A/N: And welcome to Chapter Two! Things are still a little slow this chapter, but the suspense/tradgey stuff will start building up afterwards for sure. I let a friend -who's an avid fan of Inuyasha- take a look at my rough draft for the following chapter and, in response, she actually took a book that was laying nearby and smacked me in the head with it! (Luckily, it was a paperback.) xX; This chapter's pretty safe though. Well, anyway, enough yapping from me, let's get on with the story! By the way, the disclaimer will not be posted in every new chapter, since there's really no point in doing so.

--Now--

Even after three years, with a now (mostly) happy and promising life, running away from things was still an issue. Or maybe more of a necessity. On this particular afternoon, running away was the only option, other than a horrible, messy death of being smashed to bits. Obviously, the former of the two was more favorable.

While she regretted it at first, she was now glad of her decison to rip off the bottom half of her purple summer yukata, since she would have tripped over the hem at one point or another. And falling down would be a very bad thing, as far as the rampaging demon behind her was concerned. A shorter hem provided easier, and not to mention faster, movement. (She wore shorts underneath, as well.) Still, there was the chance of her tripping over her own feet, and cutting those off...well, the yukata-solution didn't apply to feet.

This wasn't the first time she had to deal with a 'Run or Die' situation. As well as being clusmy, it was also apparent that she was a natural at getting herself into trouble. In fact, the main reason she was even able to survive these last few years was because her old friend was always there to save her neck.

But today, it was only her and the hulking red demon, a seven foot tall one with crazed eyes, of the 'Orge' variety. He was stomping after her with a crude but undeniably sharp ax, and he kept roaring, "The shards! They're mine! Give me the shaaards!" Whatever that meant. She assumed the orge had brain damage, since she didn't do anything to him and had nothing with her that a demon would want. She would have tried talking to him, but she was too busy gasping for breath and running away from him to do so.

He didn't seem like a "Let's-talk-things-over" kind of guy anyway.

They were in a canyon-like crevice, with tall stone cliffs on both sides. A thin stream, about a foot deep, ran all the way down the middle. Trees were sparse and small, no good for climbing up in to escape. (Like climbing up a tree would help.) The cliffs walled her in, and there weren't any openings. Farther down, the right-side cliff sloped down into more of a hill, but shuffling up it would just slow her down. The big, cloudless, blue sky hung vastly above her, and she glanced up at it longingly. If only she had wings...

The glance cost her; she lost her footing and suddenly the earth was rushing up at her. So much for trimming her yukata. She fell, hard and ungainly. Then, just seconds later, the ground and the sky switched places, and began to shake violently up and down. In reality, it was her who was being violently shook up and down; the orge had her by the leg, and held her upside down, waving her around like ragdoll. "Drop them," he growled, "Drop the shards!" She wanted to reply "I would, if I knew what in all the Seven Hells you're talking about!", but with all the shaking and yelling and head-spinning, all she felt she could really do at the moment was lose the contents of her stomach. (But she didn't.)

When he jerked her upwards again, she shot her free leg out with as much force as she could muster, and her foot connected to the side of his face. It hurt her more than it did him, considering the rock that was his head, but it was enough to make him wince and toss her aside. Luckily, she managed to land in the stream. Even more luckily, she got out of the way just in time; as the orge was rubbing his face, a undentified flying piece-of-wood whirled by and slammed into his chest. It knocked the wind right out of him and he toppled over, sending a tremor through the ground as he hit. The piece of wood was zooming backwards now, into the hands of a young woman.

"Sango," someone cried, "That one was mine, dammit!"

"Oh, be quiet, will you?" the woman retorted, "He's already out. Wouldn't have been much of battle."

"Feh. Whatever. Kagome, where's he got the shards at?"

"He doesn't have them." It was girl, dressed in really strange clothes. "I think...that girl over there," she pointed, "She has them."

One of them detached himself from the group and strode right up to her, looking irritated. He had long, white hair, dog ears, a red haroi on and bare feet. "All right, hand 'em over, wench," he demanded. She blinked.

Then she doubled over with laughter.

"Hey! What's so funny?" he wanted to know. She shook her head, let out the last of her laughs, took a deep breath, then straigthened herself back up.

"Sorry. Nothing's funny. It was just so surprising to see you, Inuyasha, I couldn't help laughing. Hysteria, I think. It certainly took you long enough." A renegade giggle managed to escape her.

