Chapter One

He watched her from far away and cursed the hanyou for his stupidity. Since the fool had made his choice that girl's fate had been tied and bound. Nothing could be done to change what would happen tonight. The die had been cast, and the soul that had once been torn would be whole again.

He knew that if he tried that he could find ways to interfere. If he wanted to he could risk it all—his status, his position, even his immortality. If he wanted to, he would be able to stop Midoriko from setting everything into emotion. The former human had no idea how things would play out.

It was too bad for everyone that he didn't feel like risking everything that he had. He wanted the hanyou to see what it was that his decision was going to cost him. He wanted to see the bastard regret his rash choice. A bastard, born and bred, who was the cause that the struggle with the jewel that had been cursed by Hell had dragged out so long. Soon the demons would break free, and the real battle would start.

He turned away from the viewing pool. There was no sense in watching what Midoriko's actions would cause. He had already seen it plenty of times in his dreams.

He unfurled his great wings and took off into the skies of the Heavens. Soon one of the two realms would have a new inhabitant.

It really was a shame that his gift prevented him from telling people about what he saw. He closed his against the cool feel of the wind against the sky as he flew. It was a shame and an annoyance, but there wasn't too much he could do about it.

Oh well.

Someone wanted him dead. It wasn't something that caused him a great amount of concern on a normal day, but today wasn't just a normal. If someone wanted him dead, and was plotting ways to bring harm to him and those around him then it was something that needed to be take care of immediately. His ears twitched back trying to find the source of his unease, and it caught up a sound that would have sounded faint to the humans in the area. This sound was quite audible to him—the sound of a faint growl from one easily irritated kitsune. Inuyasha snorted softly and returned his attention to Kikyou and Kaede as they prepared the scrolls and incense that would be used in the purification ceremony for the Shikon jewel.

He still found it hard to believe that it was really happening.

The final battle against Naraku had been horrible. As much as it chagrined him to admit it, if it hadn't been for the help of his brother and for the sacrifice of Kouga and Ayame then none of them would have made it out of that battle alive. It was terrifying, if he stopped and thought about it, how difficult it had been for their group to make it out of there alive. Miroku had lost an eye, and the combined venom of the hell wasps had left a hideous scar in his hand when the kazaana had disappeared. So even now, with his life no longer in danger, Miroku still kept his hand gloved. Even the rosary beads still remained on, although that was more out of habit.

Although Inuyasha tried not to think about it, it was the women of their little shard-hunting group that had suffered the most. He and Shippou had escaped unscathed, but Kagome and Sango…

Sango was the one who was crippled the most, at least from what he saw. During the last moments when they had subdued Naraku the taiji-ya had consumed a frightening amount of miasma. It had ruined her lungs and nearly killed her. Not only had she lost her remaining family member, but she would no longer be the strong woman that she once was. She and Miroku would have to be very careful and would only have one or two children. Kagome insisted on bringing Sango through the well when that happened, even though they had no idea if it would work after this night.

Kagome. It was almost painful to think about her. Since pain was something that he generally tried to avoid, especially the emotional, squishy kind, he had been avoiding her. It had come so close; she almost didn't get the chance to give him the completed jewel. A minor youkai that Naraku had sent out to distract him and Kouga had ended up making a mangled mess of her arm and her body was now covered in scars. Inuyasha had rushed her back to the well so that the healers in her time would be able to tend to her before it was too late.

That had hurt Kikyou, but at the time he didn't give a damn. He still wouldn't have changed his actions for anything. His brother would never have used Tenseiga to revive the human who had caused the taiyoukai so much personal insult, and if they wasted the jewel's wish on healing her then Kikyou would have lost her chance at regaining her stolen humanity.

The healers from Kagome's time had removed the mangled arm—fortunately she hadn't lost enough blood for the injury to be life-threatening. It was the youkai poison that still remained in the scars that littered her body that had nearly cost the young miko her life. If it hadn't been for old Myouga clinging to his haori and hitching a ride to Kagome's time, she would have died. This knowledge, once shared with Miroku, had made a remark that the hanyou tried very hard not to think about it.

"You do realize, don't you Inuyasha, that if Myouga hadn't been there then you wouldn't have to worry about avoiding her?"

