Disclaimer:  I don't own Inuyasha

7 years Later (^_^ This means Kagome is seventeen or eighteen.  Yah, yah, maybe I should do a more gradual aging, but I want to be at the actual age of the story now : P)

Kagome ran silently through the woods, breathing in the solitude that had settled upon her.  Several years ago, after her mother had told her about the fact that she was suppose to fight a wolf youkai, she at first was rather confused.  Later, she became angry, wondering why she had to fight some wolf that she didn't even know…but now she was actually looking forward to seeing what all those years of training had done for her.  She knew that she had gotten to be nearly as strong as a lot of the humanoid youkai, and while hunting, several of the youkai even had believed she was a hanyou, since by being raised by a youkai had made her begin to smell like one.

Her mother had decided to test her survival skills now, and she was suppose to live on her own for two weeks, which, in  her opinion was long enough for her to prove herself.  Kagome thought it was a waste of time, since she was already positive that she could survive for two years or so without any problems, but wasn't about to pass up a chance to explore more of the area by herself.  One week and four days had already gone by, and Kagome was feeling a little bored by the lack of excitement that had occurred.  The only thing that had even tried to attack her was some sort of giant lizard creature, but he was easily defeated.

'Maybe I'll see if I can find Inuyasha.'  She thought to herself, thinking about her strange hanyou friend she met when she was little.  After leaving him at the village, she had seen him only twice more, once soon after when he muttered something about the "Shikon no Tama" and "Stupid youkai snake," then two years later when he had been passing through.  As far as she could tell, he had no luck in discovering the stone of whatever he was looking for.

Suddenly she stopped, a strange feeling creeping over her.  Her nose, eyes, and ears were honed to near youkai senses level, but the little difference was made up with her good intuition, or "gut feeling" that she had occasionally.  She finally decided to ignore the feeling and ran swiftly through the trees.  'If something or someone is around me, then they'll have a hard time finding me.'  Kagome thought to herself, a small smile playing on her lips as she ran up a small hill that suddenly dropped off well over thirty feet below.  Kagome didn't even hesitate as she leapt off the side.  Her eyes narrowed with concentration as she reached out to grab a hold of a branch of a tree before hitting the ground—only to see a wisp of red before an unknown figure collided into her, forcing her and whoever it was to slam hard into the side of the cliff.

For a second, Kagome froze, hanging near upside down with someone holding on tightly to her waist.  "What are you doing?"  Kagome finally yelled, turning to look at the idiot who had nearly killed her.  "Huh?" 

"What am I doing?  I see some stupid girl leap thirty feet up and I decided to save her since I just happen to know her, that's what."  The guy snapped.  Kagome blinked a few more times, realizing immediately who he was.

"Inuyasha?"  She questioned, then frowned.  "I wasn't jumping to my death or anything."

"Feh, Last time I checked, you had fallen from a tree and I had to rescue you." He responded back. 

"It's good to see you to."  Kagome said, then struggled to get out of his grasp to cling onto the cliff.  She looked down, and seeing that it was only a ten foot drop, let go, landing lightly on her feet.  "So, what are you doing around here?"  She asked after a moment, turning around to get her first good look at Inuyasha.  After not seeing him for five years, she wasn't too surprised that he had changed.  He was now a good head taller than her, and the years had honed him into a muscular figure.  His eyes still gleamed its same golden tint, even though now they were looking at her in annoyance.

"None of your business."  He muttered.

"Haven't found the Shikon, huh?"  He just ignored her and looked around the area.

"I thought you lived that way."  He pointed over in one direction, nearly towards the sun.

"I do.  I'm just suppose to be living on my own for awhile.  It's part of my training."  She shrugged. 

"Heh, that youkai probably just wants to get away from you."  Inuyasha snickered.  "Well, I got my own things to do instead of talking to some girl."

"What are going to do?"  Kagome asked curiously, already having it in her mind to follow him, just like she did before.  She had to waste her three days somehow.

"Nothing."  He said, then sighed, seeing the interest already spark in her eyes.  "Damn, you're going to follow me anyway, aren't you?"

"Yep, so its best to just let me come along from the start."  Kagome nodded to him, crossing her arms defiantly.

"I'm just going to some stupid cave."  Inuyasha said, then began walking in the direction that Kagome supposed was the way to the cave.  "If the bastard is in there, I need to ask him a question."

"Who?"

