A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews. They made me so happy! With the weekend around I will have the time to respond to all of you who've reviewed. To all of my guest reviewers, I cannot respond to you personally, but know your reviews are greatly appreciated. I threw Chiharu into the deep, but she'll find her way eventually.

Inuyasha belongs not to me, but to Rumiko Takahashi

Enjoy the new chapter, and of course, let me know what you think!

o.O.o

Chapter Two, The Sengoku period

A slight breeze ruffled the leaves on the trees while the sun was barely up. Chiharu readjusted the knot on her obi, wriggling her toes in her sandals and blinked against the early sunlight. The bow — which she'd nicked — beat against her back and her hair was only bound together by a flimsy ribbon.

She had nearly trekked all the way across the island of Japan. Had to get to food by hunting for it and she had been attacked by at least four demons on her way. She had never known what the buzzing feeling in her hands had meant before. She'd never understood she was a Miko. But she thanked whatever Kami responsible because it had more than once saved her life.
The attacks, the attempts on her life, on her liver, or whatever it was they wanted from her body, had made her stronger. She was able to erect small shields and although it was difficult, she could empower her arrows taking down minor demons and distracting the larger ones long enough for her to run.

Moving through the bushes, she stepped into a clearing. She frowned. She didn't like clearings too much, as they made her an easy target. Clamping her hands around her bow, she exhaled sharply and pulled her map out of her pocket. She had never been too good at reading one, but after travelling the wrong way for a week, she started to understand how to plot her way. At least she expected to go the right way.

She expected that the well, in their shrine at home in Tokyo, would transport her back to the modern time. If it could transport her to the sixteenth century Chiharu was almost sure, it could transport them back as well. She just had to find the small clearing with that same well, and she could go back home.

The problem was; she should have been there by now. Blowing a dark lock of hair out of her face, she glanced around hoping there was something in the vicinity she could use to orientate herself.

Only so many were willing to help her. And those who did, only wanted to help her if there was something to gain. Men in this time were pigs!

"—My Lord, when we get to Edo—" a voice said, sharply cutting through the eerie silence of the woods.

Chiharu's eyes widened; she couldn't believe her luck. Whoever they were, they were travelling to Edo. Kicking the stone lodged between her feet and her sandal lose, she ran towards the sound of the voices. Emerging through the bushes she almost fell over the small demon who had been standing there.

He — or at least she thought he was male — was a toad demon, only two and a half feet tall, with large bulging eyes. Eyes which bulged even more when she almost ran him over. Rubbing her hands together she smiled as pleasantly as she could and subtly glanced around. He was alone.

"Edo?" she gasped, smiling as her reiki surged. "You're going to Edo? Me too! But well, I've lost my way— again, could you point me where I should go?"

"Sesshōmaru-Sama has better things to do that to aid a Ningen, such as yourself."

"Right," Chiharu answered, raising an eyebrow. He was alone, yet she had heard him talking to someone before. Was he schizophrenic? "I only wish to know which direction, I will not bother you again after that."

"Get lost!" he snarled and Chiharu felt a muscle in her cheek tense. Putting her hands on her hips, adopting one of her favourite poses in her repertoire — the one she always used with her younger brother — she glared down at the little toad-Yōkai.

"Now, listen here, there is no need to get rude with me, pointing me in the right direction would have been good enough." She snapped and her reiki sparked against his hostile youki. It was weak enough for her reiki to overpower it.

"Honestly what is it with the attitude here?" Chiharu muttered, glaring down at the little Yōkai, as he flailed his staff at her.

"Attitude?" he snapped and Chiharu was sure she'd never seen an uglier staff than the one he was using. "You're the one with the attitude!"

"Oh, am I? Now—" she started, but she never got to finish her sentence as a dark sort of youki pressed onto her from all sides. He appeared suddenly before her. Tall and menacing, but also regal. His amber eyes regarded her cooly, while the small toad-Yōkai yelled at her.

