November 4th, 2005

Author's Notes - Konnichi-wa, minna-san. Genki desu ka?

Miss Chang Po - :comes in from off-screen: No, no, no, no, no! No! What are you doing? You cannot start another fanfiction! I forbid it!

:gives her a bland look: You forbid it?

Miss Chang Po - :eyebrow twitches: That's what I said :slaps down a large pile of papers and notebooks: "Tandemonai", "Just Another Burnt Out Star", "Insurance Girl"… any of these ringing any bells?

:laughs nervously: Um… that's why they call them works in progress…. Because they're works… in progress…

Miss Chang Po – Don't give me that! You better get the next chapter of "Don't You Dare!" up soon or else…

:snorts: Or else what:Miss Chang Po whispers something in her ear and she pales: Aaaaiiiiieeee! No! Not that! Anything but that:scuttles away screaming:

Wufei – And what was all that foolishness about:Miss Chang Po tells him: Feh… foolish onna…

Miss Chang Po – Oh yeah? Add pink lace…

Wufei - :pales and falls into a dead faint:

Miss Chang Po – Ahem… since both my muse and fellow authoress are absent at the moment, Inu Yasha is the property of the honorable Takahashi Rumiko-sama and Viz, as well as anyone that owns a slice of the pie we call this wonderful piece of work.

It should also be noted that this fic is AU, so although this plot has probably been done to death, expect a lot of twists thrown in. The Divine Nataku is weird like that.

Oi! I heard that!

Miss Chang Po - :smirks: You were s'posed to.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Mukashi Mukashi…"

Prologue

…It all began with the Shikon no Tama…

"To arms! To arms! The village is under attack!"

Men rushed out of the homes armed with spears and bows, cautioning their loved ones to remain safely indoors before rushing off to the site of the disturbance.

Somewhere a fire had started, villagers rushing to and from the well in attempts to douse the raging flames. Others rushed to the shrine from where the alarm was being sounded.

"Youkai! Beware of the youkai! The youkai with the Golden Eyes!"

Upon hearing this news, some fearful men turned in fled while others pressed on, brandishing their weapons high. The White Devil, the One with the Golden Eyes, Scourge of the Forest; there were many names for the creature currently attacking, for the village-folk were not strangers to its ire. It was strange that it had not attacked in some time, but the people had known it was only a matter of time; the creature was a youkai after all. Prone to dark and evil deeds, youkai thrived on the suffering of humankind.

Certainly this one was no exception.

The young man who had sounded the alarm stood at the top of the steps facing the village shrine, clutching a spear in his hands. Despite his feeble attempts, the fear he felt at the sight before him was obvious. The creature looked frightening – long, wild, white hair fell down its back and sides of its face like a mane and it stared at him with piercing golden eyes. Its fingers were long and deadly, tipped with talon-like claws. Its body was draped in robes of red, a color so deep the young man wondered whether it had possibly been stained by the blood of its enemies.

Steeling his resolve, he stepped forward, his body trembling with fright. "A-away, demon!" He swung his spear out in a wide arc, causing the creature to hiss at him in annoyance. "A shrine is no place for the likes of you!"

The demon laughed. "The likes of me, you say?" it whispered, its tone low and dangerous. "I can go anywhere I please – no measly little human boy is going to stop me!"

Fearing the creature's wrath, the young man opened his mouth to call for help, but as steely talons raced towards him, he could do nothing but scream.

"Stop! Stop the demon! It has stolen our sacred relic!"

A white grin stole across the creature's face as it leapt from rooftop to rooftop, dodging the many spears and arrows flying into its path. Puny humans… they thought they were in trouble now?

Moonlight flashed across the small necklace clutched in its white-knuckled grip, the small stone at the base dangling freely in the night air.

The forest came into view and the creature let out a breathless laugh, loping upwards into its dark canopy. 'Stupid, superstitious humans… none of them would dare follow after their 'sacred relic' into my forest! Ha – the Shikon no Tama is as good as—!'

