Disclaimer: The usual…I don't own Inuyasha or YYH… (I need some variation)…

Author's Notes: As usual, don't assume any relationships between the characters.

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Dark World Invasion

"Dang, where are my robes?" a young archangel demanded, running around her chamber in frantic circles, tossing assortments of robes and clothing into the air. "I could have sworn I put it away." she cried in distress, nearly tripping over the pile of clothing she had accumulated in the center of the room.

Slapping her forehead with her palm, she swung her chamber doors wide open and poked her head outside. "Serenity, where did I put my robes?" she screamed down the hall.

Several heads popped out of their chambers to regard their leader with confused looks. "What are you looking at? Did I grow a wart or something?" the archangel demanded in an annoyed tone. Immediately, all the angels retreated back to their rooms and bolted their doors – it didn't take a genius to figure out that their boss was beyond furious. "SERENITY!" the archangel yelled with renewed vigor.

"Yes, Sango-sama?" a pale angel asked in a shivering voice. "I-I apologize for my tardiness." The archangel waved her hand in a forgiving manner before motioning for the shaking angel to step into her bedchamber. Reluctantly nodding her head, the angel nervously ambled into her superior's room.

"Serenity, did you see my robes?" Sango asked while bending over to check underneath her bedding. "You know, the white robe with gold embroidery - the one for extremely special occasions?" she added before turning to face the angel again. Serenity's face lit up with understanding when she finally comprehended what Sango was talking about.

"Oh, you mean that one!" Serenity smiled, showing her pearly whites. "Miroku-sama has them. I saw him running off with it earlier this afternoon." Sango's face paled as the angel rambled on, oblivious to her superior's hidden rage. "He said something about giving your robes an exorcism because he felt some very powerful darkness lingering on it."

"And you believed him?" Sango growled, causing the angel to tumble backwards in an undignified manner.

"He said…he said you had an encounter with a Dark World General; therefore, if the robe isn't purified, you'll…you'll…"

"That pervert," the archangel hissed before storming out of her room, eyes blazing red with fury. "The last encounter we had with the Dark World was over 300 years ago."

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"Uh, are you sure this is appropriate?" a carrot-toped warrior clad in silver amour asked, eyeing the piece of clothing in his superior's hand. His commander flashed him a perverted, assuring smile in response before burying his face into the cloth. "Um Sir, the army is awaiting your leadership."

"Ah, yes, training." the commander murmured, absently nodding his head. "I'll be there right away…"

BAM…

"Miroku, you grade A pervert, unhand my clothes!" Sango growled as she stormed into Miroku's chamber. Shoving the bulky warrior to one side of the room, she pinned Miroku with a deadly glare. Her eyes slowly traveled to the robes clutched tightly in his hand. "YOU PERVERT!" Sango screamed, slamming her fist into his skull.

"Kazuma, leave us." Miroku gasped out from between the assaults the furious archangel was dealing to his skull. The warrior dumbly nodded his head before scrambling out of the room to return to his position in the army. "Sango, my lovely…ow…"

Bam…

"Miroku, I need…help…" Keiko trailed off before a dark blush crept across her cheeks. "Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in on…well, sorry." Keiko apologized as Sango quickly distanced herself from Miroku. A perverted grin was permanently etched on Miroku's face as Sango's face flushed a crimson red. "Um, I'll talk to you later, Miroku. Sorry for…" Keiko trailed off as her face mirrored Sango's color.

"Nothing happened!" Sango stated as calmly as could while trying to smooth out her robes. "The pervert stole my clothes." the disheveled archangel explained to her comrade.

"Oh," Keiko whispered before nodding her head in understanding. "In this case, then maybe you two can help me." the archangel continued in a slightly more cheerful tone. "You see, I just realized that the humans are still offering us live sacrifices – usually poor, innocent children."

"What do you mean? We had never accepted live sacrifices." Miroku answered, his purple eyes widening slightly.

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant, though it did kind of sound like that." Keiko quickly corrected.

"What Keiko means to ask is why we aren't doing anything to stop human sacrifices. We all know human sacrifices are something only a Dark World creep could come up with. But what disturbs me is the fact that the humans believe WE want these sacrifices, when we are highly opposed to it." Sango explained.

Miroku took a step closer to Sango while keeping his sorrowful eyes on Keiko. "I can understand what you are feeling right now, my dear Keiko." he sympathized. "Even I feel it's outrageous! How much worst it must be for you, an archangel of love! You must loath to watch these gruesome slaughtering of the innocent."

Whack.

