A/N: Hey everyone, The Azure Guardian here. And welcome to the second Chapter of my novelization of InuYasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask, uncreatively titled Threads of Fate: The Secret of the Cursed Mask because not only is this story going to be tied into my overall Threads of Fate series of stories but I'm also just terrible at coming up with titles/names. A reminder that I am making changes to the script in part because of the poor localization job the game's script received and also to give events a better connection not only to my Threads of Fate: Kagome and Michiru's First Encounter one-shot but also to make things tie better into the core Threads of Fate: Resonance story. Otherwise, this story's script is as close to a 1-to-1 transcript of what's originally from the game as possible while accommodating my necessary changes. Anyway, this Chapter has Michiru meeting Kagome, Shippo, and Kaede while also attempting to use the Bone-Eater's Well as an early pass back home. The title of this Chapter likely gave away the outcome. So now begins Michiru's journey to find a means to return home and the various shenanigans he and the gang get up to.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha, it is the proud property of Rumiko Takahashi and without her, we never would have gotten The Secret of the Cursed Mask for PS2!
After leaving the forest, luckily without encountering any other demons, Inuyasha led Michiru to a small village. As they entered the village's limits, Michiru watched an old man walk by leading a horse behind him.
"Finally, we've arrived. This is Kaede's Village," Inuyasha said to the human boy.
"It can't be… a horse?" Michiru questioned, baffled to see the animal out and about.
Inuyasha turned around to face the boy, an eyebrow raised curiously, "You can't be scared of a horse."
"But…" Michiru hesitated, not necessarily scared like Inuyasha assumed, just confused. (Weird hairstyles, kimonos, and even horses… Is this really Japan?)
"What are you thinking about?" Inuyasha asked, already getting annoyed by the boy. "If you don't hurry, I'll leave you behind."
As Inuyasha walked away, Michiru immediately followed after him, not wanting to be left behind. But they didn't get very far before…
"Inuyasha!" A girl's voice called out from behind the two, causing them to stop.
As they turned around, they saw a girl with long, wavy black hair that stopped just above her waist and brown eyes approaching them. She wore a sailor-style junior high uniform consisting of a white long-sleeved blouse with a red ribbon tied at the front, a green skirt, white loose socks that reached just below her knees, and brown penny loafers. As soon as Michiru saw the girl, however, his eyes widened slightly. Something about her presence felt familiar to him, but he couldn't remember ever meeting anyone who looked like her before. When she came to a stop just a few feet in front of the two boys, she folded her arms under her chest and glared at Inuyasha.
"Hey, Inuyasha! Where have you been?" She questioned. "There was a demon outside of the village and we needed your help to defeat it." The girl then let out a sigh. "You're never there when we need you."
"Hmph. If you're talking about those little demons, I already took care of 'em."
"Oh, really?" The girl's expression relaxed as she lowered her arms, but then noticed Michiru from the corner of her eye and turned her attention to him. "Hey, who are you?"
"He was being chased by one of the small demons, so I stepped in," Inuyasha answered with a slight lie.
Taking that as his cue to start asking questions, Michiru began to… unload himself. "Oh, great! Where am I? This is Japan, right?" He asked. "There's horses, and weird hairstyles, and even demons! My cell doesn't work, there's no police station, no cars, no convenience stores, not even a supermarket."
"Nuh-uh…" Was all the girl could manage to respond with as she lightly shook her head, but as she looked at the boy she felt like she had met him before yet couldn't figure out from where or when.
"Huh, you sure got weirdly excited," Inuyasha noted to the boy.
Realizing he had rambled a bit, Michiru's cheeks turned a little red in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm sorry. I guess I was just happy 'cause I thought I finally found someone normal."
The black-haired girl let out a short nervous laugh, "That's understandable. But please, take a moment to calm down. My name is Kagome Higurashi, and I'm in 9th Grade." She introduced herself, then turned slightly to Inuyasha to properly introduce him. "And this is Inuyasha."
"Right, sorry. I'm Michiru Kururugi and I'm also in 9th Grade," Michiru introduced himself.
"So you must have come from the Present, then," Kagome figured.
Michiru nodded in confirmation, "Yeah. I fell through a hole in the storehouse and next thing I knew I was in the woods."
