A/N: This is the revised version of Chapter 2. Please read and review. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and co.

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SEVEN WEEKS

2. The First Encounter

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'Here goes nothing,' he thought.

Inuyasha shut his eyes tightly as a blinding light erupted from Sango's clasped hands. He could still hear her chanting the strange words, but the light was too bright that he felt like it was actually seeping into his brain.

Sango's voice started to get louder and he all but held on to her for life. He was practically sure that it wasn't a trick by now. He felt Miroku shifting beside him, his hands not daring to leave their place on Sango's arm.

"Don't let go, Inuyasha-sama!" Miroku said in a panicked voice.

Inuyasha was getting slightly frightened, but his stubbornness made him refuse to accept the fact himself. Sango stopped her chanting and not knowing why, he just held on until he felt like his feet had left the ground.

He opened his eyes a tiny bit and almost died from a heart attack. 'God dammit, I'm fucking floating!' His mind screamed. He closed his eyes again, his grip on Sango growing tighter.

He was rather surprised when Sango spoke again, but this time, her voice was rather somber. "We're here," she declared. Inuyasha once again hazarded a glance and let out a whoop of relief when he saw that he was now on land.

He took off his badly ripped shirt as he quickly let go of her and looked around the place. The heat of the plain, as well as the dry, scorching sun on his skin stayed as a painful reminder that he was now basically topless.

'I'm such a damn idiot, I should have at least packed or gotten another shirt before coming with these freaks,' he thought as he looked around.

Right, it was definitely not Tokyo. He was standing on some kind of round platform, with nothing but vast emptiness surrounding him. There was not a single tree, not even a sole blade of grass. The whole place looked like one huge desert.

'They want me to help them save this dump?' he thought as he noticed a few dead animals lying a few meters away from him.

"Hentai!" a sharp smacking sound accompanied by Sango's angry voice broke him from his solemn observations. Apparently, since they got there, Miroku's tight hold on Sango's arm went down lower to find a very private part of her back profile.

Miroku rubbed his cheek as Sango fumed and Inuyasha stared around again. Miroku noticed the hanyou's reaction.

"It's terrible, isn't it? It was not like this before the Lady Azalea was taken from us," Miroku said, irony filling his voice.

"Lady Azalea?" Inuyasha asked absently.

"That is the name of our princess," Sango answered.

Inuyasha was confused as hell. 'How could a single wench's abduction do this to an entire land,' he started to ask but was cut off when Miroku answered his unspoken question.

"Our princess, unlike the royalty in your land, is the person responsible for the entire land and its people. Her power, which we call the Shikon, protects us all. Once she is taken from her duties, the power ceases to keep the land and this happens," he stated.

"So she's like some kind of god in here? So this power was, what, passed down to her? I don't get it," Inuyasha remarked.

"Well, it's really hard to explain since our world is different from your own," Miroku started. "We have our gods, but the princess is our direct link to them. She sends out prayers to them for support. Prayers so strong, the gods take them in," he added.

"Perhaps it would be better if go to the palace first, Houshi-sama," Sango said. "The outside is dangerous for those of us under the spell."

"What spell? You have a castle?"

"Yes, Inuyasha-sama. We'll tell you more when we get there," Miroku, the self-declared religion expert answered.

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A dark figure clad in a large pelt glared at his viewing mirror, the things he saw greatly offending him. 'So, they sent for reinforcements?' he thought.

"That will be enough, Kanna," he instructed his minion of nothingness, who, dressed in all white, held the mirror for him. At this, he turned his head to find his other subordinate.

"Kagura," he called the being, who hastily came forward, withholding a sneer behind her fan. "The have sent for one whom they think can best me. Get rid of him."

Kagura's scarlet eyes sparked with defiance, but she dared not speak a word.

"It will not be too hard, even for a useless slave such as yourself, since I hold the Shikon's power prisoner. Do not fail me, Kagura."

"Yes, Naraku-sama," she answered before retreating into the darkness.

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They had been walking for two hours now, and Inuyasha was getting impatient. He glared at Sango. 'Why couldn't that damn wench just transport us there or something? No, fuck that, why couldn't she have brought us there in the first place?' he thought angrily.