"Keep your hands to yourself, pervert." Sango warned. "You're the only one I know who can sympathize and comfort someone while trying to cope a feel at the same time! I sometimes wonder why you aren't fired yet! Though I don't know why you were appointed Supreme Commander of the Army in the first place!" The archangel moved from standing beside Miroku to a safer position across from him where she could keep an eye on his wandering hands 24/7.

"Guys, please don't fight." Keiko interrupted. "We have more important things, remember?"

"Why don't you bring that subject up at the next Tenshi Meeting, Keiko? It's only a few weeks from now."

"But," Keiko protested in an unhappy tone.

"Keiko, as much as I hate to admit this, I have to remind you that we don't have that much power, even if we are archangels. We've only just received this position ten years ago. We need the approval of the elder archangels." Sango explained before hissing to Miroku, "Give me my robes…NOW!"

"I guess so," Keiko replied glumly.

"You have my vote of approval!" Miroku chirped as he discreetly positioned himself beside his beloved archangel when her attention was on her companion. With a perverted grin, he slowly brushed his hand across Sango's bottom.

SLAP.

"Damn it, keep your hands to yourself and mind your own business." Sango hissed. "You're the supreme commander of the army, not the leader of the archangels! Your vote of approval means nothing more than crap."

"Ouch, that hurts, my lovely Sango." Miroku sighed, placing his hand across his heart. Keiko's face fell into a deep frown at the thought of not being able to do anything about the human sacrifices.

"Isn't there any other way? For some reason, I have a gut feeling that the elders might not be very interested in this." Keiko whispered.

"Well, of course there's another way." Sango smiled. "The crowning of the new Princess is only two weeks from now." Keiko cocked her head to one side in confusion as the other archangel sighed in exasperation. "Don't you know anything?"

"What about the crowning?" Keiko muttered.

"During each crowning, a deity is appointed to become his/her fiancé or fiancée. If it the crowning of a Princess, she will become the future Queen, and the chosen male deity becomes the future King. If it is the crowning of a Prince, he will become the future King, and the chosen female deity becomes the Queen." the archangel explained in barely concealed excitement. "In addition, a mystic animal is given as a protector and friend."

"I'm sorry Sango, but I fail to see the point in this." Keiko admitted, shoulders sagging slightly.

"Let me finish!" Sango snapped. "Furthermore, an archangel is appointed to become his/her highness's personal advisor and confidant. If it is a princess, a female archangel is chosen. If it is a prince, then a male archangel is chosen. If I am right, the third generation is crowning a princess." Sango added, causing Keiko's eyes to widen. "The archangel appointed to become the personal advisor of the princess also becomes the leader of the archangels – giving her power over ALL the archangels and angels. Once that happens, there isn't much the archangel can't do!"

"How could I have forgotten?" Miroku groaned. "I knew I was forgetting something important!"

"Wow, Leader of the Archangels…I'll be able to stop this massacre." Keiko whispered, her eyes glittering with excitement.

"I can't wait till the crowning. It's a pity no one but the King, Queen, and the Deities are allowed to see her highness. Even worst, we don't even have her ladyship's name!" Miroku whispered with a small sniffle. "I'm sure she is a beauty beyond compare. Of course, except you, my dear Sango, the most beautiful woman in this universe!"

"Save your crap for someone who actually cares." Sango replied, much to Miroku's dismay.

"I must be appointed," Keiko murmured in a determined tone. Sango chuckled when she noticed her companion was practically on cloud nine. "Two weeks…"

"That's why I'm here in the first place," Sango grinned. "I need my best robes for the crowning, but no, the pervert decides to steal them!" she concluded. "Now give me my robes back or I'll bring this to the Supreme Council as a high offense!" Miroku held his hand up in defeat as Sango continued to fume.

"Sango dear, no need to bring it to the…Supreme Council, here you go." Miroku smiled, handing the archangel her set of pristine white clothes. "You'll look lovely in those, might I add." Miroku complimented, making Sango blush a dark red.

"Come on Keiko, let's go. We need to train if we even want to compete for that position with all the other archangels. Only the best will be chosen for the princess." Sango muttered, refusing to look at Miroku.

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A proud angel gracefully walked up and down the line, examining the newly appointed personals with a critical eye. "Step up in the order you have been placed from left to right. When you step up, announce your name and your rank. I will decide your fate afterwards." she announced, causing the new recruits to shiver in fear.

"Rin," a small voice chirped, seemingly unfazed by her superior's cold demeanor. "I'm a Messenger! I'm please to meet you, Lady Kikyou!"

