Coming soon to AO3! (A/N at bottom)

3 Yuuma

(Kagome POV)

We all ran in three different directions. InuYasha and Shippo went left, Sango, Miroku and Kirara went right so Koga and I ran back the way we came. We were running from something but what exactly was still unknown to me, I couldn't see much in the dirt cloud but I could feel the debris crashing into me. Despite this my mind was racing and I was surprised when Koga pulled me to the right.

"Kagome watch out!"

I tried not to stumble as I let him guide me. I managed to glance back and just in time to see a demon land and crush the spot I was probably heading towards. The force knocked us off our feet and we tumbled in the dirt together.

Despite our efforts to protect ourselves we must have been knocked out. When I came to, I was surprised at the lack of dirt underneath me. I blinked at the sight of Sango and Kirara shifting rocks and small boulders. I felt a hand on my leg and shifted to see Miroku placing a Band-Aid on what looked like a small gouge.

"Damn," I groaned catching Miroku's attention.

"Oh good. I've checked you over and other than a few scratches and small bruises you are good to go. You were caught up in a wave of energy backlash. Now that you're up I can check on Koga."

As he spoke the last of the fuzziness left and I felt more alert. I sat up gingerly feeling some of the scratched burn. I realized that I didn't feel dirt beneath me because I wasn't on the ground. Koga was beneath me. He had managed to wrap himself around me when we had fallen.

"We're off to a great start," I muttered sarcastically.

I carefully, attempting to get off Koga without waking him but a hand grasping my waist meant I wasn't successful. I glance at his face and saw his blue eyes staring back at me.

"Sorry," I said as I moved to sit beside him.

"As if! You probably threw yourself on him on purpose."

I blinked as the half-muttered comment reached my ears. I looked behind me to see InuYasha carrying Kikyo towards us. He set her down before looking at me. I blinked again before turning to Miroku, not giving InuYasha's ridiculous comment any more attention.

"Alright you got a few scrapes from your landing but no concerning injuries," the monk concluded.

Koga grunted his thanks before taking in our surroundings. I did the same and I didn't like what I saw. There were boulders and craters of all sizes everywhere, trees toppled on their sides with the roots ripped out of the ground.

"Finally!" Sango's exclamation pulled my attention back to her.

She was pulling her weapon from under a boulder. Sango jogged back to us once her weapon was secure on her back.

"So, what's the plan?" the demon slayer asked. "The shard is up there and who or what ever has it definitely knows we're after it."

"I doubt we could get them to come down so we'll have to go up. But how?" Shippo started.

"Actually, the floating mass has be falling slowly while I worked on the injured," Miroku pointed out.

Everyone looked up and someone gasped. It wasn't much but it was noticeably closer.

"Kirara and Shippo may be able to carry us up in half an hour," Sango remarked.

"Which gives us time to— who is that?"

We all looked in the direction Koga was squinting. There was a figure walking toward us. The backlash from the barrier breaking had torn the ground up and it seemed that the being was using that to their advantage to get close to us with letting us see who or what they were.

InuYasha snarled, "I bet they were the on who made the ground explode!"

"No," I frowned.

"That was the backlash of the barrier breaking," Kikyo agreed.

As the figure drew closer, we all tensed.

"I smell… miasma?" Koga's murmur was tinged with confusion.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" InuYasha yelled.

The figure stopped and we tensed even more. A gust of wind blew a cloud of dust between us before the figure lowered their hood. Most of the group lowered their weapons.

"Who is she?" Koga asked me.

"Yuuma, Naraku's second incarnation. We got trapped in a cursed shrine together some months ago—I'll explain later," I whispered to him.

InuYasha growled and yelled out to Yuuma, "Don't come closer witch! Those Shikon shards are coming with us!"

Yuuma laughed, "I'm not here for the shards—or here to fight any you, no, no. I'm here to assist—pass on information, hmm."

The elderly looking woman knelt to the ground and placed her palms on the earth. There was a pulse of miasma around her and everyone readied their weapons again. Yuuma simply smiled. For a moment it seemed like nothing was happening, I squinted, trying to see any miniscule movements that would reveal her actions but I couldn't pick up on anything. Those with demon blood were the first to notice the difference.

"Her wrinkles! They're leaving!" Shippo gasped.

We all stared in disbelief as the stress lines receded and her face gained a more youthful look. Then her hair started to change. The roots were suddenly a dark brown and it slowly spread until just the end were grey along with a few random streaks. All the signs of severe stress were receding, traveling away—no! Toward her hands and—

It was my turn to gasp, "The ground!"

The ground around her hands was darkening. The patches of grass that hand survived the barrier breaking were yellowing, shriveling up before turning to dust. Yuuma wasn't becoming younger; she was transferring the stress to the ground!

"There," Yuuma said as she stood. "My sorcery is based off of how much stress my body is under. By releasing most of it I've left myself with just enough to escape should I need. I truly don't have harmful any intentions. Towards you at least."

Now that she looked younger, she looked almost exactly like Kagura, except her hair was a different colour and her eyes were much warmer.

"What information?" It was Miroku who spoke.

Yuuma smiled, "Information that should raise your chance in defeating Naraku."

InuYasha's doubtful scoff spoke for everyone. While Kagura also wanted to spilt from her creator and Kanna had helped us, it was a hard to believe that another incarnation would go against Naraku.

"Oh you don't have to believe me. While I would like to be free of his influence I wouldn't too distressing if it that dream doesn't come to fruition, no, no. Think of me as a… neutral party imparting information. You may choose your path."

Surprisingly, that somehow made sense. It seemed Sango agreed.

"You know that makes sense in a manner. I think we should hear what she has to say. If anything we can double check with other sources…,"

"Eh?!"

"And she said we don't have to act on it," Shippo added.

"But—"

"The island is still not in our reach and we do not have anything better to do. We have nothing to loose," Kikyo pointed out.

And just like that InuYasha's protests ceased. Everyone seemed to agree.

"Alright, tell us everything."

"Yes, I had a feeling you would be interested."

Hey everybody it's been a hot minute!

1. After the notification problem from Oct/Nov 2023 I've decided to cross post on AO3! It should be up My Username is the same ChiyoTheChibi. I mention this account my bio there if you aren't sure it's me. This fic is still available on Wattpad if you need a back up.

2. I've decided to attempt to make this a bit more canon compliant. I'm not sure where in canon yet but it's still AU. I'm just attempting to figur out where the canon divergence will begin.

3. I've deleted the chapters after this one since they are no longer compliant with the story.