Don't own the Inu gang

Since Kaede's hut was built originally for one, maybe two, people it had always been crowded but adding yet another person didn't help. So I improvised. I sat next to Inuyasha and feel asleep imitating how both he and Miroku slept; crossing my legs and leaning back into the wall. I woke up before everyone else in the hut and walked over the sleeping bodies of Kagome and Sango. As I stepped out into the pre-dawn air I stretched my arms above my head and gazed at the mountains. It wasn't long before Inuyasha was outside. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake anyone. I just wanted to watch the sunrise."

Inuyasha nodded and stood beside me watching the horizon. "Why did you say I smelt like the night forest?" He asked. "You never answered me before."

I didn't answer him at first but I did turn to look at him. His profile was strong, his bangs hung in front of his face and his chin was set determinedly. "I have always had senses that seemed…unusually strong. I can hear whispers from across a room. If I can catch a scent of something I can usually identify it. When I was standing in front of you I could smell and see dark nights in thick forests. That's all I meant by it." Inuyasha nodded again and he seemed to require only that answer. But I wasn't quite ready to let him off that easy. I turned back to the horizon, the sun was going to come up very soon. "You have a keen sense of smell too right?"

"Yes and before you ask, you smell like your name. You smell of dawn in the spring time, when everything is new and fresh." He said sourly. "I am not a damn dog to sniff every little thing out for you humans." Calm as could be I reached my hand out and hit him in the back of the head. He jumped away and growled clenching his hands angrily. "What'd you do that for!"

"Be respectful to your elders! I wasn't going to ask what I smell like. I already know." I said pouting. "I was going to ask what Kagome smelled like to you. It's hard for me to decide just what she smells like." I watched his face instead of the sun because unlike the sunrise, his expression would come but once. I could see how much Kagome liked this boy, after all she gave up school for him, home for him, and mentioned him in almost every letter I receive once she had first fell down the well, but…I wasn't sure exactly how Inuyasha felt for her.

His expression had changed subtly, it was softer and calmer, even happier. "Kagome smells like the blossoms that used to grow on the God tree, she smells like a breath of fresh air." He blinked and his expression went back to its usual determined scowl.

Well that answered my question at least. He loved her, but he just didn't know it yet. "Ahh, yes now that I think of it, I agree." I turned back to the small hut, turned my back on the beautiful sunrise. It would rise and the day would start like everyday before, I didn't need to watch it to make it happen. Just like I didn't need to watch Inuyasha and Kagome to know they were falling in love.

Once Sango and Kagome were awake we all grabbed the clothes we wanted to wear that day and went to the river to wash. I dove beneath the cold waters and swam letting the soothing feel of the water wash away my worries so I could begin the day anew. I stepped from the water and dressed carefully in black slacks, a white peasant shirt, and a corset that fit the peasant shirt tightly to me from chest to waist letting the sleeves and the hem from the waist to below the hips flow loose and breezy. I was running a brush through my hair when I heard something behind me. I picked up the closest rock and threw it straight back over my head. I heard a thunk and groan. Sango mimicked me and threw a log in the path of running feet. A second later Miroku fell from the woods onto the rocks beside the river. I watched Sango go over and give him a few knocks before moving to sit next to his twitching body. "You know Miroku," I said hitting him on the head with my brush lightly before working again on my hair, "Sango doesn't seem to like you seeing her naked. Why don't you go find some nice pretty flowers to give her in apology?" I stood and walked away laughing with Kagome as Sango continued to mutter about the perverted monk.

A few hours later found Kirara sitting on my shoulder as we started from familiar territory. Kirara was curled under my hair and sleeping, Shippo had said she was tossing and turning all night. When we had first started out Kirara was on Sango but after being rudely awakened by Sango's smack to Miroku, Kirara decided my shoulder was safest. Inuyasha was sulking. I wasn't sure about what, but it seemed as if it was normal because no one else seemed to pay attention to it. Our first few days traveling together weren't exactly exciting though the scenery was beautiful. We soon set a routine, we woke around sunup and I stretched, walked till lunch, then walked until close to sunset, when we either set camp or stayed in any village we happened to be passing, and before going to bed, I worked on at least one of my weapons.

On our fifth day out though…something new happened. We had just cleared up lunch and were leaving the clearing we had stopped in when Inuyasha stopped suddenly and turned to look at me. I too stopped and stared at him. "What?"

"There are humans coming from over there. A lot of them, on horses, and they smell of blood." He said looking at the forest behind me.

"Isn't there a village in that direction Inuyasha?" Miroku said readying his staff.

Inuyasha growled, "From the smell of it, if there was there isn't anymore." He grabbed Kagome and pushed her towards a tree so her back was protected by the wood. Kirara went to stand besides Sango and transformed into her larger form.

