CrazyDreamerGirl: I wanna thank sleep all night rock all day, Hirina, Time and Fate, JoannaKuwabara, Prismdragon ( ), ficfan3484, Easy-Company-506101, hyperactivebluechipmunk ( ), Everqueen, gizmostar, Rei Minamino, shadowyoukokitsune for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I'm just gonna make myself depressed again.

The Feudal Era Across the Street

Chapter 19: The Dead Priestess

Botan was the last to come out of Koenma's office. Her punishment was to stay in the feudal era with Yusuke and the others until the mission was completed. She sighed. Ayame had a different punishment. She had to help George scrub the floors of Spirit World with a toothbrush. (Although, George did still receive his spankings.) Botan had gotten a lighter punishment, probably because she was Yusuke's assistant. She mounted her oar and flew through the skies to the well. She immediately went down the well, (not even bothering to visit Genkai), found Kaede, asked her where they went, and tried to find them before a demon showed up to attack her.

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"Yusuke, are you sure you're alright? You were gasping for air for about an hour," Kagome said worriedly.
"Relax, I'm perfectly fine," Yusuke said dismissing the topic, until he gasped for air again and looked up suddenly with a big grin. "Gotcha!" Kagome hit him on the head.

Miroku leaned towards Yusuke and whispered, "Let me guess, you weren't gasping for air. You were looking for some mouth-to-mouth, weren't you?" He moved his brow.

"You're sick, and I did need air, okay," Yusuke whispered menacingly.

"Sure you did," he said sarcastically, placing his hands into the long sleeves of his clothing. Yusuke shook his head. Miroku was a full blown pervert!

"Can we go now! He's breathing," Inuyasha shouted.
"Are you able to walk?" Kurama asked, completely ignoring Inuyasha. He nodded.

They had set up camp when Yusuke's breathing became labored. Everyone was worried about him. After all, Yusuke might have gotten a rare virus that causes someone to stop breathing, but it was in fact Keiko's fault. She had put Puu in her purse where the poor thing was hardly breathing. Sometimes a person forgets that Puu is not a stuffed animal since that is said to everyone that asks. The important thing was she realized sooner than later, even though it took her awhile.

Anyway, everyone was traveling in a forest. It's always a forest, Yusuke thought bitterly. It was a dull day, except for Yusuke's incident of course. There were no demon attacks, no thieves, no other travelers, and no village as of yet. Kuwabara yawned loudly. Everyone looked at him. "What?" he said lazily. They continued on walking in an unknown direction.

It was quiet, maybe a lttle too quiet. Kurama sensed something in front of them. Then, there was a bloodcurdling scream. It was a woman. Inuyasha gripped his sword and warned Kagome to stay back. He ran off to the direction of the scream, followed by Miroku, Yusuke, and Kuwabara. Kurama and Hiei stayed back in case more demons come to attack Kagome and Sango, besides, four fighters are more than enough to defeat the demon Kurama sensed. The demon was not very strong.

The source of the scream was a young woman who was on the ground, trying to protect herself from a demon. Inuyasha leaped into action, ready to claw the demon in half. The demon did not have time to dodge and was killed. Inuyasha shook the demon blood off his hand. Miroku was kneeling down next to woman and his hand had a mind of its own. Luckily, Kuwabara was there to stop him. Miroku gave him a look that meant 'it's not my fault' and rubbed his hand.

"Thank you so much," the woman said gratefully.
"No problem," said Yusuke.

"What happened though?" asked Kuwabara.

"Well, I was collecting medicinal herbs for Lady Kikyo when a demon attaked," she replied. They noticed the basket she was using for the herbs. Inuyasha took notice especially.

"Kikyo," he muttered.

"Did you say something, Inuyasha?" Yusuke asked. He said 'Kikyo.' I'm sure of it, but where did I hear that name before? he thought.

"No," he replied with an attitude.

"Suit yourself."
Oh, Inuyasha, here we go again. Kagome will find out, get mad at him and go home for a week. Why can't he just pick? It's not that hard. I mean, Kagome is alive, Miroku thought deeply and sighed. Sometimes, being a lecher, Miroku comes up with a simple and straight forward response, but if only things were that simple.

