundress and waved the drenched portion back and forth in an effort to get it away from her skin.

Inuronin, of course, had been hit in the head with the thrown basket, while Ami just watched silently before bustling off.

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Kaiya couldn't get the blush to leave her cheeks as she sat in silence, clothed in a white and lilac pick kimono. She kept her face cast downwards, terribly embarrassed from earlier. Inuronin was in his same position as before, while Ami was situated across from them on the other side of the fire pit.

"Well, now that we are all ready, I do believe we should have some questions answered." Ami commented simply, having not felt the need to reproduce the drinks. She was smiling gently at the two, cheeks crinkled with age as her lips moved. "I would first like to hear your stories." Her eyes focused on Kaiya as if waiting.

'Should I tell her about going down the well? Will that make any sense to her?' Kaiya wondered to herself before responding. 'Well… It seems these people are used to some of the weirdest things… and maybe she knows exactly what happened…'

She turned her head to see if Inuronin had any advice to give to her, but he was only staring at the Tetsusaiga which she kept next to her.

She sighed, then decided to just tell Ami what had happened… Of course, leaving out a few things Inuronin had done- but that wouldn't hurt anyone…

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It took a while for Kaiya to finish. Every now and then Ami broke in with a question on exactly what something looked like, or how she had felt. It was rather easy to talk to the elderly woman, for she gave her full attention. She had started from the point of first dropping her ring down the well, and finally when she and Inuronin had decided to come to this village.

Ami nodded her head, silent for a few moments as everyone sat in silence. "I see…" she held out one of her hands. "Kaiya, may I see your hand, dear? The one where the jewel punctured it?"

Kaiya blinked, but nodded. Standing, she walked over to where Ami was and placed her hand in the elderly woman's palm. She pointed to the dark patch of skin in the center of skin below her fingers. "Right there, this dark area was where it healed after the jewel cut it, but it feels better now."

Ami shook her head. "It's as I thought. Kaiya, there is no tainted skin on this hand. To me, I see nothing."

Kaiya looked at her hand again. 'I know it's there… maybe it's because her eyes are getting old that she cannot see it.'


"I'm not sure I understand…" was all that Kaiya said however.

Ami took three of her fingers and pushed lightly into the center of Kaiya's palm. "Kaiya, you, like only two other mikos in the past, have the ability to sense the presence of the Shikon no Tama." From where Inuronin sat, his ears perked up.

Kaiya remained quiet for a few moments. What was she talking about?

"No… I really think you have this wrong…"

"No child, I am positive. When I first saw you the resemblance you bore to the last girl with this ability was so great that I called you by her name, Kagome. And the hanyou she traveled with so greatly resembled your friend here, that I called him by the name Inuyasha."

Kaiya blushed at the 'friend' part.

"Like you, Kagome first came to this world through a well. She was found to be the reincarnation of a miko called Kikyou, for she was from 500 years in the future, and so for 500 years after Kikyou's death her soul was born again into the girl. It has been 50 years since the death of Kagome, and it seems her soul has manifested into you… and, fate has decided, it seems, to reincarnate Inuyasha's soul into Inuronin's. It is no coincidence that you two have met."

"Naraku set it up."

Both Ami's and Kaiya's head turned to find Inuronin watching them.

"He must have known too. About Kaiya. He was the one who kept me in that spider youkai's webbing. He used the power of the Shikon no Tama to bind me there, for I could have easily broken out, and he also cloaked the web in some magic… so only a miko would be able to see it. He talked to me, about how he would get her here first, before killing me." As he continued he closed his eyes, mouth stuck in a frown. "He broke off a piece of the Shikon no Tama and left it in the well, to get her here."

Kaiya felt a shiver travel up her spine. It felt so weird to have people talking about her that were so powerful, yet had never even met her… This whole world was so different…

"No, but he must have meant it to bring someone else. The only reason I went down the well was because I dropped my ring."

"He used the spider youkai's webbing to take it off." Inuronin contradicted.

Kaiya swallowed. This whole thing made her feel so weak, and naïve. "But… that would be almost physically impossible without me feeling it…"

"You really haven't learned anything about this world, have you?" he criticized in response.

"Inuronin…" Both Kaiya and Inuronin turned to look at Ami. "While I can understand why Kaiya would resemble Kagome so much, I do know that for two hanyous to resemble each other so closely is rare. Very rare… Perhaps you know something about this…?"

Kaiya had to admit to herself that she did not look the smile on Ami's face. It seemed so… mocking. But perhaps she was just reading into it too much…

"There's nothing I would need to damn well tell you old hag." Inuronin retorted coldly.

"Inuronin!" Kaiya hissed at him, surprised at his sudden change of attitude.

