A/N

Disclaimer: InuYasha and the characters and the main plot of this shindig belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I'm just modernizing them.

Thanks my editors Jade and Megan!


Chapter 2

"Why are you following us?" Kagome snapped at the boy trailing behind her and the priestess. They were headed to the local shrine and Kagome hardly felt comfortable with their new stalker, since he just attempted to kill her and all.

InuYasha folded his hands behind his head and scrunched his nose. "Ain't it obvious? I want the jewel!"

"But he's too humiliated to attack you," Kaede commented, rounding a bend. The bend led to a dirt path to a modest Shinto shrine, resting against the mountain, surrounded by trees. Beside it, stood a simple hut-like home. Dim lanterns lined the border of both structures, and the soft illumination made the plot of land look ancient.

The boy scoffedand glared at the old woman. "Think you're smart, don'tcha? I can still—" A pair headlights slashed through the darkness. The source was a car pulling up just outside the Torii gate. It had a sleek shape to it, and the closer they got to it, the easier it was for Kagome to identify the print on the side. It belonged to a demon hunter.

InuYasha's arms dropped, his hands slapping his thighs. "Ah, shit."

As a large man exited the cab, Kaede turned to the young girl beside her. "Kagome, why don't you go on ahead and wash up?" She nodded towards the house. "We'll be inside shortly."

Kagome glanced towards the man approaching them, then back to Kaede. Seeing how she was calm, and InuYasha wasn't running for the hills, she assumed it was okay to leave them to whatever they were going to do. The issue probably didn't involve her anyways. So she headed towards the hut, catching InuYasha's snide remarks on her way in.

Kagome wasn't comfortable taking a bath with strangers around, which explained why she spent a good fifteen minutes scrubbing blood and dirt from her hands, legs, and face at the sink. And although her high school uniform was torn and stained, she decided to just grin and bear it. Blood trickled slightly from the gash on the side of her stomach. Even though she found some first-aid supplies under the bathroom sink, she didn't know how to close the wound. Kagome had a feeling that anti-bacterial spray and gauze wouldn't be fix it. It might even need a couple stitches. Maybe Kaede could help her once the hunter and hanyou left.

After patching up her big scratches with band-aids, Kagome left the bathroom and headed down the short hall towards the living room. She stopped in her tracks when she heard InuYasha's voice boom through the shoji door.

"I already told you, I didn't kill the bitch!" Kagome could barely hear his voice crack in frustration.

A significantly deeper voice responded. "The autopsy report showed lethal claw marks from her right shoulder and down her back. Those wounds were made within the hour before she passed away. She was also chasing after you for stealing the Shikon Jewel from this shrine at that time." Kagome knew that the speaker had to be the hunter, and although he spoke in a leveled tone, she picked up on some hints of irritation.

InuYasha growled. "Yeah, I stole the jewel, but I didn't kill her for it! I didn't even lay a hand on her! Besides, she probably ran into some wild wolf in the forest or something — you don't have any evidence that I did it!"

"Sato," Kaede interrupted, "I understand your claims, and I want my granddaughter's murderer put to justice more than anything, but I find it difficult to believe that InuYasha killed her. Besides, Kikyo was not at the shrine when InuYasha stole the jewel. I was."

"And yet you still refuse to press charges against him for that crime alone," Sato stated.

"That is because I can handle his punishment on my own. But even so, when I was in pursuit of InuYasha, I saw Kikyo arrive with the wounds already inflicted, coming from the opposite direction as he. He couldn't have done that to her. InuYasha would never kill my granddaughter… he… " Although Kaede was confident, it seemed like she was struggling for words. Kagome was baffled that Kaede could have so much faith in InuYasha, even after seeing how he tried to cut her to pieces a while ago!

Sato sighed heavily. "Lady Kaede, I respect your intuition, but I cannot ignore the evidence —"

"Assumptions!" InuYasha blurted out. "And you can't arrest me on assumptions. You have no witnesses of the attack, no DNA — nothing!"

"Then give me a lock of your hair."

InuYasha snorted. "Hell no!"

"InuYasha, please," Kaede murmured.

Sato added, with an air of cockiness, "If you're so certain that you didn't murder Lady Kikyo, then you should be confident that your DNA is nowhere to be found on her body. Otherwise I can assume —"

Kagome heard InuYasha grunt as he plucked hair from his head. "Fine!" he huffed at the hunter. "Take it! But I wanna see your sorry face when you find out that I ain't a liar."

The hunter grunted, and Kagome heard rustling fabric and brief footsteps. "I appreciate your cooperation, but know this, boy, one more slip-up and you're gone. Lady Kaede can't protect you forever."

