Chapter 1

Leaves, Arrows, and Bears- Oh, My!

Kagome rolled around in her sleeping bag uncomfortably. When she couldn't find a comfortable position, she sat up. Looking around, she noticed that the sun hadn't risen just yet.

She sighed and pulled herself from the bag,, "Man I wish the ground were more comfortable."

Stretching, she got up from her position on her knees and began searching around for her flashlight. Finding said object, she clicked it on, careful not to shine on any of the others sleeping around her.

Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a low growl behind her. Upon turning around, however, she realized that it was just Kirara.

The fully transformed cat was staring at her with curious eyes, as if asking 'Do you need any help?'

"It's okay, Kirara, I'll be fine," she quietly assured the saber-toothed cat, "I'm only going for a walk, I'll be back soon," upon the cat's disbelieving look, she held up her bow and quiver, "Oh come on, even you have to admit I'm getting better."

Kirara stared at Kagome for a few more minutes, her red eyes glowing slightly in the dim light. Then she heaved the demon cat equivalent of a sigh and put her head down. Kagome smiled and said a quiet thank you before tiptoeing out of the clearing they'd decided to call home…well, for the night. No doubt Inuyasha would want to pick up the pace in the morning.

Kagome shook her head to clear it of any negative thought- that was the last thing she needed right now. No, this time it would just be a nice quiet, calming, walk through the forest. Yessir, nice and quiet and-

"AH!"

Her head snapped towards the noise and, as if they had a mind of their own, her feet began pulling her towards it. She stopped just outside a cluster of bushes and peeked through.

The young miko had to hold back a gasp to avoid being caught for if she had been heard she would be in the same predicament as the child before her.

Yes, child.

A rather sizeable bear demon had the poor thing pinned beneath one of its paws, its teeth bared. The child himself looked more than a little worse for wear. One eye was swollen and an ugly shade of blackish-blue. His arms were scratched and bleeding. And his shaggy hair(she couldn't see what color in the dark) was matted with leaves and twigs.

As quietly as she could muster, Kagome notched an arrow and took aim. She charged her miko powers into the tip and then let it fly.

It shot through the foliage and hit the bear right in the arm, disintegrating it almost immediately. For a few moments, she sat there, dumbfounded that she had actually hit her target. Then, a huge smile spread across her face. She silently cheered to herself and did a victory dance.

But her celebrating came to an end when she realized that she had left the injured boy all alone with all those injuries. She quickly pushed through the bushes and began to approach the boy. However, when he spotted her, his big blue eyes widened in terror and he shrunk into the bark of the tree.

Deciding to take a different approach, Kagome halted in her approach and dropped to her knees. Then, she smiled disarmingly at the boy, "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you," then she tossed her bow and arrows to her side, "See? No weapons."

The boy sniffled, but relaxed slightly, "D-do ya promise?"

"Mmhmm," Kagome nodded and sat firmly on the ground, indicating that she wasn't going to move unless he wanted her to.

The boy leaned away from the tree, " My n-name's Jin."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Jin. I'm Kagome," she said while moving slightly closer. When Jin didn't shy away from her, she got up and sat in front of him.

She reached out a hand to touch his eye, but he flinched away from her, so she busied herself with the leaves in his hair instead.

"So, Jin, what kind of demon are you?" she asked so that the silence that hung heavily in the air would weaken.

"I'm a wind master…well I will be, soon as I find a teacher," he mumbled nervously, not quite sure he could trust the girl just yet.

"Really? That's pretty cool. Can you do anything special?" Kagome asked while using her miko energy to heal the cuts on his arms, but careful not to purify him.

"I…I can fly," he said, a little less nervously this time. There was just something about this girl…

"Wow," Kagome smiled at him, "We have a twin-tailed demon cat back at camp who can fly, too. Her name is Kirara," now she moved her hands to his chest and stomach where he had suffered sufficient gashes and bruises, "She may look like an adorable little kitten, but she's really a ferocious feline," then she added as a side comment, "And she's pretty comfy to sleep on too."

By the time she finished speaking, she had finished healing all of Jin's injuries. He stared at his arms in amazement and felt the area around his once-black eye.

"Gee, Miss Kagome, that sure is a neat trick ya got there," he grinned at the teenager, revealing his pointed canines.

She smiled, "Well, I am a miko, after all. It's basically part of the job description."

His grin widened and he stood up from his position up against the tree, "Ah, right as rain, I am. You sure did a good job, Miss Kagome." To prove his point, he stretched his arms above his head.

Kagome giggled and was about to reply when a the foliage behind them rustled once more. In an attempt to protect the boy, Kagome stepped in front of him, but she needn't worry.

"What the hell, Kagome! Do you know how worried we all were? You don't go traipsing around the forest at night- what is that?" A very irked hanyou ranted as he stormed through the plant life.

"His name is Jin, and he's a wind demon!" Kagome shouted while hugging said child to her side.

"Tch, whatever," he growled, "C'mon we have to keep looking for the jewel sh-"

"Sit!" the beads around Inuyasha's neck glowed and dragged him to the ground.

"Ha-ha! Guess that'll teach ya ta mess with ol' Kagome, eh Rover?" Jin laughed, his now-pointy ears twitching happily.

"Why you-!" the hanyou tried to launch himself at the young demon, but Kagome had other plans.

"Sit!" then she turned to Jin, "Please try not to encourage him, it only makes him harder to deal with."

"Ah, sorry I am Miss Kagome," he said while scratching the back of his head, "I was just havin' a bit o' fun is all."

The priestess sighed, "So…can you get home, or do you need help?"

At this, the child's expression saddened, "I…Well, I don't really…" he mumbled whatever he was going to say next.

"Hmm?" Kagome leaned in to hear him better.

"I don't really have a home," he said slightly louder, but then he smiled(albeit a little sadly), "But I'll manage, always have."

Kagome regarded the child sadly, 'Just like Shippo.' She turned to Inuyasha(who was still laying on the ground) and pulled him out of hearing range.

"We have to take him with us," she said it with a tone of finality, as if daring him to argue.

Inuyasha, being his ignorant self, argued back, "What? Now way. He'd just be dead weight," the inu demon huffed while crossing his arms.

"Inuyasha! How could you be so heartless? He's all alone with no place to go," she crossed her arms over her chest and spread her legs, creating the perfect look of defiance, "We can't just turn him away."

He growled in frustration, but mulled over the situation nonetheless. Then, he sighed and turned back towards the priestess.

"Fine, but he's your responsibility," then he added, "and he better not bother me. It's bad enough with Shippo."

Kagome's face broke out into a huge smile, "Oh, thank you, Inuyasha!" Then she bolted back to where they had left the subject of their discussion

Jin's head snapped back towards the young miko as she stormed into the clearing, "Ah, Miss Kagome, you alrigh'?"

She approached the demon, a huge grin plastered on her face, "You can come with us!"

His head tilted to the side, "Wha-?"

He didn't get to finish his question, however, for Kagome had come up to him and pulled him into a hug, "I said, you can come with us."

A/N: Whew *wipes forehead* That was a doozy(he-he I love that word). I hope you guys really enjoyed that first chapter. I worked on it at school at the risk of being caught, so it would suck if I did that for

Thanks for reading,

Alias E.