Inuyasha couldn't help but stare at the Masked Warrior as they just seemed to stare at him. The confusion in their eyes was apparent though it seemed there was a flash of recension there. Though at the moment, Inuyasha couldn't be sure if they knew who he was, but there had to be some way to show them who they were? Or at the very least, who he himself was. Frowning a little, Inuyasha calmly said "I know who you are. You were someone I knew as a child."

The Warrior just tilted their head again. Not once speaking, it was as if they were studying the Hanyou as he stood across from them.

"Inuyasha, are you sure you know this person?" asked Kagome with a frown.

"I do, I remember those eyes anywhere." Inuyasha whispered softly. Though, it was the name that he couldn't think of. The name, the one thing that was slipping from his grasp was the only thing that he just couldn't think of what he was to do. The name, the name was on the tip of his tongue yet he just couldn't think of what it was!

"Inuyasha, they're leaving!" Kagome said in shock, only to rush forward as she said "Wait! You can't take those jewel shards!"

Jewel… wait now he remembered!

"Tomoya don't leave!" shouted Inuyasha.

The Masked Warrior stopped in their movement. Inuyasha wasn't sure why that was, but did that mean that he had remembered correctly? Yet, before he could even respond, Inuyasha felt something slamming into him, Kagome's scream of shock reached his ears causing him to wince. Opening his eyes widely, he saw the angry crimson golden orbs staring down at him. Oh how Inuyasha wanted to knock this person aside until their voice stopped him.

"Don't you EVER call me that again! I haven't gone by that name in over a hundred years!" The voice, it was definitely a woman's voice. It was her! She snarled down at him, eyes glowing brightly with anger from him just using that name. But why though? What made her want to use a different name? Just as he was about to open his mouth again, she cut him off. "I don't care what you say, I don't remember you at all!" With that, she shoved him into the ground a little before getting off of the Hanyou and started to walk away.

"No, I know you. I remember, we were kids. You sometimes wandered off into the forest to get away from something at home. Every time you had to go back, you always had some kind of fear that you never told me about. I remembered you saving me once from Youkai because they hated the fact that I was a Hanyou."

Once again, she stopped for a moment. As if thinking about his words over in her mind. Honestly, Inuyasha didn't know what it was that was going on in her head, but he knew that she had to have remembered him slightly. Sure, he himself, had thought that she had died years ago because she had just stopped coming to their meeting spot and he was no longer able to remain there.

Turning his head, he saw Kagome staring at him with a frown of confusion. It seemed that she was curious as to what kind of relationship the two had in their past, though Inuyasha knew that Kagome had nothing to worry about. Tomoya, was the only one to have not cared that he was a Hanyou when they were children, though then again her opinion may have changed into adult-hood.

The woman turned and stared at Inuyasha with wide eyes. "Inuyasha?" She whispered softly before pulling down her mask. Revealing the full, beautiful view of the woman's face. She was still a little shorter than him that was for sure. Her hair, longer and smoother than his from what he could make out. Her ears, definitely bigger than his. It still confused him as the kind of Inu Youkai she was, since he had never seen another Inu with high lights like that or the tint to their eyes.

"Yeah, it's me." Inuyasha calmly said. He watched as his old friend started to make her way up to him. Honestly, he was happy that she didn't tackle him in a hug, he wasn't much of a huggy person, regardless if it was a loved one or not.

Though before he could say anything else, he felt her punch him. "Ow! What was that for!?" shouted Inuyasha while he rubbed his cheek.

His friend glared at him. "Of all the stupid things that you did growing up and I have to say this is the worst of it." Inuyasha just stared with a frown on his face. Not sure what it was that she was talking about. "Getting yourself chased by provoking those demons until you had to hide under a cliff, trying to get yourself safe. Then of course the times you stole from humans."

"I was hungry!"

"Doesn't matter! You could have just grabbed some apples or something!" she shouted at him. Only to rub her forehead. "And on top of things, you get your sorry ass sealed away to a damn tree." Taking a deep breath, the young looking woman opened her eyes as she looked over at the Hanyou that stood before her. "You find the most powerful jewel in existence and yet it gets shattered."

"That wasn't my fault it was Kagome's!" defended Inuyasha.

"Hey!"

Slap.

"Ow! What the hell Tomoya!" shouted Inuyasha.

"First of all, don't call me that. Second of all don't blame people for things they had no control over!" Tomoya shouted.

"If you don't want to be called that, then what do you want to be called in the first place?"

"Crystal." She answered.

"Wait… you went from using a Japanese name, to an English one?" asked Kagome.

