I fell headfirst expecting to see the green grasses of home but was instead greeted by a barren wasteland. "What's going on?" I cried as I slowed and landed softly in the sand. I stood and looked around seeing only the flat plains of sand. "So…" I thought aloud as I peered around. "If I can now only go to places I've already been then I must be in Saiyuki or Trigun maybe? This sucks! I thought I'd make it home!" I yelled, clenching my fists.
"Are you lost then?" A voice asked from behind me. I jumped and whirled around to face a man with long hair, kept back with a headband. His ears were long and pointed and three lines came across his cheek under the left eye.
"Uh… yeah." I almost whispered in reply.
"What are you doing?" Called another, bigger man with short hair as he came running towards us. "Who's she?" He asked, stopping to elbow the first man suggestively in the side.
"Shut up and quit!" The man yelled. I looked up to see two more coming towards us. One was a girl with long hair and the other was a little girl who looked like the first man I had seen. He turned towards me. "I'm Kougaiji. Who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Kira…" I said quietly.
"Are you a youkai?" Asked the little girl, indicating my markings and strange features.
"Uh… yeah." I replied nervously. "And all of you are too…"
There was a long pause, broken by Kougaiji. "Why aren't you attacking anyone? I see no power limiters…" He wondered aloud.
"Power limiters?" I asked blankly.
I shrank back as all of them stared at me. "The thing that keeps you in control of your actions. How are you in control without one?" Kougaiji asked again.
"Well I… I'm not a full youkai." I whispered.
They all stared at me again. "How is that possible?" The bigger man asked.
"Where I come from it just is…"
"And where is that?" Kougaiji asked.
"Another world." At there blank stares I sighed and took a deep breath, growing tired of constantly repeating everything yet doing it anyway. "Well I was sent from my world by a man hired by another man who hates my brother and I happened to end up here."
"How?" The older girl asked simply.
I shrugged. "I don't know… Akumei just has the power to do things like that. Transportation."
There was a long pause that Kougaiji finally broke. "Well this is Dokugakuji." He pointed to the larger man who grinned at me. Next he pointed to the older girl who smiled softly. "She is Yaone and she is my little sister Lurin." He finished, indicating the littlest girl.
I bowed slightly and smiled. "It's nice to meet you all…" I said quietly. "But I should be going."
"To where?" Yaone asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know… I just don't want to cause you any trouble."
Dokugakuji laughed. "Don't worry! We're always in trouble."
He grinned as Kougaiji turned to glare at him before facing me. "You shouldn't wander the desert alone, you'll be attacked."
"I know but…" I trailed off as I searched for what to say.
"You can stay with us until you have to go again." Kougaiji said as he turned and began walking away. I stared after him for a moment and Yaone smiled at me, beckoning for me to follow as she did herself. I lingered for a moment more before deciding to go as well.
As we walked along in some random direction through a forest they questioned me about my home and I ended up telling them everything. They were very kind and easy to trust. They reminded me greatly of Sanzo and the others, even though they are enemies in the show.
"Well, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are my half brothers and-" I stopped in mid sentence and turned to stare deeper into the woods.
"What's wrong?" Yaone asked.
"Someone's there…" I muttered as I peered into the woods. "They're attacking a girl!" I shouted suddenly as I sprinted away. The others exchanged quick glances before darting after me. I cried out in alarm as I stumbled into a clearing just in time to see a little girl being slaughtered by a pack of youkai. "How could you?" I screamed as tears fell down my face. Kougaiji and the others stopped at the edge and stared at me.
"More meat!" One of the youkai laughed as he approached me.
"How could you!" I screamed again, much louder this time. The advancing youkai froze as I glared at him, my eyes glowing bright red. Without a word I sprang at him, my claws and arm piercing straight through his stomach. The remaining six cried in rage and leapt at me. I took two out with a swing of my sword and killed another on outstretched claws. The last three stopped and tried to run away. I leapt in the air and landed in front of them.
"Please! Spare us!" They cried.
"Oh yeah, like you did that little girl?" I yelled as I struck down another. While my back was turned one of them drew a dagger and swung it as my head. I spun around and caught the dagger in my teeth. My eyes blazed bright as I stabbed my sword through his stomach. The last opened his mouth to plead for his life but my claws found their way to his neck before a word could escape it. Breathing hard, I collapsed and crawled to the little girl. I held back a sob as I peered at her mangled body and then back towards the ones I had killed. "I'm sorry…" I whispered, my eyes changing from red to dark blue. "I didn't make it in time."
