It was mid-day, the sky clear and blue with no clouds to obscure the view and the large orb of a bright star shining nearly directly the middle of the blue canvas. A picture too perfect for an extraordinary young girl as her chafed loafers scuffed a worn dirt trail, disturbed dust rising a few inches behind her heel before settling once more on the print her shoe left behind. She trailed behind a certain bare foot hanyou that led the way down the path that seemed to go forever, doing her best to keep pace with him as their other two human companions treaded in their wake with a young red-headed fox youkai and a tiny fire neko youkai resting respectively on their shoulders. If this were any other day she would be enjoying the warm sun that cradled her cheeks and constantly asking the hanyou in front of her if she could stop and smell the flowers that consistently grew in the fields that bordered either side of their path, of course this would begin in a shouting match between the two and when the young fox demon came to her defense it would end with him getting a lump on his skull and a satisfying "Sit" for the hanyou, but this day was just not another day in Feudal Japan for the young miko girl.
For at least a few days now the miko, Kagome, had been getting a growing sense of dread in her stomach as her and her companions marched on down the path to what they could only hope was the correct destination to the last Shikon Jewel shard, rumors from the peasants in the latest village they had rested at was the only lead they had got out of the farmers. The young fox demon had noticed her nervousness for quite some time now but had no idea what to do about it, and it definitely seemed as if both Miroku and Sango noticed as well as Kagome had started to falter when they began to travel farther North. Sango had once tried to ask her friend about it but it seemed as if the young girl attempted to avoid the subject as soon as it was brought up in conversation so she had stopped her prying but continued to keep an eye on her. Miroku seemed anxious to know what made Kagome so silent and nervous as soon they began in this direction but the hanyou, Inuyasha, had seemed as dense as ever but he too and began to notice though he had brought up a good front to hide his suspicion. Kagome herself did all she could to keep her usual bright grin on her face but her grim emotions brought her back down again and kept her focus on it instead of keeping pace with Inuyasha or striking up a conversation. The fox kit sighed weakly as jumped from Miroku's shoulder and scrambled up Kagome's arm to rest on her's instead, noticing her jerk away as he did so, and tried to think of what to say but before he could get a chance to speak he felt a clawed hand grab his collar and tug him forward.
He yelped and swung his arms at his captor but Inuyasha simply dropped him back to the dirt trail.
"Inuyasha! What was that for?" Shippo yelled up at him as the group screeched to a halt. The hanyou simply huffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he began walking again.
Inuyasha, leave poor Shippo alone!" Kagome shouted as she ran to the young fox kit's side and cradled him in her arms.
"You coddle him too much, Kagome." The hanyou called back without breaking stride.
"He's just a kid! Hey, wait for us!" Kagome yelled to the figure that seemed to be diminishing in size as he got further away and the young miko rose to her feet and ran after the dog demon, her quiver of arrows rattling on her back as her right shoulder blade and bow struck it's wooden side. She could faintly hear the rings of Miroku's staff clinking together as he and Sango followed suit. Inuyasha's plan seemed to have worked, Kagome was angry that Inuyasha had treated Shippo in such a way but her usual self had broken through her grim expression.
When the rest of the team had finally caught up with the hanyou Kagome had given him an earful which began a battle of shouting which, as always, triggered a loud "Sit!" from the young miko, effectively throwing Inuyasha face first into the dusty trail. Kagome walked past the groaning hanyou, still clenching a very smug Shippo in her arms and continuing North but even as tread the trail the anxiety that held her stomach in a firm grip would not relent and now it had spread it's tentacles to her heart. Not an hour later the rest of the team had caught up with Kagome and the still giggling Shippo but it seemed she had stopped by the side of the trail as it dipped downward toward a valley that contained a very happy and wealthy looking castle in it's depths, and happier still was the village that surrounded it, wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys as women made lunch for their husbands and children. The hanyou was still steaming and coats of dirt still covered his face but his expression turned serious as he looked toward the happy little valley, his nose twitching rapidly.
'How did I not notice this scent? It's absolutely overwhelming!' He thought as he turned toward the rest of the team he spoke in an urgent voice. "That village reeks with the scent of smoke and blood." He informed.
"A bandit raid?" Miroku offered as he looked down on the village. "The castle seems very wealthy."
Not a few moments after spoken those words did they notice a enormous bear demon rose from one of the many streets, a screaming woman dangling precariously in his massive jaws before he clenched his fangs together, following a snapping sound that only Inuyasha could have heard from this distance and the woman hung limp. The demon tossed it's head back and engulfed the villager before swallowing her whole. Kagome stared in horror, her anxiety increasing tremendously due to her terror but she swallowed the lump in her throat.
Inuyasha glared down at the demon and shouted an order at the young girl as he got into a crouch.
"Get on!" Kagome spent only a few moments releasing Shippo from her grasp and allowing him to climb on her shoulder once more before climbing onto Inuyasha's back and holding fast to his shoulders. The hanyou held up her thighs and Kagome would squeeze her knees against his sides in response until he began with a leap off the slope and started off with a sprint as he landed, eyes locked onto the enormous bear demon.
"Kirara!" Sango commanded the fire neko that sat silently on her shoulder before leaping off and becoming engulfed in a flurry of flames, growing into a size much larger than even a lion. Neither human seemed frightened of the demon cat as they climbed onto her back, Sango's hand reaching for her massive boomerang that was always strapped to her back while Miroku's hand reached for her bosom. A loud slap was heard by the three team members that had a good head start ahead of them but they rightfully ignored it.