Chapter 5: The Jewel Shattered

Previously:

"Kikyo was a master archer!" InuYasha momentarily distracted me and I loosened my grip. "Take it out in one shot!"

I sighed and forced myself to draw back the string again. "You're in for one heck of a disappointment if you think that I'm anything like Kikyo…"

InuYasha leapt into the air, giving me a perfect view of the crow. I felt the sunlight hitting the back of our shoulders as I aimed. Deeming my aim as accurate as I could make it, I released the arrow.

In that very moment, InuYasha had taken a rough leap and as a result my hand slackened too soon. Instead of the arrow shooting off into the distance, it tumbled away down...down. My mouth fell open and I was left dumbfounded. That was horrible! Humiliating even! Even Kagome had managed to shoot the arrow. I freaking dropped it!

InuYasha was so baffled by my failure that he ran into a tree- headfirst with a crash. I cringed as I slid off his back. That has had to hurt! In the anime, he tripped and fell into the ground. In the manga, he had kept chasing after the bird. Either option seemed more favorable than the one he got now. "Ow…" He muttered into the tree bark.

I petted his back, "Um… you okay?"

InuYasha pulled himself off the tree and turned to glare at me. His face was covered in splinters. "Do I look fine to you? What the hell was up with that lousy attempt? You're supposed to shoot the arrow, not drop it!"

I held the bow and arrows to him, "I can't help it! You keep jostling me about on your back! Actually here's an idea; how about I run like Naruto and you shoot the bow! Maybe you'll do better." For some reason, the mental image of InuYasha trying to do archery tickled me. I could see him constantly cutting the string with his claws by accident. Yet, when imagining the human version of him trying to do archery… hmmm… I couldn't help but like that picture. I wanted to draw it…

The shadow above us grew and we both looked up. The crow demon had begun to increase until it was the size of a giant condor. InuYasha clicked his tongue in annoyance and grabbed my arm. "Come on!" He pulled me back onto his back and rushed after it once more. This time, I noticed that he ran more smoothly than before. I could barely feel his footsteps. It was like he was gliding rather than running. "Is this better?!"

"Yeah… thank you," I allowed myself to say.

"Then shoot it! See how big it is now? Even you should be able to hit it!"

I took in a deep breath and let it out. Once more I notched the bow and aimed. My arm burned from the strain but I ignored it as much as I could. The likelihood of me actually hitting the demon was still very small without having the crow's foot attached to the arrow. But still, I felt determined to do my best. I wanted to test my own skills for real. Kagome was Kagome and I was me. I narrowed my eyes and I forced myself to draw the string further. My arm muscles were screaming at me to let go but I tugged harder. I needed it to be strong enough of a shot for it to actually reach the crow.

'Not high enough.'

'What?' I blinked as Kikyo's thoughts pressed against my own.

'You are aiming too low.'

'How is this too low?' It looked to me that I was aiming pretty high already.

'You'll only knock off its tail feathers at this angle. Aim higher.'

"What are you waiting for? Shoot it!"

"Will you shut up and let me concentrate?!" I yelled down at InuYasha.

Well, Kikyo was the expert at this so I heeded her advice and aimed higher. Deciding that I stretched the string far back enough, I let the arrow fly. But not before I felt Kikyo try to stop me.

'Stop! That is too high! You'll hit the-'

It was too late. The arrow cut through the air with a clear sound and to my complete disbelief, it struck right through the crow's stomach… right into the jewel.

"You hit it!" InuYasha was amazed.

"FUCK!" I shouted as I dropped the bow and pulled at my hair.

The crow blew up and the sky was filled with a blinding light. InuYasha stopped running and shielded his eyes with his fire-rat sleeve, letting me go. I ran around InuYasha like a headless chicken while waving my arms at the sky. "Aw! No! No! No! NO!" This couldn't be happening to me. Oh god, please no!

With a flash, the jewel split into tiny pieces and streaks of light scattered across the sky like shooting stars. "No!" I raved like a madwoman, while jumping up and down. "Don't you dare! Go back! Put yourself back together! You're not doing this to me, you little pink shit! You're NOT DOING THIS TO ME!" Of course the jewel shards weren't going to magically listen to my rant. They scattered across the country like spores on steroids.

