I own nothing save my OCs and my own unique idea twists. Reviews and comments are welcome, but no flaming please. Also my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is appreciated. And if anyone knows how to fix the mess that is my first chapter, I would appreciate the help. Enjoy!

The fire crackles as Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo absorb Kaede's story of her first meeting with Jade. Inuyasha curses viciously.

"I'll kill Naraku! Bastard!" They others nod grimly.

"I never expected he would go after Kaede- we should have thought of that." Sango says, her hands clenching her kimono.

"He is always manipulating us with our loved ones…" She breaks off, unable to finish.

Jade quirks an eyebrow.

"Sounds like a nasty character," is her reply as she gives Kirara a belly scratch. They all look at her, stunned. She looks up and asks, confused,

"What? Is there food on my face or something?"

Finally, Kagome breaks the silence.

"A nasty character? A nasty character?! He's evil, foul and manipulative-!"

Jade holds up a hand, forestalling Kagome's tirade.

"Okay, okay, got it, he's a piece of shit that needs to be dealt with."

Kagome blinks at Jade's easy acquiesce. Jade's face becomes speculative as she looks at them all.

"So. What's your plan for bringing him down?"

They all are taken aback by her bluntness.

"O-Oi!" Inuyasha snaps, flustered. The Dragon Slayer gazes at all of them, eyebrow raised.

"This Naraku dude- I personally prefer Baboon Man, but whatever, is a strategist. He has a plan A, B and C. Probably a Plan D too- plus he knows how to string you along. All your weaknesses, strengths, and personality quirks- you can bet he did his homework on all of you. For any strategist, information is power and it sounds like he has a shit ton of info on all of you. So, I'm asking how you are combatting that."

A stunned silence falls. She looks around and makes a face.

"Don't tell me… were you basically just reacting to all of his ploys and you keep getting lucky?"

At that, they all protest loudly.

"Hell no!"

"We do actually have a plan-"

"Lucky?!"

"We aren't weak, you know!"

Jade claps her hands over her ears, grimacing.

"All ye, be silent!" Kaede commands firmly. They settle down with grumbles and Jade nods in thanks to Kaede. Then she points at Miroku.

"Ok, you mentioned having a plan- enlighten me, Mister Monk."

Miroku nods.

"We know that Naraku wants the Shikon Jewel, which means he will be after the pieces of it. Since that is the case, we will keep on collecting the shards and eventually he will have to come after us to retrieve the pieces in our possession."

Jade nods, thinking it over.

"Okay, not a completely crap plan- here are some things to consider. One, Naraku has a base of operations somewhere where he can stockpile his strength. You lot aren't doing that by traveling and you are open to his ambushes. Two, he has a way to spy on you from a distance- that's a huge disadvantage by the way. Three, it is entirely possible he will lure you to him rather than him coming after all of you."

Jade ticks off her points with her fingers as she talks. Inuyasha huffs in annoyance.

"Let him! We can take him out!"

Jade looks him up and down.

"… Are you a numbskull, Fluffy Ears?"

His ears flatten against his head.

"Why you-!"

"I get that you have survived his ambushes before. And I get that you have unusual abilities. But that doesn't mean crap if he A, already knows about them and has counters for them. B, exploits your weaknesses at critical moments. C, has tactical advantages over you, examples being splitting you up to make it easier to kill all of you and so on. But here's the kicker- he's learning from his mistakes."

Jade glares at Inuyasha, trying to get him to understand the dangers.

"If you keep rushing in blind, it is completely possible that you will endanger your teammates or get them killed. Think, assess, and then act."

She sits back, letting Inuyasha think it over, then glances at the rest of the group. Her eyes land on Shippo and her eyes light up.

"Hey, kid!"

Shippo blinks and quivers.

"Y-Yeah?"

"You can do illusions and stuff right? Because you're a kitsune?" she presses, thinking furiously.

Shippo nods, terrified by Jade's questions. Sango and Kagome look on, worried.

"Then you could, probably, stop Naraku from spying on you with magical means!"

Cicadas chirp in the distance as that sinks in.

Then pandemonium erupts.

"What?!"

"Eh?!"

"That's possible?"

"No way!"

"Seriously? Hell yeah, now we're talking!"

Kaede stares at Jade and asks the practical questions-

"How is he to learn this? Tis no simple matter, no?" Jade laughs.

"Nah, he's gonna have to work hard- but I do have something to make it easier. See the idea itself is fairly simple- oh, wait, I almost forgot."

Jade gets up and rummages in her pack before pulling out a palm-sized sphere of clear glass with a riot of colors in the middle. She concentrates and it glows faintly gold before the colors in the center of the sphere suddenly move, whirling inside until the magics bound inside it escape. Threads of power, all colors of the rainbow, weave together into a braided circle and settle to confine everyone inside that circle. Jade settle back into her seat and grins at their expressions.

"It's a magic device that creates a ward against observation. Naraku and friends cannot hear, see, smell, or touch us while inside it."

Yawning, Jade pets Kirara.

"…Could we perhaps borrow this device?" Sango asks, her mind whirling at the implications. The other nod excitedly.

Jade shakes her head.

