What's that? Is that! ...screams in delight... My wallpaper!!!

Guess whose back in business!?!

...dances around out of happiness until runs into a wall...

Dislaimer: DO I LOOK LIKE I LIVE IN JAPAN!?!?!

"talking"

'thinking'

(telepathy)

"It's been so long since I've been here . . ." Kagome said, a small smile on her face. She hugged Inuyasha tighter.

He looked back at her as he leapt down into the main courtyard. "Maybe you can come visit my time . . . for just a little bit, I mean."

"I . . ."

"You'd be safer there. At least for a little while."

She sighed, then slid off his back. "Alright. But just for a minute or two. I don't wanna take any chances." She fingered the jewel around her neck.

"Alright." Inuyasha waited for her to shift her backpack into a more comfortable position before escorting her over to the well, and jumping in.

On the other side, Inuyasha helped Kagome out of the well and took her hand as he led her towards the village. She ohhed and ahhed at the beautiful springtime scenery that she hadn't seen for so long.

Suddenly, a squeal broke thesilence and a redheaded blur shot forward, tackling Kagome in a hug. "Shippo!" Kagome smiled down at the kitsune. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Kagome!" He pulled away from her, smiling widely.

"You've grown up so much! I can barely tell that's you!" Kagome looked him over. He had indeed grown up. He now went up to her waist and his hair, which was still in its usual ponytail, went down to his shoulders.

He laughed. "I thought I'd never see you again! Why did you come back?" He looked somewhat accusingly at Inuyasha.

"I'm only gonna be here for awhile. It's still not safe for the jewel over here, but I thought it would be best to wait until some issues in my time are cleared up." Kagome didn't want to make Shippo worry by telling him the real truth of the matter.

"Come on! I'm sure the others want to see you too!" With that, he grabbed her hand and took off towards the village, laughing all the way.

Hiei walked out from his hiding spot behind a tree, surveying the courtyard of the shrine he now stood in. The girl he had hoped to find there was nowhere in sight. "Hn."

"Kasakia was right. You do have horrible timing." Hikari suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Hiei glared at her.

"The girl went in there a few minutes ago." She jerked her thumb at a small mini shrine. "There's no point in checking though. Her thoughts disappeared soon after."

The fire apparition ignored her, opening the doors and stepping into the darkness.

"I'm telling you, she's not there," the demoness said in an annoying singsong voice.

Hiei still ignored her, walking down the steps, his eyes resting on a well in the middle of it. Hikari leaned on the edge of the doorway, giving him a very agitated look. "Honestly. Why don't you just listen to me for once? I'm the mind reader after all."

"Hn." He peered down into the well, seeing only darkness.

"Now what the hell would she be doing down there?" Hikari rolled her eyes. "Miko's don't randomly jump into wells for the fun of it."

The fire apparition jumped into the well, looking around. The demoness leaned over the edge. "Listen to me, Hiei. She's. Not. There. End of story." She jumped down into the well to prove her point.

"Oh what do you know?" said Hikari as she stood up, dusting off her dress, and looking around in mock wonder. "The only things down here are some stupid old bones and a lot of dirt. Come on. Let's go meet up with Kasakia to see how she's doing."

She was about to climb out again when a blue light suddenly engulfed both of them. It latched onto their feet and kept them from moving.

"What the hell?!" Hikari started struggling but only managed to sink deeper.

Hiei was also trying to get away from it, but had only successfully gotten dragged down to his neck.

Suddenly, both demons had totally disappeared from the shrine.

"Kagome!" Sango poked her head out of a rather large hut. "Is that really you?!"

"Sango!" Kagome smiled at her friend, running towards her. "I missed you!"

Sango smiled brightly but her expression suddenly changed into a surprised look, then into a growl as she glared behind her. "Miroku!"

She disappeared back into the hut and a few seconds later, said monk came flying out. Sango reappeared, fuming, but she got her smile back as Kagome reached her.