"He's a stuck up damned dog who happens to have been almost everywhere."  Inuyasha snapped.  "And he hates all humans, so he just might kill you when he sees you."

"Who is he?"  Kagome demanded.

"Keh."  He began to set a faster pace.  Kagome jumped ahead of him, forcing him to stop. 

Who is he?"  She repeated, glaring at him angrily for ignoring her.

"My brother, Sesshoumaru."

Inuyasha crept through the trees, thinking about how he was going to say to his older brother, though Kagome following near him kept him somewhat distracted.  The last time he had saw her, she was some skinny runt that followed him around.  Now she was a very attractive young female following him around.  Not that he noticed or anything.

He had last seen his brother two years ago by random coincidence, and all the jerk said to him was "Hmph, the hanyou is still alive," before walking off.  He wouldn't even think about going to his brother, Sesshoumaru, for any reason—except that his brother regularly patrolled most of the land.  If anyone was to know anything about the Shikon no Tama, his brother would probably be the one.  He glanced over again at Kagome, wondering what his brother was going to say about her.  More than likely Sesshoumaru would probably go off on how it was just like him to make friends with humans—or he might even kill Kagome just out of spite.  Maybe he should try to loose her before he got there, but then again, she'd probably still manage to find him.

A little over an hour later, Inuyasha could smell the subtle signs of his brother.  He was glad that the rumors he had heard of where his brother was located was right—but that also brought an amused smile on his face.  The same person that told him of the rumors had also mentioned that along with the annoying follower of Sesshoumaru, Jak- something or another, which had been with him last time Inuyasha saw his brother, Sesshoumaru had also picked up a human little girl…

The trees began to thicken around him, making the footing even more difficult.  He was glad that he didn't have to go to his brother's actual home to speak with him; the large mansion was settled on the edge of the cliff made him feel uneasy.

Suddenly a small shriek came from in front of them.  Inuyasha paused for a second, wondering if he should even bother going to look, while Kagome rushed passed him towards the sound.  Inuyasha glowered, but followed.  The shriek sounded again, but this time it was followed by laughter.  The trees suddenly opened up, revealing a small clearing at the edge of cave.  Embers of fire still glowed brightly in the center, rocks surrounding it to prevent it from spreading.  A young girl was running around, her face shining brightly as a green little creature chased after her, yelling for her to give him back his staff that she held tightly in her two tiny hands.  She just laughed at him as he continued the chase.  Inuyasha sniffed the air, finding the unmistakable scent of his brother.  "Sesshoumaru."  He growled.

Kagome looked up at him, then back at the little girl and the youkai who had yet realized they were there.  "I really hope you aren't saying that either of them is your brother."  She remarked.

"No, but he's close."  Inuyasha hissed back at her.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"  Kagome asked him.  "Unless you're too scared to go in there."

"No!"  He stomped into the clearing.  The little girl stopped in her tracks and the green frog like creature nearly ran into her.  "Where's Sesshoumaru?"  He demanded. 

The girl looked up at them for a moment, then called out in a loud voice, "Sesshoumaru!!!  There's people looking for you!!  Hey!"  The last part she said in surprise as the yellow eyed creature took away the staff she had been holding.

"Hmph, whoever you are, Sesshoumaru won't see the likes of you."  He said, managing to sound even more annoying than he looked. 

"I think I'll be the one to decide that."  A calm voice replied.  Inuyasha watched as the tall figure of his brother walked lightly into the clearing, his long silver hair fluttering slightly in the light wind.  He looked as aloof as Inuyasha had remembered him, completely devoid of emotion and managing to appear superior to anyone around him.

"S-s-seshoumaru!"  The youkai stuttered.  "I didn't expect you to return until tonight!"

"I knew he was here."  The girl told him.  "Sesshoumaru!"  The girl ran towards his brother, and, to Inuyasha's surprise, gripped one of his legs in a sort of impromptu hug. 

"Enough Rin."  The youkai said calmly, and Rin snapped to attention.

"Okay!"  She said happily.

"You're brother doesn't seem as evil as you made him out."  Kagome whispered to him.  Inuyasha just snorted.

"So, what's with the human?"  Inuyasha laughed.  "I thought that humans were beneath you."  Sesshoumaru just looked at Kagome, not saying a word.

"Of course they ar-"  The toad began, but a glance from Sesshoumaru stopped him from saying anything further.  "That's more years off my life…"  The guy moaned, crouching low to the ground with his hands over his head.