Chiharu wasn't sure why she felt a surge of fear run through her, but it gripped at her heart with almost painful intensity. He was tall, had long silver hair, with looks that couldn't compare. Chiharu didn't think he was much older than nineteen years old, but as a demon, looks were deceiving. The man wore a simple haori with a hakama, and wore the oddest armour she'd ever seen. A simple obi was wrapped around his waist and a fur pelt was draped over his right arm.

"Ha, now you're silent!" the Toad-Yōkai yelled smugly and Chiharu glared at him. "Sesshōmaru-Sama, this Ningen has been terribly rude."

"How do you put up with that?" she muttered and glanced back at the Yōkai standing stiffly before her. Something flickered in his amber eyes which she couldn't name.

"This Sesshōmaru ignores it." The man said softly, and she carefully inspecting the sharp maroon markings on his face. He had a curious crescent moon centred on his forehead and looked rather human. Chiharu was sure that if it wasn't for the strange amber eyes with slit pupils, she would have mistaken him for a human (a strange cross-dressing one perhaps, but still a human).

"I see, impressive." She whispered softly, taking a few small steps back. His eyes lingered on hers. She knew why, so many others stared at them, she had grown used to it. Pushing her Reiki out, just as the monk in the fourth village had thought her, she frowned when she no longer felt his Youki. If he was capable to restrain his Youki — something of which she had no idea how to do — what else was he capable of.

"What do you want, Miko?"

"Uh," she started, deciding, it might be wiser to stay respectful, "I've lost my way and I'm looking for Edo Si— Sesshōmaru-Sama."

He glanced at her with a bored expression. The Toad-Yōkai had finally shut up, and Chiharu fingered her bow with a nervous tremble to her fingers. Perhaps trying to find her way with the aid of her map was a better move on her part, than asking a Yōkai whose whole demeanour screamed of power. Straightening the already fading parchment she tried to figure out how far and more important which way she should go.

"You can read?"

The question took her by surprise and the only thing she could do was nod. He glanced at her eyes again and dedicatedly sniffed the air. His demeanour changed suddenly, shoulders stiffening and eyes losing all emotion (which hadn't been holding that much emotion, to begin with). She felt the strange aura as well and as the ground trembled, she slowly took a few steps back, away from the quickly nearing aura.

With an almighty howl, a large snake Yōkai emerged. The surface of the water in the pond nearby rippled, as a tree fell down and the snake hissed, before striking down at the silver-haired Yōkai.

Pebbles skittered across the stone as Sesshōmaru stepped out of the larger Yōkai's reach. He seemed almost bored in doing so and Chiharu slowly slipped an arrow out of its holster. This was one of the large Yōkai to distract. It was large, ugly and quite possibly as bright as a wet candle. It surprised Chiharu how many of those got distracted from the pretty pink light and gave her enough time to run.

"What are you doing?" the imp asked, and Chiharu gave him an indecorous look.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she muttered, "I'm planning my escape! I haven't fought all those obstacles to be killed by this— thing."

"Milord has no problem taking down a low Yōkai like that." The imp stated proudly, and Chiharu raised an eyebrow.

"I realise this means nothing to you, but I'm— delicate…" she whispered. "It might not mean much to your master, but I'm not a skilled fighter and I don't want to die."

The imp snorted as if the word delicate didn't even start to describe what he thought of her lesser strength. She would have loved to say something hateful, but as the imp retreated to safer grounds, she watched in awe as Sesshōmaru lashed out at the lower Yōkai. The Yōkai screeched loudly and tried to claw at his left arm. Sesshōmaru snorted rudely before his fingertips tinged green and he sliced the lower Yōkai in half. It dissipated before hitting the ground and Chiharu felt her mouth slack open.

'Far stronger than I gave him credit for'

"Jaken," Sesshōmaru said quietly, landing gracefully.

"Y-yes, milord?" the green imp whispered, bulbous yellow eyes peering at his master hopefully. Chiharu slowly pushed the arrow back, unsure of what she should do. Were congratulations in order? Should she clap her hands for him?

