All characters, named weapons, and attacks borrowed from Inuyasha are not my own, but belong to Takahashi-dono.

"Over the Horizon"

Niban, Shako's lieutenant, burst into the guest house. "All of you, come quick!" he gasped, of breath.

Inuyasha stood and dashed to the door, Miatsu in hot pursuit. Tsubaki scooped up her spear while Kaede scrabbled for her bow and quiver (stocked full of brand new, demon-tooth-head arrows).

"What's going on?"

"Is it a demon attack?"

"Where did they come from?"

"What demons?"

"There's demons?"

"I don't sense anything…"

"I don't smell anything…"

They followed Niban to the door of another house. A foul stench issued forth from the open portal, along with a squeaky voice:

"Master Inuyasha, please, please, come in! I have made a great discovery!"

"Myoga…" the quartet groaned.

"Should've known it wasn't important," Inuyasha grumbled.

"… made me spill my soup!" Miatsu griped.

Tsubaki yawned. "I was sleeping, finally…"

"Oh, come on, you guys!" Kaede stamped her foot. "If he says it's important, it probably is! We should at least hear him out." She plunged into the reeking room.

Dismissing Niban, the other three joined her reluctantly. Inuyasha held his sleeve to his nose to diminish the smell.

Inside, the flea was hopping in place on a low table, barely able to contain his excitement. "Lord Inuyasha," he announced, "I have calculated the number of Jewel shards!"

"Seriously?"

"Ubuh – of course!" He waved his arms, affronted. "What kind of wise old flea would I be if I couldn't at least perform some elementary calculations in the service of my master?"

Miatsu perused the sheets of paper scattered across the table. "Is this why you needed to spend so long Midoriko's cave, putting our lives at risk from those demon spirits? To take measurements of the size of the Jewel?"

"Well, er… yes… I couldn't very well do this without knowing how big it was to begin with! And I swear, I had no idea the Jewel shards would have that effect!"

"You know, you could have just asked someone who had held the Jewel when it was still in one piece!" Kaede promptly squashed the old pest with the heel of her hand.

After reinflating himself with a quick snack from the veins in her palm, Myoga dusted off his tiny garments. "Look, it's not that simple. The slightest error in judgment of the size of it would throw off all subsequent computations!"

Tsubaki yawned again. "Yeah, yeah. Anyhow, what have you got?"

"Well, I found that the Jewel, when whole, had a diameter of almost precisely one sun. That gives it a radius of one half of a sun."

"Um… what?" Inuyasha's face went completely blank.

"Ah, yes. That was part of what I was to teach you on my next visit to you and your mothe… er… do the rest of you still follow me?"

At the trio of nods, he continued. "Anyhow, since the formula for the volume of a sphere is equal to four-thirds the radius cubed multiplied by the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter..." He paused and looked up. Inuyasha looked completely boggled, while Miatsu and Kaede had quizzical expressions on their faces. Only Tsubaki nodded… and her unexpected understanding of three-dimensional geometry was soon explained when her head didn't pop back up again.

Inuyasha gently steered her onto a futon in the corner. Naptime...

"… anyhow, using the formula discovered long ago on the Continent, I found that the Jewel had a volume of roughly 0.5236 cubic san, or just over 8 sai." He grinned, pleased with himself.

"Okay…" Kaede allowed. I probably could have told him that to begin with…

"Now, the shards were another matter. Since we only have four of them, and one is inaccessible at the moment," he continued, gesturing to Kaede's eye, "I have only a small sample to go on. And, as it turns out, these three shards are not exactly equal in size."

He hopped across the table to a row of glazed clay cups. Perching on the rim of the one on the far left, he continued. "Using the method of water displacement, I found that the average volume of these shards here is – "

"Wait, what's that?" Kaede inquired.

"That, my dear, is when you put a set volume of water into a measuring container, such as this one I have created here," he pointed to the evenly spaced scratches on the inside of the cup, "and then put in an irregularly shaped object, such as a Jewel shard. By measuring how much the water level appears to rise, you can determine the volume of the object."

