Vast trees spread across the area below, the rising sun lit up the dark night sky with its diamond glitter of stars, and the happy twittering sounds of the spring birds waking to the new day echoed through the air.

She used to love the sunrise. She used to be so much a part of it and its refreshing feel.

But now...

The dark figure, clad in a black leather jumpsuit for fighting, turned her back to the scene and stared her master square in the eye. Her master was a dark man, evil in his wholeness. Dressed in a white baboon skin his long flowing hair covered his sickly pale face.

"Kagome."

Ooh, how she loathed him. Never before had she ever hated with so much intensity as she did for this man.

Bowing down to one knee, she lowered her head and stared at the ground, "Yes, Master?"

Behind her, she could feel Kagura, a relatively normal looking woman, and Kanna, a pale, albino-like child, staring holes into her back. She could literally feel the joy radiating off of them. They loved having yet another thing in common with the once free follower of the band that she now must stalk. His gang...

"They are on the move," Naraku, her master, stated bluntly, "They are on their way to the Spring. Can I trust you to keep an eye on them and extract as much of their Jewel shards, I trust?"

"Keh-" Kagome dipped her head lower. Since when had she developed his vocabulary? Since when had she ever wanted to? He chose this for her; he made his own decision... why?

"Pardon?" Naraku queried at her remark, the smirk practically echoing through his voice.

"Yes, Master." Kagome answered softly.

"Of course, I can trust you," Naraku smiled, as he slid merely two inches in front of her.

Kagome flinched as Naraku reached down and grabbed her chin gently. Her vibrant blue eyes met his cold, dead, black ones and for a moment she shuddered with harsh realization that this was her present, her future, and the haunting of her past. Those cold, dead eyes...

"You belong to me, now. Always and forever," Naraku continued, "No one else wanted you, but me. You're mine. My little pet."

Kagome fumed inside, "Yes, Master."

"Now go watch the dog for me," Naraku let her go and turned away, "I expect a report back from you in two full moons, Kagome. With some form of the remnants of the Shikon Jewel."

"Yes, Master," The ground was the only thing keeping her stable... keeping her grounded, keeping her from pouncing effortlessly and attacking with as much strength as she could before he tortured her with no remorse for her insubordination. Staring at the ground she memorized the grains of sand, the marks of his retreating footsteps, Naraku was going into hiding soon... for two months he'd be asleep. For two months, she'd be his first line of defense against him.

"Kanna, follow me," Naraku sighed before turning back to watched the little ghost girl slip quietly past Kagome's bent form and take his side, "Kagura, back Kagome up if she may need it. Understand?"

"Yeah," Kagura took to Kagome's side.

Kagome took two deep breaths before standing completely. He was gone.

"You're so pathetic, you know that?" Kagura chuckled before taking out a feather. Her bare feet rustling the ground Kagome had relied on to keep her sane.

"Yup," Something twitched annoyingly behind her, as black velvet triangles on her head swivled for sounds on the wind.

"You know where to find me," Kagura took off with so much force, dust sprung up all around the half-demon woman that was once a normal teenage girl.

Kagome sighed as she stared over the cliff, black ears swiveled back and forth. His gang was close. Her tail swished in anticipation behind her. Her claws itched as she retracted them from where her once dull normal nails were. Taking a deep breath to inhale the scent on the breeze, her blue cat eyes widen as she caught on to the scent... his scent.

Pouncing off the cliff with feline grace, she soared through the air with ease. Air swished past her pale face, her hair formed a cape behind her as she sailed in mid-air, and the ground below getting closer and closer to her. In one swift motion, she somersaulted in the air and landed on a strong branch of one of the trees she had just been admiring from up above. Those same pesky, happy, chatting birds now squawked in surprise of her presence and scattered.

Flipping off the branch silently, she landed on the ground in a crouch.

"Inuyasha," Kagome muttered softly, before bouncing off and taking refuge behind a small bush.

Waiting was never as hard for her before. Then again, everything had changed so fast for her. Belonging to the one called Naraku, meant so much sacrifice, so much change, so much self-loathing, and personality reconstruction. Kagome literally strayed from pools of water. Her reflection scared her, her similarities of her former self were mere stabs in the wounds of her heart. Her differences, her "alterations" -that her master loved so much- were foreign skills that she suddenly was a pro at controlling. She was a hanyo, a half-demon like the one she loved so much. Her torture was to lose her purity, her miko abilities, and become the same as the very man that placed her in this position.

"I-Inuyasha," She whispered again, as she hugged herself. Her long black sleek tail curled around her form. Except that she was not half dog-demon, no. Half neko-demon... a cat. Chuckling sadly, she thought instantly of Buyo, her cat back home. Home...

How long has it been since she'd seen them? Since she'd changed beyond repair? Days? Months? Time never made sense in this form...

Suddenly, a howl echoed through the area, "DAMN YOU!"

Kagome's head snapped up, "Inuyasha?"

A branched launched its way down the path and a man clad in red stormed down the path. She knew this man... knew him extremely well. His vibrant amber eyes scanned the area as he stomped his way through the bushes and trees. His ears twitched, his hard expression on his face burned into her very soul. She loved this man; she memorized every feature all over again, instantly.

"Inuyasha," She said, eyes snapping shut with the realization that she said that a little loud.

His pounding footsteps stopped in an instant, "No..." Inhaling deeply, he sniffed the area. It sounded so familiar, so real... but the smell was so different. So, off... "Show yourself!"

Kagome gulped quietly, Way to go, smart one. Keeping her position hidden was easy. The bush had other animals covering her scent, and it was still dark enough to hide her from his piercing gaze... but the sun was raising fast, this game would not last long, and neither would their encounter. She had to work fast and use her brain on this one.

Gathering up herself she chuckled softly.

He heard, as she expected him to, and growled, "I said, show your-"

"I heard you perfectly the first time, Inuyasha," Kagome answered.

Inuyasha went over the possibilities in his head. It sounded so much like her, and there was no way that Kikyou could have made it here quicker than him without him noticing. He had rushed into this forest. "Ka-Ka-"

"You're so punctual now-a-days, Inuyasha," She chuckled sadly, "What? Cat got your tongue?"

"Who are you?" Inuyasha managed, talking to the trees, to the bushes, to the ground, anything and everything with that strange, wonderfully familiar scent tainted with a hint of feline aroma to it.

"You know," Kagome whispered, watching the sun come up... her escape had to be perfect, but how?

"How?"

"I'm bound, Inuyasha," She smiled lightly as she caught a small, innocent squirrel near her twitching tail.

It'd be very unprofessional and weird, but it would work.

"But not dead," She took a deep breath.

"Kagome," He instantly fixed his gaze to a nearby bush where the sound was the loudest and the scent the strongest, "Please tell me that's you."

"Why, Inuyasha," She closed her eyes and inhaled his smell one last time, "You no longer need me. Go home."

"I-" Inuyasha stopped, before gulping, "I do! I do need-"

SQUEEEEEEEELL!

Suddenly, a squirrel flung out of the bush and landed square on his face, clawing crazily to get off of the surprised half-demon and back on the forest floor where it belonged.

In that quick event, Kagome managed to put a large amount of distance between Inuyasha and herself. "Keep it casual and professional, dummy," She reprimanded herself before taking one last look over her shoulder.

These next two months were going to be hard.