Chapter 2

A young man huffs out a sigh for perhaps the tenth time in the last hour. He leans back against the wall behind him, giving his eyes a rest from the gun scope. He rubs his hand over his face slowly, bored out of his mind. It was too quiet today. Usually by this time of the day he would have taken out at least one or two small demons that got too close to the perimeter fence. But there was absolutely nothing, and he was hungry.

He closes his eyes as the wind picks up for a moment, rustling his unruly mess of pink hair. At least the breeze was nice and refreshing today. It could get really hot up on the roof of the watchtower sometimes, so he was grateful for the cool breeze.

The sound of soft footfalls catches his attention, causing him to open his slightly slanted, dark green eyes, turning his head slightly to see who is approaching. A young man with shaggy raven hair and droopy blue eyes approaches him with his hands in his pockets.

"Anything yet?" The newcomer asks.

"No, nothing yet. It's quiet today." He sighs, leaning his head back against the wall and staring up at the cloudless blue sky.

Shuffling can be heard as the newcomer settles next to him on the roof. The dark haired idiot chuckles lightly, "How unusual."

The Pinkette chooses to ignore him. If he starts an argument now it'll just escalate and they'll give away their position. The captain would be pissed if they did that again. He shivers at the thought. Nobody likes when the captain gets angry. Even Gramps gets nervous.

"Shut up, Gray." He mutters, leaning forward and looking through the scope again.

"Watch your attitude, Natsu. I came to keep you company so you wouldn't get too bored and set something on fire. I'm being nice." He replies haughtily.

Natsu rolls his eyes, not buying his frenemy's excuse for a second.

"You came up here because Erza told you to and you're too much of a pussy to say no." Natsu smirks as Gray gives him a disgruntled look.

"Shut up." Gray mutters, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. He gives a light kick to Natsu's side.

Natsu chuckles. It was nice to have company up on the roof after so many hours of quiet, even if it was droopy-eyes. As much as he and Gray may fight, Gray is probably the closest thing Natsu has ever had to a brother. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

"Any word from the pioneer group that went out this morning?" The pinkette asks distractedly as he adjusts the gun and scope to look in a new direction.

"Nah" Gray sighs, picking at his nails, "you know how those damn airheads are."

Natsu nods, shrugging his shoulders. Out of all the groups that went outside the perimeter fence, the pioneers were definitely the least reliable as far as communication was concerned. Weeks could go by before any kind of message was sent to inform the rest of the settlement they were still alive and well.

But everyone had to have a job to stay here, so he supposed those people were better off flitting around outside the fence instead of making trouble inside.

Natsu had a few jobs himself. Right now he was at his least favorite one. The 'Watch' position was one of the more boring jobs since things had calmed down a few years ago. He preferred hunting. At least when he hunted he could have something to show for his work and helped keep his family fed.

His favorite job, though, was 'Exterminating.' That group was hand picked by Gramps because they were the strongest, fastest, and most efficient demon killers in the settlement. They were sent out to take down as many threatening demons as possible, and he loved every minute of it.

Gray worked with him in both Hunting and Exterminating. They usually turned it into a competition to see who could get the best game or who could kill the most demons in one run. Of course, Captain Erza wasn't a fan of their bickering and challenges. She wanted them to 'bond' and 'be brothers' like she knew they could be. Natsu gags at the thought of being that close with Gray. Erza just doesn't get how much Gray pisses him off. Just his presence alone annoys him.

"Kikyo's been trying to go out on her own again." Gray says suddenly.

Natsu pauses his fiddling with the scope to turn and look at his friend. "Still no word from Kagome, then, I'm guessing." He sighs.

Gray nods, a look of concern crossing his features. "She's been gone for almost a week and we haven't heard anything from her in three days." He frowns down at his hands, picking at the scabs he finds along his knuckles. "She never goes a day without sending us an update when she's out on long missions like this."

