Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, the crew, or Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru… drools

..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l..

Okay. I am going to put this at the beginning of every chapter except the one after chapter two. I would call it chapter three, but I already have one. So the one with the notes on it is the one I won't put this on because… it's a bunch of notes! Don't assume that everything written here happens in every chapter. Because it doesn't Also, as my Algebra II teacher said last year, 'When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me." As she said 'ass', 'you', and 'me', she pointed to the words inside the word 'assume'. Assume. Cool huh? Learn something new everyday! Now, go tell your folks. Then, come back and read. Then R&R.

Arigatou- thank-you (might be spelled arigato, but it's the same thing)
Hai- yes
Hanyou- half demon or half breed ((We call my friend this. She's half Caucasian and half Mexican. She wanted us to I swear. She calls herself a hanyou all the time. Sad isn't it?))
Houshi- something along the lines of Buddhist monk (Miroku)
Iie- no
Kami- God or the equivalent thereof
Kawaii- cute
Kitsune- fox demon I do believe
Miko- priestess
Oi- something I made up or I heard from somewhere. I use it to get someone's attention
Osuwari- sit
Owari- something like 'Bye!' I think. I really don't know for sure.
Tensuaiga- Sesshomaru's sword
Tetsuaiga- Inuyasha's sword
Youkai- demon

Italicized words means the person is thinking to themselves in their own heads or something needs to be emphasized.
'Words written in these' means the person is speaking to someone else in their heads. Confusing I know, but you'll know it when you see it.
"Words written in these" means… Do I really need to explain this one?

I do not know what the future is like. I am purely guessing so no harping, okay? I am also guessing on what Kaede looked like when she was young. I've only seen her when she was young one time and that's right after Kikyou seals Inuyasha to a tree and then died. I'm sorry if I'm wrong. Just try to be nice as you yell at me, okay? Also, just because it says y'all somewhere doesn't mean they are in Texas. I am in Texas and the word y'all is something I say all the time. 'Kay?

I am very sorry if I have misspelled anything in Japanese, like names or the words above. I know 'ou' makes a long o sound. Like Shippo should probably be Shippou since Kikyou and Kouga follow that rule. But, I did Kouga like that from the very beginning and Kikyou became a sudden habit. Everyone else I saw it first as I have spelled it. If I have defined anything wrong, please tell me. It's not considered a flame if I ask for it. I promise. And if I've misspelled anything in English and you catch it let me know. I am a real big spelling and grammar freak. It's… Never mind. Also, my friend helped me write this. So anything wrong or stupid is her fault. wink wink And the cursing. That's all hers too. With that being said…

..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l..

Immanuel and Karen went to the basketball game that night, regardless of Sam and Kris; regardless of his black eye; regardless of the possibility of Nathan trying to start something. They met up with Sara and Matt, sat together, and enjoyed the game. Karen spent most of it trying to explain it to Immanuel since he'd never seen one before. At half time, Sara and Matt went to get refreshments so Karen and Immanuel could talk alone for a few moments. Karen laid her head on his shoulder with a small sigh. He rubbed his own against hers once in a gesture of affection. After straightening, he growled once. It snapped Karen out of her thoughts. The growl was more of a growl than Immanuel's normal growl; it sounded… real.

"That's what it was," he muttered.

"What?" Karen asked.

"Look." She looked up and her eyes widened. She looked around to see if anyone was watching. They were sitting in the back row of the stands so she wasn't worried about anyone behind them. People around them were too busy talking, eating, or doing whatever. She turned back to see him changed completely. "I hope no one notices me walk in like I did and walk out differently. I wonder how Sara and Matt will react."

"Let's find out. Here they come." Matt and Sara sat down, Sara next to Karen. Both girls sat between the boys.

"I got a hot dog for Immanuel and a Dr. Pepper. Karen, here's your popcorn and nachos. Am I correct in assuming that you guys are sharing? Since you got different things and I'm pretty sure they don't have hot dogs in South America-" Sara froze.

"Whoa," Matt muttered.

"Yeah, they noticed," Karen said. "Guys, this is Immanuel. Once a month he sort of… changes. You remember. Only now he turns full… weird, instead of all normal. Oh look! The game's starting again."

