Chapter 1
18 years ago, my father met my mother. 16 years ago, I was born. 16 years ago, my mother left us. There was a reason for that, a reason so important, neither of us could possibly compare to it. My mother was Mother Nature. Is? Was? I'm not even sure she's alive anymore. Father says she must be because the earth is still alive. My mother's sole purpose is to make sure the earth is thriving with life. I was told everything about my mother by my father at a very young age. The first thing I was told was that my mother wasn't human. She was a demon. An earth demon. I imagined her to be a hideous creature made of rock and dirt, but my father assured me that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. I asked my father why mother wasn't with us. He explained to me that when he lived in Japan, he found himself falling in love with my mother, unknowing that she was Mother Nature. They fell in love and had me, but then my mother confessed that she belonged to the Feudal Era and she could not stay with him. Unfortunately, the only trait I got from my mother was her abilities. I'm more like my father than my mother. I'm clumsy, sarcastic and quite the man-chaser. Anyways, I was brought up being taught almost everything about my demon side and the responsibilities I would have.
Ever since my mother left, it has just been my father and I. He's done his best to raise me, but it's obviously difficult for a human to raise a half demon by them self so he decided it would be best for us if I found my mother. This would mean that my father and I would be moving back to Japan from America. Our apartment is quite small, but it's enough for two people. I sit on the loveseat, watching my father put away our dishes into the cupboards.
"Are you gonna help?" he asks, turning to me with a hand on his hip. "I'm not your maid." There's something you should know about my dad. After my mother left, he
discovered something about himself. He was gay. I mean, he still is.
"Fine." I say, rolling my eyes. Being half earth demon has its perks. I hold my hand out and a thick vine shoots out from the small, brown swirl on my wrist. It wraps around a cup and I lift it into the cupboard. My father rolls his eyes.
"I meant actually getting up and using your hands, Terranaika."
"Ugh, no." I groan, retracting the vine. I get up. "I do, however have to go to school."
"Remember what I told you?"
"I am a human in school. Just a human." I say, mocking his voice.
"Perfect. Have a great day, Terra!"
I'm, of course, almost late for school. I run up the stairs as fast as I can and once I reach the doors, I feel a force hit me. Both me and the force hit the ground. I look up, angry. There's a girl with long black hair and brown eyes sitting on the floor in front of me.
"Hey! Watch it!" I exclaim, getting up.
"I'm so sorry!" she says, collecting her stuff from the floor.
"Well next time-" but my eyes are diverted to something on the floor. There, in a small vile connected to a chain are two shards of the Shikon Jewel. I look back at the girl, who's teaching for it. "I like your necklace." I tell her, eyes still focused on the shards.
"Oh thank you! My grandpa gave it to me." she tells me, holding the vile. "I'm Kagome Higurashi." she smiles, extending her arm for a handshake.
"Terranaika. But you can just call me Terra." I take her hand, shaking it. I want those shards. My father told me that the Shikon Jewel grants you a wish. My wish is to become a full fledged demon so that I can reign as Mother Nature once my mother dies. I know I
have to get close to this Kagome girl if I want a chance at my wish coming true. "I'm, uh, new to Tokyo. I moved here from America." I put on my saddest looking face. "So I don't have many friends..."
"Oh..." Kagome says, looking around uncomfortably. "Well, if you want to come to my place for dinner tonight, I'd love to have you!" I smile at Kagome. The thought of having two of the shards makes me quiver with excitement.
"I'd love that. You're so kind, Kagome." I tell her, trying to express my 'gratefulness' in my voice.
"It's no problem at all!" I look at a clock on the wall. Realizing we both need to get to class, we part ways. The rest of the day I can't stop thinking about the shards. It's well known that the Shikon Jewel was shattered and to grant your wish, you need to collect all the shards and complete the Jewel. Like I said, my wish is to become a full demon, but there's one problem; I've never went full demon before. I have no idea what I'm like when I'm a demon. According to my father, it differs with everyone. I could either be completely fine or get extremely aggressive. What I do know is is that my powers are almost tripled when I'm a demon.
I walk home by myself, excited to tell my father about Kagome. You know, not that she invited me over for dinner, but that she has shards of the Shikon Jewel. When I get to the apartment, I race up the stairs. I burst through the door, surprised that it didn't fly off the hinges. My father is sitting on the couch with a young man. He can't be any older than me. My father is 39. They both look up on me, horror on their faces.
"Terra!" my father says, jumping off of the couch. "I thought you would be later!"
"I, uh," I look at the man on the couch. He looks at my dad.
"Who is this?" My dad looks from me to him.
"She's, um-" he looks back at me. "Terra, can't you go out somewhere or something?"
"But I have to tell you something. About mom." I tell him.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait." the man says, getting up from the couch. "This is your kid? You said you were 20!" he looks disgusted with my father and pushes away from the door and leaves.
"I am 20!" my father yells after him. "I was a teenage father!" he looks back at me. "You've ruined everything, Terra!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but listen. There's a girl at my school, Kagome, and she invited me over to her house for dinner."
"That's all you had to tell me?" he asks, arms folded and frowning.
"Dad, she has Shikon Jewel shards."
"What?" his eyes widen. "Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
"There's no way that she got them here. She had to have gotten them in the Feudal Era."
"That means that she has to know a way to get there." I add, realizing just how much of an asset Kagome could be. "If I can find the entrance, I'll have a chance at finding mom."