"W-wha...?" He didn't know this girl. Did he? She knew his name.What the heck was she talking about? "Uh, have we met?"

"We? No. I've met you, but you haven't met me."

Oh yeah, like that even makes sense. He snorted and decided that she must be crazy. From Inuyasha's perspective, most girls were. He could never quite understand Kagome or Sango most times, with their moods swings and fragile feelings and that secret lanuage all women seemed to speak with one another to elude and confuse men. Who knew what type of strange, female-insanity this girl suffered?

"Look," he said, "I don't know who you are-"

"Reyu."

"-or why you think you know me-"

"I do know you."

"-but I don't have any time for riddles-"

"Riddles? I haven't said any riddles. Did you want to hear a riddle?"

"Would you just shut up and gimme the shards!" he snapped. Reyu gaped, then gestured to the fallen orge.

"That's what he kept saying. Seriously, I have no clue what you're talking about, Inuyasha. I don't have any shards. I mean, what are these shards, anyway? Is it some sort of demon code word or--"

"HAND OVER THE DAMN SHARDS!"

Reyu flinched and took a step back. For a humanoid half-demon with cute little doggie ears, Inuyasha could still be kind of frightening. Reyu thought, at that moment anyway, that he was a lot nicer when he was pinned to the tree, where he couldn't yell at anybody, due to being in an enchanted sleep and all. "If you don't hand them over right now," he threatend, "I'll rip them off your ears myself, and don't think I won't cause--"

"Inuyasha, SIT!"

And down went Inuyasha, overpowered by the single word. The girl with the strange clothes, Kagome, stood behind him, glaring. She kicked him once in the side as she walked over to Reyu.

"I'm really sorry about that," she apologized sincerely, "He's normally not so much of a jerk. He's just been in a grumpy mood all day. But he is sorry for his rude behavior. Right, Inuyasha?"

He lifted his head off the ground, about to tell her off, but one fierce look from her was all it took for him to mumble, "Right..." He sat up, annoyed but defeated, and crossed his arms. Crazy girls.

Kagome turned back into a sweet, innocent girl and apologized once again on Inuyasha's behalf.

"No, really, it's okay," Reyu assured her, a little absently. There was something about Kagome that seemed really familiar. It felt like total de ja vu, which was a feeling Reyu had on a daily basis, so it meant that she must have seen Kagome before, in a vision. Or maybe she would see her in a vision soon to come. Reyu shrugged it off; she had learned to stop worrying about these kind of things by now. She tuned back into the conversation.

"We really need all of them, but we might have some money or something to give to you in return. I mean, I feel bad for trying to make you give them up, but those shards are important."

Reyu winced. Again with the shards! "Excuse me, but what are you all talking? What shards?"

Kagome looked surprised. "The Shikon Jewel Shards," she said, taking in Reyu's blank face, "You didn't know? Your earings; you have a shard dangling from each ear."

Reyu's eyes grew big and she clasped her earings. "No way! These are Shikon Jewel Shards? I found them on the ground earlier and thought they were just some pretty rocks, so I fastend some wire to them to make some jewelery out it! Oh my. I used Shikon Jewel Shards for petty jewelery?" She seemed to be in disbelief; not of the shards, but of her own cluelessness. Hastily, she pulled them out and handed them over to Kagome.

"That's why the demon was after me, huh? They must be demon magnets! Which, in that case, you can have them."

Kagome nodded and smiled, sealing the two tiny shards in her jar with the others fragments. Inuyasha was up, grumbling still, and their companions were heading over towards them. Unfortunately, Miroku was the first to reach them, and he didn't waste any time.

"Ah, what beautiful young lady," he gushed, taking Reyu's hands in his.

"Um, thanks?" She wasn't used to being called beautiful.

"Mirokuu..." hissed both Kagome and Sango, but he paid them no heed.

"What a wonderful thing, to come across a maiden so fair! It must be fated that you and I would meet."

Reyu smiled, but not from flattery. She knew what was coming. "Please, this has nothing to do with Fate. Fate knows better than that," she said, still smiling sweetly at him, "And Fate tells me that you will ask me if I will bear your children. Fate also tells me that I will knee you in the groin after you ask. And then, Lord Monk, you will hurt and your friends will laugh."