The streaks of light disappeared and I helplessly let my arms drop to my sides. My knees gave out and I sat on the grass with a plop. There went the one possible chance at returning back to my original body. A long silence grew between me and InuYasha. Eventually, InuYasha's eyes went from the sky to me. "What the hell was that?"

"You don't want to know…" I muttered, still shellshocked at what I have done. After letting the situation sink in, I finally gave him a proper answer. "That was the jewel. I broke it into many little pieces and now they have scattered across the country."

I didn't have to look at InuYasha to know he was swallowing my words like a pack of needles.

"Y-y-y-ou… the jewel...you WHAT?!"

I collapsed backwards onto my back, allowing myself the clear view of InuYasha's face as he loomed over me, shaking with outrage. His face was practically the color of his haori. Red. He looked ready enough to murder me. "I broke the jewel," I repeated. "Not on purpose," I added… as if that would make a difference.

"HOW COULD YOU BREAK THE JEWEL?! YOU IDIOT!"

I covered my eyes with my hands and groaned, "Oh for the love of God, shut up. You told me to shoot the bird. I shot the bird."

"YOU SHOT THE JEWEL!"

"I am well aware of that. Yes, thank you."

"I can't believe-... how could-?!" InuYasha was pacing back and forth, flexing his claws as if needing to shred someone… quite possibly me. I watched him wearily with the word of subjugation on the tip of my tongue. At last, InuYasha seemed to give in to his violent urges and punched a tree with a guttural scream.

The tree trunk splintered and cracked like thunder. The tree crashed to the ground causing the earth the tremble. I watched him as he stood there, shoulders hunched and breathing heavily.

"Feeling better?"

"NO!"

I sighed and turned my attention up at the sky. It was such a nice day, why did it have to go so wrong? And that was when I felt it. It was like a crystal chime that sent tingles up my spine. It was gentle and clear yet it pulled at me like a fishing line. Unable to ignore it, I sat up and looked in the direction that it was calling me from. I knew exactly what it was. A jewel shard.

Without paying any attention to the fuming half demon, I ran in the direction of the shard. One had to have fallen close by. The closer I got, the stronger the pull became, until finally, I had to be practically on top of it. I searched the grass, raking my hands through it. But I didn't see the glimmer of the jewel shard.

"If it isn't below me… then that can only mean that it's above me!" I looked up and just in time too. The decapitated head from the crow burst from the trees, it's jaws agape and ready to kill me. But I was ready for it. I jumped to the side, avoiding the head. It landed uselessly on the ground, screeching. It spat blood and saliva, still alive thanks to the power of the shard.

I pressed my knees over the demon's beak, sitting myself on top of it and struggled to keep it closed. I had to work fast. I wasn't sure if a single shard had enough power to summon the rest of the bird's body back together, but I wasn't willing to risk it. I took a few breaths to prepare myself and then I shoved my hand through the gaping hole where the neck should have been.

I could practically hear Kagome screaming in revulsion in the back of my mind as my fingers searched in the warm and gooey mush. 'Not deep enough.' I grimaced as I forced my hand in further. I could see the shine of the jewel. If I could just reach it… and ignore the fact that I was literally probing the crow's brains-...

"Got it!" I pulled out the shard with a sickening slurping pop. It shone brightly in a pure pink hue while my own hand was covered in dark blood up past the wrist. The head sizzled and the flesh disintegrated until it was nothing but bones.

I heard footsteps behind me and I looked to see InuYasha. He took note of the crow skull and the shard in my hand. He grit his teeth and his eyes lowered in frustration, "So it's true. It is broken."

"Afraid so," I replied as I stood back up. I placed my clean hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, InuYasha. I really am."

He shook my hand off. "What good will your 'sorry' do?! This is your fault! It's all your fault, you stupid wench!"

If I was Kagome, I would have been insulted. But I had expected him to throw nasty words at me and therefore did not take it to heart. This was how InuYasha vented after all and it was best not to add fuel to the fire. "Okay," I replied and accepted the blame.

InuYasha did a double take. "Huh?!"

I turned away and began to walk back towards the village. The sun was already setting behind the clouds. I had to at least check if the villagers were okay. I rubbed the shard between my thumb and index finger, feeling the smooth and jagged edges. I glared spitefully at the shard as it glittered so innocently. This stupid thing was the cause of so many lives lost and will continue to be so. I knew exactly who the true villain of the anime was. And it was not Naraku.

