Jewels. The name given to what are considered by man a precious stone due to their seemingly limited availability, these stones are often collected by the wealthy and coveted by the poor. Usually mounted or set in a ring, or bracelet or necklace, women and men alike wear them to show stature and wealth than for looks. In ancient times however, more than once a jewel was a piece of magic. In the instance of the Shikon no Tama or Jewel of the Four Souls, its magic was cursed and brought death and destruction wherever it trailed. Even though, there are other jewel's, such as the Black Pearl, which resides in the right eye of a half demon named Inuyasha, and the Dragon's Breath, a heaven or drakengard for Dragon's, whose magic is meant to conceal from earthly evil a purity.
The sun shone down through the trees of Inuyasha Forest. Birds chirped happily splashing in the puddles from last night's storm. Dominic Santiago crawled out from under a log, not having slept at all. He was wet, tired and hungry. Worse, he didn't know where he was. He had fallen into a red light and found himself in the forest wandering aimlessly. The ground was black with mud and muck mixed with concentrations of water.
"Great, I'm totally lost and gonna die out here alone." He said to no one in particular. Up ahead in another clearing he heard rumbling and growling. Slowly the boy walked forward through a path of trees. In a grove of trees, he saw a large black scaly beast at least fifty feet tall. The creature was eating an animal that appeared to be a cow. It stopped suddenly and its horned head rose up.
'That's a dragon!' Dom quickly ducked behind a tree. 'I'm dreaming I must be dreaming.' He punched the tree and quickly learned he was not. The beast now walked towards his direction. The earth shook like in those dinosaur movies, and Dom ducked down. The dragon stopped and peered around the tree. It gave a roar and Dominic took off running. The giant beast gave chase, following its human prey through the woods and making quite a racket. Dominic yelled for help but there was not any to come.
He zigged and zagged around large trees to slow the thing down. Ahead of him was a pair of substantial oaks and then a drop. Dom ran for his life, clearing the trees he leapt. The boy fell downwards and right into a giant field of mud. The dragon slammed into the trees and gave a mighty roar before backing out and going. Dominic lay in the soft mud; it was rather warm, but not exactly pleasant. He turned to one cheek and smiled for a moment, before passing out entirely from exhaustion. He did not notice or feel the fact he was slipping down the sloped hill and into the flooded and mud filled rice paddy.
The villagers had gathered at the opposite end of Edo, and Kaede along with Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo on Miroku's shoulder, and lastly Sango with Kirara at her side, stopped at the edge of the mud field. They could see a giant beast wiggling its head and snapping at a human boy who was face down in the field near the slope of the hill that led up to Inuyasha Forest.
"Inuyasha don't! Something's not right." Kagome said as he drew his sword. Kagome could tell that wasn't a normal demon or dragon. "I don't think that's an indigenous demon."
"What're you talkin' about?" the half demon snapped back.
"She means that it is not from here, it probably came from the mainland." Miroku explained.
"Look! That kid in the fields, he's sinking." Sango said, pointing.
"I'm not goin' in there after some kid, you go get him Kagome." Inuyasha said as he sheathed Tetsusaiga and crossed his arms.
"I'm not going in there! It's too deep." Kagome shot back.
"We had better do something fast he's going to be under soon." Miroku added.
"I'll get him on Kirara, but someone will have to pull me up." Sango volunteered.
"I suppose I could." Inuyasha said.
"Miroku, wouldn't you rather go?" Kagome chirped.
"Um no, that's alright." Kagome gritted her teeth and jumped onto the now transformed Kirara.
"Kagome will you be able to pull me up?" Sango asked.
"I can't, so I'll go in after him and you pull me up, ok?" Sango nodded, and they took off across the mud filled rice paddies. As they arrived, Kagome's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh my God! I know him! He goes to my school. But how did he get here?!"
"Hurry Kagome you don't have much time." Sango said. Dominic's feet were entirely under, and part of his torso was submerged as well. Kagome slid off Kirara and with a yelp, slapped down into the muddy clay.
"Ewww." Kagome moaned, feeling the thick, cloying muck, coat her legs, all the way up to her waist. She waded over to Dominic and grabbed his arms. She positioned him across her back and made her way through the neck deep muck.
"This stuff is deep." Kagome moaned again as she sunk into the mire.
Sango lay on her stomach across Kirara's back and took the boy's hands, repositioning herself as she hauled him up. Sango reached down and took Kagome's hand next, and Kirara floated higher to lift her free of the field before flying to solid ground and setting her down. Inuyasha and Miroku conveniently departed for other things leaving the girls to clean up themselves and Dominic.
"For being a big strong warrior, Inuyasha sure is squeamish." Sango said.
"I know, he's almost as bad as I am." Kagome giggled.
Sango just nodded. She realized how much alike she and Inuyasha were. It wasn't surprising they had grown together over time, but she and Miroku seemed to have grown apart, something that hurt her deeply. After washing off both Kagome's and Dominic's clothes, with Kaede's help, the two covered Dom and let him sleep.
Kagome stood to leave.
"I'm going to go look for Inuyasha, you wanna come?"
"No, that's ok. I'll stay here and watch after him." She said and Kagome left.
Sango looked at the boy. He must be about her age she figured and had short brown hair and glasses that were dark but now light. Kagome had called them "trans-ih-shuns" whatever that meant. A tear slid down her round cheek.