I jumped as a hand touched my shoulder and looked up to see Kougaiji. "How did you know?" He asked.
I wiped my eyes. "I could smell her blood and hear the shouts of the youkai and still I didn't make it in time."
"It's ok…" Kougaiji assured me. "Let's move on."
I nodded and stood, stopping suddenly to glance at the girl's body. I saw her arm move and crouched beside her quickly. I reached under her and pulled out a little kitten, pure black though its fur was drenched in blood. It looked up at me with bright blue eyes and meowed helplessly. "You must have been hers…" I whispered as I held it close and turned towards the others. "Let's go."
Kougaiji nodded and slowly we all followed after him. After a while of silence meant to let me calm down,Dokugakuji turned towards me and grinned. "Well, that was one hell of a fight!" He cried.
"Well, I've been training." I responded with a laugh.
"Training? For what?" Lurin asked.
"A tournament." I sighed.
"What kind of tournament?" Kougaiji asked.
"A fight between powerful teams of demons to the death." I muttered.
"Then why are you fighting?" Yaone exclaimed.
"My teammates needed a fifth member. I was chosen because of the excessive amount of spirit energy I have." I explained, trying to clean the kitten of some of the blood.
Kougaiji watched me for a moment. "You're a wolf demon right?" I nodded. "Then why is it that cat likes you?"
I smiled. "It just knows I mean it no harm." I replied as I continued cleaning it with no success.
Kougaiji sighed and turned towards me. "We'll stop at the next town."
"What?" I exclaimed. "I told you not to go through any extra trouble for me!"
"You keep wiping at it and nothing is changing. I know Lurin would like to see it clean as well." Kougaiji explained. "Plus, you're covered in blood yourself."
"Well… ok…" I muttered as we changed direction, heading out of the forest.
After several minutes we emerged from the trees and faced a town sitting at the base of a hill. Without a word Kougaiji headed towards it and the rest of us followed without question. A lot of people stared as we headed down the street but didn't approach us and let us go on our way. We entered a store and Yaone helped me find an outfit while Kougaiji paid, ignoring my protests. Next we headed to a small fountain in the middle of town and I cleaned off the kitten.
As we started walking again I stopped and sniffed the air. "What is it?" Dokugakuji asked me.
"It's… them!" I cried and suddenly turned towards the group. "Thank you for everything, I have to go now but first can I take your picture? I've already told you why."
"I guess…" Kougaiji muttered as they all grouped together. I jumped in the middle and snapped the picture smiling happily with the kitten on my head.
"Thanks a lot! I'm really sorry but I have to go now…"
"Why so sudden?" Kougaiji asked.
"I sensed something…" I muttered.
"Do you need help with it?" Yaone asked.
"No but thanks for the offer. I've been enough trouble…" I grinned.
"But I don't want you to go!" Lurin cried, clinging to my arm.
"I'm sorry." I laughed. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime?" I managed to slip away and disappeared into the crowd.
The group all watched me go. "Follow her?" Dokugakuji suggested. Slowly they started after me through the people.
I paused once to sniff the air before heading into the nearest bar. "Hi!" I squealed, leaping towards a table. "What's up?"
The men at the table looked up at me in shock as I scooted onto the bench beside the youngest. "Kira?" One of them exclaimed.
I grinned. "Hey Hakkai! How's it been since I left?"
I was sitting at a table with Sanzo, Gojyo, Goku and Hakkai. I had picked up their scent in the street and couldn't help but follow. Hakkai turned to me. "Actually we haven't had much excitement since then."
"That's good right?" I teased.
"If you like things boring…" Gojyo sighed. "Hey… What's with the cat?" He asked, lifting it from my shoulders.
"Don't hurt it!" I cried. "I found youkai in some woods nearby. They had killed a little girl."
"So what did you do?" Goku cried, horrorstruck.
My face fell and I stared at my lap. "I… I killed them all." I continued before they could say anything. "But then I saw something moving under the girl. At first I thought she was still alive but then found that it was just the kitten underneath her."
"I see…" Gojyo said as he handed the cat back to me.
I took it and it immediately curled up in my lap. I smiled as I stroked it. Goku reached to rub it too. "What's its name?"
"I don't know… Oh!" I cried. "How about Kurri!"
"Kurri?" Gojyo laughed.
