Disclaimer: …Can you guess what I am going to put here? I do not own ANY anime, much less Inuyasha *sigh*. Maybe one day…
After Kagome's brief run in with Inuyasha in her attempt to escape, she had settled down on the couch with all pretenses for going to sleep. She was a little disappointed her plan did not quite work out the way it had, but it had been nice to talk to Inuyasha for a little bit where he did not yell at her. Of course, it had been cut short, but it was a start. She sighed then reached in her pocket, taking out the shard she had place there earlier. It shone brightly in her hand and again it seemed to be beckoning her. 'Creepy. I wonder what Inuyasha is going to say when he finds this missing?' Kagome wondered to herself. She began to question why she had even taken it in the first place…but it just seemed right that she should be carrying it. 'I am not technically stealing.' She reassured herself. 'I am just holding onto it for now.'
She turned over on her side and looked into the dying embers of the fire. For some odd reason, her thoughts kept drifting between two subjects. The first was her brother Souta. She really did miss him--he was all the real family she had now. 'Will I ever see him again?' She wondered to herself, fighting back a few tears. Then, she began to think of Inuyasha. 'I should not be thinking of him.' She scolded herself. 'He is such a jerk and…' She thought back to everything he had said. 'He has had a really hard life.' She realized. 'Its no wonder he is so testy.' She sighed and shut her eyes, letting sleep over take her.
"Hey, Kagome!" A voice cried loudly in her ear. "You sleep in too late."
"You wake up too early." She yawned and sat up. Inuyasha was sitting comfortably on the floor the box where the Shikon shard use to be by his side. 'I bet he hasn't even checked if it is still there.' She laughed quietly to herself. 'So unobservant.'
"Well, I am leaving today." He informed her. "I will get all these stupid shards and become a full youkai."
"You don't even know where to start." She accused. "It's not going to be as simple as you say it is."
"Heh, I will find them." He snorted.
"Well?" Kagome looked at him expectantly.
"Well what?"
"What about me?" She asked.
"You? Feh, a stupid human like you would only slow me down." He laughed. "But since I am stuck with such a worthless girl I guess you will have to come too."
"I am not worthless!" She growled through clenched teeth. His name-calling was really getting annoying. The least he could do would be to come up with new insults instead of using the same one's over and over again. "Once you take me out of this city, can't I just run away?" She asked after a second. What good is the rosary out there if it was suppose to keep things IN the city?
"You can try, but unlike other Youkai, I have a good nose and just track you down again and drag you back. Best not to try, you'd probably only get lost and eaten anyway." Kagome grimaced. 'Damn Inuyasha's nose.' She cursed. She didn't' really mind though. Maybe going with Inuyasha would prove to be interesting…'Wait, what am I thinking?'
"When do we leave?"
"Now." He informed her, standing up. "Earlier if you hadn't been so lazy."
"You could have waken me." She told him.
"I DID!" He glared.
"I meant earlier."
"Well, so what if I didn't?" He tossed the rosary to her. "Wear that thing till we get out of town." He commanded. "That way no idiotic youkai will kill you by mistake." Kagome caught the rosary with one hand and placed it around her neck. 'So he does care whether I live or die.' He then turned towards the door opened it, startling a human male whom had been carrying a tray of plates. The plates toppled down on the floor with a loud crash, glass flying everywhere.
"Sorry, sorry," He sputtered, immediately falling to the ground, looking like he was ready for some kind of punishment.
"Why do you have to apologize? It is Inuyasha's fault." Kagome bent down beside him and began to put some of the broken dishes onto the tray.
"Heh, Kagome, he should have been watching where he was going." Inuyasha scorned.
"How was he suppose to know that you were going to rudely slam open the door?" Kagome glared at him. The man did not really know what to say--in fact he was just gawking at Kagome as though she was insane.
"Isn't that your master?" He whispered to her frantically. "You shouldn't say things like that…you could get in trouble." Kagome resisted a smile. This seemed like a sweet guy.
"Don't worry about it." She frowned at Inuyasha who was now pointedly ignoring her. "Hey, you could help you know."
"Bah, that's slave work." He said and leaned against the wall.
"Fine then." She continued to help the poor slave with the glass shards. "Will you get in trouble for these breaking?" She asked worriedly. The boy looked downcast.
"Yes." He said after a moment.
"Inuyasha, you have to do something." She commanded. "He is going to be punished for your stupid mistake."
"I didn't do anything." Inuyasha replied. "Besides, he is just a slave. I am sure he has gotten in trouble before."
