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Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or anything related to it. Rumiko Takahashi totally owns that role, and congratulations to her for reaching her 10th anniversary chapter! Way to go!

Author Note: Some of you may be wondering how I'm finding so much time to update... well, as you probably have guessed, I have a lot of time on my hands... scary, huh? Anyway, I have big plans in store for this in-coming story, with a lot of surprises coming up! Also... all of you who were wondering what happened to Inuyasha and his friends? All of your questions will be answered (I hope) in this chapter and the ones to come.
One more thing: If any of you have a hard time reading the text of the chapters, whether it be the bold issue or a different and strange font, let me know. I always like to experiment with the different fonts to see what it will look like on the site.
So, without further ado... on to the story! (does drum roll on desk)


Chapter 5 - An Unfamiliar World

As a recap...

"Sango, what the hell are you doing?" Inuyasha cried, as the young demon slayer lunged for him. But he could not dodge the sudden, unexpected movement in time; before he knew it, he was plummeting from Kirara and the ground all of a sudden did not seem so far away.

CRASH! With a loud smash, he smacked into the ground, all the breath knocked out of his lungs. He groaned, recovering quickly, the demon half of him pushing the pain away before it manifested into something irreversible. Eyes blinking constantly, he stared up at the silent, enigmatic taijiya. Her eyes revealed absolutely no emotion, or any feelings of any kind, as they met his own. At that moment, as the hanyou looked up at Sango, he realized something... she looked just like someone both he and her knew. But that was impossible! Naraku had nothing to do with Sango like he did with Kohaku! Didn't he...? But the way she looked at him like she was doing reminded him exactly of when he had seen Kohaku at the height of his absolute... robotic-ness behavior... being completely in control of Naraku, bound to his every word.

"Sango, what is wrong with you?" he yelled up at her. But whether she heard him or not, she gave no sign. Almost immediately, the two of them, her and Kirara, started to float away from the scene, and that purple funnel cloud was only getting closer to him.

"Wait, dammit!" he screamed, jumping up, but not doing it properly. Unstable under him, his legs felt like jelly and pushed him right back to the ground. The world swam before his eyes, as if he were underwater, looking above the surface at the sky, as it made everything above the water look all shimmery and out of place. That's how he felt now... and he did not like it.

"What is going... on?" he said to himself, the words coming out in a jumble, in a way that he himself could barely understand. The world did not look right at all; it was hazy and it seemed as if everything were covered by a light layer of yellowish fog.

Suddenly, he felt very sick. The earth spun and tilted and only helped to quicken the dizziness.

"Shit..." he mumbled. "My body... what's happening...?"

But the rest of his body would not respond to his plea. He felt himself sink downward... down... down... into deep blackness... blackness of the creature who had put him through his pain the first place...
Meanwhile...

"Miroku..." Shippou said softly, finally rousing from sleeping on Kagome-sama's chest; she still had not woken. "What is happening?"

The houshi had no plausible answer; he only stared at the young fox-demon and felt his eyes water with adoration and sorrow. After a moment, though, he did say, "Well, Shippou... I don't really know... but I know from the bottom of my heart that Kagome-sama will be okay." However, at the same time, also at the bottom of his heart, he couldn't help but wonder just a little.

"Also..." Shippou continued, wiping tears off his face with a flourish, refusing to look at Kagome-sama; Miroku did not need to ask, or even wonder, why. "Where is Inuyasha? I thought he was with us earlier."

As he ran with them, Miroku could not help but look behind him, but in the distance where he had left him, he could not locate the hanyou anywhere. "I'm sure he will be here, soon..." was all he said in response to Shippou's question.

What is happening? Miroku thought after a while. I mean... so much has occurred today, and it all seemed to have started when Kagome-sama sensed the Shikon Jewel. So much ill and misfortune befalls those who come in contact with the Jewel. Its power must be quelled at all costs! But how, though? As long as Naraku is after it, it will only gather more and more foul blood. What on earth can we do?

But like many other thoughts of his today, the monk could not seem to shake the feeling that the power of the Sacred Jewel would never be stopped completely.



Far away, in the cave where Naraku, Kanna, Kagura, Akago, Kohaku and Hakudoushi were residing, Naraku felt the first part of his plan go into motion.

Although they did not say anything, he knew the others felt it, too... although... his eyes lingered on Kohaku a split second longer than anyone else when he looked them all over.

