I looked miserably around the forest. "How did we get lost, Bouyo?" I mumbled to the cat sitting in my arms. He had run in after a mouse and I had followed, not wanting him to get eaten by something big. But by the time I caught up, I had lost any idea of where we were. I didn't know which way the village was, and unfortunately, neither did Bouyo. "Crap, this sucks. It's so shady it looks like night time to me, everything looks the same! A blind kid and a cat, lost in the woods, in a world full of monsters! How much does that suck!?"

"Meow."

"That's right, Bouyo, a whole lot!"

Suddenly a bunch of men in dresses (ahem, olden day kimono-things) dropped out of the trees, surrounding us. Bouyo started hissing, biting any hand that came close. A man grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, tossing him over his head and into a tree.

"Bouyo!" I cried as he lay limply on the ground. I sent a look of ice to the men, quickly starting to strike at them with the cane I had previously used to keep from tripping on rocks. I am proud to say that I got in a few choice hits before it was tossed away, but it was only a few, and soon I was being dragged away to an unknown destination.

X (Inuyasha POV)

I blinked down at the villagers as they milled about in a panic. What the hell was their problem?

"I cant find her, Lady Kaede!" exclaimed an exceptionally old man, looking at the hag with worry. "We've looked everywhere, but she isn't here!"

"Could she have gone off on her own….?" asked Kaede of apparently no one. "I trusted that with her ailment she would stay nearby."

"Her kitty is gone too!" a girl around 13 years old. "Maybe they went home."

"But that would mean she went into the forest. She told me herself that she couldn't go in without somebody's help."

I hummed to myself, before jumping down, landing directly in front of her. I'd meant to give her a heart-attack, but unfortunately the old hag seemed to be the only one not surprised. Dammit. "Ailment? Can't go alone? What the hell're you talking about. I've been around her more than enough to have her scent down and she didn't smell sick to me. And last time I checked, she's old enough to go where she wants all on her own."

Kaede looked at me steadily, and none-too-condescendingly. "Mamoiro's ailment is in her eyes, Inuyasha. She can not see without the brightest of light. In the forest, she might as well be blindfolded."

I cursed under my breath. 'If that idiot got herself killed, and the jewel stolen, I am totally gonna find a way to bring her back and kill her all over again myself!'

I took to the air, rushing to the spot by the river I'd seen her at that morning. I easily picked up her trail, following, sure enough, into the woods. I didn't get too far before the cat scent got stronger than her own, and I came across the overweight feline, laying beneath a tree. Knowing that I was supposed to convince her I wasn't evil, (and I really wasn't, seriously!) I walked over, gently picking him up.

"Hey there, boy." I said, rubbing him between the ears. He mewed weakly, showing that he was still alive, and at least partially conscious. "Can you tell me where Mamoiro went?"

He flicked his tail weakly, gesturing towards a bush. I walked over, bending down, and pulled out the cane that she carried everywhere. "Kidnapped then. Great." shifting the cat into a more comfortable (for me) position in my arm, I put the cane inside the sash of my pants. Inhaling deeply, I started up on the trail once more.

X(Mamoiro POV)

"Ow!" I exclaimed as I was shoved to the ground, chin hitting the floor with teeth-chattering forced.

"Oi, Boss!" laughed one. "We got the girl, just like you said!"

One of them chuckled. "Lookit these pants! You can see just what the legs look like underneath! Leaves nothing to the imagination, eh?" He brought out his hand, giving me a pat on the rump.

I gasped, doubling my efforts to get the hell outta there. It didn't work, though, not that I really expected it to.

"Hand over the jewel, girl…" came a slow, rumbly voice. I looked up, resisting the urge to scream at the site of the 8 foot, armor-plated troll. How the hell had I missed that!?!?

The guys let me go and I scrambled to my feet, looking at him wearily. "Look… I don't have a jewel…. It's at the village.. And the village is protected by this demon, so you'd best not try anything r else you'll be, like, dead…. Really dead."

The men laughed, and the troll just sort of lurched foreword, sword raised. He swung and missed, decapitating the man beside me as easily as if he were a dandelion. He chuckled, grinning as the man's body fell, and all the others drew back in horror.

"Why'd you do that, Boss!?"

"Boss, what's wrong with you!?"

"Can't you dumb-asses see there is something wrong with him!?" I snapped. "If the rest of us don't get outta here we'll be as bad off as that guy!"

"Straw-Hair is right, we gotta get out of here!"

