Hey, everyone! This should be really great. I have some really good ideas for the next couple of chapters. Let me know what you think with Chapter One: The Storm!

A/N: I do not own Inuyasha, but in my dreams I dominate him.

Bolded text represents events from the past. Italicized text signifies the thoughts of the characters.

Kagura knelt in the soil beneath her. The earth here was covered in the decaying remains of demons--demons that had been shed from Naraku's body. It was dark and quiet--soundless. Kagura grimaced and extracted her fan like a switchblade, trying to deter the smell of death that permeated the air from her nose. With the other hand, she lifted a sample of soil close to her face, gently rubbing the dirt with her thumb.

This flesh has been newly shed. Naraku is changing again… His smell is different somehow. It seems that he is ill—

Behind her, the bones of a discarded carcass snapped under the trod of a foot. Her head snapped up.

Naraku.

His scent coiled around Kagura, a scent not too distinguishable from her own. But there was a difference. His scent was ridden with illness. Kagura slowly rose to her feet.

"Naraku… I was-"

She tilted her head to meet his gaze and the sight choked her words. Crimson eyes met those of amber.

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His feet padded the room impatiently. This wait was intolerable. His ears pricked. The sound of creaking floorboards echoed throughout the hut.

Kagome?

Exasperated, he turned to see Miroku escorting Sango into the hut, Shippou nestled in the folds of her robes over her chest. He nuzzled her warm flesh, still shivering slightly. No Kagome. Miroku glanced down at Shippou enviously and took Sango's hand, helping her out of the raging waters into the dry hut. Outside, gusting winds whipped the trees and a torrential downpour flooded the fields. Lightning cracked open the earth and the sounds of tormented souls escaped like thunder. Miroku and Sango's robes were wet to their waists.

"There's no sign of Kagome anywhere," Miroku said, twisting the bottom of his robes to wring out the water. "Shippou caught cold staring down the well."

Sango walked to the center of the hut where an incision in the floor housed a healthy fire. She bundled the shivering kitsune in a blanket Kagome had given her years ago, the white comforter now spotted with dirt and blood from travels. She placed him near to the fire and returned to Miroku's side.

"I can't stand this," Inuyasha murmured. In three strides, his hand was on the door, ready to depart from the hut.

"Inuyasha, you can't go out in this state," Sango counseled.

"Why the hell not? You two were out there in the rain!"

"I don't mean that state. I mean your state. Your wounds from last night have still not healed. It would be a different matter entirely if you weren't human tonight."

Inuyasha slammed his fist against the door and rested his head on the splintering walls. Ebony hair hid his face from the others. It expressed concern and agitation. He examined his fists in disgust, eyes narrowed at his human nails.

Outside, the lightning flashed and cracked over the hut. Shippou whimpered in his sleep, and Kirara snuggled close to him, keeping him warm and shielding him from his fear of storms.

"I'll go out again. I agree that we can't let her find the hut unescorted, but you cannot go out, Inuyasha," Miroku said, collecting his staff. He took a step toward the door and, suddenly, inhaled sharply.

"Miroku!"

The monk gazed down at his leg. His left calf had been badly cut as he waded through the floods. The dark blood had concealed itself within the dark, wet folds of his robe.

"There's no other way, now. Sango, look after Shippou and Miroku. I have to find her."

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How can this be? This isn't possible!

Kagura's thoughts raced wildly.

"Sesshoumaru… what are you-"

She could not formulate sentences. The flow of thought in her mind drowned her ability to speak. The demon wordlessly slid close to her. His hand reached up to her neck, and he gently traced the side with one, porcelain claw. Kagura tilted her head back and closed her eyes, breath bated and lips involuntarily parting to his touch. His hand still on her neck, he circled her, one clawed finger mirroring his path around her shaking form. His smell was different-- she knew. But her mind was so clouded that she did not consciously acknowledge it. Suddenly, he was pressed up against her from behind, his mouth hovering next to her ear. Cold breath beat inside her ear with every breath he took. Her heart… where was her heart? Racing in Naraku's palm somewhere, making him all the more aware of her sinful feelings, of her fear. She hoped she would die this way. Her heart bursting at Sesshoumaru's touch, bursting in the face of Naraku: the ultimate sign of betrayal.

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Please be safe, Kagome. Please be at home, not in this storm.

Inuyasha sliced through the water with his hands, the weight of his kimono keeping him back. He took a dragging breath and dunked himself underwater. He could swim faster than run. He parted through the waves unlike any water demon. Someone was waiting for him…

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"Mom! I'm going up to shower! I'll be down in a little bit, then I have to go back!"

"Okay, dear! Hurry! So Inuyasha doesn't worry!"

So Inuyasha doesn't worry. I wonder what he's doing right now. It's a new moon…

Kagome tread quietly to the bathroom so as not to wake Souta and then locked the door behind her. She looked in the mirror. An image of herself at fifteen flashed before her, and she smiled.

Four years. I can't believe it. It's been four years since I met him.

She turned around and manipulated the water faucet to her liking. Soon, clouds of mist were rolling lazily around the bathroom. The image of the stunning nineteen year old clouded and vanished.

R&R everyone! Muchos gracias, bonitas!