“Is she alright?” Nathaniel asked, sitting back from the enchanted bars that kept him prisoner in Naraku’s Castle.

“She is, for now, though her stubbornness is very taxing on the nerves,” Naraku said, laughing softly. “She is a fascinating creature, so full of fire and yet so weak,” he mused, sitting next to the bars. “She is still refusing to assist me, I guess she doesn’t love you as much as you thought,” he said, looking back toward the captured demon.

“You’re wrong, she does love me, she just knows what’s right,” Nathaniel said, his voice soft.

“Oh? You don’t sound convinced,” Naraku said. “I could help you, take away the pain,” he said, holding up a shard of the jewel.

“What kind of an idiot do you take me for?” Nathaniel spat. Naraku just laughed, putting the shard back into his kimono sleeve. He stood and started to walk away.

 “I don’t know how much longer I will allow her to live, perhaps you should accept my offer before I make you hurt more,” he said, walking out and sliding the door shut.

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Sarah gasped, her mind rushing back to her body with terrible new truth. She stood, looking around in momentary confusion at the destruction around her before her memory came back in a sudden flood of guilt and anger.

“It would appear that you have more power than you knew,” Sesshoumaru said, stepping into the clearing.

“I know I have it, I just don’t use it,” Sarah said, her tone defensive.

“Apparently you do,” he said, looking around.

“I mean on purpose, I was a little upset when I got here,” she looked over at him, daring him to say anything else.

“The others are looking for you,” he said.

“The others meaning not you?” she asked. He just nodded. “Then why are you here?” she asked.

“I felt an immense power and came to see what it was,” he said, turning and starting to walk away. She just sighed and started to follow him. They met up with the rest of the group after a few minutes of walking and the questions began.

 “Where did you go?”

“Where did all that power come from?”

“Who are you really?”

“What does Naraku have that’s so dangerous?”

All of these came at once and were almost too much for Sarah’s fragile psyche to handle. She held up a hand and was amazed when everyone fell silent. She laughed mentally, guessing that she had let too much of her power leak out when she fought Sesshoumaru.

“I went to a clearing to think. I’ve always had it and I didn’t have to use it till I fought Sesshoumaru. My name is Sarah and I’m really from the future like Kagome. It’s a weapon that has more destructive power than both Inuyasha’s and Sesshoumaru’s swords combined. There, did I answer everyone’s questions?” she asked, looking around at the slightly stunned faces.

“I have one more,” Kagome said, stepping forward. “Who is Terras, really, and how did you get here? Why aren’t you human?” she asked.

“Well, first off that’s more than one,” Sarah said, grinning, “but to answer your questions, Terras is really my friend Nathaniel, we got here via a machine he built, and we’re not human because of the same machine,” she said. Kagome could tell that there was more truth that she wasn’t telling her, but she didn’t push the subject any further. Sarah sighed and walked into the middle of the clearing. “So, has everyone resolved their issues with each other? Ready to at least cooperate?” she asked, looking around. No one seemed to object so she sighed and looked upward. “Great, well, we need to find Naraku’s Castle. I think our best bet is to split up, go in groups of twos and threes and stop at every castle you see. Those of you with the ability to fly or those who have an animal who flies, I suggest you use them to look from the air. And don’t stop for anything unless you’ve found Naraku! No stopping to perform fake ceremonies or because you see a hot spring you want to try! This is no longer a matter of revenge, or because you feel responsible! This is life or death! Now, pair up.”

She stepped back and watched as everyone went back to their normal groups. She growled, walking between the pairs and splitting them up, matching them with others, trying to maximize skill rather than personal comfort. Eventually it was Sesshoumaru and Kagome, Inuyasha and Miroku with Ah Un and Sango Rin and Jaken with Kilala. No one was particularly happy with their group, but she had to make sure that those who were more likely to get attacked or find Naraku were the most powerful teams. Sarah walked over and joined Kagome and Sesshoumaru, putting an arm around him loosely as they took to the sky, held up by the wisp of cloud he liked to use. She watched as the others took to the skies as well, setting off in different directions. She let out a sigh of relief, feeling a lot of the negative energy ebb with the group’s separation.

“Are you alright?” Kagome asked, looking over at her. “You look pale,”

“Fine, just a little tired,” she said, feeling her legs start to shake.

“Rest, the cloud is solid and has a barrier, you will not fall,” Sesshoumaru said, not bothering to look at her. She sank down against his legs, curling up into sitting ball and letting her eyes close. It wasn’t until her mind was an inch from sleep that she bothered to wonder why Sesshoumaru had suggested anything at all. She smiled as she drifted off, laughing off the idea that he really was a big softy underneath it all.