"Fucking piece of shit," I whispered, not caring how vulgar my words were- for they were true. I clenched my fist over the shard.

3rd Person P.O.V.

"What good will your 'sorry' do?! This is your fault! It's all your fault, you stupid wench!"

"Okay."

InuYasha did a double take. Kagome's face was so wooden and her eyes were so frigid that she could pass off as Kikyo on a bad day. He felt uncomfortably chastised, like he was the one at fault. Then exactly like Kikyo, she turned her back on him without uttering any more words. InuYasha stood there rooted to the ground. He expected her to retaliate. He wanted her to fire back at him. But no. Instead she left him feeling like a fool.

"Dammit…" He muttered, rubbing his forehead and brushing his bangs from his eyes. This woman was so strange. One moment she's raving like a lunatic, then she's calm and collected. Her mannerisms constantly changed.

InuYasha slowly began to follow Kagome back towards the village. His arms were crossed against his chest and his eyes stared directly into the back of her head. Who was this Kagome exactly? Was she really Kikyo's reincarnation? She was so similar and yet so different. Even her scent confused him. Nothing about her seemed right.

He watched her play with the shard in her blood covered hand. Kikyo never got her hands dirty. No demon got close enough to come into contact with her skin without being purified into nothing. And yet InuYasha had watched this girl stick her hand into the head of a crow like… well… like he would have. He also recalled how she had speared a giant through the heart.

Kagome wasn't some ordinary village girl but she wasn't a typical priestess either. No, she lacked the dignity of one. Perhaps she came from a demon slayer village?

"Fucking piece of shit."

InuYasha's ears twitched as he caught her whisper. It was uncanny to hear profanity come from Kikyo's double that the half demon found himself sickened by it. Kikyo was supposed to be pure and the embodiment of perfection. This girl was a perversion. A twisted shadow of a great and powerful woman. The more InuYasha thought about it, the more repulsed he became.

This wasn't his Kikyo.

There was a faint sound of sizzling. Kagome's hand was fisted around the shard so tightly that it betrayed her anger. The blood that covered her hand was steaming away. Gradually the grime faded away until Kagome's healthy white skin was in full view - as if it was never tarnished in the first place. The demon blood had been purified.

InuYasha swallowed and his ears folded back nervously. They walked in silence and reached Kaede's hut by the time twilight began to birth stars. The old woman was visibly relieved to see Kagome unharmed, but the sight of the shard of the sacred jewel changed that relief into dread.

Anna-Gome's P.O.V.

"I was afraid that the scattered lights were a bad omen. Now I can see why." Kaede looked at me as we sat by the fire.

"Yeah, I broke the jewel. It was an accident. I meant to aim for the nesting crow, but…" I trailed off. I looked forlornly at the shard that was in the palm of my hand. "Turns out that fate has decided to play a cruel game with me."

I blinked when I noticed that the blood on my hand was gone. I examined it with awed confusion, flipping it back and forth. 'Is this a continuity error or am I missing something here?'

"Do not berate ye'self over what has transpired, child," Kaede said softly. "If the crow demon absorbed the jewel completely, all would have been lost. Ye have saved us all."

I gave a bitter laugh, "I'm not a fool, Kaede. I know how powerful a single shard of the jewel can be- and now countless pieces are scattered across the world. Just one falling into the wrong hands could cause havoc. I appreciate that you are trying to console me, but please don't lie to me. What I did was put the world at risk." I bowed my head low to Kaede. "I'm so sorry. Your sister had protected the jewel to her grave and … yet I… God, I'm so ashamed of myself."

Kaede was silent and so was InuYasha - to my surprise. Wasn't he supposed to be rubbing salt in my metaphorical wound by now? I peeked up from the curtain of my black hair at him. He sat sideways, his one leg hanging off the ledge of the floor. He was glaring daggers at the wall across from him. Was he so angry with me that he wouldn't even talk to me?

"There is only one remedy to this conundrum. Kagome and InuYasha, only by working together will the two of ye be able to recover the shards of the sacred jewel."

My head snapped up at Kaede's words. "What?"

InuYasha barked out a laugh. "You sure about that, old hag? I'm one of those 'wrong hands' you were talking about."

"Oh aye, that I know too well," Kaede sighed.

I held my tongue and clenched my fists in my lap.