Natsu nods in agreement. Kagome always checked in every day without fail when she did solo missions. She was always reliable in that sense, but the scouting mission she went on this time was in a more risky area a few miles west of the safe house. That area is usually quiet, but it is also uncharted territory and relatively unknown as far as what lives there. Kagome was only sent on her own because her old village was in that area and she was familiar with the landscape. Kikyo had demanded she accompany her baby sister, but she had been injured on one of her previous Extermination runs at the time Kagome was set to leave. Kagome refused to let her sister accompany her, telling Kikyo she needed her rest and would only slow her down. It was only supposed to take her about five days, anyway.

The Higurashi sisters were still relatively new to the community, only having joined about two and a half years prior with their much younger brother and what was left of their village. Kikyo, Kagome, and Sota were orphans, something Natsu could relate to, having lost their parents when a pack of demons attacked their village. They mostly kept to themselves, but nobody could deny how valuable they were to the group. Both Kikyo and Kagome were experts at identifying plants and knew which ones were best for healing and medicine. They were also pros with bows and arrows, but it wasn't their deadly accuracy that made them powerhouses. They came from a long line of strong spiritual leaders known as priestesses. Only the women of their tribe held the spiritual power. They could bend it to their will and infuse it into weapons to kill demons. Lady Kaede, an elder of the sisters' previous tribe, who managed to escape with them, was also a priestess. However, she was an elderly woman and her spiritual powers were dwindling.

Natsu thinks back to the first time he met the sisters. They were so alike in their physical appearance that they could be mistaken for twins, even though Kikyo was three years older than Kagome. Both had long raven hair that fell to about mid back, light skin, and dark brown eyes. The only difference was that where Kikyo's eyes were hard, cold and closed off, Kagome's were welcoming and bright, filled with a warmth that drew people to her. But their physical appearances were where the similarities ended.

Kikyo was stern and serious, rarely smiling, unless she was with her siblings, and always training to better herself. She was so much like Erza that he avoided her as much as he could. He felt bad, she was a kind woman, usually helping the sick and injured, but if she was anything like that red-headed sadist, he would rather keep his distance.

Kagome, on the other hand, was sweet and always wore a smile. She helped care for the children and the elderly most days. Her kindness was never confused with weakness, however. Just like her sister she had deadly accuracy with a bow and her spiritual powers were strong.

Their skills earned them a spot on Natsu and Gray's Extermination team. He had to admit, they were valuable assets to their team.

Shuffling and the tapping of a box against the heel of Gray's hand pulls Natsu from his thoughts.

"You better not let Erza catch you with those." The pinkette sighs, motioning to the box in his rival's hands. He probably got them from Wakaba. Somehow that man seemed to have an endless supply. Natsu was convinced that Wakaba was growing his own plants, tobacco and otherwise.

Gray lets out a noncommittal grunt as he lights the cigarette placed between his lips. Natsu wrinkles his nose at the acrid scent of tobacco smoke filling the air around them.

"I've been stressed lately." Gray says lamely. Natsu just shakes his head again. Gray has tried and failed to quit smoking dozens of times already. He always blames his failure on "stress."

Deciding not to comment on Gray's lack of self control, a great feet in and of itself for Natsu, he instead continues their conversation from before.

"Do you think Gramps is gonna send out a rescue team to search for her?" Natsu asks.

Gray nods his head, taking a long drag of his cigarette, before exhaling, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's putting one together with Erza and Kikyo right now." He flicks the accumulating ash from the tip of his cigarette before continuing. "We might be going out again sooner than we thought."

Natsu nods, not minding getting out to stretch his legs at all. He always prefers his days outside the fence, anyway. "Sounds good to me." He grunts as he settles down again and adjusts the scope for what seems like the twentieth time that day.

A slight movement ten yards from the fence catches his eyes. He waits a few seconds for whatever it is to show itself more clearly. He doesn't want to accidentally shoot one of his fellow refugees by mistake.