"He is NOT just a slave!" She declared. She looked over at the poor boy that was looking at her with genuine shock. 'I wonder if he has ever stood up for himself?' She thought quietly. "Look, tell who ever that you report to that it was Inuyasha's slave that broke the dishes." She said after a moment.
"Huh?" He looked up at her in confusion. "But you didn't do anything…"
"I am leaving today anyway, so it isn't like I am going to get in trouble. Since Inuyasha is such a JERK, you can just put the blame on me. I don't mind." She said easily. 'He is almost too nice…no backbone.' She thought to herself.
"I can't do that!" He protested. "You seem like such a nice girl. I don't want to get you in trouble."
"Oh, you are kind." She said after a moment. "But I will be gone a long time. Just blame it on me. Promise? I'd feel better if you do." Kagome thought she saw Inuyasha glare a bit at the boy, but she assumed it was just her imagination.
The slave looked distressed by her request. Finally, he gave in and nodded. "Thank you." He picked up the tray and continued down the hallway. "Oh, what is your name?" He asked her suddenly. "Mine is Hojo."
"It's Kagome." She said.
"Kagome…I hope I will see you again." He said honestly, then disappeared down the corridor.
"How sappy can one guy be." Inuyasha muttered, still looking a little darkly at where he last saw the boy.
"Well, he is nicer than some people." Kagome announced. Actually, his docile attitude had gotten a little on her nerves. He was kind but…"What is wrong with you?" She asked Inuyasha, who seemed to be in some internal conflict. He kept looking at where the boy had been, then would side glance at Kagome as though checking she was still there.
"NOTHING!" He shouted, suddenly very defensive. Kagome blinked. He seemed to be very upset over something. "Lets go, Kagome." He walked down the hall, leaving Kagome to run in order to catch up.
"Jeesh." She muttered to herself. They left the mansion and went the opposite way then Kagome had gone earlier. It brought them to a heavily guarded wall with only one gate. Kagome strode forward, but was stopped by a youkai guard.
"What do you think your doing?" It sneered at her and knocked her down with the tip of the strange weapon it carried. Inuyasha stepped beside her and glared at the youkai.
"Heh, she is mine and we are leaving." He said. Kagome picked herself up and nodded.
"Fine then." The guard motioned for a bulky man to lift the gate. "Leave." He gestured out the city. "Hanyou." He drawled it out like it was a curse. "We don't want your kind anyway."
"What did you say?" Inuyasha growled. The guard backed nervously away as Inuyasha cracked his knuckles dangerously.
"Nothing." He said finally. 'Coward.' Kagome thought.
Inuyasha smirked and walked through the gate. "Kagome, you may want to…remove…the…rosary…" He trailed off as Kagome walked through the gate after him, still wearing the necklace. "Damn youkai!" He swore. "He told me it was fixed." Kagome looked down at the necklace in surprise and then pulled it off and handed it to Inuyasha.
"Obviously not." She told him, a little disappointed. Again, another chance wasted. Not that it mattered anymore, since Inuyasha already informed her escape would be useless. She sighed. "Well, where are we heading?"
"North." He announced.
"North?" Kagome asked. "Any reason why?" Inuyasha didn't answer, so she assumed he was just randomly choosing a direction. 'Wait…I came here from the south, so north will get me back to my village!' She realized. 'What luck…or did Inuyasha remember that from before…' Inuyasha looked at the rocky ground of the mountainous region and frowned.
"We'd never get anywhere if you walk." He glowered. "I guess I have to carry you."
"I didn't realize we were in a hurry." She remarked. "Impatient, aren't you? And you don't even know where you are going. You can be such an idiot." She enlightened him.
"I am not an idiot!" He yelled. "I know exactly where I am going."
"Really? You know where the Shikon shards are?" She said sarcastically. 'You don't even know where the one you got is.' She thought to herself, finding humor in her own private joke.
"It doesn't matter." He declared. "Just get on my back." Kagome complied with his request and he began to run along the narrow mountain trail.
'We are covering ground a lot faster than that slave trader did.' She realized. 'Maybe we will get near to my village and then…maybe I can get away…or at least tell Souta I am all right…'
"They left." Sango whispered to Miroku. She continued to walk down the street, trying to appear natural.
"Probably to try and get other shards." Miroku remarked. Sango casually turned into a youkai's private garden, motioning for Miroku to follow. If they were caught here, they would be killed, since by private, youkai's meant private. Miroku followed and once she stopped he place one hand on her butt.
She slapped him across the face. "Hentai, perverted LECHER!" She screeched. "What do you think you are doing!?"
"You are the one who lead me here." He said. "And don't be too loud or the youkai will hear you." Sango simmered in her fury, but refrained from saying anything.