"No can do. My sister would lose her shit if she found out I let you borrow it- not to mention you need to have magic to activate the thing. The other downside is this device only works while stationary. You can't walk or ride with it, since it affects the spot physically inside the circle and that needs to remain consistent."

They slump and Inuyasha grumbles about Jade being stingy. Shippo looks at Jade and asks,

"But how can I help? I'm just a kid!" Jade grins at him.

"Your age doesn't matter- all you need is the magical aptitude for this type of magic, which at its core is illusion magic."

He blinks and then nods slowly, a small grin forming.

"I do know how to do illusions," Shippo admits proudly. She reaches over and ruffles his hair.

"That's the spirit! So, here's the basics of this spell- you are hiding yourself from magic, essentially. If it can't detect you, it can't hurt you or spy on you- you with me so far?"

He nods, looking eager.

"Now, I can't do illusions myself, but, how my sister described it to me is that you are cloaking yourself with power to hide or enhance aspects of yourself. For this one, you are hiding your aura or your life force so the spying magic has nothing to lock on to."

The others listen in amazement, and confusion in some cases, as Jade describes the spell to Shippo.

"Ok, so normally a mage can hold this spell, if it is only on themselves, for half a day, sometimes more. The more people the illusion is affecting, the more magic is used and the shorter the overall time the spell is active. But," She holds up a finger, grinning.

"That's where Kaede, Kagome, Miroku and I can help you. We'll make amulets to hold the spell and magic to fuel the spell. That way, you won't be draining yourself of magic all the time and can maintain the spell for a far longer. You will need to renew the spell on the amulets periodically, but if you are careful in how you use them, the spell can be a major trump card for you."

Shippo beams, excited to try the spell. Inuyasha yawns, bored. Kagome, Miroku and Kaede look at Jade with concern.

"How exactly will we be making these amulets?" Miroku questions, doubtful.

"They are going to be something tangible- in all honesty, we could use paper, but I don't want the spell to dissolve because of some rain. So we can use either wood or precious stones- I have plenty of stones by the way." She pulls out a small bag from her pocket and dumps it on the floor.

Rubies, quartz, topaz, sapphires, fluorite, jade, emeralds, pearls, tourmalines, even a few diamonds, bounce on the floor. Kagome gasps, and looks up at Jade with absolute shock.

"Wha-! How?! You even have diamonds?!" Jade blinks.

"Uh, yeah? They taste yummy." She picks one off the floor and looks at it before sighing.

"Too bad they cost so much to get- mining them is a pain too." Kagome squeaks.

"Eat them?! They're diamonds! The hardest natural substance on Earth!"

Jade shrugs.

"Well, I do have Earth Dragon Slayer magic." She states, stressing Earth. "I can eat anything that is of the Earth- gems, stone, dirt and so on. Gems work best because they are more refined and pack a higher amount of magic than ordinary dirt."

After a long pause, Kaede finally says.

"Lass, what is Dragon Slayer magic? And how does it allow thee to devour gems?"

Jade sighs.

"Okay, Dragon Slayer magic is where the mage takes on the aspects of a dragon to kill dragons. So for instance-"

She holds up her hand and concentrates.

"Earth Dragon's Diamond Claws!"

Her hand changes, skin turning to glimmering scales and fingers into powerful claws. Inuyasha sits up, and the others murmur. Jade lets them look for a few more seconds and then dismisses the magic.

"That was my taking on a dragon's claws. I can do the same with any part of my body and my senses are always heightened. Which can be great, but also a major pain in the ass."

Jade picks up a topaz and then deliberately bites it in half, then shows it to them.

"My teeth are pretty much always like this- I have to be able to eat rocks at any time, especially during battle. Since my element is Earth, I can eat things of the Earth and use attacks that are based on Earth."

She eats the topaz and then picks up the magical device, turning it off.

"Come on, we have work to do."

Several days later…

Shippo's spell was a success! Pitting him against the senses of Inuyasha, Jade, Miroku, Kagome and Kaede, he managed to hide his aura completely. Jade then had him set the spell into the amulets and taught them all how to activate them. Inuyasha, eager to leave, had everyone ready to set out the next morning…

"Jade-chan! Why don't you come with us?" Kagome coaxes, pouting. Jade shakes her head.

"Not my way- I'm crappy at traveling with others." Jade stands away from the group, giving them a wry smile.

"Best of luck. Maybe we'll run into each other again."

"You be leaving, lass?" Kaede asks, startled.

Jade nods.

"Time to hit the road. I need to find the ley lines." Soren snorts and paws the ground.

Kagome pouts, but Inuyasha gives her little choice in the matter, hustling her and the rest of his group onto the road.

Jade sees them off and mounts Soren.

"Let's go, partner."

"Lass!"

Jade turns her head to look at Kaede.

"Ye take care now- and come back one day!" She smiles at the older woman and nods.

Meanwhile…

"My Lord! Lord Sesshomaru!"

The stoic Diayoukai ignores Jaken as he meanders, his instincts prickling.

Something was in this area- something that had scared away many youkai and a number of weaker youkai had abandoned the territory altogether. It could not be Inuyasha- he was too weak. The situation did not have the stench of Naraku either.

Sesshomaru walks onward, intent to find out what, or who, has laid claim to these lands.

And to defeat them.