"KAORU-DONO! INUYASHA!"

"Yahiko!"

Both fighters watched the beams, though the bright light made it hard to see. A wind whipped around in the area as result of the attack. There was a small type of explosion as the beams hit something big. Kenshin felt his heart stop and clench painfully. Feeling his body numb and blood roar in his ears, he fell to his knees unknowingly, breaths nearly coming in pants. "Kaoru...not again..." Red swished around his eyes as his head shook in disbelief.

Sano felt sorrow for his male counterpart and losing two fine people. Also one hell of a fighter. A wrapped hand dumbly rested on a magenta shoulder, trying to offer his condolences in the only way he could.

There was an almost unrecognizable dirt-covered lump that came into view when the attack sped by and finally dissipated. It looked rather large, like the size of a boulder. Kenshin felt like he was going to be sick. Violet shuttered closed as he tried not to lose it. Both hands clenched. "Kaoru..." He whispered, tears gathering behind squeezed lids.

The silence was so thick and tense...until the youkai broke it. "Did I hit them? Are they finally dead?"

Eyes snapped open, deep amber in color, as red whipped around and pinned the youkai with a death glare. In a dangerously calm fashion, Kenshin picked up the fallen sakabatou the normal way he held it. Then flipped the edge over to the less used side. "Kisama..." He hissed, taking an ominous step forward. The sword brandished in front of that scarred face. "You'll pay for that...with your life."

The youkai sneered, undaunted by the murder in those eyes. "You vowed not to kill. You won't kill me."

"Oh no?" The sharp edge gleamed in the moonlight. "You took the only thing I had worth living for. Revenge has been outlawed, but there are no witnesses to stop me." Yellow narrowed to slits as Kenshin sheathed the sakabatou and crouched into a Battoujistu stance.

"Kenshin!" Sano cried out. "Don't do it! Kaoru wouldn't want you to be a hitokiri again!"

But Kaoru was dead and she wouldn't be able to stop him. Inuyasha was also caught in the onslaught of his own attack and joined them. So this youkai was as good as useless to keep alive. "I don't care." He grit out, hand hovering over the hilt.

Sano blinked in surprise. Kenshin not caring about being a hitokiri again? The hand that shot out in desperation, as if to stop his friend, dumbly floated back to his side as Sanosuke stood helpless. He couldn't stop Kenshin, not physically anyway. There was nothing he could do. If only Kaoru hadn't taken that blast.

The youkai glared across the battlefield. "Try your worst. You won't get far. None of you have fully killed me yet!"

"Your hands are your weak point. Strike those and you're life is over. You underestimate all of us and that will cost you your life." The hand over the hilt twitched.... There was a tiny shifting behind the three...barely recognizable if the rocks on top of the mass hadn't fallen to the dirt. Kenshin rapidly spun, eyes wide and full of hope. Teeth gnashed at his lip as his sword hand dropped to his side.

"It can't be!" The youkai angrily shouted. "That blast hit you dead on!"

The hope in both redhead and brunette's hearts soared at those words. Relief hit Kenshin in waves. Again, there was a roaring of his heartbeat in his ears. More tears, ones of gratitude, filled his eyes as they squeezed shut to hide them. After a few seconds, they opened and were of violet origin again.

"Ugh..."

Blue fluttered open, wondering if she was in heaven or hell. "N - nani..."

"Daijoubu...Kag - Karou?"

Kaoru blinked to clear her vision and found Inuyasha's face almost touching hers. She would've slapped him good for that, and for touching her so intimately, if not for a few things. Those gold eyes were incredibly pain-laced. And Inuyasha just jumped in front and shielded her entire body from that blast! "Don't worry about me! What about you??"

Hearing worry in her voice, Inuyasha's arms loosened through the screaming of his muscles. She was okay...Kagome - no KAORU - was okay. Inuyasha fell backwards onto the dirt, making Yahiko tumble out of the cocoon. The boy groaned and stirred a little, but still didn't seem conscious.