His angry ranting was cut-off when Sango declared, "We're here," with a small smile.

He stared at her as if she had just bled a river. "What do you mean 'we're here'? That's a fucking cave! How... oh, damn," Inuyasha was cut off when the cave started to vanish and was replaced by a palace with crystal-like walls and tall turrets. It was surrounded by a long transparent gate topped with gold trimmings. The whole thing looked like it was made of either glass or ice, and he was just plain struck dumb. It would have been an enchanting building, but there was just one problem: the place looked like it had not been used in ages. Inuyasha could just imagine tons of cobwebs all over it.

"That was a camouflage barrier," Miroku noted to Inuyasha. Then, "I'm surprised that it still works, Sango."

"So am I, but I am very thankful for it."

Guards stood by the massive gates of the palace. Inuyasha defiantly looked up at them, as if inviting a fight, but they just bowed low to him as he passed. He heard faint murmurs of "It's him, the warrior has come to aid us," and "It's Inuyasha-sama! We are saved!", but decided to just ignore it.

They entered the palace and Inuyasha felt a shiver run down his spine as he got a better view of the badly kept halls. He could tell that the place could, indeed, be very beautiful if it was well kept. The walls, which from the outside looked thin and feeble, were made of thick crystals. Gold statues of godly people lined the walls and the floor sparkled faintly with every step.

Miroku opened a large set of doors and they came upon the main hall. The hall was dark and morbid, and before the wall farthest from the door stood a high pedestal with an orb-shaped throne of gold and dirty crystals. An old, thick black book stood on a table on the right of the throne.

Inuyasha just stared. It was definitely a strange place.

"Inuyasha-sama," Sango called to him. "This is the main hall. That," she said pointing to the throne, "is where the princess is seated."

Inuyasha started to stop walking when he noticed that Miroku, who was motioning to him to follow, was still walking. He led him to another room which was right next to the main hall. It was just as messy and spectacular, only the podium in its center contained a set of red robes that looked somewhat like an ancient Japanese haori and a battered old sword within its scabbard. The items were inside a crystal half dome.

Miroku was looking up at the old things with such reverence that Inuyasha had to wonder what and whose stuff they were. He turned away from the things to see Sango walking up to them, the old book in her hands. She stopped right in front of him and opened the book to a certain page to show Inuyasha something. Curiosity got the better of the teenaged hanyou and he looked down on it. What he saw shocked his pants off.

"That... that's me! How...?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Sango chuckled. "We told you that you are a part of our prophecy. This book is the statement of the holy prophecy as told by our very first princess. Our princesses, though mystical beings, are mortal," She looked down at the written characters.

"Shall time come that a person powerful enough to hold the princess descends upon us, a being of immense strength, power and skill will be called forth by the princess. This man, the legendary knight, bearing the name of a canine demon, shall come for her, and rid the world of the evil who dared to harm the delicate cycle of Crystallia," Sango read aloud.

"Alright. So I find the princess and that's that?"

"I'm afraid it will not be that easy. The being who took her is powerful, and he may attack you and cause other disasters to stop you from doing that," Miroku answered.

"I was kinda expecting that. I watched cartoons, you know," Inuyasha answered.

"He is very powerful, Inuyasha-sama. You may be endangered and... there is nothing we can do to help."

"Oh, so, I'm supposed to find this princess of yours and everything, alone? I've never been here! I don't know where to start! Fuck, I don't even know where the bathroom is! And what the fuck is this about me having some power thing? Skill, I got a lot of. Strength too. But power? I dunno," Inuyasha countered.

Miroku could sense the warrior's apprehension. He picked up the red robes, the robes no one had EVER laid a finger on, and handed them to Inuyasha, who just stared at him.

"They are yours. These robes serve as an armor to the wearer, They were made by the very first princess of this land. Your power has yet to be unleashed, though I regret to say that we don't know how. And this sword," Miroku said, motioning to the battered weapon, "is the Tetsusaiga. It is a powerful weapon that can only be controlled by one person, and that person is YOU."

