A/N: Konnichiwa everyone!
Gomen, Gomen, Gomen, Gomen, Gomen, Gomen, Gomen for taking so long to update!
I swear, between my flu, writer's block, this damn website, and everything else, it's been all but impossible to get a chapter up.
This is the first friggen time I've been able to log onto this site in the past 4 days! Otherwise I might've had this chapter up sooner!
However, I'm afraid some of the blame is my fault... or my muses fault. They don't want to focus on any other story but one of mine. It's driving me insane trying to force them onto other stories. (Although, they seem to know what they're doing with that story at least, cause I won an award (cool! )) But they're making me seriously neglect all my other's. So I'm a little less than pleased with them.
Oh, and how cool is it? This story now has 708 reviews, and 30900 hits! Yay! Thanks so much to everybody for reading and reviewing!
Anyway, I finally am managing to get this chapter up... so I guess I'm gonna shut up now, answer the reviews, and then post it so you guys can finally read it.
-angelwingz21 - Lol, I'm trying to!
-RamblingPhilosopher - Lol, yeah, it's annoyed the crap outta me. Luckily enough, I'm mostly better-- I've only got a cough left (Thank God!) so that's definitely a great improvement! -- Lol, well it's good to know tha you're not gonna force me to be a Kag/Inu fan. I don't know why-- my sister seems to like them, but I think Kag's is a bit too whiny and clingy and bossy. Maybe that's why my sister likes her so much-- they've got such close personalities. Lol. Sess/Kag... Well I don't really like to comment on that pairing very much because I don't usually read stories involving that pairing. Again, I don't like Kag very much, so it's hard enough for me to have her with Inu, but then there's the fact that I've seen a few Kag/Sess plots and they all seem to come out exactly the same. Maybe if I could see an interesting plot I'd like them more. I doubt it, but maybe. Lol, but if you like that pairing, then that's good for you! I'm not trying to insult your choice or anything. -- Lol, my fav pairing? Umm... well that's not exactly a hard choice for me, but I don't think you'd like it at all. It's a little bit creepy to some people. But if you still want to know now... well, then maybe I'll tell you. -- Oh. Well I'm not Jewish, so I suppose that's why I've never heard of it. Lol. -- Yeah, Amaya has part of the jewel. She got it out of Inuyasha's neck way back when I think... But you're right-- if Naraku finds out, she's probably gonna have a real fight on her hands. Like she doesn't have one already. Let's hope our little sorceress can handle it, neh?
-Punk Rock Miko2 - Lol, Current Music of Choice. It's just something I've been doing for the last while-- whatever music I was listening to while writing out the chapter/review responses. A few other people have picked up on it too.
-Moonglow gal - Oh, well I don't really keep track of them. I just create them, and then leave them alone, and every once in a while, when they deem it necessary, they'll crawl back out of my imagination, and whack me over the head to remind me that I need to pay attention to them in the story too, and then go back in. It's kinda violent actually... Lol. -- So you know what I'm talking about then, neh? Damn muses! I'd curse them into the deepest circle of hell, if I didn't need them to finish writing my stories. Fumes silently for a moment. Stupid things. -- Lol, you have a great everything (day/week/lunar month/month/season/year) too!
-wolfygirl13 - Lol, yeah, blackmailing the chibi's does seem like the best way to keep them under control, doesn't it? Man. Chibi-Sesshomaru-sama is quite the vengeful chibi, ain't he? Woosh! Although, I suppose, if Naraku did to me what he did to Sesshmaru, I might be the same way. I no longer have any sympathy for Naraku's fear of... well, himself. Maybe Sesshomaru should sick Kanna on him again, neh? And poor Miroku-- falling into boiling chocolate. Man, the whole chocolate factory would be... well, dead, if it weren't for Rin, neh? shakes head and sighs Inuyasha, one of these days you're gonna die and nobody's gonna bring you back to life, and where will you be then?... Well, dead I suppose, but... Okay, nevermind then. -- Lol, Sesshomaru, I have two words for you "Anger. Management." Please don't choke me! hides behind computer chair. Wait. Can he choke me through the computer? Would he choke me? Cause if he makes me black out or sends me to the hospital, I might not be able to write any more... Or I might loose the will to write... Hm. So I guess the question is, how much more does he want me to write? -- He chopped off your tail? That evil bastard. You should steal his mokomoko-sama then! See how he likes that! And I can say that because I don't think he's gonna choke me anymore... Or rather, I hope he's not gonna choke me anymore... eyes Sesshomaru nervously -- Lol, hello Kirara! Kinda weird talking to you since I never expected you to be able to type, but w/e. I'm not about to complain, since you seem to be one of the only four down there with sanity (Shippo, Rin and wolfygirl13 being the other three). Glad my story gives you guys a little bit of peace amongst all the chaos-- although, I must say that I can understand Kouga's reluctance to eat the alligators. I wouldn't eat dark chocolate either! Hey! He should pour milk onto them! Lol, okay, so technically it wouldn't be milk-chocolate, but it would still probably taste better than dark chocolate. Lol. The queen Schinidama and King Saimyoushou huh? Lol, I can imagine the kind of chaos that could create... Lol, I actually almost forgot about Ah-Un. Lol, hope he's doing okay. Though he usually spends an awful lot of time with Rin, and that's probably the safest place to be in the chocolate factory. -- Yeah, it sounds busy down there. And dangerous. Poor wolfygirl. Although someone probably really should help Kouga get away, that's no reason for him to try and feed her to the alligators. Hopefully she's still got support from you and Rin and Shippo though. Amazing, it's the kids and the (no offence) cat that have the most sense down there. And the reviewer. Lol. Well, hope everyone enjoys the next chapter and stops trying to kill each other long enough to read it.