I blushed and looked down. "My friend and me, we would tease and pretend we had kittens. Mine was named Kurri. What about you?" I asked, turning towards the cat. "Do you like that name?" I laughed as the kitten looked up at me and purred. "Then Kurri it is." I declared. I suddenly looked up. "Oh no." I muttered.
"What?" Sanzo asked.
"Kira, you know them?" A voice yelled at me from behind. I turned to see Kougaiji and the others in the doorway of the bar.
Slowly I nodded as Sanzo leapt to his feet. "I knew you were a traitor!" He yelled at me.
"No!" I cried. "I met them when I entered this world just now! They found me and told me to stay with them until I had to go!"
"And then she ran away to you guys." Kougaiji muttered.
"She must like us better!" Gojyo smirked as he rose too.
"Please don't fight!" I called as I stood as well.
"Out of the way!" Goku cried as he pushed past me. "We have a score to settle!" Kougaiji grunted and stepped forward.
Sanzo turned to me. "Get all the humans out of here."
"You're not mad?" I asked.
"I don't care about that, just do it!" He yelled impatiently. I nodded and ran around the bar, ushering people out of the doors and forcefully removing some drunkards. When they were all gone I returned to the groups. They had collided and it was now Goku fighting Kougaiji, Hakkai with Yaone and Gojyo and Dokugakuji. I couldn't hold back my giggle as I watched Sanzo feeding Lurin to keep her calm. Slowly I joined them.
"You're not going to help?" I asked.
He shrugged. "If they can't handle their own battles, they don't deserve to live." I nodded and grew silent as I watched the fighting continue. Suddenly I felt something wrap around my leg and screamed as it pulled me over. Everyone turned as Sanzo caught my hand and kept me from being pulled in.
I chanced a look behind me and froze in terror. "Oh my god!" I screamed. Kurri leapt, hissing, from my arms and scratched at the almost invisible thread that held my feet. "Stop Kurri, you'll get caught too." Obedientlyhe stopped but remained close by me. If you followed the thread back to the source you could see a giant spider looming in the shadows of the back room.
"Is it yours?" Sanzo screamed. "Call it off!"
"Don't you think I would've by now?" Kougaiji yelled back.
I felt myself being pulled in and Sanzo's hand started to slip. "Don't let go!" I cried hysterically. "Please!"
"What are you so afraid of?" Gojyo yelled as he came to my side. He took my other hand and hauled me slightly to my feet as I answered.
"It's a giant, black, fuzzy spider! Am I not supposed to be freaked out?" I screamed again as my feet were pulled out from under me and grabbed Gojyo around the waist so I wouldn't fall. He held out his weapon and sliced at the thread thatwound tightly around my anklesbut it didn't cut.
"Damn." He muttered. "We'll have to try something else."
"You killed my youkai brothers, girl. Now I will eat your flesh!" A voice echoed from the dark sending shivers throughout my body and the hairs on my tail stood on end. "But first the meal you stole…"
Kurri shrieked as something wound around his waistand lifted him into the air. "Stop!" I yelled. Pulling one arm from Gojyo's waist, I aimed my hand at Kurri and a transparentgreen ball encased him. With a quick draw back of my hand, Kurri and the ball that held him were zooming back towards me. I caught him and held him close as I clawed at the thread where Gojyo had weakened it.
Just as I was almost through the spider burst through the wall. I screamed as it advanced towards me and shot a blast of energy at it. The attack had no effect and it kept coming. Gojyo grabbed me tighter and started backing slowly but a wall sat right behind us. "A little help here guys?" He called nervously.
The spider was almost upon us and I quickly drew my sword. "Pathetic girl, you think your sword can hurt me?" It cried.
"I don't know, let's try it out!" I yelled as I plunged the sword into one of the eight legs. The spider screeched as the blade sank in deep. With a swift flick to the side the leg fell off and the spider sank back into the shadows.
"It's not over…" Hakkai muttered as he peered into the room.
With a shriek the spider leapt forward again, a newly grown leg in the place of the cut one. "Crap!" I screamed as another leg darted at me. "Don't let it touch me!" I cried as I leapt to the side, not thinking to release Gojyo's waistand instead pulled him with me. The wall where we had been standing burst into rubble and the tears started leaking out.
"Don't cry! Why are you crying?" Gojyo yelled at me.