Ami narrowed her eyes before suddenly smiling. "Oh no, it's quite all right…"

Kaiya decided to change the subject. Quickly.

"Well… I still have a question…"

"Yes child?" Ami harped.

"Well… if Kagome was the reincarnation of a miko woman from 500 years in the past… Why would it make sense for me to be the reincarnate of Kagome if she only died 50 years ago in my time?"

"Well… It seems to me that Inuyasha, because he was half demon, reincarnated some time before a human ever would… However, it seems that the spirit born from Kikyou, and then from Kagome was not about to just forget Inuyasha, or to leave him alone. Or, perhaps fate decided to bind them together." Ami explained.

"So… Kikyou knew Inuyasha as well then?"

"Why yes, both girls had some sort of love relationship with him."

Kaiya never thought her face would turn a deeper shade, and even at that moment Inuronin's face matched hers. To know that you were reincarnated from a pair of people in love with one another…

"But, I must get to this point before I forget." Ami made a point to look at Kaiya. "We must take that piece of the Shikon no Tama from out of your hand."

"Like… you mean… cutting my skin and taking it out?"

Ami nodded. Kaiya felt her face flush.

"Is it because it's part of the Shikon no Tama?"

"Yes, your miko blood, in reaction to the shard will only make it easier for Naraku to find you, and he is not afraid of hurting you."

"But won't I need it to go back through the well if that's how I get back home?"

"Yes, you will, for only with the power of the shard can you travel through that time rift, but to keep it inside of you is dangerous."

Kaiya did not want to have her skin cut open. Period.

"It is imperative we do it as soon as possible."

Kaiya swallowed, and her eyes traveled to the door. Maybe she could make a break for it and just run to the well… No… that would never work…

As Kaiya made plans in her head to get out of it, she didn't notice Ami bringing a cloth over to her. When she felt the damp material placed over her nose and mouth her first reaction was to struggle for breath… which she did, only to breathe in the strongest smelling something she had ever smelled in her life.

She passed out in a second flat.

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When Kaiya felt her senses coming back to her she instantly felt a pain in her hand. Opening her eyes slowly she saw a great number of bandages wrapped around it in the dark, and she fought the urge to groan. She assumed correctly that while she had been knocked out Ami had already preceded to take the shard out. Suddenly noticing a dark glow from beneath her chin, she looked down to see the shard made into a necklace which she was wearing.

As she gained more of her bearings she distinguished the voices of Inuronin and Ami talking…

"-is this 'friend'?"

That was Inuronin.

"Ah, pardon me, I should have told you more. He is a flea youkai by the name of Myouga. He was, in the past, a friend to Inuyasha and Kagome. I have no doubt that he will know how the sword is to be used."

Kaiya could feel that she was under a blanket, and facing away from the two, so she figured she must have been unconscious for at least an hour.

"How the hell am I supposed to just find a flea youkai? Isn't he supposed to be small?"

"He has made permanent residence in that village, just ask around for him, you should have no trouble."

"And what about that girl? When the hell is she gonna wake up? I don't want to wait for her."

"Don't worry, she will be awake by morning, and I will tell you again that it is very important to keep her with you. I have no doubt Naraku will make an attack on her."

Kaiya heard more, like grumbling and movement, but she couldn't make it out.

'So… he's planning on taking me with him to some other place? I can't do that! Someone here is trying to kill me… He expects me to stay? I have family, and a boyfriend! Sure, he's not perfect but…'

Kaiya froze. He heart must have stopped at that moment.

'Yukio… He needed me to meet him, he just needed to borrow money but… I have to get back… He wanted me to meet him at ten… I should just ask… But Inuronin will want me to come back, and I shouldn't have to. This isn't my world, I don't need to worry about it…'

The time that Kaiya sat there and waited for a good time to leave was the toughest hour she had ever had to bear through.

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Kaiya slowly sat sat up and looked around. It was hard to see in the dark, but the moon provided just the right amount of light for her. She slipped the blanket off of her and tiptoed to the door. She couldn't see Ami or Inuronin, it worried her, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and hurried out of the village, watching where she set her feet as she was going. She remembered that to get to the village she and Inuronin had in a straight direction, and it wouldn't be that hard to find the spider youkai's web.

However, when she did find the webbing, it was only lying on the ground in great piles while some strands still hung in the trees. She frowned, but continued on. When the creator of the web died, the spider, it must have had some sort of reaction to it… Or something like that…

It took her a while to find the well, as the dark made it much harder to make out its shape. When she did however she felt great relief, and hurried over to it, her piece of the Shikon no Tama bouncing around on its necklace.

She was just about there when there was a rush of wind and she heard, "Oi."

She turned to find Inuronin standing, arms crossed, just a few feet away from her.

"Inuronin…"

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, eyes narrowed.

