Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. If I did, I wouldn't have killed Kagura in the recent manga chapter... [growls]
You know, they won't let me use my equals signs for dividers anymore, so I'm stuck using '..v..'. All in all, I liked the equals better, but I don't have to worry about them taking away the period and V at least...
I've been officially accepted into French class! Now just to find a place with a French-English dictionary... stupid Wal-Mart with their, 'We only have Spanish-English dictionaries here.' Stupid baka retards... I have to go all the way to Books-a-Million and I can't get any manga while I'm there... that is so lame!
Virtual cookies to anyone who can tell me what the connection is between Sango and the name "Houko". SangoLancer200 already figured it out.
Anyway, on with the show.
..v..
Reviews:
SangoLancer200: Of course you've never seen a fic like this before! It's a Kurayami original! Well, fanart/Detective Conan inspired original, anyway. Virtual cookies to you!
Lady Nuri: Not a clue on the Japanese. But, I know I was a little late on my update.
Sango0808: Yep. Very. Thank-you!
SITboyShippo: I had slight writer's block... the chapter is sorta... filler-ish.
Miyuki: I remember you! You're that person I talked to that one time!
Aprill May: Thank-you. Oh, and yes, Naraku and I do chibi-fy characters... as in plural. Heh, heh...
Tailchaser: Thanks very much. I'm glad you decided to read it.
ninalee-chan: 'Love triangle'? I'm not sure exactly which triangle you mean, but no, no triangles. The first one seems... similar, but this story will take an interesting twist about a half/third of the way through it. [Points to reply to Aprill May's review.]
lodz: Of course it's original, I wrote it! Well, sort of... partial credit goes to druihd. One day I'm gonna have to write a story for one of Mikaila's fanarts.
She-Who-Snogs-Weasley-Boys: Thank you.
DarkSilverMaiden: Thank-you! And you'll just have to wait to see...
..v..
He gazed up at the night sky, thoughts fixed on one person: Sango. He didn't quite understand why she went off without telling them herself, but what truly baffled him was that she took no weapons. The least he would expect her to do was take along her hiraikotsu or even her katana. He knew she was strong, but she had trained all her life to fight with weaponry - he wasn't entirely sure how she would fair fighting unarmed.
Hearing soft footfalls from behind him, a speck of hope came to him, but faded almost immediately. It couldn't have been Sango, right? He turned, sighed.
"Houko, you shouldn't be up," he told the young girl. She shook her head, sitting down beside him.
"I couldn't sleep," she lied. In truth, she had just wanted to see how he been taking her "disappearance". He fixed his eyes back on the sky, sighing yet again. "I'm sure she's alright," the girl assured him. He nodded, closing his eyes.
"You're probably right," he admitted, "she isn't really the type or woman who needs constant protection... Still, I just can't seem to figure out why she left or how come she didn't take Kirara or her weapons with her."
"I'm sure she had a good reason," Houko told him, "you just have to trust her judgment." There was something familiar about this young girl, yet he couldn't quite identify what it was. It was almost as if he had met her before... that couldn't have been, though. He'd never seen this girl in his life, nor had he ever come across anyone by the name of "Houko". "You must have really liked her to be so worried," she observed casually, "the others are sound asleep."
"I was very fond of her," he admitted simply, violet eyes reflecting the full harvest moon.
A smirk came over her face as she realized something: usually by that time he would have groped her, but apparently even Houshi-sama would never stoop to performing his lecherous acts on a child. A smirk came over her face as she realized that she might be able figure out what Miroku truly thought of her now that she was in this form.
"What was she like?" she questioned vaguely, gazing off at the stars. He chuckled lightly, shaking his head as if the question were unanswerable.
"She was an amazing woman," he told her, "fearless, strong, beautiful - not to say she didn't have her faults, though. She did have a short temper, and she may be a bit too independent for her own good... but, too say the least, I would never want her to change."
"So she was very special to you," she observed. He nodded. "Did you love her?" she questioned, turning toward him.
"I think that's enough questions for one night," he told her, grinning in amusement, "it's getting late, and Inuyasha is bound to have us up at the break of dawn. You should get some sleep." She sighed, hopping up and following him back to the campfire Kagome had set up. She supposed it may have been a little too much that he would confide in a six-year-old on such a personal matter, especially since the majority of young kids had a hard time keeping secrets.
..v..
She could feel the wind gently and steadily running through her hair; she was hearing unending rhythmic footfalls which seemed unusually close, yet never fading. She couldn't help but wonder where she was. In a sigh, she reluctantly opened her eyes as her senses gradually returned to her.
She was moving.
She blinked, perplexed by the indigo fabric beneath her finger tips. A realization struck her, causing a deep flush to paint her cheeks.
"Houshi-sama...?" she questioned sleepily, tightening her grip on his shoulders.
"So, you're awake, are you Houko?" he questioned.
Houko. Who was Houko? She blinked a few times. Houko. No, it couldn't be. She looked at her hands which seemed dwarfed compared to Miroku's, and the distance to the ground also seemed abnormally far.
"Yeah, I'm awake," she grumbled in irritation. She had hoped it had been no more than a bizarre dream, but it appeared as though her hopes were in vain. "I don't take it you have a lead on Naraku?" she asked him. He shook his head.
"No, unfortunately, but we have heard rumors of a powerful demon around a nearby village," he explained, "Lady Kagome isn't able to tell whether or not it possesses a shard at the moment, but all the same it's probably best if we check it out." Houko nodded, sliding off of his back onto the ground.
"I can walk from here, Houshi-sama," she explained, keeping pace with him.
It didn't seem to register with him why she insisted on calling him, 'Houshi-sama'. Generally most children didn't seem to understand the concepts of authority, referring to him by his name, as Shippou generally did. It was possible that her parents had trained her to be very respectful, but it didn't seem too likely. He sighed, assuming it meant nothing of importance and continued following Kagome and Inuyasha towards the village.
A sickening sensation filled her gut as she surveyed the area. There was no doubt about it - there was a strong youki in the immediate area.
"Inuyasha," the monk called, "do you sense it?" He nodded.
"There's a demon here, alright," he assured them, cracking his knuckles. He looked over at Kagome, smirking. "You sense any Shikon shards around?" She shook her head.
"Yeah," she told him, "over in the trees." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, mystified by the intoxicatingly sweet scent mixed with the youkai. The only explanation he could find was that it was a plant youkai, meaning it was probably easy to beat. That was where he was wrong.
Out of the corner of her eye Houko caught a glimpse of an object approaching her rapidly. Instinctively she attempted to dodged the object, but whatever it had been had grazed her arm and sliced the top layer of her skin.
"What the hell was that?!" Inuyasha exclaimed, glaring that the tree.
"My name is Bara," a haughty, youthful voice echoed from high in the branches, "and those were thorns."
..v..
Sorry it took so long to update... I now have a Sailor Jupiter plushy and a wall scroll of all the inner Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask. They all kept yelling at me to update... Figures, I go to a yard sale and the stuff I buy yells at me to write. Stupid plushy... even if it is cute as heck... [huggles Jupie] She ish my second-favorite Sailor Scout... next to Mars. Jupie reminds me a little of Sango - and they look pretty similar - and Mars is very much like Kikyou. I like them all, though... Much thanks to Aamalie for updating SC, because that was part of my inspiration to write.
Oh, and in regards to the kid calling itself Bara, they aren't a major character, but they do have a significant role in the plot. Nope, I'm not saying whether they're a girl or a boy.