I woke up before the sun had the chance to rise. It was still dark. I quietly sat up and looked over at Kaede. She was fast asleep. The fire was long extinguished, leaving nothing but ashes and blackened wood. I pulled several sutras out from the band of my skirt. I had feigned interest in the idea of repelling demons with paper charms and asked Kaede to teach me how to use them before bed. Grandpa Higurashi had the right idea in sealing the well up at the very beginning. The only trouble was that he had no spiritual powers to put them to use. Without spiritual power, the sutras were just paper. But now…I could seal the well up myself.

I placed the single jewel shard on the kimono that served as my blanket. 'Forgive me, Kaede. But I can't do this. This isn't my story. I'm not the heroine of some feudal fairy tale.'

I had spoken with Kagome and we had come to a mutual agreement. Neither of us wanted to stay here collecting jewel shards for lord knows how long. There WAS the chance of making a wish on the jewel and having things return to normal- but…there also was the threat of that wish dooming us instead. I had told Kagome that the jewel originally wanted her (okay...our) soul to continue the endless battle waging inside it and that wishing for anything other than for the jewel to disappear might seal that deal.

'So, what do you want to do?' I had asked her in our dreamscape.

'Me?'

'It's your body. Your life. We could stay and go jewel shard hunting like you were meant to and hope that there's a chance of us separating - or… we could go back to your time and learn to live with each other.'

I would have included Kikyo in that conversation, but the priestess did not appear to give her input on the matter. She certainly was a cryptic one… that Kikyo. She came and went as she pleased.

In the end, Kagome had chosen to go home.

Gathering my wits and bravery, I snuck out of the hut. The horizon was only beginning to brighten. I looked in the direction of InuYasha's forest and I could practically feel Kagome nodding in encouragement. The gravel beneath my feet crunched quietly as I walked and the damp tall grass tickled my legs. I was just at the edge of the forest when a certain half demon crossed my path.

"And where do you think you're going?" InuYasha glared at me as he blocked my way.

"Home," I said quietly and continued around him.

"Home?" InuYasha laughed under his breath, "I get it. You're running scared, arentcha?"

"Something like that." I didn't fall for his bait. My mind was made up and nothing he could say would stop me- not that I would really expect him to. I was startled when he jumped in front of me, cutting me off again. I sighed, "InuYasha… what do you want now?"

"Look, I don't give a damn on what you're planning to do, but at least give me the jewel shard." He outstretched his hand expectantly.

"I left it with Kaede. Go ask her for it." I walked around him and his hand dropped. "Goodbye, InuYasha."

"You really are nothing like Kikyo."

I stopped in my tracks and I felt anger rise up inside me. For some reason, that struck me in the wrong way. I couldn't understand why. Maybe it was the way he said it… or the timing of it… but somehow it really churned my insides. I looked over my shoulder at InuYasha and hissed, "Congratulations. You finally figured that out, dumbass?"

I didn't bother to stay to witness his reaction. I ran into the forest and towards the well. I leaned over once I reached it. My hands gripped the wood and I breathed heavily as I glared inside. I could see the bones from Mistress Centipede and I felt Kagome's fear. "It's okay, Kagome. I know what I'm doing, trust me."

I jumped into the well just as the dawn broke.

I knew that I had made it through to the other side when I saw a dark roof overhead instead of the sky. "I made it…" I whispered, a rush of relief spreading through my body. I spent no time in trying to get out- only to realize that I didn't have any vines to assist me. I slid back down as the dirt crumbled away underneath my fingertips and shoes. "Okay, I didn't think this far ahead…"

'"What are we going to do now?" Kagome groaned inside my head.

I shrugged, "Scream? Shout? Holler for help? What are the chances of your family hearing me this early in the morning?"

"Mom and Souta would be still asleep, but Grandpa is usually up at the break of dawn to clean the shrine grounds."

"Works for me," I smiled before taking a deep breath and cupping my mouth with my hands. "HEEEEY! HELLO?! IS ANYONE UP THERE?! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!"

I waited to see if there was a reply. So far nothing.

"Then again, Grandpa's become somewhat hard of hearing lately."

I groaned. But I knew that they would investigate the well house several times due to Souta's insistence (God bless that kid) … so I wasn't too bummed out about it. I kept trying to scream for help- hoping that someone would hear me. I didn't have the jewel shard on me, so I didn't have the fear of randomly being transported back. Yet it still didn't feel right to stand inside the well for too long. I mean, lord knows what could happen.