It takes another couple of seconds, but a small rabbit jumps out from under a bush that lines the fence, nose twitching rapidly. Natsu groans and pushes the gun and scope away in annoyance. He's been up on the watchtower roof for five hours with nothing to report and he just wants to be done with his shift so he can go to the dining hall to get some food.

"Natsu! Gray!" A strong feminine voice shouts from the base of the tower.

Both men startle, Gray scrambling to extinguish the cigarette and get rid of the evidence of his smoking. Natsu peaks his head over the side, waving down at the red headed woman below.

"Hey Erza, how's it going?" Natsu says lamely, swallowing nervously. Erza motions for them to come down to her, a serious look on her face. They look at each other nervously as Natsu gathers up his gun and scope, both getting up and making their way down to where their Captain is waiting for them.

She turns to face them as they approach, giving them a slight nod in greeting. Slight movement in Natsu's peripheral makes him turn his head to see Kikyo leaning against the watchtower wall, a far away look in her eyes. She doesn't greet them, just stay's quiet. It's then that Natsu notices that they're both dressed in travel gear, large bags slung over their backs.

"You going somewhere?" Natsu asks as he comes to a stop in front of Erza.

She nods once. "Yes, and so are the both of you." She says sternly.

Natsu and Gray look at each other knowingly. They're probably going after Kagome.

"Go home and get prepared quickly. Pack enough provisions for at least a week. We leave in one hour." She informs them. The young men nod and turn to head back to their living quarters to get their stuff together.

"Oh, and Gray?" Erza asks calmly. Both men pause, Gray turning to acknowledge the red head.

"Yes?" He asks tentatively.

"If I smell cigarette smoke on you one more time, the consequences will be severe." She glares. Gray pales and nods jerkily.

"Yes, ma'am." He says hoarsely. Natsu snickers to himself softly. He warned Gray what would happen, if the idiot was going to keep ignoring his advice he deserves whatever Erza has in store for him. He sends a smug look in Gray's direction as they continue on their way back to their living quarters.

"Don't even say it." Gray growls. Natsu chuckles at his rival's embarrassment.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay?"

"She'll be fine."

"But she's been asleep for three whole days!"

"Then maybe she'll die. Either way, it's not my problem."

"Don't say that! She can't die! I don't want her to die!"

"Would you just shut up, kid? You're pissing me off."

Kagome's eyes roll in her head as she starts to regain consciousness. She can hear muffled voices from somewhere nearby, but can't make out who they are or what they're saying. Her head is throbbing slightly and she can feel a pulsing pain in her right thigh.

Her eyes flutter, lids heavy and hard to open. She groans softly as she pushes herself to open her eyes. When she finally gets them open she has to blink rapidly to adjust to the blinding sunlight.

She lets out a soft grunt as she slowly pushes her upper body off the ground to be in a sitting position. Her ribs ache as she tenses her abdominal muscles. Taking in her surroundings, she realizes she has absolutely no idea where she is.

"Mmm, where am I?" She grumbles, placing her hand over her forehead and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Two pairs of eyes snap in her direction, startled out of their bickering.

"KAGOME!" A shrill voice shrieks. She flinches at the noise, head still giving off a dull ache. She nearly topples over as a small ball of fur launches itself at her chest. Her ribs creak uncomfortably, and she is confused for a moment as to who this fur ball could possibly be.

"I was so scared!" The small child whines, rubbing his teary eyes and running nose into her shirt. "You wouldn't wake up and Inuyasha kept saying you were probably going to die! Please don't die!"

Memories flash through her mind quickly, reminding her of her fight with the Thunder Brothers, which ultimately led to her being here. Wherever here was.

"Shippo?" She mumbles, distractedly running her fingers through his hair to comfort him. She looks around the small cave slowly, taking in her surroundings. She rubs her fingers over the edges of the straw mat beneath her. Her pack, bow and quiver lay next to her on the floor of the cave in a neat pile. A feeling of being watched causes her to look towards the mouth of the cave, again having to blink a few times to adjust to the bright light filtering into the cave.

