The afternoon sun shone brightly in the vivid blue sky. Winds ebbed and flowed with the fluid motions of a gentle stream, breathing life into the serene world below. Grasses swayed and branches bowed in a beautiful ballet. A day like that was rare in such a world. A world ruled by war—one whose thirst was quenched only by the spilling of innocent blood—one where humans feared for their lives at all hours of the day, never knowing when or where the next attack would occur, or who would be their next target. Who were 'they', you may ask? 'They' were horrific, blood-thirsty, merciless creatures known only by one name in this feudal world; demons.
In this world, villages were constantly under siege and were ruled by the most corrupt of nobles. Neighbors couldn't trust neighbors. Sisters couldn't trust brothers. Blood was against blood. It was a world where all one had to do was outrun the person at the back of the group to escape harm, but that was only if they were lucky. Sometimes demons attacked in hordes and sometimes entire villages were destroyed in the process.
Despite this, there were some that ran toward the sounds of danger. Those who threw caution into the wind and dove straight into the heart of an onslaught to save those that would have otherwise been abandoned by their own. There were very few like them—their 'kind' were considered foolish for 'carelessly throwing their lives away' for those who supposedly did not deserve it—but wherever they ventured, they rekindled the trust between neighbors and families. They alone helped bring peace back to feudal japan. They alone were the saviors of the past and the bringers of the future. They were a group unlike any other—formed of an alliance between humans and demons alike—lead by a brave and vengeful half demon once feared throughout Kaede's Village. So feared, in fact, that an entire forest had been named after him; a forest in which no human would have dared to enter without the fear of meeting such a vicious beast as he.
Though their group was a mixture entirely unheard of at the time, and greatly shunned by many, they worked surprisingly well together. InuYasha—the silver-haired hanyou—protected the loving miko, Kagome, whose past self—Priestess Kikyo—was the destined mate of the dog demon. Kikyo had taken the sacred jewel with her upon her death and had ordered it to be burned alongside her body; the same jewel that Lady Kagome had been born with 500 years later, and the same jewel that had been forcibly ripped from her side upon her travel through time and space.
During their journeys together, which admittedly started with a rocky encounter, the duo had met many amazing friends; those that made the group what it was. There was Miroku—an 'honorable' priest with a wandering hand—, Shippo—a young kitsune who had sadly lost his family, but had found a loving surrogate in Lady Kagome—, Sango—a powerful, formidably intelligent demon slayer—and her fiery two-tailed cat, Kirara. Together, they made an unstoppable force. They all greatly cherished and respected one another, despite their extreme differences.
Despite what they had done—what they had dedicated their lives to—even people such as them needed a break every now and again. What better place than the very village that InuYasha and Lady Kagome had met? Where better than the very birthplace of their group; of their family? There was no place better.
Near Kaede's hut, Kagome had set up a wonderful bounty—a feast—made of whatever she could find and whatever she had brought from her time. InuYasha, as always, was the first to eat. Within seconds of her turning away, he had reached into her backpack and had taken out two cups of instant ramen, a box of sushi rolls and a clear plastic bag filled with an aromatic dried food. After he had nearly cleaned out Kagome's entire supply—much to her irritation—she began handing out the remaining food to the rest of the group.
For Shippo, she had brought grilled octopus, freshly caught fish from the stream near by and some adorable gummy sea-creatures; all of which he was beyond thankful for. She always knew what to bring! Just the mere mention of her ninja-snacks could bring a smile to his face. For Sango and Miroku, she had brought three large wooden boxes filled to the brim with delicious assorted meats from her era. Her mother had made them to last, and last they had. Within the boxes were also assortments of rice and unique delicacies that the two would have never been able to taste in their own time period. As always, they thanked her and began eating all that she had given to them without any fuss; unlike a certain hanyou.