"I see. Okay, I need you to listen to me carefully. This… isn't the Present."
"Not the Present?" Michiru asked, wondering what exactly Kagome meant. "Then where am I?"
"This is the Feudal Era," she answered.
"The Feudal Era?!" The boy repeated in shock. "You mean the time of Oda Nobunaga? And when guns first came to Japan?"
"I'm sure you're surprised, but it's true," Kagome tried to assure him.
"It can't be…" Michiru was in disbelief. Had his fall through the floor really sent him back in time?
"I couldn't believe it at first either," the girl tried to sympathize with the boy, having had a similar experience when she first arrived in the Feudal Era.
"But, I've only read about the Feudal Era in my textbooks…" The schoolboy held a hand to his head to try and keep himself from getting dizzy at the revelation. "This is absurd! I was even attacked by demons!"
Kagome couldn't help but look at him in sympathy, even if she didn't have quite the same reaction she certainly had similar thoughts before. "Are you hurt?"
Michiru looked at the girl, noting the concern on her face, and he lowered his hand before lightly shaking his head, "No, I'm fine."
"Well, this village is safe," Kagome assured him. "You can stay here for a while."
As Michiru processed that he was being offered a place to stay during his strange situation, he let out a sigh of relief before smiling softly, "Thank you. I'm really glad you're here."
Having watched the entire exchange between the two Junior High students, Inuyasha looked at Michiru, an eyebrow raised in confusion, "I don't get it. Just a minute ago you were bawling, and now you've gone all sweet on us."
The teenage boy glanced at Inuyasha and… even he had to admit it was weird how quickly he went from being a nervous, panicking wreck to being so completely relaxed, and all during his conversation with Kagome. He didn't know why, but being around her made him feel calm.
"Don't be rude," Kagome chided Inuyasha. "You'd be bawling too if you had to go through all that." She seemed quite certain of her claim.
"Eh…" Inuyasha turned away slightly but gave the girl a snobbish glance. "Reminds me of someone else who cries all the time."
Kagome's brow furrowed from both Inuyasha's remark and the look he gave her, "What do you mean by that? You're the one that's always mad."
"Me? Always mad? Yeah, right," Inuyasha remarked… though his glare only served to prove her point.
"See? You're mad right now!" Kagome pointed out. "You are so short-tempered."
"You're the one that's so touchy," Inuyasha shot back. "You're always losing your temper."
Michiru's eyes shifted between the two as they argued, focusing on whoever was speaking at the moment, "You two really get along, huh?"
Kagome was taken by surprise and looked at the boy, "What?"
Inuyasha, on the other hand, took it as an insult, "Hey, what are you saying? Who do you think you are?"
"Oh, stop it," the schoolgirl scolded him for his rudeness.
Inuyasha growled in annoyance and glanced at Kagome before returning his attention to Michiru, "Nevermind, don't you need to go back to the well?"
The human boy blinked a couple times, confused what Inuyasha was talking about, "Why?"
"Don't you wanna go back?" The demon questioned.
Kagome nodded in agreement, "That's right."
"Hold on, what do you mean?" Michiru asked.
"Just outside this village, there's a well called The Bone-Eater's Well. The well connects our time to Feudal Japan," the teenage girl explained. "That's how I got here."
Michiru's eyes widened slightly as he pieced together what Kagome was trying to say, "You mean…"
"You might be able to go back if you pass through there," she finished.
There was a glimmer of hope in the boy's eyes as he got excited, "Wow! Really?! Please, take me there!"
Kagome found herself giggling a little, "Sure. It's just on the eastern outskirts of the village. Come on, I'll show you."
With that, Kagome immediately made her way towards the eastern side of the village with Inuyasha following close behind her and Michiru trailing not much further behind. After leaving the village they'd arrive in a forest and after another couple of minutes they'd come across an open space with a wooden well in the ground all by itself.
"This is the Bone-Eater's Well," Kagome revealed.
"It looks really old," Michiru remarked at a glance. "Almost like demons could come out of it."
"Yeah, it does."
"Well, they did use to toss dead demons into it," Inuyasha pointed out, only for a chill of fear to crawl up the boy's spine.
"Hey, don't say that. You're going to scare him," Kagome scolded the demon.
