Star frowned. "So what's all this about Naraku being alive, now?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "Says he's looking for some human. Sesshomaru thinks it's Asher."
"Why's that?"
Inuyasha scoffed. "How the hell should I know? He doesn't seem so special to me."
Kagome shook her head. "Inuyasha, I think you're selling him short. He didn't do that bad against Sesshomaru."
"Open your eyes, Kagome, he almost got killed!"
"Hmph. And you care?"
"Of course not," Inuyasha said indifferently. He turned to Star, who was giving him an angry stare. "And what are you looking at, girl?"
Star was about to answer when Inuyasha's ears twitched. He'd obviously heard a noise. Asher began to hear it, too, and instinctively turned around to find the source of the sound. It was Miroku, the monk in the purple robe, and Sango, the demon huntress. "Hello, Inuyasha, Kagome," the monk said. "How has your search been going? We haven't found a thing. Not one trace of Naraku besides these puppets. Well, we…" the monk cut off in mid-sentence as he noticed Star and Asher. "Ah, Asher. I see you're back. And you've brought the girl with you."
Asher smiled slightly. "Hello, Miroku. It seems you were right about the strength…being…in…" Asher sighed as Miroku bypassed him to approach Star.
"You are a radiant one indeed. May I bestow upon you the honor of bearing my children?"
"Excuse me?"
"Someone as beautiful as you would more than deserve the honor of being the mother of my child," Miroku stated obviously.
Star grew irritated quickly. As Miroku reached to grab her, her fist elected to make contact with his chin. Miroku yelped in pain, stroking his nearly fractured jawbone. Kagome shook her head. "You'd think he'd have learned by now."
Inuyasha smirked. "Yeah, and tomorrow Shippo will tear the head off a full-demon."
Kagome gave Inuyasha a questioning glance. "Inuyasha? Where IS Shippo?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "Beats me. The little demon must have run off somewhere before these guys came the first time. I haven't seen him in a while."
Kagome looked concerned. "Run off? Why didn't anyone follow him? Or ask him where he was going?"
A confused look shot across Miroku's face. "More importantly, Kagome, how did we not notice that he was gone?"
Inuyasha scowled. "Are you accusing me of something?"
"No, Inuyasha. I think something—or someone—is at work here."
Asher interjected. "You don't think this has anything to do with Naraku, do you?"
Sango shook her head. "I don't see what Naraku would want with Shippo. No offense to the little guy, but mostly he's just dead weight to us."
"Uh…guys?" There was a hint of urgency in Star's voice.
"You sure he wouldn't want him? Some sort of kidnapping plot to get your…jewel…shard…things as a ransom?"
Inuyasha shook his head. "Naraku's smarter than that. He knows we wouldn't care if he took Shippo."
"Guys….."
Kagome looked angrily at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, how can you be so heartless?"
"Kagome, you know as well as I do that—"
"GUYS!"
Inuyasha turned to look at Star, annoyed. "What…" he broke off in mid-sentence, his eyes growing wide as his gaze caught what Star was staring at.
Standing in front of them was an enormous, vicious-looking fox. It wore a toothy grin and was surrounded by flames. Kagome's voice faltered slightly. "Shi…Shippo?"
The fox didn't respond. It simply walked casually toward Inuyasha. "I've been wanting to do this for a LONG time now," it said in a demonically-altered child's voice. It brought its great paw down onto Inuyasha's head, leaving a gigantic welt.
Inuyasha groaned. "Yeah, that's Shippo. Shippo, what the hell happened to you? What are you doing?"
"I don't know. I just woke up and you guys were gone. Next thing I knew I was huge and I couldn't really control myself all that well."
Inuyasha tentatively placed his hand on Tetsusaiga. "What do you mean, you couldn't—"
The fox took a swipe and knocked Inuyasha off his feet. Eyeing it carefully, she shouted, "Inuyasha, he's got seven…no, eight jewel shards!"
Asher didn't know the significance of the shards, but he could warrant a guess. "So…he's Naraku's pawn now?"
Inuyasha brushed dirt from his robe. "Guess so. Well, there's only one thing to do now. Get those jewel shards."
"Don't hurt him, Inuyasha!" Kagome warned. "That's still Shippo!"
"I can't promise that. Not if he hurts me," Inuyasha said, drawing Tetsusaiga. "Where are the shards, exactly?"
Kagome stepped forward for a closer look. She breathed a sigh of relief. "The teeth, Inuyasha! The teeth and the front claws!"
"Good, not the throat. At least I don't have to kill him to get him back to normal."
Inuyasha's second of inattention taking out his sword cost him. The giant fox thrust its paw down onto him, pinning him and sending Tetsusaiga flying. "Sorry, Inuyasha. I didn't really want to do this," the creature said, raising its other paw high into the air. "I guess Naraku just really wants you dead."
