Chapter One

She was sitting on the bank of a river starring off into the distance watching the clouds go by. The tree she was under shaded her from the blaring sun which made today unusually warm. As she sat and looked at her hand, it still didn't hit what had happened to her. She had claws and a black stripe with rough edges on her wrist, the same pattern on her other hand. She had once thought being a demon might be cool but now she felt alienated and alone. She sighed and for a moment life she forgot about everything that happened and watched Shippo entertain the village kids with his fox magic as they played in the water. Shippo caught sight of Kagome and darted towards her to beg her to play with them.

"It's okay, go play and if I'm feeling better I'll join okay?" Shippo nodded and ran back to the kids. Kagome felt the people around town were feeling anxious with her around after the fight between her and Inuyasha. Less people looked her way, less waves and smiles, and less welcoming feelings from them all.

"Kagome." Her ears perked and she looked to see Sango and Miroku standing there, both with some of the few genuine smiles she saw daily.

"Hey, did you finish early?" Kagome asked as they nodded and sat on both of her sides.

"Yeah we finished the job and it went by quickly but we blessed the mansion and came back. Are you feeling any better?" Sango asked, despite that she was Kagome's age, Kagome felt a motherly touch from her. She who had so many more hardships made Kagome feel like a child in that moment. But desperate to keep her friends from worrying so hard she smile blinking away the tears that were slowly trying to make their way out.

"A little bit. Hoping to keep busy or something. Maybe it'll take my mind off of it." Kagome said as she felt Miroku give her a hug.

"Oh Kagome, I can you suffer and hurt so bad. Please don't shut us out and remember we still love you the same as always." He said getting a look of approval from Sango. "Besides we still need you for tons of things like those fancy medicines and hearing crazy stories about your future life." He said as Kagome let out a small chuckle. Her mood lightened as they talked to her. As the day went on, Kagome made her way back with them to the village and heard the conversation over a couple of older men. They were afraid she'd attract the half demon back to the village and wreck havoc on the them. Secretly she too feared the same thing.

She was finally sleeping with out nightmares or frights when she heard the bells in the distance being rung. Something was about to attack the village and she grabbed her bow and arrow. Miroku and Sango were heading out as well when she ran in to them.

"What's going on?"

"It's Inuyasha." Sango said and Kagome stopped running. Dead in her tracks her sight fell in to the distance and searched for him. She wanted to see him but he had been so angry before that he frightened her.

"Kagome, you can go back. We can take care of this." Sango said as Miroku went on ahead. A loud boom was heard in the distance and it made the girls stand still for a second. Kagome felt him coming closer to her. Soon she could vaguely see him in the distance that he was running towards them.

"Kagome!" His loud yell was almost unrecognizable but she knew it was him.

"Sango, you're the greatest friend someone could ask for. I love you for it. I'm leading him away from you." Kagome said as she ran in to a hut to grab her few things and bag before tightly putting it to her back and running west. Kagome ran hard as she heard the wind zooming past her ears. A head ache came on suddenly that felt like it was splitting her head open. But as she rested to get rid of it, she heard his voice closer than ever and his presence was getting closer.

"Kagome!" He screamed. She darted North and ran through the trees jumping on the branches to see if she stayed low under the leaves that maybe she could get rid of him. She ran a few more minutes before feeling the headache go away but she realized he was close by and she saw red blades come from behind her, one cutting the sleeve on her left fore arm and and hit many branches all around her.

"Kagome, how could you do that to me?" He yelled back behind her. Her heart didn't feel any shame suddenly. It felt an anger she didn't think would come up. She stopped on a branch and didn't move. Inuyasha finally caught up and looked at her. He was slightly out of breath as he looked at her.

"All I wanted was to be a full demon. So that I could have some power so that all of my enemies would fall. But you had to take it away from me." He said as she slowly turned towards him. Her bangs covered her face but he could sense that she was off suddenly. In a moment she forgot everything and started wailing at him and trying to kill him. He looked to see her eyes were blood red, the look of death on her face as she aimed at him with her claws.

"Kagome!" He said as she forced him to run. She chased after him for a while and in the midst of him running over trees, she fell to the stream and was carried off. Inuyasha never even saw where she went to as he continued on running. Kagome returned to her senses to feel the splitting headache and water all around her. She lacked some energy now and was carried off down a stream.

