Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha . . .
ROCK ON!!
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Junichiro glared at the floating baboon pelt-covered figure in front of him, his teeth seething as he gripped his daggers.
Naraku . . . so this is the bastard that killed my parents . . .
The demon stared at the new addition to the Inu-tachi. This kid . . . he possesses much power . . . too much power . . .
Well then, I just have to test it now, don't I?
"Give me the jewel shard, kid," Naraku called out, "And I may spare your life."
The dark-haired man felt the familiar energy that helped him fight earlier flow through his veins once more, causing the daggers in his hands to pulsate.
"Over my dead body," he hissed, standing his ground.
"That can be arranged," Naraku chuckled, jumping to the branches of a nearby tree. "Prepare to die, impudent idiot!"
The flaps of his pelt flew open, and hundreds of demons sprang forth, hissing and screaming at the group. Junichiro stared in horror at the formidable army he and others had to face.
Kami . . . what have I done?
He glanced at the others, expecting angry yells and screams for being idiotic, but they were too occupied drawing their weapons again.
"Don't just stand there!" Inuyasha hollered, "Fight!" He lifted his sword, and with a single swing, destroyed a hundred demons.
Kagome began shooting off sacred arrows as Sango fired off her Hiraikotsu, their attacks making considerable dents in the army. When Miroku prepared to use his Kazanaa, however, the swarms of bees that had disappeared momentarily returned, merging with the angry demons.
"Damnit!" he yelled, pulling his hand back. "I can't suck them in!"
"Then we'll just keep on fighting," Kagome returned, narrowing her eyes as she shot off another arrow. Junichiro's shard . . . why couldn't I sense it?
Junichiro cut through the demons, his anger growing by the second. "Get, away, from, ME!" he growled, leaping into the air and disecting more of the creatures.
Shippou, who had departed from their new dark-haired friend as soon as he sensed the intense energy inside him, quickly jumped onto Kagome, and hid behind her hair.
"Kagome . . . look at Junichiro . . ."
The young miko looked up, her eyes widening as she watched him fight. He jumped and dodged through the air as easily as Inuyasha, his fighting techniques very similar to the hanyou's.
Kami . . . he's . . . he's just like Inuyasha!
Junichiro swung through the air, gutting a hog demon right in the stomach. "I've just had enough of this," he muttered, feeling a strange energy replace the one he used to fight with. Crossing the two daggers together, the blue and red auras merged, and a great purple light burst forth, destroying more than half of the remaining demons.
Inuyasha, who had just barely escaped the black-haired man's attack, gaped at the immense power that came from him. This . . . this kid is full of surprises . . .
Naraku, who had been watching from atop a tree, watched as his demonic army disappeared, finished off by Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu. Narrowing his eyes, he made a quiet exit, sinking into the darkness of the forest.
So . . . that kid does have some power in him . . . I'll get him soon enough . . .
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Junichiro sank to the ground, completely exhausted. The daggers in his hand slowly dropped to the floor as he fell on his back, breathing hard as the sunlight shone brightly on his face.
Inuyasha, sensing that Naraku had left, sheathed his sword and glanced at the younger man. Passing by the other three, he made his way over to Junichiro, towering over him.
"Hey, kid."
The dark-haired man cracked his eyes open, finding the intense gold eyes of his father staring down at him. "Yeah?"
"Hand over the jewel shard."
Junichiro's eyes snapped open, his hand protectively covering his shirt pocket where the shard lay as he sat up.
"Why should I?"
Sango, Kagome, Shippou, and Miroku slowly walked closer to the two, half curious and half anxious about the hanyou's reaction towards Junichiro's stubbornness.
"You used that shard to get to this time, didn't you?" the hanyou asked in a low voice. "Who gave it to you?"
Junichiro remained silent, his glare never leaving his face.
Sighing in annoyance, Inuyasha stooped down, his eyes becoming level with the dark-haired man's. "Look kid," he growled, "I don't have time for games. Either hand me the jewel shard, or have your guts pulled out of your throat."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped, stepping forward.
The hanyou ignored the miko's protest, his eyes never leaving Junichiro's. "Well?"
"Maybe we should let him explain first, Inuyasha," Miroku tried, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah," Sango agreed, helping the young man to his feet. "Don't let him intimidate you," she whispered in his ears, patting him on the back.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, his tone of voice irritated. "Well, hurry up kid," he grumbled, standing up straight.
Junichiro took a deep breath, making eye contact with the whole Inu-tachi. "A few nights ago, I recieved a small package in the mail. When I opened it, the shard fell out, along with a note that said, "Use it with care." Who sent it, I don't know."
I'm not about to tell them about that weird experience . . . that'll give everything away . . .
"How'd you know to use it to get through the well?" Kagome asked softly.
"I didn't." Junichiro paused for a moment, making sure what he was going to say didn't reveal who his true parents were. "The next day was my birthday, and it was a routine of mine to visit the well every year on that day. It just so happened that the shard was in my pocket when I slipped and fell into the well."
Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. "You . . . slipped?"
Junichiro sent him a look. "Yeah, what of it?"
Kagome thought a moment, before asking quietly, "Junichiro, who takes care of the well in your time?"
"My uncle."
The miko frowned, taking a seat on a nearby rock. "And, when you left your time, what year was it?"
Junichiro shifted uncomfortably. "Um, 2018."
Kagome's eyes widened. "2018?"
"Yes . . ."
