Trials and Trust

By Samurai Rin

Prologue

The TV was on max volume showing a new report on a resent battle that had just happen.

"Smoke still billows for the warehouse that was bombed by the PTF (Police Task Force) that was believed to have been harboring demons. The fire was controlled and all demons killed by the resident priest and miko. With negotiations still under way between the Demons and Mikos, hostilities have risen to a new level. Both sides still wanting to be the ones in control of the Shirkon Jewel, the negotiations have been all but wars in words. This is Shoran Yaskamota, Morning News channel 6."

The teenager sitting on the floor could hardly keep from vomiting. 'Killed?' They had killed all the demons there because they where alive? She rolled onto her back and stared at the white ceiling.

'How can things have gotten this out of hand?' she wondered. 'Just this week, there where three bombings and six arson cases in demon areas."

She stood up and walked into the kitchen. She fixed her breakfast and sat down to read the reports and schedules that had been given to her last night. This morning alone she had five meetings and two training workouts. She groaned at the prospect. She laid the papers down and picked up a picture. In it, stood a woman, a young boy and an elderly man.

"Mom, Souta, Gramps…" she smiled at the picture with warmth. A year ago yesterday, Kagome Higurashi had moved to the shrine in Tokyo to train to fight in the Miko league. The demon population was so bad that they had needed even the lowest shrine maidens to fight.

Each maiden was given a living quarters and a roommate. Kagome lived with her half cousin, Kikyo, who was one of the head mikos. Things had been going slow until a month ago when all the bombings started and she had met her first demon…

Demons and a Pact

Kagome sat up again in a bed that wasn't hers and in a bedroom that wasn't hers. She fell out of bed and went to the bathroom and came out three minutes later, showered, hair combed and teeth brushed.

She rushed through breakfast only being able to grab a banana and a glass of orange juice then she had to sprint out the door to make it to class on time. All new mikos were required to take ancient history, and weaponry. Only problem was that the two classes where at 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning, both two hours long. You could only be a miko if you passed the two classes with flying colors. So Kagome worked extra hard to pass the two classes to make her grandfather happy. The old man was the priest of the family shrine in at the house. Luckily, Kagome only had three days of classes left to take.

She sat down at her desk and started to take notes on today's lecture. The forest of Inu Yasha. She, of course, knew the story, for the forest in question was just outside her back door at home. Her family shrine was for the forest.

She quickly scribbled down all she knew, which was probably then to teacher knew, and put her head down for a quick nap. When Kagome opened her eyes again, the bell was ringing for the next class to start. She picked up her books and shoved them into her bag and made for the next class, on the grounds.

When they had arrived, each girl had been tested out to see what their weapon would be, and hers turned out to be the bow and arrow. She had never held one before in her life when the instructor had handed it to her. She closed her eyes and whispered 'Please hit' and shot. The arrow hit bull's eye to a gaping Kagome and instructor's surprise.

"Well," the woman said, ticking something on the clipboard she held, "Bow and arrow it is."

So now, every morning after putting up with a droning history teacher, she came out her to shot at moving targets. This morning, from having to dive for her bow and pull out her arrows from the grass, all in about three seconds. Groaning at the though, she made her was down to the field.

She was walking by the wooded area when she heard twigs snaps. She snapped her head around to stare into the trees. Her miko powers went into overdrive to try and find what had caused the sound. Acting against instinct, she walked into the trees. The dense canopy blocked out most light and made shadows all over. She called on her limited powers and made a dim light in her palm.

The light was cast onto the base of a large oak where sat an old man. His hair flowed down over his face and leaves had fallen on his head. Kagome approached him quietly and leaded over him and gasped. This wasn't an old man; it was a young demon that looked her age. Blood oozed over his red hatori and into his long silver hair. Curious, she shifted the leaves to reveal to snow-white dog-ears. They looked like the fur on a newborn puppy and she wondered if they felt like it too.

Slowly, she extended her hands and started to rub the ears. They were softer than she had thought in the first place. The demon groaned in pain and Kagome flinched back. His head rolled back and he stared up at her with large, pained golden eyes. The pain that was in his eyes was too much for her to stand. She pulled out her last clean hankie, that had her initials carefully stitched in the corner, and stared to mop up some of the blood on his face.

He came to the instant the cloth touched his face. In one swift movement, he flipped her upside down on her back and was on top of her pressing claws to her throat.

"What the hell do you want?" he growled at her. She controlled her face to show no emotion but she knew that he could smell her fear rolling off her.

"I was trying to help, you should have those cuts looked at, they seem infected." She pointed to one on his chest in particular that was dripping blood on her.

She pushed him off her and pressed the hankie to his chest. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her first aid kit that the mikos where required to carry at all times. Pulling out tape and bandage, she proceeded to pull off his hatori.