Silently I turned my back on the group and grabbed my knifes from my bag and then tossed it to the ground behind Kagome's feet. I had my bow in hand when the bandits broke the forest edge. There were many of them, possibly over a hundred and they stormed towards us. I let loose my first arrow as Sango threw her boomerang. My arrow took one of the men in the chest and the boomerang unseated most of the riders on the left flank. Only the first few died, the rest got shakily to their feet and drew their swords. Kagome shot arrows into the bandits, careful to not kill them. I shot to kill. I wasn't blood thirsty but they would rape Sango, Kagome, and I before they killed us. I wasn't planning to give them a chance.

Sango and Miroku were fighting the remainders of the left flank of the army of bandits. Inuyasha was busy fighting the bandits who were in the center. The ones on the right were bearing towards me and I saw one bandit dressed better than the others round him. All but this man had abandoned their horses to better fight. The leader, he met my eyes and signaled the remaining men to attack me and only me. I tossed my bow at Kagome's feet and ran to the right. Twenty or so men followed me. I got into an area where I would have room to maneuver and took my staff out of the sling that held it to my back and faced the spot in the woods I had run from. This…may be just a tad hard. But…like Inuyasha, I want to protect Kagome and the others. Well here goes. I thought as the men poured into the clearing, I whipped my staff out, holding it along side my arm. The closest few men spun in air before hitting the ground. They were out if the hit hadn't broken their necks. The few behind them got hit with the rebound and joined their brothers in the dirt. I got a few more with the staff before they were so close I had to throw it like a javelin into another mans face and taking my knives from my waist. There were around nine left by this time, counting the man on horseback who watched the growing fight and I was starting to sweat. But as the first man reached me, I heard Kagome scream and that gave me the strength to keep fighting. I drove the knife into the man in front of me and used my momentum to swing around his body and stab backwards into the man behind him. I jumped forward pulling the blades from the bleeding flesh of the men I had killed and turned to face the next ones. They had backed off. The leader dismounted from his horse and stepped forward to stand before me but oh so carefully out of reach.

"For such a one of wonderous beauty you are so deadly." His voice was like velvet. If you rubbed it the right way it was smooth, but go the other way and you noticed all these little bumps.

"A rose has thorns." I said holding my bloody knifes up in a defensive pose. This guy didn't want to kill me. He kept his men behind his back and didn't try to get them to sneak behind me.

"And a kitten has claws. But you are so different from any other woman I have seen and your speech is slightly accented." He stalked closer but still kept from my reach.

"I am not from his place. I live far away, across the salted sea. Where woman are equal to men." Okay that was a stretch in this time, America didn't have much in the way of people anyway but hey…it sounded good.

The guy drew the sword from his sheath and stepped into a fighters stance. "It is a shame that you must die," He said and he actually did sound regretful, "But I like killing and so I shall kill you."

"You can try." I said and ran at him. He turned his blade and swiped at me. So what did I do? I stuck my wrist in the way. Sparks flew as his blade bounced off me and I twisted dragging my other down his sword arm. As I had run at him I had flipped one of my knives so the blade pointed down my arm rather than into air. It had protected me as I hoped it would and I was able to flip it back before he'd noticed how I had done it.

He stepped back cautious and clamped his other hand over the wound. "I think…" He said backing away. "That I will go for now. But we will meet again. I will kill you one day. Your death is owned by me…Sayo." He hopped on his horse and he charged off. Apparently one of the bandits had snuck back and fetched some horses because though they needed to double up a few times they all were able to ride away.

I sighed in exhaustion but quickly picked up my staff and ran back to where I had left Inuyasha and the others. There were still a few men there and Kagome was sitting at the base of the tree holding her arm. Kirara stood in front of her and Inuyasha was beside Kagome. I ran quickly to Sango's side and helped her finish off the last of them. "Where's Miroku?" I asked breathlessly.

Sango pointed to the tree where the others were and as I glanced back on the side of the tree hidden by grass Miroku lay tangled in his robes. I sat hard on the ground once the last of the men was down. Every inch of me was screaming in protest but my back hurt most of all. I rolled my shoulders and pushed the pain away going over to Kagome. She sat holding Shippo on her lap and rubbing Inuyasha's back as he lay on the ground beside her. Sango dragged Miroku to his feet and slung his over Kirara's back then helped Kagome add Inuyasha to Kirara. "I am sorry Kirara but Inuyasha's nose can't stand this smell. We need to get away from here." Kirara nodded and headed off to the west Kagome following close to her side, still with her hand on Inuyasha's back.

