Author's Notes: I'm back! Well, more or less. I've been bogged down with ap tests, star tests, sat tests, gah, just tests tests tests in general. But the year is almost over so hopefully I'll finally get more time to work on my writing. I had to put it on hold for a while because of how busy school was making me (I missed writing!!)

Chapter 3: Aristocratic Woman: Kikyo

They both looked dismally at the ground as Sesshoumaru stared at the shard in his hand. The information was still running through their heads, but the shock was too great. The great Shikon had been shattered. How could the most powerful jewel on the earth be shattered by such a simple act? Inuyasha was the first one to speak up after a long period of tense silence.

"We'll have to collect it." He said slowly. "Ever single one of them."

"Even one Shikon will have an incredible amount of power." Kagome added. "If it's scattered everywhere....only kami knows how long it will take to find them all. Damn it!" She swore, kicking a large rock near her feet and making it crumble into dust. She ran her fingers through her hair in an agitated motion.

"Which is why you must start right away, time is already wasting." Inuyasha looked intensely at Sesshoumaru. "You have everything you need right now?" Sesshoumaru gave a nod. "Fine, leave then, and if she gives you any trouble," Inuyasha moved his intense look to Kagome. "Use the necklace."

"You won't be coming?" She blurted out in the midst of her rock smashing. The man merely turned his body and slowly walked back to the village with slightly slumped shoulders, another burden laid upon many others. The two remaining watched each other like predators until the hanyou gave a sigh.

"Come on, time is not in our hands. Although I don't know why you have to come with me, you'll only slow me down." She complained as she hopped from one boulder to another. "And I can't believe you allowed the Shikon to be broken!" She stopped her rabbit-like hopping to give a small wince. "Sorry... I know it's not entirely your fault but-are you aware of how powerful the Shikon is?" She turned around and waited for him to catch up. "And we don't even know where to look!" She threw her hands up for emphasis. "Well?" She stared at him, waiting for a reaction. He gracefully stepped over the rocks and walked past her.

"Why should it matter, you'll be fighting most of them yourself." He said flatly as the two began to walk under the shadowy canopy of the forest. Kagome gave a sigh and tucked her hands into the billowy sleeves of her kimono.

"You don't understand the greed of the youkai, it surpasses any hunger or desire they possess within. And one shard can bestow so much power. Arrggh!" She rapped her head with her knuckles. "How the hell am I suppose to beat them all? I had a hard enough time trying to survive on my own, and now I got a puny, weak, useless human to protect too."

"If you think it's so impossible then I'll do it myself." Sesshoumaru stated as they found a worn dirt road heading west. She tucked her hands back into her sleeves and took a deep breath.

"I can't, I need the Shikon. And if you get killed, I'll have that stain on my conscience." She gave a huff. "Besides, how would you be able to survive without me? All those youkai would be on you in a second if I'm not around."

"Are you always this arrogant?" He asked and she abruptly stopped before speed walking to catch up to his long strides.

"I'm not arrogant, I'm youkai." She explained, making it sound like it was the answer to everything.

"And what is that suppose to mean?" He asked.

"It's called pride, not arrogance. Only humans are arrogant because they have to hide their own fallacies." She quoted.

"So you really believe humans to be utterly useless?" He asked as they walked on the empty road. The blue sky was unbelievably clear in this era as there were no toxic emissions to blur out the sky. Nothing but clean untainted air, yet the silence was eerie in its emptiness.

"I think the majority of them are, not all. It was my half sister who said that." She said sullenly. "If you ever see a haughty woman who looks almost exactly like me, run the other direction, fast."

She stopped in her tracks and sniffed the air, her delicate nose moving up and down. She turned around and rammed into Sesshoumaru. A cloud of dust hovered above them and Sesshoumaru gave a cough as some of it settled into his throat. He looked up to see nothing.

"What was that for?" He asked angrily as he tried to get up. Kagome stopped him a hand as her eyes concentrated on something a few inches above his head.

"There." She pointed. He looked up to once again see nothing.

"There's nothing there." He said flatly.

"No, you idiot, look harder." She said as her finger moved closer. She gave a wince and lowered her finger for him to see a small drop of blood starting to slide down her skin. He quickly looked up, concentrating hard on where her finger had been pointing. Suddenly he could see it now, as clear as daylight. There was a thin strand of...was it hair? It was extremely taut and he moved his own hand toward it. Kagome grabbed his hand before he could touch it.

"Baka, what are you doing touching it? We already know it's sharp-"

Something caught his eye and this time he was the one who rammed into her, shoving her away.

"Oy! Don't get so sore over being called a baka!" She bellowed as she got up sneezing. "You're too sensitive."

He gave a sigh, rolled his eyes, and pointed toward the second string of hair that had mysteriously appeared. He blinked his eyes once and suddenly saw a mass of hair blocking the road, stretching from one grove of trees to the other. There was a snicker and a buxom young woman appeared, balancing on the tangle of hair obstructing the road. She wore a skin tight kimono that was only a few inches down from her hips and a short sword tied around with silk string.