Inuyasha was somehow unconvinced. "What if I'm NOT the person that book is talking about? What if the descriptions just fit me and yet..."

"Inuyasha-sama, we are sure that it is you. If you are not convinced, try to take the sword out of its scabbard. It will only spring out at the hand of its destined user."

Inuyasha took the covered sword in his hands and tried to pull it out. Miroku said it will only spring at the hands of its owner. He pulled it out roughly and was rather surprised when it sprung out. He was even more surprised when he found that it was even more battered than it seemed when inside its case.

"This is powerful, you say? I doubt if this thing can even slice up a block of butter," he said.

"We understand your doubt Inuyasha-sama." Sango began.

"And drop the 'sama', will ya!" Inuyasha interrupted.

Sango was skeptical, but obeyed. "Inuyasha... we... the sword will produce the power in time. About where the princess is, your mark will lead you to her. You will understand once you leave this place, the Crystal palace. All we know is that she is being kept in the Garnet tower. It is in the most northern part of this land."

"The name of her abductor is Naraku," Miroku said. "He is a vile being who was blessed with a blue star. His evil made his mark turn black though."

"Would you mind telling me something about these marks? I still don't get it."

"These marks serve as a sign of what we are or where we stand in this kingdom. The princess and the legendary knight are blessed with the golden star. The mystical guardians, like Sango-sama and myself, are blessed with the red mark. Soldiers bear the blue mark."

"So this Naraku guy was a soldier here? And what about that curse you were talking about?"

"Yes he was. He disappeared two years ago and when he came back, it was just to abduct our princess," Sango said. "The garnet tower that I speak of is a forbidden fortress that is fabled to hold the unholy power that was sealed long ago. He probably took hold of it somehow."

"The curse," Miroku said "is that no one who bears a star mark can use their powers outside the palace. That's why all of the guards and palace people are stuck in here. Naraku cast the curse upon us when he took Lady Azalea."

"OK," Inuyasha was still reluctant. "What did that prophecy thing mean when it said something about touching the princess?"

"Simply that no mortal, males, in particular, of power less than the princess' can touch her. Literally."

"I think I get it," Inuyasha said. "So, I put this weird red thing on, don the sword and go? And you guys can't come with me, right?

They nodded.

"If you do not wish to push through with it, we can always return you to your home and..." Sango said.

"And you think I'm gonna back down? Shit, you got me involved and now you think I won't do it? Damn, I ain't afraid of anything! I'll do it!"

Inuyasha gulped inaudibly, then asked both people to leave so he can change into the armor.

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Inuyasha really didn't know how to put the weird things on and thought about calling for some help from Miroku. While trying to figure it out, he thought about his 'quest'.

'This could be great,' he thought. 'At least I'd get to see that girl in my dream. I'd bet she's really something! I really want to meet that Azalea girl. She's the reason why I had accepted this quest in the first place. Those darn pretty eyes. But I still don't know why she was abducted. Did that Naraku guy just want to take over the land?' he thought as he twisted the old sword in place at his waist.

When Inuyasha was all dressed, he looked at himself in a mirror hued wall and crinkled his nose in distaste. 'Damn, I look like a youkai from the Sengoku jidai!' he thought (). He turned around to see how he looked from behind and smirked. 'No wonder girls fall for me. Keh,' he thought smugly to himself, allowing himself a moment of vain Narcissism.

He left the room to find Sango, with her back to him, dressed in a pink outfit similar to an old kimono. When they were in his world, both Sango and the lech had worn normal jeans and shirts. Now, her curves were barely visible. 'Miroku must get upset about their normal clothing,' he remarked to himself dryly. He cleared his throat as a way of making his presence known. He was, after all, important in this land.

Sango turned to find him dressed and felt her throat catch. 'Well, well, well. If he wasn't the legendary warrior, I'd jump him,' she thought with a silent giggle. She didn't quite realize how... er... pleasing he looked while he was dressed in that weird, rough clothing of his. Now that he was in clothes that she recognized... 'Wow,' she thought as he turned in place, asking how he looked. 'That butt could kill!'

Inuyasha laughed inwardly at Sango's surprised reaction. Her eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets!

