KoisBaka: Well.... second chapter...but no reviews. How am I supposed to know what ya'll think about this story if I don't get any feedback? I'm not psychic ya know....

Ryu-Kun: We all told you we liked it....

Zarabalg: Like lots

Kira: We LIKES it, we does...

KoisBaka: --' you helped me write it.... your opinions, while appreciated, don't really count.

Ryu-Kun: ....so we don't count? ::sulks::

Kira: You.... don't likes us no more?

Zarabalg: ....T.T

KoisBaka: ' I didn't mean it that way.... Your opinions would be biased; I need to know what the people who DIDN'T write the ficcy think.

All except KB: ...Oh....

Ryu-Kun: =cheers up a bit= okay. Are you gonna say it? The disclaimer, I mean?

KoisBaka: ... ::unintelligible mumbling::

Ryu-Kun: ...didn't hear you, Megami-chan.

KoisBaka: ......I don't...own...Inuyasha... ::shudders::

''Kagome?''

Dia was officially confused. How on earth did Kagome get.... wherever this was? She knew for a fact that Kagome was in Tokyo, since she e-mailed her almost every week. Inuyasha was the first to react.

''How do you know Kagome's name?'' he demanded with a growl.

It was the growl that snapped her out of her daze. Dia fixed Inuyasha with a look she usually reserved for her younger siblings when they were being stupid.

"Well, I've only known her since first grade." she said sarcastically in Japanese.

Kagome gave a little "eep" sound and pushed past Inuyasha, who was too confused to protest.

''.... Dia?'' She asked tentatively.

"The one and only!" She said with a grin.

Kagome gasped and hugged her, while Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou stood in the background wondering what in the seven hells was going on.

''How'd you get here?'' she asked with obviously confusion.

''No f-ing clue. Where exactly is 'here', anyway?'' she said, looking around at all the shrubbery.

''Well.... it would probably be more accurate to ask when, but you're in Japan.'' She replied.

''.... Um.... What do you mean 'when'?'' Dia asked.

"Well.... Don't freak out or anything, but you're about 500 years in the past.''

She stood there for a few seconds, not speaking. ((... Shit...)) was all she could think.

''Oh.... well....what are you doing here?'' Dia asked, trying to focus on a less complicated problem.

''It's...a long story. Why don't you come with us back to camp? It's much more comfortable, and we have some food...'' She offered.

Dia's whole attitude brightened at this, since she was just being reminded by her grumbling stomach that she'd skipped out on breakfast. At this point, Inuyasha broke in.

''Oi wench, what do you think you're doing? She could be dangerous!'' He said in his typical overprotective manner.

He stalked up and glared down at her. (Which was easy to do, since she was so short) Dia didn't like the way he talked to Kagome. She glared right back up at him and crossed her arms.

''Who are you to boss Kago-chan around?'' she demanded.

''Don't change the subject! What kind of Oni are you? Where'd that light come from?'' He growled at her.

''Ano...you guys...don't start...please...'' Kagome said, trying to stop them from fighting.

Before either of them could respond, Miroku pushed Inuyasha out of the way and grabbed Dia's hands in his.

''Forgive my rude friend, he has no manners. Any friend of Lady Kagome's who is as radiant a beauty as you could not possibly have any ill intent.'' He said with a charming half-smile and soothing tone.

((What is up with this guy....?)) Dia wondered.

Dia stood there blinking. Behind him, Sango was glaring daggers. Of course, he was facing Dia, so he couldn't see Sango's expression.

''Now, I must ask you a very important question." His face suddenly changed to serious.

"Will you bear my child?" At the same moment, Dia suddenly felt something brush up against her butt, and Miroku's left hand was at a suspicious angle towards her backside. Her eye twitched and with a 3-hit combo, Miroku ended up hanging from a tree, swirly eyed, with a lump on his head.

''Try that again and I will personally see to it that you NEVER have children!'' she shouted.

Sango and Kagome (who had both been about to smack Miroku) sighed in unison.

''Well monk...you did deserve that...'' Sango said to the unconscious monk.

Kirara in her little form, and Shippou, both of which had been staying in the back and out of the way, chose this moment to come forward.