"Yahiko! Inuyasha!"

"Kaoru-dono!"

Blue snapped up from looking at Inuyasha in continuing shock, hearing the relief and worry in Kenshin's tone. Both fighters stopped and Sanosuke first made sure Yahiko was still alive before his hands floated to the red robes. They were highly splotched with blood, but still intact.

"How this guy isn't in a million pieces from his own attack is beyond me." Sanosuke breathed, looking on in a daze. Finally, hands pulled the haori open, finding the inner kimono blood splattered and getting redder quite rapidly.

Kenshin ignored the demon for a brief second, eyes avidly looking to Kaoru's body for any apparent wounds. "Karou-dono...are you alright? Answer me please!"

Thoughtlessly, Kaoru's quivering hands latched onto Kenshin's and squeezed for reassurance. "I'm shaken, but unhurt." Blue floated to the downed fighter. "He took the entire blast...shielded us both from view...but he's still alive."

Kenshin was even more relieved in knowing Kaoru seemed to possess all her senses. If there was any immediate way he knew of, he would pay back Inuyasha tenfold right now. His hands suddenly unlocked from hers and cupped her face, getting shocked blue. "Kaoru...I thought you...I thought that...you had...in that blast..." His vision swam again and violet squeezed shut. "I thought I'd...lost you again."

Kaoru's eyes also filled with tears as a calloused hand rose and touched Kenshin's cheek. "Please don't worry anymore Kenshin... I'm alright... Really." A genuine smile touched his lips as a thumb stroked soft skin...as if to keep reassuring himself of that.

"As much as I hate to interrupt...we still have the matter of taking this guy down and getting Inuyasha home."

The two almost rapidly pulled away, forgetting entirely about the outside world, and blushed bright red. Kenshin used the youkai as a distraction, glaring another murderous intent across the way. Mentally, he thanked Inuyasha even more for not having to turn back into what he once was. Those words spoken in the heat of anger were true. Without Kaoru...he DIDN'T care if he killed. He suddenly stood. "Sano, Kaoru-dono...take care of Inuyasha and Yahiko. I'll keep this thing from running off or trying anything else."

"Kenshin -" Kaoru stopped when chipped violet met her eyes and merely gave a timid nod.

Sanosuke watched for a split second as Kenshin's zouri slapped away before taking his jacket off. Hands went to the bandages at his waist and undid the knots. "Since this is all we have...I'll have to be indecent for a while."

Kaoru gave an odd look, but looked to the hanyou. Sano already pulled open part of the robes and she could see the edge of a thin gash trailing off the tip of his shoulder and felt incredibly guilty. Inuyasha was right actually...she was rather worthless in a battle of this magnitude. But! She would do her best to bandage him up and help in any way she could.

"Turn him over jou-chan and I'll get him propped up enough so you can bandage him."

"Eh??" Blue flattened as a flush filled her face. TOUCH Inuyasha? Would he want that? She didn't want to be rude or inappropriate...but drastic times called for drastic, or brash, measures. Slim hands reached down and gripped Inuyasha's sides, trying not to hurt him too badly. He groaned a little and those teeth bared in a pained grimace, but he remained unresponsive otherwise.

Sano's ears perked up as he quickly tried to unravel the bandages on his hands. None of them were sterile, but they were better than nothing and keep Inuyasha from bleeding as bad. The air hit his knuckles and it felt weird, but he bypassed it and reached down. Scarred, calloused hands gripped the red cloth and tugged as gently as possible upward. In the wake, a small pool of blood remained...the back of the haori an even darker red than before.

Kaoru gasped and Sanosuke darkly swore. "Kaoru!" He barked, quickly slipping his arms underneath the haori and against Inuyasha's skin.

