Chapter 1
"On Eagle's Wings"
The sun shone down through the trees as Kagome Higurashi stretched out on a large rock to rest. Snuggled next to her was Shippou, and not too far away sat Miroku, Sango, and Kirarra- all leaning against a shady tree. The chirping of the birds was so beautiful and melodic, and the sun was so warm, Kagome soon felt her eyes begin to close.
Just as she was about to ease into a gentle, comfortable nap, a gruff voice echoed through her ears, rattling her mind out of it's sleepiness.
"Wench! Don't you fall asleep! We still have work to do!"
Kagome was so startled by the sudden outburst, that she slid off the rock; landing on the ground with a yelp. She looked up to find herself staring at Inuyasha who was now comfortably sitting on her rock!!!
Kagome growled. "SIT BOY!!!" she cried.
Now, being pulled to the ground is painful enough, but when there's a rock underneath you, well...
Inuyasha smashed through the rock and collided with the ground with a loud thump.
Shippou, who had been on the rock as well, let out a loud whimper as he was tossed through the air. He landed in Sango's lap.
Kagome smirked down at Inuyasha, who was laying in the dirt, brushed off her skirt, and walked away from the rather large crater where the hanyou was.
When the subduing spell finally wore off, Inuyasha sprang out of the hole. "What the hell did you do that for, bitch?!?!" he roared.
Kagome whirled around to face him. "You were being inconsiderate, just like always!"
"Incon- what?"
"Inconsiderate! You know, when someone is sleeping and you go up to them and scare them shitless!?"
"Hmph... well, if you didn't need to rest all the time I wouldn't have had to wake you up!"
"If you would just show a little bit of concern once in a while and stop running us ragged day after day, maybe I wouldn't need to rest!"
"NO, you're just too weak! And I DON'T run you ragged day after day!"
"Oh sure! That's why I wear myself to the bone just to find those shards for you, right?"
Inuyasha was about to answer her with yet another remark when he caught a strange tone that lingered in Kagome's voice. The tone was one of sadness... or so it seemed.
Not hearing Inuyasha say anything, Kagome continued. "All day, every day! It's always 'let's go find the shards!' or 'no stopping until we find atleast one!' Next time, it might as well be, 'no stopping until Kagome passes out from exhaustion!"
Inuyasha looked at the ground. "If you felt that way about looking for the shards, then why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Because YOU would tell me how weak I am, or how I slow you down, or something like that!"
The hanyou grunted and turned his back to her so she would see she had effected him so deeply as she had. Her words stung him, and Inuyasha could not deny what she had said. He WOULD have told her those things, he knew it. And that was something he was not proud of.
However, not wanting to show defeat, he crossed his arms and picked up Kagome's bike; slinging it over his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" Kagome asked.
"We're leaving." Was all he said. "You all had your rest. It's time for me to 'run you all ragged' some more!"
Kagome gasped quietly, hearing what he had said. She stood there a moment longer, watching her friends start to follow Inuyasha. 'I shouldn't have yelled at him like that.' She thought to herself. 'I made it seem worse than it really is... true, Inuyasha does wear me out, but I don't mind, because I'm doing a favor for him...'
Suddenly Sango's voice called out to her. "Hey Kagome we're leaving!"
The mortal sighed and nodded. "I'm coming!" She then fell in step with Sango as Shippou hopped onto her shoulder. She was determined to apologize to Inuyasha when they stopped for the night.
After the sun had set, and Shippou's complaints of being tired was too much for them to bear, everyone found a comfy spot in the woods to set up camp for the night. A fire was soon started, and Miroku had gone to work cooking their dinner.
Kagome wrinkled her nose at the thought of what kind of animal they were going to be eating, and used that as an excuse to go find Inuyasha and apologize. After telling Sango where she was going, she headed off in the direction that Inuyasha had gone.
The woods were darker than she expected, and Kagome found herself wishing she had stayed back at the campsite. There was no telling what was lurking in the shadows, and she knew better than to scream for Inuyasha. Sure, he would hear her, but so would other demons who would just love to have her for dinner.
Kagome glanced up into the trees as she walked along, hoping to spot the hanyou. He was usually found moping up on a branch of a tall tree, so Kagome made sure she paid extra special attention.
Just when she was about to give up and turn around, she heard a little rustling coming from a branch up in a tree. Kagome sighed with relief, and called up into the tree. "Hey Inuyasha!"
Suddenly, a loud roar rang from up in the tree. The mortal gasped and covered her mouth, backing away slightly. That definitly didn't sound like Inuyasha...
Kagome seemed frozen in fear as two glittering eyes blinked down at her a moment later. With a slight scratching noise, the owner of the eyes climbed down the trunk of the tree into the moonlight. Kagome gasped. There, digging its claws into the tree trunk was a large neko(cat)-youkai. It resembled a huge mountain lion, with it's large teeth and golden coat.
The neko-youkai roared again, snapping Kagome out of her trance. With a nervous smile, she backed away from the beast slowly. "N-N-Niiice kitty..." she murmured. "Pleeeease don't eat me..."