"Point the girl the way." He said simply and the little green Yōkai nodded frightfully. Chiharu couldn't help but smile smugly as Jaken pointed his staff towards the East and muttered barely audible that she was almost there.

"Thank you!" she excitedly whispered, before starting down the direction given to her. After a few minutes she spotted thin wisps of smoke rising in the distance and she exhaled gratefully. "Please be Edo," she whispered to herself and she started to jog.
As the path broadened, she noticed huts and a few larger houses clustered in the valley below, flanked by a large grid of rice paddies on one side and tall trees from the forest on the other side. Her smile broadened, but then she felt it.

A prickle at the edges of her senses and she paused. After a moment she felt it again, but stronger this time. A tendril of Youki coursing through the forest and down the village and Chiharu slowly eased an arrow into her left hand. Slowly, stepping off the path and zigzagged between the trees, she jogged down the hill. The village huts grew larger and larger and as she passed a flock of chickens quaked loudly.

Tendrils of hair— hair?— were wrapped around the houses and Chiharu slowly backed further away when she noticed the youki emitting off it. Several dazed farmers were walking around and as she turned around and quickly ran away, wondering what the source of the hair was, a branch above her head snapped.

"Oi, watch it— woman!" a boy yelled, before slamming straight into her, falling to the forest floor, sending a cloud of dust up into the air.

"Jesus Christ," Chiharu mumbled, "I just got hit by a truck…"

"For fuck's sake another?"

"What?" she mumbled rubbing dust out of her right eye and glared at the boy who just bumped into her. He was a few inches taller, with long white hair and amber coloured eyes. Strange fluffy white ears sat on top of his head and suddenly his face was nearing hers.

He sniffed her with a deep frown between his eyebrows and Chiharu bristled.

"Stop sniffing me!" she snapped, opening both her eyes and he openly stared at them.

"Well, at least, more than just your smell is different." He muttered before, pulling her up to her feet. "I'm going to wring her neck, leaving me alone with that crazy slut and her stupid spell."

"You mean the hair?" she asked, making a circular motion with her hands and smiled faintly when a transparent pink shield appeared.

"Yes, I mean the hair, you can see it?"

"You mean you can't?"

"No, I bloody well can't," he snapped, while tendrils of that same hair wrapped around his wrist.

"Stay still," she ordered and he gave her an annoyed look. She hooked her arrow behind it and her reiki sparked. It looked like a spark lighting gunpowder.

"Did you see that?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Well," He looked her up and down, "you'll do just fine." He muttered before scooping her up, throwing her unceremoniously over his shoulder and jumped into the air and onto a branch.

She yelped when her head almost collided with the rough bark of a tree and slashed at tendrils of hair trying to wrap around her neck with her arrow. "What are you doing?"

"I can't see them, you can, so you're going to help me!"

Automatically wrapping her arm around his neck, she glanced over his shoulder. She would have been much more willing to help if he'd at least given her the common courtesy to ask. A large lock of hair hung from one tree to the other, acting as a net. "Right in front of you, a large tendril."

She yelped when he swerved around it, and jumped down onto the forest floor. A slight prickle of pain flashed through her cheek before something warm trickled down her chin.

"Damn." The boy muttered, "Stupid fragility of you humans."

He set her down onto the dirt again and shrugged his outer haori from his shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"It's made from the fur of Hinezumi, it's stronger than most armour." He told her and her eyes widened when he wrapped it around her.

"But, you don't even know me." She mumbled, as he moved her arms through the sleeves and was about to pick her up again.

"Listen, because I'll only tell you once, I need to retrieve the Shikon-no-tama to become a full-fledged demon. I also need to deal with that bitch who controls the hair. You're going to tell me where she is. I take it you can figure that out?"

"Uh, yeah, I suppose I could." She nodded, wondering why she was going directly against her instincts of survival. Directly fighting demons was not her approach. She had been able to outrun them, whenever she managed to distract them.