I turned and looked at all the bodies on the ground. The broken and bloody forms of the bandits saddened me. So I did what anyone who regretted the necessity of death did. I moved among the dead searching for wounded. I walked through them, praying for the dead, praying with the mortally wounded and binding the wounds of those who had a chance at survival. I used the robes of the dead as makeshift bandages. I knew Kagome had a first aid kit because she gave Shippo a band-aid for when he had cut his finger playing with one of my knives, but I didn't want her to waste them on people who had tried to kill us. I must have been at it for hours but I was not helped by any of the others. They were not used to me being around, they probably forgot I was even with them, or they were just very busy with their men. I grabbed my bag, once I had finished with the wounded in that clearing, stowed my knives after cleaning the blood from them and picking it, my staff, and my bow up I went into the other one. There were only three dead in this one: the two I had stabbed and one of the men whose neck I had snapped in the first staff swing. The others were pacing the clearing deciding what to do. "Your leader, Sayo, headed north. If you follow, I won't stop you, but if I meet up with you again I'll kill you without regret. However, you have wounded back where you left your horses. If you take care of them and rebuild the village you just destroyed, I'll let you live." The men were shocked and sullen at first, but they agreed when I twirled the staff in my hands slowly. They believed me.

I headed west and found the rest of the gang beside the river. Miroku and Inuyasha still had not come to themselves, which was why no one had come looking for me. They knew I'd catch up if they stayed in one spot. Inuyasha was easy to waken once I got there: I kicked him into the river. It cleared his nose and his head…and his throat.

Miroku was brought around by Sango sitting closely to his side and fussing over him. His hand touched her butt and she hit him with a rock but he woke up and seemed to be fine. We sat in a circle discussing what the size of the bandit army meant.

"The leader said his name was Sayo. He seemed to be very well learned." I said a bit of mocking in my tone.

"A nobleman who was displaced probably, or just one who likes being a bandit. But the fact he had so many men means that he is a fearsome warrior." Miroku pondered.

"I don't know, with one swing I was able to injure his sword arm." My back was beginning to bother me again.

"He might just have been surprised. Women warriors aren't common here." Sango said simply. "But another thing it means is that they are afraid of outside forces."

"They are probably sticking together because of all the demons who have come now that Naraku is missing. They don't think they can with just the few dozen that usually make up a bandit force. Dawn you're wounded." Inuyasha said. The last part was said with the same tone as the rest of the sentence that at first no one moved to acknowledge is statement.

I looked over my shoulder at the blood soaked fabric and groaned. "Kagome, it looks like I'm going to need help binding this." I glanced at her and saw her own bandaged arm. "Never mind Kagome, Sango would you help me?"

Sango nodded and Kagome shooed the boys to the side of the river. "It's safe, they won't be able to see your front." She said and I turned my back on the river.

Sango had to cut away the shirt, there was no way it was going to slip easily off. "It would seem, that when you had someone at your back, their blade cut into your skin. But not in a swipe, it looks as if you were pressed against it." She said as she began to wrap the bandages around my torso. The back of my bra had been slit in the cut so I had my hair covering as much of my chest as it could.

I sat very still and to anyone behind me seemed completely calm. But the truth was…I was in pain. I sat still so I didn't aggravate it more and so no one could tell that I had tears streaking their way down my cheeks from beneath my tightly closed eyelids. I felt a small pressure on my hands and looked down. Shippo sat in front of me and he had laid his small hands on top of mine trying to comfort me. I smiled sadly at him and when he opened his mouth to say something I slightly shook my head at him. Kagome will feel bad if she knows how much pain I am in. She'll blame herself for my being here and getting injured. I tried to tell him with my eyes. He may not have understood what I meant but he didn't say anything. I had stopped crying by the time Sango had decided my bandages were done to her satisfaction and Shippo had fallen asleep curled up in my lap.

Kagome demanded that we stay there for the night and no one argued. Inuyasha it seemed felt guilty that a stray arrow had nicked her. The crescent moon was high in the sky when Kagome woke from her dreams and joined me dangling my feet into the river from one of the many rocks around it. "Dawn I am so sorry." She said quietly, her voice was filled with sorrow and regret.

"You don't have to be. I wanted to join you and I wanted to help. I am a fighter and a healer Kagome. You cannot be one without the other." I said touching her arm shoulder gently in comfort.

She looked at me confused. "What do you mean? You can heal without fighting and you can fight without healing. How do they always go together?"

I sighed and gazed up at the stars that covered the sky. "It's kind of a complicated relationship. But to heal you must fight. You fight infections and death to heal someone. And reversing it is true too, you heal to fight against death." I frowned, "I can't think of an easier explaination than that sorry."

Kagome shook her head. "I understand I think." She gazed back at her sleeping friends and her eyes gazed longest on Inuyasha. "I fight…to heal." Her eyes widened. "What about those bandits? We left them for dead!"

"No I stayed behind. I bandaged those who had a chance of living and sent them on their way." I said smiling at her.

"Oh good." She said and slowly got to her feet. "I am going to go back to sleep. You should sleep soon too."

"I'll go to sleep if you do me a favor." I smiled, when she looked at me questioningly I said: "Move a foot closer to Inuyasha." Kagome blushed and fled to her bag. I moved back to the fire and lay on my stomach beside the fire pit so that I didn't hurt my back and as I fell asleep I saw that, though she had run off, Kagome had still done what I said.

Man oh man Kagome, you really do love that boy.

Dedicated to my one and only reviewer: Kagomefan765.

Add: Dedicated to everyone who loved it!