Time Traveler Katsumi

Follow Your Intuition

Inuyasha, Shippo, and Katsumi lay on the hay mattress on the floor of the hut as they tried to sleep.

"Inuyasha..." Shippo said.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked.

"I wonder what Kagome's doing right now...

"Stubborn brat, ain't ya. Forget about Kagome," Inuyasha huffed. 'As long as she's alive somewhere, that's okay. I couldn't stand it if she died again...' Inuyasha thought. Katsumi frowned at him.

'Who's the stubborn brat?' she thought sardonically. 'You're the one who's sulking and taking it out on us because you miss her...' "Don't worry, Shippo. I'm sure Kagome's fine. Knowing her, she's probably trying to find a way back to us... and when she does, Inuyasha's in for the 'sit' of his life," Katsumi reassured the little kit with a smirk.

Meanwhile, Rouyakan was sleeping in his cave, surrounded by a nest of sake and human skulls, snoring away. Naraku, dressed in his baboon hide, stepped into the cave.

"Wake up, Rouyakan-dono," Naraku ordered.

"Hnnn...?" Rouyakan mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"I've been looking for you," Naraku told him.

"Ah! Naraku, you bastard..." Rouyakan growled in surprise as he sat up.

"It seems I overestimated you. That you were unable to beat even a single hanyou..." Naraku said.

"Shut up! It wasn't what I expected at all! If you hate Inuyasha that much, why don't you kill him yourself!?" Rouyakan yelled.

"Unfortunately, I am in the middle of a transformation, you see... I can't make my move as of yet," Naraku replied. "The Shikon fragment Inuyasha carries now can be taken quite easily."

"No way! There's nothing in it for me if I die. I'm going back to sleep now, so you go home," Rouyakan huffed. Naraku pulled a seedling out of his baboon cloak and shoved it into the uncooperative youkai's forehead.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAH!" Rouyakan cried in pain. "Ho-Hot! My head!?" The seedling's roots dug deeper into his skull. "Wha—!?"

"That rice seed has a Shikon shard inside of it. If left alone, the roots will grow into a person's head. If you try pulling it out by force, you will die," Naraku told him.

"Ta—Take it off!" Rouyakan cried.

"I'll do it when you defeat Inuyasha. With the Shikon shard, you will grow more powerful. Now go, before Inuyasha's wounds have healed," Naraku told him.

Inuyasha awoke when he heard the door of the hut slide closed. He opened his eyes and saw Katsumi pasting another O-fuda on the door to replace the one she had broken. Inuyasha gaped at her.

"Y-You.... you can get in and out of here!?" Inuyasha yelled in surprise.

"Shh! You'll wake Shippo!" Katsumi whisper-yelled. "And yes, I can. The O-fuda don't seem to bother me. I think I'm well enough to heal you some now, but I went to get you fresh bandages since it's time to change them again anyway."

"But you've got even more youkai blood in you than I do!" Inuyasha whisper-yelled back. Katsumi shrugged.

"I think it's my dad's 'mystery youkai' genes again. Whatever his father was, it was something from Europe, so maybe that helps cancel out some of the weaknesses from the Japanese youkai part of me," she said, taking a seat. "Now, sit back and let me heal you."

Inuyasha did as she asked and watched as Katsumi placed her hands over his wound and channeled her youki into him. As usual, it didn't glow, but he could feel the energy flowing through him.