-Wow. I feel so…light. As if I just got my hair cut…Well, actually, I did….but that's beside the point…Sequels feel like a fresh start. This is my first one, personally. I've never gotten this far in a story before.

Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki. Or Bleach's kido moves.

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-Chapter One-

The blue orb studied Tai emotionlessly. "…Skye? I know not a Skye…"

Tai blinked. "What…What do you mean? Y-You're Skye!"

The figure said nothing, but turned to gaze down at the battles below. Everyone was holding their own. She noted whose skills were equal. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she looked at Sanzo and Lirin. The small demon girl was munching on meat buns, not fighting. Mizuru had the basic techniques of the other three recorded in her computer-like mind, but unless Sanzo drew his weapon, she would not be able to collect information on him. The professor had given her no previous data about the Sanzo Ikkou in order to see if her observatory skills were up to par.

Mizuru prepared to go down and do something to provoke a response from Sanzo, when the irritating gnat behind her spoke again.

"Skye! It's me, Tai! Well, actually, you probably remember me as Emily. Emily Kitamura, remember? Your best friend."

Mizuru closed her eyes for the briefest second, a sign that she was thoroughly exasperated.

"I know no Skye," she said emotionlessly. "Nor do I know of a Tai or an Emily."

Tai sighed. "Alright. Fine. We'll play your game. Who are you then?"

The figure turned back to the battles, saying nothing.

Tai groaned in exasperation. "You are so Skye. You've got her same random antisocial-ness!"

Did this gnat know only how to buzz? Mizuru wasn't very good at human emotions yet, though she was studying from books in order to be able to act to better fulfill her orders. She was almost positive, however, that, if she could feel, right now she'd be extremely irritated.

And so, she spun toward Tai, hand coming out from under her cloak.

Tai sensed a shifting in the air and quickly leapt backwards. The figure's hand shot out of her cloak and swept through the air, narrowly missing Tai. The air sizzled where the blow had gone, so strong that the ends of a bit of Tai's hair shriveled up.

She looked at the person in disbelief. "Wh-Why did you just do that, Skye?! You could've killed me!"

Mizuru looked at the strange gnat with her head cocked, blue eye blazing through the blackness of her hood.

"That was the idea," she said drily.

"But why?"

"Because you are an irritation that is distracting me from my task."

"Your…task?"

Mizuru nodded once. "Now, if you please." She began to move toward the priest below.

Tai grabbed her arm. "Hold on a second. You're delusional if you think I'm letting you leave."

Mizuru gazed at her calmly as Tai suddenly realized she wasn't holding anyone anymore. She looked around frantically, and found the cloaked figure on the other end of the roof. Tai took a deep breath.

"Sorry, Skye," she mumbled. Then, pointing to the person, she shouted, "Bakudo #1: Restrain!"

The figure twitched as her arms suddenly got locked behind her back. Her head swung around so that she was once again staring at Tai with that piercing blue gaze.

'Interesting,' Mizuru thought. 'But not nearly impressive enough to waste my attention on.'

The blue eye went back to the battles as, to Tai's shock, the figure twitched slightly, then moved her arms back to her sides.

Tai grit her teeth. All right then. Two could play at this.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and claw out your own throat! Bakudo #9: Strike!"

The figure turned just as a thick red mist, formed from Tai's reiatsu, engulfed her. Tai sighed. Skye had been stronger than she anticipated, but now she wouldn't be able to move a muscle.

Tai's eyes widened as she sensed a presence and spun around. There, right behind her, was the cloaked blue eye. It stabbed into her mind, freezing her, as the figure landed a blow that sent her flying down into the midst of the battles below.

The others stopped and turned to look as the rubble heap exploded, having had someone projected into it. As the dust cleared, the cloaked figure could be seen standing before Tai, who was getting up, stumbling slightly.

Yaone blinked. "Mizuru-san?!"

"Mizuru!" Kougaiji stepped forward. "Where have you been?!"

"Ruri-chan! Ruri-chan!" Lirin called cheerfully. "Look! I have a meat bun!"