"Yeah. The game." Matt and Sara looked back at the game, stealing peaks at Immanuel's new looks every so often. When the game was over (127 to 93, their win), they piled back into Matt's car and drove to Karen's. Matt drove, Sara sat in the front seat, Immanuel sat behind Matt, and Karen sat behind Sara. "So," Matt began. "How weird is this?"

"Well, it was even weirder before I knew why I changed and why I was different. I didn't regain my memories until I was about six or seven years old. Sam didn't until he was… ten? That had to of been weird for him as well. At least he never changed. At least it's not as bad as it used to be. Remember those first few times when I'd get mad and Sam would show up? If I got too mad, it would trigger a demon change. He would show up to fight with me, to keep me from hurting someone else if anything. But since we found Karen, I haven't changed and gone crazy. For some reason, she keeps me calm. And she never has to say the word."

"Weird," Sara said. "So, how is this night different from every other one?"

"Well, I look different for one," Immanuel explained. "Claws, red eyes, ears, purple slash marks on cheeks. It's a good thing it's so cold out otherwise I wouldn't have worn a jacket, gloves, and hat. My senses are heightened, more so than usual. I have a lot more endurance and flexibility and things like that. I could probably run outright, nine miles flat out without stopping. And I wouldn't even pant hard at the end of it. A perk of the change: my eye will be healed before the night's over. That was one reason Sam never felt bad about locking me up in a room on these nights to trash the place: any damage I did to myself was healed by the next morning. Maybe I'd be a little sore, but no marks were left. I still had memories though. That was always a downside."

Matt whistled as they pulled into the drive. They got out and used Karen's key to get into the house. Immanuel paused on the doorstep, his ears swiveling about. Karen walked back to meet him, asking what was wrong. Sara and Matt weren't far from away either. He moved back several paces and stared at the surrounding trees. He paused in his steps to sniff the air silently. Then he was gone. Vanished from thin air!

"Where'd he-?"

"Shhh!" Karen said, holding a hand up in Sara's face to keep her from saying anything else. "Remember when Inuyasha would do this?" she whispered. "Something's out there. He knows how to get in my window. Come on." She walked back inside and locked the door behind her. She, Matt, and Sara made their way to Karen's room after checking on Steven. They sat in her room, silently, until Immanuel made his way through the window. Water poured in after him. "Oh thank goodness. I was getting- Immanuel!"

Immanuel had come through the window, but he was all beat up. His right arm was hanging at an odd angle, blood dripping off his fingertips. His black eye was swollen closed, and the other was soon to follow. His clothes were torn; his hat, jacket, and gloves gone. He stumbled forward, caught himself before he fell completely, then looked around for something. When his eyes finally focused on Karen, he stumbled forward another step. "No… hospitals…" he groaned, then fell on his face on her floor.

"Sara, go get my mom! Matt, get me towels! Lots of them. Immanuel, oh God! Please be okay. Don't give up," Karen pleaded as she dropped to her knees to roll him over into a more comfortable position. When Matt came in with towels, she placed three under his broken arm and two under his head. She quickly realized he was bleeding there too. Lightening flashed, illuminating the room. Someone turned the light on: Mrs. Bassi. "Mama, can you set his arm straight?"

"He needs professional help. I can't-"

"You have to! He can't go to a hospital!" Karen yelled, nearly hysterical.

"Calm down," Mrs. Bassi soothed. "I'll see what I can do. Get me some warm water. Sara, you do that. Matt, help her. Karen, I need you to hold him. I know he's unconscious, but this will still hurt him." She picked up a rag and started wiping some blood off the broken arm. When the water got there, she used that to hurry the process along. She felt up and down the arm, looking for the precise point of breakage. "Lord, this needs professional help. It'll never heal without a cast."

"If we set it right it will be healed by tomorrow night at the latest," Karen said, her voice carrying more surety than she felt she had. A curious look from her mother was the only answer she received. She handed a cloth to Sara and had her wipe off the multiple cuts on Immanuel's face. She gave another to Matt and had him push as hard as he could at the slash at the top of the broken arm. A small flick of the ear was the only sign that Immanuel felt anything when Matt pressed as hard as he could. "Here we go," Karen muttered as she straddled Immanuel chest to restrain him should he wake.