"I did a lot of traveling growing up." Crystal calmly said with a rub to her forehead. God, things were getting a little complicated that was for sure. Inuyasha couldn't believe that this was his friend, it had seemed like she had changed a hell of a lot since they were children. Though, he felt like there was something else under there, what it was, he couldn't really be sure as to what it was. But, what he did know was that he couldn't let her get away from him.

"Crystal, listen. I need you to give us the Shikon Shards. We're trying to reform the jewel and we can't unless you do." Inuyasha calmly said.

"Please, you could be in danger if you keep those shards." Kagome pleaded, hoping and praying that the female Inu would listen to them.

Crystal turned to stare at her old friend and his companions. "I do not think they can even sense it. As well as you. I figured you could sense the shards since you have a great deal of spiritual power." Inuyasha couldn't help but see how much Crystal had flinched when she commented about Kagome's power. Did she have a bad experience with Sacred Energy?

"How did you know that?" asked Kagome.

"It is just something that I've always been able to do. I don't know how or why but I have that ability. Though most demons can sense power yes, but I can sense dormant sacred power in people. Which is what you have." Crystal calmly explained before turning away from them. "As for me being in danger, it wouldn't be any different from everyday life for me. Though they don't fight me for the shards. They fight me for other reasons."

Other reasons? What other reason could there be other than the shards? Shaking his head, the young Hanyou took a step forward, only to flinch when he heard Crystal shout. "Do not take another step Inuyasha! Just stay away from me, I only bring sadness to those near me!" With that, she ran off, taking the shards with her.

"Kagome, I'm going after her. I have to get the shards back." Inuyasha explained as he turned to stare at her.

"I understand. I don't know how she can hide them from others but we still need to get them back." Calmly said Kagome.

With that, Inuyasha ran off after Crystal. He knew that he had to get the shards back, but also to figure out what had happened to her. What made her think that she only brought sadness to people? She had always made him happy and felt needed when they were children. So, what could have changed in the first place?

Shaking his head, he saw the silver haired woman ahead of him. She was fast, that was for sure though he knew that he could easily catch up. Crystal ran through the trees, even going to the point of jumping up into the trees and using them as leverage for her to get away from the Hanyou. How was it that she could be so fast? Okay, she wasn't as fast as Sesshoumaru, even though he'd never tell the bastard that in a million years.

"Crystal, stop damn it!" shouted Inuyasha, not really sure that would even work in the first place.

"Just leave me alone Inuyasha!" shouted Crystal.

Damn it, he had to keep chasing her? Really? Ugh, it pissed him off how women could be. They were stubborn to no end. Maybe even to a man's breaking point, though he knew that he couldn't say that. Both Kagome and Crystal would hit him on the head if he did.

Leaping out of the tree, Crystal landed before making a break for it again. Damn it, it seemed that she got further ahead of him. How was he going to catch up to her?! Huh? "Is that? Crystal stop!" shouted Inuyasha as he skidded to a halt. Crystal though didn't stop, she had taken this chance to make a break for it and ran faster than Inuyasha thought was possible. "Crystal stop there's a trap there!" shouted the Hanyou, hoping that she would listen to him.

Though it seemed that she hadn't. For Crystal had passed by the lines that would have marked where the trap started. A pink and blue light started to glow through the old looking paper talisman that were plastered to the trees. Honestly, he had no idea how long they were there for, but from what he could make out they have been there for a long time. Maybe fifty or so years at the very least.

Soon, blue and pink bolts shot out of the talisman and hit Crystal, causing her to scream out in pain. Her body went rigid from the pain, her eyes were wide open as she felt the pain shooting through her body. Inuyasha cursed under his breath, he knew that he had to hurry and get Kagome. Only a priestess or another being with sacred aura could remove the trap. He hated when things didn't go in his favor but at the moment he didn't have a moment to waste.

Turning around as quickly as he could, the young man ran back to where he had left his friends behind. Only to blink when he saw Kagome biking her way toward them. Oh thank Kami that she was able to get that contraption of hers. "Kagome, she entered a trap!" shouted Inuyasha.

Kagome nodded as she jumped off of her bike and made a mad dash to Crystal as the Inu screamed from the pain as it shot through her. How was it that she hadn't been burned to ash right now? Most demons wouldn't have lasted this long, both Inuyasha and Kagome knew that much. Though, it seemed that they had more questions to ask this woman when they got her out of this.

Crystal's scream grew louder and louder from the pain as it shot through her entire being. Through her core, to the point that she could almost feel herself starting to fall apart bit by bit. Kagome managed to make her way to one of the trees that held Crystal in place before she managed to rip off the seal. The barrier that kept the young woman in seemed to have died down, though it still kept her in place.