With a solemn look, she pulled the tops apart and slid them down to his elbows. The once white kimono was now almost black with as dark a red from the blood and the wounds oozed faster from being unobstructed. Teeth bit her lip as hands fumbled with the bandages. This was just like wrapping what she always put around her chest, just like what she currently wore. His back was quickly becoming entirely black and blue. There were long cuts against his skin, blending in with white scars that also adorned that muscled back. Kaoru wondered where the plethora of others came from as she used a small set of bandages to wipe the blood away. As quickly as possible, she used the remainder for covering and tied it as best as possible in the front. "That's about all we can do for him. If he heals, like after the fight you had this afternoon, we can only hope he pulls out of this."

"Then you watch him. I'm going to help Kenshin." The sounds of Kenshin's attacks and him running around easily reached their ears, but until now nothing could be done. With Inuyasha in good hands, Sano had nothing else to do. Without other warning, Sanosuke stood and rushed off to burn some anger and frustration in a good fight.

Kaoru started, but turned back to her charge. It was strange to see a peaceful, albeit slightly pained, face on the demon. All day, there was anger and irritation there. Now it was non-existent. With nothing to do to help him, her attention went to Yahiko. "Oi...Yahiko. Come on student - wake up!" Another groan sounded and gave her hope. A hand reached out and gently slapped the boy on the cheek. "Come on Yahiko...don't disappoint me as my successor..."

After a few more slaps, a hand sluggishly rose and grabbed her fingers. Brown fluttered open and blinked as Yahiko tried to sit up. "What...happened?"

Kaoru helped Yahiko sit up and steady himself. "I'll have to tell you all about it later."

Brown widened. "Inuyasha! What happened?" A battle cry from ahead gained the boy's attention and brown stared at the two working rather well together and holding their own against the demon. "Kenshin and Sanosuke! What -"

A hand on his shoulder stopped the questions. "They can handle that thing. You need to help me watch after Inuyasha."

"What happened to Inuyasha?"

Kaoru's face was grim as she stared at those closed eyes. "You know how he can make those light beams with his hand? Well...it seems his sword can do the same as well."

Yahiko stared, blinked a few times...and his mouth dropped open. "What??!"

A whisper of a growl came their way as red shifted. "You...yell loud enough...to wake the entire neighborhood...Shippou..."

The two blinked, but Kaoru shifted closer and grabbed a clawed hand. "Inuyasha...Inuyasha, can you hear me?"

There was a wordless groan and gold fluttered a bit before slitting open. "I - itai...temee."

Kaoru heaved a sigh and smiled. "He's okay. That stubborn, foul mouth is still there." She bent over a little further so Inuyasha wouldn't have to strain to see them. "Inuyasha...has your body started healing already? You need to tell me what to do so I can help."

Inuyasha's eyes closed and with a harsh blink, opened a little wider. A bemused look appeared when he looked into a female face. "K - Ka..."

"What Inuyasha?"

"Kagome?"

Kaoru's brow twitched. "Stop comparing me to that girl you keep mentioning!" A hand arched out and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Fuck!" A jolt of pain went through him and he sat up on reflex to get away from it, only to have something ten times worse hit him.

"Ah! Gomen Inuyasha! I wasn't thinking!"

Gold squeezed shut as he dealt with the pain. Fangs bared as his face screwed tight. When it lessened enough to stop roaring in his ears, the sounds of battle came to him and white swished. "They...the youkai is -" Inuyasha stared, a little stunned, at seeing the two doing rather well without him. He scowled. "Tessaiga...where's my sword?"

The two looked around, but Yahiko spotted it first. "There!" He pointed, struggling to get to his feet.

"Yahiko! You -"

A tiny hand waved off Kaoru's concern. "I'm good enough. I'm tired of sitting around like a baby!" Yahiko hurried as much as possible and gripped the frayed hilt, staring in disbelief that Inuyasha owned such a rusted, broken sword. When he stuck the edge in the ground for the demon to take, he met gold. "How did you manage to do ANYTHING with such a piece of crap?"

"YAHI -"

"I'll show you kid." A clawed hand wrapped around the hilt and he used that to help him stand. An arm wrapped around his stomach as the pain seared through him. He went about ignoring it and effortlessly pulled the sword from the dirt. He held it in the air and with a thought, the sword flashed and transformed to the counterpart it was supposed to be. Both stared in wonder, even though Kaoru had already seen it once.

