AN: Decided to try and rework this. I love my idea and I want to see it completed, even if I don't know how it will end. More AN at the bottom.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone from Naruto or Inuyasha. Anything that pertains to them belongs to their respective creators.

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The Sealing

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Torch light bathed the cavern in a soft glow, guiding a group through its twisting paths. The light footsteps of the party echoed sharply in the empty vastness, only disrupted by the occasional dripping of water off of stalactites into a nearby underground pond.

One of the party paused to survey the area in front of a wooden shrine on the far side of the pond, more torches giving it a foreboding air. His hair swung back and forth as he looked from side to side, his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, ready to draw at a moments notice. His ears were flat on his head as he growled, "Are you sure this is a secure place, monk?" At a slight jingle, the swordsman turned to one of his companions.

A man in purple robes looked affronted before replying, "Honestly. After all of these years, couldn't you put your faith in me?" he asked with a dramatic pout on his face, stamping the ground with his staff in mock irritation, the rings from it jingling as though to emphasize his point.

Disturbed at the act, the swordsman consented and turned away. The youngest of the party laughed at the brotherly act before commenting, "Well I for one think this is a great hiding place for it. It's so deep in the cavern, there's no way any human would be able to find it. There's also all of the sutras and barriers you've set up," he said addressing the one in purple, "not to mention all of the trouble the villagers went to towards building the shrine. Besides," he finished looking downcast, "who will remember the Shikon no Tama once the demons are all gone?"

"He's right, you know," commented the last of the party as he shook out his legs. "Once we're gone, the humans will slowly start to see the jewel as legend as they did before. If anything, it will become another bed time story to scare little kids," he finished weakly as he heard his sword-wielding companion growl again.

"It's not…it's not the jewel that concerns me," he tempered off as he turned toward his youngest companion, worry and trepidation clearly showing in his eyes despite the dim lighting.

The youngest smiled softly, his hands behind his back, both eyes on his father figure while his mind thought of his late mother as he said solemly, "She died to protect the jewel. Her memory is connected with the jewel. As the jewel is forgotten, so will she be forgotten. The time of demons is coming to an end. I think this a fitting way to spend the rest of my eternity by protecting her memory. Wouldn't you agree," he asked lightly to the rest of his makeshift family.

The swordsman smiled as he approached his son, now able to look him eye to eye without crouching. "You sure have grown from that yelping pup you once were. When did you do that," he asked lightly as he ruffled the young one's red hair, messing it from its tie.

The redhead smirked and answered, "When you were busy with your ramen."

"Keh."

Suddenly, the last of their party paused from stretching his legs, causing the others to turn towards him. "They're coming this way. My pack won't be able to hold them off for long. We still have to get to our destinations as well," he declared as he addressed the swordsman and monk.

"In that case," the redhead exclaimed as he turned towards the one in purple robes, "what do you need me to do?"

The monk took a long look at the young man, his nephew in all but blood, before drawing him into a hug. Startled, the redhead returned it. Parting, the monk walked into the shrine, the redhead following. Pausing at the door, the redhead looked back over his shoulder towards his father figure and second uncle. Giving a smile and a little wave, he entered the shrine.

Several minutes pass before the monk emerges from the shrine and silently heads towards the exit, his companions following after a shortly, the glow of the torches catching small, downward trails of moisture on each of their faces as they went.

Back at the shrine, candles are lit showing a central pedestal on a raised dais in the far back. Carved from wood, soft velvet can be seen adorning the top. In the center, not exactly resting on the velvet, yet not hovering, lay a small, pink jewel. The light of the candles flickers within the jewel, all the while as a figure stands guard over it. Behind the pedestal, a statue portraying a regal kitsune in human form stands guard, its hands seeming to cup the air around the jewel as though to shield it.. A breeze blows through from an unknown source, snuffing out the torch and candle light. In the vast darkness, the eyes of the statue glow red, seemingly scanning the area, daring trespassers to steal its treasure, while the jewel glows an unearthly pink. Slowly, the light fades until darkness weighs supreme.

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Time is of no matter in places hidden away from the world. Dust and cobwebs are all that is there to fill in the long hours. The shrine, so saturated with mites and spiders, shows its uninvited guest that indeed many years have come and gone over this place hidden away from the rest of the world.