"Isn't this cute? A hanyou and a human traveling together. Hmm," The woman gracefully jumped off the string and landed in front of Sesshoumaru. He didn't move as she inspected every inch of his body. "But you, you are a fine specimen for being one of those cursed humans. And such beautiful hair." She fingered a few of his silvers. "Every strand is so perfect."

"Ahem." Kagome said indignantly from behind. The woman turned to look at her and gave a sniff while giving a similar inspection to Kagome.

"I knew hanyous were weak, but I never expected to meet one as scrawny as you. Your human looks more youkai that you do."

Kagome bristled and her hands clenched tight. The woman raised an eyebrow as a hazy glow began to shimmer around the girl's form.

"Hasn't anyone taught you that you should never underestimate your enemy?" Kagome said coolly.

"Oh? So the puny hanyou does have some power? Come girl, I'll slaughter you before I take your sumptuous human and his shikon shard away. I haven't had good entertainment for decades." A red comb appeared in her hand and with a swift slash hair flew from the comb's thin teeth to the girl. She nimbly jumped out of the way and launched herself at the woman who jumped up to the string hanging above her head. In a blurry movement, the woman appeared behind Kagome and grabbed her raven locks, pulling the girl close.

"Remember the last name you'll ever hear, little hanyou. Yura." The woman whispered as she slipped her sword out of its sheath. Kagome jerked her head back to hit her skull against Yura's nose. The move worked and Kagome fell below. Yura wiped the blood from her face as her nose quickly knitted itself back to normal.

"You think such cheap tricks will work on an immortal being such as myself?" Yura said with a touch of anger. She lifted her sword and slowly licked the edge. "I'll have your head!"

"It just worked, didn't it?" Kagome asked with a laugh as she dodged a swipe from Yura's sword.

With a swift kick she hit Yura on the side but the blow did nothing as the youkai lifted her weapon and plunged the short sword into Kagome's stomach. She gave a short cry but quickly backed away so that the sword exited her body. Ignoring her wound Kagome launched herself at Yura again but this time the youkai used her comb to capture her with hair. The sharp string began to cut away at the delicate skin on Kagome's wrists and ankles when the hair sagged. Yura whirled around to see Sesshoumaru reaching his hand into the road blockade made of hair.

"NO!!" She cried out as she sprinted towards him. She slammed into the ground, her face digging into the dirt as Kagome ruthlessly pressed her hand against Yura's head.

"Hurry!!" Kagome yelled as Yura began to violently struggle from her grasp.

Sesshoumaru pushed his hand further until his fingers felt something hard. Pushing himself deeper into the hair his hands grabbed the object and pulled it out. It was the red skull he had spotted while Yura had attacked Kagome. Without even thinking he dropped the skull to the ground and stepped on it with all of his strength. There was a wailing cry as the skull split into pieces and a strange wind began to blow the youkai away so that only her clothes were left. Somehow in the struggle Yura had managed to get a blow in and now Kagome's mouth felt uncomfortably puffy.

"You alright human?" She asked while struggling to stand. Sesshoumaru looked down at her and frowned at the amount of blood seeping through the blue kimono.

"Shouldn't you be dead?" He asked curiously as he watched her swing from side to side before regaining her balance. She looked down at her wound and gently pressed down at her stomach.

"I'll live." She wheezed before passing out. He caught her before she hit the ground and put her into a cradle in his arms. Her blood smeared on his pristine white clothes and he gave a look of distaste to the bundle he held. If she could barely survive one youkai, how were they going to fight all the others? He shook his head while stepping over the fallen hair and began to trek down the road. His chance of surviving this world of monsters and magic looked slimmer than his chance of ever finding a female that didn't cause trouble.

"I didn't need any help, especially from more humans." She hissed at him as they walked. She had carefully distanced herself so that exactly ten feet separated them and was now walking faster in agitation. "Their weak medicines do nothing to my superior youkai blood."

Sesshoumaru ignored her issued complaints and silently daydreamed of cars as another day of walking greeted them. At least the weather was still somewhat the same, if not just a touch cooler. A balmy breeze brought scents of the cool forest surrounding the countryside and serenading birds glided above. The morning was the kind of composed beauty that novels spoke of, perfect and full of promise. And yet, the tranquil atmosphere was starting to get on his nerves and he sent a wish to the gods above that he would one day return to modern Tokyo. It was too damned quiet here and he felt like he was the only person for hundreds of miles. The hanyou's voice shrilled in his ears and he gave a sigh, perhaps not quite so alone. She was still complaining of him bringing her to the neighboring village for help. Hopefully, if she was anything like Rin, she would soon shut her mouth after several more minutes of ignoring.

One minute. Two minutes. Three Minutes.

"-probably placed a curse on us while we were sleeping. I've never met a human who didn't kill a youkai after seeing-"

He tried to block out the noise but a headache began to overpower him.

"Are you even listening to me?" She demanded as she stood in front of him, her hands placed on her hips. Those blue eyes sparkled with annoyance in the gentle sunlight and he gave a sigh, wondering why they couldn't be a normal brown.

