Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha.

Death's Destiny

By Ethril

Chapter 4:

With Kagome gone for about a week, it gave Kassandra time to learn about her new home. She met several of the people in the village, learned about washing clothes, and had even started working in her little garden. Her new friends tried to be as helpful as they could. Kaede and Sango started teaching her about different herbs that were useful, Miroku kept her laughing with jokes and even taught her how to meditate, and even little Shippo kept her occupied by playing with her.

It was on the third day that Kagome was gone that Inu-Yasha went to Kassandra's hut with a short sword in his hand.

"Good morning Inu-Yasha! It's good to see you!" Kassandra greeted the silver haired hanyo as he approached her. She was carefully watering the newly planted herbs in her garden. She was hoping that maybe she could use the herbs to trade for rice or other supplies in the village. She didn't want to be completely dependent on the kindness of others.

"Come on." Inu-Yasha reached out and gripped onto one of her arms and helped her out of the little garden.

Kassandra frowned at Inu-Yasha for a moment. "What's wrong Inu-Yasha?" She didn't try to pull away as he tugged her along. "Where have you been these last few days?" Miroku and the others had told her that Inu-Yasha often disappeared after Kagome went home so she hadn't worried too much when he had vanished shortly after Kagome had left. Kassandra was curious though as to what he had been up to.

Inu-Yasha glanced at Kassandra and her wide brown eyes. He couldn't decide if she'd been worried or just curious about his whereabouts.

"This is a good spot." Inu-Yasha said, not really answering Kassandra's questions. He had taken her into a wide field with no one around. "Here."

Kassandra looked at the sheathed short sword that was thrust at her and held it gingerly. "Um…Inu-Yasha?" She was confused. She didn't know how to fight so a sword, no matter the size, was useless to her.

"Pull it out." Inu-Yasha commanded as he stood there, his hands in his sleeves. As soon as Kagome had left to head home, Inu-Yasha had gone to Totosai to ask him to make a short sword.

Kassandra frowned for a moment before putting her dominant right hand on the hilt of the sword. It felt awkward in her hand as she pulled the blade free from the sheath and held it up.

The short sword was light. If Kassandra wasn't holding it, she probably wouldn't have noticed its weight at all. As soon as the blade was completely free from the sheath, it changed. What had been a silver metal blade changed so it was a pale blue. It looked like diamond, but when Kassandra touched the blade it felt like ice.

"What…what is this?" Kassandra asked as she held the blade up to the sun to see if it would melt. Even though it felt like ice, the blade did not melt.

"It's an enchanted sword." Inu-Yasha said with a grumble. "You use it to fight."

Kassandra sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know what swords are used for Inu-Yasha." She said softly as she sheathed the sword. "I just…why did you give this to me?" She tried to hand the sword back to him. "I don't know how to fight."

Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "Everyone needs to know how to fight!" He barked at her. "What if you get attacked and I'm not around?" He pointed out as he pushed the sword back towards her. "Or what if you have to defend the village? You can't fight without a weapon."

Kassandra looked at the sword sadly for a moment. Except for her self defense classes, she knew nothing about fighting. She hated fighting. After a few minutes of being glared at by Inu-Yasha, Kassandra sighed and drew the blade once more.

Inu-Yasha nodded before he told her to drop the sheath on the ground for now. Slowly, he began moving her around until she was in a proper 'fight' stance. He kicked at her feet and poked at her arms and sides. Finally he drew Tessaiga and mimicked the stance she was now in. For the rest of the day, Inu-Yasha showed Kassandra the basics on using a sword.

Despite the fact that the blade of her new sword looked fragile it didn't brake no matter how many times Inu-Yasha connected his sword with hers. Many of her blocks were hasty and sloppy, but at least Inu-Yasha moved slow enough so that she could see where he was aiming. After every few hits he would stop and bark at her about what she had done wrong. Even with the glares and harsh words from Inu-Yasha, Kassandra was grateful that he would take the time to teach her.

Kassandra fell into a routine for the rest of the week. She'd work on her garden in the morning; help with any chores around the village after breakfast, then in the afternoon and evening she would train with Inu-Yasha. That was where Kagome found them when she returned from her trip home.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome screamed as she witnessed him tossing Kassandra back so that she fell hard and rolled on the ground. "SIT BOY!"

"Kagome no!" Kassandra was too late as she watched Inu-Yasha slam down into the ground. She quickly stood up and ran over to Inu-Yasha to see if he was alright. Except for his loud cursing he seemed to be fine.

Kagome stormed over and started ranting at Inu-Yasha. "I can't believe you Inu-Yasha!" She started off. "I was barely gone a week and already you're beating up Kassandra? It's bad enough that you fight with Shippo, you shouldn't be trying to hurt other people too!"

Kassandra's eyes went wide and she quickly stepped forward. "Wait Kagome, he wasn't beating me up!" She had a bruise developing on her right cheek from where she'd missed a dodge from a punch. "We were training!"

Kagome huffed as she looked Kassandra over. "It looks more like you're his punching bag."

Kassandra glanced down at herself. Her clothes, which were the ones she had been wearing when they had saved her, were torn and covered in dirt and many places where her skin was visible were bruised.