"No… what's that?" The young priestess pointed to the third cup in the row.

"Oh, that! That, my dear, is a little side experiment. It contains a mixture of highly toxic, highly corrosive chemicals from the poison glands of demon snakes, centipedes, toads, and the like… and one of the Jewel shards."

"What? Get it out of there, right now!"

"No!" He leapt in from of her advancing limb. "Don't put your hand in there, foolish girl! If you would like to keep it, that is."

"Then I'll use these." She brandished a pair of bamboo chopsticks that lay on the table.

"No, no, they would liquefy… as would anything metallic! Hasty, hasty… Lord Inuyasha, if you could kindly pour the contents of the seventh cup from the right into the cup Kaede just tried to dissolve her hand into?"

"This one, right?"

"Count again, Lord Inuyasha."

SQUISH

"This one, right?"

"Yes… very good… Lord Inuyasha…" the flea wheezed.

The disgruntled hanyou poured the contents as Myoga directed, and the vile concoction gradually ceased its simmering. Myoga hopped over, coughed, and spat a small droplet into the cloudy white brew. It promptly turned a disgusting shade of yellow. "Phew. The solution has been neutralized," he declared. "Now, Kaede, if you please? Err… best use the chopsticks, just to be safe."

She fished around in the pool for a moment, searching for the shard in the murk. "Got it!" she proclaimed, dropping it into a bucket of purifying water.

Myoga scratched his head and sighed. "Nothing. Nothing works."

"What were you trying to do, exactly?" Miatsu inquired.

"I was trying to see if the shard would react with any known chemicals. I have been trying, with no success, ever since the day we went to the cave – except for the wedding and the party yesterday, of course. I wouldn't miss a feast for anything!" And I just… love weddings… As long as it's not mine! He shuddered at the memory of his own betrothed, Shouga. When they said you couldn't go home again… they were right!

"You tried to… dissolve it… in demon acid?" Kaede's face was absolutely livid. "It's made from souls! Of course nothing from our physical world will react with it!"

"Pff. Well, yes, conventional knowledge would suggest that, but I had to try!"

Miatsu barely restrained the girl from dunking the flea into another, nearly-as-nasty-looking potion. "He meant well, Kaede. If he had succeeded, we would no doubt have learned something valuable. As it is, we are now further assured that the Jewel is indeed not of the body, but of the spirit. Anyhow, Myoga… how big were the shards?"

Carefully eyeing the still-fuming priestess, the flea relayed his results. "Well, the smallest of the three was 0.071 sai, the middle was 0.074 sai, and the the largest was 0.079 sai, which averages out to 0.074667 sai."

Kaede's eyes widened in understanding. "So then we divide the volume of the whole Jewel by the average size of one shard, and we should get the number of shards it has been split into!"

"Precisely, Lady Kaede!" Mood swings… must be that time of the month.

"So, how many shards are there?" said Inuyasha, who had sulking in silence since the reprimand from his former tutor.

"Well, because of this small sample, and the variety of sizes… I would say between 100 and 120."

Everyone sat in silence as this news sunk in.

"At least a hundred?" murmured Miatsu.

"And we only have four so far?" Kaede fingered the three fragments on the table.

"SNORK…"

Pointedly ignoring the slumbering Tsubaki's nasal issues, Inuyasha tossed his mane of silvery hair. "It's no big issue. We've got two people who can see the shards – we'll find them all in no time!"

Kaede shook her head. "Yes, but… it's not just the finding, but the getting. Naraku already has many more than we do, remember? … and he's looking for them, too."

"Naraku…" Miatsu gazed at his rosary-wrapped right hand, clenched and released it. "Speaking of that fiend, I think it's time I see what damage he's really done."

"Sounds like a plan," Kaede agreed. "After we finish lunch… and Tsubaki finishes her nap. Inuyasha, could you…?"

The hanyou was already striding out the door with the priestess nestled in his arms.