Mizuru didn't answer any of them. She was busy staring at her new target.

Tai brushed some dirt off her face. "Mizuru, eh? Is that your new name, Skye?" She tilted her head back. "Mizuru Ryusaki. Kind of flows, doesn't it?"

Mizuru didn't answer.

"Wow. You sure aren't talkative. Even less than you were before…yet you still have the strange ability that, whenever you open your mouth, you piss me off."

Mizuru suddenly disappeared, reappearing with a clash of metal directly in front of Tai.

Tai smirked. "You were always fast, but it looks like you got a bit quicker. Bet I'm faster, though."

Mizuru's eye narrowed the smallest bit, and then she was gone.

Tai smiled and disappeared, too.

They kept disappearing and reappearing at random spots in the area, each time with a solid crash.

Suddenly, Mizuru appeared behind Tai. "Too slow," she said and, with a flash of light, cut Tai right in half. As she fell, though, Tai disappeared.

Before Mizuru could react, Tai spoke from a bit behind her.

"Not exactly," she said. Then, "Hado #33: Blue Fire, Crash Down!"

The blast of blue energy hit Mizuru squarely, and everything disappeared as dust rose from the blast.

"If you really are Skye, you'll be able to survive that," Tai muttered, more reassuring herself than talking to Mizuru.

The dust cleared to have them watch as a large rock was shifted away, revealing someone underneath. Mizuru stood and walked out, looking, to Tai's disbelief, completely unharmed.

The blast had, though, knocked her hood off. Now Tai could see the reason that only one blue eye was visible. The entire right half of Mizuru's face was covered with bandages. Also, her skin was paler, almost white, and her hair had turned the color of the shadows that seemed to cling to her, black as night.

"Sk-Mizuru…" Tai said in amazement. "How'd you get so strong?"

Mizuru held her right arm before her, toward Tai, gazing steadily at her with her good eye.

"Fool!" Kougaiji shouted. "You don't provoke any of that psycho professor's experiments!"

Tai blinked and started to turn her head toward him. "Experiments?"

She never got her answer, though, because she suddenly found she couldn't breathe. She gasped and coughed, holding her throat, but no air would enter her lungs.

"Tch!" Kougaiji made a sound of annoyance and quickly went to where Mizuru still stood, eye gazing, arm outstretched.

"Mizuru!" He put his hands on her shoulders and shook her. "Mizuru, stop! You can't kill people like this! It's not fair!"

Mizuru's hand dropped. Tai fell to her knees and promptly threw up. She vomited disgusting, gooey, tar-like liquid, then pulled in a rattling breath. She was soon breathing regularly again and was back on her feet.

Mizuru turned to Kougaiji. She placed a hand on his chest, and he flinched. He tried not to wrinkle his nose at being touched by one of Ni's experiments.

"You have…a good heart," she said in a momtone. He looked down at her in surprise. "I now see what Professor Ni and Milady meant. You are weak." She turned back around as Tai spoke again.

"So, we fought. I guess now, since we're on opposite sides, we're rivals, hm?" She smiled ruefully. "It's strange how best friends somehow always turn against each other, isn't it?"

Mizuru didn't answer. Instead, she replaced her hood and disappeared.

"Dammit!" Kougaiji exclaimed. "Why does she always do that?!"

Tai smiled sadly. "Because it's her way. That's how she is, both consciously and unconsciously."

Kougaiji looked like he wanted to ask something else, but shook his head. He called to his comrades and they, too, left.

The Sanzo Ikkou congregated loosely around Tai.

"What exactly was all that?" Hakkai asked her.

"I'm hungry!" Goku whined.

Tai gazed at the ground, still with a rueful expression. "Let's go somewhere to eat. Then, I'll tell you the whole story."

-End-

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-Okay. I hope my readers from BBWW will continue reading this. If you are, you understand why I made this sequel, right? I mean, BBWW had reached 52 chapters.

I'll try to update next week. I'm not making any promises though…See you.