As the fox's paw began its swift descent toward Inuyasha's face, an odd slicing noise emanated from its back. The creature halted. Turning its head, it saw in horror that it had a Keyblade wrenched into its spine. Asher yelled in caution. "Star, wait, I don't think…"
It was too late. Star twisted the blade and severed the creature's spine. It instantly fell dead, the jewel shards dropping from its claws and teeth. The creature began to shrink until it was simply a small child with a tail and fox ears. Kagome let out a sharp cry. "No! Shippo!"
Even Inuyasha looked angry, and almost sad. "What the hell did you do that for?!"
Star frowned sheepishly. "Well, you were in trouble, and…"
"Didn't you HEAR Kagome say not to hurt him? And what did you do? You KILLED him! What's wrong with you?"
"I…I'm sorry."
Inuyasha brought his sword to Star's throat. "Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you here right now."
Asher, who had approached Inuyasha from behind, grabbed his arm and pulled it gently down, the Tetsusaiga along with it. Asher shook his head. "Let it go, Inuyasha. It's not going to bring him back."
Inuyasha scowled. "Maybe not, but it's what she deserves."
"She made a MISTAKE, Inuyasha. A mistake that cost someone his life. She has to live with that guilt for the rest of HER life. Don't you think that's punishment enough?"
Inyasha frowned. "Why are you protecting her?"
"Because I've made mistakes, too. Look at YOUR past, Inuyasha. Have you never made a mistake that cost someone his or her life? Hm? In this age? In this place? I doubt it."
Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga. "You make sense, kid. But here…you can't afford to be that weak."
"I don't see mercy and forgiveness as weak, Inuyasha. It takes a strong person to be merciful and forgiving."
Inuyasha shook his head. "Maybe in some other place, some other time. Here it means you're weak, and you won't live long with that attitude."
Asher began to get irritated. "And what ATTITUDE allows you to live in YOUR world, Inuyasha?"
Kagome frowned. "The attitude that human life…and demon life…is worth nothing compared to your own. A terrible attitude that isn't even necessary."
"But it IS necessary, here. No one cares about anyone else in this place. Anyone that does ends up dead. Dead, like…" Inuyasha choked on the name.
Kagome's frown widened. "Dead like Kikiyo. Inuyasha's first love."
"Inyasha was in love?"
"Forget it," Inuyasha snapped. "It's none of your business."
Asher looked briefly at the ground in submission. He glanced slowly at the small demon's dead body on the ground. "So…what do we do with Shippo?"
Miroku stroked his chin thoughtfully. "He was valiant, for his stature. He deserves an honorable burial."
Inuyasha's face softened. "Yeah."
"But, Inuyasha, you know as well as I do that there's no place among humans for the honorable burial of a demon."
Inuyasha thought for a moment, and made a surprising decision. "Then I'll bury him myself."
Kagome's eyes narrowed confusedly. "Inuyasha?"
"What?"
"Inuyasha, that's just…not like you."
"He didn't deserve to die like that, Kagome. He deserved better, even though he was a stupid little runt."
"Oh. Well, I'll help."
Miroku and Sango took a step forward. "We'll help, too."
Asher smiled warmly. "I'd love to—"
He was cut off. "You two have done ENOUGH," Inuyasha warned.
Asher sighed, hurt. "Fine. Come on, Star, let's go."
"Asher, I didn't want to hurt any innocent people…"
"I know, Star, I know. Let's get out of here before we get JUDGED to death."
"Yeah, all right."
The two left without another word, walking into a nearby forest. "Hey, Asher?" Star asked tentatively.
"Yeah?"
"Where exactly are we going?"
"Don't know, don't care. Just AWAY from him."
"Uh….aren't we going to try to…"
"Honestly, Star, I don't think I really care about that right now. Right now I just need to get FAR away from him and wait until I feel better. Then I'll worry about Remnant."
"Asher?"
"WHAT, DAMNIT?"
Star rolled her eyes. "Someone's watching us from in the forest."
"How can you tell?"
"I can hear breathing. Listen."
Sure enough, a small breath was heard every few seconds, echoing through all the forest as the noise bounced off the trees. "Hm. Well, there's only one thing to do, Star. We just keep walking and hope that whoever it is isn't going to kill us."
Suddenly, a sinister voice emerged from the darkness, along with a tall, slender human shape. "What a clever plan, Asher. Did you think of that all by yourself?"
Star's eyes narrowed angrily. "Naraku."
Naraku's shape grew more visible as the shadows around him faded, walking to a small break in the treeline where light shone through. "Very perceptive, little girl. Are you disappointed that you didn't kill me? I thought you would be."
"What do you want, Naraku?" Asher demanded.
"To talk to you, of course. That's why I sent Sesshomaru. To…get myself better acquainted with you. Specifically with your fighting ability."
