Sorry about spelling errors last chapter. My spell check is on the fritz and is changing words it should not. mostly to and too ugh oh well

Chapter Nine:

It took a while for the group to stop laughing. Rin was still confused, and Kagome was still red. It was decided after everyone calmed down, that they would all travel together back to Kaede's. Kagome had not been home in a long time and wanted to check on her family, and she also needed to restock on some supplies. Inuyasha agreed hoping for another opportunity to get Kagome alone. He knew she was still upset, but he would do anything for another chance.

"Hey guys? Where's Kikyo?" Sango looked around just noticing she was gone.

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha and was a little taken back that he looked like he really didn't care. She was still unsure about the whole situation, but it was strange to not see him in a panic.

"This Sesshomaru witnessed her departure last night. She had said she was leaving and gave no explanation."

"Keh! Let her go. She's been taking care of herself this long, she'll be fine." Inuyasha said with indifference. He did worry a little bit, but they had said their peace and that was that. Kagome was his number one priority and he would make sure she knew it.

"Oh yes, she's fine on her own. Remember she's strong and has control over her powers unlike me right?" Kagome sneered at him.

"Wwhat! No, Kagome that's not what I meant! I just mean she's her own person, she can decide if she wants to stay or go on her own!" Inuyasha fumbled with an explanation.

"Hm. Yea...unlike me right? I didn't get that choice. Must be nice." Kagome turned and walked away. She was pissed! Here we go again!

The others looked uncomfortable, and Shippo and Sango were shooting glares at the hanyou. They decided to catch up with Kagome and make sure she was ok.

"DAMMIT! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! Why is it every fucking time I try to make things better, they get worse!" Inuyasha looked defeated. He just should have kept his big mouth shut.

"It is the curse of being a man Inuyasha. The woman is always right, and the men are always idiots. It might be best to keep your distance till she cools down." Miroku took off with Rin and a still sulking Jaken. He felt bad for his friend, but he kind of deserved this. Karma was a bitch.

Inuyasha lowered his head trying to figure out exactly what just went wrong. He just meant that he didn't care what she did! He only cared about Kagome! "I just keep digging my own grave." He was snapped out of his thoughts by a quiet sigh that came from behind him. He spun around seeing his bastard brother shaking his head. "GRRRR. What the fuck are YOU looking at huh! This must make you really happy right!? Poor pathetic half-breed can't do anything right! Right!?"

Sesshomaru looked at his brother with pity. He knew Kagome jumped to conclusions, but his brother sometimes just needed to think before he opened his mouth. "Do not assume you know what I am thinking brother." Sesshomaru began to follow after the others.

Inuyasha ran after him. "What the fuck does that mean! You fucking hate me! I know exactly what you're thinking! You just want Kagome for yourself! Don't think I forgot about you marking her! Fuck, you even brought her into your pack! Why her huh? Why Kagome! You hate humans! I don't get it!"

"Out of everyone, I thought you would know exactly why." At his brothers confused look, Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and continued. "She is no ordinary human. She has more power than most youkai. Her soul and aura radiate pureness and light. Any man youkai or human would be drawn to her."

"I don't give a fuck who is drawn to her! She is mine and I will kill anyone who tries to take her from me!" Inuyasha's demon was on the surface. He saw his brother as a threat. He was an unattached male who was trying to steal his mate. "I will not let her go!"

Sesshomaru watched his brother fight for control. He understood how hard it was to fight your instincts, but his brother needed to open his eyes.

"So, if Kagome were to decided she did not want you as a mate, would you force her?" He needed his brother to see this from her side. He would not win her back just by claiming her. That would only serve to push her away.

Inuyasha's eyes returned to gold and his face fell. What would he do? He had thought about this many times in the last few months. What if Kagome didn't love him anymore? Could he let her go?

"No" Inuyasha answered quietly. "If she were to reject me, I would let her go. I just want what's best for her."

"Hn. It would seem we finally have something in common." His brother looked confused. "As a member of my pack, it is my responsibility to see to her well being. I will not allow her to mate with anyone who is not worthy of her."

"Keh! You don't have to tell me. I already know I'm not worthy of her, no one is." He stated sadly.

"Are you certain brother? From what I have witnessed, you may be worthy of her yet."