"I know why Miroku doesn't want me anymore. It's because I can't have children. I feel so different inside. I stopped bleeding like I used to, and it doesn't hurt anymore at that time of the month." Sango started to cry uncontrollably. Dominic stirred. He did not know where he was or what century it even was anymore.
"Why're you crying?" he asked in a quiet voice. Sango hiccoughed and dried her tears with her sleeve.
"I'm sorry did I wake you?"
"It's ok. I feel better now that I've rested. Are you ok?" Dom had heard everything she had said to no one. He felt sorry for her and wanted to give her some comfort.
"I'm fine. Really."
"You're a terrible liar. You were crying just a minute ago, you're not alright. Is there anything I can do?"
"No, not really." Sango lied this time, perfectly. She wanted to find someone who was not a pervert like Miroku was.
"Look, I heard what you were saying earlier, and I think that Miroku guy is a dumb ass, a total moron. You're very pretty and a kind person, who wouldn't want that?"
"Thanks, I wish everyone thought that way."
"Heh, me too."
"Hm? You have troubles too?"
"Yea. I'm not much of a success with the ladies. The last girl I liked might be dead now, for all I know, and I couldn't do anything to save her."
Sango's expression saddened.
"That's terrible. What happened?" she blurted out.
"There was an earthquake, and she ran off, I tripped and fell, and I lost sight of her for a second. Now I'm in this strange land with no one I know, and I don't know that I'll ever see home again."
"Kagome knows you!" Sango said excitedly.
"Kagome? Kagome as in Higurashi Kagome?" Sango nodded enthusiastically. Dom smiled at her.
"You're cute you know?" Sango blushed at his remark. She moved to get his clothes, and the red gem dropped from his pocket.
"What's this?" she asked.
"It's a ruby; I found it while I was digging a mud pit for the school tug of war." Dom's hand went to Sango's and when they both touched it, the gem pulsated three times, at that moment, the gem and their two heart beats were synchronized. "Whoah, that was weird. It never did that before."
In the caves the large dragon returned. Draco looked at him and asked.
"What did you find in the forest Donovan?"
"I found a human boy. I chased him down, but I lost him outside a village. It looks ripe for the taking too."
"That's good. Has Garnder returned yet?" Draco asked.
"Aye sir he arrives now." One said from the back.
"Garnder, what say ye?"
"I found them sir. There's only about twenty or so of them though. Our brothers in this realm refuse to leave even though they are to this day hunted. We're to meet them in the mountains. The wolf demon tribe that was there has been wiped out entirely. The dragon's lost a number in the fight though. The young dragons are being killed before they become old enough to be of any use and the old ones are being killed off as easy prey, sir."
"Then let's move out." Draco commanded. The troop of dragon's left and took to the skies. As they took off Draco felt a powerful pulse. It was the Dragon's Breath calling to him. He flew faster towards the mountains his fellow dragon's straining to keep up.
Kagome called to Sango and Dominic as she looked to the blackened clouds. Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippo were there too.
"Look!" she pointed at the beasts.
"My God, those are Horseneck Dragons." Dom said
"What does that mean?" Sango asked.
"It means they're from Europe." Dominic replied, Kagome nodded but he received confused looks from everyone else. "I mean the mainland, the other side of the mainland, thousands of miles away, as the crow flies." He explained
"Then why are they here?" Miroku wondered. Dom held up the gem. It didn't react.
"Hey Sango, put your hand on mine." Dom said and Sango did as she was asked. Again, their heart beats synced. She removed her hand, and it stopped. The dragons in the skies reacted to it.
"Hey Kagome, here touch this." Kagome did the same, but nothing happened. Dominic gave her the gem. "Ok now you and Inuyasha touch hands."
When they touched, holding the gem, as it had happened with Dom and Sango, the gemstone glowed bright red and pulsated, Kagome and Inuyasha's heartbeats synchronized with the pulsations from the gem.
"Try it with Miroku then." Dom said. Nothing happened. They went all around the only time the pulsating occurred was when Inuyasha and Kagome touched or Dominic and Sango.
"This is weird. I've never seen anything like it." Dom said as he sat down inside Kaede's hut.
"The dragon's reacted as well, I wonder why." Kagome pondered.
"I have a bad feeling about all this." Shippo chimed in.
"Me too. This thing might be why I was chased. Like they were drawn to me or something." Dom added. The others nodded.
"Unless it's the pulsating, that they react to." Miroku theorized.
"Well, that would mean that two people the gem reacts to would have to be in physical contact for an extended period for the dragons to locate the gem. What happens then though?" Dom asked.
"Whoever would have the gem would be in serious trouble." Inuyasha said.
Late in the night the dragons met and spoke to one another inside their cave.
"If we find the Dragon's Breath we'll be saved." Draco said.
"Yes, but only if we can find it. It has been lost for a century." The Serpentine Dragon, Ho-Chi said.
"Did you not feel the call of the jewel?" Draco asked
"I did. We all did. But The Path cannot be opened. Four souls must be as one for The Path to open and there have been no females in our tribe for fifty years." Ho-Chi replied.
"Aye, we too have lost our females. All gone to the Breath they have." Draco sighed.
"What if we used four other souls?" Donovan asked.
"That would not be logical. The Dragon's Breath was created by the very first dragon born among the stars. He carved a paradise of the heavens and earth for his kind and thus the Dragon's Breath was born. It would not make sense for a human or any other soul to open the Breath." Ho-Chi debunked many other theories though the night. "We should make it our priority to find the Dragon's Breath first and kill whoever has it. Then we will find a way to open The Path."