Hello to everyone who kept reading this. :3 Y'all make me happy and inspired! :3

So, I don't know if you've seen my responses to your reviews, so to make sure, I will just post it here as well.

To dindagangleader14: Thank you so much, and I really, really appreciate your constant reviews. :-) And as for your recent question if Rin will be here…I'm sorry, but she won't. :( Instead, I used the insert character (Arisa) as her replacement. ^_^

To zelico: Thank you very much for your wonderful review. I'm doing my best to keep it up. :-)

To Layla347: Thank you very much as well for saying so! Because, sometimes, I'm really not sure if I'm actually writing this well enough. Hehe

Btw, the previous three chapters were one and the same, so I had published them at once.

The next chapter is now here!

Chapter 27:

Kaede continued to guide Arisa towards her training on how to maintain her barrier while doing other things. She had trouble with it at first, but as they progressed, she was now getting the hang of it.

During one of their breaks, she couldn't help but ask the Kaede about the sacred jewel, and Kikyo.

"My sister Kikyo was given the task of purifying the sacred jewel, and kept it from the hands of those with evil minds. But then, Naraku appeared and tore the two apart. He shape-shifted into each of them, betraying each other. But at that time, I still didn't know what really happened. Some of the villagers saw that she had sealed Inuyasha at the sacred tree, and when she arrived at the village, she was badly wounded while holding the sacred jewel. She instructed us to burn it along with her body, hoping it will never have to cause trouble again. But after fifty years had passed, the sacred jewel was born within Kagome; thus, making her the reincarnation of my sister. When I look closely at her, she does resemble Kikyo onee-san."

"But what do you mean when you said Naraku tore the two of them…?"

"Oh, I meant my sister and Inuyasha. They were once in love with each other."

Arisa had now brought the puzzle together. "I see…so that explains everything. Does Naraku like Kikyo or something?"

"Perhaps...yes; as he was originally Onigumo, the bandit taken care of my sister. He had taken a liking to her, but fed himself to demons. Thus, Naraku was born."

"If Kikyo died…then how was she brought back to life? I heard from Shippo that she was resurrected."

"The demoness Urasue did it. She stole her ashes and used half of Kagome's soul…therefore, reviving her. But she isn't the Kikyo we knew. Her soul is still trapped in the depths of revenge and darkness. She is wandering right now, but I don't really know what her goal is."

"Oh… what about the sacred jewel? How was Naraku able to get a hold of it again?"

"Kagome accidentally shot an arrow on it during their chase. It had scattered all over, and of course, many demons had set their eyes on it. As she was the only one who could sense it, I had her team up with Inuyasha to gather them back together before everyone else does. Unfortunately, Naraku was already on the move as well. Oh, and I told you that Inuyasha was sealed, right? Kagome was the one who had the seal undone."

Arisa only remained silent, as she had no idea how to respond to such complicated events.

Arisa went back to her training, and before she could even begin her lesson on concealing, the sun had already set down. She was able to hold up her barrier while doing something, but still, only for 30 minutes maximum.

"Oh, great. And I need to leave early tomorrow…"

"That's okay. You can always come back, or train on your own. I'll just give you the tip for concealing:

Relax and blend with your environment."

Arisa easily fell asleep once she lied down on the bedding that Kaede provided for her to use.

This kid is quite the fast learner.

Kaede thought, smiling, as she lied down beside her.

Early morning, the next day…

"Thank you so much for everything, Kaede-san!" She said with all the sincerity in the world, and hugged the old priestess.

Kaede laughed. "No problem at all. Do not forget to visit if you have the chance."

"I will take note of that." She replied, grinning.

"By the way, can you sense the presence of sacred jewel shards?"

"I can't, unfortunately. I think Kagome has some of them, right? But I never did sense those." Arisa replied, pausing.

"Though, there was only one time, when Naraku offered an arm to Sesshomaru. There was a shard in it, but it was emitting a dark aura that was the same with his..." she added.

"I see..."

