Intertwined

Chapter One: The Accursed Youths

The village was in chaos as two youkai rampaged through it. They were actually young hanyou, not even out of their teens, yet they were as wrathful as any full-blooded youkai.

"This is only what you deserve! Just as we deserve the Shikon no Tama!" one shouted, his golden eyes flashing as he and his cloaked friend retreated into the woods.

"Soon we'll be full-fledged youkai! Nothing will be able to stop us then, ne, Inu-Yasha?" the cloaked hanyou asked, gleefully. Inu-Yasha nodded.

"Hai. With this, we'll become true youkai. This will grant our wishes, Larva." Inu-Yasha said, before two voices disrupted their thoughts.

"Inu-Yasha!" one shouted.

"Larva!" the other cried. As the two hanyou turned to look and see where the voices had come from, two arrows hit them, impaling them and pinning them to the tree behind them.

"Ki……..Kikyo………" Inu-Yasha gasped, in surprise.

"Miyo…………" Larva whispered, hissing in pain as the spell in the arrow began to take effect.

"How dare you……………." Inu-Yasha growled, his final words passing from between his lips in a sigh. Larva, on the other hand, breathed his last breath quietly; only giving the other priestess a scathing glare before the light in his crimson eyes faded, and the eyes themselves closed. Both priestesses stared at the lifeless hanyou for a moment, then Kikyo bent and picked up the jewel from where it had fallen.

"The Jewel…………for such a thing…….." Kikyo murmured.

"Shouldn't be allowed……………" Miyo finished, as they both fell to their knees, succumbing to their injuries, since the adrenaline that had been moving through them was all but spent.

"Kikyo-sama……………Miyo-sama………….what terrible wounds….." one villager muttered, in horror, when he saw the bloodstains on the priestesses' clothing.

"Please, Onee-san, Miyo-san, we have to take care of you…….." the younger sister of Kikyo, Kaede, whispered. Both priestesses smiled sadly at the young girl, then winced; they could feel the life ebbing from them.

"We will not live. Listen well, Kaede. Take this and burn it with our remains. It must never……………fall into the wrong hands again!" Kikyo said, speaking both for herself and her fellow priestess when she said that.

"We shall take this cursed Jewel with us to the world beyond!" Miyo concluded, as she turned her brown, gold-flecked eyes heavenward for a moment, then promptly closed her eyes and died, right there on the spot. Kikyo followed not too long after. With heavy hearts, the people of the village did as they were told and burned the remains of the two priestesses, little realizing just what was to come………….

Tokyo, Present Day

"Shikon no Tama?" a girl's voice asked.

"Yes. So long as one has this, one's family will know safety and prosperity." An old man replied.

"And people actually pay money for these marbles?" a different girl asked, looking a little skeptical as she gazed at the keychains.

"Hear it's legend, Kagome, Hirano-san. In the beginning, the Shikon no Tama………" the old man began, only to be interrupted by his granddaughter.

"Save your breath, Gramps." Kagome sighed, as her best friend, Miyu Hirano, tried (and failed miserably) to stifle a giggle at the old man's expense. Then Kagome perked up.

"You remember what tomorrow is?" Kagome asked, her eyes shining with excitement. It was the old man's turn to sigh.

"Could I ever forget my adorable granddaughter's birthday?" the old man asked, in response.

"No, I don't think so. If you did, I'm sure Kagome-chan wouldn't forget it, though." Miyu thought, as she watched the old man give Kagome a brightly wrapped birthday gift.

"I'm sorry I have nothing to give you, Hirano-san, since tomorrow is your birthday too." The old man said, somewhat guiltily.

"Think nothing of it. I'm sure my family and I will do something. Don't worry about it." Miyu replied, honestly. She and Kagome shared a deadpan expression when Kagome pulled a mummified……something…….out of the box.

"It's the mummified hand of a 'Kappa' water sprite. The legends hold that whoever possesses this………….!" The old man started, but stopped and gaped in horror when Kagome held it in front of her pet cat's nose.

"Here, Buyo. Lunch." Kagome muttered, as she let the cat bite down into it. Miyu could only smile and shake her head; count on Gramps to get a weird gift for his granddaughter! The next day, as the two girls were heading off for school, both of them stopped when they saw Sota, Kagome's little brother, come out of the mini-shrine.

"Ne! Sota!" Kagome shouted.

"Nee-san! Miyu-san!" Sota replied, as both girls approached him.

"You're not s'posed to play in the mini-shrine!" Kagome said, authoritatively.

"But Buyo…….he's……." Sota stammered.

"In the well house, Sota-chan?" Miyu finished, for him. Sota nodded. As the three of them entered the mini-shrine, neither of them was aware that something was about to happen.

"Buyo!" Sota called. There was, of course, no response from the cat.

"He's somewhere down there….." Sota murmured, reluctant to leave the top of the stairs.

"So get him out!" Kagome said, impatiently.

"But doesn't this place give you the creeps?" Sota asked, as he turned and looked at both of the girls. Kagome exchanged a glance with Miyu.

"Do you feel creeped out by this place, Miyu-chan?" Kagome asked. Miyu shook her head.