Making her way to the others, one by one until all the seals had been removed, Kagome couldn't help but watch as Crystal fell over from the pain. The only sound from the young looking woman was whines and moans of pain until even those had gone silent. Her clothes had been singed, and her body was smoking from the shocks that had gone through her body. "We can't move her. We'll have to set up camp here." Kagome muttered.

"Alright, I'll collect fire wood if you treat her." Inuyasha calmly said before he took off.

Watching as the Hanyou left, Shippou looked up at Kagome. Kagome had gone and frowned as she placed her index and middle fingers at the base of Crystal's neck. She could faintly feel a pulse, it was faint but it was also stable. "She's alive." Kagome whispered softly.

"Do you think she'll be okay? She had taken a lot of energy right at her. How is she even alive?" Shippou asked with a frown on his face.

"Honestly? I don't know Shippou. It seems that there is many things that we don't know about her. Maybe it's something special with her type of Youkai energy that we don't know about. We'll have to ask her later. Right now, she needs to be treated." Shippou nodded and watched as Kagome went to work on the Inu woman.

Crystal groaned a little. Her whole body hurts and felt like she had been rammed into by something solid. Not to mention, it felt like someone had thrown her into a pit of fire with how much her body stung which, was amazing since she could control fire. Blinking her eyes slowly as she started to come around. Her vision was still a little blurred from pain, though she knew that there was one thing to be grateful for.

'No nightmares. That's a nice change of pace.' she thought to herself. Honestly, it was the first bit of sleep, without any kind of nightmares to boot, that she has had in who knows how long. Letting out a soft sigh, the young woman looked around and blinked a little as she noticed that she was in some kind of shelter. Though it almost looked like it was made of fabric.

"Wonder how long I was out…" She whispered softly, just trying to think on what she could do. Honestly, her body still screamed at her to just rest. But, there was one thing that she knew. She couldn't stay in one spot for very long. The village, because of the demon, she had no choice but to try to kill it. Yet, it wouldn't leave the village long enough for her to kill it. It was as if it was thinking, plotting a way to get to her in some way.

Letting out a soft sigh, the young woman rubbed her forehead, almost wanting to cry out from the pain that wrecked from her bones but kept the pain to herself. Her training prevented her from wanting to show pain, from showing weakness. At least, when she was like that of a being.

Looking around once more, the young woman tried to think from a lot of things. One of them was how she got in here and of course, who had tended to- wait. Looking down as best as she could, Crystal noticed that she had a blanket over her body, most likely to keep her warm. Her inner fire must have dimmed to the point where her body couldn't produce any kind of heat. She knew that due to her race, she was warmer compared to anyone else, but still… It was what lied under the blanket that worried her.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled the blanket only to gasp as pink flooded her cheeks. She was pretty much stripped down to nothing but her wraps around her breasts and her under garments. "What the fuck?!" shouted Crystal.

"Crystal?" called Kagome as she came through what looked like fabric flaps of the shelter. It seemed that she was concerned as Crystal could almost seem to sense the worry and concern all over her. Mostly in her aura, though there was something else hidden within her aura. It was faint, but it was hard to tell what it was. "Are you okay?" asked Kagome.

"Why am I pretty much naked?" asked Crystal with a bland stare.

"You were badly burned from that trap. I had to strip you down though, I couldn't remove that bandage on your hand." Kagome said with a frown on her face.

Crystal turned her gaze as she saw that her hand was still indeed bandage. That just meant that her spell worked. It had been one thing that worried her, that someone would remove the very thing that kept both herself, and those around her safe. By her design, no one should ever be able to remove the bandages unless they used a spell that was more powerful than the one she herself placed. "That just means that there is nothing to worry about." Crystal mumbled before lowering her hand to lay back on the blanket.

"But the rest of your body was burned, what if your hand is too?" asked Kagome.

"It won't be. A spell is on it, it keeps me and others safe, and it prevents that part of my flesh from being harmed for the most part." Crystal calmly explained before letting out a soft sigh. God, this woman was a rather bit nosey but, Crystal could at least see that her heart was in the right place. Yet, Crystal couldn't help but feel like Kagome was also pushing her kindness, because there was something else that she was concerned about. Ugh, her mind couldn't think properly. "How long was I out anyway?" asked Crystal.

"All day. Its night right now, you must have been tired to have slept that long. Unless your body was just that badly injured that you needed the sleep to recover." Kagome pointed out before pulling something out from her rather large bag and set it aside. "Can you sit up or do you need help?" Crystal blushed a little knowing that since her body couldn't really move that well right now, she would need help. Kagome, seeming to know what was going through the Inu woman's mind, had gone over to the woman and helped her up.