Once the majority had been handed out, all that was left was another cup of ramen and two bags of potato chips; one of which she had pulled out for herself. Together, they all ate happily. It was perfect. Friends of an odd assortment sharing a wonderful bounty—friends laughing with and teasing one another—, joking about hilarious mishaps that had occurred during their previous adventures. The peaceful scene was not meant to last, sadly. Lady Kagome slid her bag of chips back into her backpack and snatched her bow from beside it, readying a single arrow within seconds.
"What's wrong?" InuYasha asked as he began drawing his sword from it's sheath, but before she could answer, the group was almost bowled over by a violent tornado, which whipped, whirred and spun around them. On impulse, Kagome lowered her arrow and covered her face with her arms to protect herself from the flying debris. She tried her best to spy through a small gap between them, but it was difficult with the sand pelting her eyes. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that she knew what it was, or who it was to be more precise.
Her silent questions were answered when the tornado vanished into thin air, leaving her covered in dust and grass. Standing where the heart of the storming wind had once been was a dark silhouette. The ponytail and furry...kilt...gave him away.
"Yo!" a familiar, gruff voice called out in informal greeting. Kagome didn't have much time to react. In what felt like a split of a split second, her hands were cupped firmly in someone else's.
"Hi, Koga." She smiled nervously up at the leader of the wolf demon tribe.
"Did you miss me?" He asked, leaning his face in close to hers, making her feel rather uncomfortable. Before she could answer, a whisper of his voice broke the silence.
"Oh, right." He released her hands and lifted his headband; pulling out a bright, yellow flower.
"I saw this a few days ago while I was out searching for Naraku. It was beautiful. It reminded me of you, though your beauty is unmatched by anything or anyone I have ever come across in my years. I thought I'd keep a hold of it until I ran into you again." He gave her a warm smile before gently placing the delicate flower just above her left ear. Kagome internally sighed, wishing that he could just understand that she had no interest in being his mate, but seeing that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon, she just smiled and thanked him for his gift.
In the same second that he had finished adjusting the flower, a large sword came crashing down between the two, separating them as Koga jumped back to avoid it's mighty power.
"Hey, mutt!" Koga grinned mockingly at the enraged dog demon, coaxing another internal sigh from the woman they were feuding over. It wasn't going to help him; or her for that matter…
"Don't touch her!" the silver-haired hanyou snarled in response. With his smile fading, Koga landed on the roof of Kaede's hut.
"I was just givin' my woman a flower, dog breath!"
"She's not your woman!"
"She ain't yours either, puppy!"
Kagome could tell that InuYasha was reaching his breaking point and so was she. Before things could get too far out of hand, she needed to break it up. With those two at it again, there was only one thing she could do to end the fight.
"SIT!" She shouted forcefully, sending the dog demon plowing into the ground from mid-jump, face first as usual.
"Ha!" Koga sneered like a child, which made even Shippo cross his arms and shake his head in disapproval of the prince's immaturity.
"Why, you little—" InuYasha growled as he placed his hands firmly on either side of the hole the impact had created; glaring at the black haired miko as he shakily rose from it's depths.
"Are you two done fighting yet?" She lowered her eyes to shoot an irritated look at the two of them. Once again, she found her hands cupped between the wolf demon's…
"Anything for you, Kagome."
"Get. Your. Paws. Off—" The ground came loose from beneath InuYasha's hand, causing him to plumet back into the chasm he'd created.
The two watched as he pulled himself back out with a vicious glare plastered on his face.
"I hate you." He grumbled out, aiming his harsh words at the raven-haired priestess. Kagome merely smiled, knowing full and well that it was the closest she would get to him agreeing.
"So, Koga—" she turned her attention to the leader of the wolf demon tribe, who immediately gave her his full attention, "Would you care for some food? You've probably traveled a long way." Maybe if she gave him something to eat, he'd leave sooner.
"I'd love some." He smiled in return. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was over-thinking it, but she couldn't control him. With a subtle shrug, Kagome walked over to her backpack and pulled out the last bag of chips for him. She smirked when she realized that the bag of dog food she had brought along with her had disappeared from inside and laid empty next to the cup of ramen InuYasha had been eating before Koga appeared. She could hardly contain a giggle. She had brought that for Kirara after the pet store had been out of cat food. It was the next best thing.