''Kagome, I'm hungry...'' Shippou whined.

Dia's stomach took this opportunity to make its displeasure known. She sweatdropped and look imploringly at Kagome.

''You said you had food back at your camp...?'' she asked hopefully.

Kagome smiled ''Yeah, I hope you don't mind Ramen, it's all we've got.''

''Are you sure she won't eat it all?'' Inuyasha grumbled unhappily. He was still confused, and kind of angry about earlier. Kagome just rolled her eyes and gave him a look.

''...feh...'' was all he said.

After they all walked back to the camp, Kagome started asking about Dia's strange and sudden appearance.

"So...what happened? How'd you get here?" She asked over their dinner of Ramen.

"Well...I was standing on the window ledge of my house, trying to get something off the roof....don't ask, ok? Well, I was on the window ledge and my dumb-ass big brother decided it would be funny to jump out and scare me. I fell and there was this weird blue light and tingly feeling, and then I ended up here." Dia said, slurping up some noodles.

"That's so weird....." Kagome said.

"Something doesn't add up here...." Miroku mumbled. "Why did you end up here, in this time? And why in Japan? You said you were in a different country, correct?" He asked.

"Yeah....I don't get it either....but I don't see a point in wondering about it. Now what about you guys? Why is Kagome 500 years in the past?" Dia countered.

((You all know the basic plot...so I'll skip that part.))

Taking turns, they tell her the tale of the Shikon No Tama, and about Naraku and Kikyou. Dia listens calmly through the whole thing.

''You're taking this surprisingly well, Dia-chan.'' Kagome told her.

''Well.....I've decided that I've got three choices right now. One; this is all real and something incredibly f--ked up is happening, two; I landed on my head when I fell out my window and this is a coma-induced dream, or three; I've finally gone insane and all this is a figment of my imagination.'' She said as she put her empty bowl of Ramen down.

''Well it's not a dream.'' Inuyasha said. He was in a much better mood now that he'd gotten some Ramen, and Dia had turned out not to be a threat to Kagome or the Shikon no Tama.

"We should get some sleep, we have a lot of walking to do tomorrow." He said as he jumped up into a tree to keep watch.

Seeing as how she'd just had a really crappy day...sort of...Dia shrugged and laid down with her hands tucked behind her head, and drifted off while looking at the wonderful view of the stars. The others all followed suit.

The next morning, after a few incidents involving cold water and bad sleeping habits, the whole group was up and....walking. Again. All day.

As they were walking, Dia talked to Kagome and Sango, catching up on all the stuff she had missed out on in Kagome's life since she had moved to America.

"So you're failing Math? Jeez Kago-chan, and you were always so good with numbers..." Dia commented.

"Yeah...don't remind me. I don't know how I'm going to pass my exams and get into the high school I want...." Kagome said unhappily. "I don't have the time to study, what with the hunt for the sacred jewel shards and all."

"...Hmmm" Dia mumbled, suddenly realizing a problem. She stopped walking, and Kagome and Sango nearly ran into her.

"How am I supposed to get back home? What about my parents? They're probably worried sick right now. I mean, I fell out a window and DISAPPEARED!" She exclaimed.

"That's right...your family is probably very worried about you...." Sango said.

"Relax, I'm sure you can get through the well. You can call your parents from my house, I'm sure they'll understand..." Kagome said, trying to calm her excitable friend.

"Yeah, understand. I can imagine THAT conversation. 'Gee Mom, Dad, you won't believe this but when I fell out that window I was mysteriously transported to Feudal Japan, where I found Kagome traveling with a bunch of people from that era and trying to collect these shards from some sacred jewel thingy. Do you think you could maybe send me all the schoolwork I've missed?' Uh-huh, they'll understand completely." Dia said sarcastically.

"Hey, are you three gonna stand there all day? We're almost there, hurry up!" Inuyasha yelled back at them. Kagome, Sango, and Dia ran to catch up with the rest of the Inuyasha-tachi.