The dark-haired man felt his heart stop, realizing that the year he came from was further in time than his young mother's.
"Something wrong, Kagome?" Sango asked, puzzled.
"Just a little," she murmured, calculating the years mentally. "I live in the year 1998, and Junichiro's from 2018 . . . that's a twenty year difference . . ."
"So you're from the future future?" Shippou asked, his mouth open.
"I guess . . ." Junichiro mumbled.
"I don't get it . . ." Kagome mused, scratching her head. "The Shrine should still be with my family in twenty years . . ."
The group was too busy trying to soak in the information that Junichiro came from a time further than Kagome's, that they didn't see the young man visibly pale.
"Big deal," Inuyasha grumbled, frowning. "Kagome, why didn't you sense it on him earlier?"
"I . . . uh . . . I don't know," the young woman uttered, staring at the hanyou in confusion. Turning to the young man, she asked, "Junichiro, can I see your jewel shard?"
Giving Inuyasha a warning glare, he carefully dug into his shirt pocket and extracted the jewel shard, its purple color gleaming in the sunlight.
Junichiro's head snapped up as he heard everyone gasp, their eyes widening as they stared at the fragment in his hand.
"The shard," Sango whispered, "It's purified . . . but . . . how?" she looked up, gazing at the dark-haired man with disbelief.
Kagome took a step forward, her own eyes wide with amazement. "Junichiro . . . how did you purify it?"
The young man stared a moment, before stammering, "I . . . uh, I don't know . . . it was all dull and old when I looked at it, but when I picked it up, it turned all bright and stuff . . ."
"Holy crap, kid," Inuyasha breathed, staring at his hand.
"But . . . how can that be possible?" Miroku mused, shaking his head. "The only two who are able to purify the shards are Kikyou and Kagome-sama . . . but they essentially share the same powers . . . how could you be able to . . ."
"You said your mother was a miko, kid?" Inuyasha prodded, crossing his arms. "Well, out with it, what's her name?"
Name . . . name . . . crap!! I can't tell . . .
"I . . . uh . . ."
It was then that Shippou tried to touch the shard in his palm, only to have a barrier surround it and deflect the kitsune's hand. "Hey!!"
The Inu-tachi focused their attention on the shard. Sango, curious at what just happened, attempted to pick up the shard, only to have her hand pushed back by an invisible barrier as well.
"What the hell did you do to it, kid?!" Inuyasha growled, clutching the handle of his sword. "What business do you have putting a barrier around it?!"
"Hold on a second, Inuyasha," Miroku held out his hand. "Kagome-sama, you try and touch the shard."
Kagome hesitated, before moving her hand towards the fragment. When she reached the barrier, it began to crackle a strange blue energy, before allowing the miko to touch it.
"She's immune to the barrier!" Shippou exclaimed, hopping onto Kagome's shoulder.
"Hm . . ." Miroku studied the shard for a moment. "Inuyasha, you next."
The hanyou gave the monk an angry look before reaching out for the jewel. "I don't know where you're getting at, monk, but if it deflected Shippou, it'll deflect--"
He stopped as the barrier around the shard began to spark a red aura before allowing him to touch it. "Wha-at?"
"It's just as I suspected," Miroku nodded, staring at Junichiro.
The young man felt his heart race, his eyes widening. Kami . . . don't let him guess the truth . . .
"Junichiro didn't put up the barrier; the shard did."
He felt his muscles relax considerably as he listened to the monk's strange theory.
"The shard, after becoming purified by Junichiro, has bonded with him. It responds to his demonic and miko powers within, only allowing those with powers similiar to his to handle it."
"I get it," Sango nodded, "It allowed Kagome through the barrier because she has miko powers as well."
"What about Inuyasha?" Shippou piped up, "I'm a demon too, but it didn't let me."
"Junichiro's a dog demon," Miroku explained, "He exudes the same kind of power that Inuyasha has."
"Oh."
Shrugging, the monk glanced at Inuyasha. "The shard's bonded with him; taking it away from him will be useless."
Inuyasha appeared to think for a moment before growling in impatience. "Fine, I'll let him keep it, for now," he grumbled, turning around. "If that's it, let's go back to Kaede's. This whole shard sighting crap was a set up."
The group gathered their things and followed Inuyasha, Junichiro trailing behind. He felt as though he almost had a heart attack, his cover almost blown.
Glancing at the fragment in his palm, he grumbled, "Thanks for saving my ass," as he trotted to catch up with the others.
The shard gleamed in response.
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AN: calculating those years reminded how much I dislike math . . . ugh . . . the things I do for my readers! :-P
anyways, this story takes place in 1998 . . . when Kagome is 16. Technically, when the series started (if i'm not mistaken . . . if I am, please correct me!) it was 1997, and Kagome was only 15. And since Kagome has Junichiro when she's 20, that means Junichiro is born in 2002. Add two years to that, 2004, and that's around the time that Inuyasha andKagome sent him to live with Souta. Add 14 years, 2018, and you have the year Junichiro is actually from :-)
that whole bond thing . . . if you didn't quite catch it, was that the shard bonded because he purified it. Miroku's theory was sort of correct, but he didn't quite finish it. Not only does Inuyasha and Kagome possess the same powers as Junichiro, but well, you know . . . they're his parents! ::sigh::, I wonder when the Inu-tachi will get a clue . . . :-P
thanks for the reviews!
stay tuned!