Twang! An arrow flew out of the shadow, colliding with its mark with a loud 'Thunk!'. The creature gasped, pinned against a nearby tree and forced to watch as the small pink stone slipped from its grasp with ever-widening eyes. As it dropped to the mossy ground below, those same disbelieving eyes traveled up to the arrow protruding out of its chest, to the owner of the arrow – an angry looking miko surrounded by equally angry villagers.

"Die, demon!"

The golden eyes registered pain, confusion, settling on anger as they slowly drifted shut.

"Kik…kyo…"

ooo

The sudden rush of power left her and the miko collapsed to her knees, gasping painfully for breath. The villagers surrounding her murmured amongst each other worriedly, some taking notice for the time the gaping wound arcing across her shoulder and the amount of blood flowing freely from it.

Had the youkai done this to her?

A young girl emerged from the crowd, anxiety written on her face. She wore a bandage around her head, one eye hidden beneath the white wrappings. As the people recognized her face, they let her pass, allowing her to pick up the discarded relic before bringing it back to the fallen priestess' side.

"Kikyo-oneesama," she murmured, holding the item out to the woman hunched beside her. "Here is the Shikon no Tama; is it all right?"

The woman opened her eyes and studied the jewel. The villagers around them waited with bated breath. Finally the woman sighed, closing her eyes once again. "It remains untainted," she gasped out. "The jewel is safe." Several villagers murmured in relief.

"And what of you, Kikyo-sama?" one man asked. "The wounds you have sustained are great indeed." Kikyo brought a hand to her shoulder as if that would somehow conceal the damage done and alleviate the pain at the same time.

"Someone fetch a healer!" a woman called out. "We must help Kikyo-sama!"

There was a general consensus amongst the village-folk as several young men were sent off to fetch a healer from the neighboring village. Their efforts would be in vain, however; Kikyo could feel her life slowly ebbing away with each passing second.

She turned to the young girl beside her, touching her hand gently. "Kaede,"

The girl turned to her, her brown eye shining in worry. "Onee-sama?"

She closed her hand around the small relic, paying no head to the small beads hanging loosely from her grip. The only thing that concerned her was the jewel and what was to be its fate. Closing her eyes, the miko knew what had to be done.

"Heed my words, Kaede," she murmured to her. "Take the Shikon no Tama and see to it that when I die it is burned along with the rest of my body."

Kaede's eye widened in horror, "No, Kikyo-oneesama," she sobbed. "You cannot ask that of me! You must live!"

Kikyo spared her younger sibling a small smile before grimacing in pain. "I can hold on no longer, Kaede," she whispered. "But though I am dying, I cannot allow the Shikon no Tama to fall to wicked hands. This is the sacred duty entrusted to me…" She let out a shaky breath, causing those around her to murmur in worry. "Throw it into the fire with me," she entreated. "Perhaps… I can protect it in the next world…" As those last words left her lips, her body fell limp and her eyes drifted shut for a final time as she finally passed on.

Young Kaede stared in disbelief. She grasped at her sister's robes, crying out her despair. Several village women approached, attempting to console her and steer her away as several men moved in around her sister's body. As they lifted her still form up and out of view, her pale features vanishing from her sight, Kaede found herself faced with the awful truth.

Kikyo, the priestess charged to guard the mystic Shikon no Tama, Jewel of the Lost Four Souls, was dead.

oo Tokyo, 500 Years Later oo

"Dead?"

A boy with brown eyes and choppy blackish-brown hair stared down at the CD player stationed on the seat beside him, its LCD screen blank. "The battery's dead."

A boy sitting opposite him, wavy black hair slicked back out of his blue eyes, frowned in confusion at the third figure wearing the earphones belonging to the electronic device. "If that's the case, you've been listening to nothing for at least five minutes."

Said person looked up, as if waking out of a trance. "Huh? What's that?"

"Sheesh, you're pretty out of it, Higurashi," the boy replied, fishing in the school bag resting at his feet, pulling out two AA batteries that he then placed into the CD player. Studying his companion, his expression was one of sympathy. "Just 'cuz you're a year older today doesn't mean you have to start acting all out of it. You have another one of those dreams again?"