"Kagome!" She hugged her tightly. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Kagome broke the hug and held Sango at arm's length. "Me either. I'm glad I decided to pay you guys a visit."

"Lady Kagome!" Miroku stood back up and spread his arms wide. "I've missed you too!"

The miko laughed nervously as she slowly edged away from the monk. "Nice to see you too, Miroku."

His countenance dropped. "Are you not pleased to see me, Lady Kagome?"

She couldn't help but feel bad for doubting him, and immediately flung her arms wide open. "I missed you too, Miroku!" They hugged.

Seconds later, she stiffened, then started to growl.

Hiei jumped out of the well and looked around at his new surroundings. Suddenly, a shout was heard.

"HENTAI!!!"

A smack followed.

Hikari struggled to poke her head over the edge of the well, trying to climb out. "A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!"

Hiei simply ignored her, surveying the area.

The demoness also looked around, only half out of the well. "Is this demon world? There are so many youkai around here . . ."

"Who cares?" Hiei said simply, starting down a trail into the forest.

"I guess you're right . . . the jewel's all that matters . . ." She looked up only to see Hiei's retreating back. "Hey! Get back here you ungrateful baka!" She somehow got over the edge, and hopped after him, her leg still inside the well.

Hikari caught up with him, growling. "You jerk."

"Hn."

She glared at him, then stuck up her nose in the opposite direction. They continued like this in silence for a while until Hiei suddenly stopped. The demoness also stopped, looking curiously at him, then turned an annoyed eye onto the surrounding trees. "Come out, whoever you are. We're not that stupid."

Suddenly, three ninja stars shot out of the forest and landed in front of Hikari's feet. She raised an eyebrow at them, then back up at the trees. "Should I be worried, or is this a token of our newfound friendship?"

A red and gold blur shot forward and landed on an overhanging tree branch. "You think you're rather clever? You won't think so when you're dead."

Hikari gave her an annoyed look as Hiei just blinked. "And what the hell have we done to you, ningen?"

She pointed an accusing finger at them. "You're after the Shikon no Tama! That jewel will fall into my hands! Not yours!"

Hikari's countenance dropped into an even more annoyed look. "And what the heck would a mere mortal like you do with it?! You can't even tap into its power!"

"I have my reasons." The girl quickly reached into her shirt and flung another star at the demoness, who sidestepped it.

"Honestly. Most of the time a ningen like you would be running if they knew what they were up against like you do."

"I'm not your average girl," she said, leaping down onto the ground, revealing her rather small stature.

Hiei quickly sized her up. "You're quite the midget now aren't you?" he said in his usual bored tone.

The warrior air around the girl immediately snapped. "Who're you calling a midget!?! You're not that much taller, Shorty!!!"

"Midget."

"Stop that!!!"

"Midget."

Losing her temper, she immediately flung another three stars at Hiei. He blinked, caught them, then threw them over his shoulder like yesterday's garbage.

"You're a fast one . . ." The girl reached into her shirt yet again, this time pulling out a different set of stars. "But let's see how you fair against this . . ."

Hikari's eyes flashed and narrowed. "Hiei."

Noticing her serious tone, Hiei briefly glanced her way. (What is it?)

Before she had a chance to answer, the girl had flung the stars at the fire apparition. "PERISH!!!"

"MOVE!!!" Hikari yelled as Hiei prepared to catch them. Immediately, he moved out of the way, letting the stars instead hit a tree, their white tips glinting in the sun.

"What the hell was that all about, Hikari?!" Hiei glared at her.

"You're smarter than you look, demon." She pulled out another handful of the white-tipped stars. "Each of these stars contains within it the most powerful ofuda known to man. One touch to a demon, and they'll turn into a small pile of ashes." The girl smirked. looking trimphant. Was this girl really as stupid as she looked?

Hiei raised an eyebrow. "Ofuda? What the hell is a little midget like you doin' making your own ofudas?"

Hikari laughed as the girl fumed.