She instead began to dig through a nearby bush and pulled out her boomerang, Miroku's staff, and a small leather bag. "You know perfectly well why we came here. Since we found the shard, we don't have to stay in this slave place any longer." She placed the boomerang behind her back and comfortably tied the bag to her waist. Miroku took the staff and began to chant over the necklaces they wore. The rosary shook for a second and then fell apart, the beads scattering in the nearby vegetation.
"Lets go." He said mildly and ran through the small garden to the youkai's private pond by the edge of the wall. "Ready?" He took Sango's hand, this time not for any reason other then to make sure they stayed together. Sango nodded and they both jumped in and dove toward the wall, searching for the narrow hole in the wall's foundation. From the surface, it was invisible, making it the perfect escape. Sango swam first through the small hole, followed by Miroku. They appeared on the other side, cold and wet.
"Damn shards." Sango shivered. "Why couldn't they all be in one place?" She sighed and got out, wringing out parts of her clothing.
"Then what would be the point in collecting them?" Miroku smiled and climbed out of the pond as well.
Sango's eyes flashed. "I will get them all." She swore. "I will destroy the Shikon no Tama." Her expression turned into one that was a mixture of both anger and grief. Miroku looked thoughtful and allowed his eyes to wander down. "Eh…" She followed his gaze and realized that her wet clothes clung a little too closely to her skin. She took her boomerang and hit him solidly over the head with it. "Pervert!" She hissed and stomped off, wishing she had brought extra clothes with her.
"There is only one way the youkai's leave the mountain, so we should probably start at the end of that trail. Then we can figure out with direction they went and follow them until we catch up." Miroku said calmly, walking behind her, staying out of reach of Sango's fist and boomerang.
"Good idea." She agreed, her anger forgotten. "Lets go." They hurried along, not wanting to risk being seen by a youkai guard.
Inuyasha ran down the mountain, and then through the trees as he reached the mountains base, enjoying the freedom of being gone from that Iferious city. He wasn't sure why he ever came back; everyone in the town treated him with little respect, if any at all. It seemed that the only time he did get youkai's to listen to him was by threatening them, like he did with the guard earlier. 'Heh, I just have to stay tough.' He told himself. Somehow, that reminded him of his momentary weakness earlier, when Kagome and that slave boy were talking. 'Why did I get so angry? It was just some stupid human.' He thought to himself. 'Some stupid human slave that obviously liked Kagome…and she was being nice to him…'
"Inuyasha!" Cried a voice in his ear. "You have been running a long time! Do you need to rest?!"
"Stop shouting! I am right next to you!" He yelled back. "Are you saying I am weak or something? I am doing just fine!"
"Sorry for asking." Kagome said quieter, but her tone carried some resentment. Inuyasha just continued to run, but he had to admit that he was feeling kind of tired. He wasn't use to carrying a person, even if she was light. Inuyasha sighed and then slowed to a stop. "See, I knew you were tired." She said lightly, and jumped off his back.
"Shut up." He glowered. "I am not…It's just a good place to stop." It was a nice little clearing with a small river on one side. He sat down on the ground and pulled out the small box that contained the Shikon shard. 'How am I going to find all of them?' He asked himself. He side glanced at Kagome, who had walked over to the river, and was looking at it strangely. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"
"Its nothing…I thought I felt something." She shook her head and bent down to get a drink.
"My slave has something wrong with her brain." He said sarcastically.
"I do not!" She said defensively, then stomped back over to Inuyasha. She stopped. "There it is again…" She looked back over to the river. Inuyasha stood up, just as the rivers water began to froth.
"What's that?" He took a step closer. A tiny, spider-like creature crawled out from the river. "Heh, what a wimpy creature." Inuyasha laughed. Kagome just stared at it.
"Are you blind?" She asked him.
"What kind of question is that?" He demanded.
"The shard! It has a shard on its forehead!" She cried.
"What!" Inuyasha stared at the tiny creature, but couldn't see anything at all. "Well, I'll kill it anyway." He decided, then blinked as the little creature began grow in sized. "So, it is a little bigger now…" He watched as it continued to grow until it stood at least three times the height of him.
"A lot bigger." Kagome corrected, and ran behind Inuyasha as it began to crawl over to them. "What are you waiting for? Go kill it!" She cried.
"So you think you are so tough with your growing crap!" He yelled at the monster and raised one of his clawed hands. " Sankon Tetsusou." He jumped at it, blinking as his attack just bounced of the creature's hard surface. The creature opened its mouth and a sticky strand of spider web shot at Inuyasha. He ducked and rolled out of the way. "Damn." He swore.