"One… two…" Mrs. Bassi counted off. "Three!" She snapped the arm back into place with a large snap. Immanuel surged upward, nearly throwing Karen across the room. She tightened her thighs around his chest and grabbed his shoulders as hard as she could. Mrs. Bassi held the arm as much as she could, Matt helping as well. Sara tried to keep his head down. He growled loudly, sending shivers down even Karen's spine. Then, he was silent and still. "I thought so. It's completely subconscious, and he won't even feel anything until tomorrow. He'll be in a lot of pain. Make sure his brother knows so he can get him some medical help if you insist upon us not getting it for him. I don't like this Karen."

"Trust me Mama," Karen said, her face muffled by Immanuel's shoulder. She was still hunched over him, holding on to him for dear life. "It's okay now," she whispered into his ear. "Whatever it was, it's gone. I should have never let you go. I know you didn't give me a chance; I know you'll say there was no way to stop you. But I would have stopped you if I had used my brain instead of trusting you so much. Don't leave me again Immanuel. I can't lose you again." When she sat up, no one said anything about her tears; they chalked it up to the rain from Immanuel's body.

Sara went to the window and closed it so no more rain would get in the room. Mrs. Bassi led Matt to the den to sleep and Sara to the guest bedroom. Mrs. Bassi would come back to see Karen laid out next to Immanuel. She smiled and placed a blanket over the pair. It would be interesting to see these two develop. My little girl, she thought happily. You deserve some happiness. Finally.

..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l..

Immanuel woke slowly the next morning. Something warm was next to him. His senses told him it was Karen. He sighed and relaxed once more. Then the rest of the smells around him registered in his mind: blood, rain, tears. Lots of blood. He looked at Karen, but she seemed fine. Why are we… on the ground? Together? Oh Kami! Please-! He begged himself that his thoughts weren't the correct ones. There must be another reason for the blood. There has to be, right?

"Immanuel? Are you awake?" Karen asked softly. She sat up carefully, trying not to touch Immanuel so he'd move. "Do you remember what happened last night?" she asked, hope in her eyes. "I'd like to know what did that to you." Her eyes flashed over his right arm. He looked and saw the damage. "You bled so much… Mama tried to convince me to take you to a hospital, but you said no hospitals so I didn't let her. We set your arm back. Are you… are you okay now?"

Arigatou Kami-sama¡Dios De las Gracias! Dieu merci! Dank-Gott! Deus Dos Agradecimentos! Thank God! Immanuel silently prayed. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Give me a minute to get my thoughts in order." He took a few moments to put the events in order. "I remember the game, hot dogs, and then driving home. But once we got home, something was off. There was someone out there… Who was it? I knew it would hurt you though so I left before it could strike. It started raining just before I could latch onto its scent properly. I lost it in the woods around the house. But it quickly found me. We fought… Who was it!" he growled suddenly. "If it was Sesshomaru I would have known. Grrr…"

(A/N: All of the above languages say the same thing: Thank God! He thought he and Karen had slept together, just fyi.)

"Calm down Immanuel," Karen said, pulling the covers away from them and starting to stand. "I'm going to go get Mama to see if everything healed as it should or is on its way to doing so. Don't. Move. Or I'll say it," Karen warned. She left and went downstairs to see her mother.

..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l..

"I don't know Mrs. Bassi. I… We came home last night, I knew something was out there, and I had to make sure no one got hurt who couldn't help it. I can heal faster than anyone else here so I wasn't worried about getting hurt. I'm sorry if I worried you with the whole 'no hospitals' thing, but it's a necessary precaution. I would enter the hospital for treatment, but never leave," Immanuel said quietly while Mrs. Bassi examined his 'broken' arm. "I know you remember our past life, but even there we didn't have much contact. I am not exactly normal, even in this day and time. How is my arm?"

"Practically healed all the way," she said, amazed and shocked, but not overwhelmed. "I want you to tell me what happened, because you're right: I do remember what happened in our past lives. However, my life was not yours." She sat their, looking expectantly at her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. When they said nothing, she crossed her arm and arched an eyebrow. "Come on now. None of us are leaving until someone tells me what's going on."