Inuyasha just looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow, "Whatever. The demons were dead anyway."
"You know what I mean, Inuyasha." She let out a sigh. "You're so insensitive." She then turned her attention to the boy. "Sorry, Michiru."
"That's okay," the schoolboy assured her, but could barely hide the hint of fear in his voice before returning his attention to the well. "So, do I go in from here?"
Kagome nodded in confirmation, "Yeah. If you jump in, it should take you right back to the present."
"Jump in?"
The group of three approached the well with Michiru standing right next to it. But as he looked into the well, what Inuyasha had said about dead demons being thrown into it made him shiver a little in fear.
(I'm scared, but I really want to get back home…) The boy thought to himself.
"What are you scared of?" Inuyasha questioned with a raised eyebrow, noticing the human boy's shaking.
Michiru turned his attention towards the demon, "I'm just… working up the courage." Turning back to look down the well, he placed his hands on the edge and took a deep breath. "Here I go. One, two…" Michiru gripped the edge of the well, but as he looked down into it and saw how deep it was, along with what Inuyasha had said, his body began trembling in fear again. "Th-th…"
Inuyasha's eyebrow began to twitch out of annoyance at the boy's hesitation and so he walked up behind Michiru. "Three, right?" And then he shoved his hands against Michiru's back.
"Huh?!" Michiru suddenly felt himself being pushed forward… and was sent falling down into the well with a scream until he hit the bottom, landing on his back.
"Inuyasha, what did you do that for?!" Kagome yelled at her demon companion before looking down into the well in worry. "Are you okay?"
"Ouch!" Michiru groaned in pain as he slowly pushed himself up. "I don't think so…"
The boy then looked up only to see both Kagome and Inuyasha looking down at him from the mouth of the well. Kagome would let out a sigh of relief.
"I think he's all right." She then shot a glare at Inuyasha. "What did you do that for, Inuyasha?"
"I couldn't help it," the demon tried to avoid apologizing, but made an expression like a child or a dog being caught doing something bad.
"What if he got hurt?!" Kagome yelled at him.
Inuyasha then gave her an annoyed look, "Shut up! I was just tryin' to help."
Kagome gave him an incredulous look in return, "What?! How is that?!"
"Um… Excuse me?" Michiru called out from the bottom of the well, earning the attention of the arguing pair. "Can you stop fighting and help me?"
Kagome and Inuyasha glanced at each other for a moment before each reaching a hand down into the well. After taking their hands, Michiru was pulled out of the hole and once his feet were back on the ground he let out a sigh.
Kagome let out a confused hum, "I don't know why, but you can't seem to go through."
"It seems that way…" Michiru said with a disappointed grumble, the one known way that could have sent him back home either couldn't… or wouldn't.
Kagome rested a hand on the boy's shoulder with a look of sympathy, "Don't worry. I'm sure there's another way."
Strangely, Michiru felt reassured by Kagome's words, "Okay… But what do I do now?"
"Well, Kaede helped me out when it was my turn," the schoolgirl pointed out as she pulled her hand back.
"Who's Kaede?" the boy asked.
Kagome would smile fondly, "She's the wisest person in the village. She's a priestess, and she knows a lot."
"But she's always nagging me," Inuyasha groaned in annoyance.
"Only because you're always getting into trouble," the schoolgirl pointed out.
"Well, I don't really understand, but she doesn't sound like a bad person," Michiru figured based on what Kagome had to say about this Kaede woman. "I'd like to meet her."
"Okay, let's go. She lives on the west side of the village."
Kagome and Inuyasha led Michiru back the way they came and into the village again. Eventually, they'd pass through the part of the village where Kagome joined them until finally the schoolgirl stopped in front of a particular hut.
"This is Priestess Kaede's home," she presented, but then a second Kagome walked outside and caught everyone's attention. "Hmmm?"
Of the three, Michiru was the most confused by the presence of two Kagomes, "What?! There's two of you, Kagome?!"
"Kagome's back!" The other Kagome said excitedly with a voice that certainly wasn't Kagome's.
Michiru just tilted his head in confusion, "So… Kagome has a twin?"
The second Kagome turned her attention to Michiru with a playful smile on her face, "Twins? What are you talking about?"