"So, Naraku..." Kagura said, quite casually. "Just what exactly are we doing here?" As soon as she finished her question, she knew she would probably get punished; her remark was a touch smart, after all... or so it seemed. Naraku merely grinned.

His scarlet eyes met hers, and she did not flinch.

"Kagura... you will just have to wait and see, now, won't you?" That was all he said, and Kagura did not like it at all. It made her think he was... just a little suspicious of her, and of Kohaku, as well. She saw how his eyes paused on his for just a little longer than anyone else's his met just a few minutes ago.

"Okay," was all she said in response, and he looked away from her, still smiling, as if inwardly pleased with himself.

Now, Inuyasha... Naraku thought, when Kagura tore her eyes away from his, let's see how you survive... not to mention your companions... this may be the most diabolical scheme I have ever devised for you all... and I hope you enjoy it to its fullest extent...

He gave a soft laugh, and reached into an inner pocket of his robes, where he extracted, once again, the nearly completed Jewel.

This Jewel... this Shikon no Tama... is most definitely a dream-come-true...

Still snickering, he put the Jewel back into his clothes, handling it as carefully as if it were a very delicate piece of glass that could break at even the smallest amount of pressure applied to it.

Then... he waited... waited for his little game to begin. His every nerve pulsed with excitement; he knew he could not be stopped this time... he knew it for sure. Except...

His happiness faded for just a moment when he realized that there was still a way available for him to fail... and that person had better not fail, or else... they might meet the same fate that occurred those months ago. His grin returned, and this time... it stayed for a while.


What...the...hell... Those were just a few words that ran through Inuyasha's mind right now. He tried to get up, but it was as if someone had attached a pair of 2-ton weights to his legs while he was unconscious; he was not able to move them at all.

"Me, unconscious! How ridiculous!" he snapped to himself, feeling his voice getting groggier every time he tried to speak. But he knew, deep down, that he was not that invulnerable. He had, in fact, gotten unconscious many times before, and it was almost always the fault of Naraku that it happened. But it would not happen again today... no, sir!

His eyes had been closed this whole time, and he tried to open them now, but they felt as heavy as his legs did.

What in the world happened? he thought, and he could barely seem to be able to think, let alone speak.

He just lay there for a while, slowly feeling himself recover; it would take a little while, though... although he was half-demon, he was also half-human, so that would interfere in his healing. But, eventually, he would get better.

He tried to think of what had happened before he had passed out, but now it all seemed like a horrible nightmare; as much as he tried to remember it, the faster the details got away from him... almost like trying to keep something in your hand that just did not want to stay.

He thought there was a girl, but now he was not so sure. There had been other people, but the strange thing was... Naraku was the only one he did remember. But why? He knew there were other people involved... weren't there?


In their cave, far away from any of their foes... Naraku was very upset. He had been looking through Kanna's mirror. He could see where Inuyasha was... he always could, but that was not why he was upset. He was upset, because... Inuyasha remembered who he, Naraku, was.

"Damn that Inuyasha!" he suddenly raged, causing Kagura and Kohaku to flinch. Hakudoushi and Kanna just remained as irresolute as ever.

Kagura almost gasped, because if Naraku had seen Kohaku flinch like that (and it was quite a flinch, too), then he would know two things: one... he would know he was no longer under his control, and two... the boy could feel emotions again.

But he did not notice these things, because his anger was fixed on someone else... and it was this... and only this... that saved the young demon slayer.

"Curse him..." Naraku continued, hate pulsing through him. "The spell was not complete."

Clearly, he had spoken loud enough (he had, in fact, thought had had practically whispered it) for Kagura to hear his words, for she said, "What do you mean by that?"

Naraku whirled around, facing the wind sorceress once again, red eyes flashing, all traces of any previous smile vanished. In an instant, a pulsating, glowing red heart appeared in his hand. Kagura glanced at it, and that was all it took to fill her eyes with sudden fear. She backed away, went over to the nearest wall and sat by it, practically shaking with a mixture of fear and resentment.

Naraku smiled again, pleased. With a tiny squeeze, the heart disappeared from his hand, gone into whatever oblivion he sent it to for the time being; as long as he held her heart, Kagura could never be free, and she knew it.