"Don't question me when you have brought one with you."  Sesshoumaru said evenly.  "And why has my hanyou brother come to see me?"  The way he said it made the insult even more biting.  Inuyasha swallowed a reply, realizing that if he got his brother angry, he'd probably not get the information he wanted.

"He would like to know if from your travels if you have discovered the location of the Shikon no Tama."  Kagome broke in before Inuyasha could even speak. 

"I could have said that!"  Inuyasha glared at her.

"Well, you'd probably manage to say it in such away that wouldn't get you anywhere."  Kagome replied back.  "You don't have a way with words."

"Like you said it any better than I would have."  He snapped.

"I said it much better than you would have!"

"Did not!"

"Did you even hear what I said?" 

"Moron!"

"Idiot!"

"HUMAN!"

"HANYOU!"

"Perhaps I should leave and let you continue your fight."  The smooth voice broke between them.  Inuyasha and Kagome both turned, finding all three sets of eyes staring up at them.  The girl, Rin, was giggling under her breathe at them, one hand holding onto a portion of Sesshoumaru's clothing.  That tiny gesture again made his brother appear much less of the monster he remembered.  'Still is an aloof bastard though.'  Inuyasha thought to himself.  "Are you done then?"  The youkai seemed a bit amused over the entire thing, and the way he spoke the words made Inuyasha feel as though he was a child again, or at least someone far below his brother.  "Why should I tell you if I know anything?"

"Because you wouldn't use the information yourself."  Inuyasha glared at him.

"Why would I want to help my hanyou brother?"

"Hanyou means half demon."  Rin piped up.  "You're half human, like I am full human."

"Correct Rin."  Sesshoumaru said, without looking down at her.

"Because he's your brother!  Or at least half brother."  Kagome broke in.  Sesshoumaru turned his head to look at her, his eyes widening slightly from recognition.  Before Inuyasha could comment on the strange look on Sesshoumaru's face, he spoke.

"Go ask the Miko name Kaede.  If you can't find her, you're even more worthless than even I, Sesshoumaru, figured."  He turned around and began walking away from them.  "Come, Rin." 

"Right!"  The cheery voice yelled, running to catch up.  The other youkai glared up at them for several more moments until he realized both of his companions were gone.

"Wait, Sesshoumaru!!"  He cried, then ran out of sight.

After they were gone, Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha.  "He didn't seem so bad."  She commented.

"Feh."  Inuyasha muttered, feeling a small twinge of jealously as Kagome said that.  "He wasn't any help though."

"He told you someone to go look for."  Kagome pointed out.

"Nothing about the Shikon though." 

"You're so negative."  Kagome told him.  "This woman may know where to find the Shikon no Tama."

"More searching."  Inuyasha sighed in annoyance.

"Well, why don't you take a break from looking for a few days?" Kagome suggested.  "Then you can start searching.  It isn't like someone else is going to stumble over the stone anytime soon, so you might as well relax before starting to look again."

"Heh, and what am I suppose to do?  I don't have fun jumping off cliffs like you do."  He snapped. 

"Well…um…I guess you could come with me then."  Kagome said, looking somewhat flustered.  "I mean, I still need to waste two more days after this before I go back to my mother, and it might as well be with you."

Inuyasha looked at her, seeing that she really was serious.  "Why not?  I don't have anything better to do."  He said, though was a little annoyed at himself when he realized that he actually didn't mind being with her some more. 

"Well don't act like you're doing me a favor by staying here."  Kagome frowned. 

"Feh, human, maybe I am."  Inuyasha laughed.  "I mean, this way you won't get eaten by any strong youkai that comes your way."

"Oh, you're so sweet Inuyasha.  As a helpless human, I don't know what I would have done."  Kagome smiled somewhat satirically, shifting her stance so that the daggers on her waist were much more prominent and the muscle lines on her legs and arms were suddenly more noticeable.  She definitely wasn't giving off the aura of someone who needed to be rescued anytime soon.  "But I guess, before I name you my protector, you gotta catch me first!"  She suddenly sprinted into the trees, disappearing out of view. 

It took Inuyasha a few seconds to register what had happened, but then he promptly ran after her.  He wasn't about to let some human girl show him up.  Her scent lingered among the trees, both pleasant and dominant over the other smells in the area.  'Where did she go?'  He asked to himself, surprised by how far Kagome had gotten ahead of him in those few seconds. 

