Chapter One

Slaughter of the Nagasaki Clan

The night was dark and reeked with death. The Nagasaki Clan headed into a blind battle unaware of what would happen. The Clan though powerful would be no match for their enemy; a slew of demons. They charged into battle; they consisted of monks, priestesses, and fighters. The battle was fierce with a severe amount of bloodshed.

One little half demon girl tried to run onto the battlefield. She was calling out to her father fighting in the battle. This young girl had purple cat ears and an equally purple fluffy cat tail. Her mother was a demon and her father was a monk. The girl is held back to prevent her from getting killed in the midsts of the battle.

"Daddy!" She yelled.

"No, you mustn't! It's too dangerous Lady Haruka!" The woman holding her back told her.

As powerful as her father may have been, a demon had slain him. Haruka screamed in horror of seeing her father's blood spill out. She dropped to her knees in tears. After a long battle and the entire Clan annihilated, Haruka rushed over to her father's lifeless body. Her head rested on his chest. Tears fell from her eyes with her face pressed into her father's chest.

A man approached her, "Child, what has gotten you so upset with the tears you shed?" His voice was deep and somewhat emotionless.

"My... my daddy. He's dead. My whole Clan was killed by demons," she cried.

"Are you all alone then?" He asked her kneeling by her side.

She nodded lifting her head a bit, "Yes. There's no one left. They're all gone."

He held a hand out to her, "Come with me then. I'll take care of you."

She stared at him wondering if he could be trusted. He smelled like a demon. The scent was incredibly strong. Something didn't seem right about him. Her ears lay flat unsure of what to do. Should she follow him? She knew she couldn't stay on the battle field littered with the dead bodies of her Clan. Taking his hand, she decided to go with him. He guided her to his castle.

Upon arrival she was sent to bed to rest up. She had a long day and lost everyone she cared about in a matter of hours. The man that took her in was named Naraku. He was a powerful demon but Haruka was unaware of just how powerful he was. Naraku as cold hearted and emotionless as he was ended up staying in Haruka's room watching over her as she slept.

"This young half demon will surely be a great asset for me," Naraku thought to himself.

"Daddy, don't go. Please don't go," Haruka spoke in her sleep.

The sun soon rose. Naraku was gone from her room. He had picked up Haruka's father's monk staff and it had become enchanted with his spirit. It laid beside her as she continued sleeping. The monk staff was no ordinary staff. It was able to turn into a double ended blade. As Haruka woke, she looked around and saw the staff beside her.

"Father..." she said softly. She rested a hand on the staff.

Naraku sat outside her room, "Haruka, I regret to inform you of this new information but it has been said that a half demon named InuYasha was responsible for sending the army of demons after your clan last night."

"Inu...Yasha? He- he sent those demons after my clan? But why? Why would he do that?" She asked him.

"InuYasha has brought pain and sadness to many. He wishes to use the Shikon Jewel to become a full demon. If that were to happen, he could end up killing many more people including other demons that may not even be a threat to others," he told her.

Naraku had a history of lying. His life mission was to destroy InuYasha. Haruka of course had no idea of this. She believed Naraku's words. She grew angry. This InuYasha had to pay for sending demons to slaughter her entire clan. Her mother had already passed away a few years before. Killed by a demon slayer.

She stood up, her father's staff in her hand. She could feel his spirit from within it. As she tightened her grip on the staff she left the room to go in search of InuYasha. Naraku secretly smiled with great pleasure. She had so much anger that she had forgotten how saddened she had become losing her entire clan. Now she was going to track InuYasha down and kill him.

It was just what Naraku wanted. Indeed she would be the one to do his bidding for him. Haruka searched for the scent of InuYasha. Sniffing the air for any trace of a dog demon. She traveled far from Naraku's castle. It took a bit of time but she had picked up his scent. She hid in the shadows aware that being a half demon like herself InuYasha would pick up on her own scent as well.

"InuYasha...?" Miroku asked him quietly.