The neko-youkai leapt down from the tree with outstretched claws. Kagome shrieked and dove away from the predator. The youkai slammed into a tree and stood still for a moment, shaking it's head to clear it's vision from the hard collision.
Kagome saw her chance, and took off down the path, running as fast as she could. The neko-youkai roared and bounded after her. Tears of fright stung Kagome's eyes, and she wiped them roughly so she could see where she was going. The path ahead was pitch dark, and she had no clue where she was going.
A sudden painful roar from the neko-youkai startled her. It sounded like something much bigger and more dangerous had killed her enemy- and now it was coming after her! Kagome pumped her arms faster at that thought, and silently begged her legs to go faster.
She could hear rapid footsteps approaching from behind, and started to panic. In her alarm, she tripped on a root, and tumbled off the path, sliding down a steep grassy hill. She flailed her arms out to catch herself, but it was no use- the grass was too slippery, and there was nothing around to grab anyway.
Kagome hit the bottom of what seemed like a small ledge. Down below her was the ground- about 200 feet below her, that is. She laid there for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Hearing the footsteps approaching still, she leapt to her feet.
Suddenly, the ledge crumbled underneath Kagome's weight, and she started to fall to her death when something grabbed her arm. The mortal looked up to find herself staring into the eyes of none other than Inuyasha himself!
The hanyou was panting and there was a pained but relieved look on his face as he tightened his grip on Kagome's arm. "Hold on, Kagome!" he groaned, pulling her up to him.
As soon as Kagome was pulled away from the cliff to safety, Inuyasha started to barrage her with an angry tirade.
"What the hell where you thinking, you baka wench! You could have gotten yourself killed! What if I wasn't able to save you, huh?! What would have happened then?! You would have been eaten by that neko-youkai bastard, or fallen to your death, that's what!"
Kagome shivered uncontrollably, shooken up from her near-death experience. Tears still fell from her eyes.
Inuyasha softened a little when he saw Kagome so scared. With a sigh, he knelt down to her and gave her a hug. "It's ok now, Kagome..." he murmured. "I'm sorry I yelled at you... calm down..."
Kagome snuggled herself into his warm and safe embrace untill she felt herself relax. She stopped shaking and her breathing returned to normal. Inuyasha stayed there, however, taking comfort in being so close to Kagome.
When he was sure she was alright, he moved away from her gently and rose to his feet. "Time to go." He said. "We should be heading back now, before the others get too worried about us."
Kagome could only nod her head and climbed onto Inuyasha's back. The hanyou took off through the trees, heading back towards the campsite. Kagome closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling the wind whip her hair around. She wished she could stay like that forever and imagined herself soaring through the sky on eagle's wings.
The sun shone down through the trees as Kagome Higurashi stretched out on a large rock to rest. Snuggled next to her was Shippou, and not too far away sat Miroku, Sango, and Kirarra- all leaning against a shady tree. The chirping of the birds was so beautiful and melodic, and the sun was so warm, Kagome soon felt her eyes begin to close.
Just as she was about to ease into a gentle, comfortable nap, a gruff voice echoed through her ears, rattling her mind out of it's sleepiness.
"Wench! Don't you fall asleep! We still have work to do!"
Kagome was so startled by the sudden outburst, that she slid off the rock; landing on the ground with a yelp. She looked up to find herself staring at Inuyasha who was now comfortably sitting on her rock!!!
Kagome growled. "SIT BOY!!!" she cried.
Now, being pulled to the ground is painful enough, but when there's a rock underneath you, well...
Inuyasha smashed through the rock and collided with the ground with a loud thump.
Shippou, who had been on the rock as well, let out a loud whimper as he was tossed through the air. He landed in Sango's lap.
Kagome smirked down at Inuyasha, who was laying in the dirt, brushed off her skirt, and walked away from the rather large crater where the hanyou was.
When the subduing spell finally wore off, Inuyasha sprang out of the hole. "What the hell did you do that for, bitch?!?!" he roared.
Kagome whirled around to face him. "You were being inconsiderate, just like always!"
"Incon- what?"
"Inconsiderate! You know, when someone is sleeping and you go up to them and scare them shitless!?"
"Hmph... well, if you didn't need to rest all the time I wouldn't have had to wake you up!"
"If you would just show a little bit of concern once in a while and stop running us ragged day after day, maybe I wouldn't need to rest!"
"NO, you're just too weak! And I DON'T run you ragged day after day!"
"Oh sure! That's why I wear myself to the bone just to find those shards for you, right?"
Inuyasha was about to answer her with yet another remark when he caught a strange tone that lingered in Kagome's voice. The tone was one of sadness... or so it seemed.
Not hearing Inuyasha say anything, Kagome continued. "All day, every day! It's always 'let's go find the shards!' or 'no stopping until we find atleast one!' Next time, it might as well be, 'no stopping until Kagome passes out from exhaustion!"
Inuyasha looked at the ground. "If you felt that way about looking for the shards, then why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Because YOU would tell me how weak I am, or how I slow you down, or something like that!"
The hanyou grunted and turned his back to her so she would see she had effected him so deeply as she had. Her words stung him, and Inuyasha could not deny what she had said. He WOULD have told her those things, he knew it. And that was something he was not proud of.