That comment had made his gut clench, and Inuyasha had been unable to come up with any sort of response for the monk. After she had fully recovered and learned to function somewhat with the use of only one arm they had needed her to return to the well so that it could be fully discussed. Inuyasha had thought that it was rather pointless. He wanted nothing better then to just seal up the well with Kagome on the other side and to give Kikyou back her humanity. He had made the mistake of mentioning that to Miroku once when Kaede was within hearing distance. The old miko had clucked her tongue and gave him a look that left the hanyou feeling as if he had somehow disappointed her. The damn monk must have told Sango at some point, because ever since then she had been treating him with the barest of civility. There were times when it seemed as if she could barely tolerate his presence. Perhaps it was because of the way she was acting that Kirara growled whenever he was nearby. His hand was still smarting from the last time the neko youkai had bit him.

The hanyou was constantly telling Kikyou that he didn't have a damn clue when she asked why his friends seemed to have turned on him.

After all he didn't have a fuckin' clue—or at least that's what he kept telling himself.

There were times, when dreams of severed limbs dripped with poison and stormy seas that could only be seen through shattered glass kept him awake, that he found himself hidden among the leafy branches of the Goshinboku, trying not to think of anything. He tried not to remember the last time that he had seen her smile, the last time she had shared her laughter, the last time her scent hadn't been saturated with sorrow and despair. He always failed miserably every time.

Now she stood far away from the rest of them, a glaring Shippou perched on her shoulder. The soft beams of the moonlight filtered through the leafy branches of the large oak that Kagome stood under, casting her skin in mottled silver. It made her look paler, ethereal. It almost reminded him of how Kikyou had looked that one night, five years ago, when he had seen her for the first time after her resurrection with her soul stealers swimming about her, keening. Like most things nowadays, Inuyasha tried very hard not to think about that comparison or what it could possibly mean. It was strange how the fact that Kikyou had only been able to sustain herself with the souls of the dead never really bothered, but the fact that he could make such a comparison from the annoying girl who had freed him and the woman he loved did.

Kagome never looked more like a girl then she did now.

Two years ago she had stopped wearing the school uniform, claiming it was no longer needed, and started wearing shirts made of soft cotton and pants of durable denim. She had ended up with fewer scratches during their run-ins with youkai because of the change and neither the hanyou nor Miroku had minded the way the new clothing clung to her skin. There were times when even Inuyasha had been more appreciative of it then the monk. Maybe that was the reason that he had become so much more painfully aware on how much weight she lost, and how her clothes seemed as if they were practically about to fall off her skin. He had heard the taiji-ya once mention how she noticed how prominent Kagome's ribs were when they bathed.

Mentally, the hanyou shook his head and tried to bring his attention back to the words that were being exchanged by Kikyou and Kaede. As the initial protectress of the jewel since it's reemergence into the world, by all rights it should Kagome there going through the steps of the ceremony with Kikyou, but at some point the three mikos had come to a spoken agreement that it would just be better for the sanity of everyone if Kaede took Kagome's place.

The smoke that was rising from the tarnished ossuary as the moldy scroll that had been brought from the taiji-ya village for the ceremony burned was really irritating his nose. He really hope that they would finish it soon so that he and Kikyou could finally celebrate the return of her humanity. It was something that the villagers were greatly looking forward to.

Finally, she would no longer have to rely on the souls of the dead to sustain her life.

"Could you please not do that?"

Midori scowled over at her companion from where he sat against the trunk of the Goshinboku. She paused in the thrumming of her manicured nails against the ancient bark. She glared at him.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" she sniffed. She regarded him with her blue eyes for a moment. It was almost amusing, the way he so resembled the hanyou son of Inutaisho. He sat amongst the large roots of the trees, cross-legged. Even his scythe was slung over his shoulder in the same manner that she had observed the hanyou on the rare occasions that she did see him. Midori glanced down at her nails, the black jewels catching the dim moonlight. She still wore the clothes from that time as well. Ashura didn't particularly care for her attire. He was always pointing out that it was inappropriate of someone of her status and prestige among the Heavens. This, of course, would only lead to another argument in which she would pointedly remind him that no matter how that seat in Heaven was reserved for her, it would be quite some time before she would be able to reclaim it. Right now she was happy, carrying out her duties in the mortal form that she had been reborn in.