'Why do I feel guilty? I just have to get back to Yukio!'

"I need to go back to my time, to see someone." She reasoned, feeling impatient with anxiety.

"You can't, not with finding out who you are and what you're supposed to do."

'How much conversation did I miss between him and Ami…?'

"I'm sorry, but I have to go back, you don't understand… Find someone else."

"This isn't a volunteer job."

Kaiya frowned, how was she supposed to get out of this one?

"Listen, if you really need someone to carry that sword for you this badly, just tie it to a string and drag it along behind you."

To further her point she picked up a piece of the spider youkai's web from beneath her and walked over to him, holding it out in her hand. "Here, use this, happy?"

Inuronin growled down at her, "For one point you forget I can't see it," Kaiya smacked herself mentally, "And another point, I don't need you to just carry the sword for me."

"Well what is it then? Just let me do it now and I'll go, I'm in a hurry."

"You're going to destroy the Shikon no Tama."

Kaiya stared at him dumbly. "The most powerful weapon in this world controlled by the guy who wants to kill me? I don't think so."

"I do."

"That doesn't exactly take just a few minutes, not counting the factor the ever present problem of impending doom…"

"That's why I'm there, I figure out how to use Tetsusaiga, kill Naraku, and you're left to get rid of the Shikon no Tama."

'Think Kaiya think… How do you get out of this?'

"Okay… Inuronin… Let me ask you a question…" She lifted the shard's necklace over her head and held it out to him. Inuronin looked at it questioningly. "Is this important to you?"

"Hell yeah it is!"

Kaiya nodded, biting her lip. "Would it be ultra super horrible if I lost it?"

"Yes, dammit, and you better not."

The teenage girl continued to nod her head slowly and thoughtfully as she approached the well a bit more, Inuronin made small movements as if to follow her until she stopped. She knew how fast he could move, and she needed a distraction before she had a chance.

"Yes, well, it's me or the jewel."

With that said Kaiya drew her good arm back and chucked the shard into the forest as hard as humanly possible. The second that one movement was completed she ran to the well before jumping into it…

Only to hit the bottom with a thud, tripping over her own kimono. She sat up, legs pulled beneath her as she thought frantically. 'Why- Why didn't it work?'

As she thought she suddenly remembered…

"…only with the power of the shard can you travel through that time rift…"

She groaned, feeling as if tears would come to her eyes at any moment. How could she have forgotten? That goes to show you not to make decisions too quickly…

Kaiya hear a chuckle from above her, and looking up she saw Inuronin's face looking down at her.

"I was wondering what you were doing, throwing away the shard like that. I figured you must have remembered you sort of needed it…"

He started laughing again.

Kaiya swore she hated his laugh then and there.

She fumed, looking down at her hands, one bandaged, the other one okay.

"Can you just help me get out of here and back to the village?"

The laughter stopped for a moment before Inuronin answered, "I'll get you out, but you're going to find the Shikon shard first."

Kaiya sighed.

"Inuronin… But, just think… If I don't go back… someone could be hurt because of me. I promised to meet someone at ten o'clock, it's important."

"It's five o'clock."

Kaiya blinked, "You're not serious… In the morning?!"

"Uh…Yeah."

"Oh… I already missed it…"

Inuronin nodded. It's not like he knew what "ten o'clock" or "five o'clock" meant at all, he just made that up. But as long as it worked…

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"So they are heading into the Western Lands."

"Yes my Lord."

Naraku nodded, a grin lighting his pale face.

"Good. He will have no mind but to kill them."

"Are you so certain, my Lord?"

"Yes, for when Inuronin was but a child he knew that Inuyasha's soul was in him. He tried to kill him then, and would have if his mother's compassion had not forced her to flee with her son… He even blames Inuronin on her death…"

"And Kaiya? He will show her no mercy as well?"

He chuckled, "No… the only kindness to humans Sesshoumaru ever had was to Rin, but with her death… No, I have no doubt."

Ami bowed her head, "I trust your judgment my Lord."

Naraku grinned, "Yes… Sesshoumaru… He will not forgive."

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Hmm.. This chapter was so difficult.. I was trying to get the conversation between Ami, Inuronin and Kagome to be concise, and it took me about 15 tries to get it right… I was probably able to clip out quite a bit of it so I'm sort of proud of myself..

Oh, and if you're wondering… "I thought the Shikon no Tama was supposed to disappear once it was used?" then… just wait. (I seem to say that a lot, don't I?)

So… chapter 5, over and out.

Also, for those of you who don't know, you are able to check out the progress of a chapter by checking my fanfiction.net author profile. ^_^

Next chapter:

Chapter 6

Family Reunion I: Bittersweet

Egh.. I just hope I give Sesshoumaru justice to his character…