"Yeah I smell it. The scent of a demon," he replied just as quietly.

"Do you think the demon is aware of its presence?" He asked.

"Not sure but I'll handle this quickly," InuYasha said. "Come out here demon! I know you're hiding close by!"

Haruka flew out from the trees, "I knew you would catch my scent in your disgusting dog nostrils."

InuYasha took a close look at her, "Teh, you're nothing but a half-demon like myself. What's your business hiding in the shadows watching us?"

"You must be InuYasha," she said ignoring his question.

"How do you know his name?" Miroku asked her.

"I was told you are the one who sent an army of demons after my clan and had them all slaughtered. You will pay for what you've done," she said.

InuYasha stared at her confused, "Your clan? Why would I slaughter a clan of cat demons?"

Haruka elaborated further, "Not my demon clan, my human clan. My father and everyone I cared about were slaughtered by a mass of demons last night. It has been said that you, InuYasha are personally responsible for sending those demons to kill them. You must die for this!"

Before he or Miroku could find out more, Haruka attacked him. InuYasha pulled out his Tetsusaiga. He blocked her attack as she tried to strike him with her staff. As the battle pressed on Kagome, Sango, and Shippo were reunited with InuYasha and Miroku. They had gone in search of food.

Kagome gasped at the sight of the heated battle, "InuYasha! Miroku! What's going on here?"

InuYasha caught a glimpse of her, "Stay away Kagome!"

Haruka spun her staff in the air and it transformed into a double bladed staff. Being that she was half demon and her father was a monk it was her inheritance that she also be a Priestess. That was why her clan referred to her as Lady Haruka. Sango convinced Kagome not to get involved. Haruka hissed at them and attacked again.

InuYasha did his best to block her attack but she spun the staff knocking the Tetsusaiga out of his hand and running the other blade down from his shoulder to midway down his chest. Haruka took the opened opportunity to swipe her claws across his cheek. He backed off from her due to his injuries. This half demon was stronger than he thought.

"Look, I don't know who told you that I was responsible for the slaughter of your clan but I had nothing to do with it!" He tried to talk to her.

"You're lying! I know your motive for wanting the Shikon Jewel. You want it to become a full demon so you can go around killing the innocent," she said determined he was the one responsible for the slaughter.

"Huh? Slaughter of her clan? Why does she think that InuYasha is responsible for her clan being slaughtered?" Sango wondered.

"I really hate to do this but-," Miroku held his right hand straight out and revealed his wind tunnel.

A swarm of Naraku's Saimyoushou or poisonous insects that resembled bees came to protect Haruka. Miroku quickly sealed up his wind tunnel with the beads around his wrist. If Naraku's insects were hanging around it was clear who had put the idea in Haruka's head about InuYasha.

"Naraku's insects. So, he's the one behind this half demon accusing you of being responsible for the death of her clan," Miroku said to InuYasha.

"You know of Master Naraku?" She asked them.

"Yeah we know him. He's a lying manipulative piece of slime. Whatever he told you about me is a lie. I was nowhere near wherever you and your clan were last night. My guess is that it was Naraku and his demons that slaughtered them," InuYasha told her.

"No, that can't be true. Master Naraku saved me from being all alone last night. I would have stayed with the cold lifeless bodies of my clan and died along with them if he hadn't shown up," Haruka insisted on believing InuYasha's words were a lie.

"You have to believe him. InuYasha wouldn't lie to you. Naraku was responsible for Miroku having a hole in his hand and had Sango's little brother kill her whole family. He's an evil man that uses others to do his dirty work just to try to kill InuYasha!" Kagome tried to get her to listen to her.

"I won't believe you!" She charged at Kagome this time.

InuYasha acted quickly to protect her. He wounded Haruka. She quickly staggered off confused about who she could believe; Naraku whom had saved her from her fate of dying with her clan or InuYasha and his friends about Naraku lying to her. Had Naraku been the one who really sent those demons last night? Or was it truly InuYasha who did?