The first boy gave him a look. "Dreams, Eiji?"

"Yeah, that's what I said, isn't it, Yuu?" the boy, Yukimaru Eiji, replied. "Higurashi's been havin' weird dreams – you know, like back in grade school?" The two boys exchanged looks before turning their attention to back to the subject of their conversation.

Seated casually on the crowded subway beside them was a lean-looking young man, similar in age and donned in the same school uniform as his two companions. His school bag rested in his lap along with a few extra books. Unlike his classmates, however, his uniform jacket was tied casually around his waist, the top buttons of his shirt undone revealing his collar bone and some of the cotton t-shit underneath reading 'Live or Die' in English.

However, what really set him apart from his two peers was not his lax style of dress, but his unique physical features. If one were to compare him to his parents it was painfully obvious that he took after his mother more so than his father. His facial features were definitely masculine, but possessing an almost pretty quality. Long black hair hung done his back, tied loosely at the nape of his neck. Dark violet eyes partially obscured behind unruly bangs stared down as he lifted the CD player in his hands, focused as he fiddled with numerous buttons and settings.

"So, what are you listening to anyway?" the first boy, Imada Yuuichiro asked. "Can't be all that good if you didn't even notice when it got cut off." He paused, grinning. "Is it that chick from America? The one with the big—"

"You know I don't listen to that crap," he groused, throwing his friend an half-irritated glance.

"Yeah, yeah," Eiji drawled, elbowing the other boy to stop laughing. "So spill, man, was it that same dream again?"

An image of a creature lunging out of the darkness, claws raised to maim and/or destroy its prey, the boy shuddered, nodding. "Yeah… pretty much."

"Y'know, my older sister Meiko has this big book on big on dream interpretation," Yuuichiro offered. "Maybe you oughta give it a look."

Eiji pulled a face. "Those things are a waste of time," he said. "Besides, we don't really know all the details – for all we know, our buddy here could have been the one doing the mauling, eh, Inu Yasha?"

His comment earned a half-hearted laugh from his sullen companion. High School freshmen, Higurashi 'Inu' Yasha; he'd gotten that nickname way back in high school due to how some facets of his personality reminded many of the four-legged animal of the same name. Overall, he was very well liked – he was smart, athletic, easy-going, although occasionally displaying a bit of a stubborn streak. To his friends and family he showed all the kindness, loyalty, and affection displayed by 'Man's best friend'. He had simple likes and dislikes and usually got along with all those in his company. However, to those who were unfortunate enough to get on his bad side he reacted with all the viciousness and ferocity of a junkyard dog.

"Trust me, I'm pretty sure I was the one getting mauled," he answered, feigning a glare for his two companions. "…Matter of fact, my shoulder still kinda hurts." The train in which the rode shook on its track, and to prove his point he reached up and rubbed his shoulder, grimacing lightly.

There was silence. "That's really freaky, man," Yuuichiro said finally.

"Yeah, thanks." Yasha groused.

"Lighten up, lighten up," Eiji, ever the peacekeeper, replied. "It was just a dream, right? No big deal. What's more important, though…" he trailed off, pausing for affect, causing the two other boys to give a suffering look. "Is what the Higurashi Fan Club got him for his birthday."

Yuuichiro grinned. "Oh yeah! That's right!"

Yasha groaned. The Higurashi Fan Club, as Eiji had so amusingly dubbed it, referred to the many female classmates that went out of their way to spend time in his company. Whether they deemed him their designated non-gay male friend (girls were like that, he guessed), or potential boy-friend material, these girls – Inori Yuka, Satou Eri, and Yamamoto Ayumi especially – treated Yasha with a kind of adoration reserved for religious figures and pop stars.

Not that he minded too much, but by Kami it was just weird.