A silence befell them, and Miroku stared, his poor brain terribly confused; how did she know that and, more importantly, what would he do now? Because he had to ask. Miroku did not meet someone of the female persuasion and just not ask. It simply wasn't done! He fought back, but the familar words were too stubborn and would not admit defeat. As a result, the question came out in a reluctant rush:

"Willyoubearmychildren?"

Reyu jerked her hands free, kneed him the groin, and caused his friends to laugh.

"Sorry!" she told him, "I'm sorry! Knee-jerk reaction. Coudln't help it. But I did tell you. You could have changed it. Well, habits are hard to break, so it's really not your fault. I'm sorry."

"It's...alright.." he groaned. The others had quieted now, and were looking at Reyu curiously. She sighed; the fun part was over. Now she had to explain.

------------------

As the red sun dipped lower into the sky, the group continued on its way through the pass. According to Sango, they would reach the exit of the pass by tommorow night. Reyu was extremely grateful of Kagome, who, before Reyu could even begin her story, asked if she was traveling alone. When Reyu replied that she was, Kagome seemed shocked and then immediately told her that she would travel with the rest of them, until she reached her destination. (A village outside the exit of the pass.)

"It's too dangerous to travel by yourself," Kagome said, "If weren't for my friends, I don't know where I'd be right now."

"Dead," Inuyasha supplied. He was still in a bad mood. No one but him minded if Reyu tagged along. They had to walk anyway, since Kagome had brought along her bike. Reyu really wouldn't burden them, but Inuyasha didn't trust her. He was suspicious of her knowledge and believed she was spy of Naraku's. He even said so, but Miroku shot the theory down.

"Wouldn't you have caught her scent, if she had been spying on us?"

"I dunno! But she has to be a spy! How else would she know all that stuff about me? And you?"

"Uh, in my defense, I would like to say that I'm not a spy of any kind. I'm too clusmy and loud for that sort of thing," said Reyu. It was weird when they talked about her like she wasn't there. "I'm a seer."

"Hey, isn't that like a fortune teller?" Shippo piped from the basket on Kagome's bike. The road was too rocky to ride on, so she was pushing it, but Shippo could sit in there, relaxed and eating candy.

"Kinda, but not really. I can actually see one's future. Or past. I tell fortunes to people to make money, but that's not the same thing as my visions."

"A true seer?" Sango asked. She looked at Reyu's face, as if that could tell her. "What do you think, Miroku?"

"I definitely sense something magical about her. And her eyes are, well, purple. Normal humans don't usually come with that color. It would also explain a lot."

"Well, I don't believe it," Inuyasha said, stubborn as usual, "Prophectic powers. Feh. It's just a bunch of tricks, a way to scam people. A big act. I'm not stupid, you know." That made Kagome giggle, much to his annoyance.

Reyu, on the other hand, was offended that he would think such a thing. She was not a phoney who scammed people! (Well, alright, she did tell fake fortunes sometimes to make money, but that's only because she couldn't summon up real visions whenever she felt like it. It's a pretty random thing.)

"Some hero you're turning out to be," she muttered, which caught everyone's attention, "I'm not a fake. I really do have visions! That's how I know stuff about you, Inuyasha; how you were after the Shikon Jewel, how you were pinned to that tree fo fifty years after that priestess fired an arrow at you...she looked like Kagome..."

Everyone had stopped walking now; Reyu because she was suddenly deep in thought, putting the pieces together, and the rest of them because of what Reyu was saying. She continued, talking more to herself rather than to the others, basicially thinking aloud, "Kagome released Inuyasha. She somehow came here from a farther time-space than now, a future era. Wow..okay, she shatters the Sacred Jewel, they search for the shards, and Shippo, Miroku, and Sango join in. 'Search and Destory' Naraku becomes a goal in their quest. Aha! That where the link is! Inuyasha is freed, so he's destiny is secured, but now everone else is intertwined in it, especially Kagome. Huh. I think that might be a good thing, since it's all still in place, from what I can tell..."

