Blood trickled into a small stream as Kagome clutched her side and moaned in agony. She had been trying to get away from Kikyou and her little pet, Inuyasha, for the past several days. The exhaustion of constantly running with little to no sleep had finally gotten to her. Kikyou and Inuyasha had caught up with Kagome when she had stumbled over a broken branch. The only thing that had saved her was some streak of red that had slammed into Kikyou and the arrow she had loosed tore through Kagome's side instead of her heart.
I'm going to die here. The thought terrified her. Tears formed in her eyes and she choked back a sob. The bushes in front of her rustled and fear pushed its way past the pain. Kagome struggled back into the brush and tried to hide herself, biting her lip to choke back the scream trying to tear itself from her lips. A flash of red moved past her several times and she frowned in confusion. Could that be Inuyasha? No, why would he save me from his precious Kikyou. The bitter thoughts took her mind from the pain.
"There you are," A voice whispered in front of her and crouched down. Kagome screamed and tried to scramble back from the stranger but he pulled her toward him and clamped his hand over her mouth. "Hush; you'll bring those two this way if you don't stop that incessant screaming," he warned.
She nodded and winced as a stick brushed against her wound. Kagome whimpered under his hand and her vision darkened. The stranger removed his hand and looked down at the arrow bleeding profusely at her side. The last thing Kagome could remember was a shock of pain and his worried frown before the sweet taste of darkness engulfed her.
Kagome sat up and touched her side, wincing. The brightness of the sun and sight of an unfamiliar room filled her vision and overwhelmed her. "H-hello?" She drew the soft silk blanket up around her chest and realized her white top was gone leaving only her bra covering her from the waist up.
The red-haired man opened the door bowing his head, "I'm glad you're awake. We were a little worried we didn't get to you soon enough."
She screamed and pulled the blanket up to cover more of her body. "Who are you and where the hell is my shirt?" Kagome snapped angrily at him and flushed bright red.
"I couldn't have gotten to your wound without cutting your top off," he tilted his head up slightly so she could stare into his bright green eyes, "You can call me Kurama, my lady."
His deep stare unnerved and intrigued her and she flushed an even brighter shade of red before shaking her head and glaring at him. "I'd like to have something more to wear then," she demanded.
"As you wish my lady," Kurama bowed deeper and his cheeks showed traces of a blush.
"And stop calling me your lady! I'm not your lady!" Kagome flushed a deeper red as Kurama bowed once more and left the room without looking at her.
Kagome stood up slowly and sucked in a breath, letting the pain subside before she moved to the door. She heard angry voices but only recognized the one of the man that had brought her here. The door moved soundlessly as she cracked it open and saw four males in the other room.
"I can't believe you brought her here without saying something to us first!" The man with the short black hair shouted and pointed at the one who had called himself Kurama.
"What was I supposed to do Yusuke? She needed help and I was in the vicinity. I wasn't going to let them kill her," Kurama stated calmly and stared back at the one called Yusuke. They were standing in the middle of the room arguing while the other two stood on opposite sides of the room. The shortest man was leaning up against the outside door with his eyes closed pretending to ignore everyone.
"I don't care if she hears me! This is not a place for a girl to be. Especially when we're in the middle of a dangerous mission," Yusuke gritted his teeth and glared at Kurama.
Kurama sighed and started to walk out of the room, "I'm pretty sure she can handle herself Yusuke. Just give her a chance to prove herself."
"I'll protect her!" The orange-haired man grinned stupidly and pointed a thumb at his chest, "She's probably a damsel in distress."
"Shut up Kuwabara," Yusuke growled and punched him in the face. Kuwabara's head whipped sideways and when he recovered, started a completely different argument with Yusuke.
"Will you two stop?" The man leaning against the wall stood up straight, rolling his eyes at the two, "She's listening to us anyways. Why don't we ask her what she thinks?"