A/N:  Chapter 2, YAY!  Sweet waff begins and adventure abounds!  If you have not read From the Shadows, then I recommend you do before reading this fic.  There will be many references to events from the prequel to this story.  I have rated this PG-13, but may raise the rating due to language. Thank you to everyone who reviewed!!!  And Please READ and REVIEW!!!

Disclaimer:  I do not own Inu Yasha, he is strictly the property of Kagome and Rumiko-sama!

Recap:

Her eyes grew wide at Inu Yasha's words.  'He needs me, just like I need him.'  A small smile curved her lips, "You're my friend too, Inu Yasha.  Of course I'll be back."  She resisted the urge to reach out to him.  Instead she hefted her large yellow pack over her shoulder and climbed onto the edge of the Bone-Eater's Well, giving him one last frail smile before jumping in.

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Chapter 2:  Destiny and Fate

Inu Yasha leaped from the well to land silently on the floor of the well house.  His gold amber eyes took only a second to adjust to the light outside as he opened the doors to the bright rays of the afternoon sun.  He jumped up into the branches of the Go Shinboku Tree, perching himself on his favorite branch.  He knew Kagome wasn't home yet.  Her scent was hours old.  Closing his eyes he rested his back against the smooth bark of the tree, allowing her gentle scent to lure him into a light sleep.

Mrs. Higurashi had been picking up Kagome's dirty laundry when she heard the soft rustle of the leaves of the God Tree.  Glancing outside her daughter's window, a smile graced her lips as she spied the hanyou slumbering.  She stifled a giggle as his ears twitched back and forth, flickering occasionally at a pesky fly.  Looking down, her eye caught site of the long scratches on the windowsill.  Evidence to the many times the dog demon had visited Kagome in this time.  It had been several months since her daughter had fallen into the sacred well and discovered her destiny.  At least that was how Mrs. Higurashi had seen it.  That destiny had chosen her daughter to be the reincarnation of an ancient priestess, and destiny, not Kagome, had shattered the Shikon no Tama, scattering its broken shards across ancient Japan. 

Her fingers slid caressingly over the gouged wood, her smile deepening.  "Destiny may have brought her to feudal Japan, but Fate brought Inu Yasha to my Kagome." She whispered aloud.  Fate, that which could never be changed.  Destinies were meant to be changed, but fate was a bound path, set to never be broken.  And fate had brought the inu hanyou into her daughter's life to protect her and keep her safe on her dangerous adventure to recover all the pieces of the jewel and rid the ancient world of the evil demon Naraku.  Fate had brought the two hearts together in a bond of friendship and newly discovered love.  Her eyes moistened at this thought.  "My baby is growing up."  With a sigh she turned from the window and continued cleaning her daughter's room then left, closing the door behind her.

Inu Yasha had stirred when he heard movement from inside Kagome's bedroom.  Sniffing lightly, the older scent of the schoolgirl's mother filled his nostrils.  It was not unlike Kagome's scent, sweet honey, herbs, and a delicate musky aroma that was only Mrs. Higurashi's.  Eyes still closed, his ears swiveled catching her barely audible words.  'Huh?  What's she talking about?' he wondered at the older woman's words.  He cracked an eye, watching Kagome's mother as she fingered the claw marks he'd made on the window ledge.  Mrs. Higurashi's eyes shimmered as she stood in reflective thought.  Fearing his Kagome's mother was sad or in pain, he sniffed the air again.  His canine senses did not pick up the distinct odor of pain or depression.  Surprisingly, the woman seemed calm, almost at peace.  He closed his eye, her words floating in his thoughts as he slipped back into slumber.

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It had been several decades since that fateful decision had been made.  Kirin watched from her realm outside human reach, her kind eyes focused on the sleeping hanyou reflected in a sacred pool.  The goddess would have never thought destiny and fate would have been so cruel and yet so kind to this creature of spited blood.  But it had.  She herself had taken part in allowing his first love to die, that was fate.  On the other hand, destiny had brought him a new love.  The soul of the first had lay in slumber in the lucid pool between worlds and time until one who was strong enough was born to endure the embittered soul that was once good. 

Blowing gently into the enchanted water, ripples formed, spreading across the surface to distort the hanyou's image.  As the water calmed, a new image formed.  The girl sat in a classroom filled with other students.  Her raven black hair circled around her shoulder like an onyx waterfall, shimmering with its own light.  A face of worry and consternation marred her delicate features.  The young miko looked quite distressed.  Kirin pulled a creamy white lotus blossom to her, plucking it from the water.  The glass like surface of the pool did not tremble or break as the bloom broke free of its confines.  The action did not disturb the image of the girl.  The goddess plucked a few petals off the sweet smelling flower, dropping them onto the image.  As before, the image did not waver, but held calm as though nothing stirred it.  As the creamy petals sank slowly beneath the water's surface, a voice rose up from the depths.  The girl's thoughts drifted up to Kirin on a non-existent breeze, swirling as if caught in a slow whirlwind. 