XXXXX

"Oh, that feels so much better!" Tsubaki stretched and twisted, limbering up. "You did save me some lunch, right?"

"Miatsu's anxious to see what that curse has done to his hand… just take these along." Kaede handed Tsubaki a lacquered box stuffed with onigiri.

"Just rice balls?"

"It's better than what we can expect to get on the road," Kaede reminded her. Unless Miatsu does another fake exorcism… and I think we all want to steer clear of that for now, considering what happened last time.

The two priestesses hustled out the village gates to the open practice field. Kaede was briefly concerned that a crowd would gather to see the spectacle, but she was relieved to see that only their companions had.

Shako and Risa, standing beside piles of practice materials, waved them over. Kilala jumped into Kaede's arms and purred while Myoga delivered his own brand of greeting.

"Don't you ever give it a rest?" she sulked.

"My dear, I've been working nearly non-stop with nary a break for even a light snack. Surely you can't fault an old man for being hungry?"

"No, but go find a rat or something!" She swatted him loose, but as a kindness declined to squash him.

"He would be hard-pressed to do that, thanks to the excellent mouser in your arms," Shako reminded her.

"Oh, yeah." Kaede scratched the twin-tailed cat's ears absent-mindedly. I've grown pretty fond of her… I'll miss her once we leave, she realized. I'll miss them all!

"We're waiting!" Inuyasha called to Miatsu impatiently.

"Er… yeah." The monk stood at a distance, facing away from both the village and the observers.

Tsubaki was in the midst of devouring her third onigiri when she noticed the beads of perspiration beginning to appear on Miatsu's brow. The poor guy is scared stiff! Can't say I blame him, though…

"Hey, Miatsu?" she called.

"Eh?"

"You'll be fine. Relax!"

"Heh… yeah… okay, everyone here? Please, stay behind me, and way back – I honestly don't know what will happen."

"Well, that weird priestess said you'd be fine," Inuyasha reminded him. Of course, she also said I shouldn't exist, which has to be complete hogwash, but that's beside the point right now…

"Even so… well, here goes!" He held out his right palm and gripped the rosary beads wrapped around it with his left. If I don't survive this… look after them, please!

He pulled the beads back, and the howling winds of fury broke loose.

XXXXX

"So, what are you going to call it?" Kaede inquired as they returned to the village.

"Eh?"

"Well, every cool attack has to have a name, right? Like Inuyasha has his Blades of Blood? I think it's especially important in your case, when it would be a good idea for your allies in battle to know when you're going to use that attack!" Though we'd be sure to know about it not long after, of course…

"Hmm… well, we're still not sure about where this… tunnel… in my hand leads. None of the objects we tossed into its path came out again."

Indeed, nothing had. Rocks, sticks, even some demon remains that had been destined for Midoriko's cave had vanished into his hand, never to be seen again. Best yet, Miatsu appeared to suffer no ill effects, aside from fatigue brought on by bracing himself. It was clear he would not be able to maneuver, dodge, or do anything else while the phenomenon was exposed.

"That other priestess just called it a 'void', a nothingness… whatever that's supposed to mean," Kaede snorted. "But I'd say that suggests that it leads… nowhere?"

"Well, there goes my idea of naming it the 'Mystic Portal'…" Miatsu said with mock disappointment.

"Why not name it after what it produces, not where it leads?" Tsubaki suggested.

"The… Wind Tunnel? Kazaana? I like it!" Miatsu decided with a grin.

As they passed under the gate, he paused momentarily, fingering the highly magnetic rosary beads. This Wind Tunnel seems under control, for now. But the priestess said it would continue to grow over time, and would be passed on to any sons I should have. What will happen when it grows too large? Will I… will it engulf me, as well? If so, I must take care to distance myself from others when that time draws near.

XXXXX

When the party returned to their borrowed lodgings, they find the house replete with preserved foodstuffs of all sorts.

"What's all this about?" Tsubaki asked, marveling at the quantity and variety.