Inuyasha stared wide-eyed at his brother. There was no way he heard that right. Sesshomaru had NEVER said anything about him that was positive. He had only judged him by his diluted blood and tried to kill him! Even when he was a pup! What the fuck was going on!

It took Inuyasha a minute to realize he was the only one left standing at the camp. He shook his head and slowly started to follow the others.

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"So, Kagome! What was training with Sesshomaru like? Do you think maybe we could train together sometimes and test out your skills?" Sango asked with a smile. She didn't want the fight with Inuyasha to ruin their reunion.

"Oh Sango, I would love that! It would be nice training with a human for a change! And to answer your question, it was BRUTAL. Most days Sesshomaru would have to carry me to my room because I couldn't move any part of my body!"

The girls talked about training and where they could practice. The mood lightened considerably after that. Kagome seemed to forget about her fight with Inuyasha, and just enjoyed being with her friends.

Kagome was laughing at a story Miroku was telling her when she happened to glance over at Inuyasha. Her laughter died down when she saw him staring at her with a look of longing. She hurried and looked away from him. Her heart and her head were fighting with each other. Her heart wanted to run to him and forgive what he did to her, but her head was telling her to let him go. She knew she would have to take some time to talk to him, but not right now. Now, she would enjoy a happy reunion with her friends. She would deal with the rest later.

She came to a stop and looked to her right. Everyone around her knew that look.

"Where's it coming from Kagome?" Inuyasha had his sword out ready to protect his mate.

"Not far, It feels very tainted and I think there's more than one." Kagome started to head in the direction she could sense the jewel shard. The others were quick to follow her. They ended up in a village and the demons in the group gagged at the smell of death and blood.

"It smells like blood and a lot of it. I don't think there's anyone alive." Inuyasha looked around for any sign of a demon.

Miroku prayed over the bodies that were scattered over the village. It looked like a slaughter! Rin and Shippo huddled next to Jaken and A-Un not wanting to see all the blood.

"You guys stay back with Jaken. I'll put a barrier around you make sure you stay in it ok?" The children and Jaken nodded as Kagome quickly set the barrier.

"Impressive Lady Kagome, it would seem you have come far in your training. Even I can not erect a barrier without the use of a sutra." Miroku was impressed. He could feel her Miko powers and they were incredible!

"Thanks Miroku, once we removed the seal that held back most of my powers inside of me, a barrier seems like nothing now." Kagome smiled.

"A seal on your powers?" Sango gave her a funny look.

"Might we save this conversation for later? I believe we have company." Sesshomaru brought them back to what they were here for. Kagome blushed, he had trained her to be aware of her surroundings and she was distracted her very first time out.

Out from behind one of the huts came a bear demon. His mouth dripping with blood and sniffing around for his next meal.

"Keh, I got this one, he's no match for my wind scar." Inuyasha grinned. Finally a challenge.

"No brother. It is the Mikos time to put her training to use. You will not interfere unless necessary." Sesshomaru came blocked his path.

The others looked at him shocked!. "Are you crazy bastard! She'll be killed! I thought you cared about her huh?!" Inuyasha sneered.

"She is stronger than she was. This demon is no threat to her." Kagome smiled at the faith he had in her. It was time to prove herself. They would see.

"KEH!" Inuyasha wanted to fight him, but he didn't want to get on Kagome's bad side either. If he forced her to stay away, she would just think he thought she was weak. His instincts were clawing at him to protect his mate, but he didn't want to be sat either.

Kagome took a deep breath as she started walking towards the bear demon. She sensed two jewel shards in its mouth, but she didn't sense any evil coming from the bear, only the tainted shards. 'I think this bear meant no harm, it must have accidentally picked up the shards and made it go crazy. Maybe I can stop it without having to kill him.' She put down her bow and she walked closer to the bear. Ignoring the shouting behind her.

Sesshomaru was holding back his brother who was cursing up a storm. One look was all it took to stop the monk and the taijiya, though he could tell they were worried. He, on the other hand, was not. He knew she could protect herself. He had trained her after all.

Kagome got closer to the bear who was thrashing around. She had to dodge his claws a couple times but she finally got close enough to touch the bear's face. As fast she could she focused her powers on the jewels and just enough purification to knock out the bear. Quicker than anyone could see she had the bear down unharmed and the jewel shards in her hand. She turned around and almost laughed at what she seen. They looked confused!