"It sounds like someone is fighting." Miroku said quietly. "Do you think it is Inuyasha?"
"It might be. It's strange that we would catch up to them so fast though." Sango whispered back, walking quietly forward.
"Not really. We took the short cut off the mountain, while Inuyasha took the long way. He shouldn't be too far away. It is good that you can read tracks so well." He complemented her.
"That's what youkai exterminators have to do." She shrugged, but inside was very pleased by the compliment. They pulled up to where they could peer into the clearing. "You are right. It's Inuyasha and he is battling some kind of youkai…but that's a spider youkai. It shouldn't be that big." She said after a moment.
"It might have a shard. That's probably why he's fighting it." Miroku tightened his grip on the staff. "Should we wait to see which one loses and then fight, or fight now?"
"Now is as good as later."
Kagome watched the fight, wondering how Inuyasha was going to defeat such a creature. 'I wish I could help…' She thought to herself, then stopped again. It was that feeling…the same one she got whenever the shard was around. She almost screamed as a giant boomerang came flying from the trees. Inuyasha ducked as the weapon flew over his head and hit the creature directly in its many, vulnerable eyes.
The monster howled in pain and fell to the ground, its many arms clawing at the boomerang stuck in its eyes. Inuyasha took this chance to attack, landing a blow directly on the monster forehead. It didn't do any damage itself, but the shard that had been lodged there fell to the ground. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice and instead leapt backwards, as though preparing for some kind of retaliating blow. The spider youkai began to shrink until it was back into the small size of before. It scrambled around for a second before jumping back into the river. "Eh? What was that all about?" Inuyasha demanded. "First it grows, then it shrinks, and then it runs off." Kagome walked forward and picked the shard off the ground.
"It is because this fell out." She told him.
"The shard!" He cried and reached out to take it, but a voice called out to them.
"Hey, we are the one who defeated the monster, so it is ours!" A young woman cried, walking from the bushes and picking up the fallen boomerang.
A man followed her. "Yes, and you can also give us the one that you have already." Kagome eyes opened in shock as she recognized the guy.
"You are the guy that asked me to bare his child!" She yelled.
"He asked you to what?!" Inuyasha cried.
"I am honored that you remember me." Miroku said. "We don't want to cause any trouble, and if you give us the shards, then you all can live."
"Heh, do you want to fight?" Inuyasha growled. 'These people seem strong.' Kagome realized. It wasn't just because he had that staff or she had the boomerang. She felt some kind of strange power emanating from Miroku's hand, one she did not noticed before, and from the other person, she saw that she had three shards in the bag that she carried on her side. And, even though they were trying to get the shards from them, they did seem like nice people. 'He asked us for the shard, and didn't just start fighting.' Kagome thought to herself.
Without waiting for the two opposing sides to begin to fight, she stepped between them. "Kagome, move out of the way!" Inuyasha demanded.
"We don't have anything against you." Miroku told her, also motioning for her to get out of the way.
"If we kill your master, you will be free anyway, so this is like a double gain for you." The girl, Sango if Kagome remembered correctly, told her.
"I don't want Inuyasha to be killed." She told the two. "I don't mind having Inuyasha as my master and whatever. And you don't seem like the kind of people who go and kill people out of sheer pleasure…so how about…um…" Kagome thought quickly. "How about if you join us?" She was kind of surprised when those words came out of her mouth. She didn't even know these people. But, now that she thought about it, it would make sense for two groups, both looking to complete the Shikon no Tama, to work together.
"What are you asking them?" Inuyasha demanded. "They can't join me! I didn't say they could!"
"Why can't they?" She asked.
"Because--I am the one collecting the shards!"
"Well, fine, then. I will give them this shard. They did earn it."
"I command you not to!" Inuyasha yelled.
"I don't have to listen to you!"
"You do too!"
"Eh...this is a different master and slave relationship." Miroku murmured to Sango, who nodded in agreement. "Why should we join you?" He called back. "We could just take the shards from you."
Kagome looked up from her argument with Inuyasha. "Well, you have three shards and we have two shards. You guys look pretty strong--I am not saying that Inuyasha isn't stronger," She said as Inuyasha glared at her. "But obviously you have been doing this for awhile. How else could you have escaped from Iferious?"
"How do you know how any shards we have?" Sango asked in surprise.
"Well, I'm not blind. I can see them in that bag by your side." Kagome replied, pointing to the bag.
"You can see the shards?" Miroku asked.
"Of course…can't you?" Kagome asked. Everyone shook their heads.
"Someone who can see shards would prove to invaluable in trying to collecting all of them and the bigger pieces later." Miroku whispered to Sango.
