A/N: Thank you for the response for the last chapter. Truly, your feedback is appreciated! I'm also doing my best to post on schedule. Don't be afraid to remind me!

Chapter 3: Unexpected news

Kagome and Sango quickly made it back to camp, where the boys were all ready and packed up. Souta had a smile on his face and Kagome was just so happy that she finally had him back. It had been too long since the last time she had seen him smile. He spied her quickly, walking over to her with her bag in hand.

"Packed your things, Sis. Hope you don't mind."

And how could she mind when his lopsided smile was directed at her? She ruffled his hair, despite his quiet protests of not being a little kid anymore, and accepted her bag. "Thanks, little brother."

Inuyasha watched their exchange from a few feet away and couldn't help but notice that the smile adorning Kagome's face made her look very pretty. Realizing what he had just thought, he shook his head, cursing himself. No matter how pretty he thought she was, there was no changing the fact that she was a Weaver. They were all dishonest, backstabbing and selfish people and a pretty face wasn't about to change that.

"Quit your yappin' and get movin', unless you're going to wait until doomsday to start walking."

He saw Kagome's blue-gray eyes flash in anger and her lips dip into a frown. "Shut up, Inuyasha." Turning up her nose at him and hooking an arm with her brother, she passed him and said, "You're not the boss of me, idiot."

And with a flick of her hand and a muttered Osuwari, Inuyasha was picking himself off once more from the crater that now adorned the ground. Kagome laughed while Souta looked at the scene in worry. Even Sango had to stifle a giggle at the sight.

"Why I oughtta—" Inuyasha began to say, getting up lightning quick and ready to give the stupid girl a piece of his mind. Thankfully, Miroku quickly swooped in to save the day by blocking his path.

"Let it go, Inuyasha. Let's just get moving without you guys going at each other?

Inuyasha growled but he wasn't an idiot, despite Kagome's earlier insult and stupid magic trick. It would be much better if he just kept his mouth shut and his thoughts away from the infuriating girl. Especially since her legs actually looked really nice in those pant—dammit there he was at it again! Where the hell was this stuff even coming from anyway? He really needed to pull himself together, for his sake. The sooner they could get this done, the sooner he would be back by himself without anybody bothering him.

"Don't bother, Miroku, idiots like him don't listen." Kagome flipped her hair over her shoulder to emphasize her words.

Well, if she started it, he'd be damned if he didn't if he let her have the last word.

"Wench," He growled, easily getting ahead of her. He smirked when he didn't hear her respond. Ha, he'd gotten her good.

"Osuwari!"

Kagome breathed in deeply, relishing the warmth that radiated from the sun. It was easier to breath than in the desert town she'd found Souta in. They were currently taking a small break. The sun was not as high in the sky, so Kagome figured that it was late afternoon, but they had been able to walk a considerable amount.

Kirara suddenly appeared next to Kagome, rubbing against herself like a domesticated cat would. The girl laughed and bent down to run her fingers through the silky fur.

"Kagome, could you come here for a second?" Sango called, looking at the map in her hands. She was flanked by Inuyasha and Miroku, while Souta and Shippo had struck up a conversation a few feet away from them.

"What is it, guys?"

"We're going to be coming up to some old ruins soon." Miroku glanced at the others. "By the looks of it, it's too expansive to just walk around them. The quickest way would be to go straight through."

Kagome felt uneasy because she knew that ruins could have any amount of magic-good or evil-in them. "There's no other way?" she asked.

"Keh. Not scared, are you?" Inuyasha shot her a smirk and watched in amusement as the color of Kagome's cheeks rose. She was as red as a tomato!

"I'm not scared!" She countered indignantly. She hated when he would assume such ridiculous things. He didn't know her, didn't know what she had gone through. "Besides, I was just asking because there could be any number of things we could run into inside the ruin's walls." She turned to Miroku and Sango. "Ruins are known to sometimes harbor a fair amount of magical creatures and sometimes even worse."

Since many ruins, including the one they were discussing, had been abandoned by people long ago, nobody bothered with them. Anybody foolish enough to go in without being armed would meet certain death. Night time was especially worse, because the creatures that usually thrived in the dark were of the worst kind. Kagome shuddered just at the mere thought of encountering one of them. She had heard stories growing up of even the strongest men returning in a permanent traumatized state, never again to sleep in the dark in peace.

"We have no choice." Miroku shook his head. "Besides, we're a strong group. Whatever's in those ruins couldn't possibly stand up to all of us."