InuYasha snickered at the threat. Footsteps approached, and Kagome hurried to hide around the corner down the hall.

The door slid open, and Sato and Kaede paused at the front of the house.

Sato whispered to the priestess, "Lady Kaede, I don't know what you see in that boy, but with all due respect, I think you're putting your faith in the wrong person. He's a delinquent — a demon! He can't be trusted."

Kaede was unwavering. "I have known that boy long enough to know he is incapable of killing in cold blood —"

"But the incident this evening —"

"Was a misunderstanding, which I will amend myself. Now, if you don't mind…" Her voice faded as she led the hunter away from the house.

Kagome placed a hand against her chest, feeling her pulse pound through her uniform. InuYasha was the hanyou she had heard about? But why would Kaede back him up if he was violent and —

"It's no use hiding behind that wall. I can smell your blood," InuYasha muttered.

Although Kagome was wary of him, she did not fear him, so she stepped out and faced him with a glare. He stood in the living room doorway and stared after Sato, a scowl on his face and arms crossed over his chest. Kagome spoke with conviction, "I don't know why Kaede's being so nice to you, but you should at least thank her for sticking her neck out like that."

InuYasha rolled his eyes and sauntered back into the living room. "I don't 'gotta thank anybody. She's the one bein' stupid and trusting a demon."

Kagome followed him and watched him as he plopped down next to the low table, grabbed a bowl of stew, and slurped it up greedily. Kagome realized then that if anything, InuYasha knew how to gobble things up like a demon. "You're an ungrateful jerk, you know that?" she huffed.

InuYasha leaned his elbows on the table and chewed with an open mouth. "I've been called worse."

"Miss. Kagome," Kaede started as she walked in, "how are your injuries?"

Kagome lifted the hem of her shirt and pointed at the wound. "This one won't stop bleeding, and it's throbbing a little."

Kaede examined it carefully then hummed thoughtfully, "It needs proper cleaning and stitches, but it's nothing to be worried about. You're very lucky it wasn't any deeper."

Her? Lucky? Sure, Kagome didn't die, but she was still stuck in this village with a half-demon after some magic jewel that was recently torn out of her body. How could Kaede think any of this made her lucky? More importantly, would anyone believe this fairytale of a story if she told them?

Kagome didn't notice that Kaede left until she came back with some medicine and the first-aid kit. "Please sit, Kagome, and I'll dress your wound."

Kagome sat opposite of InuYasha while Kaede knelt next to her, promptly wiping away the blood and cleansing the wound with antibacterial spray. Kagome opted to biting her lip when it stung, since InuYasha thought her discomfort was something to roll his eyes at. Soon afterwards, Kaede spread some cold paste over the area to numb the skin. When Kagome saw the priestess bring out a needle and thread, she blanched before turning away. There wasn't any pain, but she did feel a weird tugging sensation at her side. The feeling didn't last long.

"There, good as new," Kaede said, cleaning up her supplies. Kagome quietly thanked her before settling herself into a more comfortable position at the table, her stomach growling at the sight of the stew. InuYasha's ear twitched at the sound. "Feel free to eat, Kagome. There's more than enough for all of us."

Kagome noticed InuYasha lean away from the table and lay on the ground, facing the wall. She still didn't understand why he hadn't left yet, or why Kaede didn't kick him out, but Kagome's stomach thought food was a more important matter.

Kaede filled up their bowls, and the two ate in silence until Kagome couldn't hold in her thoughts any longer. "So…" She began, and the old woman glanced over with an attentive eye. "How many demons are after the jewel?"

Kaede sighed, setting down her bowl. "It's difficult to say. In this progressive age, many malevolent spirits are out to obtain it to gain incredible power. And not just demons, but humans as well."

Kagome furrowed her brow, turning her eyes to the "malevolent spirit" lounging across from her. "So why are you after the jewel?" InuYasha's ears swiveled in her direction. "You're already pretty strong without the jewel, so why bother?"

"It's because he's only a half-demon," Kaede stated without batting an eyelash.

InuYasha flipped around, abruptly smashing his fist into the table, splitting it in half and making everything on top of it slide to the hardwood floor.

He snarled at the old woman, "Y'know, I'm gettin' real tired of you talkin' about me like you know everything. So why don't you just leave me the hell alone!"

Kaede only closed her eye and sighed. "After the incident today, it's hardly a good idea to leave you alone, especially now that you're after the jewel."

"Keh, I've always been after the jewel," he pointed out, leaning back on his hands with a bitter smirk. "And now that Kikyo's outta the way, I got nothin' to worry about."

