(waves to everybody) Hi there! I know it's been a while (again) but I had to finish my other story. Now that's done so I can focus some more on this story. Thanks for your patience! Did you know InuYasha is finished? I really loved the ending!
Thanks to Half-Demon Cali for reviewing!
Half-Demon Cali: You guessed right! She's psychic!
DISCLAIMER: (stares at word) Isn't it already obvious if I'm writing that? I don't own anything from this story except the plotline and my OC, Miya.
"Are we there yet?"
"Not yet."
"Is it still dark?"
Sango sighed, having heard enough of Shippo's questions over the last so many hours. "Yes, it is still dark. Please, Shippo, try and stay quiet. We don't know what's out there."
"There's nothing out there," Miroku said flatly. "Other than giant, talking bat-birds with an attitude or creepy trees with finger-like branches."
"There might be snakes," Sango retorted.
"Here? Why would there be snakes in this world? It's not even our world!"
"I know." Sango stopped and turned around to face the others. She had been leading the group. "Look, we better keep our eyes open because we don't know what could happen next. We also have to stick together so that nothing takes us by surprise. It wouldn't be pleasant if one of us ended up in that misty world and left the rest behind."
"You're right about that," Miroku admitted.
"I really hate this place," Shippo said.
"Shh," Sango cautioned him.
Successively, they all stepped over a tree root and ducked under a huge, bare branch. Sango constantly had one hand on her Hiraikotsu; Miroku's staff was at the ready; Kirara was as ferocious as always; and Shippo was hiding his face in her neck fur. Needless to say, he was very scared of his surroundings.
Sango braced a hand against a trunk as she stopped, looking down at what was before her.
"What?" Miroku asked in a low voice. "Is there something wrong, Sango?"
"Be careful," Sango said over her shoulder. "There's a huge crevasse here. Try not to fall. I can't promise that Kirara will be right there."
"A crevasse?" Miroku peered over her shoulder as Sango edged sideways. "Do you want to walk by it?"
"It'll be better than walking in circles," Sango said. "I'm not sure if we haven't been doing that in the first place. We'll at least have something to direct ourselves by."
"Why don't we fly over?" Shippo inquired.
"It was Miroku's idea to not fly," Sango said, glancing at the monk. "Why don't you want us to fly?"
"It's just a feeling but I think we'll have a better chance of encounter that world Kagai spoke of if we stay on the ground," Miroku answered. "I've learned to trust my feelings."
"Come on. Watch your step." Sango stayed as close to the trees as she could while sticking to the crevasse.
The small group spent several minutes just walking by the crevasse and trying not to trip over tree roots and plunge to their death. They couldn't see anything beyond what Kirara's fires were lighting and even then their surroundings didn't look friendly.
It all happened so quickly. One second Sango was stepping over a tree root and the next her hair was caught by some small twigs from a much larger branch. She stumbled, her hair getting caught in it. Inadvertently, she fell towards the crevasse, not being able to find anything to hold on to.
"Sango!"
She groaned, slowly coming to consciousness. She had a splitting headache and her bed was uncomfortable to say the least.
"You awake yet?" a rough voice greeted her.
She knew that voice. "Inuyasha?"
"Who else?"
Miya opened her eyes to see the hanyou sitting by her on a rock. She sat up slowly, her world spinning slightly before orienting itself and staying still. Miya placed a hand to her forehead and tried to keep her senses about her. Her eyes roved over to Inuyasha. He was looking down at the ground, obviously not in the best of moods.
"Are we out of the swamp?" Miya asked, taking the hand off her forehead.
"What does it look like?" Inuyasha said roughly.
"I'm just asking." Miya took a look at their surroundings. It was night; she had been out for a good several hours. She sighed, realizing that it was time lost. "I gather that the others still haven't made their way here?"
"No. I haven't seen, heard, or smelled them."
"That's bad," Miya murmured.
"What else do you want to say? That they decided to take a rest stop and are having tea?"
"No." Miya inclined her head forward, looking sober. "If Naraku has now entered the equation, it means trouble. I can only hope that he won't team up with the Leader."
" 'Equation'?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying? Do you have all this planned out?"
"I thought I did," Miya said. "But it looks like I don't."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "I've got some questions about you and you had better answer them. Other than the 'equation' thing."
Miya adjusted her position so she was sitting more comfortably with her legs crossed and her hands folded in them. "Ask. I'll try to answer them as best as I can."
"How did you manage to speak in my head?"
The girl sighed. "I figured that would raise questions." Before Inuyasha could say anything, she continued, "You could say I'm a mind reader…among other things."
"Among what other things?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously. "And how did you come to be a mind reader anyway?"
"It runs in the blood," Miya explained. "My family…" she trailed off. Then she shook her head and went on in a more resolute voice, "Let me start properly.
"My name is Miya like you know. But what you don't know is that I'm not from here. I'm not from Japan or even from this world. I'm from somewhere entirely different that's similar to Earth but yet not similar."
"How is it not similar?" Inuyasha interrupted.
"I'm getting to that. That world you found me in—it's the world between the worlds or the world shrouded in mist. In a way, it serves as a barrier," Miya said. "You have to cut through that world to travel between places like this one and the one I came from. But you can't do it intentionally. That world opens up on its own and it's very unreliable."
