- Chapter 1 -
The Separation

A warrior with a sword to fell one hundred
An archer with the strength of two souls
A tragic pair united by the same dark soul
- The Prophecy of Ages

"Ahh... I just can't get enough of this stuff!" said Inuyasha as he sat on the ground, happily guzzling down his ramen. "Really, this

ramen-stuff is amazing!"

Miroku sighed.

"Could you stop, PLEASE?" he asked. "That's the 5th time you've said that since you started eating..."

Inuyasha stuck out his tongue and went back to eating, causing Miroku to sigh again.

"Thanks for the food, Kagome!" said Shippo, setting down his insta-ramen. "Can I have my rorri-pop thing now?"

"Lollypop, Shippo-kun," Kagome giggled, digging in her backpack and giving it to him. "Lollypop. Gosh, it's so pretty out, don't you

agree?"

"Yeah, whatever," said Inuyasha, noisily slurping down the rest of his ramen. "Personally, I -"

Suddenly, a crash broke the soft afternoon, and the quiet picnic was interuptted by a strangely familar aura; Naraku's.

"Naraku? How can this be?" gasped Sango. "I thought he was killed!"

"My wind tunnel isn't reacting," said Miroku, inspecting his right hand with fear and disbelief. "It can't be him,"

"You're lucky, monk," said a familiar voice. "Had I been alive, you would be dead by now,"

The form of the wicked hanyou entered the clearing, and the air seemed to grow dead and poisonous.

"Unfortunately for you, I'll have to kill you all with my own hands, since even this power has it's limits,"

He smiled wryly and gathered a strange ball of purple fire at his hand.

"Amazing, isn't it," he said, teasing the dark energy with his fingertips. "Even the dead can harm the living, given the right consequences,"

"Shut up!" said Inuyasha, and began to draw the Tetsusaiga, when suddenly, he heard something most peculiar.

"I don't think so!"

The small, playful voice of a young child filled the air, and everyone looked around in curiosity. The voice was coming from a short, pink

figure standing in the middle of the clearing, who had obviously not been there before.

"Wh-who the hell are you?" Inuyasha demanded. The child just giggled and crossed her legs, floating in the air.

"You're silly!" she said, leaning back and floating upside-down, so her pigtails brushed the ground. "You look like a little doggy, 'cept you

got some human parts too, huh?"

The clearing was silent as Inuyasha blushed furiously. The pink figure returned to floating upright, and began to move towards Naraku,

who gathered more energy at his fingers. The child laughed, then put on a stern face.

"You're being mean," she said. "I want you to go away, 'kay?"

Naraku sneered.

"Foolish child... Why should I listen to you?"

"'cause," the girl replied. "You better listen to me, or I'm gonna be mad..."

Suddenly, an orb of pink light appeared at her fingertips and separated from her fingers, and she began playing with it like a ball.

"I'm gonna count to 3, 'kay? If you don't play nice or go away when I finish, I'm gonna hafta do it for ya," she warned, balancing it on her

finger. "One...Two...Thr-"

"ENOUGH!" called Naraku, and sent his dormant energy straight through the child in a fiery blast of darkness. Kagome shrieked in fear

as the figure disappeared, and Naraku smirked in short-lived satisfaction. But only a few seconds later, the child returned, and had a

furious look on her face.

"So, you don't wanna play nice, huh?" she said, tossing and catching the orb of light in her hand. "I guess you wanna go bye-bye, huh?"

With a smirk on her face, she tossed the orb, which covered Naraku and sent a flash through the clearing, blinding everyone. When the

light had faded, Naraku was nowhere to be seen, as were Kagome, Miroku and Sango.

The Well lay in shambles, and Inuyasha was right in the middle of it. The girl floated behind him as he looked in disbelief at the wreckage

around him.

"Bye-bye, doggy!" she said playfully as her form began to dim. "I'm gonna see you real soon, 'kay?"

"Wait a minute!" Inuyasha called. "Where are they? What happened?"

The child looked at him curiously.

"They're still here, but not here, or there," she said, and giggled. "The girl's not in her own time, and neither are the others. But in the past,

they are not,"

She giggled again.

"You'll see 'em again, doggy-boy, but not for a long, long time, 'kay?"

"How long? Wait!" called Inuyasha. "How do you know this? Tell me!"

But it was too late. The girl faded away with a smile and mysterious giggle, and Inuyasha pounded his fist on what was left of the Well,

and he could feel a tear run down his cheek.

"Inuyasha..." said Shippo. "Are you crying?"

"Shut up!" said Inuyasha, bowing his head over the Well.

"It's okay, Inuyasha," said Shippo. "The girl didn't tell us when they would be coming back, right? I mean, they could come back as soon

as tomorrow, right?"

Inuyasha raised his head and looked at Shippo.

"You really think so?"

Shippo nodded, half hopeful, half afraid he might get whacked on the head.

"Well, at least they'll be coming back, hm?" said Inuyasha. "I don't care if it's a day, or a million years, but I'll be happy when they return,

so we can go get some more jewel shards. C'mon, Shippo, let's go,"

'Why do I get the feeling he's missing them for other reasons?' thought Shippo, and obediently followed the hanyou out of the clearing,

leaving their ruined picnic behind them.

Far off in the trees, a small pink figure looked on, and giggled at what was to happen.

- Next -
The Encounter