The trespasser raises his torch to sear away the cobwebs, eyes scanning the interior of the shrine to find his prize. With a slither, a snake goes in before him, making its way towards the central pedestal. Coiling up the column, the snake reaches the top. Spying the round object its master wishes, it unhinges its jaws and springs to take the object in one gulp.

Said master sighs as he witnesses his pet turned to ash, inches from its goal. Grumbling, he sets his torch into a holder and pulls out a scroll, gazing at the rest of the interior as he did, his eyes resting on the statue of the demon before returning to his task. Reading it, he does not notice the dull, red eyes set upon his form. "Hah! 'Beware of the guardian of the jewel.' Such things do not exist. But the power, oh yes, I can feel the power coming from this jewel. This 'Shikon no Tama'. And once I crack this last barrier, this power source shall be mine and with it, there will be nothing stopping me from taking control of the village!" Finishing his self-encouraging, the uninvited one began moving his hands, the scroll resting on the ground in front of him.

Shadows of kanji script, their meaning lost to time except to those who still studied the old forms, circled around the pedestal before parting with the sound of breaking glass. Smirking, the trespasser slowly guided his hand, confident in his success, to pick up his prize. Not having his hand burned, he swiftly hefts it from its perch. The thief paused to relish in the aura of power emitting into his body before turning, never once seeing the pair of red eyes that came alight before him.

The trespasser stood from his crouch and turned to leave only to stop in his tracks. There, at the entrance stood a figure in a red kimono. The light of the torch glistened off the points of the nails on the figure's hands, yet such light paled in comparison to that which emanated from its slit eyes. Stunned, the thief took a step back, only to trip over the raised dais. Turning to catch him self, expecting the statue from before to be there to grab onto, the thief was further startled when his hands met air as he stumbled to his knees, the statue of the jewel's guardian no where to be seen.

Drawing a kuni from his pouch, the uninvited one reared and turned to face the figure. He froze when there was no figure to be seen. Remaining tense, he surveyed the shrine again. After a few moments, the trespasser relaxed, mentally telling him self off for being so jumpy only to freeze again when a hand gripped his shoulder from behind, the nails digging in enough to slice into the fabric of his clothes. A breathy voice whispered in his ear, "Why? Why do you wake me? Why do you seek what is not yours? Why do you seek your own destruction?"

The thief jerked to stab his kuni into the hand of the figure, only to cry in alarm as it dug into his own shoulder. Panicking, he dashed for the entrance, only to duck under the figure in panic as it reappeared in the door of the shrine.

Once out into the vast cavern, the man's confidence returned until an earth shattering cry was heard from behind. Not daring to look behind him, he rushed back the way he marked towards the entrance.

At the shrine, the figure in the red kimono hung to the door frame. Years of sleep clouded his mind, his thought process only on the fact that the jewel, his treasure, had been taken. He had to retrieve the jewel. He couldn't let his mother's memory be taken from him. Like the wind, he raced to the cavern's entrance, not needing his eyes to guide him as his memory of the winding tunnels served him well. In almost no time, he stood at the entrance of the cavern, the light causing his eyes to sting from not seeing the sun in a very long while. Confused when he did not sense the wretched thief, he sniffed the air for the trespassor's blood. His clouded mind became panicked as he realized that his prey had gone further than he had thought he had. With a howl, the figure's face elongated, his kimono turned to fur, and his ears stretched to the top of his head. Behind him, nine red tails swayed in the breeze. Eyes still stinging from the light of the sun, the kitsune used his nose to follow his prey. After tripping and falling over logs and roots, the kitsune began to grow. Satisfied that he could follow his thief unhindered, he continued following the sent of his prey's blood. Unbeknownst to him, the thief was making his way towards his village.

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AN: I hope that this version is a bit better than the last one. I really want to start concentrating on it. I've been reading over what chapters I have so far, and it is not going fast enough in the direction I want it to. As it stands, similarities between this fic and the original will start and end with this chapter for the most part. I hope that this time around I can make more of an impression on you readers.

Having said that, please review and tell me what you think. If you have read the original chapter to this one, please give me your thoughts and comments on the comparison of the two.

Also as a side note, I'm thinking about deleting the original fic once this one catches up in chapters. Let me know if you want me to keep it up or take it down.