"Well, you are seeking the shards of the Jewel, yes?" said Shako. "Please, consider this your 'home base' for the task ahead of you. You needn't worry about bothering us for food or any other supplies – they will always be here waiting for you. Take what you need and can manage, and leave the rest for if and when you need to come back and restock."

Kaede, Tsubaki, and Miatsu promptly bowed, thanking Shako for the generous gift.

"Inuyasha," Kaede hissed. Don't be rude!

"Nothin' doin'."

"Kokuzoku!"

WHAM

"GRRR… I forgot about this damn necklace!"

"Please, please. It's fine. You are our friends, and considering the task you must now undertake… we should be the ones thanking you," said Risa. "I now belong to this village, and to Shako's family, which has sworn to keep the Jewel undefiled at all costs."

"So… you're coming with us?" Kaede asked as Inuyasha stood and dusted off his coat. She knew even the hanyou was actually hopeful about the prospect of Shako's accompaniment, but she wasn't sure Risa should come.

"Sadly, no," Risa replied with a shrug. "Although I'd dearly love to, I'm just… not a fighter. I tried to persuade Shako to accompany you without me, but he adamantly refused."

Shako confirmed this with a nod. "Despite my family mission, I have a duty to my wife now. Under any other circumstances, I would join you in a heartbeat."

"Of course."

Silence followed Miatsu's reply. No one seemed willing to be the first to say anything, as the next word would confirm absolutely that which they all dreaded, but knew must happen nonetheless: the time to leave was fast approaching.

"Well… I'll go get Nina from the stables," Kaede offered, breaking the pregnant pause. "Can you guys start packing up the bags?"

Shako halted her at the door. "Pack up the bags, by all means, but… I have a suggestion regarding Nina, if you will hear it."

Kaede's hands flew to her mouth as she mistook the gravity in his voice for grief. "Oh, no! She's not hurt, is she?"

"She was much worn out when she first arrived, but no, she's fine! But… well, she is getting on in years – I can tell at a glance – and I don't how well she can manage extended travel of the magnitude you're planning. I have no other equine steeds to offer you, but… let's just say that someone else offered to accompany you in my stead."

"That's the real reason he decided to stay," Risa whispered to Tsubaki. "Stubborn man."

"Oh? Who offered to join us?" Niban, perhaps?

The party in question chose that moment to saunter in the door. She squatted and began grooming her fur. Suddenly conscientious of the attention bestowed upon her, she asked:

"Mreow?"

"Kilala! You're coming with us?" Kaede scooped up the cat and cuddled her fiercely.

"Mrew!"

Inuyasha commenced a measured cadence, banging his head against the wall. Cats. I don't. Like. Cats!

Miatsu patted his shoulder. "At least she likes you."

Inuyasha returned that blithe statement with a withering stare. "Yippee."

XXXXX

"So, Myoga, you're going to stick around and do some more research on the Jewel?" Miatsu verified. The group had gathered in the flea's makeshift laboratory to say their farewells to him. Thankfully, the putrid air had been cleared out.

"Yes. Once I'm done here, I'll track down any other intel I can find. After all, once you find, reclaim, and purify all the shards, there's still the matter of recombining them… not to mention dealing with the recombinant Jewel itself! Can we only keep it pure forever, no more?" He shook his head, then dipped his head to Kaede. "I'd hate to see similar tragedies as yours befall others; and they surely will if that is the best we can hope for."

"Thanks, Myoga."

"On another note… Lord Inuyasha? Please, let me see the Tetsusaiga."

"What for?"

"Just let me see it!"

"Fine, fine." He drew the blade and laid it on the table.

The flea hopped to the gap in the cutting edge and studied it carefully. Presently, he wiped his brow. "Phew. There appears to have been no further damage since it struck and broke the Jewel." He looked up at Inuyasha. "Frankly, knowing what I know now about the Jewel, I'm absolutely shocked that the sword did not fracture entirely!"