"Iie, Kagome-chan." Miyu replied. Then they both looked at Sota again.

"What? You scared? You're a boy, aren't you?" Kagome asked, sarcastically.

"Kagome-chan's right, Sota-chan. You're supposed to be big and brave." Miyu added, gently, yet firmly. It was then that they became aware of a scratching sound coming from somewhere in the well house.

"There's something in there!" Sota yelped, a little fearfully.

"Like oh, say, our cat, for example?" Kagome retorted, dryly. With a sigh of exasperation, Kagome carefully descended the steps, with Miyu close behind her. Sota remained where he was at the top of the steps.

"Huh?" Kagome muttered, as she took a closer look at the sealed well.

"What's the matter, Kagome-chan?" Miyu asked.

"That scratching sound…………….it's coming from inside the well!" Kagome whispered, so she wouldn't frighten Sota. They both let out a yell when something furry rubbed up against their legs. They looked down immediately and saw that it was only Buyo.

"Don't yell like that! You scared me!" Sota shouted, looking as though he'd had several years scared out of him.

"It's all right, Sota-chan! At least we've found Buyo." Miyu said, as she tried to calm her racing heart. She had to admit, it had startled her as much as it had startled Kagome and Sota. They weren't aware when the top of the well suddenly started to move, nor did they notice when Sota's demeanor changed.

"Nee-san………Miyu-san………" Sota said, his voice nearly freezing in his throat as he tried to warn them.

"Eh?" both girls asked, not even beginning to turn around when something grabbed both of them and pulled them into the well.

"Kagome! Miyu!" Sota cried, dropping the honorifics in his horror. As they fell through the darkness, the two girls were faced with something they had never faced before; it was a being that had the head and torso of a woman, and the lower body of a centipede.

"What joy! What strength I feel! My flesh returns to me!" the 'centipede woman' cackled, as she dragged the two girls down.

"Kagome-chan…….." Miyu whispered, trembling despite herself.

"You have it, yes?" the centipede woman crooned, as it licked Kagome's face.

"Let us go, you freak!" Kagome shouted, as she and Miyu both tried to push themselves away from the unnatural creature. To their surprise, brilliant light emanated from their hands, and forced the creature away, leaving only two arms to mark that it had been there at all.

"I will not lose it now… The Shikon no Tama……." The centipede woman snarled, before it disappeared into the darkness.

"Shikon……….." Kagome thought.

"No Tama……..?" Miyu mused, unwittingly finishing Kagome's thought. Then they felt the ground beneath them and looked up when sunlight filtered down on them.

"We're……….in the well?" Kagome muttered, as she looked questioningly around.

"Was that thing just a dream?" Miyu asked, as she stood and dusted herself off.

"I don't think so. Look." Kagome said, as she pointed out the two arms they had knocked off of the monster.

"I will not lose it now……..The Shikon no Tama……." The monster's voice repeated in their minds.

"Shikon no Tama? Didn't your grandfather say something about that yesterday, Kagome-chan?" Miyu asked.

"Yeah…………" Kagome murmured, then added, "We've got to get out of here." With that said, both girls began climbing, since they couldn't get Sota's attention.

"Chicken……..Run away, will he?" Kagome grumbled, as they both reached the top of the well and climbed out.

"Where are we?" Miyu asked, as she looked around. Kagome was just as at a loss as Miyu, and for good reason. The Higurashi Shrine was nowhere to be seen, even though they should have been standing somewhere on the grounds. After a little while of trying to find the shrine, Kagome spotted something familiar.

"The Go-Shinboku Tree!" Kagome said, her eyes lighting up when she saw the tree. Even when they had been small children, the two girls could always find their way home by using that tree as a landmark. As they entered the clearing, however, they were in for an even bigger surprise. There, suspended on the tree trunk by arrows to their chests, were two young men. One was wearing a red outfit, and had long, silvery white hair. The other wore a black cloak that obscured whatever else he had on, and had blue/silver hair.

"Whoa." Miyu thought, as she looked at the two young men.

"Are you two okay?" Kagome asked, as she approached the pair. She got no response.

"Hello?" Miyu said, as she joined her friend and they both climbed up onto the thick vines that had grown up around the two. It was when they were up close to the pair that they noticed that something was different about them. One appeared to have dog-ears on top of his head, and the other had strange markings on his hands (the only parts of him that could be seen from under the cloak).

"Those aren't human ears……" Kagome murmured, as she gazed at the ears.

"And he doesn't have human hands, either." Miyu added, as she looked inquisitively at the cloaked man's hands.

"Weird." Kagome muttered.

"I agree." Miyu stated, then reached up and touched the cloaked man's face. She was startled to find how cool the young man's skin was, yet despite that, there was still some warmth.

"So he's not dead after all. Yet I wonder where the nearest hospital is? Somebody should at least help get him some medical attention!" Miyu thought, then jumped when a loud voice disrupted the general peace of the area.

"What do you there?!" a man's voice shouted, before several arrows impacted into the tree where the two girls were standing.

"This land is forbidden!" another man stated, authoritatively.

