Inutori: Back for another chapter…finally. And since it took so stinkin long, I'll just say I don't own Inuyasha and let you run away to read the chapter.

Inuyasha apparently thought this was a good time to cut in. "She doesn't know a thing about what you're saying Tora. Her aunt raised her away from the rest of the royal family."

Royal family? Higurashi House? Aunt? Nani?

Chapter 8
Vacuum Abyss

I am so confused. Why can't everyone just stop talking in metaphors and riddles and the likes and just say what they mean? It's frustrating.

The clear blue-sky overhead suddenly darkens, and my eyes trail up to where a strange metal something-or-other is floating above us.

"Inu-itouto, if you're looking for the Shikon, it's not on Earth anymore. I brought my best ship with me. Let's get going."

My head whips around so I can look at Inutora. She has a mellow look on her face and her composure is calm and collected. I could swear that everyone around me is doing some sort of drug.

"How did you know about the jewel, Tora?" I decide to just listen to the two apparent siblings, since I really don't have any idea what they are talking about and can't exactly join the conversation.

"How do I know about anything, little brother? I can read your mind, remember?" Inutora is looking at Inuyasha like he has grown a second head and a couple extra limbs. Reading his mind. Does that mean she can read my mind as well?

Creepy, if you ask me.

"Keh." Inuyasha looks away from his sister with a pout, signifying his defeat. I almost want to congratulate Inutora for her victory, but I resist since Inuyasha is still present.

"Well, shall we be going?"

"Where?" The question just pops out of my mouth before I can stop it. I really hope I don't sound too stupid, I already feel out of place as it is.

"To the Western Empire of course!" Inutora smiles broadly at me; easing the tension I feel building up inside. "And then we'll gather the troops and head off Naraku." A scowl fell over Inutora's expression. I can see the obvious relationship between the two people before me just through that frown.

There isn't much I can do to stop all of this from happening I guess, but I really wish I knew more of what is going on. At least they could give me that much, right?

Inutora snaps her fingers, as if she is just remembering something. "Ah, yes, I told mom that we would pick up Miroku on our way home."

I hear Inuyasha groan and slump his shoulders and it makes me wonder what is so terrible.

"So where is he?" The reluctance and agitation still continues to pour out with Inuyasha's speech, and I know that I must have missed something.

Inutora shrugs. "Don't know. He's been missing for nearly a year now."

"Who's Miroku?" Once again I can't keep my big mouth shut. Where's the duct tape when you need it?

"Our cousin." Inutora says it like it is no big deal, but I can see Inuyasha flinch and hear the growl that vibrates in his throat. "Inuyasha, quit acting like a baby." I watch with amusement as Inutora hits her brother on the back of his head with a disapproving look on her face.

Inutora has somehow managed to shove both Inuyasha and I onto her "spaceship." I'm a bit skeptical about this heap of metal's ability to make it out of Earth's atmosphere. On the flip side, however, how often do you see a floating barrage in real life?

I'm beginning to think that anything is possible. After all, I'm sitting in a well-decorated bedroom that Inutora said was hers, inside a floating ship, with people that have fangs and claws and the likes.

I must still be a little ill and all of this chaos hasn't been helping me recover. A wave of sleepiness hits me like a brick wall and I lay down on Inutora's bed to catch a little sleep. Being in this room makes me feel uncomfortable: like anyone could walk through that door at anytime and murder me.

It is a battle of will as one side of me drives my body into a forced sleep, and another part of me struggles to remain alert to the real world to keep me out of danger. Eventually, my tired side wins.

I am standing in front of a large building. I have been here before, but I can't quite place it. A man is running from the building with something tucked under one arm.

My mind loses control of my body and I unwillingly follow the man. His shirt is dark purple and his pants black; his short black hair is tied back into a rat-tail.

He looks around himself: looks directly at me and then past. It is as if he saw me, but then I had become invisible to his view. His scan of the area must have assured him that he wasn't being followed, and he continues running.

I run after him, and as he picks up his pace, I do as well. Doesn't he need to rest every once in awhile? The constant running is tiresome.

A few huts come into view, and the man slows down, to my relief. I am breathing really hard, though amazingly I don't have any knots or stitches in my sides.

He walks up to the door of one of the buildings, tapping on the wood and stepping back to wait for an answer.

An elderly woman pulls up the skin flap that covered the door. "May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm a traveling monk called Miroku. If you could spare some bread and a place to sleep for the night, I will bless this house for your kindness."

I know that name. Where have I heard that man's name before?

"Kagome?"

"Kagome?"

I slowly pry open my eyes, squinting from the bright lights that meet my tired lids. "Nani?" My response barely manages to stumble past my lips, and I realize after the fact that my question wasn't understandable.

"Kagome, wake up. I want to take you up onto the bridge." Inutora is gently shaking my shoulder, but I really don't want to get up right now. I'm just so tired. A yawn escapes my lips and I try to suppress it, but instead I just cover my open mouth with a hand.

"Coming. Give me a minute." I sit up slowly, feeling slightly dizzy from the head rush. Man do I feel out of it. My feet find their way to the cushioned floor and I push my weight forward and stand up.

"The crew wants to meet you, and then we're going to have supper."

Supper? I haven't even had lunch yet. What happened to eating lunch?

"I figured I'd better let you sleep since you seemed so wiped out, but if you don't get up now you'll be awake all night. That wouldn't be too cool."

So I slept through lunch, huh? That would definitely explain why I'm feeling so hungry. Inutora walks out of the room and I follow her. I can't tell where we are going since I am still out of it and not fully awake, but I am slowly coming back to reality.