"Oh, but it's hardly time for you to relax, InuYasha," Kaede said glancing at the girl beside her. "You see, young Kagome, here, is the new protector of the jewel, and a fellow disciple of Lady Midoriko."

InuYasha's brows furrowed as he cast a sidelong glare at the girl. Kagome's eyes briefly widened then squinted at the old woman. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "I… what?"

"Your likeness to Kikyo was peculiar on its own, but the spiritual powers that you displayed this evening and the fact that the jewel appeared inside of you is proof beyond anything."

"W-wait, proof of what?" Kagome stammered. "That I'm related to Kikyo?"

"Not exactly," Kaede answered. "Hundreds of years ago, back when demons and humans were in a constant state of war and violence, there was a powerful priestess known as Midoriko. She sacrificed herself to create the Shikon no Tama and end the bloodshed. Following her demise, her two remaining disciples took it upon themselves to share the protection of the jewel.

"However, over time, one sister, your great ancestor, grew very tired and weak, forcing her to retire. The other sister prospered and fulfilled her duties. This sister passed down her powers to every other generation of priests and priestesses. Eventually the power rested upon my shoulders, then they fell to my granddaughter, Kikyo."

Kagome took a moment to allow the information sink in, but it was all very heavy. "So… because Kikyo passed away, her power passed to me?"

"No," Kaede said, "the power you possess is all yours. Because it lay dormant in your family's bloodline, it's simply underdeveloped." Kaede lifted a hand to her mouth and thought deeply. "But the jewel appearing in your body is a mystery. Before Kikyo passed, she asked for me to destroy it, but it vanished before I could do anything with it. I am not entirely sure, but my theory is that maybe the jewel transferred to you on its own accord."

Kagome fished the jewel from her pocket and turned it over between her fingers. It was a foggy-pink color, almost like a cross between a pearl and quartz, and it shimmered with a soft glow. She could faintly feel an ethereal pull — like an invisible string from the jewel tugged at her brain.

As much as Kagome wanted to believe this was all a dream, everything felt too real. How could she be a protector of some jewel, let alone possess spiritual powers? Sure, her family owned a shrine, but she thought it was all a gimmick. Her grandfather claimed to have powers, but none of his little tricks ever worked.

Kagome didn't know whether she wanted to cry or scream. So she just sat there, staring at the jewel in silence.

Kagome didn't make the last train, so she had to spend the night in Kaede's living room. Before going to bed, Kaede let Kagome borrow her phone to call her family, even though it was late into the night. They sounded frantic on her side of the line, but both Kagome and Kaede reassured them that she was safe.

InuYasha left without a word after Kaede's revelation about Kagome's powers. He was in too sour of a mood to interact with anyone anymore. Regardless, he still wanted the jewel, so he opted to wait nearby until morning. He could have easily stolen the jewel while the girl was asleep, but getting it without a fight didn't sit right with him. Not that its new "protector" could put up much resistance anyway…

He let his thoughts wander to all that happened today, and to what happened a week earlier. He didn't know Kikyo died that day, and he didn't even notice her blood. Hell, after she cursed him, he didn't know a week had passed — to him, it felt like decades of pain. Just thinking about her made his gut ache and his chest tighten. He didn't want to think about her. She was dead. Good riddance.

He sat on the railing of the shrine's porch, staring out beyond the torii gate. From where he sat, the town's lights were a continuation of the stars in the sky. Just a big expanse of space.

A flicker of movement caught his eye. An abnormally big crow perched on a lamp near Kaede's home, staring through a window. He realized that this bird wasn't big for its kind, it was just a crow demon, and the red glow from its three bulging eyes revealed that it knew exactly what was inside that house.

InuYasha grabbed a handful of pebbles off the ground and tossed them one-by-one at the pest, making it squaw and flee in annoyance. The jewel was his. There was no way in hell he'd let some pesky crow demon take it from under his nose. But still, from here on out, he knew things would only become more complicated, and he was not looking forward to it.

Kagome awoke to the smell of simmering fish. Kaede cooked up a hearty breakfast consisting of crispy fish, sticky rice, and a warm bowl of miso soup. There wasn't much said between them while they ate, and InuYasha didn't join them at the table, but Kagome didn't mind. She was just anxious to get home.

After breakfast, she helped Kaede clean the kitchen. Once the table was clean, she went to tidy herself up. There wasn't much she could do with no spare clothes and a dirty uniform, though.

Just as Kagome slid on her penny loafers to leave, Kaede stopped her. "Kagome, I know you're hurrying to leave, but you must be on your guard now that you have the jewel. To be honest, I am not very comfortable with your decision. I think it would be best if you stayed just a while longer..."

