Hello everybody! Wow, more and more people are reading this! And it's already at chapter 8; I seriously have no idea how long this fanfic is gonna turn out, but I hope you all enjoy reading it! As always, I do not own Inuyasha or Fairy Tail, just my OCs and plot twists. Please comment and review, but refrain from flaming please. If there are concepts I am not explaining very well, please let me know!
Country of Japan, World: Earth.
"You two had enough?" Jade inquires, hands on her hips.
Inuyasha and Koga are puking their guts out on the side of the road, unable to do anything else. Soren tosses his head, eager to run further, while Shippo giggles at the pair.
"Who- bleah! Is this- ulp, bleah! Chick?!" Koga gasps, clutching his guts.
"Jade-!" Inuyasha growls before his face turns green again.
It takes a while before the two can stagger to their feet, but thanks to their demonic powers it's faster than average. Jade quirks her eyebrow at them and keeps her face stern as they simultaneously glare at her.
"Why'd you do that?!" Inuyasha yells, furious and humiliated.
"Yeah! It wasn't any of your business, so why'd you butt in?!" Koga adds, fingers cracking as he flexes them.
Jade rolls her eyes.
"Kagome doesn't want you two fighting; since you wouldn't listen to her, I stepped in. Yeesh, now I know how Gramps felt each time we messed up the Guild."
Koga and Inuyasha blink, confused by the sudden change in topic. Jade shakes her head and glares at them- both instinctively step back.
"Anywho, if you two are going to be fighting every time you run into each other, just remember this; I was taking it easy on you two. There is plenty more where this came from." She jerks her thumb back at Soren, who scraps the ground.
They blanch. Soren gives them a decidedly evil grin (as much as a he is able to) and starts walking towards them. Jade grabs his halter and gives him a couple of pats on the head.
"Yup, you did good, partner. Shame we didn't go full speed that would have been fun!" Her own expression is rather evil as she grins at them.
What does she mean by 'full speed'?! Both of them think, panicked.
Jade walks over to them and gives them both pats on the shoulder. Both flinch. She laughs.
"Don't worry about it- unless you two end up picking fights with each other, then please by all means worry away! Don't upset Kagome, okay?"
She reaches her arms over her head and yawns.
"I'm starved! Who wants to find food?"
Inuyasha gapes at her.
"You just ate!" Jade rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, but packaged ramen doesn't have enough in it to keep my stomach full for very long. Hmm, you think there is boar around here?"
Koga crosses his arms.
"Oh course there is!" He says boastfully.
Jade grins at him.
"Great! Where?" Koga blinks and skitters back.
"Ah…" Jade notices and her grin widens.
"Hmm? What? Do I scare you?" He growls in aggravation.
"No! Of course not! Why would I be scared of a mere girl?"
Jade looks at him, green eyes glittering dangerously; Koga's hackles rise in terror. Inuyasha snorts, crossing his arms.
This ought to be good. He thinks, watching how Jade seemingly innocently stalks towards Koga as she smiles at him.
"A mere girl?" She asks, her voice deceptively soft.
Koga bolts, unable to stay near her any longer when every one of his instincts was telling him to leave. Jade cocks her head and grins, baring her teeth.
"Oh I don't think so."
She explodes into motion, pursuing Koga and gaining on him rapidly. Koga risks a glance over his shoulder- his eyes widen and he redoubles his efforts to flee. Jade laughs and starts to push herself- Koga is giving her a serious work out! Soren dances, eager to join in. Shippo looks down at him and suddenly has a terrible idea.
"Hey Soren! You want to chase that no good wolf too?" He asks coyly. Inuyasha glances back at him, wondering what he was up to.
Soren's eyes gleam and he bobs his head 'yes'; both Shippo and Inuyasha blink in surprise.
"Wait- you can understand me?!" Shippo gasps, surprised.
Soren snorts and nods again, then looks toward Koga and Jade, pawing at the ground. Shippo gulps and grips Soren's horns tightly.
"Go get 'em, Soren!" He tilts his head and stamps the ground- Inuyasha jumps back when he senses magic building in the Wapiti's hooves.
"Shippo! Get off-!"
BOOM.
Inuyasha is knocked over as Soren breaks the sound barrier, Shippo screaming as the Wapiti joyfully chases Koga and Jade. Jade snaps her head around, sees Soren going all out and gets out of the way. Koga is not as lucky.
Soren tramples him, turns around and tramples him again then tosses him into the air using his horns. Koga lands near Inuyasha, looking worse for wear. Jade puts her hands on her hips and glares at Shippo.