"I'm Chiharu," she introduced herself as she allowed him to pull her on his back and he snorted. She raised an eyebrow and felt a smile twitch. He was like a kid. "Am I supposed to call you 'dog-boy'?"

"Inuyasha," he muttered, before taking off again. She clung to his back as he evaded strings of hair and she tried to direct him as clear as possible. Using her thighs to balance herself, she drew her bow tight and released an arrow. It cut through the air with a low whistling sound and created a large opening through the hair still trying to get to them.

"There," she gasped suddenly when they noticed a bonfire in the woods. The main strands, which seemed to be the ones controlling the rest, were coming together. Around it, half a dozen beheaded bodies were tangled in the hair. Chiharu felt a tingle of dread run through her. She doubted they had died well.

"Damn," she whispered, and suddenly dozens of snaking hair tendrils shot at them. "They're coming straight at us. Dead ahead!"

"Okay," He nodded and leapt aside. A tree behind them exploded from the impact of the wave of hair and Chiharu tightened her hold on the boy. And suddenly a small tendril appeared out of nowhere and captured Inuyasha's wrist. He was pulled up into the air and she wrapped both hands around his captured wrist. Reiki travelled up her arm and sizzled past her fingertips.

He hissed, but the hair immediately disappeared. They both dropped down, skidding down a cliff. Chiharu hissed when the skin of her calf skid over the rocky ground and she came to a halt against a large boulder.

"A Miko and a Hanyō…" a woman said, her voice sickeningly sweet. "How unusual!"

They looked up to see a woman with short cropped black hair. She cackled madly and raised a single hand over her head. The hair instantly shot up into the darkness, picking her up as well. A large ball hung in the middle and she hovered above it as some twisted marionette.

"You're Inuyasha, aren't you?" she asked, but her question was rhetorical.

Inuyasha snorted rudely. "And you're Inverted-hair Yura… How do you know me?"

"You have gained quite a reputation among the Oni you know. Inuyasha… the Hanyō who acts as a lapdog for a reincarnated Miko… and we know you intend to collect the shards of the Shikon no Tama." she told him dryly.

"Me? Serving that brainless girl?" Inuyasha gawked. "You've got to be kidding me." His cheeks were quickly reddening and Chiharu raised an eyebrow. 'The brainless girl who left him here to deal with the situation alone?'

Chiharu defensively crossed her arms over her chest and Yura the Oni peered down at them with a small smile. Inuyasha fingered the rosary around his neck and cracked his fingers. Chiharu didn't see its significance, but Yura apparently did.

"I see," Yura muttered, seeming to find them as interesting as a death flea. "Well, both of you are brainless," she told him matter-of-factly, before reaching a hand between her breast and retrieved a small charm pouch. "I'll kill you both, just in case, and then I can collect these at my leisure." She told them showing them a strange glowing shard.

"You're going to kill me, are you?" the Hanyō whispered, anger radiating off his form. He used a large part of the hair that was curling around them to swing towards Yura, claws at the ready, but the Oni easily dodged the attack, raising her hands above her head and instantly shot up into the darkness above, pulled by the strands of hair.
Almost instantly new tendrils snaked around Inuyasha, binding him once more with Yura falling in behind him with a wicked smile. She was toying with him, and Chiharu focused on the faint light coming from the Shikon-no-tama shard. Yura had put it back into the pouch between her breasts. If she could hit it, she would probably hit internal organs as well.

Spinning around on her hair she laughed hysterically and unsheathed her sword and slashed at Inuyasha's chest. Blood welled up and soaked the white linen of the white kosode he wore under his haori.

"Nice sword you got there," he chuckled sarcastically, but it was obvious to Chiharu he was only putting up a front. She did no longer care where she shot her, as long as she hit her. Readying an arrow, she aimed, watching with morbid fascination as Yura licked her sword.