"Midoriko."

"Midori!" She snapped back shrilly.

Her dark eyes narrowed, glittering like coals caught in blue fire, at the patronizing smile he gave her. He didn't respond, still smiling that damnable smile of his...she didn't even realize that her hand was clenched into a fist until she heard the snap of a slender branch that had slipped into her grasp. When she looked down at the branch, the small piece of broken wood, her face paled.

"That's not good, Midoriko. How many more years will be added to your sentence for destroying a piece of a sacred tree?"

Midori swallowed thickly. The Council of the Heavens had decided that she spend five years of her afterlife on Earth, aiding the Protectress of the Shikon in whatever way she could. It had been one of her options of punishment for the sin of creating said jewel. She had tried not to seem too eager for the task. She would be able to finish what she started, and purify the foolish demons that would dare to covet such a weapon. What she hadn't been expecting was that the new Protectress would be born 500 years after the Shikon had fallen into the hands of a pure maiden. She had expected to be reborn into her time, and that she would be able to pick up her sword again.

Experience should have told her that the Fates were not so kind.

She had been placed in a time, in a place where she could provide nothing more then emotional support. No one had taken into account how very different the worlds of feudal Japan and a 21st century high school were. They were like two separate worlds. Midori had retained all of her memories as Midoriko, and adjusting to the intricate hierarchies that existed in the school culture, particularly the delicate relationship between girls, had been a challenge

She had never fit in with the girls from her home village. How the hell had the Council expected her to blend in with silly girls who made boy chasing into a hobby? The Protectress, Kagome Higurashi, had been among the popular crowds—even if her friends were a bit more bearable then most—and had seemed hard to reach. Midori had let a myth surround her identity as an outcast - dark makeup, hair streaked with magenta stripes, patches of skulls covering her bag despite the protest of the school faculty, along with a passion for drama and kendo. The first one had been out of necessity; she had thought it would be the one most likely allow her to meet with Kagome. Surprisingly, it was kendo that had brought the two together. Although she never joined the club, for reasons that were obvious only Midori, she would take the time that Midori would offer to build up her self-defense. It hadn't been the close friendship that the Council had been hoping for, but it was a casual comradery and trust that allowed the former miko to protect Kagome from the numerous 21st century youkai that were drawn to the jewel.

Before the most recent mess with the previous holder of the jewel, Midori had even got Kagome to start to confide in her the progress of the quest by alluding to their battle for the jewel as an obscure myth. She had been hoping to provide the other girl with some advice, but things had progressed in a direction that she hadn't expected and that was how she found herself back by the familiar tree with her companion. In the 150 years since she had been gone it hadn't changed much.

Ashura was well known in the mortal realm as the harbinger of death, a grim reaper. The decaying corpse covered in dark, rotten cloth was just an illusion, a gimmick that he used to keep himself amused. The real Ashura, the companion that she was currently annoying with her constant finger taping, was a gentle man - one who took no pleasure in his task. Similar to how Midoriko had been a warrior miko, Ashura had been a warrior monk in his previous life. Maybe it was one of the reasons why they got along so well.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" The young woman looked down at her manicured nails again, this week a blood-red with black jewels; somehow it had seemed appropriate.

"The fragmented soul is crying for completion. Your creation is being guided into chaos. The equinox is shifting so that it is in favor of Hell."

"I suppose we have the clay bitch to thank for that."

Ashura blinked his gold flecked eyes at the uncharacteristic speech. Midori raised a finally sculpted eyebrow in response, daring him to say something. The black-winged seraph wisely decided to say nothing.

"So where does that leave us? An hour, five minutes...what?"

"I will be moving shortly. You will know when the spirit leaves the husk. That is when you will approach the Protectress."

Midori's ruby lips curled into a half-smirk as she imagined Kagome's response. "This will be interesting."

"Do you think it will be possible for you to at least try to behave yourself?" Ashura stood up, gathering the black, hooded cloak that rested on the forest floor next to him. He fastened the silver brooch, keeping the hood down. Leaving his scythe against the tree, he adjusted the blood-stained folds to cover his form.