-Sexy Kat - Your welcome. It's not like it cost me anything, so why wouldn't I have helped? Or attempted to, anyway. I'm afraid no one seems to know about it though. I imagine though that it should probably pick up maybe sometime in the summer or fall. That's how they usually work out-- they only usually go off air for about half a year. At least where I live, anyway, but maybe it's different in Australia. Are you sure it's completely off air down there though? Because where I live they had it playing mon-thursday with older episodes at a much later time (12:05 to be exact) but on Fridays they played newer episodes much earlier (10:00). They recently stopped playing the mon-thursday ones, but the friday one's are still on, so I'm just curious if it's the same with you. Although, I imagine that-- if it was-- you probably would have noticed something by now, so this is probably a completely pointless question, but I figure I'll ask it anyway. Gomen I couldn't be more help with this though! I hope it starts playing again soon. I can't imagine how horrile it must be to be Inuyasha deprived... shudders... Or maybe I can, but I just really don't want to... shudders again
-Inume-Blue - Lol, thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic, and I'm feeling much better now, so thanks for both those things. -- You're posting stuff soon? Cool! Don't worry about not being as good. You actually don't know that yet. And besides, I used to be a complete piece of shit as an author. I'm not sure what the hell happened to change that so that people actually liked my stories though... Anyway, the point is, don't worry, even if you do start out bad, there's nothing left for you to do but improve. And eventually you'll have to get better. Or else give up. Which I really hope you don't, cause that'd really, really suck. So don't do that. Even if it starts out a little rough.
-Clouds of the Sky - Lol, don't we all? Such a shame they're not real... sighs... Lol, yeah we're gonna meet him. Sooner or later. Lol, I don't know if he's hot though... I haven't entirely decided on his description. I don't think he's gonna exactly be the sort of Sesshomaru-sexy kinda thing you might be thinking of though. -- Lol, don't apologize. I get soooooooooooooooooooo wired when I don't have a lot of sleep either. It's actually probbaly one of my better modes, considering how out-there I can get when I have had sleep... -- I agree-- One-week is not enough! Just like two-months aren't enough of a break either! They need to keep it balanced out or something... -- I'm glad my update could help. Sorry this one took so long though... been having trouble with that lately. Really gotta get that fixed sometime soon. -- Of course you're rambling about pointless things! There's nothing else to ramble about! Because if you're rambling about something that has a point, then you're no longer rambling. You're either lecturing or giving a speech. Either one sucks. -- Lol, anyway, feel free to ramble all you want. I don't mind. And it's not like I don't do it enough anyway.
-Bluer Sky - Lol, well don't worry, I ain't gonna tell anyone. Although, I think that down where I live (Canada) downloading music for enjoyment isn't illegle. I hate all those artists that complain about it though. You always know which one's are in it for the money, and which one's are in it for the music by those who complain about things like that. If they're more concerned about earning money from downloads, then about the fact that all these people are downloading their music for enjoyment, then they clearly don't care about their fans as much as they claim. -- Lol, well I imagine that was a scary experience-- coming to Canada as a tourist. Hopefully you found out that we're not as primitive as some of you Americans seem to think. And I'm not insulting you either, but some of you seem to believe that we really do live in Igloos with beavers for pets and all that other whatnot... And that we've never heard of/used things like fax machines and phones and we have no colleges. It's a little bit strange actually... Not that I'm making fun, but... -- Yeah, the tax probably was insane, but then again, our dollar isn't worth as much as you're guys's (STILL!) so maybe that has something to do with it... -- Lol, it's fine if you like my other story better. Subjection, Subjugation I'm assuming is the one we're talking about... Yeah... I like that one too... but I might have to stop writing it. Or at least put it on hold for a while. It's just too much work right now and I've realised that, if I don't stop writing one of my stories, I'm gonna end up blowing a fuse. Literally. And then I might end up not writing any of them. ANd I'd rather not risk that. So it is definitely going on hold for a while until I can at least get enough energy to continue with it... But that might not happen until I finish one of my other stories, so that could tkae a while. I plan to put up a notice there and let people know sometime in the very near future though. -- Lol, Kashikari and Amaya... probably don't have anything going on. At least not along those lines. You'll see why as soon as I actually manage to get to him. Lol, although, lots of people want me to hook her up with Sesshomaru... which would be an... interesting relationship, to say the least. I wonder if that would work...