"I couldn't feel any evil coming from the bear. The jewel must have made him go crazy, I could not kill him for that." She turned back to the bear who looked to be sleeping peacefully. She glanced around at the bodies around her and sighed. So much death caused by one small jewel.

The others came to join her as she prayed over the bodies. They would start digging graves for them.

"Keep an eye out. Something doesn't feel right. It may have been a trap." Inuyasha whispered to his brother who just nodded in return. He too could feel something was not right. "It's faint but I can smell Naraku's spawn around here. He can hide in shadows so be on the lookout."

Kagome was praying over the body of a young woman when she heard Inuyasha call out to her. Before she could react a dark figure lept out at her. She was surprised she didn't sense him at first, but the demon was jet black and if not for his eyes she would have missed him. As he reached out to her she shot out a barrier around her. Standing before her was a demon who looked almost human but with black skin and glowing red eyes. He clawed at her barrier and didn't even flinch as his skin burned away from the attack. The smell of burning flesh turned her stomach. The others ran toward her but as quickly as he appeared he was gone.

"What was that!" Kagome still stayed in her barrier as Inuyasha took off after the demon.

"That was the demon Kage, he is Naraku's newest creation. He is the one we have been hunting. It's actually the first time we have seen him in person." Miroku explained as he walked up to her.

Kagome put down her barrier as the others came over. "That's the demon Inuyasha said was after me? I thought he said he was immune to Miko's powers?" By the smell of his flesh burning that definitely was not the case.

"Yea, I had a feeling Kikyo was lying about that." Sango huffed. "He must have set this up to draw you out Kagome. It would seem Kikyo was right on one thing though, he seemed only interested in you."

"He did not feel that powerful, but he was fast. I didn't even see him till he was right in front of me." Kagome was a little nervous that he got so close to her.

They went back to burying the bodies, they were just finishing when Inuyasha came back. By the look on his face they knew he lost him.

"I could smell him all over, but it was like he disappeared." Inuyasha looked over at Kagome. "I know that you're stronger Kagome and that obviously he is not immune to your power, but stay close anyway. That was way too close for comfort."

Kagome was gonna fight him saying she could take care of herself, but even she was a bit nervous. He had gotten to close. She looked at Sesshomaru and knew he felt the same way. Sighing slightly she nodded. She was stronger, but she wasn't stupid.

Inuyasha felt better that she didn't fight him on it. Maybe she didn't trust him with her heart yet, but at least she trusted him to protect her. They all decided to get away from this village as soon as possible. No one wanted to stay near it with the smell of death everywhere. Once Miroku made a final prayer, they set out back to Kaede's.

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Kagura smiled as Naraku seethed. They watched what was happening in Kanna's mirror and Naraku was pissed that the girl got away. He did not believe Kikyo when she told him the girl was now traveling with the dog lord. He knew that getting his prize was going to be a bit harder now that she had two guard dogs.

"You did not tell me she had gotten stronger. She could not create a barrier before." Naraku said to the dead Miko.

"I was not aware of this either Naraku. She must have trained in her absence." Kikyo was also surprised at this new information.

"No matter, it just makes her a better prize this way. I will just have to go retrieve her myself. Kagura, go bring me Kage. He has failed me once too many."

"Yes, Naraku." Kagura took off not wanting to be here anyway.

"Looks like you have your work cut out for you Naraku, I still do not see what it is you want with the girl. She is still a weakling compared to me." Kikyo was not impressed. She didn't know what everyone saw in this girl.

"What I do with her is none of your concern Kikyo. I will allow you to live seeing how you can prove to be some use after all." Naraku smiled.

"Oh, and what is that?" Kikyo would not be used as some tool, but she knew she needed him to get what she wanted.

"I need you to get Inuyasha away from the girl. She will be no match for me without her dogs protecting her. The stronger she gets the more of a threat she becomes. Do not disappoint me Kikyo." Naraku threatened.

"I only wish for the girl's death, that is why I will do as you ask Naraku. I am not one of your puppets you can order around." Kikyo walked off.

Naraku stared at Kagome through the mirror. "Soon, koi. Soon you will be mine." Kanna shivered as he smiled.

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Koi means love, but we all knew that :)

Thank you guys for the review and follows! It's my first time attempting to write and you have no idea how much it means to me! Till next time!