"I can try. No promises." Midori stepped away from the trunk of the Goshinboku, and stepped around so she could look at her partner. She moved around the tree until she was only inches away from Ashura. Reaching up, she brushed away his silver-tipped bangs. The former miko smiled, one of her genuine smile—not a saucy smirk—as she stared into his emerald eyes. She loved the way those vibrant green eye always seemed to be awash in gold, the way they glittered when he ever he smiled or was angry. "I hate that cloak."

A light blush spread across his pale skin at her proximity. He swallowed audibly as she brushed his bangs again. Midori fingered a couple of the silver tips.

"Not only does it stink, 'cause of all that damn blood, I can't see your eyes or play with your hair when you have the hood on."

"Midori…ko."

She ran a hand through her inky hair and stepped back. "This makes it what, the fifth time? It's Midori. Midoriko was a warrior miko. Does this look like something a miko would wear?" Midori gestured to her form. She flushed a little at the way Ashura's eyes briefly gave her a once over. The sudden transportation hadn't given her time to change into something that would allow her to blend in with the locals of the Sengoku Jidai, and she didn't care to change in the clothes that he had provided for her. Granted her hipster jean, the lace-up, red-lined corset, and four inch platform boots made her stand out, but she liked the clothing from Kagome's time. She would probably spend at least another year in the 21st century, and she wasn't going to waste any time wearing old fashioned kimonos and such. Not to mention the clothing in the Heavens was just as boring. "Cat got your tongue?"

Now it was Ashura's turn to flush. "I-I should go." He bent down and picked up his scythe, letting the curved blade rest on his shoulder.

"Stay safe." She knew that the demons wouldn't have time to make their move, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

Kikyou felt childish. She could feel the purity of the Shikon as it pulsed in her hand, the conflicting energies reacting to the power of the words for the ceremony. An excitement was rising in the pit of her stomach, an emotion that she hadn't felt for the longest time. Too long had she been plunged in the darkness. Now for the first time she was seeing the light. No longer was she bound by the chains of hatred and jealousy. No longer was she driven by the need for revenge. Inuyasha was offering her the love that she deserved. She would be able to reclaim the life that was stolen. The broken pieces of her heart would become whole.

"Kikyou?" She felt a hint of irritation. Even though the villagers treated her with the same reverence that they always had, they never questioned the miracle of her resurrection or the circumstances that surrounded. Kaede, however...

It hurt, the way the aged miko was distancing herself, the way she no longer treated her like an honored sister. Sometimes the look in Kaede's eye would cause something in her clay gut to wrench. Sometimes it felt as if her own sister thought that Kikyou's time had come to an end. That the jewel should just be purified, and its power wasted.

"Kaede," The undead woman's voice was sharper then she meant for it to be, "is everything ready?"

Kaede scrutinized her elder sister with her good eye, her pupil contracting as she tried to convey something that she couldn't form into words. She would be lying if she said that she didn't want her sister back. Although she was reluctant to use the jewel for such a purpose, especially given its bloodstained history, a small part of her was looking forward to seeing the kind, gray eyes of the sister that she remembered as a child.

Then she would remember the feeling of unease that would creep up her hunched spine during the night, the way the stars seemed to be foretelling some sort of doom whenever she looked at them...

The way Kagome seemed to have the very life drained out of her.

The first time she had seen the young miko, after the girl had returned from healing in her own time, Kaede hadn't been able to comprehend it. She couldn't imagine that Inuyasha would let such harm befall her. Then she remembered the way she would catch the hanyou and her sister looking at each other and she would understand why.

Things were such a mess. She didn't know what she had expected after Naraku's death, but she had at least expected things not to appear so uncertain.

Yet, despite the feeling of trepidation that filled her as she pressed the incense stick to the ancient scroll Kaede continued to assist her sister with regaining her lost life. She shouldn't have been the one to perform this ceremony, it should have been Kagome.

The old woman stepped back and watched the air thicken until it became a heavy, purple mist that clung to Kikyou's scarlet hakama. It would have been too cruel to ask Kagome to perform this ceremony. To force her to bring back the woman who had severed her soul...it was just too much.

This ceremony was sure to go wrong because of it, and Kaede couldn't recall a time when she hated herself more.

Kikyou emitted a small gasp from inside the smoke, and Kaede raised her eyes to the heavens and prayed to whatever gods where listening that everything would be alright.

