Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and co…

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Chapter 23: Tetsusaiga

It had been a rainy last few weeks of winter. The rain dampened the crops as the villagers plucked out the moist vegetables and such from the ground. The high miko of the village was out, thus leaving the next best miko to the colds.

The hut was filled with the scent of medical herbs. Coughs and sneezes filled the air as all the patients looked miserably up at the ceiling. This certain hut had two stories, thus housing more patients up stairs.

The young miko was outside getting water brow a well.

One of the patients sat up. He looked up at the ceiling with a look of wanting. He sighed. "Hey, I love you!" he yelled.

"Oi!" the young miko yelled from the door.

He jumped. "Wh-wh-when'd you get here, Kagome-san?"

"It's not the matter, Sentai-kun. I wanted to give you some water." She walked over to him and flopped down onto her knees.

"I don't need it!"

"Ah! So…Hey, I love you!" she mocked.

He blushed.

"Now…drink." She shoved the water jug down his mouth.

She smiled as she pulled it away from his lips. "About that ceiling you love." She stood up and walked back to the door.

"What about the ceiling.

"It's got a man." she ran out.

*End Dream/Flashback*

Inuyasha bent over Kagome's sleeping form. She was lying on her back with the covers draped over her thigh. She slept in a white under kimono which was rising dangerously high.

He watched her face as her lips formed quiet words. "Sentai-kun." A tear raced down her cheek as she whispered this name.

Inuyasha jumped backward. "S-Sentai…-kun?" he whispered.

Kagome jumped up with her bow ready. She looked around with half lidded sleepy eyes.

"You…you can put that down now." Inuyasha said as she looked at him through her very sleepy looking eyes.

She dropped her bow unceremoniously and fell to her knees in much the same fashion. "What are you doin' up?" she asked in a very slurred and sleep-filled voice.

"Lookin' at you." He said as he looked away. "Why were you…crying?"

Kagome blinked and seemed to wake up the tiniest bit. "I…I had a dream about my old friend. He's not very good now though." She whispered. More tears ran down her face.

He looked at her and his eyes softened. "What happened to him?" he asked softly.

"He…he became a sword smith. He's been…swindling people for awhile now out of their money for crappy swords that were worst then pieces of thin slate." She said as she wiped her eyes but more came down her face, splashing her front as they jumped from her chin.

Inuyasha hesitantly put and arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side. "You can use my shoulder if you ever need to cry." He said as he stroked her hair.

Kagome gave a short laugh. "I'm fine it just…won't stop now." She said as she dashed away her tears.

Inuyasha looked down at her. She was smiled! This girl was smiling….while she was crying! How the hell do  they do it? How do they find happiness while their crying. Crazy humans.

"Your human y'know." She whispered as if reading his mind and he really thought she had. "Do you think we're horrible emotional stupid humans?"

"No. Well…at least not you." He said quietly.

"You have human in you. Don't forget that." She whispered. "I'm human but can never live the life of an ordinary human. That's the downfall of protecting the jewel."

"Are you a normal human now?" he asked as he looked out into the forest. "You aren't protecting the jewel now."

"It's my fault it's broken. I must restore it so I can take up my duties again. If someone were to use the jewel then I'll be normal again. You wish to become full youkai? Well so does the whole damn race of corrupted humans. I can't just give it to anyone." Her voice held bitterness as she said youkai. She seemed to hate the idea of him becoming tai-youkai.

"You don't want me to, do you?" he asked.

She didn't reply for a moment. He looked over at her to see if she was still awake or something. She had her eyes closed as if in deep thought. "No. Quite frankly I don't."

"Then you want me human?" he asked disappointedly.

"No. Quite frankly I don't. I want you to stay the way you are." She said.

He blinked at her.

"You should, or shall I say, you better, stay the way you are. No one wants to know an evil human destroying youkai. It's just not right for miko to hang around a youkai whose causing death and destruction to all the people she's supposed to protect." She said sternly as she looked at the forest. "Stay the way you are. That's how all of us like you." She paused. "But heck. When we get it you can do whatever the hell you want with it. I'll give you the chance." She added in a more cheerful voice.

"Naraku want's to kill you. What if you aren't alive till the end?"

"Oh, I will be." She said triumphantly. "He isn't as powerful as you might think. Now that we have Tastunai we can use her against him. She said that he used to love her, albeit she loves him too, still. All I need to do is purify his youki and it'll all be good."

"Really. And how are you going to do this?" he asked skeptically.

She hit him over the head. "My arrows, you idiot. Just one of 'em can purify about fifty youki's at once." She said a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"So….why were you crying about that Sentai guy?"

"Because, he had a little crush on Kikyo so I was always bugging him about it. He was like my….best friend but…he want to the bad." She said.

"I don't think becoming a sword smith and swindling people is bad." He said.

"No…there's other things too. He made powerful swords for youkai who want to destroy the world and all he did was ask their size. I don't appreciate it." She said as her face twisted in anger.

He looked at her and laughed. "You're not as cute when your angry."

"Shut up. I can't help it if I'm…angry….what did you just say?"

"Nothing."