Her voice trailed off, since she finally noticed that they were staring at her with their mouths hanging open, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. At least now they didn't seem to think she was a phoney. Reyu was a little surprised herself. She had never had some many different tibit visions come to her like that all at once, especially not all on the same subjects as well. If anything, it meant that whatever was going to happen with Inuyasha and his friends, and also Naraku, was very, very, important. Reyu knew from the beginning that it would be, but not to this scale. The thing is, fate and destiny are never sure-things, despite what some may think. Nothing is truly predestined to the point that it's the only destiny available, that it's the only way things are going to happen. Seers know this all too well, since they often have visions about someone's future, and then have another vision of that someone's future, only that time it's completely different. People have control of their lives, whether they believe so or not, and therefore they can change their futures.

But the way things were with this particular destiny of Inuyasha's, it almost seemed to Reyu that fate needed it to go one way and one way only. Other outcomes weren't as welcomed. Inuyasha, or his companions, or even some random person, could change it though. Fate didn't want that to happen, so perhaps that is why Reyu was there: to make sure things went as fate planned.

At the moment, Reyu was being assulted by questions: How did she know that? Did she really see the past and the future? What was going to happen? What was this destiny? What did it all mean? The sun had completely retreated below the horizon, so Reyu suggested that they make camp, and promised she would explain everything if she was allowed to eat something first. It had been a long day, and it was going to be a long night.

------------------

Even though they had been walking all day long, everyone was in a good mood, even Inuyasha. He still believed seeing into the future was nonsense, or so he said, but after hearing Reyu's prophecy the night before, he seemed really pleased with himself.

Because according to what she knew, Inuyasha was going to defeat Naraku.

Of course, he already knew that. He had vowed that he would kill Naraku if it was the last thing he ever did! But Reyu said it was more than self-motivation; Inuyasha was the only one who could actually defeat Naraku for good. His friends, especially Kagome, played an important part in this destiny too, but in her vision it was Inuyasha who dealt the finishing blow. Reyu couldn't say when or where it would happen, and then she started off that if Inuyasha didn't fullfill this destiny eventually, and Naraku won, it would affect everyone, and then she mentioned something else about time and disorder, and a lot of other stuff, but Inuyasha wasn't listening. His short-attention span had kicked in by then and he started day dreaming about his legendary victory over Naraku.

The day ended and night came, right on que, when the group finally exited the pass. Here they would part; Reyu heading to the village a short walk away, the gang continuing ahead on their journey.

"Thank you for allowing me to accompy you through the pass," Reyu said politely. "And Kagome, thanks for the hair tie. Are you sure you don't want it back?" Her long hair was getting in the way earlier that day, so Kagome had thoughtfully offered her a scrunchie from her backpack to pull it back with.

"Nah, keep it. I have plently more at home."

"Thank you."

"Lady Reyu, will you be able to make it to the village on your own?" asked Miroku. "I'm sure Inuyasha could give you a lift. That is, if he ever returns to Earth." He nodded to the half-demon, who had a far off look in his eyes and was probably imagining another wonderful, victorious defeat of the weak and pathetic Naraku, ten times more elborate than the last one.

"No, I'll be fine. It's only a few minutes walk away," said Reyu, "Now, before we part, I have one last thing to say regarding to what I have Seen. Inuyasha?" This time, his mind registered the sound of his name being spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Please. Do not fail. Fullfill that of which has been foretold." The unusal tone of seriousness in her voice emphasized the words, leaving them ringing in everyone's mind. "Do not fail..."

------------------

Good-byes were exchanged and they went their separate ways, but not before Reyu gave Inuyasha one last piece of advice, which was "Watch your step." She sounded lighthearted and cheerful as opposed to before, so Inuyasha simply relpied with a "Feh."

Reyu was waving cheerfully to them as she headed off towards the village and they waved back. She walked slowly, and when Inuyasha and the others could no longer be seen anymore, she came to a halt. It was completely dark out now, the wanning moon providing hardly any light, but fires from the village ahead was enough light to guide her in the right direction and the dirt road below her was steady and safe. It wasn't the reason she stopped. She stood still, alert, and listened.

"I know you're there Hiromi," she said evenly, "So come on out already."

A short silence followed, then a soft rustling of leaves as a person dropped down elegantly from the trees, landing five feet directly in front of Reyu. There was a flash of red and a glint of silver that came first, then her eyes adjusted to see the rest of the dark figure.

It was a boy, about her age but much taller. His skin was pale, contrasting to his dark clothes and jet black hair, which was short and spiky and dangling over two blood red eyes. One eye was a deeper red than the other. Along with red eyes, he possessed two other features that marked him so clearly as a demon: pointed ears, poking out from under his hair, and a large pair of very dragon-like, obsidian-black wings protruding from his back. His cloak, which was also black, had two big holes cut out in the back for his wings and there were straps on the inside that secured his multiple daggers. His pale face was young and somewhat handsome, but scarred in sereval places.