Now that he had done it, he felt a kind of regret. It was not the kind of regret that one feels when one hurts someone close to them, as he had almost done (for Kagura was nowhere near a daughter to him). Instead, it was the kind that makes one feel that they did something too rashly, and that was just what his weakness was; he tended to do some things before he thought about them, and they usually ended up failing. He could think of numerous times that had occurred. One of the most notable times was when he had been born of Onigumo from all of those demons. The first time he had tried to take Kikyou as his woman (that, actually, was Onigumo's fault in the first place, because Naraku, comprised of the demons, only wished to kill the woman that had slain so many of them... in a simple word... revenge.) Things had not, of course, worked out to the demon spider's advantage, for he had been cast into a deep, dark place by Naraku after Kikyou took the Jewel of Four Souls with her into the afterlife... and after sealing that pathetic half-demon to the tree.

Thinking of Kikyou now made him seethe with anger all over again, because he should not have any feelings for that miko witch, anyway. So why now, after all this time... all this time, after discarding Onigumo's heart at Hakurei-zan... Dammit, this should not be!

He was so stressed that he almost forgot about his other offspring/minion in the cave, and turned around to look at them now, eyes roving over each face in turn, passing right over Kohaku's this time; if the boy intended to betray him, he would make sure that he did not know it until it was too late.

Gathering himself, he now said, "Come, all of you... it begins. We've got a lot ahead of us, now, and I don't want any of you to fail me. For you should know the consequences if you do."

Devoid and completely expressionless, Kanna merely looked at him, holding Akago, until she nodded once, softly and almost not even noticeable; Hakudoushi glanced at him once from inside his barrier, where he floated, hung suspended in the air, looking always like an inanimate rag doll, and he then nodded once, like Kanna did; Kagura merely continued to stare at the wall she had sat by, moving not a muscle; Kohaku was sitting on the floor a few feet away from Kagura, his head lowered and his body perfectly still. All the while Naraku was talking, his mind was filled with just one thought, and one feeling. He missed his sister.

Aneue, he thought sadly. He wondered if they ever would be reunited again.


"Kohaku?" Sango said the name very softly, as if she had actually heard him speak, even though they were miles away from each other.

No, a voice commanded inside her head. You must not think of him; he is lost to you, remember?

Pain ripped through her head all of a sudden; the feeling was so immediate and overbearing that she almost toppled off of Kirara, but the faithful pet caught her before she did. Kirara did not quite understand what was going on, but she knew she had to wait it out to see.

Sango clutched her head, moaning. Emotions waved through her mind, and each time she tried to think of something related to her friends, brother or family, that horrible voice blocked it out.

Not yet, Sango-chan, that voice whispered. We have lots of work to do before you see them again... if you see them again. It uttered a dry laugh, causing the taijiya to almost fall of Kirara again. Abruptly, the pain lessened, until it hurt no more than a minor headache.

When she straightened up, her mind was clear; she knew what to do, now.

Now, Sango... let's go. Go to make all of your wishes come true in an instant. Are you ready? Then follow my words, and heed them well... And Sango listened.


"Where the hell am I?" Inuyasha asked himself. He was finally able to rise, albeit slowly, and was now walking along.

The world did not look familiar at all to him; either he had really been knocked out by that fall, or he was thrown into some weird parallel universe.

Right now, he was in some sort of forest; at least, that was what it looked like to him. Huge, towering evergreen trees surrounded him, bushes of every kind and color flourished on the forest floor, and birds sang in the trees. It was like a perfect picture of paradise. But it couldn't be paradise... could it?

Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him; a kind of rustling, like a cloak trailing over dead leaves on the ground. Without thinking, he drew his sword. With a yellow flash of brilliance, the true form of Tessaiga came forth from its sheathe. He stared at it.

Wow! he thought, marveling over how awesome-looking the sword was. I didn't know I had such a cool sword!

Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind him, and it helped to unlock one part of his fragmented memory.

"Why, if it isn't the widdle puppy dog from that day!" The voice sounded like a little girl's, exaggerated and annoying to him. All of a sudden, he knew all too well who that voice belonged to, but what was she doing in a strange world like this?

"I know... who you are..." he said, his voice coming out forced, as if he did not use it much.

The response was silence, but he knew who it was.

Yura of the Hair stood behind him.


TBC!

Oh no! What happened? What's going on??
Find out in the next chapter!

CLIFFHANGERS GALORE: I LOVE IT!!
snickers about cliffhangers

See ya'll later! (no I'm not southern)