-sourapple10000 - Lol, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Sorry about the confusion though-- you're right, there are horses with Inuyasha and Kagome. But I do have a whole herd of horses I can mess around with so... However, it clear it up, I'll explain a bit to you. The two horses that are with Inuyasha and Kagome are Kazkaen and Arron-- the horses that Amaya has been using for the most part lately. The one horse that is travelling with Kaede and Amaya is Gouka. He's the leader of the horse tribe and one of the one's Amaya originally captured. She hasn't used him a lot lately though. Does that help any? -- O-oh! Yeah, that clears it all right up! Lol, thanks! I think I understand now!
-cocoke5 - Yeah. Poor Inu and Kags. But at least they're making the attempt. Hopefully nothing's gonna go wrong... Because you never actually know what I might throw in there... do ya?
-Jtmscola - Hey! Nice to hear from you again! Lol, backtracking to get in the mood of the story... hm. You know, I may steal that method when I'm writing! It might help get my muses back on track! They won't let me stop writing chapters for this one story, and, while that's great for that story, all my other's a getting screwed over because of it. -- Lol, yeah, I suppose that Arron is a bit of a brat. But then again, so is Inuyasha. Maybe it's a younger sibling thing? Hm. Now that didn't work out entirely well, because I'm a younger sibling. Then again, my sister did point out (in her usual oh-so-courteous manner) that Inuyasha was a brat and I was just like him. So I had to remind her that he was the hero of the story after all. And if I'm just like him, then what does that say about me? Lol, I don't think it changed her opinion, but it did effectively shut her up, so that's always a good thing. Hm. I don't know. I never know for certain what a character's going to be like until I write them. Since I haven't actually written him yet, I don't know what he's going to be like. Hopefully realistic-- that's all I'm going for. -- Oh, well, hopefully then, (since it's been almost a week since I last updated-- if it hasn't been that already) you'll h ave gotten your lab time without missing anything (cuase I sure as hell haven't updated anything) cause I'd really hate to interrupt anything you might have to do, or for you to fall behind again. -- Lol, thanks! But, in my opinion, every author that puts effort into their stories deserves to have their work praised, even if it's done in a critcal manner. It's the one's that don't put any effort or care into their stories that don't deserve praise. But that's just my opinion, and since when has that ever mattered? Lol !
Strange Creatures
Inuyasha frowned slightly, gripping the neck of the horse youkai tightly as he heard Kagome continue to shout incoherently somewhere behind him, her words lost-- swallowed up on the gale blasting toward them, created by the horses' speed.
'Tell your human we are landing.' Arron said in his mind. Inuyasha squinted and offered the horse his best glare that he could manage against the wind. 'How the hell do you propose I do that?' He demanded, just as unhappy with their travelling accommodations as his human accompaniment.
'Too late!' Arron replied, and then suddenly they were plummeting toward the ground at rapid-fire speed, forcing Inuyasha to turn his face away and bury it against the horse's neck or else risk having the skin torn from it as the wind shot up to blast into him.
He instinctively dug his claws into the flesh beneath his palms as behind him he heard Kagome let out an ear-shattering scream as Kazkaen followed after them.
Then, with a jolt that all but sent him soaring over his youkai's head, they landed, large craters appearing in the ground where the hooves of the horses had connected.
'Stop clawing at me, half-demon! You are going to tear my neck open!' Arron snarled in his mind, and Inuyasha dug his claws in deeper.
'Serves you right for pulling a stunt like that!' He shot back, before jumping off the horse's back and going over to make sure Kagome was alright, barely avoiding it as Arron attempted to snap at him as he passed.
'I was wrong.' Kagome said, as she weakly threw her leg over the side of Kazkaen. 'The bus isn't the worst way to travel.' She said. 'That was the worst I have ever been on!' She said, sliding down to the ground.
Only her legs hadn't quite forgiven her that experience, and refused to hold her up.
Luckily enough Inuyasha was there, his clawed hands moving out to catch her hips and stopping her from falling.