"That was really stupid, Shippo. You could have died easily if you fell off of Soren." She lectures him.
Shippo groans, queasy.
"I won't do it again- don't hit me!" He begs fearfully.
Jade gives him a bewildered look.
"Why would I hit you? You clearly regret doing it." Shippo stares at her, surprised.
"Bu you hit Inuyasha and Koga…" Jade rolls her eyes.
"They don't listen to reason."
"Oi!" Inuyasha protests, walking up.
She smirks at him.
"What? It's true." Koga groans feebly, almost accenting her point.
She looks at him and sighs.
"I guess I better make sure Soren didn't break anything important…" She mutters as she makes her way to him.
Briskly, she feels his arms and legs, then his torso and neck. Inuyasha blushes a little at how forward she is being while Shippo gives Inuyasha odd looks. Jade sits back on her hunches and gives Koga a pitying smile.
"Good news- Soren didn't break your neck, spine, skull or pelvis. Bad news- he broke almost everything else. Yeesh, I need to take Soren out for a real run soon!" Koga moans.
Jade shakes her head sternly.
"Don't expect pity from me- you tried to run off and I wasn't done with you. Soren was just a lot rougher than I would have been. Don't worry, I'll knock you out so you don't feel it." She tells him before karate chopping his neck.
Koga slumps into unconsciousness while Inuyasha stalks over to them and points at Soren.
"What the hell is that thing?!" He yells at Jade.
Soren munches on some grass, unconcerned. Jade tilts her head at Inuyasha.
"Do you not have Wapiti here?" He scoffs at her.
"Hell no!" She rubs her ears wincing.
"Yeesh, you've got a loud voice. And Soren ain't a thing, he's my partner. He lives and breathes, same as you or me. As for what he is, a Wapiti is an herbivore found in the northern most reaches of my world." She sits down and leans back, relaxed.
"They travel in groups ranging from 20 to 40, depending on how much food is available. Coincidently, they are also one of the few animals with innate magic; Borealis Charge, I think is what Masa-onee called it. She said that Wapiti can travel the length of the world in the time it takes for the sun to rise and set; something they developed to deal with predators. It can be lethal if an enemy is in their way when they use it or if a rider is thrown off- they just trample everything as they run." Jade tells him, watching the sky.
"Most people never see one- Wapiti can't really be contained or captured, so it's sort of pointless unless you go to them. But they are insanely loyal and smart! Masa-onee told me she saw one of the babies get attacked by an ice drake and the entire herd attacked it! One would draw its attention while the rest attacked the body from its blind spots-!" She tells him excitedly, gesturing to show him how they moved.
Inuyasha is taken aback, unused to such open and honest enthusiasm.
"You- you have an older sister? I thought you had only one." He asks, reluctantly curious.
Jade grins at him and falls back on the grass.
"Yup! I have two sisters actually; I'm the middle sister so I have an older and younger sister. It can get pretty crazy when the three of us are altogether. Masa-onee is older than me, we think, and Ryo is definitely younger than either of us. The three of us grew up together with Aquileon and Demetria, our foster parents."
"Huh? What do you mean you don't know if she's older than you?" Jade glances at him and smiles cheerfully.
"We don't know how old we are- Demetria guessed our ages. All of us are foundlings- orphans." She clarifies, seeing his confusion.
"There wasn't any clues- we were dumped into the wilds with nothing, heck we didn't even have names! We were all pretty feral, especially Masa-onee, she was seriously protective of us. I mean, she attacked Aquileon when we first met him and he's a dragon!"
"Eh?!" Shippo and Inuyasha stare at her, mutually confused.
"A dragon?!"
"Uh huh." Jade nods firmly, looking up at the sky.
"A big dragon- he's an Ice Dragon, so he's pretty massive. Masa didn't care and bite him on the ear- Aquileon was impressed by her lack of fear. Demetria thought it was funny that a toddler managed to even climb high enough to reach his ear. She's an Earth Dragon, but Demetria's pretty weird in that she can take human form."
"… You were raised by DRAGONS?!" Shippo squeaks, cowering behind Soren's head.
"Yup! They're awesome, even if Aquileon needs to lighten up." She sighs, remembering his seriousness.
"He could not take a joke; if Demetria wasn't there to lighten things up we would have driven each other crazy."
"But that doesn't make any sense! Why would dragons raise three human kids?!" Inuyasha snaps, trying to wrap his head around it.
Jade shrugs.
"Don't know why, and frankly I don't really care. Fact is, they did and if they hadn't we probably would have died out in the wilds." She yawns.