"It's a giant spider! Kill it! Please!" I screamed as I backed further away. It lunged at me again and I screamed just as someone leapt overhead. Goku landed in front of us and hit the spider hard with his staff. Instead of screaming though, the spider just laughed and struck again, knocking Goku to the side. "I want to go home!" I yelled as I slid to the side again.
"Get behind me." Gojyo muttered as he jumped in front. He blocked the leg and held it still. Another shot towards his side and I leapt up to block it with my sword. Still yet another came at his other side and at the last second Dokugakuji leapt in the way of that too. With a cry of rage the spider tried to pull back but we held three of its legs securely.
"Someone kill it!" I yelled.
"You kill it. You're the one it's after." Sanzo ordered.
Slowly I pulled back a hand, trying to hold my sword still with one as the spider pressed against it. I felt my feet sliding across the floorand was pressed against Gojyo's side as my free hand glowed green. A ball appeared in it and slowly grew to the size of a basketball. Still I kept it going, trying to guess how big it would need to be to kill a spider the size of a bus in one shot. Finally, when the blast was half as big as myself I let it go. With sickening sounds, the beam shot the spider, hitting it full in the face. It screeched and writhed in pain as the blast erupted from the other side. With a huge thud it hit the ground, blood leaking steadily across the floorand didn't move again.
I dropped my sword and collapsed where I stood, breathing heavily. Kurri walked over and licked my hand as I rubbed him without thinking. I stared at the corpse of the spider with wide eyes until Gojyo snapped me out of it. "That was great!" He said, offering me a hand.
I blinked and slowly took it. "Thanks…" I muttered, holding my head.
"What's wrong?" Goku asked.
"Using too much energy makes me dizzy. I haven't finished training…" The last word trialed as I fell over backwards into Kougaiji's waiting arms.
"She's exhausted herself." He stated.
"Hey, give her back!" Goku yelled.
I laughed slowly. "It's ok, I'll just stay here until-" I moaned and fell over suddenly, clutching my head.
"What's wrong?" Gojyo asked, crouching beside me.
"Quiet… It's Akumei!" I ordered and everyone just stared at me.
Kira? Akumei's voice said. Did it work? Are you at least somewhere you've been before?
Yes! I'm back in Saiyuki again.
Great! Are you ready to try it again?
Of course! Oh, and would something mess up if I brought an animal with me?
I don't think so…
Good! Then I'm ready to go.
Ok, I hope to see you soon Kira.
You too Akumei. With that I ended and looked up at everyone. "I'm leaving now." I announced.
"W-what?" Lurin yelled. "I don't want you to go!"
I smiled. "Sorry, but I want to go home. I don't belong here."
"Yes you do! You get along with all of us!" Goku pointed out.
I shook my head. "I would miss my family way too much, and my friends. I can't stay away from them forever."
"I understand." Kougaiji said and everyone stared at him. "I wish you good luck."
"Thanks." I said, smiling gratefully. I crouched down and adjusted the sword and camera bag. "Come here Kurri." I called and he leapt easily into my lap. I looked up at everyone who had gathered around me, their groups intertwined. "Thanks for letting me stay with you and sorry for the trouble I caused." I laughed with a nervous smile. "Don't kill each other, ok?"
"I won't promise anything." Sanzo muttered.
I nodded just as my arm flickered. I held Kurri close to keep him from leaping away. "Well, it's time to go. Maybe I'll come back someday!"
"Bye." They all said together.
"Good luck with the tournament." Dokugakuji added.
I smiled. "Thank-" As I was saying my last wordthere was a rumble and a slight shaking fromabove us.A piece of the ceiling fell and struck me on the head just as my whole body began to glow.
"Kira!" Hakkai exclaimed but I was already half gone. "That's not good…"
"What?" Goku asked. "She'll recover!"
"That's not it. She told us that she has to be awake to be transported but she was just knocked out in the middle! I wonder what effect that will have?" He wondered as the rest of me disappeared too.
"Well, it's too late now." Gojyo thought aloud.
Akumei looked up sharply and stared towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha sensed the eyes in his back and turned towards him. "What?"
"I lost her in the middle of the transformation."
"What do you mean, lost her?" Inuyasha cried.
"I was transporting her and suddenly she seemed to disappear. She must've been knocked unconscious." Akumei concluded.
"But what does that mean for where she'll end up?" Kurama asked.
Akumei shrugged. "Probably that she'll just end up like normal, in a totally random world. I'll start finding her now." He closed his eyes again and everyone took this as the signal for them to be quiet.