He acted with such speed and no hesitation to save his human friend. Haruka wasn't sure if InuYasha could perform such an act of mass violence on a clan he seemed to know nothing about. Without realizing just how badly he had injured her, she fell to her knees and passed out on the ground. Blood slowly spilled out of her wound.

Kagome tended to InuYasha's wounds. They discussed what had just happened and whether or not they should go after Haruka to help her wounds as well. Maybe they could convince her to join them and leave Naraku. It seemed unlikely as she didn't trust their word that they had nothing to do with her clan's demise. After InuYasha was patched up they decided to go in search of Haruka.

They found her passed out in the woods. Her wound was deep and she had lost a fair amount of blood. InuYasha carried her on his back and brought her to a shack they had been staying in for the night. Kagome and Sango took care of patching her up. Hours passed before she started to wake. InuYasha had been in charge of keeping an eye on her.

"Mm..." Haruka opened her eyes and looked around.

"Hm?" InuYasha turned to face her. "Waking up I see." He didn't sound pleased to be babysitting the young half demon.

"You!" She tried to sit up but winced at the pain. "Ah!"

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? You shouldn't move so much with that wound," he told her.

She glared at him her ears pointed back, "The wound that you gave to me."

He glared back at her, "Quit your whining. You gave me wounds just as bad."

"Master Naraku won't leave me for long. He'll come for me I know it," she said.

"What makes you so sure he will?" InuYasha asked with a bit of an attitude.

"I just do. He would never abandon me," she insisted.

They glared at each other for several minutes before everyone else returned to the shack. They could all feel the ominous tension between the two half demons. Why wouldn't there be? After all, one was of a dog and the other of a cat. It's well known that dogs normally did not get along with cats. InuYasha let out a groan as Haruka lightly hissed at him.

Miroku glanced at Sango who glanced at Kagome. Kagome glanced at both of them. The long moment was filled with intense silence and glaring. Miroku made an attempt to clear the heavy fog of tension between the two. InuYasha grumbled unwillingly and turned away from Haruka. She let out a teeth baring partial hiss mixed with a groan before turning away from InuYasha. Shippo offered to calm Haruka down.

"It's okay. InuYasha just takes some getting used to is all. He's really stubborn," Shippo said.

"I'm not staying with any of you. Where I belong is with Master Naraku," she said being just as stubborn as InuYasha.

"And they say dogs are the loyal ones," Kagome muttered under her breath.

"Dogs are just smelly mutts without a speck of brain," she hissed.

InuYasha turned back around, "What did you say about dogs!?"

Sparks started to fly, "They're smelly mutts without a brain!"

They bared their fangs at each other in rage. Growling and hissing at each other, the four friends didn't know what to do. Do they intervene or see how things played out? They couldn't let it get too out of hand where either one got even more badly injured. Kagome decided to break things up.

After a nice long talk, Haruka was convinced to join up with InuYasha and his friends. She still secretly wanted to be back with Naraku. He just had to come back for her. There was no way he'd abandon her right after saving her. Speaking of Naraku though, he was lurking about and spotted Haruka traveling with InuYasha. They had recently left the shack to be on their way continuing their search for the shards of the Shikon Jewel.

"Haruka, you didn't turn on me so quickly did you?" He wondered to himself.

"Father, I will avenge your death and the death of our Clan. Master Naraku couldn't have been the real person behind it," Haruka thought.

"Hey, is everything okay? You seem down," Kagome observed.

She looked at her, "I'm fine."

Haruka walked ahead of Kagome. They both knew she wasn't fine but Haruka didn't want to tell her what was on her mind. They hadn't gotten too far before InuYasha picked up on Naraku's scent.

"Alright Naraku! I know you're close by! Come out here!" InuYasha yelled.

Naraku laughed darkly, "Keen as always to pick up on my scent."

Miroku asked him, "Are you here for the young cat demon Haruka?"

"I've come to put my question to rest. Haruka, have you turned on me already?" He asked.