The demon boy from before, the one who helped save her, stands stock still, looking as if he's trying to decide whether or not he should run. She blinks at him a few times before giving him a soft smile.

"Did you bring me here?" She asks hoarsely. He tenses briefly before nodding once. She nods slightly, looking down at Shippo briefly before looking back up at the dog demon. "Thank you."

He looks taken aback for a moment before scoffing and rolling his eyes, looking out into the forest beyond their little cave. Shippo taps her shoulder lightly to get her attention, and she looks down at him, smiling at how cute he is.

"Inuyasha carried you all the way here and he helped me take care of you every day!" Shippo says, smiling brightly.

"Is that so…?" Kagome mutters softly, looking up at the man before her. He looks at her out of the corner of his eyes, something like uncertainty flashing through them before quickly looking away again.

"Yeah!" Shippo exclaims. "He helped me make fires to keep you warm and give you water so you wouldn't get more sick. He even took care of your leg for you!"

At the mention of her injury, her leg gives a painful throb. She grimaces slightly before looking down at her leg to asses the wound as best she can through her pants. What she sees, however, makes her freeze and her cheeks to burn.

"Shippo?" She asks in a deceptively calm voice. He hums in acknowledgment, fiddling with the end of his fluffy tail.

"Why are my pants gone?" She asks in a slightly squeaky voice. She doesn't miss the way Inuyasha tenses where he stands, ears twitching in an anxious way.

Shippo looks up at her with his big green eyes, the very picture of innocence. "Inuyasha said we had to take them off so we could take care of your injury better."

"I see…" She mutters, composure starting to crack as mortification washes over her. She gently shifts Shippo off of her lap, placing him on the floor next to her and looks up at the silver haired man, watching as he tries to flee. She reaches out, grabbing her bow and an arrow, and launching it in Inuyasha's direction. It hits the wall right in front of his face, just barely missing his nose and casting a purple glow around them as her power envelops the arrow. Inuyasha looks at her owlishly.

"What the fuck was that?" He shouts in outrage, storming towards her.

"Explain." She says through her teeth. His earlier anxious fidgeting and refusal to look at her for more than a few seconds at a time is making sense to her now.

"You were bleeding out!" He yells at her in annoyance, throwing his hands up in the air. "You should be grateful I did anything at all to help you! I could have just left you in that field to bleed out and die."

She bares her teeth at him. "And the best way to help me was by undressing me?" She growls out. In the back of her mind, she realizes she is being unreasonable and that he was only trying to help, but embarrassment clouds her judgement.

The dog rolls his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself." He scoffs. "I only did it to stop the bleeding and to remove that branch. I'm not even remotely interested in a little girl like you, so calm down." He sneers. She makes an offended noise and shoots him an evil look. He didn't have to be so rude.

While she didn't think she was the most beautiful or sexiest woman in the world, she had been complimented on her body by enough men in her lifetime to know she was desirable. Her legs and butt were toned and strong, and while her chest wasn't huge, it wasn't small either. She was curvy and she knew she was desirable. So, she was taken aback at his insult. But, she realizes that trying to argue with him further will get her nowhere.

She lets out a long sigh. "Thank you for caring for my wound." She says petulantly.

He looks taken aback for a moment by her sudden change in attitude. "Whatever" He grumbles, sitting down on the floor roughly and crossing his arms.

They glare at each other for a few more seconds before Kagome sighs and looks back down at a completely unfazed baby fox. He was obviously too concentrated on playing with his little trinkets to pay attention to their petty argument. He notices her looking at him and gives her a bright smile, crawling back into her lap and showing off his toys to her. She smiles softly down at him and rubs his head affectionately.

"Inuyasha?" The girl asks softly. He looks at her blankly so she decides to continue speaking. "I am going to need to start heading back home soon. My sister is probably worried sick, and knowing Kikyo, she's probably already put a search party together to find me." At the mention of her sister's name, Inuyasha tenses and his ears flatten on his head.