We must have reached wherever we are going, because Inutora stops suddenly and I run into her back. She doesn't say anything about it, for which I am grateful. Instead she steps sideways and starts introducing people to me.

I open my eyes wider. "I've been here before!" Everyone looks at me strangely and I cringe. I said that out loud? Oops.

But it is the truth…I think. The room looks eerily familiar. Like the place I had been in one of my dreams. The one where I was the…Inu-hime. It dawns on me. I had seen something that was happening to Inutora in this very room.

My eyes stop at a girl with orange and black hair. She was in my dream. So was a young boy with auburn hair. Where was he? There. I find him in the cluster of people staring blankly at me.

Good thing I don't really care much what people think about me, otherwise I would have to go hide in some closet or something.

Even so, their looks are kind of unnerving. "Hey, I was just kidding! What's with your faces?" I have no clue what to do about the situation. I'm not a social person! Somebody help me! Onegai?

A bell chimes and all eyes turn to Inutora, who is smiling happily. "Food is served in the cafeteria, not on the bridge. Go eat your hearts out."

Inutora looks like she is being trampled by a frantic stampede, but when the last of the crew is gone she still stands proudly in the same spot as before. She is looking at me intently, as if she is trying to do something.

"It's true then. You're more powerful than even me." She looks coldly at me, a strange new expression for her face since I have come into her company. I have no idea what she looked like before today, but I'm not sure if I even want to know.

"What are you talking about?" Life just continues to get more and more confusing. And just when I thought I had figured things out, too. Bummer.

"I can't access your thoughts. Only those more powerful than me can keep me out. And even then it takes a lot of willpower to keep me at bay."

What is she talking about? I wasn't doing anything to "keep her at bay." Some people seriously need to consider going to see a psychiatrist. I'm probably one of them, I'll admit.

"Lady Higurashi told me her brother's daughter was powerful, but I didn't even think…you're unsurpassable." She has amazement in her eyes suddenly.

Not only is she spewing nonsense, but she is also having some rather quick mood swings. And did she say Lady Higurashi's brother's daughter? I thought this "Lady Higurashi" was my mother. Does that mean I'm the product of incest? I just shudder with the thought.

"It's no wonder that Kikyou was denied Inuyasha with you around."

"Excuse me?" That really did it. She has passed the line of confusing me and moved into the realm of irritating me with her incomprehensible words.

"You don't know?" Inutora looks at me with surprise and it makes me feel kind of stupid. It is like there is something that is supposedly obvious to everyone, but I have no clue what it is.

I shake my head to say no, since the honest answer is always the best one.

"Come with me to my room. We need to talk."

We sit down onInutora's bed and I find myself wringing the hem of my shirt in nervousness.

"How much do you know?" Inutora looks at me with a wise expression. Her sudden maturity surprising me though I try not to let it show.

"Nothing, really." I feel kind of ashamed because of my ignorance. Whoever said ignorance is bliss was severely mistaken. Ignorance is annoying.

"Well then, this is going to be a very long chat."

Inutora sighs, and I get the feeling that we are going to miss supper. There goes another meal that I should have eaten but didn't. I'm just grateful I took the time to eat something for breakfast.

"To start this off. You're Princess Kagome Higurashi. Daughter of Daisuke Higurashi and Sara Miko. Princess Kikyou Miko was the daughter of Conan Miko and Renee Higurashi."

"But Renee is my mom. And I thought Kikyou was my half-sister." This is all way too confusing. Perhaps I should pull out a book and take notes. Just a few words out of Inutora's mouth and already I am baffled beyond reason.

"Renee raised you, but she isn't your mom. She's your aunt. Her brother Daisuke is Emperor of the Southern Region and she raised you to keep you out of harm's way. Kikyou was second in line to the throne if you couldn't fulfill your roll, but now it's her brother Souta."

I try to say something, but Inutora raises her hand to stop me.

"Don't question me. You need to know everything, and it'll go faster if you don't interrupt."

A pout forms on my lips, but I keep silent.

"Now then. Inuyasha came to Earth because he had heard that the future Empress of the South could find him the sister component of the Shikon no Tama. He took the Shikon with him on his search and met Kikyou. Kikyou knew about the empires and such, and told Inuyasha that she was next in line for the throne."

I cock my head to one side, intrigued with the story and how much detail Inutora was actually aware of. Her knowledge is kind of overwhelming, really. I would never have guessed she knew so much when she first jumped on Inuyasha and made us all fall onto the hard pavement of the bridge.

"Later, Inuyasha found out that she had lied. But that wasn't until the request came from Kikyou for them to be engaged. Inuyasha was already engaged to the duchess of the South. That was one thing Kikyou didn't know about."

Wait a minute here…I'm supposedly the heir to the Southern Region's throne. Inuyasha is engaged to the duchess of the South. The emperor's daughters are sometimes called duchesses… "Wait, I'm engaged to Inuyasha?"

I
Do
Not
Sleep

Inutori: Sorry it took so long. I know I haven't updated since last May. I'm pathetic, aren't I?
Inuyasha: Always were, always will be.
Inutori: Shut up, Inuyasha. Anyways, I made this chapter a little longer than normal just because it took me so long to update. And I'm really sorry about this. From now on I'm going to try and update at least one or two stories a week. Hopefully more, but we'll have to just wait and see.
Kagome: This story is chaotic and confusing.
Inutori: I understand if this story is over the head. It's over mine right now. I tried to clear a little bit up in this chapter. Inuyasha didn't play a major part, I know, and he will later, so don't worry. And Inutora will be a major character for now, since she gets to clear things up for Kagome, but once I've introduced the true Inu gang, I hope to set Inutora free from the confines of this story. Please review for me! Even though I took so long to write this chapter!