Hello all of you who have faithfully reviewed my story! I will try to make this a longer chapter! All of your reviews were greatly appreciated and I will look over some of your stories Angel-Chan, I am sure they are very good! Well here goes.

Ch. 9~Ayame

Naraku chuckled to himself. He could see the water demon Ayame going to look for Inuyasha. His plan was going perfectly. Naraku needed the half demon to be so engrossed in his fight that the absence of his precious miko would not be missed.

Ayame was strong demon that had never lost a fight, and she would keep the hanyou struggling to stay alive. While the idiot dog was losing his temper, Naraku would take the girl himself. The hanyou would never miss her, until the fight was over, and by then it would be much to late.

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Kagome was sleeping lightly, and I hated to wake her. I watched her breathe in and out. I smiled at her, and then gently shook her awake. She grinned at me, and then was surprised to find that I had cooked breakfast for her. The look on her face was the best sight I had ever seen.

She sat up, and took the bowl of ramen I'd prepared. She ate it daintily, and she reminded me of a little angel. I don't know why, but for the last few weeks Kagome has really gotten a lot dearer to me. Maybe we needed a little time to ourselves, so we could learn about each other, without other people looking over our shoulders. It gave me a chance to be myself, and not be so harsh on her.

A cold wind made her shiver, so I let her crawl into my haori. Kagome wrapped herself around me, and laid her head on my bare chest. It felt so good just to be near her.

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Ayame stood a long way from the couple, finding it hard to disturb the romantic scene. She was too far away for the girl to sense her jewel shards, but with her excellent vision, she didn't have to be near by to see it.

The teenage girl and boy were intertwined in such a way that looked like two halves of the same being. Even their scents mingled together; jasmine kissed with honey, melted with the aroma of forest, after a summer rain. The girl looked up, and whispered something to him. He reluctantly untangled himself from her, pulling out his ancient sword. Ayame hated that the lovely atmosphere had been broken, but it was time for her to come out.

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"Kukuku, I suppose she's more than just his partner. Perhaps, I can use that to my advantage." Naraku mused, as he watched their heart-wrenching display. He had made many plans for the priestess, but he realized she could be put to better use. Seeing how the half-breed acted around her, told him what he wanted to know. This girl was his weakness, and Naraku would use that to his advantage.

He sat down on a stump, not wanting to miss a single moment of the action.

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Ayame looked down at her sharp talons, and decided that she wanted the boy to live, so she made the poison dripping from them disappear, presumably into her body. She walked toward their camp, and then stopped a few feet from Inuyasha. Her startling appearance did not sway either of them.

Inuyasha was ready to go, but before she would start the fight he had to know her rules. "I will give you these shards I have, if you give me a fair fight. I have watched you fight before, and have decided that you are a worthy opponent. Will you agree to a clean match?" The half demon looked surprised, but soon recovered, and shook his head yes. Ayame reached into a pocket of her long cloak like outfit, dug out the jewel fragments, and threw them at Kagome.

The two opponents moved away from Kagome, and as a side note the hanyou told her to stay out of this one; this was purely his battle. The girl nodded solemnly, and backed away. To make sure she wouldn't try to help the hanyou picked her up, and sat her on the highest tree branch he could find. She glared at him, but he kissed her, and she forgot about her anger. He swooped down, ready to fight.

Once on the ground, he got into his fighting stance, and so did Ayame. "Begin."

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Clash! The sound of metal rang through out the forest. Inuyasha cut down the frozen water that surrounded him. This demon was very skilled, and knew how to wield water. She would block his Tetsiaga (sorry if wrong spelling!) with her intense waves of icy liquid.

Although her powers were great she did have weak spots. When his claws would graze her pale skin, her wound would bleed profusely, and that would weaken her attacks, and her watery blast would become less fierce. Her hand fighting abilities were few, and in that he had the upper hand.

The two opponents greatly enjoyed the fight. It was purely to see how good their skills were; they weren't trying to get something out of the fight, and it made Inuyasha realize that good clean fights were a better way of testing his limits. They were so engrossed in their match that neither noticed the menace that was creeping into the area.

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Naraku saw the fight reach its peak, and decided now was the time. He made himself vanish, or at least to the human eye. He climbed the tree that Kagome was trapped in. He made no sound at all. Once he was close enough to her, he watched her big brown eyes lock with the battleground. Her mind was preoccupied, and she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.

"Kukuku, this is too easy. I feel sorry for the hanyou. Kukuku, no I don't." Naraku grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth. She struggled, but he whispered a simple spell into her ear, and instantly she went limp. He picked up the unconscious miko, and flew laughing to himself. Kukuku.

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Inuyasha's sword was centimeters from Ayame's arm, but he stopped immediately, letting the sword drop simultaneously. Something had hit him hard in the gut, and it was telling him something was very wrong. Ayame could sense it too. A malicious presence had taken over the forest. Then it hit him. Where was Kagome? He frantically searched the area, and looked at every tree, trying to find the exact tree he'd left her in. He found it, but her scent was mingled with another, a sinister malevolent scent. Naraku.

Millions of things hit Inuyasha at once. His emotions most of all, anger, fear, despair, love, and hatred. All of these things piled up on the hanyou, and he felt his body react to it. He couldn't hold himself up. He fell back to the ground, but Ayame caught him. He wiggled out of her grip, and put a hand to his heart. It was tightening, and breaking at the same time.

Inuyasha's insides were on fire. He couldn't breathe. The hanyou rested his head on the back of a tree. His breath finally came in short spurts. His brain pounded on his skull. She was gone. The creature Ayame, put her icy hand on his fiery forehead, and instantly he felt better, but his heart still wrenched, and she couldn't fix that. He needed Kagome.

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Well, mattie lover that is the longest chapter I can make, I think. I hope you enjoyed my chapter, so you will review, right? ^__^!