Hikaru smiled as she tied off another clustered of herbs and put them into her half filled bag. There were many of the herbs she needed to replenish her stock right in this field. The miko could hardly believe her luck. Only a little bit left to find, she should be finished here and back in the castle before lunchtime. She stood and let her nose lead her to the next herb that she needed to find.

"Any trace of the youkai we're looking for, houshi-sama?" Sango asked. She and Miroku were riding on Kiarara over a wide wild field edged by a forest. It was in this area that the youkai was supposedly headed towards. There was something about this venture that worried her. It wasn't the youkai that they would be facing, but rather the source of the information.

To put it simply, the exterminator trusted Yawnin about as much as she would Naraku. There was something wrong here she just knew it. But she couldn't fathom what it could be.

"Yes, I am sensing something not too far from here. Let's land and proceed the rest of the way on foot, Sango," Miroku replied. She nodded and instructed Kiarara to the ground. There the animal changed to her smaller, cuter form and leapt to her mistress' shoulder.

"Let's go."

"Dammit, Inuyasha, what's the big hurry for? Who's going to be murdered?" Shippou shouted into the hanyou's ear. This was weird. He hadn't been reunited for less than a minute with dog-boy when Inuyasha got panicky and started after Miroku and Sango. And what was this about a murder? He desperately wanted some answers.

"Meh, this is no time for questions, Shippou. Now, which way did they go?" he replied. The kitsune sighed as he realized that Inuyasha wouldn't get the irony of what he just said. Instead, he pointed in the direction he last saw the humans going towards.

Inuyasha hurried as fast as he could to reach the others before they met each other. Damn it all to hell, this was not how he wanted his imooto-san to meet his friends. Whoever was responsible for this mess was going to pay dearly for it. He would see to that.

Hikaru leaned against a tall tree and for a moment, stopped and just listened to the sounds of the forest. Her life had been so chaotic and busy that this was the first time that she could take the time to just be.

The feeling was short-lived as her senses caught at least two, maybe three people trying to sneak up on her. She could smell two humans and a low level youkai. One of the humans had houriki, so that one was some kind of houshi or miko.

Slowly, Hikaru stood and braced herself for an attack. Her ears picked up something whirling through the air towards her and she jumped just as it got to her. The hanyou looked down and saw that it was a large curved wooden weapon that smashed the ground where she had been until a second ago.

Landing on a tree branch, Hikaru was able to see who her attackers were. One was dressed as a houshi and had the power to go with it. The other was the young woman that had thrown that strange weapon. She was wearing some sort of suit of armor. And on her shoulder was an adorable little animal that Hikaru couldn't find any reference for.

"Well, looks like she's stronger than Yawnin said that she was," Miroku commented as he watched Sango catch her weapon with little effort.

"Indeed, her senses are finer than he said that would be. But then, there was little that he could tell us about her abilities. What should our be next move, houshi-sama?" Sango said.

"I'm not sure, normally Inuyasha would be taking the lead and charging with sword drawn. Let's split up and try attacking her from both sides," he replied. She nodded and they took off in opposite directions.

Meanwhile, in the tree Hikaru stood sill and listened to the approach of her opponents. She had no idea who they could be, but she didn't want to harm them. Instead after tracking them for a few minutes, she leapt from the tree branches and made her way back to the field. As she moved, the wind changed direction, coming towards her. It brought to her a welcoming scent.

"Ani-chan!" she whispered.

Inuyasha reached the field and tried to catch his imooto-san's scent. But the plants and the wind change were working against him. But it had led him here and the scent wasn't old; she had to be here or somewhere close by.

On his shoulder, Shippou looked around in boredom and slight bewilderment. Then he saw someone come up from the forest and land in the field. It was too far away to make out any details.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha! There's someone over there," he said pointing. The hanyou turned in the direction that kitsune pointed in and sighed with relief.

"She's all right," he whispered. Louder he called out to her. She waved back and they ran to each other.

"Are you all right, Hikaru?" he demanded, looking her over for any visible injuries or obvious scents. He felt more relief as he saw and smelled her unharmed.

"I'm all right, Inuyasha. But there is a small problem."

"What?

"There are two humans in the forest that intend harm upon me. I don't know who they are; but one of them felt like a priest to me. His companion wields some kind of large wooden weapon that I have never seen before," she explained.