"Oh, no!  I can't believe I didn't study more!"  Kagome's inner voice trembled slightly as she scrunched up her face.  "But, finding the jewel shards and defeating Naraku is more important than studying for a math test."  She paused the thin yellow pencil she held, her blue gray eyes becoming distant.  The goddess moved closer to the water's edge, studying the girl's features carefully.  Within those expressive eyes Kirin saw sadness, regret, determination, fear, and love. 

"This reincarnate is special," her soft words spoke to the woodland spirits who watched from afar.  "Such bravery and heart.  She is pure and yet knows the evils of all.  She is stronger than the one before her.  Such pureness is rare.  It is good that the other's love was denied, for this girl of such inner beauty and strength, she is who fate is calling to.  She will be the hanyou's future."  Once again the water rippled and the image of the girl faded.  With a contented smile on her face, Kirin turned and walked away.  Fate had already claimed its path for the two, it was their destinies that needed guidance.

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Kagome looked down at the paper before her, her mind fretting over the math questions anxiously.  'Oh, no!  I can't believe I didn't study more!'  She berated nervously.  'But, finding the jewel shards and defeating Naraku is more important than studying for a math test.'  This rationality was new to her, 'Huh?  Wow, that was different.'  As she thought about what her inner mind was trying to tell her, Kagome let her mind wander from her exam.  Her pencil stilled, and she suddenly shuddered.  A warmth passed through her and she suddenly became aware that someone was watching her.  Before she could look up to find the intruder, the feeling passed, leaving behind a tingling emptiness in its wake making her slightly dizzy.

Kagome gasped and her senses reeled.  Reaching up, she began rubbing her temples, trying desperately to abate the strange feeling.  'What's going on?'  Panic set in as she realized it was her miko powers detecting something not human.  She glanced around her quickly, searching for the creature that had caused her distress to find nothing.  Several seconds passed and the sensation finally abated.  Allowing herself to relax, Kagome pushed the experience aside and once again concentrated on her test.

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"What's wrong, Kagome?"  Inu Yasha watched the young miko from his seat on her bed.  She had returned from school an hour ago, a look of worry and confusion marring her beautiful face.  The hanyou smelled her distress and wanted to know what had upset her.

"I-I don't really know."  Kagome smiled at him as she went about packing her bag for their return to the Sengoku Jidai.  Noting the concern in his amber gold eyes, she sighed.  'Maybe I should tell him.' She thought.  Kagome had thought about the strange feeling she had felt during school her entire way home.  At first it had frightened her, but it passed quickly, and she somehow knew that what ever it was had gone.  The more she thought about it, the more she realized that the warmth she felt had not been a bad feeling.  In fact, it was almost comforting.  Her miko powers told her there was no threat from the presence watching her.

"Kagome?"  Inu Yasha stood up and walked over to her.  He began to reach out his hand, but stilled it halfway to the girl's form, dropping it down to his side again.  She looked to be in deep thought, and he watched the play of emotions cross her features.

Setting down the clothes she was about it put in her pack, Kagome sat down in her desk chair and looked up at the inu youkai.  "Well, during school today I felt something."  She chewed her lower lip as she sought the words to describe what she had sensed.

"What do you mean you felt something?" Inu Yasha stepped closer to her, looking down at her worrying face.  "I was taking my test and I felt someone watching me.  But I didn't just feel it, my miko powers felt it."  Concern for her coiled itself inside him, reflecting in his golden orbs.

"I was being watched.  I didn't see anyone, but I felt them."  Again she picked up the pile of clothes stuffing them into the yellow pack.

"Someone was watching you?!"  Inu Yasha exclaimed, growling.  He knew that Houjo idiot liked Kagome, maybe the boy was eyeing her.  At this thought, he growled louder, the sound emanating from deep in his throat.

"Inu Yasha!  It wasn't like that!"  She glared at him, misunderstanding his anger.  "Whatever it was, sorta disappeared.  I wasn't in any danger I don't think."

As the words left her mouth, the hanyou's expression changed.  'Danger?!' his mind screamed at him.  'Kagome was in danger?'  His mind raced to all sorts of conclusions.  He knew there were demons in this time.  The thought of even being in her own time was a danger to her upset Inu Yasha.  "What do mean danger, Kagome?"  He barked at her, grabbing her by the shoulders.