"Yes, but I don't trust the youkai she is with." She whispered back then sighed. "This is getting more and more complicated." Inuyasha began to glare at Sango, but instead turned to Kagome.
"You can really see the shards?" Inuyasha asked Kagome in amazement.
"That is what I said." She told him.
"Then we can go find the shards on our own!" He announced. "Your no longer as worthless."
"I was never worthless." She shot back. "And I think they should join us too."
"If we go with you, how do we know Inuyasha won't kill us?" Sango called.
"Because if he does, I won't tell him if I see any of the shards." She announced. "And if you kill Inuyasha, then I won't tell you if when I see any of the shards." She was glad to discover that she had a strange talent for seeing the pink stones. Otherwise, she suspected they would never work together.
"But we have been doing just fine--" Sango began, but then Miroku pulled her aside.
"It has taking us three months to find three shards." He whispered. "With Kagome, we can find them even faster."
"Fine then." Sango sighed. "We will work together for awhile, but if it doesn't work, then Inuyasha and us will fight for the shards." She looked at Inuyasha, still not trusting the hanyou.
"Agreed." Kagome said happily.
"I didn't say they could…" Inuyasha muttered. Kagome looked at him and smiled.
"Hey, you want to get the shards, right? Maybe they know where the other pieces are. If so, then we can collect them even faster." Kagome was feeling pretty proud of her impromptu plan. Now that everyone was under an uncertain alliance, Miroku and Sango sat down on the grass, probably discussing what had just happened. Kagome noticed that they both did not trust Inuyasha at all, which seemed reasonable since most youkai were mean. 'Inuyasha isn't that bad.' She decided. 'He could have not let them join, but he relented.' She and Inuyasha sat down by the river.
"Hey," He began suddenly. "Do you really not mind me for a master?"
"Huh?" Kagome asked, startled by the question. "No, I don't mind." She told him, realizing with a little amazement that her words were true. He nodded.
"I am glad." For some reason, Kagome felt her heart begin to quicken.
"What do you mean by--" She was cut off by Sango, who had approached them.
"Hey…" She began. "Miroku and I were curious…Kagome, are you Inuyasha's concubine?"
"EH?" Kagome yelled, Inuyasha standing up.
"She is not my concubine!!" He cried. Sango looked a little relieved.
"No, Miroku, you were wrong!" She called out, and joined back with her companion, hitting him on the head as she sat down. "You and your perverted ideas."
"Why does everyone assume that!?" Kagome sighed, and Inuyasha walked off. "Where are you going?" She asked
"Keh, I just smell something off in the distance. I am going to check it out." He told her.
"Can I come?" She asked.
"No. It smells like it'd be poisonous for you weaker beings." He laughed, then paused. "Give me the shard." He demanded.
"Why should I?"
"Because I don't want them taking it." He told her.
"I don't think they will. They look trust worthy." 'Besides, I feel like I should hold on the shards.' She told herself quietly. It was true; the shards seemed to be beckoning her.
"You can tell just by looking at them?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes." She glared. "You need to be a little more trusting."
"Well, you need to be less naive." He declared. Miroku and Sango watched their argument with interest.
"How about if we give Kagome one of our shards and she can keep the one that you have? That should make it fair. Then we will still each have at least one, so neither of us will be leaving without the other." Miroku suggested. Inuyasha thought for a minute and agreed.
"I guess use-to-be slaves do have good ideas." He waited for Kagome to take a shard Sango offered. "I'll be back in just a second." He leaped off into the trees. Kagome watched him go, and then paused. 'Wait…what is that?' In the distance, an oily cloud of smoke stained the perfect sky. 'There is a fire…and that is the direction of my village…Souta!' Kagome stood up and began to run for the trees.
"Hey, were are you going?" Sango demanded, jumping in front of her. Kagome pushed past her.
"It's my village!" She cried. "Wait here for Inuyasha!" She pleaded. "Souta…" She whispered. "It can't be my village. It can't be my village. Souta…' She inwardly cried. The dark smoke seemed to mock her. She felt an intense fear overcome her, but ran on, ignoring as the trees scraggly limbs tried to hold her back, clawing at her clothes and hair. It didn't matter. All that she could see was her brother and the smoke.
*******
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile! It may take a little bit for the next chapter--I have to study for finals this week *sigh*. So do you like or dislike? I know that Miroku and Sango kinda of joined Inuyasha and Kagome too quick, but I didn't want to draw it out too long…Anyway, I am attempting to get the Kagome and Inuyasha relationship going--there will be romance! I just take longer. ^_^ Thanks to all the people that have reviewed! Please continue; they motivate me to continue faster.
Please Review!