"Wow!" Yahiko cried out. He touched the blade, finding it real. "What ELSE do you have? You fit that thing in such a normal-looking sheath? Not possible! You really ARE magical, aren't you?"

Gold pinned the two with a serious look. "I want you two to get to the building area and NOT come back until the battle is over! I don't care what you hear or think...don't come back here!"

Kaoru complied, even if Yahiko wanted to stay to help and or watch. Inuyasha saved both their lives and she'd do whatever he asked right now. "Gonbatte Inuyasha. Arigatou." A hand grabbed the back of Yahiko's kimono and started dragging him away, not needing Inuyasha's reply.

He turned to the fight, looking for an opening, and nearly doubled over from his injuries. "Come on...you got through the same Kaze no kizu hit before. This is just from the back and not the front this time. He shrugged the tops back on and situated them, finding they didn't irritate the makeshift bandages too much. The others did a good enough job patching him up. Now he had to get in there and help before he was in their debt. A single jump took him in the battle range and all three stopped.

"Inuyasha?!"

"No! You're too wounded to -"

Tessaiga went in front and he gripped it with both hands. "Your 'fun' ends now." Bakuryruuha wouldn't work and he was now too wounded to move around as he wanted. But...to do this...he had to sacrifice. He would just have to seriously suck it up. "Out of my way you two!" Both obediently jumped backwards as a clawed hand shoved into his haori. It touched the back of his robe and squeezed, getting blood all over his fingers. "Let's see if you can dodge or stop ALL of these..." Tessaiga was sliced into the ground, its shape holding, as both hands tensed. "Hijin Kessou! Sankon Tessou!"

"Stupid hanyou! It won't work!" The youkai froze both attacks before they reached him, but tessaiga was already being slammed toward the ground.

"Kaze no kizu!" As the attack roared toward the others, Inuyasha jumped out of the way and circled around while the youkai was busy.

There was an unexpected reaction to all three kinds of 'magic'. The Kaze no kizu hit the other two attacks before being stopped and a burst of light hit as they exploded. Nothing was damaged except everyone's eyes...also effectively blinding the youkai who was at blank range. That strange twist helped more than he thought, and a final jump brought him behind the youkai. Tessaiga shot out, impaling the weak body as a free hand gripped one of the hands and dug his nails into flesh. The feel of the shikon no kakera's power hit him in a wave and overloaded a lot of the pain. A nail touched part of the shard and he smirked. "Got you now youkai. Now...take us back home."

The youkai struggled to pull its hand away, but only got pain for its efforts. "I need houshi and miko magic to do that!"

Gold narrowed. He figured that...but this was worth a shot. He was banking everything on this one bluff. It HAD to work! He didn't want to be away from the others like this...not to mention out of his time and depth! "You are a JIKAN youkai...if you can freeze time around people and their damn organs and rewind time, what makes me think you can't rewind us all the way back hundreds of years? You have TWO shikon no kakera...don't give me that shit about being unable!"

Cold eyes narrowed as the two demons met eyes. "You have to take that damn sword out of me hanyou! I need all my strength to go back that far!"

He snorted. "How stupid do you think I AM?! You'll leave me here! Shit, you were probably planning on doing that once you knew what time you were in and healed enough!"

The youkai mentally cursed, but didn't disagree. "I need both hands to do so."

Inuyasha scoffed. "So you can twist the magic? Don't think so."

"I do! Baka hanyou...if you want to go back to our normal time, you have to let go of my hand! I need the concentrated power to focus and see if I can do this in one jump!"

He paused and thought. He didn't trust the youkai any faster than it took to cut him up with his Kaze no Kizu. He's rather kill the youkai before letting it get any kind of free reign. Teeth clenched. Yet again, he had no choice here. He didn't know how the powers worked, or how many jumps it would take for them to get back to their correct time, in the correct day. He was hoping against hope. Miroku and Kagome sent them here, and he didn't know how much their powers affected with the youkai. It could already send attacks back to the direction they were sent...if it tried hard enough...perhaps it could skip even more time. He prayed to gods that he was right.

