Author-chan's notes: Hey everyone!!! I'm back with Chapter 20! Gosh, but this fic is getting long. I wonder how many more chapters I need to get to the end? Is anyone willing to make bets? Well, enjoy the new chapter!

A Clean Slate

(Chapter Twenty: Yugata)

Back with Aki

'Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka!!!!' Aki snarled in his mind as he ran to where he last left Shiro and Masato, 'How can I be such a baka?!'

The magician made a sharp turn to the right, then quickly stopped, finally reaching his destination. Time seemed to freeze as Aki's numb mind tried to compute the carnage splayed out before him. Aki's eyes had fully taken in Masato's body crumpled in a heap, the shattered tree behind him, and Shiro's open wounds. But his mind still could not understand it. It was as if he was grasping water.

"SHIRO!!!" Aki yelled, collapsing next to the child's still and unconscious form.

"A-Aki?" a voice moaned. It was not Shiro.

"M-Masato-san?" Aki managed to choke out, glancing at the other man. Aki's mind was in such a daze he didn't realize that Masato had finally called him by his real name instead of the usual "freak".

"How's the brat?" Masato asked, his voice thick and hazy. It was obvious he had not fully recovered from Sesshoumaru's attack. Aki, coming out of his daze a little bit, checked Shiro's pulse. Silence filled the clearing.

"Well?" Masato questioned, when the magician didn't answer.

"Nothing," Aki murmured, his voice devoid of all emotion, "He's gone."

"What do you mean, 'gone'?!" Masato yelled, finally coming completely to his senses.

"He's dead, and it's all my fault," Aki replied, his voice dead and hollow sounding.

***

Back with Sesshoumaru, Jaken, and Rin

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken began timidly. The youkai lord looked down on his henchman, his expression emotionless.

"What is it, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru said in an almost bored tone.

"Do you think it wise to leave those humans alone, Sesshoumaru-sama? Not that I am questioning your orders…" Jaken replied. It wasn't long after Shiro/Inuyasha fainted that Sesshoumaru had gathered up his two followers and left the scene without doing a thing.

"Heh. They are of no importance to me. Whether they live or die is up to them," Sesshoumaru said.

"B-but what about Inuyasha?" Jaken asked.

"There is a time and place to deal with him," Sesshoumaru answered calmly, "Now is not the time."

"But Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken protested. Sesshoumaru looked down on the toad-like youkai coldly.

"Are you questioning me, Jaken?" the white-haired youkai asked.

"N-No, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken sputtered, shutting up quickly.

"Good," Sesshoumaru replied, "Come, Rin."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!" the little human girl said obediently. And so the small party moved on, without knowing the events that occurred at the clearing after they left.

***

Back in Aki's hut with Yumeko

*Crack! * The small tea cup next to Yumeko suddenly broke, a thin break coursing down the side of the piece of pottery, while a tiny chink of it fell to the floor.

"Something is wrong," Yumeko murmured. A cup suddenly breaking out of nowhere was a bad omen. And as a dream demon, Yumeko knew a lot about bad omens.

"Quite right, imoto-sama," a voice from the doorway said silkily. Yumeko whirled around, her eyes widening.

"Onii-sama," Yumeko whispered, horror coloring her voice. From the doorway, Yugata, her older brother, smirked ruthlessly.

"Yumeko," Yugata said, still smirking, "Still alive I see."

"What are you doing here?" Yumeko hissed.

"Completing the mission you so obviously failed," Yugata replied.

"I have failed nothing!" Yumeko snarled, her anger twisting her pretty face.

"Oh?" Yugata raised an eyebrow, "Watch that temper of yours, little sister. It might get you in trouble one day. And as for you not failing anything, Miyuki-sama has reason enough to believe that you have done just that. In her eyes, you have failed. We thought you were dead."

"Well, as you can see, I am not dead!" Yumeko cried, getting to her feet angrily. Yugata's smirk grew larger.

"Well, then let us remedy that problem," the male dream demon said coolly. Then with surprising swiftness, he grabbed her by her neck, and lifted her off the ground.

"W-what…" Yumeko choked, grabbing her brother's arm in an attempt to stop him from strangling her.

"I hope you find the accommodations in hell to your liking, imoto-sama," Yugata said in an almost cheerful manner.

"Y-you!" Yumeko hissed, as the world started to melt before her eyes.

"Die!" Yugata demanded.

"Don't even try it," a voice behind Yugata hissed.

"AHHHHH!" Yugata yelled, dropping Yumeko to the floor. The woman quickly gulped down large portions of air. Meanwhile, Yugata whirled around to face his attacker.