She isn't sure how exactly, but somehow this demon and her sister know each other, and judging by his reactions it was not in a friendly way. She'd have to ask him about it, but now was not the time. She had to focus on getting home first.

"Would you be willing to point me in the direction of the field you found me in? I can find my way from there." She asks as pleasantly as she can. She starts to get her stuff together, but pauses and looks back over to him, cheeks tinting red. "I'm also going to need my pants." She says meekly.

He observes her for a moment before abruptly getting up and walking out of the cave. She supposes she should have known better than to hope a demon would help her get back home. She sighs, looking down at Shippo again.

"I guess it's just you and me, then, buddy." She sighs. He smiles brightly at her and jumps off of her lap to gather his things. Just as she is about to start trying to stand, Inuyasha stomps back into the cave with her pants in his hand. He holds them out to her, glaring at the wall and refusing to look at her.

She looks at him in surprise before taking the offered pants and pulling them on, making sure to be careful around her injury. Once she has them buttoned, she looks at him again. He is still glaring at the wall.

"Thank you." She says softly. He doesn't respond to her, just continues to glare at the wall.

She shakily manages to get to her feet, leaning heavily against the wall. She huffs out a breath and leans down to collect her pack and quiver, slinging her belongings over her shoulders. She grabs her bow and decides its probably smart to try and use it as a cane. She isn't foolish enough to think her leg is healed enough to bare much weight. But, even with her makeshift cane, her leg buckles and she falls forward as she tries to take her first step.

Instead of hitting the ground like she was prepared to do, she instead finds herself pressed against the rough fabric of Inuyasha's shirt again.

"Idiot." He mutters, pushing her away from his body, but keeping his clawed hands on her shoulders to steady her. "There is no way you're going to get far on that leg. You're easy prey, you'd be lucky if you made it even an hour without getting eaten by some hungry demon."

She glares at him slightly, hating that this rude demon keeps saving her. "Then what do you suggest I do? I can't stay here forever. I need to go home."

He looks her over before sighing and looking down at his feet, which she notices are surprisingly bare. "It's a day and a half journey by foot to get back to that field. I'm pretty sure I know where your settlement is, and that's almost a two and a half day's journey from the field. There is no way you'll make it four days, on foot, with a bum leg and only a runt like him to keep you company." He says, motioning to a disgruntled looking Shippo.

"I could protect her!" The little fox quips. Inuyahsa scoffs and looks like he's about to say something that would hurt Shippo's feelings, when Kagome interjects.

"If you want to come with me so bad, all you have to do is ask." She smirks.

Inuyasha blushes slightly before letting go of her shoulders and moving away from her, crossing his arms petulantly and going back to glaring at the wall.

"I don't want to come with you. Go on your own if you really want to. I won't lose any sleep over it at night if you die." He grumbles.

She rolls her eyes at his attitude and looks him over for a moment. She knows she should be more weary around this man, he is a demon after all, but if what Shippo said is true, then this demon helped keep her alive and safe for three days. He didn't have to do that. So, making up her mind, she decides to trust him and hope it doesn't come back to bite her later.

"Inuyasha?" She asks. He looks over at her out of the corner of his eye, grunting in acknowledgment.

She sighs, hoping she isn't about to make a fool of herself. "Will you accompany me on my journey back to my home? I can't do this on my own."

He turns to her and stares at her for a minute. He does that a lot, just stares. Just as she is about to tell him to forget it and that she'll do it on her own, he answers her.

He smirks,"Kagome, if you wanted me to come with you so badly, you should have just said that from the start."

Hi there!

Thank you so much for reading my story. This is my first time ever sharing anything I've written with anyone. I would love to hear what you guys think! I would love to know about anything you think needs fixing or improving.

I hope to update this at least once a week on Monday or Tuesday. I am going on vacation for a couple weeks at the end of June so I am not sure how much I'll be updating during that time.

Thanks again for reading!

-Aislyn