"Hold it wench." He snapped as he grabbed her hand.

" I have a name. It's Kagome. Ka Go Me!" She hissed at him, pulling her hand away and continuing to dress his wounds. After she finished, she pulled him to his feet and pushed him farther into the forest.

"What are ya doing now, wench?"

"I'm trying to save your sorry ass." She was getting mad at the demon's cocky attitude and was sorry she had tried to save him.

" I didn't ask to be saved."

"Well, I am and I will." She huffed and pushed him in deeper.

"Look, I have to get back to class. Don't get caught and don't tell anyone my name. If they find out, I'm screwed." Kagome shuddered at the thought.

For a split second, the demon took pity on the girl. That she had risked her life for his pitiful existence, well, it took guts to do.

"Thanks." He went to hand her the hankie back but she pushed it back.

"Keep it for someone else might need it. But, can I have your name in return?" She asked.

"Inu Yasha." He said then jumped into a tree and fled off.

Kagome watched him go then turned to run to class. When she got there, the other girls gasped. She assumed that she must look a fright. With blood on her shirt, and dirt in her hair and back, it must look like she had wondered through the woods for weeks.

The instructor came over and her eyes scanned the poor girls then sent her to the showers to clean up. With all the funny looks she had gotten, she would be lucky to avoid any questions at all. When she got back, girls flocked to ask.

"What happened?"

"I fell in the forest and cut my chest," She pointed to a scratch that Inu Yasha had given her when he grabbed he and thrown her to the ground.

The instructor walked over and gave her a bandage. Then practice proceeded as usual.

Unknown to the new mikos, the hanyou in question was sitting in a near by tree observing the going ons of the training. He absently took the bloodstained cloth from his hatori and stared at it.

Flashback

Ten minutes before:

Inu Yasha stood surrounded by three giant dragon demons. He evaluated each on and tried to spot any noticeable flaws but failing.

The tallest of the three stepped forward.

"Now, hanyou, just hand over what you know about the miko meeting tonight and we'll let you live…for now." He laughed, as did the other.

"No way in hell." He snarled. Inu Yasha dove at the leader, swiping claws at his chest. The large dragon dodged the attack and gave Inu Yasha a sharp blow to the side of his head.

He flew twenty feet and crashed into a tree. He staggered upright and charged at another, this time drawing a rusty sword.

The large demons laughed an knocked the weapon out of Inu Yasha's hands, sending it to imbed it's self in the ground ten feet away. The demon picked up the hanyou by the collar, pulling him to his face.

"Well punk, where's the attitude from before?" Before he could continue with his thought, his head was slashed off by one swift chop of Inu Yasha's claws.

"You Punk!" his buddy screamed and thrust his lance into Inu Yasha's chest and threw him again. This time Inu Yasha stayed down. He bowed his head and tried to keep his demon side in check.

As the others advanced they heard a noise and turned to each other then ran. The last Inu Yasha had seen before blacking out was a pair of long white legs.

End Flash back

He looked at the cloth again and out toward the training field. Already having turned in his report and cleaning up, he returned with the hankie and determination to thank the girl but didn't have a clue how.

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Three days later, the whistle sounded to end training and for the girls to hit the showers. Kagome started toward the showers but a niggle in her brain told her not to. She turned and headed to the forest, slipping unnoticed into the dense growth.

The niggle told her to take a right so she turned and almost ran into the demon from before. She gasped at the sight of him, without blood and clean. He actually looks handsome. She thought but shook her head to clear such thoughts.

"What are you doing back here? I told you to run." She hissed at him and turned to see if anyone was with in hearing range. No one.

"I wanted to say, thanks for what you did earlier." He turned his face away and stared a tree. Kagome was pleased to see that a slight blush now adorned his face.

"No problem." She returned.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked, nodding toward the academy.

"The war has gotten so bad that they need shrine mikos to help. I was pulled off mine and brought here. My gramps was really happy and so I have to do really well for him." She stopped short realizing all she had just said.

"So what are you doing here?" She asked nodding to the forest. He paused but started.

"I was sent to gather information on your meeting tonight." He stared at her. She had been truthful, why not him too?

Kagome looked at him then started to snicker.

"What's so funny?" Inu Yasha growled.

"Why do you what to know about a graduation meeting?"

"What?"

"Yeah, the meeting is the graduation of all of us new mikos."

"Shit, thanks Kagome. You might have just saved my sorry ass." And with that he bolted into the sky. Kagome stood there a second with one last thought before she turned to go get ready for said meeting.

"I think I just made a new friend."

Weeeeeelllll…. what did you think? Review Review Review! I need all the help I can get! Love you all for reading it!

-Rin x - it kenshin!