"Something wrong?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, nothing's wrong," Miroku said defensively and waved his hands in front of him. They don't know Kikyo was brought back to life. This will be interesting, he thought.

"Whatever you say."

"Where is your village?" asked Inuyasha.

"It's just beyond the lake," she said and pointed toward the direction that Inuyasha had killed the demon. "Your welcome to stay at the inn my father owns. It is the least I can do for saving me."
"Sure, why not. I'd rather not sleep in the dirt tonight anyway," Yusuke said, scratching the back of his head.

"Good, it's decided then," Miroku said, "I'll get the others." He ran back to where Kagome and the others were waiting.

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"I hope they come back soon," Kagome said worriedly.

Hiei rolled his eyes and said, "The demon is already dead. No use in worrying." Before Kagome had a chance to retort, they saw Miroku running towards them. He stopped to catch his breath and explained to them what happened with the demon and how they were allowed to stay at an inn for free. But, he skipped the part where Kikyo was mentioned.

They silently walked to the group that was patiently waiting for their return. Miroku and Sango were walking in the back and he whispered to her that Kikyo is there. She looked at Kagome and saw her talking to Kurama and Shippo.

"Should we tell her," Sango whispered.
"I'm not sure, but I think we should wait, in case there is another priestess with the name of Kikyo."

"That is highly unlikely, but you are right. You never know."

Thanks to Kurama's heightened hearing that was a result of a lifetime of thieving, he heard everything Miroku and Sango were whispering about. (Hiei heard also.) Hm, Kikyo. When we met them, they were talking about a priestess named Kikyo, but she died fifty years ago. I hope it is not the same person, Kurama thought.

"Kurama! Earth to Kurama," Kagome said.

"Oh, sorry, I got side tracked there."

"So, anyway..."

"Hello, everyone!" a voice shouted. They turned around and saw Botan wearing her usual pink kimono. Her blue hair really brought out her pink eyes. She skillfully landed near them and her oar disappeared.

"What are you doing here?" Kurama asked politely.

"I'll tell you, but it's a looong story," she said.
"Enlighten us," Miroku said and got closer to her. His hand was about to reach her bottom until Sango hit him with her boomerang.

"It involves an ogre, a makeover, and the ogre's mother," Botan said and also hit Miroku with her oar.

"You know what, I don't think we should know," Sango said, glaring at Miroku, "We need to hurry and catch up with the others."

They found Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Inuyasha waiting for them with a woman. (The woman introduced herself as Miki.) Inuyasha was very preoccupied. He kept staring in the direction of the lake. He was waiting for a sign of Kikyo's stay at the village. None of them had seen a soul collecter, but there was the fact that she might be hiding them until nightfall. Also, it was not until Kikyo was mentioned that Inuyasha was able to smell the clay that Kikyo was made of. It was very faint, but it was there. He sighed. I need to see her, he thought. Inuyasha blinked in surprise from a hand waving in front of his face. "Hurry up, Inuyasha, don't make me say that word," threatened Kagome.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he said, trying to sound like nothing was wrong.

The village was very big. It had many inns and markets, both very large. Carts were drawn by horses and the occasional donkey. People were constantly moving, whether it was for shopping, advertising, or chasing misbehaving children away. There were also people cleaning trash in the streets, and people were extremely pushy also. A large woman came up to them and shoved riceballs into their arms and said, "Free samples from the best restaurant and inn in town. Come and stay!" They laughed nervously and quickly walked away before Hiei had a chance to retaliate after riceball was thrust into his hair. He shook it out and glared at his companions.

"Here we are!" Miki announced. They stopped at a large building. It also seemed to be one of the most busiest. There was an elderly woman advertising, and she was about to do the same to Yusuke and company when Miki stepped in and told her that they were already staying here. Miki led them to a large, burly man and explained the situation. The man smiled and managed to embrace them all into a large group hug. They were all crushed.

"Anyone that saves my little girl is welcome for as long as they want," he said gratefully.

