Ch.1 Before the Storm

Disclaimer: I don't own much here, 'cept my own created characters that don't need naming since they're painstakingly obvious. Enjoy and review!

""-talking, obviously

'thinking'

(())-flashback (ya know by the big words that say FLASHBACK, and END FLASHBACK, and if ya don't get it, see a doctor, lol.)

-- change of view or setting, really it says it right there, believe me.

It was a warm day for the group of eight, yes, eight. Leading was an irate hanyou, named Inu Yasha, wearing red-fire rat hakamas and shirt, with white triangular dog ears upon his head, and eyes of impatient molten gold. Trekking slightly behind him was Kagome, a miko, a Japanese school girl in a sailor uniform, with a short green skirt and a red tie back, her feet trod upon the ground in brown clog-like shoes, whereas the hanyou went barefoot, to the left of her bicycle. In the bicycles basket rode the kitsune kit, Shippo, who had red-orange hair tied back in a turquoise bow, walking on a pair of cute fox feet. And on Kagome's shoulder laid a fiercely loyal obsidian dragon, which had been with them two and a half months, he was in his smallest form, relatively shorter than a gardener snake and only a little wider. The dragon's name was Kage, and like the name of his species suggests, Kage's coloring is shiny black obsidian. Beside Kagome was Yasu, another demon gifted with the ability to control the darkness in people's souls to make them his slaves for a period of time, seeing as he was a child only two human years older than Shippo. Yasu was a head taller than Shippo as well; he had white hair, held back by a white duplication of Shippo's bow, and white-grey eyes, and wore a white shirt and grey hakamas. Yasu had been traveling with them a few good two months now, and was closest to Kagome, Shippo, and Kage. Behind them were Sango and Miroku. Sango was a taiija, a demon hunter, and was wearing a kimono to cover her taiija cat-suit, her demon slaying outfit, a large boomerang-bone was strapped to her back, and an early fashion of combat boots adorned her feet. Miroku, the hentai houshi, was walking next to Sango, speaking of the many types of demons, which Kagome was currently eavesdropping on. Miroku wore the purple robes of a monk, in his right hand a golden staff with rings jingling every so often, and wooden sandals adorning his feet. And the last member of this rag-tag member, but not the least, was Kirara, the fire-cat yokai with two tails, who was currently keeping vigil on Sango's shoulder.

-Kagome's POV-

I can still remember how Kage and Yasu had joined our little group.

((FLASHBACK #1- two and a half months ago-))

I had been chasing a little black dragon with a jewel shard, who happened to be Kage, while the others took care of a horde that tried to follow me. Kage could fly fast, even though he didn't have wings, so, naturally, a yokai beat me to the little devil. It was a boar yokai, and he was about to chomp down on the dragon yokai, who appeared to be very young, in its powerful jaws. And me, I just had to save him, so I shot and arrow, and after retrieving the jewel shards, I healed Kage. He'd follow me from afar after that, apparently he had no where to go, and was seeking company in my presence. A few weeks later, much to everyone's protest, I started to feed him by hand instead of leaving scraps behind like I had before, when he followed us. A few weeks after that, he started walking nearer to me, sleeping closer as I read aloud for him and Shippo, and more readily ate out of my hand. And soon enough, he was part of the group, and he was my self-deemed protector, and a close companion to me and Shippo. He only started warming up to the others, but he loathed Inu Yasha, and personally I didn't mind. He and Kirara were becoming friends fast though, seeing as they were both animalistic yokai not strong enough to take on a human form.

((END FLASHBACK #1))

I however, grimaced, as I recalled how we ended up with Yasu.

((FLASHBACK #2- two months ago))

A yokai was attacking a young child whose wails could but be heard from where I had decided to bathe, Sango had left earlier, and I took action. I wrapped my towel around me, and simply ran with my bows and arrows to the apparent location of the distressed child. When I got there, I noticed the child unconscious, and the demon, finally noticing me, gave me a lustful look at my wet towel wrapped body. All the while I was stringing an arrow, aiming, and releasing, all in a single, fluid motion, and it struck him. Later Yasu had told me the demon that attacked him and his father, who abused him, had a barrier that was strong enough that the man wasn't affected by their special abilities of manipulation. He started becoming close to Kagome, Shippo, and Kage the most, and became to be even more annoyed with the hanyou, Inu Yasha, seeing as he always insulted Kagome, who was making a terrific surrogate mother for him in his time of need. He had slightly wormed up to Sango and Miroku, but seeing as his father had abused him, he was more cautious around other people than his surrogate mother, Shippo, and Kage.

((END FLASHBACK #2))

I was still listening to Miroku and Sango's conversation on demons, soaking up as much information as she could, and every so often Yasu or Shippo would put their two cents in. Kage and Kirara were conversing about who knows what on their respective mistress's shoulders, while Inu Yasha continued to tread ahead his ears swiveling to the noises about him.

-Norm POV-

The group had been heading in the North-Eastern direction, in the direction of a rumor of a yokai that held many shards, taking refuge in a hidden castle that appeared out of nowhere, bringing with it an ominous aura and death to all that ventured near to its location on the base of a mountain named Takuseharu, after a monk that had saved the surrounding villages by vanquishing a possessed tiger demon, before he had devoured the humans in the surrounding vicinity, but that was not the point. Anyway, this is where they were currently headed, hopefully to destroy Naraku once and for all, if the rumors turned out how they interpreted them that is.

"Yawn Kagome? Can we take a break? I'm hungry." Asked Shippo, Yasu quickly agreeing with a nod of affirmation.

"Yes, Lady Kagome, I quite agree with them." Continued Miroku, slouching the slightest bit to prove his point.

"Hey! Inu Yasha! Everyone thinks we should take a break, let's stop in this clearing okay Inu Yasha?"

"Feh, stupid weak humans, always needing a break." He replied.

And with that a fight of sits and foul language was observed through a demons mirror, the demon watching with red eyes full of murderous plots.

-In the castle by the mountain-

"Kanna, leave."

The demon holding the mirror, Kanna, left without a sound, as her master ordered her to.

"So Kikyo, I can depend on you then?" the hanyou, Naraku, asked.

Kikyo strode out of the shadows, and let her dead eyes look upon his murderous ones.

"Inu Yasha will be mine, and he will betray her, and she will perish." She replied in her monotonous voice.

(So, how do ya like it so far? Please review, and the YYH won't be coming in for a bit, sorry. RR!)