"Master Naraku, I could never turn on you. I had been asking myself if you would be able to abandon me so quickly after taking me in," she told him.

Naraku smiled, "My dear Haruka, I would never abandon you like that. However, you failed to kill InuYasha. Did you not want revenge for the death of your clan that badly?"

"Haruka, don't believe anything Naraku has to say. He's trying to deceive you as he did myself and my little brother," Sango pleaded for her to listen to her words.

"Kill InuYasha now Haruka. He sent those demons to kill your entire clan. Don't you care about their demise at all?" Naraku urged her to kill InuYasha.

Confused, Haruka didn't know who she could believe. Sango and Miroku seemed to be telling the truth but how could she be sure? Naraku was the one that saved her and took her in. She hadn't completely recovered from her wound but decided to once again attack InuYasha. Not knowing who to believe she continued to obey Naraku.

InuYasha dodged her attack as best he could. He too was still recovering from his own wounds. Naraku hung back and watched in amusement. She was still loyal to him after all. Haruka leapt back from InuYasha a bit as he attacked her. She planted her staff in the soft ground and put up a barrier around her. That should stop him or at least slow him down.

He attacked using his sword, "Huh?" The barrier stopped the sword, "A barrier?"

"Being born with a Monk as my father I am not just an ordinary half demon. I'm also by birth right a Priestess. My father's staff allows me to create a barrier," she explained.

"A half demon that's also a priestess? I've never heard of anything like this," Miroku said confused.

"Why must you be so damn stubborn!? We aren't your enemy!" InuYasha yelled at Haruka.

"As far as I'm concerned, you are!" She yelled back. "Die you mangy half mutt!"

They continued their battle. Naraku continued to watch. Miroku and Sango teamed to take down Naraku. Haruka took her eyes off of InuYasha concerned about her master. InuYasha took it as a chance to do some damage to Haruka.

Naraku seemed genuinely concerned, "Haruka?" He shifted his gaze over to her.

"You shouldn't get distracted Naraku!" Sango yelled as she attacked him.

He dodged her attack with ease and using his insects created a wall of safety while he made his way over to Haruka. It was highly unlike him to show concern for someone he was simply using to do his bidding in trying to kill InuYasha. Was he truly capable of showing even a little bit of concern and compassion for someone?

"Haruka?" He knelt down beside her, "Are you alright?"

"Master Naraku? I... can still... fight," she tried to stand up.

"Don't move. I'll handle them," he stood up again and faced the five before him.

They stood in shock and confusion. "Is he showing genuine concern over someone or am I seeing things?" Asked Miroku.

"You didn't think I was all heartless did you?" He asked them.

InuYasha answered him smugly, "Well of course we did. You pitted Kikyou and myself against each other fifty years ago, put a curse on Miroku's Grandfather that was passed down to his father and then to him, and forced Sango's little brother to kill her whole family and almost killed her!"

Naraku gave him an odd look, "Do not underestimate my levels of compassion for others. As much as it disgusts me to show that I care, Onigumo's heart is not like my own. He's the one that possesses the capability of having feelings for others."

Haruka was barely conscious, "Master... Naraku..."

Naraku slightly turned his head in her direction before focusing on InuYasha once more. He made it clear to them that they were to stay away from Haruka or they would surely die. He had never shown so much concern for another before. There was something else odd about him as well, he engaged in the battle between him and InuYasha himself and not using a puppet of himself or someone else fighting for him.

There was no Kagura, Kana, or any other incarnations of him in the battle. Getting involved in actual battle wasn't something Naraku was known for. He always had someone else fighting his battles. Why was it different with Haruka? What was so special about her? Onigumo was in love with Kikyou not Haruka. The battle didn't last for very long considering Haruka's critical condition.

Naraku scooped her up in his arms and vanished. He had to tend to her wounds immediately. InuYasha and his friends stood wondering why he had been so protective of the young half demon of the cats. They continued on their journey wondering asking themselves many questions in concerns to Naraku's strange behavior.