She then waved goodbye, and went to the forest. Soon, Ah-un was in her sight, but someone else was there. And she didn't expect it to be…

"Sesshomaru…?"

He was looking at her, straight in the eye.

"Hurry up."

"Uh, yes…!"

She sprinted towards them, and slowly, she climbed up on Ah-un and shortly after, they flew. Arisa was surprised to see Sesshomaru flying, because he never did until now.

"So you can actually fly, huh?" she commented, but she didn't receive an answer from the man.

"Nice talking to you…" she murmured to herself, and Sesshomaru still kept quiet.

While on their way to Kaijinbo's place, Arisa tried asking a question, hoping that he would finally answer.

"How come you went on your way to…you know...see me?"

"You were late, so I thought something might have happened to you."

"Huh...!? But I woke up as early as I can!"

"My time says you are late, so it is."

"What kind of reasoning is that…" she mumbled in defeat.

After an awkward silence, she decided to ask again.

"By the way, how were you able to find me?"

"I have already memorized your scent so it is easy to find you."

She blushed at his casual statement, and it made her unable to speak.

"Why are you blushing?"

Startled by his sudden question, she quickly looked up; only to find him staring at her.

"I-it's nothing…! Now take those eyes off of me!" she demanded shyly.

"You are being weird." The dog demon replied flatly.

"It's you who is acting weird!"

They reached Kaijinbo's place, and they found Jaken inside his house, split in half.

"Oh my god! Jaken!" Arisa quickly crouched down, and tried putting his body together.

This is gross, but since he is a demon, this'll probably work.

She proceeded to feel if he had a pulse, and her face went white when she couldn't feel anything.

"Sesshomaru…he's…!" she said, teary-eyed.

"This must be Kaijinbo's doing. Move aside, Arisa." Sesshomaru said as he instantly drew his Tenseiga, and there, he saw the pallbearers of the underworld. He immediately sliced them; but to Arisa, it looked like he was just slicing the air. She was even more surprised that he had called her by her name, and she couldn't help but comment.

"Y-you finally said my name…"

"Twice."

"Huh…? But this is the first time…"

"Dullard."

"When did you say it the first time, then?"

"Remember it on your own."

"Oh, come on…!" she complained, pouting.

A few seconds later, Jaken opened his eyes, and was instantly happy to see his master.

"Jaken, thank goodness you're back!" Arisa said as he grabbed the little demon in her arms.

"H-hey! Let me go, Arisa!"

"What happened here?" Sesshomaru asked.

"It's terrible, milord. When I came to get your sword, Kaijinbo wasn't himself. He was calling it 'Tokijin', and then he just straight-up killed me with it…!"

His expression hardened.

"Is it possible...that you brought me back to life, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Who else is capable of that?"

Jaken's face brightened up. "N-no one, milord!"

He could admit saving Jaken, but couldn't when it was me? How bias...! Arisa thought, sulking.

Thanks to Sesshomaru's pro-tracking instincts, they were able to locate which way Kaijinbo went. However, they were stopped by a woman, who was holding a fan.

"Sesshomaru, right?" she casually greeted them, but he didn't answer her. Arisa examined the woman, and was shocked to find that she had the same aura as Naraku's, though it was weaker than his. But the shade was pretty much the same.

"Who are you, and what is your relationship with Naraku…?" Arisa suddenly asked, and the woman chuckled.

"Am I that obvious? My name is Kagura, but don't worry. I am not here to fight."

"Out with it." Sesshomaru flatly interrupted.

"Your Tokijin was held by Kaijinbo, but before he could even use it once more, the sword's demonic aura consumed him. It's still in the field right after this forest. Inuyasha and his friends are there as well."

Arisa grimaced. Oh no…I don't like the sound of this.

Sesshomaru simply went past Kagura after hearing what he had to hear.

"So it's waiting for its owner to come and get it." He replied a while later, as he set off to claim his sword. Arisa and Jaken meekly followed.

Still wary of her, Arisa continued to feel if she was about to do something offensive. But when she looked back, Kagura was already gone.

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