He folded his wings down, making it look like he was wearing a second cloak, and locked his red eyes to Reyu's purple ones. They stood like that for a while, just staring at each other, not with love or loathe or anything really. Just plain staring. Finally, Reyu broke away and turned her head to the side.

"Well?" she asked, still not looking in his direction, "What do you want, Hiromi?" She was surpised at how harsh it came out.

She heard his intake of breath, but no words came from him. "Well?" she asked again, although she tried to keep down the impatience that kept creeping into her voice.

"Reyu," he started, but the rest wouldn't come. He knew what he wanted to say, he thought it all out beforehand, but the words died in his throat and for what reasons, he wasn't sure. She was looking at him now, with something of a glare but not exactly, as if she didn't want to glare but couldn't help it. He almost half-glared back, just because, but he didn't want her to be mad at him anymore. It still looked like she was.

"Look, I need to get going, so if you're just gonna stand there--"

"Who were those people you were with before?" he blurted out, without thinking. Anything to keep her from leaving just yet.

She narrowed her eyes. "How do you know I was with them? What, are you spying on me Hiro?"

"No," he said, a little too quickly.

"Then how'd you know I would be coming this way? Why were you hiding in the trees?"

"I wasn't spying on you," he insisted, "I just noticed you where nearby earlier and I wasn't sure if I should go to see you or not. I was still debating it when you showed up here, is all. Okay? I explained myself, so now it's your turn. Who were they and why were you with them?"

"Why do you care?" she snapped, no longer caring if she sounded mean, "It's none of your business." She didn't buy his story; he had been spying on her. But why? She thought about it and looked up at him, but now he was glaring at her. So he was still mad at her?

"You know what? Forget it," said Hiromi bitterly, "I'm just going to go. Have fun trying to save the world with your visions or whatever it is you do. I'm outta here."

"Good," she retorted, "Enjoy your stupid quest for more power, since your visions can't save the world and all. Maybe it will take you far away and do everyone some good."

With that, she turned around and stalked off towards the village. She didn't look back when she heard Hiromi spread his wings and take off into thedark sky. He didn't look down when he did. They both wanted to, but they each thought the other was still mad at them, which made them both upset. They wouldn't look back.

------------------

"So, Inuyasha, what did you think of the seer?"

"Seers are just a bunch of liars, Sango. There's no such thing as seeing into the future."

"Why not?" asked Shippo, "Kagome's from the future, so she's seen it."

"That not the same thing, dummy!"

"She sure knew a lot about us, for a liar," Miroku pointed out.

"Yeah, and what about that prophecy?" said Kagome.

"What about it?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Like I need some seer to tell me I'm gonna defeat Naraku. Haven't I always said that? Jeez."

"Well, I think she was the real-deal!" was Shippo's opinion on the matter.

"You'll believe anything, Shippo," Inuyasha said, absently walking off to the side some, "Fortune tellers just make all that stuff up. You can't take them seriously. None of it's true, you know..."

"Um, Inuyasha--" Kagome started, but he just kept going.

"It's all lies, just a load bull--AHHHH!"

They gathered carefully around the edge of the drop-off, where Inuyasha had tripped and started tumbling down. They watched as he rolled and bounced and yelled out a string of curses. Perhaps, if he had been paying attention to where he was going...

"I guess he just got proved wrong." Miroku chuckled. They all had a good laugh then climbed on down to collect whatever was left of the non-believing Inuyasha.

-TBC-

A/N: The longer the better, right? -grin-

Another character has been introduced, Hiromi, and in case it wasn't clear in the story, he is also a seer of sorts. He has an important role coming up soon. -dum dum duuum!-

Hey, have you ever been hypnotized before? No? Well that's just sad. Tell ya what: go get something shiny, and something to hang it from (a necklace works well) and I'll hypnotize you right now. Ready? Okay! Swing the shiny thing in front of your eyes and repeat "I am getting sleepy. Veeery sleepy." a couple of times. Are you asleep? Good. Now listen to me:

On the count of three, you will wake up and review this story.

One...two...THREE! (Thanks!)