Inuyasha shrugged. "As long as it works, that's all that matters."

Shako, who was waiting for them in the doorway with a scroll under his arm, cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, Inuyasha, even a slightly damaged weapon can quickly become completely broken. I have seen it happen many times: when a warrior does not maintain that which protects his life, he very often loses both at once."

"I already talked to Niban, and your smiths; they couldn't help. Niban said that the original swordsmith would know what to do, but I have no clue who that is!"

"Ahem. I do."

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier, Myoga!"

"We were rather interrupted by your brother and his mother, if you remember! Now, listen closely. The last I saw of the creator of the Tetsusaiga – Totosai is his name – he lived in the caldera of Mount Akagi, a volcano at the northern edge of the Kanto Plain. "

"O… kay… how do we get there from here?" asked Inuyasha.

"Where in the heck is 'here', anyway?" murmured Kaede. I'd never been more than a day's journey from home before Kikyou died, and now I'm going to be tramping all over Japan…

"Well," said Shako, "I can help you with that. We're here." He opened the scroll he carried and laid it out on the table, revealing a fairly detailed map of the region. Pointing to a mountain west of a range of foothills on the western edge of the Kanto Plain, he indicated their current location. "Mount Takushiki, we call it. Outsiders may have other names for it, but we're not about to start asking!"

"Good," murmured Miatsu, intent upon memorizing the map's primary details. "Now we'll actually know how to get back here again… if we have the chance."

"Hmm… sister Kikyou once said the closest castle town to our village was Edo, and we've headed mostly northwest up until now. If this map is any kind of accurate, we're roughly halfway from there to Mount Akagi. We just need to head due north, more or less," Kaede summarized.

"I wouldn't… not straight north, anyways," commented Shako. "I would head north until you cross the Arakawa River and the plain beyond to the Tone River. It flows slow but sure, and taking a boat upriver – at least until you reach this valley, here – will save you much labor."

"Sounds like a plan," said Tsubaki. "It should be a nice change of pace from all the walking we'll be doing – and with heavy packs, I might add."

Kaede cut her off. "Let's think about that when we get there, okay?" Last time sister Kikyou and I rode even a small boat, I got really nauseous… "Besides, I imagine we'll have to take a detour if we sense any Jewel shards."

"Damn right we will! I still need to become a full demon!"

"Inuyasha…" She eyed him menacingly.

"Eh?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

XXXXX

"No, no, and no! I ain't carrying all that stuff, and that cat can't be big all the time! You need to leave more behind!"

"Hiss!" 'That cat' took a swipe at Inuyasha's ankles.

"Yeouch! See? What'd I tell you?"

"She's just mad because you won't use her name – I can't say I blame her!" Kaede turned back to the stack of bundles she had prepared for their journey. He's right, though. It's still way too much. We're looking for Jewel shards, not fighting a war…

"He… he he… HA HA HA! Stop… stop it, I say!"

Kaede peered over her shoulder to see what was making Inuyasha laugh so. She barely kept from laughing herself at the sight of Kilala licking the scratches she'd laid into the hanyou's legs. Momentarily recovering from the fit of tickle-induced hysteria, he seized the cat by the scruff of her neck. "Well, you did save Tsubaki and me from that fall. And you look like you can be of some use in battle. But you'd better pull your weight… Kilala."

"Mew!" She leapt onto his neck and nuzzled him.

"Aww… isn't that cute?"

"Geh! Tsubaki!"

"He he… no, seriously, Inuyasha, you looked… eh, never mind. Kaede, here are those herbs you asked me to bring. But why did you want so many different poison antidotes?"

"Well, if we're going to be fighting Naraku, I figure he'll try more dirty tricks instead of a straight fight. I just want to be prepared for that eventuality."

Tsubaki watched her remove a sack of rice from one pouch and replace it with the herbs. She's so practical and serious most of the time… I guess that's why she needs to let loose and be a kid again every so often.

Kaede chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Well… I guess we can make do with just three cooking pots…" she mused.