Kagome jumped as he gripped her upper arms tightly, his claws lightly pressing into her skin through her shirt fabric.  She instinctively jerked, her eyes flashing anger.  "I said I wasn't in danger, baka!  I just felt something there.  I didn't sense any danger, just someone watching me, but it was like they were far away.  I can't explain it.  But I know they weren't trying to hurt me!"  Kagome snapped at him.

Inu Yasha released his hold on her.  "Hurry it up!  We're going back, now!"  Turning from the girl, he walked over to her window, ears twitching, eyes alert focusing on the grounds outside.  Remembering how the Noh mask had come after the Shikon shards Kagome had brought to her time, Inu Yasha rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.  Nothing was going to hurt his Kagome.

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"Someone was watching you, Kagome-chan?"  Shippou's green eyes were wide with worry as he cuddled in the warm embrace of the young miko.

"It was weird.  I felt them, but somehow I knew they were far away.  And I knew they wouldn't hurt me."  The girl tried to explain to her friends sitting around her.

"Your miko powers are developing more rapidly, Kagome.  Perhaps what you felt was something from this time?"  Kaede speculated, her brows furrowed in deep thought.  "Describe this feeling again?"  She asked after a moment.

"Well, I was sitting in class when I just felt like someone was watching me.  At first it was creepy, but then it felt tingly and warm.  I think I got a little dizzy from it, too, but then it went away."

Inu Yasha listened from the doorway.  He was leaning against the wall resting his weight on his shoulder, his arms crossed over his chest, hands tucked into the sleeves of his haori.  He had heard Kagome recount the tale several times since she had first told him about it in her time, but this was the first time she had mentioned feeling dizzy from the experience.  Was something in her time trying to get to her?  The hanyou wondered for the hundredth time about her safety in the future, and he had to force down the growl he felt rising in him.

"I don't believe you were in danger, Kagome.  You would have sensed the darkness of the aura if that were the purpose of this presence.  But I do think there is reason to be more cautious.  We know not what tricks or the full extent of Naraku's power.  If he can somehow see you in your own time, this could be very bad."

"You think it was Naraku, Kaede-baachan?"  Sango asked, surprised that the evil hanyou could possibly reach as far into the future as this Tokyo where Kagome was from.

Everyone sat in contemplative silence for a moment while they thought of the current situation, if it could indeed be called a situation.

"It only happened once.  I was home for three whole days and nothing else happened.  Maybe it was just a fluke."  Kagome broke the silence in the hut.

"A…fluke?" Miroku asked, feeling the strange word on his tongue.

"A once in life thing sort of."  Kagome explained the new word to the monk.

"Even so, I think you should be more careful and stay close to the others.  Do not wonder around the village unattended.  Though this happened in your era, it is better to be safe than sorry."

The young miko sighed in frustration.  She truly felt everyone was over reacting.  If she were in danger she was sure she would have detected it.  Turning to Miroku and Sango she asked, "Have their been any more rumors of Naraku?"  She was desperate to change the subject.

"Since our last battle with him, he's disappeared again.  Though there have been sightings of his insects."  The taijiya picked up her large bone boomerang and began rubbing it gingerly with a rag. 

"We'll leave at dawn.  It's getting too dark to travel now."  Inu Yasha pushed himself away from the wall and turned to glance out one of the windows.  The sky was now a blazing orange streaked with azure.  Scanning the darkening sea, he noted the absence of the moon.  Tonight was his weakest night of the month, when his demon blood receded and he was human.  The night when he couldn't protect his Kagome.

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Quickly finishing his meal, Inu Yasha hastily left the hut, avoiding eye contact with the rest of the group.  They all knew what night this was, and gave him his space.  He was more temperamental on this night than any other.  As he exited the hut, Kagome walked out after him.  She did not want him to be alone.  She feared for him and wanted to protect the man she loved when he so vulnerable.

"Go back, Kagome."  Inu Yasha growled as he sat high in the branch of the Go Shinboku Tree.  There was still maybe half an hour of sunlight left.  He didn't want her around to see him change.

"I'm staying here, with you, Inu Yasha.  I won't leave you."  Her voice was soft as she spoke.

"Feh!  I don't need you here.  You need to be with the others where they can protect you."  The hanyou was full of self-loathing.  It was his job to keep her safe, but tonight he had to rely on others to do it for him. 