A vein popped on her head as she growled at the fire youkai. "How dare you insult me?! Don't you know you I am?! All youkai fear me!"

Hikari blinked, raised an eyebrow at Hiei, then shrugged.

If such a thing was possible, steam would've been coming out of the girl's ears. "I am Yugure!!! The youkai slaying ninja!!!"

"Ninja?" Hiei gave her a look as if she were the stupidest person on the planet. "Since when do demons fear midgets with little toys that, judging by their clothes, are begging to be raped?"

Hikari burst out laughing.

The girl snapped. "DIE YOU BASTARD!!!" She flung the stars at the two youkai, pulling out more and more. They simply dodged.

(This girl is a pest.)

(For once, I completely agree with you, Hiei. How are we gonna get rid of her?)

(You're the one that reads minds.)

(Fine. Distract her for me.) Hikari quickly vanished from sight, reappearing a few seconds later on the same tree limb that Yugure had been on earlier. She watched as the girl attacked Hiei furiously, now with a quarterstaff that had been on her back.

'Such an idiot.' She reached into her dress, pulling out a small black cube. 'I'll be sure to kill her later after we have the jewel.'

"Just die already!!!" Yugure brought her quarterstaff down, only to have it hit air. "Damn it! Where'd he go?!"

Hikari saw her chance. "Up here, bitch." With that, she dropped the cube, which immediately started emiting a thick black smoke. Hiei reappeared beside her on the branch, still giving the girl below the same disgusted look.

A few seconds later, the ninja girl fell out of the cloud, coughing. She tried to crawl away to get more air, but instead passed out.

"Handy little toy," Hiei said, leaping off the branch.

Hikari also leapt off, smirking. "It's one of my more useful creations."

"Meaning that all the stuff you make is shit."

"Ye-Hey!" The demoness immediately went back to glaring at her arch enemy. "At least I do something worthwhile in my time instead of just flitting around, stealing useless shit!"

"Hn." Hiei quickly turned his attention back to the ninja, drawing his katana and raising it over his head.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YA THINK YOU'RE DOIN'!?!" Hikari yelled.

He turned his glare back to the demoness. "If you can't stand the blood, just close your eyes."

"That's not what I'm talking about, baka! If we kill the girl this close to the hanyou, he'll surely smell it!"

"Hn." Glaring down at his escaped prey, Hiei sheathed his sword.

"I should've known better than to let Kasakia talk me into letting you come with me." She put a hand on her forehead and shook it sadly. "You're so insufferable."

"Shut up, wench. This is no time for your whining."

Ignoring Hiei's comment, the demoness turned to face the path they had been traveling down. "She's close . . . just a little ways off . . ."

"Then what are you waiting for?" The half fire youkai started back down the trail.

"Oh no you don't!" Hikari ran in front of him, blocking his progress with her arms. "They've already seen you! That's no way to get the jewel from them!"

"Hn. Then what do you suggest?"

"You keep an eye on warrior chick here while I go in alone." She immediately reached into her dress again, this time pulling out a small vile filled with a pale blue liquid.

Hiei's eyes narrowed as he looked at the stuff with great disgust. "You actually made something to make you look human? You have way too much free time on your hands."

"You're correct about this stuff's properties. It'll make me appear and smell as a normal human until such time that I decide to revert."

"And here I thought I couldn't hate you anymore."

She glared at him as she popped the cork out of the top, bringing it to her nose to take a few sniffs. "Great, it's still good." With that, she tilted her head back, drinking the liquid in two satisfying gulps.

Putting the cork back into the vile, she sighed, a light purple mist twisting down her body. It was in this instant that she began to change. Her ears smoothed down into a perfectly roundedge. Her pupils dialated into that of a human's. Her incredibly claw like fingernails shortened.

Hiei watched all this take place with a repulsed look on his face, keeping a nice distance away from the now disapating mist.

"Mmmm . . . grape! My favorite!" She licked her lips, looking down at herself to study her changed attributes. Suddenly, her still steely gray eyes flashed and narrowed as she looked up at Hiei. "Shut up you stupid son of a bitch."