"Yikes, I'm falling asleep! Ugh, well, it'll take everyone else a while to catch up- might as well nap!" Jade yawns again, closes her eyes and falls asleep.
Inuyasha and Shippo stare at her, wondering if she is faking it. Shippo hops off of Soren and pulls out some ink, scurrying closer. She doesn't stir; Shippo glances at Inuyasha with a wicked glint in his eyes and carefully starts his masterpiece. Inuyasha snorts and looks away.
Hmph, if she falls asleep, it's her fault if she gets pranked!
Later:
Kagome stares at Jade's face and tries hard to be firm with Shippo.
"Shippo…!" He smiles in an innocent way, even though his fingers are covered with ink.
She gives up and glares at Inuyasha, who glares back.
"What?"
"Why didn't you stop Shippo, Inuyasha?" He snorts loudly.
"Why should I? It's her fault for napping in the first place!" He growls.
Kagome's eyes narrow.
"Inuyasha! S-!"
"-nee!" She stops, confused.
"Did you hear that?" Kagome asks, confused.
Shippo blinks and looks at her funny.
"Huh? What's wrong, Kagome?" Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango also give her looks of concern.
"J… nee!" She holds up her hand and turns her head frantically, trying to pinpoint the voice.
"There it was again!" Kagome whispers.
Soren lifts his head, ears perked and lets out a soft bugle of inquiry.
"Ja… nee!" The voice seems to float out from nowhere, the words fragmented but the tone is clearly irritated.
The group flinches and searches for the source. Inuyasha grips the hilt of Tetsusaiga, ears twitching.
"I wonder if it is an angry ghost?" Miroku wonders aloud as he pulls out sutras.
Shippo hides behind Kagome's legs, tail tucked between his legs. Kagome shudders at the thought of dealing with an angry ghost again.
"I hope not!" Kagome snaps, gripping her bow tightly.
The group is tense, save for Soren, Koga and Jade, waiting for the voice to speak again.
"Stu… d… nection! Ugh!" They all jump and stare at Jade.
The voice was coming from her- but she's asleep?! Soren trots over and starts to nose her urgently. Jade moans, but stubbornly stays in Dreamland.
"Le-s try… kay." A second voice? This one doesn't seem nearly as angry as the other one.
"Is Jade possessed?" Shippo whispers, frightened.
"Wa-! I heard…! Tha… it!" The first voice says excitedly.
Team Inuyasha backs away, growing more uneasy by the second.
"… JADE-NEE!" The first voice bellows, far louder and clearer than before, originating from Jade's pocket!
Soren frantically lips at Jade's pocket, but unable to access it, looks at Team Inuyasha with desperate eyes. Sango finally edges forward and reaches carefully into Jade's pocket, pulling out- broken glass? As soon as the sunlight hits it, magic flares and Sango instinctively drops it.
"Ah!" She jumps back and readies herself for battle.
The glass shimmers and projects a beam of light and in that light two people appear, both women. One is younger, about Sango's age with braided red hair, dark blue eyes and soot all over her face. The other is older with golden skin, thick black hair and green eyes. They stare at Team Inuyasha and the younger woman's face twists into annoyance.
"Who the hell are you?" She snaps, glaring at them.
"Ryo-chan, that's not how you ask people to introduce themselves," the older woman admonishes her.
'Ryo' ignores the other woman.
"Well? Are you going to answer or keep your mouths hanging open like a bunch of idiots?" She demands, eyes narrowing.
"We should be asking you that!" Inuyasha yells back, pissed off.
"Y-Yeah! We're not scared of you!" Shippo quavers, shaking like a leaf.
"I asked first! And I don't care if you're scared of me!" Ryo snaps back.
"Are you a demon?" Sango asks, fingers tightening on her boomerang bone.
"How did you appear like this?" Marvels Miroku, eyeing the two ladies with a familiar gleam.
"Would either of you beautiful ladies like to bear my child?" He is met with a flat glare from Ryo and amusement from her companion.
"Oh? So bold!" The older woman laughs.
Ryo ignores Miroku and looks at Sango.
"Why the hell are you asking me such a stupid question? I'm human thank you very much!"
Ryo's companion smiles.
"Ryo-chan is not a demon." She confirms.
"She is a wizard and fully human. Now, let's calm down, shall we..?" Soren bugles and steps into view bobbing his head.
Ryo's eyes immediately fix on him and widen.
"Holy shit, it's Soren!" He prances in place at his name.
"Oh my, it is!" The other woman gasps in surprise.
The redhead grins at the Wapiti.