"Okay, okay," Immanuel agreed. "But we need Matt and Sara to help since they were there. And Seth as well." He sighed. May I go get them?" Mrs. Bassi nodded once. Immanuel slowly got to his feet and made his way to Seth, Matt, and Sara's rooms. They came back a little sleepy-eyed, but wide awake at the same time. Seth curled up in Karen's lap like he used to when he was Shippo. "I was born in the feudal era Japan more than half a century ago to the demon lord of the western lands and his human mate. There was much disappointment in this match since it was a demon and a human, and they produced a half-breed son. My older, full demon half-brother Sesshomaru couldn't stand me either since I was a hanyou, half-breed. My father died not long after I was born, defending his honor in battle.

"Sesshomaru sent my mother and me away because he could not stand the human blood that ran through our veins. Of course, she was completely human. We took up residence in a village, but I didn't stay long. Even though I was young, my mother died and I was chased out of the village. I learned that humans were not to be trusted. I learned to survive by personal experiences and one day I found a village that would allow me to stay: Kikyou's village. She was the resident Miko or Priestess, and against all the arguments from the elders and men in the village, she had final say. So I stayed, was cautious of everyone, and eventually fell in love with her."

Karen tensed a little at these words. She gave an almost inaudible huff. "Well, that's what you thought anyways. She didn't want you; she wanted you as human and she couldn't accept that. Oh, Mama, Kikyou is Kimberly, Kristen's older sister."

"Kristen and Kimberly are mixed up in this mess?"

"It doesn't matter because it's in the past. I thought I fell in love with her. But apparently I didn't because Naraku tricked us into hurting each other. I went after the Shikon no Tama, the jewel of the four souls. She sealed me to Goshinboku, the sacred tree, for fifty years. I didn't know she died that day until Kagome showed up and released me. A centipede demon was attacking her and the village so she pulled the arrow out. Kaede and all the villagers begged her not to. But she did. And I destroyed the demon, and then tried to kill her."

"You tried to kill me daughter! Is that a habit for you or something!" Mrs. Bassi nearly shrieked.

Immanuel winced. "Mama!" Karen chided. "One, he thought I was Kikyou, not that that excuses anything. Two, he was part demon! And didn't trust humans. I had the Shikon no Tama. He did what he felt. Kaede is Kristen by the way."

"Yes, but I didn't hurt her like I did this time," Immanuel mumbled. "Kaede charmed a rosary to my neck and Kagome yelled out the first word she could think of: sit. Then, it made me fall face first into the ground. Now, I simply drop to my knees. Shortly thereafter, Kagome broke the Shikon no Tama. A crow demon attacked and in order to get rid of the demon, she shot an arrow that hit the demon... and the jewel. It shattered into thousands of pieces. We traveled together to get the shards back to form the whole jewel once more."

"And picked up friends along the way!" Karen said, smiling at her two friends and adopted brother. "Shippou, that's little Seth here, was first. He was a kitsune youkai, or a young fox demon. The Thunder Brothers killed his father, so I took him as my own and he went with us everywhere! And then was Matt, only he was a Buddhist monk named Miroku at the time. He had a cursed, wandering hand. Naraku had hexed his grandfather with an air void in his palm that would only leave if he killed Naraku. If he didn't before a certain time, it would swallow him into it and then pass itself to the next in line: Miroku's father. Then it repeated itself. Luckily, or maybe not since Miroku died as well, we killed Naraku before the void could get Miroku."

"And then I joined the group," Sara said quietly. "My story is long and sad, and I do not wish to recount it. We went on a job; we were demon exterminators. Naraku killed everyone: my village, my grandfather... my brother. But he had my brother do it. I was saved by these guys. Naraku kept my brother alive by a shard in his back and then used him against us in all later battles. That's the short of it."

"I'm sorry Sara," Mrs. Bassi said, rubbing her hand across the back of one of Sara's.

"Sara was a demon exterminator, like she said, named Sango," Immanuel continued. "Her brother Kevin, was Kohaku. Her cat was even there. Krystal's name at the time was Kirara. She was a neko youkai, cat demon, with two tails, the powers of fire and flight and changing forms. She had a larger form that allowed two or three adult passengers while flying. Sam. My older brother Sesshoumaru. He found out I was 'alive' again and came after me several times. One, before we met any of these guys, was to get the Tetsuaiga: a sword our father left me. It had the power to kill a hundred men in one swing. But he couldn't get it because of the barrier around it."