I was probably stuck in that well for an hour before I heard the door slide open.

"Grandpa, I swear I heard her voice in there just now!"

"Are you sure? She wasn't inside the last time we checked."

"Souta! Grandpa!" I rasped- my voice practically gone from screaming for so long. "I'm inside the well!"

I heard gasps and then a rush of feet. Then before I knew it, a flashlight shined down upon me, nearly blinding me.

"Kagome!" Both Grandpa Higurashi and Souta exclaimed.

"Hello," I grinned. I could only imagine how filthy I looked.

There were tears and hugs and lots of questions from the Higurashi family. I tried to console them the best I could and told them the truth of what happened. Though, I made sure to keep the part of me possessing Kagome a secret.

"I'd rather that they don't find out," Kagome told me. "They might drag us to the psych ward for schizophrenia."

"A monster dragged you inside the well and transported you into the warring states era?" Mrs. Higurashi repeated with a shocked look on her face as she looked me over for injuries.

"See, I told you!" Souta announced proudly. "About the monster, I mean…" He looked up at me with wide eyes. "You traveled back through time?! No wonder you disappeared!"

"But that can't be possible." Grandpa Higurashi insisted. "I had sealed the well up years ago! No demon could possibly get through-"

"But one did." I argued before he could go off on a tangent. "I actually have some new sutras," I pulled them out from the band in my skirt and showed it to the old man. "I got them from an actual priestess so they should be effective in sealing up the well."

Grandpa Higurashi narrowed his eyes into slits as he examined the sutras in my hand, "Hmm… I've never seen these types of sutras before. I think that you were scammed, Kagome dear."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, "No. They are the real deal, Gramps. The sutras that you use are the fake ones."

The old man sputtered in outrage and I quickly berated myself for being so rude to my elder. I was about to apologize when Kagome stopped me.

"Stop, Anna. This is how I usually talk to him. If you suddenly start acting like an adult, they'll know that something is up!"

'So you want me to act like a complete brat? There's nothing wrong with turning over a new leaf and bettering yourself, Kagome,' I thought back to her.

"This isn't about that. You want to seal the well up for good, don't you?"

I sighed. Perhaps she had a point. If I apologized now, Grandpa Higurashi might continue to believe that his charms are legit. "Look, let's just try them. Okay? If they don't work, then I'll admit that I'm wrong, deal?"

Grandpa Higurashi pondered this for a moment before nodding his head, "Very well. We'll test these 'sutras' of yours. But don't expect them to work!"

"I won't," I lied with a smile.

And so Grandpa Higurashi nailed the well shut and I stuck the sutras onto the wood while muttering the incantations that Kaede taught me. The seals glowed pink for several seconds before the light faded. I smiled. They had worked.

"Try and drag me back if you can, InuYasha." I couldn't help but smirk as I placed my hands on my hips. I felt very confident that he wouldn't get through. Not he nor any Yura of the Hair for that matter. "You can deal with finding the jewel shards on your own." With that, I flipped my hair and strode out of the well house, determined to never walk through those doors ever again.

To my utmost gratitude, Kagome's mother allowed me to stay home from school today. After taking a good long bath and changing into a clean set of clothes, I ate breakfast with the family (with a fork instead of chopsticks to everyone's confusion) and waved a pouting Souta off to school.

"It's not fair. Why do you get to stay home?" He whined as he put on his backpack.

"Because I am a delicate and beautiful young flower that needs time to recover from a traumatic life-altering experience," I practically sang with a grin. I never had a chance to be an older sibling in my own life, so I was excited to act the part. "Now hurry it up, or you'll be late."

"I can't believe this…" Souta grumbled as I handed him his boxed lunch.

"Look both ways before you cross the street and don't talk to strangers." I patted his head. "Play nice with the other kids unless the other kids wanna fight- then you gotta kick the other kids' butt."

Souta looked at me weird, not knowing how to react to my Eddie Murphy accent, "But I don't wanna kick the other kids' butt."

"Don't talk back to your big sister," I grabbed him by the shoulders, twisted him around and began to push him out the door. "Now skiddaddle, squirt!"

"What is even happening?" I heard Souta say before shutting the door behind him.