"Soren! Where's my no-good troublesome older sister?" He snorts and turns slightly, pawing at Jade.
Ryo leans awkwardly to try to see and falls over, disappearing from view.
"Wah!" The other woman chuckles and extends a hand.
"You alright Ryo-chan? That was quite the tumble."
"Shut up, Yasmine!" Ryo growls as she pulls herself back into view, face beet red.
Inuyasha snickers and Ryo turns her temper on him.
"Is there something funny, Mister Cosplay Idiot?" She asks sweetly.
"Huh?! Who're you calling an idiot?!" He sputters loudly.
Ryo pointedly looks around and says cheerfully,
"The only idiot I see here is a certain male with fake dog ears and silver hair! And an atrocious liking for red!" She thinks for a moment then shakes her head.
"Actually… I'm sorry. You are not the only idiot here! You, the black haired pervert and Jade-nee all count as idiots."
Team Inuyasha sweats at Ryo's casual labeling Jade as an idiot. Yasmine puts a hand on Ryo's shoulder and inclines her head towards Jade.
"Perhaps we should wake her up before you cast judgement on her potential idiocy?" Ryo stops, then nods.
"Fine. The rest of you, cover your ears. You have been warned and I will not be held responsible for broken ear drums."
Yasmine takes the lead and firmly covers her ears and leans away from Ryo. They blink, confused, but follow her instructions. Well, mostly. Inuyasha refuses, convinced that Ryo was only bluffing. Her eyes narrow when she sees Inuyasha didn't listen then she shrugs.
Not my problem that he won't listen. Ryo thinks before taking a deep breathe.
"JADE-NEE! WAKE UP, YOU LAZY BEANSTALK!" She bellows, using magic to amplify her voice to an intensity that makes Inuyasha collapse clutching his ears and whining.
Jade gasps and springs to her feat, half-asleep, instinctively activating her defense magics.
"Wha-?"
"Jade-nee! Over here, you idiot!" Jade turns and stumbles back when she sees Ryo's angry face.
"Ah… is this a dream?" Jade asks, scratching her head.
Ryo glares at her dourly. Jade sighs.
"Thought I'd ask, yeesh."
"What is that on your face, Jade-nee?" Jade cocks her head, confused.
"What is what on my face?"
"Those… Atrocious doodles." Ryo says reluctantly.
Yasmine is shaking with suppressed laughter and pulls out a small mirror.
"Here-! I can't wait to see her face~!" Yasmine chortles wickedly.
Jade leans closer frowning and tries to understand what she is seeing; someone had drawn a mustache, goatee, thick eyebrows and a tongue sticking out of her mouth.
"… You know, if it weren't for the fact that the ink smell is making me dizzy, I would be enjoying this." Jade remarks, looking at the doodles critically.
She straightens and shakes her head in mock despair.
"Aw, I got pranked and pranked good!"
"I don't care, Jade-nee, wipe it off; I can't take you seriously when you look like that." Jade shakes her head with a grin.
"No can do! Not unless you take a picture first!" Yasmine brightens and grins.
"Sure! Wait a moment!" She leaves the view and everyone can hear banging and slams as something is closed and opened.
Ryo gives Jade an incredulous look.
"Why on earth would you want a picture of your face like that?!" Jade shrugs.
"Cause it's funny? Besides, someone put a lot of effort into it- might as well have a photo to remember it by." She grins, unruffled.
Ryo face palms.
"Why can't you react like a normal person," She mutters.
Jade rolls her eyes skyward.
"Where's the fun in that? It's more fun being weird than normal! Besides…" Jade looks back at Team Inuyasha with a broad grin.
"It just means I'll have to prank them back! Hmm, now I've got to make plans…"
"I hate your logic, Jade-nee."
"That's nothing new," Jade dismisses, waving her hand as if to brush away the words.
Yasmine reappears with a camera.
"Say cheese!"
"Cheese!" Jade grins and waits until Yasmine checks to see how the picture turned out.
"You're good! Alright, why don't you put Ryo-chan out of her misery and wash your face?" Yasmine suggests, putting the camera away.
Jade looks around and grabs her water bottle from her bag. After splashing some on her face a few times, the ink smears but is mostly gone.
"Jade-nee. How the HELL did you end up in another world?! And for six months?!" Ryo finally explodes, done with waiting.
Jade gives her a wry look.
"Same way you did, sis. Wait, it's been six months? I could have sworn it was only six weeks!" Jade mutters, confused.
Ryo blinks and her eyes widen in absolute shock.
"Ley lines? You used a freaking LEY LINE?!" Jade leans back, rubbing her ears.