"You're not twins?" The schoolboy asked, getting even more confused. "But you look exactly alike."
The entire time, however, Inuyasha had been looking at the other Kagome with annoyance before walking up to her, "Hey, behave yourself Shippo."
"What is he supposed to think, with you suddenly looking like that?" Kagome asked her other self.
All of a sudden, the second Kagome's body was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. When it disappeared, she was gone, and in her place was… a small child? They had copper-coloured hair tied back into a ponytail with a turquoise ribbon tied into a bow, green eyes, and a small, fluffy cream-coloured tail. They also wore a turquoise happi coat with leaf patterns strewn across under a tan fur vest and a blue sashinuki hakama. Unlike Inuyasha, the child had human-like ears with narrow, pointed tips and their feet were animal-like, looking similar to the hind legs of a fox.
Michiru let out a yelp of surprise and took an involuntary step back, "What happened? Kagome turned into a child!"
The child looked to the human boy in apology, "I didn't mean to scare you. I was just practicing my transformation magic."
"Transformation?" Michiru repeated as he regained his composure only to raise an eyebrow in disbelief. "How can you do that? Are you pulling my leg?"
"You use the art of transformation when you want to trick someone," the small demon gave a rather rudimentary explanation of his ability.
"I see. So, what's your name? My name is Michiru. I came from the Present, like Kagome."
"My name's Shippo," the small demon introduced himself. "Are you Kagome's friend?"
"Um, not really."
Shippo's eyes widened a bit in surprise, "I thought Kagome brought you from the well."
"I wish," Michiru muttered with a sigh. If he had been brought from the well by Kagome, he would have already gone back home.
"Seems like you've got a problem," the little demon figured.
"Seems that way," the boy agreed with a sigh. "You sure seem pretty calm though, even though you're a kid."
However, that remark earned him a glare from Shippo, "I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a respectable adult."
Letting out an annoyed grumble, Inuyasha intervened by grabbing the back of Shippo's vest and lifting the little demon off the ground. "Don't be such a smart-aleck."
"What did you say, Inuyasha?" Shippo turned his attention to Inuyasha, looking rather angry, and immediately began tugging on his face and hair.
"Both of you, stop it!" Kagome berated the two. "We came to see Kaede, remember?"
Michiru, on the other hand, couldn't help but watch with worry. He wanted to try and stop the two as much as Kagome wanted them to stop, but he didn't know what might happen if he tried to get between a pair of demons fighting.
"Cut it out, Shippo!" Inuyasha growled in annoyance before striking Shippo in the head with his free hand, knocking the fox demon from his grasp and to the ground.
Shippo sat himself up, looking like he was about to start crying as he held his head near a big lump he had received from Inuyasha, "Ouch! That hurt!"
"That's it," Kagome was now glaring angrily at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, sit!"
In response, the beaded necklace Inuyasha wore began to glow and instantly he found his body pulled to the ground, causing him to yelp in surprise and pain from the sudden impact. Michiru was in shock and awe at what he had witnessed, he was especially impressed with how Kagome was able to stop Inuyasha with a single word.
"Wow, Kagome! What was that?"
"It's a bit of a long story, but it's thanks to Kaede," she gave a short answer. "Come on, let's go see her."
Michiru just nodded, "Yeah, okay."
The two humans and Shippo then walked into the building that Shippo had walked out of just moments before and inside was an old woman with long gray hair tied back into a ponytail, a brown left eye, and an eyepatch over her right eye. She wore the traditional white and red garb of a Shinto Priestess.
"What was all that noise about?" The old woman asked, her focus on Kagome and Shippo before noticing Michiru's presence. "Oh? And who might you be?"
The schoolboy scratched the back of his head in nervousness as he introduced himself, "Um, hello. My name is Michiru."
"Hm…" the old woman slowly looked over the boy's figure and attire. "From the look of your clothes, I'd assume you came from the same place as Kagome."
Michiru nodded once in affirmation, "Yes, that's right."
The old woman let out a small laugh, "You can relax. No one's going to eat you." She then offered the group of three to have a seat so they'd be a bit more comfortable, which they took. "Now then, why don't you tell me what happened?"