"You'd better take us back to right where we ended up..." He growled, shoving tessaiga forward a bit. A pained, angry cry sounded before its hands went together. Instead of holding the hilt of his sword, the bloody claw wrapped around its thin neck and gave a warning squeeze. "Just so you don't get any bright ideas..." He added, nails pricking skin.

The two watched the scene and ran as close as they dared. "Inuyasha?"

Gold snapped to attention. He flashed a smirk to the two fighters in thanks for their help.

Neither Kenshin nor Sano were able to find words sufficient to say goodbye, or ask what was going on. They heard the whole thing apparently, so it was rather obvious the situation, but the doubts were still there. So what did they do now?

"Is this going to work??"

"It has to Sano." Kenshin muttered, watching in fascination as a pink hue came from bony hands. The entire hand area was outlined in pink, gradually spreading up the arms. As it started on Inuyasha, the hands disappeared as a small ball grew in size.

Gold squinted as the light hurt his eyes. By now he was entirely pink and it affected the colors of his vision. The ball nearly covered the shorter youkai and he could feel the immense power coming from it.

Kenshin took a small step forward. A friendly look was on his face. "Sayonara Inuyasha. I'll never be able to repay you for saving Kaoru-dono now."

Inuyasha looked put out, but smirked. "Just keep that damn onna out of trouble and I'll be happy." He retorted. The ball started up his arm.

"See ya Inuyasha. Thanks for the fight!" Sano added, giving a cocky grin.

"Keh! You didn't win so don't think you did!" He called. "I'd beat you again if I had a chance!"

Sano's arms crossed in an arrogant stance. "Try it demon...you won't beat Sagara Sanosuke!"

The light covered his eyes and everything from view as the power shot through his senses. The color seemed to remain for a while and Inuyasha could feel the youkai struggling to find their era and hone on the exact date. When it finally located it, having taken what seemed forever, the pink exploded in front of him and all was black.

----

With as much time as the light took to spread and cover both demons, it disappeared with opposite speed. Brown and violet watched as the large, human-size ball suddenly shrunk to a small glow...then faded from existence. Then all was quiet again.

Kenshin looked around at the battlefield. It was thankfully the edge of town and nowhere near a road or river - just dirt, rocky area that had yet to be built over. The only indication that Inuyasha was ever in this time were the furrows in the ground.

"He didn't even say thanks for our help." Sano muttered, hands going in his pockets.

Kenshin's mouth quirked as he started around the gashes for the houses. He'd seen the others take off, finally getting to safety, during the fight and was glad Inuyasha told them to hide. Hands went in his sleeves and he watched Sano pluck a leaf off a lone tree in passing and stick the stem in his mouth. "Such a strange occurrence. Never in my life have I had such a thing happen."

"Even more than the wars? More than planting roots in Tokyo? More than all our battles?"

Kenshin's head shook with a grin at Sano's playfulness. He was distracted from inner musings as Yahiko and Kaoru ran from behind a shed.

"So? What's going on now? What was that light? Where's Inuyasha?" Yahiko demanded, stopping in front of Kenshin.

An almost sad smile tipped his lips as a hand idly plopped on Yahiko's shaggy head. "Gone." He muttered. "We should head back...dawn will be here soon and we've had a long night."

Kaoru looked to the ground. "We didn't even get to say goodbye." She mumbled. He was a whirlwind in their lives and now it was back to its normal routine.

Kenshin gave her a soft look. "It's alright Kaoru-dono. Everything turned out okay in the end." As the two walked, Sano and Yahiko got a little ways away and Kenshin took that prime opportunity for a bit of privacy to move his hand closer to Kaoru's. Their fingers brushed together as he waited for her to take his hand. His heart skipped a beat when she did and squeezed. "I really am glad you're alright Kaoru-dono, that I am." He whispered, love shining in his eyes.