"Can you be any louder, I don't think everyone in Crocus could hear you." Ryo's face grows furious.
"After all the lectures you gave me, you went and did the same. Damn. Thing?! Hypocrite much?!" Jade glares back.
"I didn't do this intentionally! You think I enjoy being in another world with zero idea of how to get back?!"
Ryo opens her mouth, clearly ready to keep yelling when a tan hand firmly covers it. Yasmine meets everyone else's eyes and smiles wryly.
"Now, now. Let's not spew venom at each other; we were worried for you, Jade, because something happened recently and we wished to know if you were still alive or not. Ryo was panicked when she couldn't find any trace of you and so was I. We are both very happy that you're alive and well. That said, are you located near any ley lines at present? Ryo is going to open a doorway."
Jade crosses her arms in a scowl.
"I can't, even if I wanted to. The drowsing pendant Ryo gave me was shattered when I was fighting someone. And even before that it wasn't working for me; I spent two weeks trying to use the damn thing!" Yasmine winces as Ryo bites her hand.
"Ow! About that- ouch! Why must you always bite?"
"Cause she hates not being able to speak for herself." Jade says, quirking her mouth slightly.
"Duh. What were you saying?" Yasmine grimaces and tries not to yelp as Ryo sinks her teeth back into her hand.
"The drowsing pendant she gave you was- ouch!" Everyone can see blood dripping and Ryo's vengeful satisfaction.
Taking advantage of Yasmine's distraction, Ryo drags the hand away and finishes Yasmine's explanation without missing a beat.
"I gave you a dud."
Awkward silence falls.
"… Why?" Jade says carefully, trying to reign in her temper.
Ryo rolls her eyes.
"Because you have a habit of destroying everything I give you? First it was the wind chimes you accidently smashed, then it was the glass lanterns I spent weeks etching with arcane runes and don't get me started about that special order kaleidoscope!"
Jade winces and scratches her head.
"I already apologized for that-"
"So of course I wasn't going to give you another of my devices; why should I? You clearly don't take good care of them, unlike Masa-onee." Ryo interrupts, talking over Jade.
Jade narrows her eyes at Ryo.
"You've made your point. But how do you intend for me to find a ley line without a working drowsing tool?"
Ryo opens her mouth, pauses, then shuts it with a pensive expression. Yasmine glances at Ryo and sighs.
"We will try to locate one from this side; you need to not die. And don't give me that innocent expression, I can see that stab wound clearly. Take it easy until we contact you next-"
"Hang on, will this thing work again? And can you send anything through?" Jade demands, putting her own hands on her hips and staring down Yasmine.
"Yes, if it is small and relatively mundane. None of my devices would make it, by the way." Ryo answers, eyes narrowed in calculation.
"Why do you ask?"
"Send some healing potions through and books for basic magic control, curses and Dragon Slayer magic." Ryo's eyebrow lifts in surprise.
"… Books?" Jade blinks at her.
"Yeah, books. Why are you looking at me like that?" Ryo tries to keep her expression neutral.
"Oh, I don't know, perhaps because you hate reading? And why do you need a book on basic magic control; Demetria taught you well enough." Jade jerks a thumb back at Kagome, who starts.
"She's got magic and so does the kid- you know what uncontrolled magic can do if they don't get at least the basics." Ryo tilts her head and studies first Shippo then Kagome.
She pulls out a pair of glasses and puts them on before taking another look at the two of them.
"… Illusion and Fire magic for the fox-boy; Holy and Healing magic for the girl in the mini-skirt. Fox-boy has decent magic reserves that could be increased with training. The girl… Ah. Now I see why you're concerned." Ryo looks at Jade and the sisters share a silent message.
"Why is there a need to be concerned?" Sango asks, stepping between Kagome and the Earthlanders.
"Her magic reserves are enormous. Normally, that would not be a problem, so long as the mage in question is trained to control their magic. But she is not and her magic is leaking freely from her." Ryo removes the glasses and she meets Kagome's eyes.
"If this continues, your magic will grow more erratic and dangerous to others. Magic has to be used and if the mage does not have the knowledge to do so safely, it will break free of what unconscious control you have. And that can be lethal for you and others near you." Ryo addresses Kagome directly, her words heavy with experience.
"However, once you have control, I think you will find it far easier to achieve the results you seek than hoping your powers will cooperate." Ryo's expression gentles a little as she tries to reassure Kagome.
Kagome tries to process what Ryo is telling her.
"You mean… I can heal and purify better if I learn control?" She asks tentatively.
Ryo nods sharply once.