The angel's eyes softened at the sight of the young child, but quickly hardened when she remembered other angels were watching her. "I asked for name and rank, not a greeting." Rin nodded her head and seemed to shrink under Kikyou's hard glare. "You will train to become a proper messenger under Hannah." she stated, inclining her head towards another angel, who was smiling brightly at the young child. Rin gave a small, clumsy curtsy before hurrying towards her mentor.

"Ayame," a young woman with auburn hair announced when Kikyou asked for the next one in line, "Guardian."

"Sam," Kikyou answered, indicating to a handsome angel with golden hair. "When he deems you ready, he'll give you permission to go to earth to begin your duties - Next."

"Botan," smiled a blue-haired girl, "I'm a Maiden."

"John," replied Kikyou. A young man around Botan's age flashed the newly appointed Maiden a boyish grin. Botan blushed as Kikyou continued to give directions. "Work hard and maybe someday you'll become a Guardian."

And the list went on with a variation of Messengers, Maidens, Guards, and Guardians being assigned to an angel. A messenger was on the bottom of the food chain and only became a Maiden (for a female) or a Guard (for a male) after proving themselves worthy of ascending to a higher rank. But for a Maiden or Guard to be appointed to the position of Guardian, they had to accumulate a certain number of good deeds, which could take up to centuries depending on what they had accomplished.

Every thirty years, the High Angels (which happens to include Kikyou in this case) evaluates everyone's progress and raises them to a higher rank if they deem them worthy. But regardless of what positions they held, they would always be assigned a mentor – an angel to keep them in line. Of course, that is until the Guardian becomes an angel himself, gets appointed to the council, or gets enrolled into the army. However, these chances were slim to none because all angels were appointed by Archangels, who rarely associated with the lower class (Anyone below the rank of an Angel). The Guardians must accomplish something extremely significant for an Archangel to notice him. To be appointed to the council required an extreme amount of wisdom and impartiality because like the archangels, the counselors didn't like associating themselves with the lower class. Similarly, to be enrolled into the army required an outstanding amount of power (or else, like the aforementioned groups, they wouldn't be noticed) because Chief Commander was always too busy flirting with his female counterparts.

Kikyou barely reigned in a sigh when she finally came to the last person – her list always got longer and longer every time the thirty year Promotion rolled around. After all, all the exceptionally good humans become Messengers, but only a handful of Guardians become appointed to a higher rank every few centuries. Life was harsh, but paradise wasn't that much better.

"Kagome," the last person in line cheerful grinned, "Guardian."

A pause followed as Kikyou scanned through the list available angels…there weren't any. "It looks like you're going to be tailing me." Kikyou finished, looking up to find Kagome gaping at her like a dead fish.

"You've got to be kidding." she whispered.

"Dismissed," Kikyou announced, clapping her hands together three times. After everyone had scattered, the angel turned to Kagome, who was curiously taking in her surroundings. "As you know, I am one of the 144 High Angels – I am Kikyou – the Angel of Peace. Though you are my charge, I am busy everyday from morning till night, which leaves me not much time to teach you the proper ways of a Guardian."

"When do I get to go to earth?" interrupted Kagome.

Kikyou glared at her charge, if there was one thing she hated, it was being interrupted. "Not until I deem you ready for such a task."

"Why can't I go now? I'm ready!"

"You will talk to me with respect."

"Yes Lady Kikyou." When the angel had her back turned to her charge, Kagome stuck out her tongue and made childish faces.

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"John is so nice to me!" Botan giggled as she daintily nibbled on a piece of roasted chicken. The whole dining room, which stretched for miles on end, was packed with Messengers, Maidens, Guards, and Guardians – breakfast, lunch, and dinner was one of the few times all of the lower class members were gathered together. There were 144 division, each division was watched by a High Angel (sadly, Kagome thought, she had Kikyou) who controlled a portion of the angels and lower class.

To say the least, Kagome was not fond of Kikyou, but she felt triumphant knowing Kikyou wasn't pleased either. Kikyou – or Lady Kikyou, as she was supposed to be addressed – had to answer to the whim of the Archangels. There were 12 Archangels – each Archangel controlled 12 High Angels (therefore controlling the angels and lower class). But then, the Archangels were under the power of the Elder Archangels…Kagome frowned, the whole I control them but you control me, therefore controlling all that I'm controlling really left her with a migraine.

"Sam's nice to me too," Ayame whispered, "and he's cute!"

"How was your day, Kagome? I envy you and Ayame for being Guardians!" Botan pouted, faking a sniffle.

Kagome grinned, "Envy me? That's a laugh! You try spending a day tailing Kikyou, and then you tell me you envy me!"

