Extra 19: Change the World (47)

"This is the address, I can even smell the disgusting scent of that bastard" - Inuyasha said as he gritted his teeth in fury.

During the last week, he along with Kagome and the others, had had an encounter that slightly changed the reason for their journey. Yes, they were traveling to gather the pearl shards and grow in strength with the trials fate was giving them, but after their encounter with that Hanyo named Naraku, everything changed.

Kagome now had a strong will to get the pearl again, not only to return home, but also to take this power away from such a cruel person as Naraku proved to be.

"If I remember well, his presence was around when the pearl was destroyed" - Yura said while frowning. It was strange the fact that she remembered this when so much time had passed.

"And you're only now saying that?!" - Inuyasha exclaimed angrily.

"I just remembered, besides, you should have smelled his scent too if you were paying attention" - Yura replied with a frown.

"Stop fighting" - said Kagome with annoyance, who was riding her bike, which was inside the seal Kurama handed her along with a small stone she used to activate it - "Seriously, you should be more concerned about the fact that we still haven't found other pearl shards, instead of arguing about something we can't change"

Inuyasha scowled before growling in the direction of the hair demon, while Yura only gave him a look full of disdain.

Kagome let out a heavy sigh before looking towards a nearby mountain ledge.

"Is something wrong, Kagome?" - Inuyasha asked as he looked at the priestess-in-training.

"I felt a glance in that direction" - replied Kagome as she shook her head - "Anyway, let's get on with the journey, we still have a long way to go and shards to collect."

"Ok" - Inuyasha snorted as Yura looked in the direction where Kagome had pointed before shaking her head.

"That beautiful girl in strange garments, she has better senses than I thought" - Miroku said as he frowned, after seeing that this diverse group had disappeared from his range of vision - "She also has a powerful spiritual pressure that she can't hide due to lack of training."

"Are we going to follow them?" - Hachi asked as he looked at his master, who had surprisingly managed to find a clue about this Yokai called Naraku.

"That's right" - nodded Miroku as he pondered - "Though I find it a bit strange that we have run into another group that is looking for the same Yokai"

"I feel the same way, it's too much of a coincidence" - replied Hachi as he started to think - "Do you think this is a plan of that Yokai called Naraku?"

"I don't think so" - Miroku answered while frowning - "Although it's obvious that there's something weird about all this, I mean, not one, not two either, but three groups of humans and Yokai looking for the same demon... that's too strange."

Hachi didn't reply anything to this, he just followed his master and friend in the direction where the group of the woman in strange clothes had departed.

* * * * *

"Can you sense something strange, Izumi-san?" - asked Sango, who was wearing her demon hunter's clothes, as was her younger brother.

"I feel a demonic presence behind those doors, it's a dark energy that doesn't seem to presage anything good" - replied Izumi while showing a disgusted expression.

They were in the middle of a job they had gotten upon arriving in the village, to look for the reason behind the disappearance of a group of children.

"How strong is the presence?" - Sango asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"It's not very strong, you can kill it very easily" - replied Izumi while shaking her head.

"Ok, I guess I'll get this over with" - said Sango as she opened the door to kill the Yokai.

"Thanks to your help we're going to finish this job much faster than we thought, you're great, Izumi-san" - said Kohaku with a small smile.

"You're a sweetheart, Kohaku" - smiled Izumi as she stroked the young demon hunter's head, only to notice how he blushed from the girl's affection. Oh, don't misunderstand, he wasn't in love with Izumi, in fact, she had started to become a sister figure like Sango was, something the hunter girl had also accepted - " Would you like to be the boyfriend of one of my younger sisters?"

"B-boyfriend?!" - Kohaku exclaimed with a red face - "E-Etto... I'm not sure..."

"Relax, my sisters are beautiful and the one I want to introduce you to, is Mito-chan" - Izumi replied as she made a hand seal and surrounded her body by a curtain of smoke. When the smoke disappeared, Izumi was no more, and now there was a pretty girl about Kohaku's age, who was wearing a red kimono that contrasted with her crimson hair.

"Wow..." - Kohaku muttered with a blush on his cheeks - "She's your sister?"

"Yes, she's Mito-chan" - replied Izumi before returning to her original form - "Oh, but don't be fooled by her appearance, Mito-chan is not a calm girl, but one with a strong character because she's the one who keeps the reins on her siblings."

"That's not much of a problem, Kohaku likes strong girls" - Sango replied as she came back with the head of the Yokai responsible for the disappearance of the children, although it was a pity that there was nothing left of them - "Sorry for the delay, it was as easy as you said, Izumi-san"

"That's good to hear" - Izumi smiled as she saw how Kohaku was yelling at her sister with a red face because he didn't like her telling Izumi about his likes about girls.

"Ok, I apologize" - Sango said, although the smile she had over her face, didn't show that she was very sorry for her actions - "Putting this aside, I think we better go and tell the villagers the good news and get our pay because I'm starving."

"I think the same thing, besides, I was checking the stores and I found out that this place has everything to prepare Pork Ramen" - Izumi replied excitedly.

"Are we finally going to try that dish you've been talking so much about?" - Sango asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Of course" - nodded Izumi as the trio walked towards the village chief's home to get their remuneration.

The village chief let out a cry of terror when he saw the head of the hideous creature that had been responsible for the deaths of the missing children, though he quickly handed them the money for the hunt, which was quickly distributed for the necessities of the journey.

"I wonder what Tousan is doing" - Izumi muttered as she began to prepare everything for dinner - "Is Inuyasha training well?"

"Remembering your father and your boyfriend?" - Sango asked as she heard the kitsune girl's words.

"Yeah, it's a bit complicated though" - Izumi muttered as she remembered the last moments she had had with the half-dog Hanyo.

"Do you want to talk about it?" - Sango asked as she looked at her traveling companion, who was now more of a friend than anything else, to the point that she was a bit embarrassed that her first thought was to eliminate her.

"No, at least not yet" - Izumi replied as she shook her head, though her expression changed slightly when she felt a familiar scent - "This presence..."

"Izumi-san?" - Sango said in surprise when she saw how the Hanyo Kitsune put everything aside and ran towards the entrance of the village - "Izumi-san!"

* * * * *

"We got here sooner than I thought" - Kagome said as she wiped her sweat from pedaling for so long - "When this adventure is over, I'm going to have the legs of an Olympic athlete..."

"What are you talking about?" - Inuyasha asked with a frown.

"I think she's referring to the athletes of her era" - Yura replied as she folded her arms, though her expression changed to one of surprise when she felt a familiar presence approaching their location, but she wasn't the only one, because Inuyasha's expression changed drastically - "Izumi?"

Kagome was surprised to hear this name, though she quickly looked towards the entrance of the village and saw the girl she hadn't seen in many days - "Izumi-san?"

Izumi looked at the group in surprise, though her gaze was mostly on Inuyasha, who was looking at her with mixed feelings.

"Inuyasha..." - Izumi said with a smile, though she stopped as she was about to take a few steps to where the group because memories of their last encounter reappeared in her head - ". . ."

"Izumi..." - Inuyasha replied with a lump in his throat because he still wasn't ready to meet the Kitsune girl again, not when he still hadn't come to a conclusion.

"This is uncomfortable to watch" - said a male voice - "Don't you think so too, Hachi?"

"That's right, Miroku-sama" - replied a second male voice.

Those present looked to the source, only to find themselves confronted by a monk and a Tanuki Yokai.