"Shut up Kagome! She needs to know how to fight!" Inu-Yasha was finally free from the spell and he was standing over Kagome and baring his teeth. "Even you know how to shoot a bow," He sneered at Kagome. "Badly though."

Kagome flushed in anger. She wasn't bad with a bow! Kagome had improved enough that she rarely missed her targets anymore. "Then I'll teach her how to do that! At least then she won't have to put up with you!"

"W-well actually-" Kassandra tried to interject before the fighting got any worse.

"Oh please! You can barely shoot straight! How would you be able to teach her!" Inu-Yasha yelled back.

Kagome took a step back and proceeded to yell sit at least ten times, sending Inu-Yasha deeper and deeper into the ground.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kassandra dropped her sword and quickly jumped down into the hole that Kagome had created using the spell. She looked up at the glaring Kagome and then yelled up at her. "That was completely unnecessary!"

"He was yelling at me!" Kagome was surprised that Kassandra was defending Inu-Yasha. "He's a brute! I mean look at you! Training doesn't require you getting beat black and blue!"

Kassandra frowned up at Kagome. "I agreed to this Kagome. Inu-Yasha is right, I need to know how to defend myself." She was still frowning as she stood up and put her hands on her hips. "And he wasn't the only one yelling," Kassandra pointed a finger at Kagome. "You started it!"

Kagome took a step back in surprise. Kassandra really was defending Inu-Yasha! Kagome didn't argue the fact that she had started it, but she'd been trying to protect Kassandra. Now that she thought about it she had jumped right into yelling at Inu-Yasha instead of asking what was going on.

Kassandra winced when she noticed the hurt expression on Kagome's face. She sighed and her shoulders slumped. "Let's just all stop fighting ok? It'll be dinner time soon and I know I'm going to need a bath later."

Inu-Yasha sat up once the spell freed him. He was sulking angrily and refused to look up at Kagome. Instead he looked at Kassandra. He felt…strangely happy as he looked up at her. Here was someone that had defended him from Kagome. Sango and Miroku didn't do that, and Shippo usually laughed when Kagome sat him. Kassandra…was actually defending him.

Kassandra climbed out of the hole and went over to Kagome. "Come on. Let's go put your stuff down." She pointed at the many bags that Kagome was carrying.

Kagome started to smile. "A lot of this is yours!" except for the things in her big yellow backpack, everything she was carrying was for Kassandra. "I know it's more then you asked for, but my mom had a few things to add as well."

The situation was defused and the two girls started heading over to Kassandra's hut to at least put her things away. Inu-Yasha stayed in the hole for a few minutes, his arms in his sleeves. There was only one person on his mind currently and he wasn't sure what to do about it. Now that Kagome was back the group would be leaving to continue the jewel shard hunt. This would give Inu-Yasha more time to consider what was going on.

Inside Kassandra's hut she and Kagome were going through and putting things away. Kagome had brought a couple warm blankets as well as a nicer pillow for Kassandra to use. She'd also packed some more changes of clothes so she wouldn't be stuck wearing kimono's all the time. There were also an assortment of small things like bathing supplies, medicines, and miscellaneous things. Kagome's mother had also suggested a few cooking supplies so Kassandra would be able to cook for herself.

"If you need anything else just make a list and I'll grab it on my next trip back." Kagome said with a smile once everything was put away. She folded up the canvas bags she'd brought Kassandra's things in and set them on a shelf that had been added to the wall.

Kassandra let out a little sigh as she looked around her home. It looked more lived in now that it had things on the shelves and new blankets folded up on the mattress. Tears prickled her eyes and a wave of homesickness washed over her. She felt Kagome wrap her arms around her as she closed her eyes and started crying softly. She cried for several long minutes before she was able to calm down and wipe her eyes.

"Thanks Kagome," Kassandra sniffled and blinked several times to clear her vision. "I just...I miss my home."

Kagome smiled sadly and nodded. "I know how you feel. But don't worry! We'll figure out a way to get you home in no time!" She put as much confidence into her voice as she could. She brought a fist into the air as she said it to try and cheer Kassandra up. "But until then, let's go get something to eat and then go soak in the hot springs!"

Inu-Yasha listened from just outside Kassandra's hut as the young woman broke down crying. Her sobs were soft, but each little sound was like a thunderclap to Inu-Yasha. He winced and fidgeted with his sleeves, confused about what to do. Whenever Kagome used to cry he would awkwardly hold her until she calmed down. In this case though, he felt like there was more he should be doing. He was so lost in thought that he only barely was able to jump away from the doorway when he heard the two girls coming out.

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome looked at the white haired hanyo as he stood a few feet away sulking. She frowned at him and tapped her foot on the ground until he looked up at her.

"Everyone's waiting." He growled out as he turned and stormed off towards Kaede's hut where the rest of the group would be waiting to have dinner.

Inu-Yasha didn't have to look behind him to know that the two girls were following after him. He could hear them talking to each other as they walked. He smiled slightly as he heard Kassandra laugh, the sound felt like music to his ears.

~o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0~

So I've been having job troubles these last few months. I've been trying to work with temp jobs while I search for a full time job, but things have not been working out. Long story short: It took awhile to get this chapter out. Sorry everyone.