Miroku entered right at that time to find 'his fair Sango-sama' ogling at the guy they had just picked up from the next world and sighed. 'So he looks good,' he thought grudgingly, adjusting his indigo robes.

"Looking good, Inuyasha-sa... I mean, Inuyasha," he remarked, belatedly remembering Inuyasha's 'request' to be called by his name.

Inuyasha just nodded, then, "You guys said I have only seven weeks. I dunno nothing about this land of yours, so I need all the time I can get. I'd better get going," he declared.

'Yup, he's got the will,' Sango thought. "I believe you're rather enthusiastic, but you're right. Here," she said handing him a round amulet of gold, with a large red gem imbedded smack center. "That will serve as a means of communication between us and you. We have one just like that. Just call out the name of the one you wish to speak with and the amulet will answer."

"So this is some kind of walkie-talkie?" he asked. At Sango and Miroku's confused looks, he decided to just clam up and motioned for them to speak.

"And here are some things you may need. I packed them for you," Miroku said. He handed Inuyasha a flask of water, some gold coins which Inuyasha assumed was local money, and a small image of the princess. It was not expertly drawn, but he could make out the features. Black hair. Gray/blue eyes. Yup, it was her.

"That water flask never goes empty, Inuyasha. Miroku packed you quite a lot of money as well," Sango said.

"Oh, and one more thing Inuyasha," Miroku said. "Only those who work at the palace know of the prophecy. Outsiders do not. So... you may frighten them but..."

"It's ok," Inuyasha said, heading for the great doors of the palace. He had somehow been expecting that. He heard Sango and Miroku shouting encouragements but he didn't even look back. He wanted to find the princess and get it over with as soon as possible.

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Inuyasha despised his outfit. He felt hot and dehydrated. He could have sworn that the self-filling flask would go empty at any moment at the frequency of his drinking from it.

He had been walking for two hours already. He still didn't understand why the two had been so worried. There was not a single disruption in his journey! Except for the hardly bearable heat, of course.

'Damn. That Naraku guy did a good job in ruining this place,' he thought dryly as he noted the barren lands and dried vegetation. The palace seems to have been set quite a distance from civilization. That or it was far south and the Garnet tower was far north. Damn.

He had not encountered a single soul since he started walking two hours ago. 'Where did all the people go?' he asked himself. He looked into the folds of his robes at the 'walkie-talkie' and thought of talking to Miroku just to kill his boredom, but he had his pride.

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'Hmmm,' Kagura thought as she looked at the silver-haired man walking aimlessly around the deserted land. 'So that's the knight? He doesn't look like much,' she motioned to the tens of bat-like creatures she had summoned to get rid of the warrior. They were eagerly licking their chops at the prospective meal.

"This will be a piece of cake," she said as she signaled for them to attack.

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Inuyasha turned as he smelled something putrid. He covered his nose as he looked around and spotted something flying towards him. He shrugged it off until he realized that the being was getting larger and larger as it got closer. He looked back and saw to his surprise that behind it there seemed to be at least fifty other beings. Bat like things, all coming at him!

He let out an impressive string of curses as he took out his amulet.

"Miroku!" he shouted at the amulet in panic, not knowing what to do. Miroku's image appeared on the red gem and noticed Inuyasha's panicked reaction.

"Inuyasha! Are you under attack?" Miroku asked.

"What do you think you fucking idiot?! No one ever told me that huge bats were gonna try to rip my head off!" Inuyasha countered as the bats came even nearer. He was really quite frightened. He had been to many cat fights before, but he had never been attacked by youkai!

'Oh, shit. Here they come' he thought as Miroku told him to take out his sword.

Inuyasha threw his communicator aside as he readied himself. Use the sword? Was Miroku crazy? That sword couldn't do anything.

He had never actually fought for his life back in his world. He always held his strength back a fraction. But now. 'I guess I should do full power right now.'

He cracked his knuckles as the first one came within range. As the ugly thing opened his mouth, Inuyasha sucked in a breath, bared his fangs and claws and...

"Sankon Tetsusou!" he shouted as he struck his opponent with a blow that he had always DREAMT of delivering. His claws cut clean at the bat creature as it fell to the floor.