"One," Inuyasha countered.

"Two."

Inuyasha threw up his hands in resignation. "Fine! But make sure they stack!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Kaede rummaged around in another pack, removed five pots, and put three (each one nestled inside the other) back inside.

"Okay, I've finished inventorying the food," called Miatsu. "We've got enough here to last for months, but we obviously can't take it all."

"Leave behind most of the dried meat," Kaede replied. "We can hunt for some game, and I'm sure Inuyasha and Kilala can fish without any tackle. But, we do need grain. We'll have to stay pretty close to sources of water so we can cook the rice."

"We should be pretty well set in that department, Kaede. That map showed rivers and streams everywhere – well, at least in the plains," Miatsu amended. "The mountains may be somewhat more problematic, especially considering we are more likely to find Jewel shards there."

"Why's that?" Inuyasha asked, curious.

The monk turned to the half-demon, a raised eyebrow crinkling his forehead, his head itself clearly cocked at an are-you-stupid-or-something? angle. "Because that's where more demons live."

"Oh… yeah."

"Not anymore," Tsubaki interjected, shaking her head. "Demons have been coming down from the mountains these days to feast on the bodies left behind on battlefields and in sacked villages. More food – and easily gotten food, at that – means even more demons will start appearing… especially since the Jewel shards were scattered."

"True," Kaede agreed. "Trouble follows after the Jewel; and now the Jewel has been spread across the land. Though we shouldn't go seeking trouble, we might not have to search as hard as we think to find the missing shards."

"We may even encounter humans who possess shards," Miatsu posited. "It's not unthinkable, at least. After all, the Jewel contains not only demon souls, but also one very powerful human soul, as well."

"But humans wouldn't know what the Jewel is," protested Inuyasha. "I didn't know the Jewel even existed until I met Kikyou."

"No, but humans would quickly recognize its ability to empower the one who bears it – especially if it was in the hands of a samurai, a bandit, or a daimyo – any man accustomed to power. I can only imagine the carnage such a man might bring about!" Miatsu exclaimed.

"More than demons can, I might say," murmured Tsubaki. She glanced at Inuyasha, who knew all too well what ambitious men could do when enthralled by their lust for power. "Anyhow, let's make the final decisions on what to bring – together."

XXXXX

As they finished the final arrangements as to who would carry how much of what, Niban knocked on the doorframe, informing them that Shako, Risa, and the rest of the village were planning on treating them all to a farewell feast.

"I know you can't take much with you, so this is the least we could do by way of an apology," their host explained when they arrived.

It wasn't quite as big of a spread as the wedding party had offered, but it was the most magnificent dinner they would have for quite some time to come.

It was also the last time they would sleep so comfortably and so secure.

XXXXX

Arising before dawn the next morning, Inuyasha, Kaede, Tsubaki, and Miatsu wordlessly donned their packs and made their way to the village gate. The sun was just rising to greet them as the villagers came to say goodbye.

Kaede bowed to the cooks, thanking each in turn for their culinary advice.

"May your aim always be true," said Niban as she reached him. "Or next time I'll get beef stew!"

Kaede grinned at his short but clever poem. "I'll cook things you've never tasted before when we get back," she promised.

Shako and Risa stood together at one side within the gateway. "Perhaps, if your mission takes a long time – which I hope it doesn't – I will be able to join you," Shako suggested as they passed through. "If I do come across any Jewel shards, I will do my best to keep them safe until you return. And, who knows? We just may encounter each other while I am out on a demon-slaying mission!"

Kaede sniffled. "We'll miss you, all of you!" She dumped her pack, and threw her arms around Risa, bawling.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Let's get going already!

"Indeed. Our time together has been… interesting, to say the least." Miatsu clasped arms with Shako, then shook his head regretfully. "I must say, I've been hoping to see your Hiraikotsu in action."

"Perhaps, one day, you shall."