And to be honest, Kagome didn't want to stay here any longer, with or without the jewel. Removing the jewel from her pocket, she offered it to the priestess. "Thank you for your concern, Lady Kaede, but I can't stay. So, uh, why don't you take the jewel?"

The woman waved her off. "Although I am a fellow disciple, my powers pale in comparison to yours. The jewel is at its most pure when it's with you."

Kagome frowned and stuffed it back into her pocket. She didn't want to be held responsible, but she also didn't know how to convince Kaede to just take it. She had no desire to be in any part of this, and would rather go home and pretend everything was a dream.

So she lied.

"Okay, then. I guess I can stay a while and explore the town." She offered a smile and headed out the door before the old woman could argue. "Thank you, Lady Kaede!"

The town didn't look the same during the day. Last night it was desolate and quiet, but this morning it was bustling with activity. People were dashing to and from stores, chatting with familiar faces. There were kids playing on the side of the streets, their laughter filling the warm air. It was almost like another world.

Because this was so unfamiliar, Kagome couldn't remember where the train station was. There was always the option of asking for directions, but…

Kagome suddenly felt uneasy. She heard murmurs from behind her, and when she glanced around, she noticed some people several pairs of eyes scrutinizing her.

"Did you hear?" a townsperson whispered. "That girl there is a disciple of Midoriko, just like the late Priestess Kikyo."

"She does have a divine presence about her..."

How did word get out to these people so fast? They made social media look slow when it came to spreading gossip.

Just when she thought she'd seen it all, a small kid ran up to her, shyly offering her a tangerine before bowing deeply and scurrying away. From then on, people walked up to her, murmuring praises, and prayers, and offerings. Kagome was so flustered that she just allowed the offerings to pile up in her arms.

InuYasha was brooding in a tree, just on the edge of the rice paddies, and he almost didn't catch the pear that soared towards his head. Following the scent of the fruit was a gut clenching smell, and he glared at the girl below.

"Come down and share this with me!" she called to him, her arms full with bags and baskets of fruits and vegetables.

He eyed the pear then the girl. "Where'd the food come from?"

"The villagers gave it to me." She placed the offerings at the base of the tree, then sat down, her back against the trunk. "Come eat some of this! I can't do it by myself, and I definitely can't fit it all in my backpack to take back home…"

InuYasha hopped down with a grunt, landing a few feet away from the girl. He stared at her as if she had a hidden knife up her sleeve, then after a couple seconds of pondering her motives, he squatted down on the grass. He switched the pear for a large daikon, sniffed it, then took a chomp out of the root. His chewing was noisy and sloppy, which grated on Kagome's nerves, but she let it slide. It was best not to start a pointless argument over table manners.

Although InuYasha constantly glared at the girl, the two said nothing to one another. Kagome paid him no mind and just ate her pear as she gazed over the rice paddies. Her legs were extended in front of her, her feet tilting right and left. Between bites, she would periodically push strands of black hair behind her ear, only to have the wind pull it out again. It was like she didn't give a damn that an angry half-demon sat next to her.

InuYasha swallowed his bite and fully faced the girl. "What are you scheming?"

She shrugged, a distant look in her eye. "Nothing, I was just… well the trains are down today so I thought… " She took a final bite out of the fruit before placing the core on the ground. Her brows knitted as she glanced at the boy's tense posture. "You hate me, don't you?"

"You make me retch," he stated, hands on his knees.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "It's not even me you hate, it's this Kikyo person." InuYasha harumphed, his eyes glued to the root in his lap. Kagome sighed. "Look, I'm not Kikyo, so aren't you being a little unfair? Can't we just get to know each other and — I don't know — get along?"

"HA!" InuYasha launched to his feet, pointing down at the girl. "You think I'm an idiot? Like I'd ever fall into that lame sense of security! I don't care who you are — I'll show you no mercy when I take that jewel from you!"

Kagome tilted her head at him. For some reason, the daylight and his false bravado made him look more like a ridiculous dirty punk than a terrifying demon. She couldn't believe she had been afraid of him in the first place.

She examined her dirty nails. "Oh really? Well mercy or no mercy, all I have to do is say, 'Sit...'" By her command, the boy was yanked into the grass with a yelp. Kagome giggled. "Oops! My bad!"

She guessed the muffled grumble from the ground was a curse, but it only made her grin widen.


A/N

Sorry for the long wait! I've been busy with my webcomic, and the next chapter will take a while because of school and stuff. So please bare with me! Thanks!