I don't own Inu Yasha, I wish I did, but alas, I do not....Oh, and many of the rituals and stuff mentioned in this fic are real. ;D Such as the jars with herbs and the braid of pastel strings. If anyone wants to learn about um, lemme know!
Rabid

Birds chirped cheerfully as the group made their way through the forest. The only thing different then normal was Kagome had grown tired of her old school girl uniform, instead she wore a white haori and blue hakamas, given to her by Kaede. Inu Yasha kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye, unbeknowst to her. She reminded him so much of Kikyou while dressed in that attire.

Her pack had changed aswell, a gift from one of her friends. The old yellow pack had become so tattered and torn. Instead she now carried a black bag slung over her shoulder. (A/N: Think about those black backpacks people wear over their shoulders, lol.)

She'd grown bored one day at her house, and had gone online to search for spells that others who believed they possessed some sort of powers had given. In her pack she carried a jars filled with herbs, such as allspice for healing, basil and cloves for protection, fennel seed for spiritual healing, and marjoram for protection. (A/N: Yes, those actually are used for all of those things.) She'd been somewhat failing in her role as a miko, or japanese priestess. She'd begun to embrace what seemed popular in America. The religion called Wicca, which was based on the worship of nature and the magic merely balanced inside of her with what was outside.

"Kagome-chan, is something bothering you?" Sango's voice brought Kagome out of her thoughts and to reality. "No, I'm fine, its nothing." She said smiling sweetly to her. Sango turned, dropping it. Kagome was probably just wondering about random things once more. She turned to Miroku, he too seemed lost in thought. In a fold of his robes, he had a braid, of 3 pastel colored strings with seven knots in it. Kagome had forced him to carry it in secrecy, she'd said something about it drawing love to him. He sighed, it was another hoax for him to declare love to Sango. He only agreed to carry it because she promised she'd do the same.

And now we leave the depths of Miroku's mind, and shift to Inu Yasha, who seemed very much distracted with something. Well, two things in particular. He wanted deeply to tell Kagome he loved her, to share his life with her, but he couldn't risk putting it now, nor could he find the words to. The other thing was the fact that he felt eye swatching them all as they walked, yet he could gather no scent. Each muscle was tense, though he tried to make it seem as though he was completely relaxed.

But in the trees, a cherub hid within the trees. She wasn't the chubby angel baby you might think of when you hear cherub, no, the mere reference insulted her. She had sandy blonde hair that was cropped just above her shoulders. She wore a black baby-doll style T-shirt (means its cropped on the corner of the shoulders, its tight, and it goes down enough to cover your stomach.) and tight, modern looking blue jeans. Her petite, ivory colored wings were folded gracefully behind her as she watched them trek onwards. The bands carried by Kagome and Miroku had drawn her to the two, and she felt a certain need to make the bands work.

'You have all kept your love a secret far too long, and you must be punished for it...'

"A curse be placed upon ye, I command it so mote it be. Switching of the souls command, Bound to you be the pastel band. Only love may set you free, watching over Blessed Be." She said the words aloud, audible only to Inu Yasha, who could only just hear the sound. He could not make out the words, but turned to see the cherub wink at him and disappear.

That night as they made camp, Miroku and Kagome both found their bands had stretched long enough so it was in a circle, barely enough to fit their wrist. It had somehow managed to ring around, and neither could take it off. Neither could remember as they slipped into a deep sleep, unbeknowst of the curse taking effect.....

Okay, I hope that wasn't too short of a chapter. I know that spell seemed kinda wierd, but yea. Mote it Be and Blessed Be are both wiccan phrases, so yea. I know its against wiccan law to do anything that causes harm to another, but hey, I'm trying to fit a bunch of religions in here at once and still make it creative. XD Like Cherub is kinda christian, I've got wiccan, and I'm planning to somehow include Shintou. Well, now I'm going to go start on another chapter since muse just dropped a piano on my head. XD

Rabid