A blush stained her face, but Kaoru reciprocated the love in her smile and walked a little closer. "I'm sorry to make you worry Kenshin. I never want to make you worry like that."

There was the smallest bit of silences as the two looked at each other before Yahiko thoughtlessly broke it. "Oi! Knock that mushy stuff off buzu, you'll make me sick!"

"Stop calling me that, you brat!" A vein popped on her forehead and Kaoru immediately took off after the youth. Kenshin smiled and let go of her hand, letting her chase the boy and distract herself. "Come back here Yahiko!"

"Buzu, nyaaaaahhh!!"

----

A campfire crackled in the dusk, the dark starting to lighten into dawn. A sigh went through the camp, probably the dozenth in the past hour.

"Kagome-chan...it'll be okay. Really...Inuyasha will find his way back to us."

Kagome sent a weak smile to Sango, but went back to solemnly looking at the fire. It'd been a whole day and no sign of the hanyou. They waited at the battlefield with nowhere else to go, hoping the pair would show right back up in the same manner they disappeared. All wounds had been tended to and they spent the whole day resting and recuperating. There was nothing else to do really. Miroku-sama tried to do a meditation to see if he could find them, thinking they'd only relocated, but gave up after a few hours. He said he couldn't sense either energy and wondered exactly what happened to them.

Elbows went to her knees as hands propped up a tired head. She was worried beyond belief and if she saw Inuyasha again she was going to give him a piece of her mind! Why did he always make her worry like this?!

The sun rose a little bit before there was a sudden, bright flash that gained everybody's attention. It was within eyesight, but distant.

"Kirara!" Sano called. The neko youkai nodded and switched to her large form seconds before everyone scrambled on. A single jump took everyone in the air and Kirara sped forward.

The light was still there when they dismounted and they stared. "Shikon no kakera..." Kagome muttered, the feel of that familiar power going through her body.

"I sense two energies in that ball." Miroku muttered, staff in front of him. Next to Miroku, Sango's hand went to hiraikotsu on her back.

Brown widened as teeth bit her lip. There were two shards in that ball! And she felt Inuyasha's energy! "Inuyasha!" The pink faded as quickly as it appeared; leaving both hanyou and youkai in the same pose they were in when they began time traveling. Everyone blinked in shock and gaped.

"I TOLD you youkai..."

"So I transported you! Now let me free as payment for bringing you back!"

Gold narrowed as the power left. Pain replaced and his teeth grit against it. "You were going to leave me there temee...and those shards are ours!" Claws squeezed and broke the youkai's neck. Tessaiga was yanked from its torso. The youkai flopped to the dirt and the sword went into the ground as a support. "Kagome...the shikon no kakera! Hurry!"

Kagome startled, but ran forward. "They're underneath the skin - I can't get to them!" She cried, seeing the body start to twitch. She face vaulted and scooted back a few inches.

"Let me." Sango announced, stopping next to her friend. Her wakizashi extended and easily sliced lines through both palms and chipped out the shards.

Kagome picked them both up and the youkai's cry shriveled as its body turned to dust. "Yokatta." The group looked to Inuyasha as he fell on one knee. "Inuyasha?!"

The trip, the battle, and his injuries were getting the better of him and he couldn't stop them. Both ears turned forward to catch Kagome's voice-having missed it greatly-as he fell. "Kagome..."

"Inuyasha!" Brown widened in horror as her beloved hanyou flopped to the ground, face hidden from view. Tetsusaiga transformed to its counterpart as well. "Inuyasha!!"

-----

When he awoke, the day was full and the sun high in the sky. Noon... He blinked and a hand moved to the ground to push him up. His strength was a little better than before and he used an elbow to keep him propped up and look around. A quick sniff confirmed everything. Everyone's scents were nearby and the cleaner smell of land accompanied them. He was back in his own time. A genuine smile appeared as he struggled to fully sit up. "Yokatta." He breathed.