"They haven't gotten me anything yet," Yasha answered, shuddering at the thought of what they might have in store for him. At their junior high graduation ceremony, Eri and some of her friends had presented him with that scrapbook…

Individually, the three girls were pretty nice, but when the three of them got together…

"Man, you're lucky those girls think you're so pretty," Yuuichiro sighed. When Yasha opened his mouth to object to being called 'pretty', Yuuichiro held his hands up in defense, "Just think about it, Higurashi! To have those chicks worshipping the ground I walk on…"

"Or maybe just Ayumi-san…" Yasha said with a smirk. "Dude, if you want me to tell her that you like her…"

"No way! Don't say anything!" the boy exclaimed, his face turning bright red. Embarrassed, his expression turned crestfallen. "I'll tell her myself… eventually…"

"Suit yourself," Yasha acquiesced, rising out of his seat as the train slowed to a stop. "Anyway, here's my stop."

"All right, man," Eiji clasped hands with him, the latter blinking in confusion. "Oh, one more thing…" He paused again, grinning as his friend's eyebrow began to tick. Along with being somewhat stubborn, Yasha was known for not having infinite amounts of patience. "If your mom makes some of that Special Birthday Ramen, dude, you have got to save me some!"

Yasha snatched his hand away, shoving Eiji playfully as he stepped through the sliding doors and off of the train. "Not a chance." He grinned, waving as the doors slid shut, pulling a laughing Yuuichiro and sulking Eiji out of his sight.

Shaking his head good-naturedly at his friend's antics, he made his way out of the subway station. Not that he could blame him, of course. Among many other things, Yasha's mother was an excellent cook. It was a tradition in their home that on the birthday of a family member his mother would prepare their favorite dishes for breakfast and dinner. Being that today was his birthday, his 16th in fact, he was almost certain of what would be on the menu.

Instant ramen was good, but nothing beat Higurashi Kasumi's Super-special Birthday ramen.

Hitching his bag over his shoulder, he jogged down the block and across the street to the nearest corner. As he came to a stop, the large steps of an old Shinto shrine came into his line of vision. Not missing a beat, he raced up the steps two at a time, grinning at the sight of a small boy six or seven years his junior waiting at the top step with a soccer ball tucked under one arm.

"'Sup, kid?" he asked, ruffling the boy's hair playfully.

"Quit it, Nii-chan," the boy laughed, pushing his hand away.

"Why should I?" Yasha lunged at him, capturing him easily in a headlock. "I'm the Birthday boy; I get to do whatever I want!"

"No fair, no fair!" the boy exclaimed, struggling half-heartedly against the older boy's grip. "Aaah! No noogies!" Yasha released him, and he backpedaled away from him, sticking out his tongue impishly. "Just you wait 'til my birthday, Yasha-niichan, I'll get you back!"

Yasha laughed, "Oh yeah, Souta? Well, you'll have to catch me first!" With those words, he took off racing across the empty grounds to a quaint little house at the shrine, Souta yelling out injustices at his heels.

Sliding the door open, slipping his shoes off at the genkan, he called out, "I'm home!"

A woman with short black hair and smiling face greatly resembling his own leaned out of the kitchen, "Welcome home, sweetie. You left so early this morning that I didn't get to say Happy Birthday."

The nightmarish vision that had plagued him had prevented him from sleeping any later than he had, but his mother didn't need to know that. He flushed as she gently pushed back his bangs, planting a kiss on his forehead. "S'okay," he murmured. "I had cleaning duty this morning."

"Aww, Nii-chan's embarrassed." Souta snickered.

"Shut it, twerp!"

"Oh sweetie," Kasumi interrupted. "Before you get situated, why don't you go see your grandfather? I hear he has a gift for you."

Yasha tried hard not to grimace. He loved the old man, he really did, but he found gifts from him even less desirable than anything his fan club could possibly cook up. Religious to a fault, the old man was like something out of the movies, waving ofuda and spouting incantations, upholding all the folktales and traditions as if they weren't 500 years out of date. Due to this fact, there was no doubt in Yasha's mind that a gift from him would no doubt be steeped in history.