"Be you strangers?" the voice from before demanded. Too startled to say anything, Miyu and Kagome merely stood where they were and allowed the men to take them prisoner. Bound hand and foot, both of them were carried to a village that was close to the forest's edge.

"You found them in Inu-Yasha's Forest?" another man asked, as the captors carried the girls into the village.

"Aye, two lasses in the queerest rags, they are!" one of the captors replied, while the other set the two captives down.

"Hey!! You didn't have to tie us up, y'know!" Kagome shouted, angrily.

"We didn't know we were trespassing." Miyu said, calm despite the circumstances. As whispers rose from the crowd gathered around them, something became very clear to the two out of place teenagers; they were no longer in their time.

"I think we've landed in a history book. The Sengoku Era……..feudalism…….'Warring States'……….." Miyu thought, then watched as the crowd parted, and an old woman the villagers called 'Kaede the Miko' approached them.

"Who are you? Why were you in the Forest of Inu-Yasha?" 'Kaede' asked, sounding for all the world like a court prosecutor.

"Huh?" was all either girl could think of to say.

"The weirdos just get weirder." Kagome thought, unaware that Miyu was thinking the same thing. Then a hint of recognition crossed the old woman's weathered features.

"Let me see your faces." Kaede demanded, as she gently tilted the girls' faces so she could get a better look. Then she drew back and gave them a disbelieving look.

"So, trying to look like clever ones, are you?" Kaede asked, managing to get a twin look of confusion from both captives, then she added, "Yet you're their images, though…Kikyo-nee-san and Miyo-sama….."

"Nani?" Kagome asked, speaking for the both of them. Later that day, Kaede explained what had happened fifty years before that day.

"Kikyo and Miyo were the village mikos and protectors. When they died, they requested that the Shikon no Tama be burned with their remains. That was over fifty years ago. They died when I was but a child." Kaede reminisced, then looked over at the girls' bowls.

"What's wrong? Not hungry?" Kaede asked.

"Do you think you could untie us?" Kagome asked, in turn, a bit miffed about having been tied up in the first place.

"Oh." Kaede muttered, looking a little embarrassed about having forgotten to untie them.

"I………uh………don't suppose we're in Tokyo anymore, are we?" Miyu asked, as she rubbed her wrists to get the blood flowing again.

"I've never heard the name. Is that the land of your birth?" Kaede asked, with some confusion on her face.

"I guess so………I was just thinking that we should get going soon……" Kagome said, with a smile.

"Going……………But where? And how?" Miyu wondered. Their thoughts and conversation were disrupted by a loud commotion going on just outside of Kaede's hut.

"What could be………..?!" Kaede yelped, trailing off when a disemboweled horse landed just outside of the doorstep. To their horror, the centipede woman from before now reared her ugly head over the frightened villagers.

"That same………thing!!!" Kagome thought, as she and Miyu backed up a step.

"Give me the Shikon no Tama!" the creature demanded.

"The………..the Jewel?! You have the Jewel?!?" Kaede asked, in disbelief.

"I………I'm not sure!" Kagome replied, as the monster turned its sole attention on her.

"That thing only wants Kagome-chan! But unless we lead it away, everyone's going to die!" Miyu thought, as she started running, dragging Kagome along with her.

"Miyu-chan?! What the………..?!" Kagome yelped, as she and her best friend did their level best to keep away from the monster.

"If we can lead it to the dry old well, we might trap it! C'mon, Kagome-chan! Everyone's lives depends on it!" Miyu shouted, as she led the way.

"In Inu-Yasha's Forest…….." Kaede muttered.

"Where's the forest, Miko-sama?" Miyu asked, respectfully.

"East toward…….." Kaede began, then was interrupted by Kagome.

"Toward that light? Okay!" Kagome said, as she and Miyu started running.

"Those children……….did they truly say………? They saw the evil aura of the forest……..that no earthly being can see!" Kaede murmured, not believing what she was hearing. Meanwhile, in Inu-Yasha's Forest, two beings that had not moved in half a century were showing signs of life again. The dog-eared boy's ears twitched, as did the cloaked man's hands.

"The smell………….the smell of she who killed me………..is coming closer!" the dog-eared boy snarled.

"I know………..I can smell the wretch who'd killed me as well. And she is coming ever nearer……." The cloaked man growled, in agreement. No sooner did they say that, did two strangely dressed young women dash into the glen, with the centipede woman on their tails.

"I sure could use a rescue!" Kagome muttered.

"No kidding, Kagome-chan!" Miyu gasped in agreement.

"Give me the Shikon no Tama!" centipede woman howled, as she chased the pair.

"B-but I don't have anything like that!" Kagome replied, as she and Miyu threw themselves down and ducked as the monster sailed overhead.

"Why toy with second-raters like Mistress Centipede?" a boyish voice asked.

"Nani?" both girls muttered, as they glanced up at the one that had spoken. To their shock, it was the dog-eared boy that had spoken!

"Yes, why don't you destroy her? You have the power to do so." The cloaked one asked, his tone sneering as he said that. Miyu and Kagome exchanged a glance; things just kept getting weirder and weirder! And it wasn't over yet……….