A loud splash echoed in the distance, and he wasn't shocked when Kagome's scent lead him to a slow flowing river.  Inuyasha unconsciously growled to himself, realizing he had to figure out which way Kagome went before he could pick up her trail.  He bent down low, realizing footprints were still visible along the edges of the water.  His ears twitched as he heard the subtle sound of someone sneaking up on him, and turned around a moment to late, seeing Kagome reach out to shove him.  One of his hands managed to grab hers as he fell, sending them both plummeting into the sluggish river.

Kagome and Inuyasha rose to the surface, Kagome spluttering a little from the surprise of getting wet.  "Gotcha."  Inuyasha said, raising the hand that still held onto Kagome's above the surface of the river.  The water wasn't deep and he was able to stand with no difficulty.

"Maybe so, but you fell into the river before you could."  Kagome laughed.

"Hey, I pulled you in with me."  Inuyasha declared.  "So I win."

"I could have won if I really wanted to."  Kagome shrugged.  "I mean, I didn't have to try to sneak up on you."  She shifted her footing positions in the water, stumbling slightly as her foot caught hold of something underneath.  She fell forward into Inuyasha.  He instinctively put one arm around of her to steady her before she sent them both falling into the water.  "Sorry!"  She smiled, looking up at him, a smile which faded somewhat as she realized that their faces were within inches of each other.  Inuyasha was suddenly aware how close she was to him, and for an awkward moment, they just stared at each other, obvious tension forming around them.  Inuyasha felt a strange impulse to just lean down and kiss her, but embarrassment took over and he let go of her and jumped out of the water onto the river banks edge.  'Damn, what's wrong with me?'  He thought, blushing furiously. 

He heard the sounds of Kagome getting out of the river as well and heard her hesitantly laugh.  "Well, I uh guess that ends my game."  She walked up even to him, looking at the rapidly setting sun.  "Maybe we should find some place to camp for the night?"  She suggested.

"Yah."  Inuyasha agreed.  Kagome reached up and ringed the water out of her hair as she stepped forward. 

After looking around the area, both Inuyasha and Kagome agreed on a small clearing near a large oak tree.  Inuyasha sat down by the base of the tree, his arms crossing as he leaned against it.  Kagome herself laid down in the soft grass, looking up into the night's sky.  "Hey Inuyasha?"  She whispered to him after a moment.

"What?"

"Why do you want to be a youkai?  Other than because you want to become stronger."

"Keh, that's the only reason."

"Well, it isn't good enough for me."  She whispered back.

"Why the hell are you whispering?  It's not like anyone is going to overhear us or anything?"  He demanded.

"Because, it seems appropriate under nights like this."  Her voice softly spoke.  "And don't avoid my question!"  She hissed at him, rolling over onto her side to glare at him.

"Fine, but first tell me why you are training to be as strong as a youkai."  Inuyasha glowered back at her. 

"My mother's a youkai, first of all, so she is raising me to be like one.  And, I really do want to prove that humans can become strong."  She stretched back onto the ground, again looking at the sky.  Offhandedly, she added, "Also, someday I'm suppose to fight this wolf youkai guy.  If I don't kill him, supposedly he'll kill me."

"What?"  Inuyasha asked, much louder than he had meant to.

Kagome glance at him, then added, "Well, my mother had gotten into some stupid fight with the leader of the wolf clan, and since my mother refused to kill me, the wolf declared that her heir would hunt me and kill me.  So, I guess since I don't really want to be the one to die, I guess I have to beat this guy when the time comes."  She finished.  Inuyasha blinked several times, this sudden information startling him quite a bit.  He had thought that it was just because she was becoming stronger just because of her wolf mother, but there was a lot more to it than just that.

"Keh, do you think you can beat this guy?"  He asked after a moment.

"I dunno."  Kagome shrugged.  "I haven't even met the wolf I'm supposed to fight."

"That's just stupid to have to fight a youkai trained to kill you!"  Inuyasha growled, becoming angry at the fact that someone was actually planning on harming Kagome.

"Hey, I can take care of myself."  Kagome stated firmly.  "I may be only a human, but I am better than most youkais now."  'But still.'  Inuyasha thought to himself.

"Feh," He muttered.

"Anyway, you never answered my question on why you want to become a full hanyou."  Kagome told him accusingly.

"It's nothing."  Inuyasha said, closing his eyes as he spoke.  "It's just that a hanyou isn't accepted with either humans or youkai.  Most are killed and those who aren't have to choose what species they want to live with, and then have to get pretty damn tough to survive with them." 