"Ah! Inuyasha don't move! You're still hurt."

Hands touched his chest to push him down and he went willingly, knowing whom they belonged to. Without thought, a hand covered one of Kagome's, getting a shocked look and flush. "Kagome." The resemblance to Kaoru was still there, but fading as he spotted more facial differences. He looked at her face and mentally pointed them out, though he tucked away every person in his mind. Three hundred years was a long way to be flung into and it was so odd that he was there. The experience was so new and different, but still more so than going to Kagome's time, and he would keep it in his head for a very long time.

"Inuyasha?" Brown narrowed in confusion as Kagome tried to get her hand back. Inuyasha didn't try to stop her and she sat back and stared with a confused expression. It soon turned irritated and worried seconds before a hand hauled out and slapped his shoulder. "Baka! You made me worry so much! Where were you?! What HAPPENED?"

"ITAI!" A fierce growl appeared as Inuyasha glared into brown, getting a concerned glare in return. "Damn bitch..." He threatened.

Fists rested in her lap. "You two disappeared for almost two whole days! Then you return injured with the youkai in your grasp! What happened?"

Inuyasha lay back and stared at the sky. He briefly wondered what the others were doing this very minute. "Thanks to you and that bouzu's magic, it fucked with the youkai's powers and the shikon no kakera and flung us into a different era!" His head turned and sent a scowl over.

Kagome leaned forward. "Eh? Miroku-sama said you two were gone from this world...you traveled through time? Why didn't you use the well to get back?"

He blinked. He hadn't thought of that. "Keh! You expect me to let the shikon no kakera escape?" He retorted. "Not to mention I had a youkai to beat." He totally forgot about the well! He wondered if, being so far in the future, if Kagome's shrine was built then. Would he've been able to get access to the well if that was the case? Raven brows furrowed in wonder. Would it even take him back? He never tried and the well always brought him directly to Kagome's time. And it never took Kagome into any other time other than this one.

"What era did you travel to Inuyasha?"

His head tilted back and eyes widened at finding everyone else sitting just out of arm reach. And they just witnessed his little 'moment' with Kagome? Oh shit. Gold narrowed as he glared at Miroku and bypassed the question. "What the fuck are you doing back there bouzu??" He grumbled.

Miroku only smiled and shifted in his sitting stance. "Kagome-sama wanted to tend to you, so we decided to watch the campfire. Sango and I merely turned around to talk to you when you woke up."

The sound of fire crackling behind them met his ears, but he wasn't convinced. The conspirator look on their faces - like a bunch of snoops - gave them away. Those damn smiles... He growled. "Sure you lech. I'm surprised you're even sitting so close to Sango and have no handprint on your face yet!"

Miroku sniffed indignantly. "Houshi DESU." He insisted, scowling.

Sango smirked and reached her arm around and behind. She pulled into view hiraikotstu. "He knows the routine." She replied, sending a warning look to dark eyes.

Miroku sighed, but recovered as if his dignity was never cut down and looked back to Inuyasha. "So...what era did you travel to?"

He looked back to the sky. "Meiji."

"Never heard of it."

Kagome's eyes widened. "What?!" She breathed, mouth dropping. Inuyasha looked at her and nodded, seeing the same look as earlier on the other's faces when he told them what time he was from. Apparently Kagome knew of the timelines. "That...but that's...hundreds of years! That...how could -"

"Like I said...you and the bouzu fucked everything up." He retorted, scowling.

Kagome glared, wanting to sit him if he wasn't already lying on the ground and injured. She wasn't that petty to reopen his wounds. "So how did you get the youkai to where we found you? And how did you get so beat up?"

He glowered at the sky for a spell. "Stupid onna and that damn brat...if they hadn't come with us - like I SAID - then I wouldn't have had to block my own kaze no kizu." There was a lot of confused, lost blinking as the others tried to process that.

"So, you managed to recruit people of that time..." Kagome persisted. "Did you catch any names?" She wondered if she'd know any.