Kagome felt a small blush stain her cheeks at their close proximity, but said nothing as she looked up at Inuyasha-- the worry she saw in his eyes.
'Can you walk?' He asked.
Kagome nodded slowly, and he hesitated a moment before withdrawing his hands.
It seemed she was lying, because a moment later she was falling again, letting out a small cry of surprise as her hands reached out and caught hold of his haori, all but tearing it off of him as she struggled to remain upright.
Again Inuyasha's arms came up, catching her arms as he pulled her closer against him so that he could support her.
'Damn, woman!' He muttered under his breath as he tugged the haori back up from where it had slid down his shoulder. 'Why are you always trying to undress me!'
Kagome scowled darkly.
'I am not trying to undress you! And I wouldn't have to all the time if you didn't get injured!' She said, then froze up slightly as she realised that Inuyasha might take that the wrong way.
When she looked up though, while obviously frowning, there was amusement sparkling in his eyes.
Apparently he had missed their little quarrels just as much as she had.
'I wouldn't get hurt all the time if I didn't always have to protect you.' He returned, though there was no real fire behind his words, and then reached out, slipping one of his hands under her legs and pulling her up into his arms as he began walking toward the well.
Kagome blinked slightly at this, but didn't protest as they moved toward the well (which she was not even going to ask how the horse's had found) feeling a strange sense of apprehension and excitement well up within her as Inuyasha placed his foot on the edge of the well and then looked back at the two horses, who were staring curiously at them.
'You guys wait here, or else come back in a couple days.' He said. 'Just don't wander too far and don't draw attention to yourselves. You don't want Naraku to find you here.'
Kazkaen gave a small nod of sorts to ascertain that she had understood, and Inuyasha returned the gesture, before turning back toward the well, his eyes coming down to meet hers.
'You ready?' He asked. Kagome glanced down at the well then looked back up at him.
'Uh-huh.' She said, nodding her head in a mimic of his previous action. Inuyasha tightened his grip around her, and she could feel the muscles in his body tensing before, with a small leap, they were jumping forward into the well, Kagome Instinctively curling tighter against him as she felt the air rushing up past her, and she crossed her fingers, praying that it would work.
After all, she didn't have the jewel anymore... there was no saying that it would.
Much to her relief, after a few feet of free-falling, the familiar blue and black light rose up to surround them, pulling them down, drawing them into the area of nothingness as they crossed over the borders of time.
Behind them, two sets of fiery eyes widened slightly as light burst up from the well the two creatures had just jumped down, and the horses stared on, half expecting some sort of demon or another to come bursting out, or for the two to have hit a barrier of some kind.
When nothing of the sort happened, the two approach slowly, looking over the brim, their ears perked forward as they stared down at the collection of earth and bones they could barely perceive through the dark.
'So... this is supposed to take them to the future?' Arron asked slowly, his voice quiet and slightly unsure, as if he was caught between awe and fear for Inuyasha and Kagome's sanity as his mother flicker her ears back.
'I have no idea.' She said slowly.
A moment of silence fell, and the two uma's looked up to meet each other's eyes, then Arron snorted and turned away.
'Strange creatures.' He muttered, his feet leaving smouldering hoof prints in the grass that surrounded and filled the clearing that caused little trails of smoke to filter up, before being lost to the wind.
Glossary
Youkai - Demon
Haori - A type of Japanese jacket that is worn by men and women over their kimono's
Uma - Horse
A/N: Well that's it. Hope y'all enjoyed it. I'm exhausted (been fighting with my computer all day) so...
SPECIAL THANKS (both for the support and your patience) TO: AnGeLwInGz21, RaMbLiNgPhIlOsOpHeR, PuNk RoCk MiKo2, MoOnGlOW GaL, WoLfYgIrL13, SeXy KaT, InUmE-bLuE, ClOuDs Of ThE SkY, BlUeR SkY, SoUrApPlE10000, CoCoKe5, AnD JtMsCola -- You guys have been really great! Thanks so much!
CMoC -- Dirty Little Secret - The All-American Rejects (can't stop listening to it ), Remedy - Cold, I sometimes wanna die - Joydrop, You give love a bad name - Bon Jovi, Pieces - Sum 41, Fat Lip - Sum 41, Crazy - Simple Plan, We are One Tonight - Switchfoot, Complicated - Avril Lavigne, Aluminium - Barenaked Ladies, Shoebox - Barenaked Ladies, I write Sins, Not Tragedies - Panic! the disco, Four Seasons - Namie Amuro(?), Torn - Natalie Imbruglia, I'm not an Addict - K's Choice, Savin' Me - Nickelback, Save me - Remy Zero.
What can I say-- I've been typing this all out for a while. A long while.
Ciao!
Avarwen