Disclaimer: Again... I don't own InuYasha.

Chapter 3:

One of the men shot an arrow as he suspiciously added, "That's a fairly odd kimono you're wearing." Hojo almost fainted as the arrow missed by an inch and landed on the tree behind him. It landed a mere centemeter from the sealed angel's white hair. "You shouldn't be here, it is dangerous..." another said before Hojo interrupted, "Yeah, I figured out that much."

A second arrow followed and Hojo dropped down to escape it. The men hurried towards him and tied him down. "Hey, you didn't have to do that!" Hojo shouted as he struggled against his captors. The tallest of the men carried him over his shoulder. "We must take him to Priestess Kaede," he told the rest as he began jogging. They arrived soon. "Priestess Kaede! We found this boy in InuYasha's Forest. What should we do with him?" the man carrying him asked as he dropped him rather harshly to the hard ground. "Ou..." he groaned.

Villagers gathered around as the priestess neared. "Who are you? Why were you in the forest of InuYasha?" He stared. An elderly priestess stood before him. She held an arrow in her hand and he noticed she had a patch over her left eye. She looked into his eyes and her eye widened, "Eh... You look just like him."

"Him?" Hojo asked, confused. "My elder sister Botan's best friend, Miroku," she said. "What?" he found himself asking. "Miroku was a Buddhist monk and Botan was a priestess, yet they were the closest of friends," she began, "but that was about fifty years ago. My sister died when I was but a child, and he died short after."

Hojo tried standing up, but it was useless. "Come with me," said the priestess, "I'll give ye something to eat." She started walking away. "What's wrong, not hungry?" she asked. Hojo's eyes narrowed, "You think maybe you could untie me?"

As they entered Priestess Kaede's hut, Hojo kept thinking how he would get back home. "I guess I'm not in Tokyo anymore..." he said to himself. Priestess Kaede questioned, "I've never heard the name. Is that the land of your birth?" Hojo sighed. "Yeah, and I was just thinking that I should get going home soon..." he said, 'but I have no idea where home is, or how to get there.' he included in his mind. Loud screams alerted them both and soon they were outside again, wondering what the chaos was about. Villagers shouted, "Run! A demon!"

Hojo's eyes bulged as he realized, 'It's the same thing that pulled me into the well!' The demon was crawling towards him, demanding, "GIVE ME THE JEWEL OF FOUR SOULS"

"The jewel..." Kaede began, "...you have the jewel?" Hojo shook his head, "Nope... not me. He's got the wrong person, I tell ya." He wasn't sure though. 'It thinks I have the jewel, it only wants me! But unless I leat it away, everyone's going to...' His thoughts were interupted by the priestess as she suggested they lure the demon to the old well. "The well?" he asked, uncertain it was the same one he crawled out of. "Yes, the one in InuYasha's forest," the priestess explained. "Where's the forest?" he found himself asking. "East toward..." she began, but he finished, "...toward that light? Okay..." he said as he began running.

'Did he just say he saw the evil aura of the forest. That which no earthly being can see?' the old priestess questioned herself as Hojo disappeared into the forest.

Hojo was running out of breath, his legs felt heavy. 'How much further?' his mind shouted. "What are you doing down there? Mister Centipede is but a weakling!" he heard. "You!" he said as he stopped dead in his tracks. The 'thing' wasn't following him anymore, or at least he couldn't see it. Amber eyes met his. 'It...she talked,' he thought. "Destroy him with a single ofuda Miroku, after all, that's what you did to me." Hojo's eyes narrowed. "Miroku? Whoa whoa whoa.... my name's..." he began, she interrupted, "He's coming!"

Tentacles pierced his side and his eyes widened in pain. The girl mocked, "What's wrong, Miroku? Can't take care of the demon?" The demon behind him pulled its tentacle out of his side and marvelled at a shiny lilac marble. 'That's the sacred jewel?' he asked himself as he fell to his knees in pain. "I don't know who this... Miroku is... except he is not me!" he said as he clutched his side. "Yeah right! Then..." she looked closer, "...you're not Miroku..." Hojo nodded, "Get it now? My name's Hojo! Ho..Jo..." InuYasha turned slightly to the side, "I'm a fool after all, Miroku looked intelligent.... and was quite handsome too." Hojo's eyes bulged, "You..." he began, but was interrupted, "Unseal me, boy... you know you can't fight as hurt as you are! Let me tear him up!"

Hojo looked straight into her piercing golden eyes and discovered she wasn't pinned to the tree. It was as if she were frozen in place. 'That paper must be what keeps her paralized,' he thought. "You talk all tough, little girl, but can you do much?" Hojo asked her. The demon behind him began laughing as he hissed, "You can't move, can you? Half-demon!"

The demon took the jewel in its hand and gobbled it. InuYasha's eyes widened, "No! It's MINE!" Hojo struggled. He didn't know what to do.

Kaede stood watching with a crowd of villagers as the demon swallowed the jewel. In a flash, the demon began mutating. As Hojo stood from his place in the ground, holding his side, the demon crushed him against the tree, very close to InuYasha. "Hey," the girl began, "What?" he responded. "This seal, can you peal it off?" she asked.

Kaede's voice was heard, "No... you must not release her!" Hojo was torn between what choice to make. Should he release the half-demon and see what she could do to save them all, or should he listen to the old priestess and die a horrible death. 'No, I'm not dying, not today. I'm not dying here!' He made his choice. He touched the ofuda on her forehead and it disintegrated, "Like I said, you talk big! Let's see what you can do!"

InuYasha didn't waste time. With one stroke, she destroyed the demon. 'I guess she wasn't bluffing.' Hojo concluded. Old Priestess Kaede walked over towards Hojo and asked him if he could see a bright light within the dead demon. Hojo nodded. Soon, Hojo had the jewel in his hands. Priestess Kaede explained how demons that came in contact with such jewel gained outstanding powers and how the demon would keep reviving if it kept the jewel within it. Hojo stared intently into the lilac marble in his hand. "There's no reason for you to keep it," a voice said from behind him. "What?" he asked, turning around to face a challenging InuYasha. "Be a good little boy and hand it over...." she started, "...unless you want to feel the caress of my claws." Hojo thought to say, 'Is that a promise?' but his mind told him this was serious. "I'll make it simple, either you hand it over, or you die." Yes. This was serious. Kaede warned him, "Hojo, don't listen to her. You must not let her have it."

A/N: Yes, I noticed it was almost, if not entirely, the exact story. It was intentional, just so you can see the differences. These are few:

1. InuYasha was sealed by an ofuda, not an arrow.
2. Hojo is Miroku's reincarnation.
3. Botan is Kaede's older sister, you'll figure why I didn't use Kikyo later. (Botan and Momiji were the priestesses the Inu-gang encountered while searching for Tsubaki in episode 63. Botan is the one with long black hair.)
4. Sorry all of you who love Miroku as a pervert, he isn't (wasn't) a hentai in this story. Just think of him as a male version of Kikyo, and vise-versa hint.
5. Thank you for reading, and sorry for changing InuYasha so much. I love him the way he is, but my story wouldn't have worked otherwise. Please R&R.