"H-how?!" Yumeko gasped, as she looked at Yugata's back. It had been burned badly, as if he had lay down on a bed of coals. But she hadn't seen a thing attack her brother. And even now, Yugata's form blocked Yumeko's vision of her savior.

"Who are you?" Yugata hissed at his attacker.

"I should ask you that question," the stranger growled, "Who are you, and what are you doing in my home?" Yugata growled, unable to come up with a proper answer.

"Teme," Yugata snarled angrily, "This isn't over!" And with that, Yugata disappeared like a dream.

Yumeko looked up at the owner of the mysterious voice. The dream youkai's eyes widened when the landed on a familiar face.

"Aki?" Yumeko gasped, quickly picking herself up from the ground, "Where's Shiro?"

"Calm down, girl," Masato growled, as he walked into the hut holding Shiro's body.

"What happened to Shiro?" Yumeko asked, rushing over to Masato, "And why aren't you tied up?"

"The brat's fine," Masato said, choosing not to reply to Yumeko's second question, "His heart stopped or something while we were in the forest, but it started up again. The creepy freak over there bandaged up the brat's wounds. It's only a matter of time before the brat gets better."

"He has an amazing will to live," Yumeko murmured, pushing aside a stray lock of hair that was obscuring Shiro's face, a note of pride in her voice, "So why aren't you tied up again?"

"I escaped!" the young man snapped. Yumeko rolled her eyes.

"Is that so?"

"Are you calling me a liar, girl?" Masato hissed.

"I'm just saying what you are saying is impossible!" Yumeko shot back.

"Why you!" Masato growled, starting to look murderous.

"Masato, stop being a fool, and shut up," Aki said in a monotone voice, "You just recently nearly got strangled by a youkai and were smashed into a tree by another. Do not try your luck at trying to defeat a third. You will only get crushed again."

"Hold up, this girl is a youkai?!" Masato cried, backing away from Yumeko, fear in his eyes.

"That's right, human," Yumeko smirked, "I'm a dream demon, and if you don't behave, I'm going to give you nightmares for the rest of your pathetic life!" Masato made his infamous little "eep".

"Why do I always get stuck with psycho demons trying to kill me?" Masato wailed.

"Because you are an unlucky person doomed to be miserable for all eternity," Aki answered calmly. Masato shot a small glare at the magician.

"Thanks for the support, creepy freak!" Masato yelled. Aki glanced at Masato coldly, his eyes golden. Masato "eep"ed again.

"Do not try to irritate me, Masato-san," Aki said, his voice a cold and biting icicle, "If you do, I cannot grantee your safety."

"Do you want to get tied up and put in a deep dark hole right now?" Yumeko asked Masato in a conversational tone.

"Anything to get away from the creepy freak," Masato squeaked, nodding vigorously. Yumeko smirked, a mad light coming into her green eyes. Masato gulped. Maybe agreeing with her wasn't such a good idea after all…

***

Inside Shiro/Inuyasha's mind/dreamscape

Shiro was floating in the pitch darkness of the dreamscape. Unlike the other times he had gone here, the giant God-tree was nowhere in sight -just never ending darkness. And he was alone. His hanyou self, Inuyasha, was gone as well.

"Hello?" Shiro called out, "Inuyasha? Are you out here?" Shiro began to feel uneasy when only silence answered him.

"INUYASHA!!!" Shiro yelled at the top of his lungs, "I know you're here! Answer me!" There was utter silence, then suddenly…

"Afraid of being alone, Ningen?" a voice asked coldly behind him. Shiro whirled around to glare at the only other person that could be in his mind.

"Inuya-" Shiro suddenly cut himself off, when he finally got a good look at his other self. The being in front of him chuckled when he saw Shiro's shocked face. That laugh didn't sound too friendly -or sane for that matter.

"Surprised, Ningen? Or should I call you 'Shiro'?" Shiro's companion asked.

"W-who are you?" Shiro whispered, fear starting to creep into his body.

"Who do you think?"

"You're not Inuyasha," Shiro spat out, glaring at the intruder in his mind. His "guest" laughed again madly.

"I'm as much Inuyasha as you are, Shiro," the unknown being said, sneering out the child's name.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shiro asked. The other person smirked at him.

"Think, Ningen," the other demanded. Shiro took a deep breath, and began observing the creature before him more closely. Shiro was unable to make out any distinctive facial features because the darkness of the dreamscape seemed to cling to the being before him. However, Shiro was able to notice that the stranger had a sword sticking out of his chest. As Shiro observed the sword more closely, he began to recognize it. It was his sword, Tetsusaiga. Stemming from Tetsusaiga were strips of shadow that acted as rope to tie up the creature. Shiro knew without being told that if those black ropes hadn't tied up the creature before him, the creature would have killed him in a heartbeat.