I took advantage of my day off to tour around the shrine grounds. It really was a well kept and beautiful place. Once again, I felt giddy being surrounded by Japanese culture. I paused when I caught sight of an old shed. Something about it was familiar. "Kagome, what's that shed for?"

"Grandpa uses it to store old shrine artifacts and antiques. Don't bother going in there. It's all old and useless junk."

"I don't know… something about it worries me. Like something I ought to remember-wait!" I exclaimed as I finally remembered. I ran towards the shed and burst inside.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked.

"In the anime, there was an evil Noh mask stored in here. It eats and absorbs human flesh." I started to rummage through the storage, opening boxes and searching everything. "It sensed the jewel shard and broke out of its seal, setting the shed on fire. It landed Grandpa Higurashi in the hospital!"

"But if it only broke out because it sensed the jewel shard, then maybe we don't have anything to worry about."

"What do you mean?"

"You left the shard with Kaede, remember?"

I stopped rummaging and just sat there dumbly, "Oh yeah… that's right. I did."

"AHHHH!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the horrified scream. I turned to see the old priest standing at the doorway, looking completely devastated at all the opened boxes and all the charms, antiques and various sutras scattered on the floor.

"Kagome! What on earth are you doing? What is this mess?!"

"Oh...um…Hi grandpa." I gave a nervous giggle. "I was searching for something. You wouldn't happen to have a cursed Noh mask in here, would you?"

"A Noh mask? There's nothing like that on our shrine grounds!" He raged. "Now you put everything back where you found them before I change our mind and send you off to school, young lady!"

After apologizing several times and a good half hour of cleaning and repackaging, the old man kicked me out of the shed. I could hear him muttering to himself, "What is wrong with that girl?"

"I told you not to go inside," Kagome scolded me. "You are just going to raise suspicion!"

"I said I'm sorry," I grumbled. "But I could have sworn that there was a Noh mask. I remember that part of the episode vividly."

"But this isn't a tv show, Anna. This is reality. Maybe things are different here than back in your world."

"Maybe…" I wasn't entirely convinced. Everything had played out like the show so far, aside from the few things that I had deliberately changed. Was that the reason? Was the fact that I had successfully sealed up the well caused changes here in the future?

It seemed that it was the case. I had eaten dinner with the family without any interference from any half demons. I watched an episode of 'Rurouni Kenshin' with Souta before heading off to bed. I changed into my pajamas and laid on top of the covers. I gave a heavy sigh as I stared up at the ceiling. "I guess that's that. The well is officially closed and now I'm stuck here. Unless… all I have to do is go to sleep in this bed and I'll wake up back home?"

After all, I had woken up in this world in this exact bed.

Kagome didn't answer. She probably had enough of me for the day. I didn't blame her. I did ask countless questions about the shrine to the point where she just stopped responding.

I crawled under the covers and turned off the light. I looked towards the window where the moonlight gently shone through. I wondered what InuYasha was doing right now. Was he fighting Yura of the Hair? Was he okay? Was the village okay?

I shut my eyes before any feelings of guilt could start to appear. I had made my choice. No one was going to blame me for wanting to leave. It wasn't fair to place the weight of the world on my shoulders. I wasn't the jewel's protector. I wasn't Kikyo. It wasn't my responsibility.

I must have drifted off to sleep because my eyes shot open at the sound of the window opening. I lay still and my heart began to hammer away in my chest when I saw a dark figure creep inside. My hand slowly grabbed the alarm clock and I silently pulled it towards myself.

The intruder walked towards me and reached out, ready to grab me. That was when I struck. With a shout I threw the clock at his head with all my might and I heard him give a sharp yelp when it hit. I used that moment to jump out of bed and towards the door.

An arm hooked around my waist and I screamed - only to have a hand cover my mouth. I kicked and struggled while my screams were muffled into pathetic whimpers.

"Damn it, wench! Stop struggling! I'm not going to eat you. It's me!"

My eyes went wide and my body went slack. I was met with a dirt covered face and glowing yellow eyes glaring down at me with annoyance.

'InuYasha?!'

A/N: Hey there! Sorry for the long wait! I was having a bit of a writer's block. Yes, I know about the InuYasha sequel that was announced. It has me super excited yet worried on how this will impact my view on the show. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you in the next one. :)