"Well, in any case, we'll never make it before sundown at the rate we're walking." Sango sighed, rolling the map up in her hands. "We're going to have to pair up."

"Pair up?" Kagome questioned.

Sango put a finger to her chin as she thought out her plan. "Because I don't trust Miroku with another woman, he'll have ride with me on Kirara." The demon cat meowed her consent and proceeded to shift into her larger form. Miroku grumbled under his breath something about a cursed hand, but Kagome didn't listen too hard and instead smiled knowingly. She knew that there was something brewing between those two, so she wasn't surprised when Miroku didn't argue with her reasoning. By the look on his face (one that he tried his hardest for Sango not to see), it looked like if he had even been expecting it.

"Either Kagome or Souta can ride on Inuyasha's back." Miroku suggested, his eyes full of mischief, doing his best to not to grin.

"Shippo said he can create something big enough to hold us both!" Souta shouted excitedly. Unbeknownst to the others, Shippo had been keeping a keen ear to their conversation. He liked having someone else to talk with that wouldn't be annoyed. He could be a regular teenager when he was talking with his new comrade-in-arms. "C'mon, Kagome, you know it would be weird for me to ride on Inuyasha's back anyway."

"You guys are talkin' like I'm not even here! Don't I have a say about whether or not I want to carry that wench across the goddamn country?!" The inuhanyou growled.

"Well, since you were the once to complain about how slow everyone was going, it serves you well to actually help! Sango has Kirara and has offered me a seat, Souta and Shippo can travel together so that leaves Kagome by herself." Miroku suddenly turned on his friend, the mirth gone from his expression. "Don't forget that we actually have something important to do. Stop acting like a petulant child!"

Kagome blinked as she saw the annoyance flash across Miroku's face. She'd certainly never seen him like that, and by the looks of Inuyasha's slack-jawed face, neither had he. She had to admit, riding on his back would get them to the ruins quicker. Even if the guy hated her, couldn't he at least see the merit of the plan?

Her thoughts were interrupted when a sound from above alerted them to another presence. In one fell swoop, a hawk descended rapidly towards them. Kagome cried out, surprised, but held her scream as soon as she saw Inuyasha hold up his hand. The hawk perched on it, and now that it was closer, she could see the piece of paper tied around its leg. Once the hawk's leg was free, it lifted into the air and began its journey home.

All eyes were on the half demon as he took the paper. Inuyasha didn't know what to make of the small piece of inked parchment, knowing exactly who's hawk it had been attached to. "It's from Sesshoumaru," He whispered quickly as he unfolded the letter. Why in the hell would Sesshoumaru need to send him anything when he already knew what he had to do? Trust that good for nothing, nosy, arrogant bastard to stick his nose into his business. He began to read.

Father is dead. He was found earlier this morning. He died with honor and fatally wound his attacker, a high ranking demon among Naraku's followers. The country is in uproar. Put a stop to Naraku's nonsense and I will take care of things here.

Inuyasha felt the blood drain from his face and it took all his willpower to not rip the piece of paper in his hands No, it couldn't be possible. His father—his father couldn't be dead. He had always seemed to be larger than life, an invincible force that would always care for him. Without him, he had no one, save for his meddlesome half-brother, who gave a damn about him anymore, if Sesshoumaru even cared beyond his own self-interest in him. Father had been such a great man—a powerful ruler. How could he have been killed?

"Inuyasha, what's wrong? You haven't said a thing—" Miroku peered at the contents of the parchment in the hanyou's hands and gasped. "The king has been killed?!"

Identical gasps were heard around the group and Inuyasha looked up, only to see Kagome's eyes looking at him with sympathy. Damn it, he didn't need her sympathy or anyone else's!

"This doesn't change anything. In fact, this only proves that we need to get moving now." Inuyasha growled out. The others jumped slightly but immediately began to gather their things to once again hasten their journey. Kagome stood still, wondering what she should do as she watched Inuyasha's steely face.

He was bottling it up inside; she could sense it. She was always right about these type things and Kagome knew that the half-demon was hurting on the inside, even if on the outside he just looked determined. She knew how hard it was to lose family members, especially in such a tragic and unexpected way. She didn't understand, but something inside her desperately wanted to hug him, tell him that everything would work out, that it was okay to hurt.

As she moved towards him, her heart reached out to him. One way or another, Kagome would find a way to help him, to be there for him, like no one had ever been for her.

A/N: Regular updates! This is something I'm not used to, but we're going strong. I hope to continue this pattern. I have the next chapter already done. I'm just going to wait for the reviews now!