He recalled the time that Souta had insisted that everyone celebrate 'Kurismasu' by giving each other presents. Their grandfather had chosen to gift the young boy a lock of oni hair while Yasha in turn had received the mummified hand of a water kappa.

Oh joy. Oh rapture.

Walking into the dining room, he found the Higurashi patriarch seated at the table, an old unfurled text in one hand, and a cup of tea in the other.

'Weird. He never takes the scrolls out the shrine.' Yasha approached him from behind, patting the old man on the back in greeting. "Oi, Jii-san, I'm home."

"Ahhh, Yasha, my boy…" The old man set down his work, grinning up at his grandson. "Just the person I've been wanting to see."

"Heard you got something for me?"

Jii-san nodded solemnly, reaching for a small box from under his seat, setting it on the table in front of the young boy across from him. "Yasha, today is your birthday. You are now at an age where you are considered a man – and as such you must take on more responsibilities." Not sure what responsibilities his grandfather could possibly mean, the boy merely nodded. Jii-san studied him, his eyes showing his approval. "You're a good boy, Yasha," he replied earnestly. "Strong in mind, body, in spirit… I'm certain that if your father were still with us today, he would be as proud of you as we are."

His mind went to a photo of an older man resting on the mantle in the living room, encased in a black frame, candles on either side. Glancing down slightly, Yasha could feel his mother's hand touch his head from behind and he gave a small smile.

"And so," Jii-san continued. "Just as I did your father when he was your age, it is my duty to entrust to you, the eldest son, something that has been passed down from Higurashi to Higurashi through the generations." He paused, glancing at the youngest Higurashi lingering by the door. "You can see this, too, Souta."

Eager to be included, the young boy pulled up a seat at the table, giving his grandfather his undivided attention. Everyone watched as the old man reached for the box at the center of the table, pushing it towards Yasha.

He grasped the lid in his hands, hoping that as he pulled it away what was contained inside was not some decaying, unidentifiable animal body part. Peering at the box's contents, his dark eyes registered surprise, confusion, and indignation all at once.

"What is it?" Souta asked, watching his brother's expression with rapt attention.

Holding it up for all to see, Yasha held in his hands a string of what looked like teeth or bones, at the base of which rested a dull, pink ball.

'At least it's not a foot or something…'

"It's lovely… otousama," Kasumi replied, her expression a pleasant one. However, he hadn't expected much else; from what he'd heard about his mother's family, it would take a lot more than a really ugly necklace to catch Higurashi Kasumi by surprise.

"What is it?" he asked, studying the necklace as one would an old fossil or other ancient artifact of some kind.

The old man grinned. "I don't expect you'll remember, but I used to tell you this story when you were younger all the time," He rolled up the scroll that had lain out in front of him, clearing his throat as he went into story telling mode. "What you have in your hands in called the Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of the Lost Four Souls, an item of fathomless power. No one knows its origins or how it came to exist, but hundreds of years ago it came into the possession of a beautiful and powerful priestess who had been charged to protect it from demons."

"How come?" Souta asked.

"Many people say it is because the jewel was cursed." Jii-san answered. "Because of its vast power, it could grant the wish of any who held it in their possession. However, he who bore the jewel would ultimately be corrupted, their wish warped and twisted from its original intent.

Regardless of this fact, many youkai and wicked humans still sought out the jewel's power. The priestess guarded the jewel to keep it out of evil hands. Alas, she began to grow weary of her duty after time; being that she was so powerful, people admired her only from afar, the life she lived a very solitary one. It became her strongest desire to be rid of the cursed jewel that set her apart from her fellow man, but drew the attention of the wicked, but she knew that she could not abandon her post. She also knew she herself would be unable to make a wish upon the jewel - for her to do so was forbidden."

"That sucks." Souta pouted. Yasha mentally agreed with him.

"However, one day she met an unusual demon. Like many others, this demon sought the powerful jewel for its own desires, but the wish it planned to make was a peculiar one. It wished to become human."

Intrigued by this and sensing this creature a kindred spirit, the priestess decided to make a deal – she would allow this youkai to make its unselfish wish upon the Shikon no Tama, thus relinquishing her from her lifelong duty."

