"What's this?"

The tiny object would have never caught his attention if it hadn't reflected a ray of sunlight into his eyes. He carefully placed the handful of berries he had collected on the ground and delicately scooped the object out of the grass.

He squinted his eyes to further inspect the tiny object lying in his large hand. It seemed to be a sliver of sheer pink jewel. He paused for a second wondering why this seemed so familiar. "A shard of the Shikon Jewel!"

He had never seen a shard of the Shikon Jewel before but he had heard of it. He had heard of it from the stories of the survivors...those who had managed to escape the attacks of Naraku's army of demons.

He then realized the risk he was taking. Those who had ventured off from the settlement alone or in small groups had been the targets of these attacks. The demons were searching for Jewel shards and slaughtered anyone that stood in their path. The sudden feeling of isolation and vulnerability hit him like a slap across the face.

Every little sound around him increased in volume. The water running, the wind blowing through the leaves, it was overwhelming. He wished that he could turn the sound off so that he could concentrate on what to do. Should he leave it here as if he had never seen it? Should he present it to the leader of the settlement? Should he take a risk for his people and venture far away from the settlement to dispose of it?

It seemed as if all the Shikon Jewel did was cause trouble for his people even though they had never possessed a shard. Possessing a shard could only bring more trouble. That is if the rumours weren't true. But how could such a tiny shard hold so much power? Could something this small help save his people?

He squeezed his hand into a fist around the shard.

-------

A high-pitched shriek pierced the air.

There was a demon standing before her. It was too close she had no chance of running away. She shouldn't have left her bow and arrow behind.

"Inuyasha! Help!"

Inuyasha appeared from above in a giant leap and landed next to Kagome.

"Did he hurt you, Kagome, are you okay?" Inuyasha asked as he advanced towards the demon.

"I'm okay, but quick he has a jewel shard..." Kagome paused and squinted her eyes, "in his left hand! Hurry!"

The demon growled and hissed, and it tried to swipe at Inuyasha with its huge claws.

He frantically waved the Jewel shard in his hand at the half-demon with the ginormous weapon that approached him. "Please don't hurt me! Take the Jewel shard if you want!"

"WIND SCAR!"

Kagome approached the demolished remains of the demon. She kneeled to the ground and gingerly picked up the Jewel shard. As she walked back to Inuyasha she made a face and sound of disgust, "I'm never going to get used to the sight of demons."

Kagome's comment caught Inuyasha off guard. He looked down to the ground where the slain demon once stood. "I'm half-demon."

Inuyasha might be a full-demon someday, she thought. He looked nothing like what he had just killed. "You're different."

His eyes stayed to the ground. "Am I?"