Tsubaki hesitated when Risa approached her, but accepted the hug, giving a slight squeeze in return. I'm really not used to all this physical contact… but I think maybe I could grow to enjoy it. She glanced at Inuyasha, remembering the feel of her hands in his as they danced, and rubbed her cheeks with her free hand to hide the rising blush.

After bowing slightly to Risa in sync with Miatsu, Inuyasha acknowledged Shako with a curt nod; the slayer replied in kind. They understood each other better than either would care to admit.

Miatsu stamped his shakujo twice; the rings jingled merrily. "Well then," he announced. "Let's be off."

"Wait for me!" Kaede was still struggling to put her pack back on. I guess I should've left even more behind, she lamented. Too late no – ow!

"Oh, come on already!" Inuyasha scooped up the girl and her pack and dashed down the trail, his own cumbersome pack bouncing along behind him.

Shako shook his head. They'll learn soon enough just what they really need to survive out on the open road… your equipment is important, to be sure, but it is the quality of your companions that makes all the difference; and these companions are of the highest caliber.

Miatsu looked sideways at Tsubaki and shrugged. "Might as well go out with a bang, eh? Kilala!"

"MROW!" The tiny cat burst into flame and swelled to her full size.

"Can you give us a lift?"

"Mrf."

The monk deftly strapped his pack to Tsubaki's and slung them across the cat's midsection. He stroked her forehead. "Thank you, Kilala. Good girl." He hauled himself up, then reached down a hand to Tsubaki, who balked at the offer.

"Look, you can ride with Inuyasha next time."

It's not just that… Her eyes narrowed. "No funny business?"

"I promise."

Still reluctant, she swung up in front of him; surprisingly, he kept his word.

With a short run, they were airborne. They caught up to Inuyasha and Kaede as the loping hanyou crested a ridge. And as the Shako, Risa, Niban, and the rest of the village watched, they vanished over the horizon: where new adventures awaited.

A/N: And there you have it! Keep a sharp lookout for "Tales from a Twist in Time", hopefully coming soon! If I find the time…

The winner of the contest in Chapter 39's Author's Note is… nobody! I guess no one wanted to re-read the story, but they still only have 4 shards! Kaede counts them in Chapter 20, but they haven't found any more yet. Oh, well…

If the measurements of the Jewel that Myoga used are confusing, that's probably because he used traditional Japanese units. The sun was a unit of length approximately equal to 3.03 cm, which is about the size that I estimated the Jewel to be from its few appearances as a whole object relative to other objects or persons. So, I made the Jewel 1 sun in diameter.

The formula Myoga used was (of course) the formula for the area of a sphere: 4/3 π r3. This formula was developed by Archimedes – so the history books say – sometime during the 3rd century BC, so nearly two millennia have passed until the Sengoku era… plenty of time for an old flea to learn it. Granted, they didn't have as precise a measurement for pi as we do now, by for all intents and purposes, they had enough decimal places to be extremely precise by contemporary standards of measuring just about anything.

Finally, the sai was not referring to Raphael's (of the TMNTs) weapon of choice, but to a traditional unit of volume, approximately equal to 1.804 mL (1.804 cm3). I did the math myself, and assuming the diameter of 1 sun, the volume actually did come out to be almost exactly 8 sai (8.07686… to be more precise).

The mountain I had the Slayers dub Mount Takushiki (which means "farsightedness") is meant to be the contemporary Mount Dodaira, chosen as the site of a space telescope due to its relatively flat top. I'm sure you can guess why I picked the fictional name…

Edo, if you didn't know, was the name of the city of Tokyo up until the Meiji Restoration of the late nineteenth century (which is why Kaede was completely clueless when Kagome said she was from Tokyo in the very first episode of the anime).

On a related note… why do Inuyasha & Crew never visit any major cities in the Feudal Era? One would think at least a few Jewel shards would end up there…

I guess that's all for now. Thank you, faithful readers who stuck it out and supported me! My special thanks go to Ganheim and little25victor for their frequent reviews and constructive criticism.

Until next time: sayonara!