His ears perked forward as he heard soft grunts come from the miko.  Looking down, he saw her climbing up to him, her body, though not as limber and agile as his, made the short climb with surprising ease.  She straddled the branch, bracing her hands on each side of it in front of her for support.  "I want to be with you, and besides, I brought my bow and arrows." 

He watched her, his fading golden eyes lost in her blue-gray ones.  Once brilliant yellow eyes were now flecked with deepest blue before changing color completely.  Inu Yasha cursed his fading senses.  Her features became less visible in the dimming light.  "Fine, do what you want, but if you fall, I won't catch you!"  he muttered, turning to watch the setting sun.

Kagome laughed softly, the tinkling sound muffled by his dulling senses.  As if to test him, she tried to scoot closer, losing her balance and slipping to one side.  Before she could blink, Inu Yasha grabbed her, holding her securely by the shoulders.  Even in his human form, the hanyou still had amazing strength and agility, though it did not match that of his normal half demon self.  "You just have to push me, don't you, Kagome?"  He asked with a smirk.

Smiling, Kagome reached up tentatively, grasping hold of his shoulder, she gulped nervously.  She knew he would never let her fall, but the extra stability never hurt.  "I knew you'd catch me."  She stared at him, watching as his ears slowly receded to normal human ears, his silvery-white hair shaded ebony black, and his claws and fangs retracted.

The sun had finally sunk below the horizon and for all appearances sake, her hanyou was now human.  Once again she heard a "feh" from him before his hands slowly slid down her shoulders to her arms.  Inu Yasha pulled her forward, turning her around so her back nestled against his chest.  She shifted her bow and arrows so they wouldn't poke him just as he pulled her closer to him, one arm snaking around her waist to hold her tightly, possessively.

"So, you're going to be my protector tonight, huh?"  A deep throated growl rumbled through her as he spoke.  He was indignant at the idea, and the sarcasm dripped from his voice.  Yet, he held her with such tenderness, goosebumps prickled her skin in delicious delight.

"I thought I would repay the favor, that's all."  Kagome knew his pride wouldn't allow such a thing, but tonight he was more than vulnerable.  She had learned long ago that his human half was less abrasive than his youkai one.  Though she savored this gentler side, she would not change her hanyou for anything.  She loved Inu Yasha as he was.  With his cute, fuzzy ears that twitched at every sound, his claws that sent shivers down her spine whenever he would accidentally graze her with one, his fangs that glistened whenever he flashed her one of his rare smiles, his waist length white hair that she loved to run her fingers through, and his eyes especially.  His beautiful, expressive gold eyes that bore into her soul and touched her heart.  She loved all of him – demon and human side – and everything about him, well, everything except his temper and grumpy attitude.  But Kagome knew his tough guy act was just that, an act to protect his fragile heart that had been broken so many times in the past.

"You don't owe me any favors, Kagome."  Inu Yasha whispered in her ear.  His breath was warm on her cool skin, and she shivered from its caress.  He wrapped his other arm around her chest, letting the oversized sleeves of his haori act as a blanket.  "Cold?"  The simple question was filled with tenderness.

Kagome only snuggled into his embrace, resting her own hands on his.  His fingers instinctively curled around hers, reflecting a bond that was felt deep within both the teens, but never spoken.  Kagome yawned, her head falling back against his shoulder.  Her thoughts lingered on his embrace as she drifted off to sleep.  Hearing her even breathes, he nuzzled her hair, taking in her scent.  Even without his acute canine senses, he could still smell the Strawberry shampoo Kagome used and just a faint trace of her own scent.  He rested his chin on top of her head, allowing the night sounds and her warmth to embrace him as he watched over her, keeping his miko safe even on this dark night.

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A/N:  I think I got a cavity writing that last part!  It was just sooo sweet!  I hope this is fluffy enough for all of you!  Since From the Shadows, Kagome and Inu Yasha's relationship has developed a little more, and you will get fillers on these developments, I promise.  The time period for this is after the battle at Mt. Harikei (Spelling?) when Naraku takes Kouga's shards, detaches Hakodoshi, and once again disappears.  So there will be spoilers in here!  Forgot to mention that earlier.

It was brought to my attention that the part where Kagome misunderstands Inu Yasha's growling while still in her time near the middle of the chapter is kind of confusing…Here's the explanation…Inu Yasha is growling because he is thinking about Houjo, and his over jealous, over protective nature kicks in.  Kagome thinks he is growling because he thinks she is in danger.  Not until she actually says the word danger does the thought enter poor Inu-chan's mind!  I hope none of you were confused by that part, but if you were, I hope this clears it up!  Next chapter soon!

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!  I love hearing from all of you, and it really does encourage the next chapter!!!