However, not wanting to show defeat, he crossed his arms and picked up Kagome's bike; slinging it over his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" Kagome asked.
"We're leaving." Was all he said. "You all had your rest. It's time for me to 'run you all ragged' some more!"
Kagome gasped quietly, hearing what he had said. She stood there a moment longer, watching her friends start to follow Inuyasha. 'I shouldn't have yelled at him like that.' She thought to herself. 'I made it seem worse than it really is... true, Inuyasha does wear me out, but I don't mind, because I'm doing a favor for him...'
Suddenly Sango's voice called out to her. "Hey Kagome we're leaving!"
The mortal sighed and nodded. "I'm coming!" She then fell in step with Sango as Shippou hopped onto her shoulder. She was determined to apologize to Inuyasha when they stopped for the night.
After the sun had set, and Shippou's complaints of being tired was too much for them to bear, everyone found a comfy spot in the woods to set up camp for the night. A fire was soon started, and Miroku had gone to work cooking their dinner.
Kagome wrinkled her nose at the thought of what kind of animal they were going to be eating, and used that as an excuse to go find Inuyasha and apologize. After telling Sango where she was going, she headed off in the direction that Inuyasha had gone.
The woods were darker than she expected, and Kagome found herself wishing she had stayed back at the campsite. There was no telling what was lurking in the shadows, and she knew better than to scream for Inuyasha. Sure, he would hear her, but so would other demons who would just love to have her for dinner.
Kagome glanced up into the trees as she walked along, hoping to spot the hanyou. He was usually found moping up on a branch of a tall tree, so Kagome made sure she paid extra special attention.
Just when she was about to give up and turn around, she heard a little rustling coming from a branch up in a tree. Kagome sighed with relief, and called up into the tree. "Hey Inuyasha!"
Suddenly, a loud roar rang from up in the tree. The mortal gasped and covered her mouth, backing away slightly. That definitly didn't sound like Inuyasha...
Kagome seemed frozen in fear as two glittering eyes blinked down at her a moment later. With a slight scratching noise, the owner of the eyes climbed down the trunk of the tree into the moonlight. Kagome gasped. There, digging its claws into the tree trunk was a large neko(cat)-youkai. It resembled a huge mountain lion, with it's large teeth and golden coat.
The neko-youkai roared again, snapping Kagome out of her trance. With a nervous smile, she backed away from the beast slowly. "N-N-Niiice kitty..." she murmured. "Pleeeease don't eat me..."
The neko-youkai leapt down from the tree with outstretched claws. Kagome shrieked and dove away from the predator. The youkai slammed into a tree and stood still for a moment, shaking it's head to clear it's vision from the hard collision.
Kagome saw her chance, and took off down the path, running as fast as she could. The neko-youkai roared and bounded after her. Tears of fright stung Kagome's eyes, and she wiped them roughly so she could see where she was going. The path ahead was pitch dark, and she had no clue where she was going.
A sudden painful roar from the neko-youkai startled her. It sounded like something much bigger and more dangerous had killed her enemy- and now it was coming after her! Kagome pumped her arms faster at that thought, and silently begged her legs to go faster.
She could hear rapid footsteps approaching from behind, and started to panic. In her alarm, she tripped on a root, and tumbled off the path, sliding down a steep grassy hill. She flailed her arms out to catch herself, but it was no use- the grass was too slippery, and there was nothing around to grab anyway.
Kagome hit the bottom of what seemed like a small ledge. Down below her was the ground- about 200 feet below her, that is. She laid there for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Hearing the footsteps approaching still, she leapt to her feet.
Suddenly, the ledge crumbled underneath Kagome's weight, and she started to fall to her death when something grabbed her arm. The mortal looked up to find herself staring into the eyes of none other than Inuyasha himself!
The hanyou was panting and there was a pained but relieved look on his face as he tightened his grip on Kagome's arm. "Hold on, Kagome!" he groaned, pulling her up to him.
As soon as Kagome was pulled away from the cliff to safety, Inuyasha started to barrage her with an angry tirade.
"What the hell where you thinking, you baka wench! You could have gotten yourself killed! What if I wasn't able to save you, huh?! What would have happened then?! You would have been eaten by that neko-youkai bastard, or fallen to your death, that's what!"
Kagome shivered uncontrollably, shooken up from her near-death experience. Tears still fell from her eyes.
Inuyasha softened a little when he saw Kagome so scared. With a sigh, he knelt down to her and gave her a hug. "It's ok now, Kagome..." he murmured. "I'm sorry I yelled at you... calm down..."
Kagome snuggled herself into his warm and safe embrace untill she felt herself relax. She stopped shaking and her breathing returned to normal. Inuyasha stayed there, however, taking comfort in being so close to Kagome.
When he was sure she was alright, he moved away from her gently and rose to his feet. "Time to go." He said. "We should be heading back now, before the others get too worried about us."
Kagome could only nod her head and climbed onto Inuyasha's back. The hanyou took off through the trees, heading back towards the campsite. Kagome closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling the wind whip her hair around. She wished she could stay like that forever and imagined herself soaring through the sky on eagle's wings.