"Without a doubt. Yasmine, gather the aforementioned items and a few focusing crystals." She orders as she reaches up and removes two hairpins.
Jade opens her mouth to say something but Ryo silences her with a vicious glare.
"Don't. I'll be fine. Yasmine is right here if something goes wrong. Now, can you draw one of my magic circles in front of you?" Jade gives her a worried look but nods slowly.
"Yeah, I can do that." Jade walks over to Shippo and holds out her hand.
"Can I have the ink, Shippo?" He hands it over and races over to watch as she painstakingly draws it on the ground.
Yasmine reappears and holds out a bag to Ryo; she grabs it, checks the contents and nods in satisfaction.
"I'm sending it through now, get back and for god's sake don't stand on the magic circle!" She snaps at Shippo, who jumps back with a guilty look.
Inuyasha growls, uneasy with the magic hocus pocus talk. Miroku and Kagome watch with open curiousity as Ryo closes her eyes and holds her hand over the sack.
"Enchant: Portal of Many Ways!" Ryo says in a clear voice, opening her eyes.
Multihued magic pulses from her hand and wraps around the sack, a magic circle matching the one on the ground appearing beneath the sack. Ryo releases the sack and it drops into the magic circle, disappearing from sight with a burst of light. The ink-drawn magic circle Jade drew glows with the same light and the sack pops into existence in the middle of it.
"Wah! It really showed up!" Shippo gasps.
"Eh? Wait, that wench actually did it?!" Inuyasha asks, shocked.
Jade looks at the projection of her sister and holds up the bag, indicating it arrived safely.
"Nice work, sis!" Ryo nods, her hands trembling as she replaces the hairpins.
"Good. I'm tired, so I probably won't do this again for a while. Try not to die, Jade-nee. All those idiots in Fairy Tail need you after what happened." Jade tilts her head and frowns.
"Wait, what happened-?" Ryo grimaces and shakes her head.
"I'll tell you next time. Goodbye, Jade-nee." She slashes her hand and the projection spell ends.
"… I hate how she dodges questions." Jade states before walking over to Koga and forcing his mouth open.
She pours a healing potion down his throat and watches closely as it fixes his bones. Nodding in satisfaction, she drinks the other one and groans as it visibly shrinks her injury to almost nothing.
"Damn, that feels much better. Well, let's get going to Gran's." She kicks Koga awake as she walks over to Soren and mounts up.
"Wha-!" He yelps, looking around wildly.
Inuyasha snorts at his antics.
"So pathetic- couldn't even heal without help!" Inuyasha goads him, crossing his arms.
Koga glares at him.
"Why you little-!"
"Hey." Both males flinch and slowly meet Jade's eyes.
"Shut up and move it- let's not waste daylight, idiots. You want to ride with me, Shippo?" The kitsune nods and climbs up, settling in front of Jade.
"Alright- to Gran's we go!" Jade yells before sending Soren into a gallop.
The rest race to keep up, but Koga parts ways, using the excuse that his Clan needs him.
Several days later…
"Nope. Try again." Jade tells Inuyasha, dodging his slash and whacking at an opening with a wooden sword.
He growls at her and lifts Tetsusaiga with effort, unused to its' new weight.
"Gah, stay put already!"
"Nope. Do you honestly think your enemies will wait patiently for you to ready yourself? You're open again." She tells him, twirling behind him and slamming her sword across both of his knees.
He buckles, dropping onto the ground. Jade rests her sword at the base of his neck.
"Dead again. Come on, Fluffy Ears, is this all you've got?" She asks, offering a hand.
He ignores it and struggles back onto his feet, Tetsusaiga resting on the ground. Jade taps her shoulder with her sword and watches him.
"Let's take a break." His head snaps up and he glares at her.
"Hell no! Not until I beat you!" He growls, lifting Tetsusaiga again.
Jade tilts her head at him.
"You would die of exhaustion." She tells him frankly.
"Shut up!" He yells and charges her.
Jade shakes her head, pivots and lets his energy take him too far past her.
"You're letting your temper get the better of you again. Think, don't just charge!" She snaps, bringing her sword down in a hard slash that would have sliced his back open if it were real.
He staggers but stays up and doggedly turns to face her again. Jade's expression is stern as she meets his glare.
"Do you know why I keep beating you?" She demands, bringing her sword to a rest position.
He blinks and scowls.
"You're stronger than me!" He says defensively.
Jade shakes her head.