"A short guy named Kenshin whose sickening cheerfulness reminded me of Miroku; a fighter Sagara Sanosuke who reminded me of that fucking ookami; a female doctor Megumi; an onna Kaoru who reminded me of - of your emotional swings; and a brat Yahiko who reminded me of Souta."

Kagome blinked and avoided taking the bait about that comparison. "Souta?"

"He wouldn't stop bugging me and asking questions."

"My brother isn't that nosy!"

"No! It's just YOU!"

Kagome matched Inuyasha's glare and didn't look away until something registered. "Yu said Kenshin? Was his myouji Himura?"

"He never mentioned it, how should I know?? All I know was he was pretty good with a sword for a human and had red hair."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat. "Did he...have a scar on his left cheek?!"

He sent an odd look, wondering what she was freaking out about this time, but nodded. "Yea...weirdest damn thing I ever saw. He sure didn't act very serious for a swordsman."

If she was standing, she would've fallen over from shock! Inuyasha met the famous Himura Kenshin?! Her hand reached out and grasped Inuyasha's. "You met Himura Kenshin?!" She gave his claw a shake in her exuberance, as if shaking it. "I can't believe you met Himura-sama! You're so lucky...why can't I ever meet any famous people from past eras?"

Gold blinked and he tugged his hand back, a little uneasy about yet another emotional swing. "What's the big deal? That guy dressed like a weirdo and looked like a woman!"

Another hand hauled off and slapped his shoulder, getting another pained yelp. "Baka! The Himura-sama you met helped shape the Meiji era that ended up changing the rest of the timeline! He was in a group that fought against the Tokugowa government and dismantled the daimyo! It's in all my history books!"

"Never heard of any of it." He mumbled, ears flipping back.

She huffed and sat back. "Of course you wouldn't...that's almost four hundred years ahead of this time. Baka."

He scowled and sat up, getting tired of lying prostrate like a baby. "So, have you been waiting around here this whole time?"

"What else were we to do Inuyasha? Leave you and have no clue when or where you'd come back?" Sango spoke up.

He turned to face the group and went to put his robes back on. "Keh...I could've returned in an entirely different part for all I knew. That youkai was a massive pain in the ass!"

Kagome smiled as the group quieted and leaned back. Her head shook as if to dissipate it all. This had to be the strangest adventure yet. "You returned safe and sound...well, relatively." Her smile widened. "Okaeri."

His gaze softened a little as they locked eyes, but he snorted and finally looked away.

I am a BEGINNER Japanese learner...so if these are not 100 correct...please let me know if you care to do so. I only have a web page to learn from, a dictionary, and a few months experience to work with.

Translations: Battoujitsu (Explanation on site given in ch 5) Hitokiri-Assassin/manslayer Itai-That hurts Gomen-(I'm) sorry Gonbatte-Good luck/Work hard

Hijin Kessou-Flying blade blood claws Bakuryuuha-IY's ultimate technique Wakizashi-Short katana Houshi DESU-I AM A monk Myouji-Last name/given name Okaeri-Welcome back/home

n.n ::gives satisfied sigh:: Ah...drama, action, romance, humor, angst...and all IC too! I hope everyone liked those little fluffy bits with K/K and K/IY...I know I did.

I did a few explanations to questions or general wonderings sent to me about the others and the well. I put down the same thing IY was thinking of in regards to that, trying to keep it as logical as possible. The well hasn't been used as a general transport system yet, so I wasn't going to start using it as such. (Not to mention I'd want to find the 'location' of it in Tokyo so it would be correct in Meiji.) As far as the youkai just up and sending them back, I think it could do it on its own with the power of the shards, but the spiritual magic from Kagome and Miroku-sama kind of activated it on their own and did it without the youkai realizing it could do that yet. That's my excuse anyway. I had a hard time trying to write that so it wasn't so weak-plot and didn't grind the action to a complete halt. It was a pain trying to make it flow the way I wanted.

Thanks for reading! Glad you liked and hope you like my other stories! n.n