"It's a long shot, Terranaika..."
"I know, I know, but I need to find mom. I can't spend my entire life trying to hide these powers. Besides, if Kagome brought the Jewel Shards back here, it must mean that she's able to go back and forth between our era and the Feudal Era." I look at the clock. "She didn't give me a specific time to go over and the longer I'm there, the more I can figure out."
"Terra, you do realize that if you do end up making it to the Feudal Era, you may become stuck there." My father tells me, frowning.
"But dad, it's a risk I'm willing to take. I love you more than anything, but I don't belong here." I grab the door handle. "I'll be back later."
When I get to Kagome's, I'm automatically drawn to a large tree. The tree is enclosed in a fence. I place my hand on it and when I do, the world around me changes. I'm standing in the same place, hand still on the tree, but Kagome's place is gone. There's nothing around me but trees.
"Die, Inuyasha!" a woman's voice exclaims behind me. I turn my head. She looks exactly like Kagome and she's pointing an arrow towards me. Turning my head slightly to the right, and see who she's actually aiming for. A boy with pure white hair and dog ears runs by me and the woman shoots. I scream, taking my hand away and the scene around me disappears. I'm back at Kagome's.
"Um, Terra?" Kagome says from behind me, grabbing my shoulder. I turn around. She looks nervous.
"Oh, um," I look around nervously. "Boy, this is one fine ass tree. I mean, take a look at that trunk!" I point at the trunk, locking eyes with Kagome. "A thick trunk is what everyone needs."
"Uhh..." Kagome stares at me, looking confused and concerned.
"Why didn't you tell me you had such a sexy tree?"
"I uh, don't really look at that tree as 'sexy.'"
"Hoo, boy! Then you, my friend, have been looking at trees all wrong."
"Oh, well, maybe you can tell me how to look at trees right over dinner." Kagome suggests.
"Actually, Kagome, I was hoping you could show me around. You have such a beautiful property."
"Oh, yeah! Sure! That's not problem at all." Kagome takes me into the closest building to us. All that's in it is a well, but I can definitely sense the presence of demons. This has to be it. Kagome leans up against the well. "Here's a well. Just a well, a boring ol' well." I stare at Kagome, walking slowly towards her.
"Get in the well."
"E-excuse me?" she stutters, tightening her grasp on the well.
"Get. In. The. Well." I demand, continuing to walk.
"I don't- I don't understand what you're asking of me."
"GET IN THE FUCKING WELL!" I yell, tackling Kagome into the well. She screams as we effortlessly pass through the ground. "Hahahaha I knew it!" I exclaim.
"Who are you?" Kagome asks, trying to pry my hand off of her wrist.
"What? Kagome, you know me, I'm Terra. Terranaika?" Kagome sighs.
"I know your name, but who- no – what are you?"
"Ohhhh, well, I'm half earth demon." I say, almost too nonchalantly.
"You're what?"
"Half earth demon. My mother is Mother Nature. She's in the Feudal Era and I need to see her. Speaking of that, when do we arrive there?" I ask, perfectly on time as we fall flat on our asses. I look around. "What the hell? We're back where we started!" I look up. Kagome's climbing vines up to the top of the well. I concentrate and just like I'd hoped, a rock pillar comes out of the ground, boosting me out of the well. I hop off of the pillar. We're exactly where I was when I touched the tree back at Kagome's. I look down the well where Kagome is still climbing. "Do you need help?" I ask. I shoot a vine out of my wrist, wrapping it around Kagome's wrist and pulling her up.
"Wh- you weren't lying..." Kagome mumbles.
"I wouldn't lie to you about that."
"Okay, so the only reason you're here is to find your mother?" Kagome asks, getting to her feet.
"Yes, but I need help. Obviously, you've been here a couple of times so you have to have friends here that can help me find her. I'll even help you guys in whatever you're doing." I tell her, trying to win her over.
"We're trying to find all of the Shikon Jewel Shards because, well, I was the one who broke it." Kagome explains.
"That's perfect!" I exclaim, without even thinking. "I mean, if you need to find the shards, you'll be travelling a lot. I'll help you find the shards if we can also search for my mother."
"Well, I don't see why that would be a problem, well, maybe with Inuyasha, but everyone else would be fine with it."
"Inuyasha?" I ask. That was the name the woman shouted in my vision. "Well, I'd love to meet all of your friends." I tell Kagome.
Kagome takes me to a near by village where she says her group stays. She leads me to a house.
"Alright, don't feel offended if Inuyasha is an asshat to you, he's like that to everyone." Kagome pushes aside the curtain. "Guys, I want you to meet Terranaika." I step in through the curtains and smile. "This is Shippo, Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha." I look at Inuyasha. He's the exact same guy from my vision. He jumps to his feet.
"What the hell, Kagome!?"
"Ugh, relax. I know her from my era." she explains. "She's half earth demon and we need to help her find her mother." I nod.
"Terranaika." Miroku says, rushing up to me and grabbing my hands. "I can't imagine life without a mother. Being a mother is a wonderful gift, which is why I must ask you this. Will you bare my children?"
"Aw man, don't do this already." Kagome says.
"Sure." I say to Miroku. His eyes widen in shock.
"Wh-what?"
"Sure. Yeah. I'm down."
"I-I don't- I've never gotten this far before." he says, dropping my hands. "I-I need a moment." Miroku sits back down, head in his hand.
"Wow, and I got excited for a minute. Rude."