From their vantage point on top of a hill, they gaped at the amazing site before them. The setting sun made the sky a brilliant red-orange, and standing like a giant sentinel, a tower which stretched up towards the sky stood in the middle of the woods which lay ahead. Even from this distance, the tower looked massive.

''That,'' Miroku said as the rest gazed on, ''is our destination. There is a rumor that a shard of the Shikon no Tama is there.''

"So...what is that huge place?" Kagome asked.

''A magic guild. Mages go there to be taught and teach others." Miroku stated as the group started walking again.

By the time the group reached the tower, night had all but fallen. Up close, the tower seems incomprehensibly enormous. A single block of stone was at least 50ft high, and twice as long. Before they could actually enter, they were stopped by two guards.

"Who's there?" asked the first guard.

"Speak your name and purpose, or begone at once." The second added.

"I'll handle this" Miroku said to the group in a low tone.

"Greetings! I am Miroku, a simple monk of Buddha, and these are my trusted traveling companions. We seek food and shelter for the night." He said in a loud voice.

After a hurried conversation, the two guards decide that our favorite group of traveling heroes is no threat.

"Very well. We will show you to the guest floor. Follow us."

They enter a vast chamber that has many doors leading to other hallways and rooms, lit by a soft, bluish glow, which was magical in origin. As the group passed by one of the farther rooms, Dia felt a tingling sensation, not unlike the one that had accompanied the blue light that brought her to the Feudal Era. She stopped to look inside. The door, which seemed huge and solid, moved with surprising ease. Inside, a magic circle on a dip in the very center of the floor was the most prominent feature. It was pulsing a light red color, and she could feel herself being drawn towards it.

((I...I can't stop! My legs are moving on their own! This is bad... I don't need this weird shit...)) She thought as she came closer.

When she got to the middle of the magic circle, it glowed a bright red and she was suddenly surrounded by floating lights and a red-orange glow. She could faintly hear Kagome's voice calling to her....but she seemed so far away. The light and warmth surrounded Dia, and she could hear someone speaking to her, someone who knew everything about her and shared all her deepest of secrets and desires.

The light faded and she was enveloped in blackness as she lost consciousness. The presence which spoke to her remained on the edge of her perception, and just before she slipped all the way under, the being sent her a thought, a feeling, of reassurance and comfort. She slumped down and her head hit the floor with a small ::whack::.

Meanwhile, the Inuyasha-tachi had noticed that Dia wasn't with the group anymore.

"Dia? Where'd you go?" Kagome turned around and looked for her friend. The rest stopped and turned as well. A single door hung slightly ajar, and a bright flash of red-orange light showed through. Kagome ran towards the door and entered just as Dia fell.

"Oh my God, Dia!" Kagome cried as the rest of the band showed up.

"What the hell happened?" Inuyasha exclaimed.

A loud, rough, and slightly raspy voice came from the doorway. ''So....she's got magic then eh? Why didn't those idiots at the gate recognize it?''

Whirling around into defensive positions, the Inuyasha-tachi found themselves face-to-face with....a short bald man with a long flowing beard, dressed in impossibly gaudy robes.

''Who are you?'' demanded Inuyasha.

''I...Why I am Elder Silrath, the Head of the Crimson Tower, and Magi of the Order of the Blue Flame.'' The man said.

KoisBaka: Aaaaand... That's it for chapter 2.

Ryu-Kun: WHAT? That's IT? You're leaving it at a CLIFFHANGER?

KoisBaka: Well....yes. It's 3am, and I have to drive my little siblings to school tomorrow. I can't type anymore.

Zarabalg: NOOOO!!!

KoisBaka: Why are you still up? You have to go to school!!! GO TO SLEEP!

Kira: ....zzzZZZZzzzzzZZZzzzZZZzzzzZZZZz

KoisBaka: Well....anyway, feel free to review....and....e-mail...an...=falls asleep=

Ryu-Kun: eh....M-chan? ::pokes::

KoisBaka: .... ::snuggles Ryu-Kun:: .....teddy bear...

Ryu-Kun: !!! um....M-chan....? Can you let go of me? ::blushing::

Kira: awww.... You two make a cute couple!

Ryu-Kun: We AREN'T a couple!! :: still blushing::