"Oh? And what did you find out?"
"Well, I must say that I was disappointed, myself. Surely one such as you with so much potential could have been trained more rigorously. It's as if you simply gave up halfway through learning to fight as if that would suffice in a real battle!"
"Well, that's just your opinion. Now what do you REALLY want?"
"Hm. Straight to the point, I see. Too bad. More talk would have allowed you to live longer. You see, I have come to tell you that I do not find you useful, as I previously thought that I might. Meaning that I will be eliminating you."
"You know what, Naraku? Just go away. Okay? Don't mess with us right now. We've had an EXTREMELY bad day," Star warned.
"You couldn't kill us if you wanted to, anyway," Asher added.
Naraku laughed. "It doesn't really matter whether or not I could kill you. What matters is the fact that my Heartless WILL kill you," he said, raising a hand, summoning a horde of Heartless to attack the duo.
Asher smirked. "Guess what I learned, Naraku."
Asher held out his hand in a commanding motion, like a policeman attempting to stop traffic. The Heartless immediately halted their charge and stood obediently, waiting for another order.
Naraku's eyes widened slightly. "Impossible! Heartless, get them!"
The Heartless looked at Naraku, then back at Asher, then stood, once again waiting for another order from Asher.
"Heartless, do as I say! I am your master! I COMMAND you to attack them!"
There was no response from the Heartless.
"What is this? What have you done?"
Asher held out his arms apologetically. "All I've done, Naraku, is learned how to use my heart to control the Heartless, just like you. Only I'm strong enough not to be lost to the darkness."
"What, are you going to kill me now? Remnant will hear of this."
Star smiled, deciding to join in on the conversation. "That's just what we're counting on."
"Have a wonderful time," Asher suggested ominously, summoning at least ten more Heartless to join the horde he had taken control of from Naraku, "in hell, Naraku."
"Remnant will make you regret this!"
Asher turned around. "I'm sure he will."
He snapped his fingers and the Heartless attacked Naraku, beginning to rip the demon to shreds. "Let's go, Star," Asher said, muffled by the final and only screams of anguish Naraku ever emitted.
As the two emerged from the forest, they realized that it hadn't taken long for the disturbance that Asher had created to reach their target. Clouds began to swirl in around the sky, blocking out the sun, and winds began to pick up, flattening the grass in the surrounding meadow. "Asher, I think it's Remnant."
"Probably, Star."
"Are you sure we're ready to fight him?"
"Well, we're about to find out. But if it turns out that we ARE ready to fight him, remember not to kill him or hurt him badly. We need him to get to Kingdom Hearts."
A tall, thin, well-built man approached them. He had short white hair, which he wore above his head in an almost army-style cut. His tan skin, dark brown eyes, and pointed chin were very distinctive features. He frowned. "Asher? Is that you? I've been looking for you."
"Hello, Remnant."
"Perhaps you haven't heard, Asher. My name is Xemnas once again. I've become whole."
"Really? You've become whole? And where exactly did you find your heart?"
Xemnas looked annoyed. "I have not yet retrieved my heart from Kingdom Hearts."
"So you're NOT whole, then?"
"No, I suppose I am not."
Star decided to try to casually break the tension. "So, Xemnas…why were you looking for Asher?"
"Because, I need his help."
Asher chuckled slightly. "Help? Why do you need my help?"
"Because you need a HEART to communicate with Kingdom Hearts."
"I see. Now, why exactly do you think I'd help you, Xemnas?"
Xemnas smiled. "Because you love your fiancé very much, Asher."
That got Asher's attention. "What?"
"It's very simple. I assume you want to see her again?"
"You bastard."
Star suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She wanted to be involved in the discussion because she felt left out, but at the same time…
"Now, Asher, that doesn't sound like the kind of response I would give if someone that I loved was kidnapped."
"Because you're a heartless BASTARD! No help, Xemnas. You give her to me, now."
"I don't believe that you're in a position to make demands, Asher. As Luxord might say," Xemnas held out his hand, a playing card held between his index finger and thumb, "I hold all the cards."
He turned the playing card around, displaying a picture of Trista, Asher's fiancé. Asher choked as the card emitted a tiny muffled cry. "Asher? Is that you? Help!"
"Damn you, Xemnas!"
"You know, I do wonder why she waited for you. After all, she had no idea of what happened to you."
"Let her go!"
"I'll let her go…once I have had my heart returned to me."
"You're sick."
"Forgive me for having no sympathy. Such is difficult without a heart."
Asher didn't quite know how to feel, himself. His plan had succeeded, Xemnas was even going to take him to Kingdom Hearts without a fight. At the same time, though, now Trista was this madman's captive. He could only hope that he would be able to save her before something bad happened. "Lead the way, Xemnas."
"A wise decision," Xemnas stated, opening a portal into darkness. Star and Asher followed him through.