"Did it work?" Souta asked.

"Of course not," Jii-san answered, rubbing his scraggly beard thoughtfully. "The moment it got its claws on the jewel, it turned on the miko, rending her limb from limb."

Yasha rubbed his shoulder absently, trying to alleviate the sudden phantom pain that had appeared there. He paused, wondering; could that have been what his dream had been about?

"Perhaps the miko cursed the Shikon no Tama with her dying breath, or perhaps it has always been wicked, no one knows. Regardless, it is written that ill fate has befallen all those surrounding this stone.

Yasha stared at the bauble in his hand before fixing his grandfather with a glare. "No offense, Jii-san, but if that's the case, why are you giving this thing to me?"

"Our shrine is the very shrine that priestess heralded from… it is our honor and duty to carry out the legacy she has set before us! We will not let her sacrifices have been in vain!" His grandfather gave him the fiercest expression Yasha had ever seen, causing the boy to sink back further in his seat. After a few moments of tense silence, the old man began to laugh out loud.

"Jii-san…?"

"Don't worry so much, boy!" the old man laughed, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "That's not the Shikon no Tama…"

"It's not?" Souta asked, looking disappointed.

"No, of course not! The real thing hasn't been seen for nearly 500 years!" Jii-san said. "But what's important is the story, and the tradition passed down through our family line for five centuries. Were the Shikon no Tama still in existence today, it would be our family's sacred duty to keep it out of wicked hands."

"Oh my…" Kasumi replied.

Then there was silence.

Yasha stared at his grandfather, his expression neutral. "So… basically, your gift to me is a plastic ball and some old fairytale?"

Jii-san gave him a bland look before pulling a small envelope out of the fold of his gi. "Plus a gift certificate to that bookstore you're always meandering around in… Studying is important, of course… but if only you would devote as much attention to shrine duties…"

"That was nice of you, otousama," Kasumi said with a smile.

Yasha forced himself not to roll his eyes, accepting the envelope from his grandfather with a grin. "Thanks, Jii-san," he replied, giving the old man another pat on the back. Perhaps there was some hope for him after all. He paused, fingering the pseudo-relic in his hand. "Um… what do you want me to do with this?"

"You should keep it," Jii-san suggested. "For good luck." Seeing his grandson's bland look, he then sighed. "Or you could put it back with the others." At the raised eyebrows, he explained, "I plan to sell them as key-chains at the shrine."

Jii-san the entrepreneur… "Where are they?" Yasha asked.

"In the well-house; there's a couple boxes of them if you could just move them into the shrine office for me."

"But the well-house is haunted!" Souta exclaimed, casting his brother a worried glanced. "You told me so, Nii-chan!"

"Er…"

"Yasha, why would you tell your brother something like that?" Kasumi admonished.

"Um… to scare him?"

"Nonsense!" Jii-san exclaimed. "There are no ghosts in the well – demon remains, perhaps. That's why they call it the Bone Eater's well, as you well know."

"B-bone Eater?"

"Aw, c'mon, Souta, you don't really believe all that nonsense, do you?" Yasha asked.

"Yes!"

"As he well should!"

"Now, now, no more of that," Kasumi replied, clapping her hands together. "Dinner should be ready in a few minutes, so I want you two boys to do as your grandfather asked and then come inside and get cleaned up. We're having your favorites tonight, Yasha, sweetie."

He knew it. "Sure thing, mom," he said with a grin.

"Okay, mom…" Souta moaned, still uncertain.

"The seals on the well should prevent the vengeful spirits from escaping, but be careful." Jii-san warned.

"Sure, sure," Yasha intoned. "What's the worst thing that can happen anyway?"

Famous last words.

End Prologue

Author's Notes - Ahaaaa, I'm sure you guys are surprised, ne? But don't go thinking you're sure what's gonna happen next. I'm notorious for my demented little twists and turns...

Miss Chang Po - Demented being the operative word here.

Hush, you're just jealous. Remember the R's, minna!