"I guess that means we can stay," Yusuke said.

"Yes, about that, well, we only have one room available. I hope you don't mind," he said and quickly added, "But, you'll be getting the best and biggest room we have, free of charge."

"That's wonderful," commented Miroku. He does not have to fake an exorcism and everyone is sharing the same room, which means Sango will be there and so will Botan. He smiled. What an interesting stay this will be, he thought.

They were led up a large staircase. There was only one room on the top floor. "We usually save this room for diplomats or anyone willing to pay the extremely steep price, but for you, we can make an exception," said Miki. She slid open the door and there was a large room. In the corner was a pile of thick mats used for sleeping. Blankets and pillows were piled next it as well. A small cat came crawling out of a small closet. The closet door was left ajar. It was a black cat and it crossed their path.

"Oh, Shadow, we told you to stay out of this room," Miki said and scooped up the black cat into her arms. "I hope you don't mind she was in here."

"Of course not," Kagome said.

"Good," she said and turned around to exit the room, but stopped. "If you need any food brought up here, don't hesitate to ask. Oh, and there's a hotspring out back. Say the word and we can get you a private one to use." She left.

"Did you see the way that cat crossed our path?" Kuwabara asked.

"It's only superstition. Besides, I thought you liked cats," Kurama said slyly.

"Of course I do, but it's bad luck."

"Oh, please, you probably broke more mirrors than you can count because of your face," Hiei said dryly.

"Hey!"

"You boys can argue as much as you want after we leave," Botan said.
"Where are you going?" Miroku asked.
"We are going to take advantage of that private hotspring," Sango said, "And you better not think of following us."

"Why, I feel horrible that you think I would do something that low," Miroku said, grinning. Sango rolled her eyes. Kagome, Botan, and Sango went downstairs to find Miki. Miroku waited a minute and followed.

"Lecher," Inuaysha commented, "I'm going to explore if you need me." The half demon left as well.

"I'm gonna go and eat," Yusuke said and Kuwabara also joined him.

"I'm going to sleep. Don't bother me or you won't be sleeping yourself due to the nightmares caused by my angry," Hiei threatened and found himself a nice wall to lean against to sleep.

"I guess that leaves just us, Shippo," Kurama said.
"Can we continue my training?" the young kit asked hopefully.
"I was about to suggest the same thing," Kurama said and saw Hiei glaring at them with one eye open. "I think we should leave before Hiei sets the room on fire."

"Good idea." Shippo had also seen the fire demon glaring. Somehow, it was even more intimidating with one eye. Or maybe scary was the word.

Shippo and Kurama had entered into the bustling streets of the village onle to be bombarded by pushy shoppkeepers, inn owners, and some guy trying to convince them to pick up trash. Kurama managed to politely refuse their offers and entered an alleyway with Shippo.

"Why are we here?" Shippo asked.

"Let's just say I found a way to avoid the villagers." He picked up Shippo and leaped up to land on the rooftop on another inn. He began traveling on top of rooftops toward the lake. It was a perfect place to train. After a couple minutes of rooftop travel, which no one noticed, except for any people on the top floor, they reached the outskirts of the village.

There was a small temple, which they had passed on their way to the village the first time. But they did not notice all the children there. There was an elderly man there complaining about the amount of noise and trouble the children cause.

"How Lady Kikyo can control her anger with all of you is baffling," he said. Kurama chose to ignore that comment at the moment. He would ask Shippo later, but the young kit seemed like he did not even hear the man mention Kikyo.

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CrazyDreamerGirl: Hm, I wonder if they did have mouth-to-mouth in the feudal era. If they didn't, let's say Kagome told them about it. Also, I'll be editing some chapters. Nothing drastic will be changed so you don't have to read the revised versions of the chapter. If I do change a lot about a certain chapter, I will inform you. (Oh, the only thing I changed in chapter 18 is correcting a pen name and getting rid of the replies, in case.)

I'm sorry, but there won't be any more replies becaues of some new rule. (I really like replying...) I don't want to get into trouble. Thank you, Everqueen, for the warning. I usually skim the rules so I didn't notice it.