"Go to hell," Chiharu whispered, pushing as much of her holy power into the arrow as she could. It hit her straight in the shoulder, the flesh sizzling. Wondering if destroying her 'nest' would do the trick, she notched another one. Yura the Oni seemed not at all bothered by the loss of her arm, but when the second arrow sliced through the air and found its mark in the giant hairball, sending a purifying light through it she screeched. With a loud howling sound innumerable skulls starting to spill out from the demon's lair.

"My trophies!" she screeched "I really hate Mikos." The short-haired woman hissed before throwing her sword at the young girl. Inuyasha hoisted her up in his arms again and jumped them out of the way.

The Oni snorted, raising her hand again. Chiharu noticed a red comb clutched into her left hand and frowned, but couldn't focus on it as a gigantic sphere of hair crashed into the ground before them. Inuyasha skidded down the cliff and pushed her behind a boulder.

"Oi, Wench! Can you hit her again, or were those first tries just pure luck?" he snapped sceptical, pushing his claws into the fresh wounds of his chest.

"After the last few weeks spending on the run and being attacked by humans and demons alike, yes, I know how to use a bow and arrow, all right…" she muttered angrily.

He nodded, before dodging the hair that tried to wrap around his ankles like vines again and she sighed. Chiharu carefully glanced down the cliff, to the forest edge bellow. Swallowing she notched another arrow on her bow and nodded to him. "Keep her distracted, I don't think having her shooting things at me, will be very helpful."

"Keh!" Inuyasha hissed, before jumping up towards Yura, who again effortlessly avoided him, but almost instantly the Hanyō cracked his fingers. "Take this bitch!"

"Hijin Ketsusou!"

Blades of blood sliced through her and this time her left hand was separated from her body. Chiharu slowly inched around the other side of the boulder. Her eyes widened when she noticed the comb disappear into the nones below. Slowly, she inched closer, keeping her fingers stiffly curled around a red skull. It looked to be the centre of the hair and more importantly, a strange aura was emitted.
Chiharu wheezed and trembled, before pressing her back against the hard stone. An icy wind picked her hair up and felt wonderfully against her heated flesh. Inuyasha swore when the arrow missed Yura — by meters — and arced over the intended skull.

"Shit!" she mumbled and went for another arrow when Yura howled in anger. Her face turned an unflattering shade of red and suddenly she appeared like an acrobat falling from the sky, to land skilfully on a narrow string of hair.

"You little brat!" she snarled and tendrils of hair snaking around her wrists, pulling her down face first into the dirt. "Just die, bitch!"

Yura swung her arm wide, sending a blaze of demonic fire along the strands of hair directly to where Chiharu laid on the dirt. Chiharu gasped and squirmed under the searing flames, clinging to the fire rat robe for dear life. She couching softly, wondering why the fire was not yet eating at her flesh, nor scalding it or harming her in any way. Chiharu's brows knitted together and exhaled slowly when she did not burn at all.

Inuyasha's screams were loud in her ears and she slowly sat up, panting breathlessly and she felt faint. Getting to her feet, she stumbled towards the sagging hair from the nest and with a cry of revenge, she let her notched arrow loose. It flew perfectly true, and it crushed the red-coloured skull with a sharp snap. Yura's eyes widened in horror as the arrow flared a dark pink before the skull disintegrated under the arrow. The comb fizzled and cracked into a million pieces.

Yura disappeared, her voice cracked as if it was breaking and she turned into dust, leaving only her dark fighting clothes and the yellow obi. They were both breathing heavily. The white-haired boy slightly wobbling on his feet and Chiharu carefully moved towards him.

"That bitch!" Inuyasha snapped, "No wonder I couldn't hurt her, no matter how many times I cut her down! She transferred her soul into a fucking comb."

"I never knew that was possible," Chiharu muttered, "Are you all right?"

"It's no big deal, we need the Shinkon-no-tama shards." The boy mumbled and Chiharu shook her head, retrieving the pouch with the shards from Yura's clothes.