"I hate this." Crystal mumbled.

"Hate what?" asked Kagome.

"I hate that I need help. I have been fine on my own for over a hundred years. Now, I need help just to sit up…" Crystal sighed softly before being brought up to at least sit. Kagome patted her shoulder only to see Crystal wince. God her body still hurt though at least she was sitting up now. Though, it still bothered her that she had been asleep for so long and not have a-no, she shouldn't be thinking about that right now. She may as well enjoy the fact that she had a dreamless sleep for the first time in months.

Turning her gaze over, the young youkai saw that Kagome had moved and grabbed the robes that she had been wearing before. Though, it seemed that it had been freshly washed and even stitched up from some of the battles that she had gone through. It was nice to see her clothes finally fixed up though, she couldn't help but wonder what more she could say to the woman. It was strange having help, but also angered her as well.

"I'm gonna have to help you stand as well. I'm sorry." Great, more pain.

Kagome had managed to get Crystal to stand up on her feet, happy that she could at least stand again. Though the pain, it shot through her as if an elemental youkai had hit her with a bolt of lightning. Taking in a deep breath, the young woman just wanted this to be over and done with already. Why did this have to bother her so much? Turning to Kagome, she calmly said "Just hand me my clothes and I'll change, I'll meet you outside." Kagome just raised an eyebrow at her before walking away.

Finally, she could just relax as she slowly, but carefully put her robes on. At least that was something that she could do on her own. Though, it was still difficult for her to be able to move like this. Maybe so long as she didn't have to fight she would be able to heal faster. Though, if it did come up well she'd have to push herself which would only slow down her healing process.

Making her way out, Crystal blinked a few times, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness of the night. The only source of light was from the camp fire that the others circled to help keep them warm. Sighing softly, the young woman made her way over toward the fire, at least the heat from the fire would warm her up and, give her some kind of energy so to speak, allowing her to heal a little quicker.

Once she made her way to the fire, the young woman sat down on the log and looked at the others. The little fox kit seemed rather distracted by some paper and colourful charcoal sticks. Kagome was writing something down it seemed and then when she turned to stare at Inuyasha, she had to double take on his appearance. He looked human. Long black hair, dark violet coloured eyes, no dog ears which had been replaced with normal human looking ears.

She knew that he turned human, all youkai knew that. Though one thing she had never known was the when for Inuyasha, when he would become a human. It was rather surprising, though it still confused her to no end to be seeing it with her own eyes.

"Um… Miss Crystal?" came a tiny voice, causing her to stare at the fox kit. "Are you okay? While Kagome and I tended to you, you were mumbling in your sleep." She was? Hm… maybe she did still have her nightmares, but just hadn't been aware of it. Her mind, and body had just been so exhausted that it had worn her out. Maybe it was due to her body being attacked by a 'sacred trap' was what set it off this time around.

But, she had to assure him. He was only a child, a little boy that shouldn't have to worry about anything at his age. "I'm fine. And, you did a wonderful job patching me up, though you don't have to call me 'Miss'. Just Crystal is fine." Crystal said with a smile on her face.

"Okay. Oh, I'm Shippou!" he said with a smile on his face.

Crystal could only smile as she gently patted Shippou on the head. God, she swore children were one of her weaknesses. Well, her weakness to her heart at the very least. Shippou just grinned before he went back to her drawings. Her smile fading for a moment, Crystal knew that she couldn't stay… Putting them all in danger was one thing that she couldn't risk their lives because of her past catching up to them all. No, she couldn't drag them into this.

"I should get going. I have a whole world to explore." Crystal said with a smile on her face as she went to stand back up.

"But you should heal. You're still hurt." Kagome said with a frown.

"She has a point. If there was one thing I remember, it was that you were a slow healer unless you were near a fire." Inuyasha pointed out with a grumble.

"Yeah." Shippou said with a pout. Damn it, he broke her heart with that pout.

"I'm sorry but I can't. I have to get away from you three." Crystal said with a sigh before she was about to turn away. At least, until she felt her ear twitch. A sound of something whizzing by reached her ears and that was when she knew that she was already too late. The arrow zipped past her cheek and hit the tree that was behind Inuyasha. It seemed that Inuyasha could still move fast enough to dodge something. Unlike her right now.

Turning to stare at where the arrow came from, Crystal stared with wide eyes as she saw a few people, youkai most likely standing there with smirks on their faces. "Found you. Master Taku wants his bitch back." Crystal could only stare with wide eyes. Damn it all, they found her already.