"No, Inuyasha. I have been beating you because you lack control over your movements, strength, sword, temper and mind. You charge me? I just have to step out of the way. You swing at me? I could block it, but it's easier for me to move with the blow and counter before you can block properly. You get angry? I use your own temper against you. I have deliberately not been using my full strength, speed or magic for a reason. Care to guess what it is?"
He snarls, clearly fed up and tries to slash her in half. This time, Jade does block and leans into it, locking their blades together. His muscles strain as he tries to push Tetsusaiga forward but Jade matches him without breaking a sweat.
"I held back to show you all the power in the world means nothing if you don't think. An ordinary human can kill you the way you are now." She tells him, then suddenly kicks her leg forward and smashes his knee.
His leg buckles and she uses the weakness in his stance to throw him backwards. He lands hard but manages to get his sword up to block her downward strike.
"Better! Now, think! How can you turn this to your advantage?" She yells, launching another blow aimed for his head.
Shit! Shitshitshitshitshit! How can I beat her?! Inuyasha thinks frantically, stumbling to block the blows that are suddenly much faster and harder.
Jade gives him no breathing room, ruthlessly hammering blows down on him each time he tries to regain his feet. Finally, frantic, he kicks at her feet, remembering her doing it to him earlier. She jumps back to avoid it and Inuyasha uses the breather to stand back up. She pauses, considering him then nods once.
"We're done for the day. Go drink water and rest. We'll do strength training tomorrow at dawn." He blinks stupidly at her.
She turns and walks toward the village, wooden sword resting on one shoulder. He staggers, fatigue finally catching up to him. Jade pauses, waiting. Gritting his teeth, he sheathes Tetsusaiga and haltingly following her. When she sees he hadn't collapsed as he had on the first three days of training, Jade continues walking ahead of him.
Inuyasha makes his way to Kaede's and sits against the wall, too tired to move inside. One of the village children sees him and rushes to tell Kaede Inuyasha was sitting outside her hut again. She bustles over and gives him a dipper of water, mothering him a little bit. Eventually, he recovers enough to follow Kaede to where the others in his group are training.
Jade had proven to be an inventive teacher for Kagome and Shippo- rather than physical training, she made them first learn to channel their magic into the focusing crystals Ryo had sent them. It proved harder than expected until Jade had them both feel what it felt like when she focused her magic into a crystal. Shippo was quicker to understand it and move onto the next exercise- focusing his magic into a ball with no flares. As Inuyasha and Kaede walk closer, they see Kagome racing over to meet them, excited.
"I did it! Jade-chan, Kaede, everyone! I did it!" Kagome yells, holding up a crystal glowing a soft pink.
Inuyasha nods, disgruntled that she was having an easier time than him. Miroku notices and pats him on the shoulder.
"Training still not going well, I take it?" He asks.
Inuyasha glares at him. Miroku sweats a little and removes the hand. Sango gives him a pitying look and continues maintenance of her boomerang bone; of the group, Jade had determined Sango was actually the best at teamwork and thinking on her feet. Jade walks over to Kagome and checks her work before grinning broadly at her.
"Nice work! Now for the fun stuff!" Jade beckons her over to Kaede.
"So, Gran and I have been talking about your next exercise- we think you should learn warding and barriers." Kagome blinks, startled.
"But I thought I was going to do the other exercise with Shippo!" Jade nods.
"And you will- but you've shown flashes of using barriers and warding magic. It's an invaluable skill and it will be far more useful for you right now. And in essence, it is a similar exercise to Shippo's- just a different shape!" Kagome nods hesitantly.
Jade nods to Kaede.
"Gran actually can make barriers and wards- so can Miroku, but he's a letch so let's not tempt him. Listen to her and work hard- this can save you and your friends' lives if you learn it. Then you get archery lessons with her afterwards, don't forget!" Jade gives her a smile of encouragement and walks over to Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha and Kirara.
"How goes it, Jade-san?" Miroku asks her.
Jade yawns and nods to Shippo.
"Shippo's control is way better than it was- he's ready for actual spells now. Kagome is getting there but she's hesitant- I think Ryo scared her a bit." Everyone sweats a little at that.
"Oi… Was the thing you were talking about real? How Kagome's magic could get out of control and hurt people?" Inuyasha asks, reluctant.
Jade looks at him and nods solemnly.
"It's real. Very real. Ryo has that problem, actually." They blink, staring at her.
"Eh?"
"She does?"
Jade nods, gaze growing distant.
"Yeah- you know how I said Kagome's magic reserves are huge? Ryo's are even bigger- frankly, if she hadn't entered a Familiar contract with Yasmine, she would have died by now along with anyone else near her." They stare at her, stunned.