"What is Tetsusaiga doing in your chest?" Shiro asked, "And why aren't you dead? Being stabbed by a sword should have killed you. And doesn't that hurt?"

"Aren't you the clever one," the stranger sneered. Shiro glared at the shadow cloaked figure.

"Do you want to fight, baka?!" Shiro asked, his face becoming slightly flushed with anger.

"Sure, if you take this sword out of me," the other person taunted. Shiro growled, and began to reach for the sword.

"Don't be a baka!" another voice behind Shiro yelled, "There's a reason why that sword is there!" Shiro turned around, and sighed in relief, recognizing the new person.

"Inuyasha!" Shiro exclaimed, glad that his other self was there.

"Hanyou," the shadowy figure greeted, a slight maniacal smirk forming on his lips. Inuyasha glared at the intruder.

"What are you doing here, teme?" Inuyasha growled at the figure. The stranger laughed madly.

"I have every right to be here, Hanyou, and you know it," the intruder replied, "This is my mind as well." Then before Shiro's eyes the shadows that had been covering the stranger moved away, finally revealing his face.

"What the hell?!" Shiro yelped, stepping back from the stranger, his eyes wide. The figure smirked at the child, his insane red eyes glinting.

"Surprised, Ningen?" the youkai before him asked, "I see the hanyou over there forgot to tell you about me, your youkai self…"

***

Back in the real world with Aki, Masato, and Yumeko

"Do you think Shiro will be alright?" Aki asked Yumeko, "He's been getting beat up pretty badly lately."

"The brat will be fine," Masato butted in, "He's too stubborn and bratty to die."

"Who told you that you can speak, human?" Yumeko asked, her green eyes flashing at Masato. Masato paled at her expression. Today was definitely not his day.

"I-I-I," Masato sputtered, looking ready to faint. Yumeko smirked triumphantly.

"I thought so," the dream youkai sniffed, "Now be a good little slave and be quiet, or else…" Masato closed his mouth quickly. Yumeko sighed in relief. Sometimes that moron could get so annoying. Why couldn't he say anything without insulting the subject he was talking about?

"I think now would be a good time to start looking into Shiro's mind," Yumeko said suddenly. Aki looked at her, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"You can't be serious!" Aki yelled, "Why now?"

"Why not now?" Yumeko asked calmly.

"B-but what about your brother, Yugata? It's possible that he might come back to kill you!" Aki pointed out. Yumeko shook her head.

"Don't be silly, Aki," Yumeko said, "It's against dream demon etiquette to attack an enemy twice in one day. Yugata-onii-sama won't attack us until tomorrow at least."

"I suppose," Aki said thoughtfully, "But what about Shiro? Do you think he'll be able to handle you in his mind while in his condition?"

"Shiro-chan will be fine," Yumeko said confidently, "Besides we might not have any other choice. With Yugata attacking us, we have no idea when we'll have free time to look into Shiro's mind. Besides, it's possible the Dream Clan will send someone else after us, and that will double the trouble. And I just have a feeling this is the best time to do this."

"What ever you say, Yumeko-san," Aki sighed. Yumeko smiled at the magician.

"Everything will be fine, Aki-san," Yumeko assured him, "It might even work out for the best."

"Alright, just come back safely, Yumeko-san," Aki told her. Masato looked back and forth between the two.

"Aw, just hurry up and do it already!" Masato yelled suddenly, "The timing is perfect, freak! Hurry up and kiss the woman!" Both magician and youkai turned beat red. Suddenly they whirled around to face Masato, their eyes flashing. Masato "eep"ed.

Yep, today was not Masato's day.

Author-chan's notes: And so ends the 20th chapter! And what a short chapter it is too! Oh well, better than nothing, I guess. And Youkai Inuyasha makes his first bold appearance. I think I made Youkai Inuyasha a bit OOC, but then again, we really haven't heard Youkai Inuyasha say much, so it's hard trying to write dialog for him. But I noticed Youkai Inuyasha laughs a lot. Youkai Inuyasha has a scary laugh. Sesshoumaru has a scary laugh. Both Youkai Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru have scary smiles. (Anou, I know Sesshoumaru only smiles/laughs once or twice, but still…) And I noticed the both of them only laugh/smile when they're about to kill something or plot to kill something. Creepy… One can see those two are related…-_-;

Anyway, I want to thank all the people that have been reviewing this fic. It really makes me feel great reading your reviews. Speaking of reviews, one reviewer asked what would happen to Shiro once Inuyasha comes back. I mean, when you really think about it, Shiro has almost become a separate entity from Inuyasha. So the question is a very interesting one. I would tell what would happen to Shiro now, but what fun is that? I might tell at the end of the fic.