"Um… I was looking for something in my family's storehouse, when I suddenly blacked out," the boy explained "When I came to, I was in this world." Michiru then had a desperate look in his eyes. "I want to go home. I was told you might be able to help me?"
"Hmm, so you want to go home. I thought you were Kagome's friend," the old woman, Kaede assumed.
So now both Shippo and Kaede thought Michiru was previously acquainted with Kagome. He wasn't entirely sure why they thought that, aside from the fact they were the only two wearing modern-day clothes. But when he glanced at Kagome, there was something telling him they had met before if the familiarity of her presence was any indication, but he simply couldn't remember how or why.
"It seems like a difficult situation," Kaede continued. "Tell me your story from the beginning."
And so Michiru did just that, explaining how he had arrived home late for his family's annual festival, apologized to his father, and was sent to the storehouse to get more amulets only for the floor to break apart and send him falling, during which Inuyasha had walked in after managing to pick himself up off the ground outside. Michiru continued on with how he woke up someplace unfamiliar, got chased by a demon, and was eventually discovered by Inuyasha. Everyone was silent as the boy spoke with Kaede listening intently.
"So, that's what happened. Sounds similar to when Kagome came," Kaede remarked once Michiru had finished.
"But the well didn't work," Inuyasha pointed out.
"Well?" Kaede repeated, turning her attention to Inuyasha with her eye slightly widened in surprise. "The Bone-Eater's Well?"
Kagome would nod to confirm what Inuyasha had said, "Yeah, Michiru just fell straight to the bottom."
"Hm… I see."
"Do you know why I can't get through?" Michiru asked. "I really wanna go home."
Kaede closed her eye for a moment and hummed in thought before turning her attention back to the human boy, "Unfortunately, I don't know why."
"But… Please, you've got to help me."
"I'm sorry, but I don't know how I can help," Kaede said as she looked at the boy with sympathy.
"You mean I can't get home?" Michiru's eyes widened, looking like he had just been told he couldn't return home, and his desperation only grew as he turned his gaze to the floor, his fists clenching as his body started trembling and tears started to prick at his eyes. "Mom… Dad…"
"Gosh, I feel for you," Shippo said sympathetically.
Even Kagome couldn't help feeling sorry for Michiru. While she had the luxury of being able to travel through the Bone-Eater's Well at her leisure between the two eras, she could only imagine what it might feel like to not have that option and be stuck in the Feudal Era forever. But as she watched the boy get so distraught, something tugged at the far reaches of her memory and she felt like she just had to help him.
But then Inuyasha let out an annoyed sigh, "How irritating. Why are you so upset?"
Michiru didn't respond, only letting out a weak mumble as he tried to keep himself from crying.
Kagome, however, went to the boy's defense and glared at the demon, "Don't be so hard on him, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha just scoffed, "Whatever. It's not like he's gonna die if he can't get home."
Kagome's glare softened somewhat, "That's true, but you could be a little nicer about it."
"Kagome! Inuyasha! Stop fighting!" Shippo shouted as he stepped between the two, but his efforts would be fruitless.
"Bein' nice ain't gonna find the way home," the demon then turned his attention back to Michiru. "If you wanna go home, you need to find a way to do that."
Michiru's body stopped shaking and he focused his attention on Inuyasha, "Find a way?"
"Was that what you're trying to say, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, her eyes widening a bit in surprise.
"Well, what else?" Inuyasha questioned.
Kagome just gave him an awkward smile. She knew Inuyasha was trying to help in his own way, but he was much too abrasive about it. Michiru turned his gaze back to the floor and closed his eyes for a moment, rubbing his thumb against his eyes before opening them again.
The human boy then let out a sigh to try and relax, "I guess I won't get anywhere by being upset."
"You can be upset anytime you want, but your energy would be better spent trying to do something about it rather than sitting there sulking."
Kagome would shoot another brief glare at Inuyasha for his rudeness, but he had a point.
Michiru slowly nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll just have to keep trying."
"That's fine, as long as you get it."
"That's enough, Inuyasha," Kagome berated her demon companion, feeling he was being too rude with his choice of words and way of speaking.
"Well, if that's the case," Kaede interjected to prevent the two from starting another fight, focusing her attention on Michiru. "You may as well stay here with Inuyasha and the others."
