Last Chapter! Please send me a review telling me what you think! We didn't get very many reviews for the last one so I wasn't so motivated to finish this... That's why it's taken so long to even start putting these chapters up. Kia and I want to do three more stories for this little series we have, let us know what you think! Not three stories each, she's got two and I think I've got one. Please review! Oh, and tell me if you want a Mira story also, cuz I'm not motivated right now to do much of anything.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha.
Sho ran, kitten-form, into the camp and couldn't find anyone. "Hey!" He yelled, changing into a demon.
"What's wrong?" Inu Yasha asked, moving out into the open. "Where's Kaze?"
"Naraku got her!" Sho cried. "Where is everyone?"
"Some demons went by so the others went to question them," Inu Yasha sighed, pointing off in a direction. "I have to go after her, Sho." With that, he ran off towards Naraku, leaving a confused Sho in charge of the horses.
It took longer than Inu Yasha had expected to reach the chasm and he knew sunrise couldn't be far away, but he couldn't leave Kaze with Naraku any longer, even if it meant exposing his secret about the new moon. He gripped the rusted sword at his side as he moved into the open, catching Naraku's attention.
"Hm?" Naraku asked, turning his black eyes to the human Inu Yasha. "What is this?"
"Tonight is Inu Yasha's weakness," a woman near him said. Inu Yasha growled angrily, taking in the brown, red, and blonde hair and green eyes, noticing her red cat ears poking out through her hair.
"Mira… What are you doing here?" Inu Yasha asked the cat demon. "I thought you were dead."
"I survived," Mira said smugly. "With Naraku's help, of course. But it seems you've already found a replacement for me." She waved towards an unconscious figure held in one of Naraku's tentacles.
"Kaze!" Inu Yasha shouted, gripping the hilt of his sword. Kaze hung limply in Naraku's grasp.
"Don't worry, Mira," a woman with long black hair and empty brown eyes told the other. "As long as you survive he will never be truly happy with this girl. "Both women wore red and white clothes similar to Inu Yasha's.
"Kikyo, you're here too," Inu Yasha spit, glaring at the other woman.
"So your weakness is during the new moon," Naraku mused. "That's good to know."
"It won't matter once you're dead," Inu Yasha growled, pulling his rusted sword out of its sheath and hoping the sun will rise.
"I don't' have time to fight you right now, Inu Yasha," Naraku replied lazily, shrugging his human shoulders; the tentacle holding Kaze flicked her into the chasm.
"Kaze!" Inu Yasha shouted, running toward the chasm as Naraku disappeared. Before Inu Yasha could reach the chasm, however, Kikyo and Mira appeared in front of him, blocking his path. "Get out of my way!"
As Inu Yasha fought with Kikyo and Mira, Kaze's body fell, but her consciousness was elsewhere. "Child, you must live!" A soft voice urged. "Wake up!"
"I can't," Kaze replied, the black swallowing her up.
"If you can't on your own, I will help you!" The voice insisted.
"Who are you?" Kaze asked, her eyes opening.
"I am your guardian," the blonde girl replied, golden eyes boring into Kaze. "I have watched over you since the beginning, giving assistance when you required it. And you shall not die yet!" The gold eyes disappeared and Kaze woke with a start, feeling a sharp jerk at her back. Out of the corner of her eye she saw white feather wings beating, pulling her fall to a stop.
Confused, Kaze looked over her shoulder to see that the wings were attached to her back and that, even though it was still night and she was deep in the chasm, she could see around her as if she was a firefly. "All I can do now is add to what you are," a voice whispered to her, slowly disappearing. Unsure, Kaze tried using the wings and found it was like using her arms; she just had to find the right muscles. It took her a few minutes, but she managed to fly back to the top of the chasm. She noticed Mira and Kikyo were attacking Inu Yasha and realized she had no way of helping.
Just from the thought, a solid looking bow and arrow appeared in her hands and, without thinking on it, Kaze notched the arrow and shot it at Kikyo.
The arrow hit and Kikyo froze, light spreading through her back from where the arrow hit. A moment later, Kikyo exploded.
"How-!" Mira yelled angrily, turning towards Kaze. "An… an angel?" She breathed, eyes widening as she watched the bow in Kaze's hand disappear into light. Kaze flew to Inu Yasha, touched the ground and grabbed his hand, leading him away at a run.
"We'll have to find Naraku later," Kaze told him, the sun coming up. She noticed that the hand clutching hers now had long claws that dug into the back of her hand.
"Are you okay?" Inu Yasha asked, back to a demon. Kaze nodded, but felt herself being pulled to a stop. Inu Yasha put his arms around her, holding her close, and she realized that her wings were gone. "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered into her hair.
"Inu Yasha?" Kaze asked, turning around in his arms to face him, holding onto his upper arms.