They ran for the door, but the troll hit a support beam of the cottage/thing, causing that side of the room to cave in, thus removing the exit. "Gimme the jewel…." he groaned, walking towards them stiffly.

"Wadda we do!?" cried one of the huge, muscular, scary guys behind me.

"We're gonna die!" cried an even bigger, scarier looking one.

"There's no way out!"

I ground my teeth together in annoyance, snapping the necklace as I tore the jewel off of it. "You want the jewel, you make us an exit!" I yelled, throwing it through a gap in the rubble. With the way he had been moving so far, I was sure that I could beat him to the jewel even if it was nighttime… but just in case. "Guys, you grab that jewel for me once he makes an exit okay!? Think of it as payment for saving your lives."

"Got it, Boss!" they sounded obediently.,

"Boss…? Oh, whatever! Fine!"

As we had spoken, the Troll Man had started ramming his bulk against the wall. It wasn't as affective as if he'd been less sluggish, but the wall was steadily breaking.

Finally with a resounding crash he fell through the wall, pieces of it falling on top of him and stopping him from getting up right away.

One of the men scooped me up bridal-style (much to my annoyance) and they all charged through the opening, purposely stomping the man into the ground on the way. A few of the smaller guys quickly started looking in the grass for the jewel.

Suddenly, in a blur of red, I found myself in a different set of arms. I looked up in surprise, to see none other than Inuyasha as he set me on the ground a 'safe' distance away. "Inuyasha!" I exclaimed.

"You okay?" he asked.

"A little bruised, but otherwise fine."

"Good." he said, holding out a fluffy multi-colored bundle.

"Bouyo!" I exclaimed happily, as I took the drowsy-looking cat into my arms. He gave a cat-smile, flicking his tail. "Oh, thank goodness your okay!"

Two of the men ran over to us. Inuyasha brandished his claws, but they ignored him. "Boss! We tried to get it, but some insane looking crow grabbed it right as we found it!"

"Boss?" said Inuyasha in confusion.

"What! Shit! Did someone take care of the Troll?"

"Yeah, Tsuha made sure he was dead."

"Okay."

"Troll!?" floundered Inuyasha. "What the hell did I miss!?"

"Is that really important Inuyasha!? Right now, a weird crow stole away the jewel!"

"SAY WHAT!?!?"

"Which way did it go?" I asked the man.

He pointed and I nodded, pushing Bouyo into his arms. Take him to the village, be careful, okay? After that, you guys don't owe me any more."

"Understood" he said, holding Bouyo carefully.

I looked at the half-demon beside me, who appeared to be having a heart attack and a couple light strokes. "Oi! Dog-Boy! We going after it or what!?"

"Of course we are! Grab those arrows and a bow and lets get going!"

I did what he said, and he quickly put me on his back, and started leaping through the trees, quickly gaining on the demon crow.

"You gonna use these or what?" I asked gesturing to the old-fashioned weapons.

"No. You are."

"You kidding!? I can't shoot an arrow!"

"I heard from the villagers that your Kikyou's incarnation, right?"

"That's the story they're shoving down my throat. Why?"

"Well," he jumped into the trees getting closer to the bird. "She was Master Archer. You should be too."

"But my eyesight sucks!"

"I know. But you can see the jewel without any light at all, right?"

"So you want my to aim for the light of the jewel?"

"Exactly!"

"What if I hit it and it breaks?"

"Not possible. It magic, it's not gonna just break."

"Fine, but if it shatters its on your head." I picked up the bow, placing the arrow in what I hoped was the correct spot. Drawing the surprisingly tight string as far back I could manage, I lined it up with crow and let it fly!

Straight. Into. The ground.

Inuyasha snickered, and I resisted the urge to smack him in the head. "Shut up! It was my first try!"

"Psh, lemme take care of this!" He drew back his claws, getting as close as he could. I held his shoulders tightly, willing all of my strength into him. "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" He cried, and slashed his claws through the air, creating four golden lights that flew towards the crow. The crow screeched in agony as it's body was torn to shreds. Just I was about to let out a whoop of victory, the bright purple light grew and flew off in different directions, in pieces.

"Oh…. Shit."

"Shit? What's oh shit!? What just happened, Mamoiro!?" shouted Inuyasha, skidding to a stop on the ground. I slowly got off his back, giving him a wide-eyed-and-scared look. Without answering I walked to the side, digging my hand threw the grass, before holding up a tiny purple/pink shard of what looked to be glass. Inuyasha stared at it in horror. "What…the hell… is that!?"

"I think… it's a shard of the Sacred Jewel."

"WHAT'D YOU SAY!!!???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

X