'Damn, those daydreams of fighting youkai-style can really come in handy,' he thought as he struck one after the other down.

He was doing well but there was just too many of them. One moment he was fighting, the next, he found himself pinned to the ground, the ugly beings leering at him.

"So, this is all you can do Inuyasha?" the largest of the bats, who held his arms down, spat at him.

'They know me? So that means.'

"You guys work for that Naraku guy, don't you? No wonder I could smell you guys from a mile away," he snarled back. He tried to get up again, but there were about ten of the creatures holding him down.

The large bat, who was their leader, produced a long dagger and poised to strike his heart.

'Fuck, this is it,' Inuyasha thought. 'No way! I won't give up without a fight!'

He fought against the beasts surrounding him ferociously, but there seemed to be no hope. One of the bats was digging its claws into his shoulder, drawing blood, and the bat leader was standing above him, the knife a few inches from his chest, when a sudden, single arrow suddenly pierced through the monster's chest from behind. The arrow glowed for a moment before the creature it had impaled exploded and disappeared, the other bats scattering around to see who had fired the arrow.

As Inuyasha got up, he saw a couple more bats fall by similar arrows. He looked around to find who had helped him, and when he found the mysterious archer, his heart nearly stopped.

Her raven hair flew drastically about her shoulders as the wind whipped her short skirt to reveal long, shapely legs. Her blue/gray eyes flashed in victory as another bat fell by her hand. She turned her head to look at him for a moment, and for the first time in his life, as he looked at her well- structured facial features, Inuyasha was at a loss for words.

The bats started to rush at her, but to pay her back for saving him, and to remind the creatures that he was still there, he jumped up to block their path, delivering another one of his death blows.

There were still at least thirty of the beings. Inuyasha used his claws as the girl used her arrows, and without words, they helped each other slay the monsters one by one.

Inuyasha had his back to the woman as he shouted out another "Sankon Tetsusou!". When he turned around, however, he noticed that the woman was just about to fire her last arrow, and that one of the bats was getting ready to spring her once she was defenseless.

'Oh, no you don't,' he thought as he saw her fire. The bat rushed at her, and just as she turned to see the bat, Inuyasha raised his claws to his wounded shoulder .

"Blades of blood!" he shouted angrily at the offending being. He smirked at noticing that only two more of the youkai were left. He got rid of them with no further ado.

After finishing the last of the bats, he turned to the woman with a grin and said, "Hey, I owe you one, onna."

The woman grinned back at him and replied, "Nah. With that last one, we're all even."

She turned to walk away, but Inuyasha stepped up behind her and lightly grabbed her arm. "Wait, I..."

Much to his surprise, she spun around just as his fingers wrapped around her wrist and looked at him with an expression of shock.

"What, you never been touched before?" he asked jokingly. The woman just looked at him, then at his hand on her arm. She gently withdrew her hand.

"No, of course not. I was just... surprised. I get surprised very easily." she offered, gingerly rubbing her wrist.

"Oh, well." Inuyasha began. "I just wanted to... thank you... for helping me out in there."

"It was nothing, Inuyasha. We're even anyway," She replied and started to leave again.

Inuyasha was surprised. 'How did she.'

"Hey, wait! How did you...? You know me?"

She looked back at him and shrugged. "The holy prophecy. I've read a part of the scriptures." She continued walking away.

"But, I was told that nobody but the members of the guardian crew knew of the scriptures." He objected. This girl was getting weird.

"I have my ways," She said, not bothering to stop or look back this time.

"May I at least know your name, then?"

At this she stopped. "My name..." she said absently, as if pondering on the question.

"My name is Kagome," she said after a long silence, before continuing to leave.

"I'll see you around, won't I?" Inuyasha shouted as her form started to vanish over the horizon.

She turned her head and nodded slightly before completely heading out of the hanyou's sight.

"I'll take your word for that... Kagome," Inuyasha murmured softly to himself, staring at the point where Kagome had disappeared from his view.

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A/N: This is the revised version of Chapter 2. Please read and review. Thank you very much for your time.

ScarletRaven1001