"Oh."  Kagome said thoughtfully, and then rolled up into a small ball onto the grass, her eyes closing shut.  "I'm human and I accept you."  She said after a moment.

"You're in the same situation as me, since you're a human raised by a youkai."  Inuyasha muttered, but still felt better actually hearing Kagome say those words.  Silence stretched between them, and soon, Inuyasha felt his eyes begin to close as sleep overtook him.

A soft voice stirred him await, but it was so fleeting that he wasn't even sure that he had heard anything at all.  It said, very sleepily, "I'm glad that I got to see you today, Inuyasha," before fading into the night. 

Kagome instantly opened her eyes, sensing something or someone was coming near to her.  She sat up, and judged by the darkness that she had been asleep for several hours.  Inuyasha was also up; alert and tense to whatever it was that woke them.  A loud cracking sound to her right caused her to jump up, her hands already touching the daggers that hung on her waist.  Inuyasha stepped near her, cracking his clawed hands.  Another sound came in front of them, then behind them.  "We're surrounded."  Kagome realized, whispering her thought out loud.

A low grow from the bush though suddenly erased all of Kagome's fears as she took off running towards the sound.  "Mother, I know that's you!!"  She shouted.  A loud laugh came from in the bushes, and as she suspected, a wolf youkai walked out of the bushes with a smirk on her face, dropping several branches onto the ground that had nearly identical sounds as to the ones Inuyasha and her had heard around them.  Her mother didn't look old enough to be her mother, partly because she raised Kagome when she was young herself and party because as a youkai she had a much longer life than Kagome had.  When a youkai reached a certain point in their lives, they stopped aging the same way humans did and lived to be much longer.  Her mother looked no more than in her mid-twenties, though occasionally her maturity seemed to be much lower than that.

"Just your parent."  Inuyasha sat on the ground again, looking very annoyed.

"Aren't you that hanyou Kagome met when she was younger?"  Her mother asked, noticing Inuyasha.  "Your name was…Inyaki or Inhaka, right?"

"It's Inuyasha."  Kagome told her before Inuyasha could take insult.  "I thought I was suppose to stay away for two weeks?" 

"Yah, but I only sent you away so I could go off on my own for awhile and check stuff out."  Her mother said absentmindedly.

"I told you she just wanted to get away from you!"  Inuyasha cracked.  Kagome glared at him.

"I just wanted to check on your competition, but then I discovered a way for you to check on it yourself.  It's a damn good way too."  She said proudly, then smirked as both Kagome's and Inuyasha's expressions changed to one of why-did-you-wake-me-up-to-tell-me-this.  "You need to be somewhere by tomorrow, and I wasn't in hell about to let this opportunity to pass up."  She looked at Inuyasha and then back at Kagome.  "Do you trust this boy?"

"Boy?"  Inuyasha asked incredulously.

"Oh, I don't know…" Kagome said, smirking as Inuyasha glared at her.  "Yes, I trust him."  Her mother looked between them curiously.

"Why are you both here together?"  She asked.  Kagome felt her face blush for some unknown reason. 

"Well, he just showed up today and--

"She followed me again."  Inuyasha added.

"And," Kagome look fiercely at Inuyasha before continuing.  "Since I hadn't seen him in a while and he wanted a break from searching for the Shikon no Tama…"  Her mother just waved her explanation away.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to jump to any conclusions and I'm not going to become an overprotected wolf either."  She said, grinning.  "Unlike some youkai, I'm smarter than that." 

"Um…okay."  Kagome said hesitantly. 

'Good.  Anyway, back to my plan, I learned that our damn hag's chosen heir is getting to the age where he's going to be mated off.  Of course the bitch wants to make her own tribe more powerful, so she is trying to mate him to some tough clan.  One female wolf is going to arrive with some of her tribe members the day after tomorrow.  They're running late 'cause of a youkai attack on them, but they sent a messenger to tell the clan leader of their situation."  She explained, and said with obvious relish, "And, Kagome, you are going to be that messenger."

"What?"  Kagome said, and then cried, "Aren't you forgetting that I'm not youkai!  I can't pass for one either!"

"I know, I know, but I got away around all that."  Her mother's smile only widened.

Hi!!   I hoped you liked it!!  I think I am going to try to get it so that Kagome ends up meeting the others from Inuyasha, like Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, but I haven't decided if they are going to of any particular importance; not that I don't find them awesome are anything, cause they are great too ^_^

Anyway, if you want more, please review!!!