"No." He said truthfully and stepped past her.

"You're even worse than my sister." She loudly remarked as she walked alongside him. She abruptly froze and grabbed Sesshoumaru's arm, making him stop. There was a flash of fear in her eyes as dark clouds began to cover the sky, menacing in its darkness. The clouds completely covered the sky in an unnatural period of time and it was as shadowy as the night. "Crap." She whispered.

Kagome pulled Sesshoumaru behind her and the man looked down at the short girl, was she trying to protect him? He who stood nearly a foot taller than her? He was about to comment on this when the air began to whisper. It wasn't the soft mumbling of the wind in the trees but a sinister sigh that came from all directions. A hazy fog sifted through the forest so that one by one, each tree disappeared till the whole world vanished around them.

"Whatever you do, don't talk and leave everything to me. If something happens... run." She whispered to him as she began to slip off her kimono. She turned around and pressed it into his hands, looking up at him with begging eyes. "Wear this. I don't care if it's a female's clothing, it will protect you, so don't take it off!" She ordered sternly as he silently complied. Her kimono squeezed threateningly against his broad shoulders but after a second the material somehow adjusted itself to his body structure. He was beginning to feel ridiculous when the air's menacing moan faded away and the area around them fell quiet.

"She's here."

A figure suddenly stepped out from the fog, a woman who was nearly identical to Kagome. She held a sterner authoritarian air and had vacant brown eyes rather than Kagome's own unusual blue. Long snake like creatures were gliding around her in slow graceful movements, watching the two with careful eyes. The woman's face held absolutely no emotion and Sesshoumaru immediately felt something stirring at his senses as she came closer. More magic at work...

"Stop." Kagome said, her voice clear and firm. "Don't come any closer."

"Kagome, is that any way to treat your sister?" The woman's low voice crept out. It was so devoid of warmth that Sesshoumaru half expected icicles to start forming around them.

"Half sister. And I give my respect to those who deserve it. What do you want Kikyo?" Kagome said.

"Don't tell me you're screwing a human. Tsk tsk tsk, Kagome. You are so much like our mother." The woman said cruelly, a harsh smile stretching a thin mouth.

"Shut up! Don't talk about mother that way!" Kagome snarled angrily. "State your reasons for being here and leave!"

"He is handsome, I'll give you that." Kikyo completely ignored her younger sister and moved towards him. He raised a hand to prevent her from moving any closer and she pressed daringly close. "Oh ho, are you resisting me human?"

"It doesn't take much to resist you." He said flatly.

There was a quick glimmer of fury in her eyes that became rapidly masked by her indifference. She backed away but there was an invisible threat in her eyes. "So be it, I'll play with you later." In a swift movement Kikyo placed her hand in front of Kagome's right eye. Bolts of lightning-like lights flashed around Kikyo's hand as a small black orb steadily floated out. Kikyo snatched the black sphere and Kagome fell to the ground with loud gasps of pain. Sesshoumaru reached forward to grab her and gently held her up as she struggled to gain her breath.

"What the hell did you do?!" She glowered as she pushed his hands away. Kikyo gave a smug look at her sister as she opened her palm.

"Our dear departed mother left you a present and not me. And she did always dictate equality in our household, did she not?" She tightly gripped the ball and there was a crack as the orb broke under the pressure. "And I will receive my just rewards."

Kikyo opened her hand again and blew the broken pieces to the ground. A portal sprang open as the pieces showered down and Kikyo gave a broad smile. With a wave, she stepped into the portal and disappeared.

"Damn it," Kagome cursed. "You stay here while I go." Without waiting for a response she jumped into the spinning portal and followed her sister.

I'm guessing that a few of you guys are wondering how similar to Inuyasha this story will be. I might stick to the plot when it comes to encountering people, but I'm going to add in my own things, like exactly where Kikyo and Kagome end up going. Anyways, I hope you guys are enjoying this weird plot and I'm still hoping that I'm not copying form somebody else. Don't forget to review!!!!!!

p.s. if the layout looks weird, eh, well, its ff.net's new thing i guess, its kinda weird and i don't have time to work it over in my head...

Strata stargazer: looks around nervously am I losing my originality? Gah, I hope not! I'm trying to keep this story as original as possible cuz I hate reading the same plotlines in stories again and again with the same stuff happening. I already left some things out (like sess not going back to the future). Was this chapter ok???

SilentDark: nah, its just a jaken look alike. Lol, kagome and inuyasha's past will be revealed in later chapters, for now I'm just setting up kagome and sesshoumaru's relationship

Duke of spades: of course kagome will have a love interest, I already got a few love triangles in mind, and I will have all the main characters playing a part in this fic, of course their roles will be reversed, I just don't specifically know how

Pippin-kun: thank you!! I'm glad you thought of it like that! well, I had to change Kagome's character cuz of how she was forced to grow up, she'll share a few similar traits with inuyasha but I'm gonna make her mature and be more like the kagome she is in the anime. As for the sango and miroku role, I'm still debating myself over which person should be the lecher...