Kagome smiled as she handed the bag to Koga, who once again cupped her hands between his.
"Thank you, Kagome." He stared intensely into her eyes, refusing to break contact, which made her pretty uncomfortable. She was glad that he was always so thankful for the things he was given, but she just wished that he'd stop grabbing her hands.
"So, Koga, wha—" before she could ask him what he'd been up to, two familiar voices called out from behind them.
"Koga!" A smooth, high-pitched voice called out, echoed by a far coarser one.
"Wait up!"
Everyone's attention turned to behind the group. There, in the distance, were the sprinting figures of Ginta and Hakkaku—with five or so of their wolves—who seemed completely exhausted. When they finally caught up, Kagome gave them all that was left of her rations. She would have to go back to her time to get more. Good thing, because she really needed a break from all of the excitement of the feudal era...maybe a good, long soak in a tub too. With a smile, she threw the empty sack over her shoulder and waved good-bye to everyone.
"Well, I'm going to have to head home for a little while." Without any hesitation, Koga sat up and crumpled the bag of chips into a ball on the ground before peering up at her.
"Where do you live? We'll gladly accompany you back to your village since dog-turd over there doesn't seem to be getting' off his lazy ass." Koga stated gruffly while picking at his ear.
"Don'tcha ever get tired of him?" He asked rather blatantly. There he went again, picking another fight. With an unnoticeable roll of her eyes, she shrugged off his question before answering his first.
"Don't worry, Koga. I can handle myself. I don't live far from here." She smiled warmly to reassure the over-protective demon. If she told him that she was from the future, he might not have believed her story. Either that, or he would have asked her far too many questions that she could not answer. At least, for her, it would be too difficult to explain things like cars and power-tools to a demon from 500 years in the past. There was absolutely nothing to compare them to.
The black haired miko was taken aback when the wolf prince got to his feet and locked eyes with her, challenging her decision.
"You're not going alone." He stated bluntly, as if he could control her. It made her want to smack him straight across his face again, but traveling with InuYasha for that long had made it far easier to tolerate.
"I'll be fine." She repeated herself, trying her best to keep a warm and friendly tone with the possessive male before her. To her dismay, he growled and crossed his arms.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? If you're not gonna take me, then get puppy over there to accompany you. I'm not letting you leave without somebody to protect you." He seemed adamant in his decision.
Sensing the growing tension between Kagome and Koga, Miroku decided that it would be best if he spoke up in her defense.
"If I may intervene" he spoke with caution, "Lady Kagome does this quite often on her own. I believe she can handle herself." Koga growled once more in response, as if his threat would shut the monk up.
"Alright, wolf-cub" InuYasha's voice could be heard from anywhere in the village, "Just who do you think you are coming around here, telling Kagome what she can and can't do?" He began unsheathing Tensaiga.
"Maybe you'll be able to think better once I cut that stuck up personality out of ya'?" He grinned wickedly as he sprinted toward the wolf demon. Beginning to lose her patience, Kagome began rubbing her temples in a desperate attempt to alleviate some stress. It failed miserably.
"SIT!" She yelled again, her voice full of anger. Immediately afterward, she shot a threatening glare at the prince.
"I'm going home on my own, got it?"
"But, Kagome—"
"I'll be fine." She groaned, finally turning in the direction of the well. As soon as she was pointed in the right direction, she bolted off.
"I'll be back in a few days!" She yelled back to everyone.
Ginta smiled contentedly as he watched her leave.
"Bye, sis!" He yelled back, waving his hands in the air.
"Have fun!" Hakkaku called after. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Koga took a deep breath and shouted out loud enough for the whole feudal era to hear.
"Don't get eaten!" Everyone turned their attention to him as he plopped down on the nearest log with a huff, pouting with a defeated look on his face.