wanna start this story with my disclaimers, which are a little different this time around. i do NOT own Inuyasha, nor any of the ORIGINAL characters. i do, however, own the characters i created (which, so far, is just Inukashi, Sirka, Kanume, and Mantosu)
now that's out of the way, wuzup peoples?! i kno, i cant believe it either, but there's a third installment!i got talked into it by my brother and a friend (u kno who u are :)) so guess i'm stuck with it now. enjoy!

The day had finally come. I was leaving the village.

I was sitting in a tree, wondering what kind of life awaited me. So many thoughts were spinning in my head.

The first one I came up with was how much freedom I would have. Living by my own rules, not answering to anybody.

Well, except her, of course.

I left my hut, ready for what lay ahead of me. I'm finally 19. We get to leave the village today.

"Sirka!" Mom called. I turned to face her. "Yeah?" "Where are you going? You're not leaving already, are you?"

A smile almost as big as Mom's played my face. "Not quite." I answered. "Just wanting to tell Inukashi happy birthday."

Mom giggled. "Well, I guess I shouldn't keep him waiting. Be back here soon." "Okay." I called as I ran to the forest.

I caught her scent. Jumping out of the tree, I followed it. Awake already, are you?

I had the perfect chance. I was coming from her right side. Get ready, Lefty.

She came into view, and I plowed right into her. I heard her gasp before she grabbed my shoulders.

I landed on top of her, but she quickly threw me over and was on top of me.

"Gotcha this time." I bragged. "You're getting out of shape, Inukashi."

We stood up and dusted off. "Heh. I let you win that one." He defended. "Oh, sure."

I let him pull me into his embrace. "Happy birthday." He whispered into my ear, nibbling on it.

Feeling playful, I pushed him off. "Happy birthday to you, too." He started nibbling on my ear again. He's pretty playful today.

"You know what we get to do today." I more of stated than asked. She giggled. "Of course. We get to leave today."

I nibbled on her exceptionally soft earlobe. "That's only half the deal." A blush played her face as she nodded. I grinned. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Kashi took me to our favorite spot on the Sacred Tree and we watched the sun rise.

I leaned into him, and he put his arm around me. "Things are going to be so different." I said. "I think the biggest change will be that our family isn't so close to us anymore."

Kashi moaned in agreement. "It'll be tough at first, but we'll get used to it. Who knows, maybe we'll find some companions?"

"Wouldn't that be fun?" I asked. "We're going to meet so many new people." Kashi nodded. "But, we're going to be, how do I put it, be faced with more challenges. We don't have any clue what kind of demons are out there."

I sat up and looked him in his eyes. "Kashi, as long as you're there, I'll be fine." "Damn right you will." He had a strong look in his eye I can't describe. "Because I will always protect you."

"Don't forget," I added, "I'll be protecting you." I smiled, but he got serious. "There's no way I'd ever let that happen!" he almost shouted. "I will never endanger you like that!"

Is she really saying this? Sirka put her hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, Kashi. It was a joke!" "It wasn't funny." I muttered.

"Sirka!" It was faint, but I know I heard it. Sango was calling for Sirka.

"You're mom's calling for you." I stood up, scooped her into my arms, and I raced back to the village.

I got there in seconds. As I got older, I get pretty fast. Almost as fast as dad.

I let Sirka stand, and she kissed me. "See you soon." "Bye." She walked to her Mom, and I returned home.

Am I really ready for this? I began to question myself. Can I really protect Sirka on my own? Am I strong enough?

so, what'd ya think? i kno its pretty short, but i originally had too much going on, so i split it into two chapters. the next one should be up a a few. but first, send a review in! reminder, i'm open to criticism (good & bad) as well as your own ideas. or, if for some reason you dont want to leave ur ideas in a review, PM me. in fact, i want you guys to PM me. i like gettin to kno you guys and to read your stories. until next chapter, later!