"What?!" Inuyasha balked. "Now that's going a little too far."
"Oh, I couldn't…" Michiru tried to politely decline after Inuyasha's reaction.
"Wait a moment, Inuyasha," the old priestess directed at the demon. "Just like when Kagome arrived in this world, this is no trivial matter either."
"So what?" Inuyasha questioned.
"If something should happen, it would be better if he were with you," Kaede explained.
"This is so annoying…" Inuyasha growled in annoyance as he rested his chin in his hand. "Fine. Whatever."
Seeing Inuyasha relent, Kagome looked to Michiru with a smile, "Things are looking up, huh, Michiru?"
The schoolboy looked back at the girl, a bit surprised that he was being allowed to stay with them only to return the smile with one of gratitude, "Thank you!"
Still smiling, Kagome let out a small, joyful laugh, "It's decided then." She then proceeded to stand up. "Let's go listen to the village gossip. Maybe we'll find a clue from something we hear."
Michiru nodded in agreement before standing up as well, "Yeah, okay."
Shippo would then hop up onto Kagome's shoulder while Inuyasha stood up from the floor and the group of four left Kaede's home and started wandering around the western side of the village. They'd listen in on some of the villager's conversations to see if they'd hear of anything bizarre while also asking a few of them some questions. Though when Michiru asked one villager if they may have known where he came from, the villager decided to get snarky and told Michiru he "came from his mother's womb", earning a snort of laughter from Inuyasha, a confused look from Shippo, and causing the two students to let out nervous laughs feeling a tad uncomfortable. After a bit of wandering, though…
"We're not gettin' anywhere by just standing around talkin'," Inuyasha expressed his annoyance.
Kagome pressed a finger against her forehead as she let out a grumble, knowing Inuyasha had a point, "I agree, but we don't have any clues…" She then looked to Michiru. "It would help if you had seen anything out of the ordinary."
"Hey, something's bothering me," Shippo spoke up, his attention on Michiru. "Why couldn't you use the Bone-Eater's Well, but Kagome could?"
"Well…" the human boy paused for a moment, holding his chin as he looked up in thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "Probably because I didn't get here through the Bone-Eater's Well."
That managed to catch Kagome's attention. Even though Michiru had mentioned how he arrived in the Feudal Era from the Present, it completely slipped her mind that there must have been an exit point for him to have come out of.
"That would mean that there's something like the Bone-Eater's Well near where you first woke up, don't you think?" She figured.
"Well, all we have to do is go back to the place where you first woke up," Inuyasha told Michiru, finally feeling like they had a trail.
"Yeah!" The human boy agreed with a nod and a smile… only to pause and scratch his cheek in embarrassment. "But… I can't remember where that was now." He looked at his new friends apologetically. "I was frantically trying to run away at the time."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes slightly in annoyance, "What a scaredy cat!"
Michiru averted his gaze, scratching his cheek again with a grumble, feeling like he was being an annoyance to them. But since no one voiced otherwise, the group of four continued making their way around the eastern side of the village next to see if any of the villagers might know something. One of the villagers in particular, while not able to help Michiru and the others with their current situation, did mention something of intrigue when they asked him.
"Sorry, I'm just a field guard," the villager said before turning to look over the field behind him, drawing the attention of the group to it as well. "My family has been protecting these fields for generations. There's a legend that says these fields hold a special power. Supposedly, a "mysterious crop" will grow if a peculiar seed is planted here."
"A "mysterious crop"?" Kagome repeated, skeptical by how vague that sounded.
"Have you ever seen one of these crops before?" Shippo asked.
"Nope, can't say that I have," the villager answered.
"Then how do you know if it's even real?" Inuyasha questioned with a scoff. "Sounds like a waste of time to me."
"Because I don't know," the villager answered. "It's a legend that's been passed down in my family, so there might be something to it."
Michiru hummed as he cupped his chin, "Well… If we happen to come across any strange seeds, we can bring them to you."
"Really? You'd do that?"
"Hey, haven't you forgotten we're trying to get you home?" Inuyasha reminded the human boy.
"Of course not, and I'm not saying we should go out looking for these seeds," Michiru replied. "But if we manage to find any - even just one - I think we should try to bring it back to see if the legend is true." He then let out a nervous laugh as he looked at the others. "Even if I might not be around for it, it might be an interesting experience for you guys."
Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kagome looked at Michiru in surprise, but Kagome couldn't help but smile a little. They were trying to help him find a way back home and he barely knew them, but he was already thinking of something for them to make a memory from.
"That sounds like a fun idea," the schoolgirl said, despite having been skeptical at first, and turned her attention back to the field's guard. "We'll be on the lookout for any of those seeds for you. You mentioned they were peculiar, is there anything else you can tell us to make them easier to recognize?"
"Oh, thank you so much," the villager said with gratitude. "Hm… I've heard they have some very vibrant colours that you normally wouldn't see. Aside from that, I'm not sure what I could tell you."
"Seeds with vibrant colours?" Kagome repeated. "Got it, we'll see what we can do."
After saying their farewells to the field guard, the group of four continued making their way through the eastern side of the village until they found themselves heading in the direction of the Bone-Eater's Well, causing them to start heading back with no information uncovered.
"You really can't remember where it was?" Inuyasha asked, referring to the place where Michiru first woke up.
"If someone had been with you at the time, we could ask them. But you were alone, weren't you?" Kagome asked.
Michiru nodded, "Yeah, I was." But in a split moment, he remembered something. "Oh! I met some strange villagers near there. They were desperately looking for… something."
"Well then, we should ask them," Inuyasha suggested.
"At the very least they may have seen something that could give us a clue," Kagome figured.
"Hopefully. They were pretty close by to where I woke up," Michiru noted. "And considering Inuyasha managed to find me and bring me here, they should be close by."
"All right, then let's go look for those villagers," Inuyasha suggested.
With the others agreeing, the group of four made their way back into the village. But as they searched, Michiru didn't see anyone who looked like the villagers who had chased him.
Inuyasha eventually stopped and turned his attention to the human boy, "Hey, we've looked through the entire village by now."
Michiru couldn't help but grumble to himself, feeling disappointed, "Yeah, we have… But I haven't seen anyone that looks like those villagers…"
Kagome hummed as she held a finger against her chin in thought, "All I can think of is maybe the neighboring village, Akebi Village. It's the closest one to here."
Michiru's eyes widened slightly at the news of another village close by, "Oh! Then they might be from there. How far is Akebi Village?"
"It's not that far, but…" Kagome paused in hesitation, worried for Michiru's safety.
"But…?"
"But there's all kinds of demons on the road going there," Shippo answered fearfully.
Kagome nodded. "He's right. Demons come after you even if you're only a little ways from the village."
Michiru shivered slightly out of fear as he remembered the demon that attacked him, "When I came into this world, I was chased by one too."
"Right, so you'll need to be careful," Kagome warned.
Inuyasha scoffed and smirked with confidence, "As long as I'm with you, you've got nothin' to worry about from those demons."
"That's right," Shippo agreed, earning a small laugh of triumph from Inuyasha. "You've got no brains, but plenty of brawn!"
Inuyasha's eye twitched from the insult and he glared at the smaller demon, "Shut up, Shippo!" Then immediately hit Shippo, causing another lump to appear on the fox demon's head.
"Ouch! Why'd you do that?!" Shippo cried out, holding his hands near the lump on his head.
"Cut it out, Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled at him, not resorting to her "Sit" command this time.
"Come to think of it, you two are demons," Michiru pointed out as he looked between Inuyasha and Shippo.
"What? Are you talking about Inuyasha and Shippo?" Kagome asked.
"It's really surprising. I thought all demons were scary," the boy admitted. "Yet here we are, all together."
"Inuyasha isn't really a demon…"
"That's enough Kagome," Inuyasha quickly interrupted, cutting the girl off before she could say more.
"But…"
Michiru raised a hand to more politely interrupt Kagome, "It's okay Kagome. I'm not too concerned with that kind of thing. Anyway, do you think you'd be able to take me to the next village?"
Kagome looked at the boy and smiled warmly, "Of course, I can. Let's all go to Akebi Village."
Michiru returned the smile. Although he was certainly worried about possibly being attacked by demons on the way to Akebi Village, he was looking forward to traveling with his new friends and, hopefully, finding a way back home.