"How does Yasmine-san help in that case?" Miroku asks slowly, possibilities running in his mind.
Jade crosses her arms and sighs.
"Yasmine isn't human- I don't actually know what she is, Ryo has never told me, but she's super old and powerful. For Ryo, her problem is she has too much magic that wants out all at the same time, making control a tenuous thing for her. Yasmine can't sustain her current form without huge amounts of energy, so she siphons off a significant portion of Ryo's magic and helps her focus it. What is left is controlled by the hairpins Ryo wears. Each one only lets a little bit of her magic out and makes it that much safer to manage."
She faces them and her expression is hard.
"I don't want to see that happen to Kagome or Shippo- that's why I'm pushing them to exhaustion. If they're exhausted, they can't accidently hurt someone with magic."
Inuyasha glares at her.
"Oi. Aren't you forgetting someone else getting worked to exhaustion?!" She blinks and grins at him.
"Hmm? Oh, I haven't forgotten you, Fluffy Ears!" Jade ruffles his hair and laughs as he dodges her.
"Oooh, you're faster when you don't want me touching your ears? In that case-!" Her expression becomes wicked.
"Each time I beat you, I get to touch your ears!"
Sango and Miroku try to stifle their laughter as Inuyasha defensively flattens his ears against his skull.
"Hell no!" Jade continues to grin at him.
"Hell yes! And if you manage to strike me, I'll talk to Kagome about not 'sitting' you half a day for each hit!" He opens his mouth, pauses, and actually processes her words.
So… if I lose, then she gets to touch my ears. But if I win, Kagome won't sit me for half a day? Ugh, I don't know…
"We'll implement it tomorrow! See you then, Fluffy Ears!" Jade waves as she walks back to the village, humming.
"Oi! OI! I didn't say yes, dammit!" Inuyasha yells after her.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you because I am humming so loud!" Jade calls back to him, still walking away.
"Graah!" He explodes, pissed off.
Sango and Miroku wisely don't say anything.
…
Later that night, Inuyasha is still edgy and goes to patrol the forest when he smells a familiar scent.
Jade..? What is she doing out this late? He wonders then gives into his curiosity.
Jumping from tree to tree, Inuyasha follows Jade's trail until he comes to a small clearing deeper into the woods. He sees her standing there with a pile of wood and a reading a book, her brow furrowed as she tries to understand it. Carefully, he picks a tree downwind of her so she doesn't smell him accidently and settles in to watch her.
"Ugh, ok just try it, Jade! It's not like reading the book will help!" She growls to herself and puts the book away before holding one of her hands in front of her.
"Earth Dragon's Sapphire Claws."
Jade intones, focusing her magic on her hands. Then she grits her teeth and tries to tap into the power she felt before, when she melted the tree. Nothing. Annoyed, Jade glares at her hands.
"Oh, come on! You already did it, so just do it again!" She growls, flexing her fingers.
Inuyasha leans closer, confused, and a stray twig on his branch snaps like a gunshot. Jade's head whips around and she leaps forward. Inuyasha jumps to the next tree as her claws plow straight through it.
"Come on out, you little sneak!" Jade roars, her magic swelling with her anger.
Inuyasha feels his ears flatten against his head as he stays hidden in a tree. Jade snarls and doesn't notice when something starts to leak from her claws before charging for the tree Inuyasha is hiding in. He tries to jump again but luck fails him- the branch he was on cracks and sends him tumbling. Landing hard, Inuyasha rolls to his feet and dodges the tree before noticing a peculiar scent.
Why do I smell that bastard's poison here?! Inuyasha wonders, confused.
He couldn't smell his brother at all, but it didn't make sense; Sesshomaru was the only one with poison that smells like this! Jade growls as she stalks towards him, fortunately having not seen him yet. His eyes widen when he notices the silvery green liquid leaking from her claws melt the dirt.
What? What the hell?! She shouldn't be able to-! Why does it smell like his poison?! How?! Why?!
Inuyasha is dumbfounded, unable to think or react past the questions in his mind. Unfortunately, that is when Jade finally spots him.
"Found you," Jade says softly, jumping right in front of him.
He steps back, afraid and confused. She bares her teeth at him, green eyes almost glowing in the darkness.
"Jade-!" Inuyasha stammers, backing away with a grip on Tetsusaiga.
She blinks and some of the murderous feeling fades when she recognizes him.
"Fluffy Ears? What are you doing following me?"
"Never mind that-! Why do you have Sesshomaru's poison!" He yells, fright turning into anger.
Jade tilts her head, confused and looks down at her hands.
"… Huh." She says, examining them more closely.