"And neither could you," Karen said smugly. "I was the one to pull it out of the rock eventually."

"You had a sword!" Mrs. Bassi asked.

"No, I pulled it out of a rock."

"I had the sword. Sesshoumaru had one too. His was Tensuaiga, also from our father. However, it had the power to heal; most remarkably to give life back to one who had lost it. We parted, took separate routes. We met again and again to kill each other. Or he'd try to take my sword. One day, we noticed that he wasn't traveling alone anymore. Sometimes he'd have his servant Jaken, who is my brother's friend Jacob, and/or his two headed dragon demon AhUn. But that was normal; we'd expected them. No, the little human girl named Rin surprised us."

"Rachel!" Seth said excitedly. "Rachel was Rin. She was a human girl, which surprised all of us since Sesshoumaru hated all humans. But he protected her! And, at the last battle with Naraku, he fought tooth and nail! That's the only reason he helped any of us to fight. Naraku had taken Rin as bait to get to Sesshoumaru and although he never said as much, we all knew he hated it because it was a weakness. Even I could tell and I was still a pup to... everyone!"

"Yes well, it didn't help in the end," Immanuel said. "We had Kikyou's help in getting us information, even though the information was wrong. We had Sesshoumaru's help. He used the Tensuaiga a good three times before Naraku opened his eyes, saw what it was and did, and took it. Kouga, that would be Kris for you, and his pack even helped us. See, Kouga was a wolf demon, the prince of his pack. Because he had a thing for Kagome, he agreed to help."

"Leave that out of this," Karen said between gritted teeth. "There's no reason to bring that up after the fight you two had the other day in class."

"A fight implies there were two fighting parties involved," Matt said.

"Yeah," Sara added. "Kris just hit you. You never hit him back."

"Still, it's the truth and Mrs. Bassi asked for it so I'm telling it." Immanuel took a breath. "We all died. Kikyou went first when Naraku realized she'd tried to betray him. Kouga and his pack was next. Then... Kohaku and Sango, Miroku and Kirara. It was Sesshoumaru, Naraku, and I in the end. Kagome was the last to go of them, and that sent me into a demon rage that made me want to kill Naraku even more. I went straight at him, not caring about any of the demon attacks I suffered along the way. But in the end, he had us both in his grasp and I blacked out before it was over and done with. Sesshoumaru ripped his throat out, but Naraku suffocated him."

"And then the demons attacked us," Seth said.

"You were there!" Mrs. Bassi yelled.

"No! I was with Kaede. That's Kristen. She and I stayed together because I was too young to be there with the others while they fought. But when Naraku died, my guess is that his hold on the demon died as well and they all went nuts on whatever was closest. We weren't too far away by demon standards. They attacked, and that was it."

"Well," Mrs. Bassi said, one hand at her throat as she tried to swallow. "We died as well, your grandfather, brother, and I. Two men came into our home and shot us. There was no reason, no reason at all!"

"Yes there was," Immanuel said, "and it's been plaguing me ever since I came here. Why were we reincarnated in the first place? Were we meant to kill Naraku? In which case, how does one go about killing someone this day and time? And if we were meant to relive our lives, why get reincarnated again and again and again? Are we supposed to suffer, graduate, and then move on? Hoping to never see Nathan again?"

"I have a question," Matt said, eyes on nothing in particular. "Do you remember that two girls that followed Naraku around? Mirror Chick and Wind Bit-"

"Matthew!" Mrs. Bassi chided.

"Sorry, Mrs. Bassi," Matt said, with a blush. "Do any of you remember them?"

"Kana and Kagura, you mean?" Seth asked, looking at Matt with a weird look. "Why?"

"Yeah, that's them. Where are they?"

"I don't wanna know," Karen said. "Nathan's bad enough."

"You don't think... he's got..." Sara said slowly, thinking about it. "Maybe sisters?"

"No, Nathan's an only child," Karen said.

"No he's not," Mrs. Bassi said, getting to her feet. "Mrs. Kerr had three children: one boy and two girls."

..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l.. ..l..

A/N: Okay! there's another chapter! Gomen for leaving you all for so long! My grandmother is back to almost perfect health for those of you who were here before I went on hiatus! Arigatou! And may Kami-sama bless you all! darkpyroangel06