Both Shippou and Kirara were silent at their places beside Kagome. It made her want to smile, the way she could feel the tension in his fur. He had finally stopped the growling, after she had quietly asked him to stop several times, but the young miko didn't doubt for a second that he was still glaring at Inuyasha.

She appreciated the kit's loyalty. There were times when she wish she knew someone who practiced voodoo like Gosunkugi-kun from the school her cousin liked to visit. The brief fantasy she would sometimes have of gaining complete control over Inuyasha was tempting. The fantasy was always short-lived though, because they tended to be a little too realistic and always ended with Inuyasha hating her and asking if she wouldn't just disappear down the well so that he could seal it?

She had those day dreams of him saying that to her more then she cared.

She didn't know why she was so surprised that he had decided to use it to give Kikyou back her life. It was always a possibility, more so then she ever wanted to admit, and that was why she found herself as hurt as she was now. After all Kikyou had her chance, her time was over.

What will happen to my soul?

It seemed like such a silly thing to worry over. Like something from a bad movie. It seemed like all of her problems stemmed from Urasue meddling when she resurrected the dead miko. Kikyou owned part of her soul. What would happen when the ceremony was complete? Would it make her even less of a person then she already was?

Kagome shivered at the thought. It probably wasn't the best thing to think about at the moment. She would be going home after this. If she was lucky the well would remain open so that she could still visit her friends. If she wasn't...

It was hard to adjust to only having one arm. Sometimes her severed arm itched from the ointment that was used on the stitches. The doctors told her it would be a while until she would be able to adjust to her new life. She would have to learn to write with her right hand, and she had never been the ambidextrous sort. It would be a while before she would be able to go back and finally finish high school, and after she did that there was college.

As if she wasn't depressed enough...

Even though things had changed between her and Inuyasha, that didn't mean that he had to ignore her; that hurt worse then anything.

"Shippou-chan?"

The kit's ear flicked up at the faint sound of her voice. He placed a small hand on her thin wrist to let her know he was paying attention.

"You still love me, right?"

Faster then she would have expected, the blue-eyed kitsune was scrambling up her arm and onto her should so that he could give her neck a hug and pat her head. Kagome swallowed thickly. She was being pathetic. This person full of self-doubt and pity wasn't the type of person that her mother had raised her to be. She didn't use to be the type of person who needed to be told that she was loved by those around her even when she knew they did.

"What a sad little pity party."

"You said it Kagome-chan. Honestly, I never would have thought that you let yourself be drawn into this type of situation. The Higurashi Kagome that Yuka-chan knew certainly never would have let the love of her life be taken away by a walking husk."

Impossible... Kagome whirled her head around, jostling Shippou from her neck, at the sound of the familiar voice. Black boots of patent leather stepped over the sticks and rocks that scattered the forest floor, yet she could hear no noise. The tight fitting outfit and bold colors were so familiar to the young miko, and yet drastically out of place in this time period.

"Midori-chan?"

The young woman placed a painted nail against her ruby lips, asking for her silence.

"Kagome, Kagome, what's wrong?!" Shippou jumped down into the crook of Kagome's good arm and looked up at her, his emerald eyes worried. He kept his voice low. Even though he didn't like what Inuyasha was using the jewel for, it didn't change the fact that this purification needed to take place and couldn't be interrupted.

Understanding Midori's need for silence on her part even if she didn't know why, Kagome merely rubbed the kitsune's hair in a soothing manner. "It's nothing Shippou-chan. I saw a shadow."

"I don't see anything. It wasn't a ghost was it?"

Kagome couldn't help but smile at the way the kit suddenly started shivering in her arms.

"No, it wasn't a ghost and the only youki that I can sense is coming from right here. It was nothing. Honestly."

Shippou looked at her a moment longer before crossing his arms in a very Inuyasha-like manner and nodding. "If you say so Kagome."

Midori let out a laugh. "Well, isn't he just a mini-Inuyasha."

Kagome could only stare. She didn't dare to do more. It would only draw attention that she was in no mood to deal with.

"I know what you're wonderin', Kagome-chan. How can someone from modern Japan walk around the Sengoku Jidai as if she was a ghost?" The girl let out another laugh, only this one sounded bitter, almost resentful. "If it was almost anyone else, they would be visible, but I'm special. You see, in this era, my body is in a cave some where, decaying with the mass of youkai that used to give birth to that cursed stone."