*--*--*

The group; Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Tastunai, headed off in the north direction. The rain from the night before had let up thus leaving the ground very mushy and muddy. No one complained, not even the girls, and that meant they were gonna walk the whole sixty miles.

Kagome had Kirara in her arms as she rubbed her fingers through her fur. "I wonder how Semfrey's doing." She muttered.

 "You left her behind. It's your fault." Inuyasha said.

"I didn't leave her behind. She stayed with the forest spirit. She said she didn't wish to come." Kagome argued.

"She talks to you?"

"I can understand my own companion can't I?" she asked.

"Which one, me or Semfrey?"

"Both, dog-boy." She said.

"What'd you call me?!" he yelled as he stopped and looked at her through narrowed eyes.

"Clean your ears out if you couldn't hear that." She walked on.

"Jerk." He muttered as he followed after her.

Tastunai, who was in the back, polishing her fan looked up with a raised eyebrow as she flipped her long braid off her shoulder. "Do they always fight like that? It's rather unnerving?" she asked Miroku.

"Mostly it's about jewel shards and youkai. This one's the first of its kind." He said quietly.

"I can hear you all!" Inuyasha yelled.

"He is like a dog." Tastunai whispered.

"Say that to my face!" he yelled.

"No thank you!" Tastunai yelled back.

*--*--*

After another three or four hours of pointless bickering and talking Kagome stopped.

"What is it, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.

"I know tat metal." She pointed at a collection of metal littering the outside of a dark cave.

"Really? Whose metal is it?" Sango asked.

"It's….Sentai-kun's metal for foraging." She said quietly.

"That Sentai guy you were talking about last night?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah." Kagome nodded. "Let's go see him."

They all followed her toward the cave.

*--*--*

"I wish to purchase this katana." Said a young youkai.

"Really? I can't sell that one." Said the light brown haired sword smith.

"And why not?"

"It's on hold for someone." The young sword smith said dryly. "Now get out. You don't have enough money for my lovely work."

"Fine. I didn't want your tin foil anyway." They young youkai stormed out.

"Sentai-kun!" he heard a girl cry. Here was the sound of running footsteps into the back of the dark cave. There, in the light of his fire, stood the miko of whom he dreamed about most nights. Kagome.

"Ka-Kagome…-sama?!" he said as he stood up.

"Yeah. Hasn't it been a long time." she said in a quieter voice.

"I've heard so many stories about you from the princess of the castle over in the east." He said as she stepped forward.

"How have you been?" she asked sweetly.

"Please sit down."

"Thank you. C'mere Inuyasha!" she called over her shoulder as she sat Indian style in her miko clothing next to the fire.

"Inuyasha?" he whispered.

"Hai."

The silver haired hanyou with dog ears, claws, and fangs stepped out and stood almost protectively over Kagome.

"You're Inuyasha?" he asked in awe.

"Yeah. You heard of me?" he asked in almost a growl.

Kagome looked up at him and shrugged.

"Then I have something for you." He said. He ran over to a glass case which had about ten different locks on it and a wooden box lied inside.

She unlocked all of the locks, threw open the glass, and started to unlock the wooden box. He pulled out a rusty looking katana on a beat up hilt and a tattered black sheath.

"Why have you been saving scrap iron?" Kagome asked curiously.

"This is Inuyasha's fathers sword." He said.

"Really. And why would my father use a crappy piece of junk like that?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's not a crappy piece of junk when you learn how to use it." He said. "Your father gave this to me and told me to give it to you when I find you."

"You didn't look very far did you?" Kagome asked dryly before Inuyasha had the time to open his mouth.

"I was busy." He said just as dryly.

Kagome rolled her eyes and took the katana. "It does look like a piece of junk but maybe…maybe it's meant for something. Maybe it becomes the strongest katana in the world!" she said excitedly.

"You read to much, Kagome." Inuyasha said as he took the katana from her and looked at it.

"It's called Tetsusaiga. The strongest sword in he youkai world. It can kill 100 youkai in one sweep." Sentai explained.

"Really? I don't see how this piece of shit can do that." Inuyasha said as he ht it against the wall.

"It probably can't even cut butter let alone youkai." Kagome said as she took a try. It bounced off, shaking.

"The great sword smith Toutosai forged that katana! Don't make jokes of my sensei!" he cried.

"Oh, keep the waterworks down, Sentai-kun. Most swords can't even cut my arm open. Let alone kill 100 youkai." Kagome said as she pat him on the back.

"Who's this Toutosai, guy? Maybe I should see him." Inuyasha said as he took the sheath and sheathed the beat up rusty katana and put it at his side.

"He is northward more. There is a large field of coals. You can't miss it. He's in the cave at the end." He said as he sat down again.

"Thank you, Sentai-kun. It was great seeing you." Kagome said as she got up.

"Great seeing you too, Kagome-sama." He said quietly as he watched them leave through the front.

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Was that long or what? I didn't proofread it much so if there's mistakes in he's or she's and stuff try and work around it. I'm sorry. I was lazy. I got over my little writers block. I told you it wouldn't be long.

Tee hee.

I can't wait till I see some reviews!

Next chapter:

Chapter 24: Tetsusaiga's power