"I know that…" He began, looking away. "All I've done is fight with you and make this all difficult, but when I almost lost you, I realized that…" He hesitated, still looking off to the side. Kaze waited a moment before pulling the jewel off her neck and placing it around his.
"This is yours," Kaze stated.
"Kaze, I want you to stay with me!" Inu Yasha blurted out, holding Kaze to his chest again. "I don't want to lose you." Kaze paused for a moment before putting her arms around his shoulders and snuggling into his neck.
"You have ruined everything!" A woman screeched behind them. "You stole my prey. The angel was mine!" She pointed accusingly at Kaze as Inu Yasha pushed her behind him, pulling his sword out.
Kaze frowned at her, trying not to show how scared she was. "Prey?" She asked, silencing the stutter that threatened to control her voice. "You were going to hurt that angel?"
"Hurt?" The woman laughed. "I was going to consume it! Now that it has given itself to you, you will be my prey!" Inu Yasha growled, jumping at the woman before she could move closer. The woman dodged easily, pointed once more at Kaze and said something garbled, then disappeared in a cloud of leaves. Inu Yasha turned to Kaze just in time to see her fall to the ground in a faint.
Kiara turned around to see Inu Yasha running back to the group with Kaze unconscious in his arms. "What happened?" Kiara demanded, already fearing the worst. Inu Yasha laid Kaze down in front of Kiara before slumping against a tree. Mel, Shippo, Sho, and Koga all ran closer to see Kiara running her hands, which were wrapped in a blue light, above Kaze's body.
"What are you doing?" Koga asked, worried.
"Checking her vitals," Mel replied, watching Kiara with interest. "She wants to make sure Kaze's not physically hurt."
"She shouldn't be, that woman never got close to her," Inu Yasha sighed, watching Kiara also.
"Woman?" Kiara asked, her eyes darting up to meet Inu Yasha's before returning to her work.
"Yea, she had long hair and disappeared in a storm of leaves," Inu Yasha said, his voice dull. "I couldn't touch her, and she floated."
"Floated?" Mel asked, turning to Inu Yasha. "As in, not touching the ground?" Inu Yasha nodded. "Sounds a lot like the woman Kaze had a run in with before," Mel said, turning back to Kiara with a worried look.
"I know," Kiara snapped, cutting the blue light off angrily and running her hand through her hair.
"This happened before?" Inu Yasha asked as kitten Sho curled up on Kaze's stomach.
"Yes, it did," Kiara said, sighing. "She lost her memory then, and I'm afraid that's what will happen-"
"Kiara, did you make me sleep outside again?" Kaze asked, sitting up suddenly. Shippo and Koga jumped and Sho landed on his back on the ground.
"Ah, yes, I did," Kiara said, going along with the story. "Um, unfortunately you almost drowned, and I heard somewhere that people who almost drown have a chance of losing their memory."
Kaze nodded warily. "So…?"
"Tell me what you know, starting at the beginning," Kiara demanded, leaning close enough to Kaze that she backed up a bit.
"Um, personal space," Kaze said, scooting back. "I am Kaze," Kaze finally began. "We live in Japan. You are Kiara. We just heard about this tea shop-oh hey Mel-and you said something about going to visit it sometime this week."
"Oh, did I?" Kiara asked as Mel waved happily. "And what are we doing in Japan?"
"Just learning," Kaze said, shrugging. "We both decided to go into Criminal Justice and decided Japan would be the best because the Yakuza is so popular." Kiara nodded, her brows furrowed in confusion until Shippo placed a leaf on Kaze's head and she fell backwards, asleep again.
"Thanks Shippo," Kiara sighed, shaking her head.
"No problem," Shippo replied, smiling. "What was she talking about?"
"She's lost her memory," Kiara said. "This means that, in her mind, none of you exist anymore." Inu Yasha gaped at her as she continued, "I'll have to take her back, get her settled and learn more about this story her mind has provided for her."
"But, I-" Inu Yasha started before clamping his mouth closed. "Never mind, this is probably best." He stood up abruptly and picked Kaze up. "Let's get back to the well, I want to make sure you guys get safely back to your time."
"When she gets her memory back I'll let you know," Kiara promised, following Inu Yasha as he made his way back to the well. Mel, Koga, Shippo, and Sho all followed warily. "Mel, are you coming with us?" Kiara asked suddenly, turning to her friend.
"No, I don't think so," Mel said, shaking her head. "I like it here, but I'll visit as many times as I can, I promise."
"That would help," Kiara said. The group finally made it to the well and Kiara and Inu Yasha jumped through with Kaze in tow. Inu Yasha left soon after placing Kaze on the couch, not answering Kiara as she promised to visit and to find what happened to Kaze.
Back in his time, Inu Yasha grabbed a rock and dropped it on top of the well, cutting off access for anyone. Mel watched silently, not arguing with his decision. He left after making sure the well was sealed, leaving Mel, Koga, Shippo, and Sho to wonder where he went.