"Everyone on this planet has been reborn at one point or the other. Which each rebirth the soul changes. I know people you have met have noticed the similarities between you and Kikyou, but no one ever knew who that miko was. I doubted even she knew what she was capable of, and Inuyasha certainly didn't see past that façade. You've become what Kikyou always strived to be: a good and caring person with the strength to believe and trust."

Kagome could only blink as her friend from Tokyo launched into a monologue, a scornful look on her face.

"Now me, on the other hand, am the same person I was six hundred years ago. Not too many of us exist. Probably only enough to put in a mini-van." Midori paused for a moment as she waited for Kagome to grasp the concept of what she was telling her. "Some religious types would call it divine intervention."

The young girl laughed bitterly. "If there is such a thing I've never seen it. Now, I don't know if there is a word for what I am. Humanity is a problem. They're like fodder for the demons. They are constantly feeding on the human desire for more. Power, possessions, whatever humanity know how to do nothing else but take and corrupt. Of course, there are always some exceptions. People like you, the hanyou, the taiji-ya, the kit. Hell, I'd even wager that pervert as one of the ones who the demons can't use. It's always been a strange thing. You, all of you, are drawn to each other. The special ones, the good ones who make no excuses for their actions and just live for a better life are the chosen ones. Instead of continuing the constant cycle of rebirth and death they are given a choice. They could either fade into nothing, become a part of the very essence of the planet, or they can to step onto the higher plane. Some call it Nirvana, but it's nothing so pretty. You become one of the angels, a part of the never ending battle of good and evil, as clichéd as it sounds. You would exist solely for the battle and protect humanity from their own sins."

Kagome could only blink. It was like something out of a bad fantasy novel. Says the person who traveled through a time dimensional well to battle demons and to fix the pieces of a magical jewel… Angels and devils…maybe it was more fitting of that Christian fiction that the local church was always trying to pedal. She opened her mouth to ask just why, if the only choice was reincarnation or battle, then why was Midoriko reborn as the exact same person who created the jewel, and why was she here.

"Don't talk, Kagome-chan, you don't want to scare the kit. Just think."

Why…how are you the same person…Midoriko-sama?

"Midori." The girl scowled. "Until they release me from this flesh I am nothing more then Midori, your typical social outcast."

Midori.

"I imagine when your time comes you understand better, but I guess it's kind of like a war or spy movie. You have the soldiers that are pitted against the demons. They're nothing more then samurai who exist to fight. Then you get an elite few, the talented who excel in nearly everything in the higher realm. Sometimes these people are the strategists, the commanders, and sometimes they are sent to Earth to prevent the demons from making the world worse then it already is. I'm sure you can guess what would happen if demons got a hold of the Shikon in the 20th century. I was given form to do my duty. Protecting you, among others, was one of them. It's my curse for my sin." Midori fell into silence, tapping her painted forefinger nail against her lips as if contemplating something. "Yeah, it really is a spy movie. Do your best to stop the supervillian…a non-Trio supervillion…and keep the world from blowing up…Wow, it's really scary how accurate fiction can be sometimes. I guess that's why stuff gets so clichéd."

You're not making sense and…you're nothing like I imagined Midoriko to be, if you are exactly the same.

"100. Even the pure can be corrupted by the mortal coil."

So if you existed to keep the jewel safe in my time, why are you here now?

Midori gave her friend a sly smile that caused an uneasy feeling to lodge in the pit of Kagome's stomach.

"Don't worry. You'll see shortly."

Ok, only a short prologue and a chapter, but I've gotten on a real roll with writing during unemplyment that I've finally gotten out of the ditch with this one. With any luck I'll have another update sometime this week. A little warning on Midori/Midoriko: She every anti-Kikyou/Inuyasha fangirl rolled into one. My only defense is that she has been so corrupted by the 'mortal coil' that she is no longer as presitigous as she once was.

As always, if it's been awhile since my last update check out my livejournal. Link is on my homepage and my user name is jav(underscore)chan.

There are two Buffy references and one Ranma. Who can catch them? (Should be pretty easy.) The first to do so will get a five page preview as soon as it's done.