Chapter 12

Somebody read his mind. Somebody called out,

"STOP!"

Inuyasha heard the voice, but in his mind he thought,

'I can't stop! I must do this. I must destroy Kagome and Kaori. They would never want this and Kagome would be heartbroken if she knew her pups were dead.',

But the voice called out again, more insistently this time,

"STOP INUYASHA! YOU MUST NOT DO THIS!"

Inuyasha stopped.

'Who was saying that? Where was the voice coming from?'

He looked around. To his amazement, not a thing moved. No human, demon, plant or animal. The birds were quiet. The wind still.

"Who called to me?", he yelled out.

"I did, Inuyasha. It is me, Ai. Sesshoumaru's wife. Rin and Kohaku's daughter."

"Where are you, Ai?"

"I am everywhere. And nowhere. That is none of your concern, right now."

"What the hell are you babbling on about?"

"Inuyasha, you must repair time. A rip has occurred in the fabric of time. This should not have happened."

"The battle?"

"No. the battle is as it should be. But the deaths of Yasha, Hiroshi, Kazuo, Taikan. The death of my mate. Tetsu's death. These were not to be."

"So what can I do to change it back? What has happened, has happened.", he said sadly.

"Witches can time travel if the problem directly effects them. This does not directly affect me. Kagome is under their spell and thus she cannot go back. You, Inuyasha. You must go back and set things right."

"How do I do that?"

"Kagome and Kaori must fall under the spell of the dragons ... but not a real spell. They must be in strategic positions. Kaori to retain the jewel, oracle and mirror and Kagome to infiltrate. You, too, must do what you did. You were able to combat them. Kaori and Kagome were too weak to fight off the necklaces."

"So what do I do?"

As he finished his statement, two pairs of earrings appeared on the rock before him. A pair of emerald earrings and a pair of ruby earrings.

"Take these. These must be worn by Kagome and Kaori. Kagome must wear the emerald earrings and Kaori must wear the ruby earrings. They are filled with magic. Advise Tetsu to inform them of what they must do. Kagome must gather information about the dragons and Kaori must obtain the oracle and mirror. But, there is something else you must do."

"And that is...?"

"The Dragons of the south must be brought into this conflict. They used to be kindred spirits and work together. But now they are enemies. The southern dragons know of the weaknesses of the northern dragons. Speak to Arie of the demon dragon clan of the south. She is their leader. She can assist you."

"Is that all I need to do? Sounds easy enough."

"There is one more thing...?", Ai started.

"Dammit all, I knew there was a catch."

"I cannot send you back as Inuyasha."

"Pardon?"

"I must send you back in disguise. If I send you back as yourself, you will not be allowed to interact with anyone who knows you. What would happen if you met up with your other self? The time rip would be disastrous. No. You must return in disguise so that you can interact with others without the consequences of a another time rip."

"OoooK. Now, how will I know when I'm done and if it worked?"

"You won't. Only I will know. If it works, the you I am sending back in time will just cease to exist and only the other Inuyasha will exist."

"My head hurts.", Inuyasha said, holding his head in his hands.

"Are you ready to do this Inuyasha?"

"Yea, I guess. What will I be disguised as?", he started and then the world changed around him. The village marketplace appeared and he was surrounded by people, jostling to look at merchandise. He took in his surroundings. A cart. Merchandise. A horse. The marketplace. Realization hit.

"I'm a merchant?", he said out loud to nobody, "Oh boy!"