Chapter 4: Desire To Win

SUMMARY: This chapter was written by myself: Mainly explains Inuyasha's set off. Raine and he cannot seem to stop thinking about each other. The uncertainty is killing them. Then, a mysterious figure appears challenging Inuyasha. Apparently, he's familiar with him. Who is he and what does he want? PLZ R&R

DISCLAIMER: This story was written by Warrioress of the Fang and myself. Neither one of us owns Inuyasha or any of those characters. Kitarra is owned by me however and Warrioress of the Fang owns Raine and Kuro. Inuyasha and the others are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise Animations

Inuyasha stood dumbfounded for a moment. Realizing that the sisters had left, he knew he had to hurry if he wanted to get to the jewel first. He started heading north, following the sisters. Seeing how they had made camp and took the time to eat, Inuyasha took to the trees and stayed down wind of them.

"Stupid girls." He laughed to himself, " They just don't get it. I am the one who's gonna use the jewel to become a full demon."

As Inuyasha hopped from branch to branch, he couldn't help but think of Raine and what had happened. He remembered how she had looked so pale, and he found himself worrying of what might happen if she isn't cured.
" Grrrrrrr! Why the hell am I so concerned with her? After all she's just a mangy wolf."

Half wolf a voice inside his head corrected.

" Yeah, yeah, a half wolf. I just can't get her out of my mind though."

Again his thoughts rushed back to her and how she looked. She was one of the most beautiful creatures he had seen in a long time. Not that he would actually use the word creature. Then he started thinking about how her sister, Kitarra, came to her aid, and how protective of Raine she was.

" Feh! They just don't realize how lucky they have it. Not like me and my bastard of a brother."

He angrily muttered his brother's name.

Again he pushed all thoughts out of his mind. He needed to concentrate on reaching the village that kept the jewel first. When he was sure he was out of scent range, he jumped down from the tree tops and started running on the ground.

Back at the camp site, Kitarra and Raine were just finishing their deer meat. Kitarra started to straighten up while Raine decided to look for more kindling for the fire. As she was gathering wood, Raine's train of thought went to Inuyasha.

" What is it about him? Those eyes. I have never seen eyes like that before, well except on Kitarra, but hers are much darker. Why did Kitarra have to ask me that question? I suppose that if it were a tie, I would have to keep the shard for myself. I can't stand going through this pain anymore."

Raine's heart began to beat faster in her chest as she thought more about Inuyasha. Kitarra had just finished cleaning, then she yelled back at Raine.

" Hey, sis, I found a hot spring just beyond the trees. I think I'll head over there and relax for a while. When you're done come and join me. You need to relax more than I do."

Raine yelled back to Kitarra, " Sure. It's not like we're gonna fall behind on reaching the jewel first!"

Kitarra walked over to the hot spring and removed her clothing, carefully laying them on a rock formation nearby. Raine had put her stack of wood near the camp fire and rushed to the hot spring her sister had just informed her about. Just as Kitarra had done, Raine removed her clothes and laid them on the rock formation and sat across from Kitarra.

"AAH!" Raine exclaimed as she lowered herself into the steamy pool of water. "This is the life."

Kitarra spoke up. " So, have you given anymore thought to what you're going to do should we reach the jewel first?"

" I have." Raine replied. "I've decided I'm going to use it to get myself well again."

"And what about Inuyasha?" Kitarra replied, looking at her coyly.

"What about him?" Raine snapped back.

" Well I was just thinking also that if it were a tie like I said before, how will you handle it? Would you share the jewel with him?"

" Kitarra, do you seriously think that I would let him have it or even share it with him? Think of it this way, if it were him, he wouldn't share it either." Raine said angrily.

Kitarra leaned back and closed her eyes. "Perhaps." she smugly replied.

Inuyasha hurried along still focused on his main objective. Finally starting to feel a little fatigued, he decided to stop and rest a bit. He decided to go to the river and catch some fish as he was also starting to feel a little hungry. A half hour passed and he returned with his catch. Placing it on a sharp stick, he stuck the bottom of the stick into the ground and went off to look for some fire wood. After fifteen minutes, he returned to his camp site and began to build a fire. He sat and cooked his fish, and then ate it. He then went over to the rock and sat sideways against it resting his head. Hours passed and he started to dream of Raine. In his dream he had seen her fall due to the pain in her head, which seemed to have gotten worse. As he was sleeping, someone walked into Inuyasha's camp site and walked up behind his exposed back. Bringing his foot back then allowing it to fly forward, the stranger kicked Inuyasha's back hard causing Inuyasha to lose his breath. Inuyasha immediately opened his eyes and rolled onto his back.

" Damn you! Inuyasha yelled out. " What the hell do you want? I should rip you to shreds for that!"

" Get up Inuyasha!" the mysterious stranger said as he kicked Inuyasha in the ribs. " Get up I said! We have unfinished matters to attend to."