"Well guess I can just stay away from the village for now." Kagome thought as she got out and walked on west.

It had been about a week of walking each day, hunting for one of them, and then taking shelter in a cave during a terrible storm for another day and night that lead her to the plains. She had gathered from some villagers that she might be able to find a witch doctor to help her with this, figured she'd give it a try. Stopping for the night, she laid her sleeping bag on the ground and got a fire ready before she dipped in to a small pond. She disrobed her clothes and laid them on the rock next to the stones and grabbed a bar of soap from her bag and began to wash herself under the cold water. She had trouble holding the bar as she washed because she wasn't used to having such long nails. Having the bar slip from her hand for the third time, she had half a mind to just leave it but seeing it was her last bar, she searched one more time for it and then put it back in its container before finishing up. She made camp underneath a tree. Setting her things back in her bag, she stretched before looking up at the tree and seeing a large branch that was maybe 10 feet off of the ground that could fit her if she sat on it. She jumped up with ease on to the branch and sat on it the way her hanyou friend had done many times before.

"I don't know how he manages to do it. Damn you Inuyasha, you made it look comfortable and easy to do." She cursed herself for not being able to do it but landed back on the ground to grill some fish she had caught. The loneliness was setting in again but it stopped when she heard something moaning and groaning.

"Stop it!" Kagome's ears perked as she looked to the direction of the voice. Coming through the bushes of about 30 feet away, she saw a two headed demon with a harness over both mouths followed by a small girl in orange trying to lead them away.

"Ah Un stop it or else Lord Sessh . . . . . ." Her eyes fixed on Kagome and blinked. It was Rin!

"Hey you're Kagome. How come you're different looking this time? You don't seem human any more." She said bluntly and Kagome smiled a little at her.

"It's a long story but yeah I'm not entirely human anymore." Rin smiled at her and tried to hold Ah Un who was trying to go after Kagome's fish.

"Sorry but he hasn't eaten yet and he smelled your fish." Rin said and Kagome got up and brought her fish up to them. She gave them each a fish and watched as they scarfed the food down as fast as they good.

"Do you wanna show Lord Sesshoumaru and Jaken your change? They might like you more because you're stronger than before. Plus it'd be kind of cool if you could travel with us too." Rin was prepared to go on an hour long rant before Kagome stopped her.

"I'm sorry Rin, but I'm trying to find a doctor."

"What kind of doctor?"

"A doctor that specializes in treating demons, that kind. Its a really long story. So I have to find the witch doctor of the waste lands to see if she will help me."

"Hey I think Lord Sesshoumaru will know where she is. I'll go ask and see if he knows. Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin said so quickly before Kagome could stop, she ran out of sight. But shortly after Rin darted for her lord, he appeared before Kagome. He seemed to have changed some how since she had last seen him, she could sense him, his aura once she thought was dark and evil but now it seemed to be more neutral than anything, like as if he didn't care about anything. It made sense now that she thought about that.

"So it's true, my brothers woman has changed." He said in a low monotone voice that he always used when addressing her. He studied her, looking her up and down for a moment.

"How?" He demanded as Kagome noticed Rin return.

"It's a long story. Plus I have to get somewhere."

"Yeah Lord Sesshoumaru, she's trying to find a witch doctor." Rin chimed in happily. He cocked an eyebrow and hummed in his throat for a second.

"Why do you need to see her?" Kagome got nervous at his questions and breathed out calmly as she could.

"It's not really any of your business Sesshoumaru. But I just need to get there, that's it." Kagome started walking away and felt her head start to hurt really badly. She closed her eye because it hurt so bad and heard vaguely if she was okay. Before she could try to mumble out her answer, she fell to her knees and felt a pain in her chest like as if it were a heart attack.

"Kagome?" Rin called out and tried to run to her side. Sesshoumaru stopped her and watched as he could sense her aura change rapidly like as if she couldn't make up her mind about if she was good or evil. Soon both auras left and she fell to the ground unconscious.

"What happen Lord Sesshoumaru? What's going on with her?" Rin asked as he went up to her and pulled her eye lids back. Half of the back of her eyes were blood red and yet half remained clear and white. He sighed a little bit and picked her up.

"I don't know."