Hiya! This is the second chapter of Demon Star!

Note: Once again, thank you Sango-Hanyou for the correction! And it's good to have a critic^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the other characters or anything else that had to do with the story. But it would be cool if I did! hehe

******

"Stop worrying so much Kagome..."
"But I can't help it...you know what happened last time..."
"Don't worry Kagome, the worst out there are a couple of demons. Besides, you're archery isn't all that bad anymore and we have Sango and Kirara here too..."
"What about me?" asked Miroku.
"Well..."
"AND WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN???"
"Nothin..."
"Stop arguing!" yelled Kagome.
"Who's arguing?"
"SIT!"

Inuyasha fell to the ground creating a large indentation in the earth.

"We need to get to a village...didn't you say there was one nearby Miroku?"
"Yes, from what I've heard, there's a hidden village not to far from here..."
"What do you mean 'hidden'? How are we supposed to find it if it's hidden????" yelled Inuyasha, smacking Miroku upside the head.
"I thought you of all people would know! You're gonna sniff 'em out."
"And if I refuse?" he said, glaring.
"SIT!"
"That."
"Besides, they might know something about the Demon Star. It's not far from the village where Sango lived..."
"Then HOW IS THAT CLOSE? DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK TO GET THERE??!?!?!?!?!"
"Oh, come on, you're exaggerating. It only took a little less than a day...and besides, this will be a lot closer," said Kagome tracing a path on an old yell0wing piece of paper, "See, we only have to follow this river and then we get to here! ...at least...I think that's a river...maybe a road..."
"What's...where did you get a map??"
"I've had it for a while actually..."
"Great! Anything ELSE you forgot to mention?"

Kagome thought to herself. Her eyes widened.

"I think I remember the story now....or...most of it...."

The group fell to the ground.

"Come, we need to get to the village as soon as possible. The sun will be setting soon," said Miroku, looking at the sky.
"How do you know there're nice people at the village?" asked Shippo.
"Well, we'll just have to find out for ourselves..." said Inuyasha, "you can stay behind if you feel like it, don't expect me to keep watching you."
"I don't need watching!" yelled Shippo, blowing a raspberry at Inuyasha.

The group left for the city in silence. Well.....for the most part. Shippo continued to grumble about Inuyasha.

"He's always treating me like a kid..."
"Well...you are a kid," Sango pointed out.
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
"Hey! Myouga! Make yourself useful. Do YOU know anything about the Demon Star?"
"Thank you for considering me Master Inuyasha. From what I've heard, the Demon Star is actually PART of the Shikon Jewel. It's also been called the Heart of Evil. When the Shikon Jewel was shattered, the pieces were scattered. The middle, or the heart, of the jewel was in the shape of a star and had been separated from the rest of the jewel years before. As you can tell from it's second name, it was considered to be the reason that the Shikon Jewel was evil. A person had to have a strong will and pure spirit to keep the evil trapped inside. Kikyo was that person. She believed that she could lock the evil inside the star and then get rid of it forever by disposing of the star. For a while, the evil was suppressed by her magic and the star remained dormant. At least that's what we believed. It was soon forgotten and not long after, you, Master Inuyasha, was shot with the magic arrow that sealed you to the tree."
"A star? Even I don't remember anything about a star..." said Sango.
"Is that so...so how do we know this is real? How do we know we're not just falling into some trap?" asked Inuyasha.
"How could you have so little faith in Lady Kaede?" asked Myouga.

Kirara followed slowly behind them as they walked. She sniffed the air and stopped, growling and hissing at a dense forest nearby.

"What is it, Kirara?" asked Sango turning around.

She looked in the direction Kirara was looking, but saw nothing. Just to be safe, she grasped the string of her boomerang and threw it at the trees. Nothing.

"Don't be such a silly kitty, Kirara, come on! Before we get left behind!"

Sango turned and ran to catch up with the others. Kirara glared at the bushes and hissed warningly, then turned to the others.

******

"My lady, I spyed a small group of strangers very close to here."
"Who were they?" asked a misty sort of voice from the darkness.
"I didn't recognize them all. But I know that one was definitely the half-demon Inuyasha."
"Really...is that so...well, we will deal with him soon enough."

A cold evil laughter filled the air. The demon flinched and shivered. It gulped, then continued with it's report.

"...I've..also seen...the priestess Kikyo..."
"What? NO...she is dead...she died fifty years ago...even if she did come back...she wasn't truly alive...you lie...Kikyo has not returned."
"I...do not lie..."
"True...you have shown to be quite trustworthy...but still, it must not be the true Kikyo but Kikyo reincarnated. That is the only explanation."
"I can't believe you of all people wouldn't know that!" said another voice from the darkness.

******

"Inuyasha...couldn't we sail to the town instead of walking?" asked Shippo.
"Look, if you're too tired, we'll just leave you here. Besides, the river flows the other way."
"Inuyasha! Come on, let's take a break. We're nearly there anyway and the sun won't be going down for a while," said Kagome.
"Myew myew."
"Hello, Kirara!"

Kagome searched through her bag until she found a small packet. She opened it to reveal...

"My cat at home always liked to eat beef jerkey. Maybe Kirara will like it too!" she said smiling.

She held a strip out to Kirara who sniffed it, then grabbed it and started ripping shreds off and chewing. Everyone searched through the bag and found a small snack to refuel them.

After the short refreshing break, they set off again as Inuyasha insisted that they continue. They followed the river through a small forest. Sango and Kagome were deep in conversation while Inuyasha and Miroku led the way. Shippo rode Kirara with Myouga. Along the way he fell asleep. As the sky went from light blue to orange and pink, the group finally arrived at the village deep in the woods. It was surrounded by a sturdy wooden fence and had several entrances lightly guarded. The guards didn't seem to take notice as they approached. They stepped up to the gate and were greeted by an old woman.

"Greetings travelers. What brings you to our village?" she asked.
"Hello, umm...we'd like to stay for the night as we have journeyed far..."
"Of course! The inn is over there!" she said pointing to a small house.
"We'd also like to ask you something as well, if that's all right," said Kagome.
"That would depend on the subject."
"Would you know anything about the Demon Star?"

The old woman thought for a moment, then she spoke.

"You will meet me at that temple over there," she said pointing to her right,"I will answer your questions. Arrive shortly after the torches around the village are put out."
"Thank you very much!" said Kagome.

She bowed, then led the way to the inn. Many of the villagers turned to look at the newcomers but then hastily returned to whatever they were doing. The group was taken to the back and given a room, where they put down the supplies and sat. Not long after, food was brought to them and they ate quickly as they were hungry from the long trip. Inuyasha sat quietly in one corner, the tetsusaiga leaned on his shoulder looking out a window at the sky with the absent moon. The wind gently blew the black hair across his face.

*****
Okay, so what do you think? Please tell me in your review! I'm not as good with stories as most people, so I could use a little criticism. Tell me what you think and the next chapter will be up soon! (Hoping of course I don't get a horrible case of writer's block...) Thanks for reading!