"That bad, huh?" smirked Ayame as she downed her juice. "Anyway, what division were you in before? I mean, me and Botan have ALWAYS been under Kikyou. We've never seen you before and we know everyone in our division…if you know what I mean. And even though we change mentors every thirty years, we don't change divisions – so, what made you so special?" she asked with a small smile.

"Well, you see…" Kagome began as she fidgeted.

"ATTENTION!" shouted the 144 High Angels in unison, successfully saving Kagome from answering Ayame's question. All the noise died down as each High Angel attempted to explain at once.

Finally, they agreed to let Kikyou do the talking. Kikyou stretched out her white wings, which had been hidden by magic, and floated into the air. In a grim, but commanding voice, she stated, "The Dark World has launched a surprise attack on us, led by the Dark Chief Commander and Deity of Destruction themselves. Our army is holding them off as best as they can, but we were taken off guard by the sudden attack. Everyone, regardless of rank or station, is to pick up weapons and fight."

In a whirlwind of motions, Kagome soon found herself standing beside Ayame, bow drawn and ready to fire at the first sign of the enemy. Kagome could feel sweat coursing down her brow in worry and anticipation – she had never met a Dark World creature before – what did they look like? Were they as ruthless as they were said to be?

Her questions were soon answered when a horde of people clad in black rushed towards them, swords poised to kill and amputate. Kagome's eyes widened – they looked like them – they weren't creatures or beasts – they had all once either been a human or youkai.

"Attack!" shouted Kikyou as she launched her first arrow, which signified the beginning of the first war in history to take place in heaven.

Kagome felt dirty and stained - weren't they the good ones? Then why did they have to kill them as if they were nothing but beasts? What better were they than the Dark World when they killed as mercilessly as them? She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she stabbed another Dark Warrior through the heart with the tip of her arrow.

Just as she pulled the arrow out of the corpse's body, a black arrow was shot towards her. Kagome opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came. Millimeters before the arrow impaled her face, a large hand caught the arrow in mid-air.

"Get out of here, Lady. I'll take care of this." stated Kuwabara as Kagome quickly nodded her head and scrambled off. "Urameshi, I'm going to kick your butt and make you wish you had never been born!"

"Ha, what makes you think you can defeat me, Kuwabara?" snorted a young boy with black hair that was jelled back. "You couldn't defeat me three hundred years ago in the last battle on Earth when we were both warriors – you for the light and I for the darkness. What makes you think you can defeat me now that I am the Supreme Commander of the Dark Army?"

"WHAT?" shrieked Kuwabara before a hand connected with his skull.

"Pay attention Kazuma." hissed a young woman as she lopped off the head of the Dark Warrior who almost stabbed Kuwabara through the heart.

"Shizuru!" cried Kuwabara, glancing at his sister before quickly turning his attention back to his opponent, who was suddenly only a foot away from his face. With a loud yelp, he felt Yusuke's fist connect with his face, sending him sailing backwards. Yusuke quickly followed and prepared to deal the final blow when it was countered by a new addition.

"You've gotten a lot stronger," hissed Miroku – Yusuke's punch had rattled his whole body, sending pain shooting through every fiber of his being.

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"You bastard," hissed Sango when she narrowly missed being sliced right down the middle by the Dark Deity of Destruction. She cried out in pain when the enemy's energy whip grazed her skin, causing her flesh to sizzle.

"It ends," he whispered – his patience was wearing thin. The woman had fought better than he had anticipated. The fight had left him with a few minor cuts and scratches, a feat that not many accomplished, especially by a woman. Easily forming a dark bow and arrow in his hands, he strung the bow and launched the arrow at the Archangel. It whizzed through the air and just before it made impact with the paralyzed Sango (from the poison); a slightly younger girl pushed the Archangel out of harm's way, taking the hit instead.

The Dark Deity's eyes widened slightly at this rare show of devotion. He was even more surprised when Sango whispered, "Who are you and why did you save me?"

Kagome dropped to her knees in pain when an arrow was lodged into her arm. She wasn't sure what had overcame her when she did what she did, but she knew she couldn't just stand there and watch another one of comrades die. She quickly gasped for breath when she was lifted off the ground by her neck. She stared into cold, molten-gold eyes – eyes of the Dark Deity.

"Sesshoumaru, release her! Your fight is with me!" shouted Sango in desperation. She wasn't sure who the girl was, but she wasn't about to let someone else die in her place.

Kagome gently wrapped her small hands around the Deity's wrist – the pain in her arm momentarily forgotten in the face of death.

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TBC

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