Chapter One

He was certain that this was the weakest human he had ever had the displeasure of laying his eyes on. Most people from this era would not just run away from such a weak demon and expect someone else to save them. She was beautiful though; he would give her that, even if she was dressed in weird clothing. She had landed at his feet after tripping on one of the roots of Goshinboku. She was breathing heavily and he could smell her sweat and the blood from her scrapped knees. He chuckled. Her head jolted up to look at him. He was shocked to see her eyes were a rich violet color.

"You're awake." She breathed, her eyes wide with surprise. He had been in an enchanted sleep when she had seen him earlier. In a moment of weakness after she had spotted his still form, she had climbed up the roots that had wrapped around him and rubbed the velvety dog ears on top of his head. He had looked so peaceful in his sleep, but now, he was anything but that. She could see the bridled rage in his golden eyes and feel it in his aura. The only thing keeping him in place was the weakening enchantment on the arrow in his chest. She did not want to know what he would do when he was free. She didn't have more time to dread the half demon's possible release though; she had more pressing matters to attend to. The centipede demon had caught up to her.

"Give me the jewel!" It screamed, skittering towards her at a rapid pace. It was all she could do to dodge when the demon's jaw snapped at the place where she had been just a few seconds prior. She didn't want to use her power and she had no weapon with her to use. She was completely defenseless. She heard another dark laugh from the pinned demon, but pointedly chose to ignore this one.

"What's the matter girl? Can't kill it?" He was mocking her. He didn't even know her and he was mocking her. She felt anger boiling up in her chest and wheeled around to stare at the silver haired man with an angry scowl. It was just the distraction that the centipede needed to finally clamp its jaw around her side. It flung her in the air like a rag doll and laughed, watching the soft pink glow of the jewel that separated from the girl's flesh. She landed with a heavy thump near the sacred tree and groaned. The monster had bit quite deep into her side.

Suddenly, there was a chorus of yells coming from the edge of the clearing. The villagers had finally come to help, but they did not distract the demon before it had swallowed the jewel. The creature's transformation was vile. The humanoid head and upper torso that was connected to the main body to the centipede started to turn black, the old flesh rotting off of it as it hissed and snarled, gnashing its teeth together. The volley of arrows that the villagers shot at the beast did nothing to it; it merely roared in annoyance and bloodlust and coiled its body around Goshinboku. The girl was slammed into the half demon and the beast slowly started to tighten its hold, forcing the air out of the both of them.

"Do you want to live?" She blinked at him owlishly. "Do you want to live?!" He hissed as the centipede continued to tighten its body around them and the tree. She nodded. "Pull out the arrow! Quickly!" it took a lot of effort to free her arm from her side, but she managed to do it. She hoped that she would not regret her decision of trusting this demon. Not that she had much choice. She grabbed the arrow and pulled. It glowed and then shattered in her grasp, sending out a bright light that blinded everyone in the near vicinity.

Suddenly she was free from the crushing pressure of the centipede's body. She crashed to the ground as her body tried to make sense of everything that was happening all at once. The centipede was being ripped to shreds by the demon she had just released. The villagers were all in a panic, some were screaming because of the centipede and others were yelling about the newcomer in the fight. She thought she heard the village priestess calling her name. It was a minute of chaos and then everything subsided and the only thing she was aware of was the burning pain in her side and the glow of the sacred jewel in the demon centipede's remains. It took a lot of energy to stand to go collect the stone.

"Kagome, are ye alright child?" It was Kaede, the village priestess, who was inquiring about her well being while she was sifting through demon flesh for the jewel. The old lady was supporting herself with her longbow as she hobbled over to Kagome.

"I'm alright." Kagome pulled the jewel out of the body and the flesh dissolved into thin air, leaving nothing of the creature except for its massive bones. Kagome stood and straightened herself. She held the glowing jewel in her hands and watched as the dark tinge that it had started to acquire transformed back into a soft pink.

"As touching as this all is…" The inu-hanyou had decided he no longer wanted to sit by and watch the interactions of a foolish girl and a withered hag. "Give me the jewel and no harm shall come to you." He smiled, showing his fangs to emphasize his threat. Kagome quickly tried to regain her bearings, trying to be ready to run again even though her vision was blurry and her limbs were heavy.

"Kagome, you must run." Kaede warns, panic in her voice. When he tenses to spring, she turns and runs. She pushes her legs as fast as they were willing to go, weaving under the trees and between the thick underbrush. The demon in hot pursuit manages to snag her hair a few times and fells a few trees to try and stop her. His chance to corner her comes when she reaches a steep incline. She trips and staggers down the rocky trail while he uses the height as leverage and leaps, soaring through the air to land on the bridge that is directly in her path. She has nowhere else to go and skids to a stop in front of him. He approaches her cockily, a smirk stretched across his face. She is barely has time to backpedal when he reaches her and grabs her wrists and pulls her flush against him.

"You should have listened." He purrs into her neck. He wasn't going to regret punishing this gi-No. There was no way. He inhaled again, amazed that he hadn't picked up on this before. He had chalked up the extra demon scent he had smelt in the clearing to something else in the forest. Never did he assume it was coming from the raven haired girl. His nose did not lie though. This girl had demon blood pulsing through her veins even though it was sealed. Letting instinct guide him, he buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her scent. His inner demon purred happily.

"Inuyasha?" Her voice was tentative, uncertain of the situation. She didn't know how she knew his name, but her inner voice had practically screamed it at her as soon as his skin had touched hers. She softly pulled herself away from his grip after a few moments of standing still. He didn't fight her. He looked as if he was contemplating something.

"Kagome!" Kaede and the villagers had caught up with the pair. The old priestess was worried for the girl; she didn't know what Inuyasha was capable of at the moment. It had been fifty years since she had dealt with the half demon and she had seen the same rage in his eyes that she had seen on the day he was put under her dead sister's spell. His eyes flicked towards the humans standing on the edge of the embankment and he scowled before turning and bounding off into the forest. Everyone was so baffled by the half demon's strange departure that they almost didn't notice Kagome faint.

Okay, just a quick A/N here. I don't have a beta, but I am proof reading this as best as I can by myself. No clue how long this story will be or how long it is going to take me to complete it. I'm not putting too much effort into this and I will write when I have free time. I am a full time university student who is also working part time so I have very little time to myself, so please just keep that in mind. I will also be looking over my other stories and seeing what I can do to make them better and I will hopefully finish them in the next few months.

On a side note, I'M BACK BITCHES

Please review.

-Druneia Serai