"All of this for just a few shards, my goodness!" She whispered. Glancing at the strange glowing objects, she looked back at Inuyasha. His face was pale and she was breathing heavily. His eyes suddenly narrowed and he glared at the bushes behind her. A moment later she (also) heard the rustling of leaves and as she turned around a gasp penetrated the still air.

"Chiharu?"

"Onee-chan?" Chiharu mumbled, twirling around and staring straight into the familiar face. "Oh my God, Onee-chan!" she cried, her eyes widening when she noticed the familiar figure of her big sister. The girls stared at each other for a moment, before Chiharu launched herself at her older sister. "Oh Kami! I missed you so much!"

"It's been two weeks Chiharu, where have you been?" Kagome whispered, her voice muffled by Chiharu's neck, her arms tightened around Chiharu's middle.

"Oi Wench!" an annoyed voice snarled, and Chiharu watched from the corners of her eyes as the silver-haired Hanyō jumped down a tree. "We don't have time for some kind of reunion. We were looking for that crazy hair-obsessed bitch, and you just fucking left!"

"What, why?"

"You don't want to know," Kagome whispered softly, gripping Chiharu's hand and Chiharu nodded absentmindedly. Inuyasha wasn't very civil with a conversation. "I'm so glad you're all right though. Mama and jii-chan are so worried."

"You've been back?"

"For fuck's sake!" Inuyasha snapped, taking the two steps separating them, yanking Chiharu away from Kagome and winced. "You just left. You untrustworthy, two-faced, whiny bitch!"

"Inuyasha!"

Kagome's face turned the most unflattering shade of red she'd ever seen on her older sister and her eyes narrowed. "Osuwari!" she snapped and Chiharu's mouth fell open when the Hanyō crashed into the forest floor.

"Kagome!" Chiharu snapped, when Inuyasha slowly sat up, his hand grasping at the wound on his chest. "He's hurt. I know he is rude. Very rude actually, but however you did that, it is not fair!"

Inuyasha hissed and glared at Kagome again, slowly getting to his feet. "You didn't say she would look like Kikyō as well, either!"

"I told you she is my twin sister…" Kagome returned angrily and Chiharu raised an eyebrow.

"Kikyō?"

"You don't want to know that either," Kagome said and Chiharu worried her lower lip, before pushing a reluctant Inuyasha down onto a log.

"You should sit down." She told him. "I know your healing speed is much faster than that of a regular human, but you got cut by a sword. Just sit, and don't complain."

"Feh,"

"By the way," Chiharu muttered, slipping out of the red haori, "Thank you for letting me borrow this. It saved my life."

"Uh… You're welcome…" he muttered embarrassedly and Chiharu felt slightly amused. He was just like a Junior High kid. Dealing with him was going to be fun…

"Where have you been all this time?" Kagome asked suddenly, crossing her arms in front of her chest and jutted out her jaw.

"Lost, insulted and I became a thief with no morals, believe me, that is a part you don't want to know."

"You stole these clothes?" her sister asked, looking downright horrified.

"No, the clothes are practically the only thing I didn't steal."

"I take it back, you're nothing like Kikyō…" Inuyasha muttered and Kagome sighed.

"Who is Kikyō?" Chiharu demanded, his outer Haori still draped over her arm. "And when have you been home?"

"I've been home at least two times." Her older sister answered. "When I realised you hadn't come home either, I and Inuyasha tried looking for you."

"I see?"

"It didn't go well." Kagome shrugged. "There are so many who covet the Shikon-No-Tama, and well, I might have broken it…"

Inuyasha made a rude gesture behind her back and Chiharu nodded, her lips pulling into a smile. It started to rain and the three of them slowly started back to the village of Edo (Inuyasha muttered something about digging Lady Kaede up) and Kagome wanted to know Chiharu's story before they went back to their own time. The fact that it was late, dark and probably difficult to navigate through a forest at that time was left unspoken.

To be continued...

A/N: next chapter will be published next Thursday or Friday. Please comment! I love them so much! They make my day!