Kasakia looked over at the group of spirit detectives from her spot against the wall. They were all looking down at a tiny compass, trying to decipher it.

"This isn't any good. There's too much interferance." Botan closed the thing. "We need to go find a better spot."

"Yet again, our plans are foiled by the girl's spiritual powers." Kurama walked over to the wall next to the demoness, leaning against it with her.

"We just need to find a better spot, that's all." The grim reaper tried to keep the impatience out of her voice, failing badly.

"We've been looking for her all day! There is no 'better spot'!" Yusuke interjected, an extremely annoyed look plastered on his face. "I'm fed up with looking for this damn girl!"

"I'm with Urameshi on this one," Kuwabara said, giving Botan his best 'take this rationally' look.

"Koenma said to look for the girl! We can't just quit cause we haven't found her after a few hours!"

"This is stupid." Yusuke turned around, heading off down the street. "I'm gonna go to the arcade. Yell for me if you find her." With that, he disappeared from sight.

"Yusuke!!!" Botan yelled after the spot where his retreating back had last been.

"Well, who cares about Urameshi? We can find that miko on our own!" Kuwabara started to look like a general preparing his troops for battle.

"We need to find Yusuke!" Botan gave him a very annoyed look. "He's the one we hired as spirit detective!"

Kasakia ignored the others' bickering as she watched Yusuke go with her lengthened vision. 'This may work to our advantage . . . They don't have as much of a chance of finding her without him . . .' "Honestly, who needs that slacker? What possible use could he have right now? All we're doing is looking for some damn girl." She stopped leaning on the wall and started to walk in the opposite direction the spirit detective had gone.

"Kasakia!!!" Botan growled at everyone abandoning her, then followed after the demoness.

Kurama shrugged lightly, then followed suit, Kuwabara at his heels.

'Perfect . . .' Kasakia hid a small smirk as she looked back at the three following. 'All I have to do is distract them a little longer, then Hiei and Hikari will get me out of this mess, and we can finally enjoy that jewel in peace.' She looked back in front of her, a look of pure determination in her blue orbs.

So tell me, did ya'll miss me? I can tell you, I've missed getting a butt load of reviews everyday.

I'm updating this story first because I don't want to have to retype this stupid chapter AGAIN. And yes, for my lack of updates for the past . . . ...thinks about it... . . . however long it's been, I'm giving you two chapters instead of one! Isn't it wonderful?!

And of course, I'm actually updating this in school. Yes, in school. It turns out that I don't havea first hour this semester, and I'm gonna spend the time either doing my FST homework or writing. Preferrably writing.

So, after I give you this chappy and the next one, I'll get to work on Running From the Past. I already have half of the next chappy typed, and am getting into the swing of it, meaning you can expect that updated soon. I'm also pretty far in my next Hard to Get chapter, but I left the floppy at home. So expect that . . . uh . . . later . . .. I don't know if I'm going to update The Mystery of the Past and Love anytime soon. I've read and reread that thing so many times that I'm absolutely sick of the way it's written. Meaning that over the next . . . while . . .it's going to be editted . . . and editted . . . and editted . . .

So I hope you like this chappy and the next, and I beg you to please review both! I get VERY happy when I get a lot of reviews, and I want to know if with my constant rewriting of the thing has left anything out.

DID YOU HEAR THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE SKIMMING OVER THIS!?!?!

Yes, I know people skim over this shit, but still, I beg you to review both chappys so I can tell if I left anything important out. Now you can return to your skimming.

I thank you all for your support through these literal months of me not having a computer. ARIGATOU!!! If I could, I'd give every single one of you an Inuyasha plushie! Maybe even a Sesshomaru plushie! Of course, I get dibs on the first twenty. And the same goes for those ever wonderful Youko plushies too . . .

Alright, I'm not getting anything accomplished here. Ja, minna-chan!