Her voice was low now. "My world was filled with people that had powers similar to my own. I'm one that comes from a family among few families that have a wide range of the powers displayed there. Some would have the ability to read minds and transmit thoughts in turn; others would be able to move things; and yet others would be able to shield themselves from attacks or violently attack opponents themselves."
"What do you mean by 'family among few families that have a wide range of the powers displayed there'?" Inuyasha quoted.
"There were several powerful families with exceptional minds on that world," Miya said. "They were granted access to mind reading, telekinesis—which is the art of moving things with one's mind—and the art of attacking or defending. I was born into one such family."
"Why's your name Japanese then if you're from a different world?"
"Our culture integrated the cultures from other worlds. My family was one that particularly favored the Japanese culture. Anything else?" Miya waited for the next question.
"That 'barrier world' you were talking about—what else do you know about it?" Inuyasha asked next.
"It goes by many names. One is 'the world shrouded by mist'; another is 'the world between the worlds'; another is 'the barrier between the worlds'; and yet another is 'the curtain between the worlds'," Miya explained. "My world knew of this place because of the experience gained through encountering this world. It opened in more places and more frequently on my world than anywhere else from what I know. It's a world of great mystery…and great danger.
"It's inhabited by shadow wraiths of the kind you saw in the swamp and they're lead by one powerful one that's called the Leader"—her voice was bitter here—"and they took many of my people's lives. It's a dangerous and forbidden place for my world but people can't help but fall into it since it opens so irregularly and in many places."
Inuyasha absorbed all this information for a moment. "That's…new."
"You think?" Miya put her chin in both hands. "But you still have more questions."
"I do," Inuyasha said. "Why was that guy after you?"
"You mean the Leader?" Miya was in thought for a moment. "This gets complicated, Inuyasha, so try and bear with me."
"I'll try."
"When I was still a small child—around four or five—my family had an encounter with the world shrouded in mist." Her eyes were lost in memories and the blue seemed to be even stormier than usual. "It was my grandfather who met the Leader during a chance fall into that dangerous world. The leader tried to eat him but he retaliated using his abilities. My grandfather won against the Leader and managed to get out of that world and back into his own. It didn't happen without dangerous consequences though.
"Our family was now on the hit list of the shadow wraiths. For some reason, more openings occurred around our home and my family kept falling into it. Many of those lost were not that skilled with using their own mind powers and they didn't stand a chance." Her face was shrouded in shadows. "I was trained skillfully by my grandfather—one of the greatest fighters my world has known. So, when my parents were taken by the wraiths, I had no one but my grandfather to rely on.
"We survived for a few years, by which time I was ten I think and my world had fallen into relative chaos with the wraiths appearing and the people fighting amongst themselves. At times, it seemed like we were the only two sane ones left alive for even the other powerful families like my own had joined the fights. It didn't last, though."
Miya took a breath and continued, "It came as a shock to me one time when my grandfather was taken. I should have expected it by the time it happened. He was old and failing slightly in his mind. The use of his abilities had taken its toll on him over time. After he died by at the wraiths' hands, I was the only left of my bloodline and had nowhere else to go for the rest of my world was still fighting horribly. It came as a relief then when I fell into that world myself and couldn't find my way back. Ever since then, I've been running from world to world, just trying to keep the wraiths off my heels. And that's my story," Miya finished.
Inuyasha let a moment go by for all that history to sink in. Miya had been right: It was complicated. Who knew that this innocent looking girl would actually be from a different world that was in complete chaos and had people with devastating abilities concerning the mind? It seemed like nothing was ordinary for him.
"You don't have it easy, do you?" Inuyasha finally said.
Miya gave a bitter laugh. "What gave you that idea?"
It walked over to Kagome, red light beginning to form around its hands, a sharp-toothed grin on its shadowy face.
Just as the Leader was about to strike, an unexpected voice spoke, "No wonder Inuyasha was so upset. You have Kagome."
The Leader cut the red light off, surprised. "Who's there?" it hissed.
A long, dark-haired man appeared, tentacles waving eerily. "I am."
"You're the freak from the swamp."
"I have a proposition for you," Naraku said, ignoring the insult. "Don't kill Kagome yet."
"And why should I listen to you?" the Leader whispered in a deathly tone. "You have no idea what the loss of a friend will do to impact the mortal's mind."
"I may not know the girl but I do know how Inuyasha's mind works," Naraku said. "Killing Kagome now will simply anger him to the point where his rational mind is overcome by his demonic side. I suggest you leave her alive…for now."
"And then what?" The Leader did seem to be listening.
"Wouldn't it be better to kill her when the girl is actually here?" Naraku suggested, his dark eyes glittering coldly. "Imagine how she would feel if it happens before her very eyes while she stands here…helpless…"
"An excellent plan," the Leader hissed, "but how can I trust you? And why?"
"Because I know how her friends' minds work," Naraku answered. "And if what you imply about the girl's is true, it will surely break her will. As for how? Surely you should know that best."
The Leader grinned creepily. "You and I might work well together. For now."
Naraku smiled a small smile, letting his eyes rove over the inactive Kagome. For now, he had at least averted her death.
Um, this chapter wasn't too bad, right? Well, at any rate, you guys now know about Miya's history. If you still have questions, just ask and I might be able to put it in the story. If not, I'll just tell you. 'Kay?
There were only three scenes because I REALLY wanted to get this chapter out. In any case, do you mind reviewing? Please? What do you think about Miya? Is she a Mary Sue? I've heard about those and I really hope she isn't.