"That sounds like Sango and Miroku," Shippou said. He had no idea who this girl was, but he knew that she better not be Inuyasha's girlfriend. Dog-boy was having enough trouble with Kagome and Kikyou. He didn't need another one to complicate things.

"Yeah, it does sound like them. Gyah! When I find out whoever sent them out here, I'll make them regret it." He clenched his hands in anger. Hikaru frowned and quickly took one of his hands in her own.

"Don't say things like that, Inuyasha. That won't do anyone any good. It might make you feel better; but beating someone to a bloody pulp will cause more troubles than it's worth," she said softly.

Inuyasha looked at her and his expression softened. "All right. If that is what you want..."

"Yes, it is."

"Dammit," he mumbled.

Hikaru's ears had picked up what he had said and was going to comment on it when her ears also picked up other sounds that she should be heeding.

"They're here," she said.

Miroku and Sango hurried through the woods back the way that they had gone. Their target had sensed their presence and their intent and had left the woods. She had backtracked back to the large field that Kiarara had landed in before they started this whole thing.

They reached the field and would have kept running but what beheld their eyes forced them to stop.

There was Inuyasha with Shippou on his shoulder, like nothing was wrong. Standing in front of him was the youkai that they had been after. Now that he had a moment to reflect, she didn't look much like a youkai more like a hanyou. But he might be only thinking because she was standing next to one. And she was a cutie as well. If circumstances were different, he might actually try to flirt with her.

"Inuyasha! Is that really you?" he cried out and began to run again. After a moment's shocked hesitation Sango joined him.

"Damn! How many times do I have to be asked that!" he shouted in reply.

Miroku smiled. It was definitely Inuyasha all right.

The girl with him smiled as well. "Probably a few more times, ani-chan. Aren't there a lot of people who miss you?"

"An...ani-chan?" Sango stuttered. Hikaru's words had caught them by surprise and were silent for a moment. Sweat drops appeared on Inuyasha and Hikaru.

"Yeah, this is Hikaru, my imooto-san," Inuyasha said by way of introduction.

The others seemed to have come out of shock and moved closer to the girl hanyou for a closer look.

"You know, she matches the description that Myouga-san gave us on Inuyasha's imooto-san. But didn't he say that she was dead?" Sango said.

"The flea was wrong. My parents never said that. Hikaru was taken from us when she was a baby and they were sworn not to tell anyone about her," Inuyasha explained.

Shippou hopped from Inuyasha's shoulder to Hikaru's and smiled. "I'm glad to meet you. I'm also glad that you're his imooto-san," he said.

"Really?"

The kitsune nodded, "I was worried that he had was getting another lover."

There was a loud thud that had resulted from when Inuyasha hit Shippou on the head sending him to the ground.

"Ow! Inuyasha, what was that for?"

"Just shut up or I'll hit you again," the hanyou growled.

"Are they always like that?" Hikaru asked Sango and Miroku.

"I'm afraid so. But don't worry, nothing really comes of it. And I must apologize for earlier. Sango and I should not have attacked you in that manner. My name is Miroku," Miroku replied.

"I am Sango. And he's right, we should apologize for what we nearly did."

"No, no. It's all right. None of us have gotten hurt, so it's all right. But I am curious as why you would make the attempt."

"The headman of the villagers we guided to the manor said that you were a dangerous youkai. He also said that things would be better if you were killed and asked that we do the job," Sango explained.

"Headman? What headman?"

"Probably Yawnin. You told me that the bastard never liked you staying in the village after you got rid of Sanusha," Inuyasha said.

Miroku and Sango looked surprised. "That's right, Inuyasha. But how did you know that?"

"Yawnin was the name of the headman of the village where I lived for two years. I was acted as healer and miko for them. He became headman after the death of his grandfather. When he gained the position he said that I was to leave," Hikaru said with dread growing in her heart. Miroku and Sango said that they had guided a village here. It had to be her village, but what were they all doing here? Her wards should have kept them safe. Something was painfully wrong here.

"But then why would he ask that we kill you?" Miroku said.

"Let's head back to the dono's manor and ask the dumb ass himself," Inuyasha said. Everyone agreed and followed.