Scroll Two: Hitodama no Mori

Tsune "Kitsune" Fox's notes on her fanfic: I started writing this before I knew of Inuyasha's Bakuryuuha, so deal.

The two time travelers [sorry about all the "t" words ;] climbed out of the well totally unaware of each other's side of the story.

"What took you two so long?" asked Shippou.

"Ke," was the hanyou(half-demon)'s only reply.

"..." -- "Oh yeah, that answers the question...but what do you expect from a hanyo-"

"Don't start with me, kitsune(fox)-!"

"Jaa(well), did anyone find out about any Shikon shards?" Kagome managed cut in before a fight broke out.

"I had heard Rashomin has been having a bit of youkai(demon) trouble lately." answered Miroku.

"Great!...," Kagome exclaimed, "Aa, I mean it's not great that there's a youkai problem, ; I meant it's great we-"

"We know what you mean!" retorted Inu-Yasha.

"Hey! Don't talk to Kagome like that you useless hanyou!" Shippou smacked Inu-Yasha's head.

"You little rat!" Inu-Yasha and Shippou started another one of their little fights while the others looked on with anime sweatdrops.

"We should go now," Sango advised. "It'll be dark soon."

After about a 20 minutes of trecking they eventually reached the happy village of Rashomin.

"Hello, sir!" Kagome said to a passer-by.

"Go away!" ......Jaa, maybe it wasn't such a happy village after all. The Inu-Yasha-tachi all had confused looks and sweatdrops.

"You'll have to excuse him," a villager woman with dazzling blue eyes spoke up. "Not many here are in good spirits...not after all the bad happenin's at least."

"'Bad happenings'?" asked the school girl. "Are youkai attacking the village?" Wow, never seen any one in this era with that color eyes oO

"No, just your everyday, run-of-the-mill, bad happenin's...why would you ask about youkai though?"

"We're looking for the Shikon shards....Are there any youkai in the area?"

"Jaa,...there is the Hitodamano Mori(Forrest of Hitodama; Hitodama are spirits in the form of balls of fire that hover not too far off the ground, usually no higher than rooftops. Seeing hitodama is considered a sign that one will die soon, though there is no way to prevent this from happening)..."

"Hitodama?" Miroku repeated, "Are there many in the area?"

"Only the most in all the land....Not a soul dare enter that forrest for fear of seeing one," the woman stated as she walked away. "You best not go there..." she said grimly.

"......" There was obviously a long moment of silence until, "Well!? How long are we going to stand around here?!"

"But the hitodama," uttered Kagome.

"Ke," spat Inu-Yasha, "I've fought worse, not that we need to fight them with the lech here."

"You're actually going to let me fight in your place?" Miroku asked, stunned.

"Sure. You can have the weaklings."

-- "Thanks."

"It's alright Kagome," Sango put her hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Hitodama are just spirits that Houshi-sama(lord monk) can excorsise if we run into any."

"I...guess your right." she replied meekly. So the Inu-Yasha-tachi set off to find the Shikon shards in the Hitodama no Mori. Even though it was only a little past noon, the forest was as dark as the evening from the heavy cover of trees.

"There are so many trees in this mori," Kagome complained and almost walking into a tree. "It's so hard to see."

"Ke." Inu-Yasha cracked his knuckles and sliced up several trees in the way. "There...you happy now-"

"AI-III!!" Kagome screamed.

"What is it now?!" Inu-Yasha yelled, patience straining.

"Mi--miru(look)..." she said pointing a shaky finger toward the pitch black shadows of a very large tree in particular. In the shadowed tree were two glowing green eyes.

"Who the hell entered MY mori?!" A sound of sniffing came from the creature "A DOG DEMON?!"

"Yeah! And what of it?!" Inu-Yasha withdrew Tetsusaiga.

"Ke. Nice blade...tell me though...how you like my CLAWS!" A creature shot out of the tree right at Inu-Yasha and slashed the ground in front of his feet leaving only a huge slash mark in the dirt. Inu-Yasha had only just barely jumped back in time and took a good look at his attacker.

"Bakeneko(cat demon)? And a hanyou at that!" he quipped. The bakeneko was as tall as Inu-Yasha with platinum hair that looked very much like Inu-Yasha's hair except with bangs swept to the side and much longer, the left side of them covering her left eye. She had kawaii(cute) little white neko(cat) ears and two white tails with two stripes on each tail.

"That's Shiro-san to you, mutt!"

"Mutt?! Taste steel, you wench!" He lunged at her but she lept with such speed and agility of of harms way he to missed by a mile, crash into a tree, and made the Inu-Yasha-tachi look on with interest. A neko and inu(dog) youkai fight is a funny coincidence.

"Bakayarou(stupid bastard)...did ya really think you coulda hit Shiro Tamashii?"

"You know..." began the monk, "they're oddly alike..."

"They both have that arrogent attitude and quick temper." Sango added.

"Allow me to end this, makeinu(loser dog)!" All of a sudden a dozen hitodama appeared engulfing the area in a ghostly blue light.

"Eeek! Hitodama!" Kagome yelped and stepped closer to Miroku and Sango.

"That's right, little girl, and they're all mine to do with what I choose," the bakeneko boasted as she raised her palm. The hitodama flew...er,...floated...ano...whatever they do, to the area above her palm melding into one large blue ball of flame.

"Ho-how is that possible?!" asked an amazed Shippou. "I've never heard of any youkai being able to control spirits!"

"Not even your ashes will be left after this!" Tamashii cackled and pointed her palm at Inu-Yasha. "Sayounara, makeinu!" The hitodama orb became a huge, blue line of flame shot headed straight at Inu-Yasha until it was a second away from hitting everyone's favorite hanyou but then the unexpected was said.

"Warui(bad) neko!" The bakeneko slamed face-first into the ground, as the hitodama line of flame dispersed and disapeared into the air.