Disclaimer: *has all that would appose her in one room, strapped to chairs* *pulls out watch and starts swinging it* I own Inuyasha… I own Inuyasha. *Lawyer raises an eyebrow.* Crap.

AN: Heh heh, so what did you think of my little break? *dodges tomatoes.* Hey, hey, can't blame me! That was the week my birthday was on!! So I had a lot to do. *Sigh* I thought having spell check would help me out, but it's going to be hell with all these Japanese names. And, does anybody know what Rin named that little dragon she rides?? I'd appreciate it if you could tell me. Well, next chappie! R&R please!!

Icari

Chapter 7

Near dawn, Inuyasha woke up and stretched in his tree. He sat leisurely against it, watching the sunrise until the scent of a foreign, male youkai wondering around here. No, it wasn't Koga, but it was definitely a male. Actually, it was a cat youkai, and just growing into a man by the smell of it.

Inuyasha jumped down swiftly, careful not to fall on Kagome, and heard a surprised gasp behind him. Brown hair disappeared quickly into the bushes, but the neko was still young, and slow.

Inuyasha caught him easily, and held the boy by the collar of his shirt. The kid looked no older than thirteen, and seemed like no threat at all. But it didn't take a genius to figure out what he had been doing. He had been spying on Kagome, while she was sleeping too.

The neko dangled in the air, taking in huge, shuddering gasps as he hung helplessly. His dark eyes were wide with fright, and he struggled only a bit against Inuyasha's strong hold. Inuyasha almost felt sorry for the kid, whose teeth were chattering in fright. But the fact of the matter was still the same. He had been looking at his Kagome.

 "I- I- I'm sorry!!" The boy cried out. He attempted to escape by curling into a ball, but Inuyasha's grip was still too tight. "I didn't mean anything! Please don't kill me!"

Inuyasha simply glared at the mess, and lowered him enough so he could touch his feet to the ground, if only he would try.

 "What were you doing?" His face held only the slightest wisps of anger, but his voice was menacing.

 "I- I was- just…" relaxing a bit, the neko boy uncurled a bit to look at the hanyou.

 "Just what?" Frightened, the boy curled up again, slightly overbalancing Inuyasha.

 "I was just seeing what all the commotion last night was about and-but then I came and I saw her and I was going to leave but- and- but- honest!" the words trailed behind one another out of the boy's mouth in one long sentence, and Inuyasha almost missed it. But when he had figured out what he had said, Inuyasha pulled the boy close to his face, seething.

 "You mean you were watching her?" The boy gulped and nodded slowly. "Why?" He might've said it a bit too forcefully, but the neko winced considerably.

 "Well…" The tense body relaxed a bit as a blush crept up his face. "She is rather pretty…" He looked away. "I mean…"

 "I know damn well what you mea-" He would've continued to give the kid a piece of his mind if something had stopped him right then and there.

 "Inuyasha! Stop!" The hanyou whirled at Kagome's voice, slightly afraid of what might happen. The next time she spoke, her voice was surprisingly softer. "Inuyasha, drop him."

He did as she said, and back away shamefully. His ears were pressed against his head and he curled up a bit, trying to shrink as Kagome stomp angrily towards him. To his surprise, and annoyance, Kagome walked right past him and knelt in front of the little neko boy.

 "Hello there, little guy." She said in a calm, soothing voice. Inuyasha sulked at the sound of it. "Did he scare you too much?" The boy nodded a bit as she stroked his head, with Inuyasha's eyes watching every move. Kagome soothed him a bit longer before Inuyasha heard something worth listening to.

 "So, what's your name?" the kid looked at her, slightly entranced, and let himself relax.

 "Saguaro." He stated dreamily as Kagome continued to stroke his head.

 "Do you have somewhere you should be?" he nodded. "Well, Saguaro, I think you should go before someone starts to worry." He nodded and purred, but pouted when she pulled away. She whispered to him a bit longer until he slunk off into the bushes, sending a few glances back at her as she waved.

The moment he was out of sight, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. He opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him.

 "I have nothing to say to you right now, Inuyasha. I suggest you go back to camp before you scare anymore children."

 "Puh. As if." Shippo walked in at that moment, rubbing his tired eyes. Kagome's attention immediately went to him, and she ignored it when Inuyasha walked away.

*~*~*~*~*


Everyone felt the tension in their group the next day. Inuyasha wouldn't look at Kagome's face that day, and Kagome stayed far away from him. It was obvious that she was hurt by him not answering her, and a couple of people knew that all she had wanted was to feel more like someone in Inuyasha's eyes. She wanted to actually be someone more than a reincarnation, but Inuyasha hadn't helped things any.

They walked along numerous paths, looking for more jewel shards, but the only thing anyone detected were bunches of neko youkai looking appreciatively at the females of the group. Countless times, the others had to go in the bushes to chase some off, but they continued to follow them. To say the least, Inuyasha was certainly not pleased that the neko boy from that morning had gone and told his friends.

Suddenly, Kagome stopped. The rest of the gang did too, waiting anxiously to hear what she had sensed. But they didn't even have too for long, as Inuyasha smelled a demon.

 "Two shards, I'm guessing in either arm." There was half of the situation.

 "Lizard demon, male." There was the other half. Inuyasha pulled Kagome onto his back and jumped off, not waiting for the others to follow. Kagome was pulling out her bow and arrow, ready to strike, when they burst into a clearing and saw exactly what they were up against.

A giant, transformed, lizard demon trampled the area ruthlessly. His eyes were a blood-red color, and he seemed to be in some kind of daze. But after only a moment, the demon turned directly at the two, eyes locked on the hanyou and miko, and drool slid out of his mouth.

 "Shards." The sound was slithery, and cold. Out of the blue, the demon charged, and Inuyasha jumped, but unfortunately, the others were stepping into the clearing right then too.

Sesshomaru, Icari, Kiara, and Shippo jumped, Kiara taking Sango and Miroku with her. The little dragon Jaken and Rin had been riding, however, had been a bit too slow, and jumped much too quickly for Rin to stay on. She fell, and was flung deep into the forests as the lizard demon hit her. Sesshomaru went after her, Tenseiga ready if needed. The others regained their postures and got ready to charge at the demon. Inuyasha, with Kagome still on his back, flew at the thing and tried to deposit Kagome on its back, as per her orders.

When he did, Inuyasha went to trying to distract the lizard. Shippo, Sango, and Miroku tried vainly to cut at its body, but there was no such luck. Icari devised a getaway plan in her head as she fought, and Jaken tried multiple spells. Atop the demon, Kagome sat, trying to hit at the jewel shards, near the joints where the arms met the body.

A bow strung, Kagome took aim, and shot, with a small spell surrounding the arrow. It flew through the air, and she watched it anxiously as it was just about to hit the exact spot. It bounced right off, but the lizard felt it, and bucked. Kagome was sent flying, only to be caught by Inuyasha.

They were both sent flying into a tree. Both dazed, they stood, Kagome wondering why her arrow hadn't worked. Then it came to her. "Of course! The scales are too strong! Inuyasha, we have to regroup and rethink our strategy!"

Inuyasha almost smiled in pride. Kagome had gotten used to fighting, and could now keep a calm head through these situations. But instead, he hurriedly gathered everyone, not including Sesshomaru and Rin, which there was no time to find. With Miroku, Shippo and Sango on Kiara's back, Inuyasha carried Kagome off on his back, and his sister ran behind them, striking a few branches with her sword to, hopefully, slow the demon down.

As they continued to run Icari kept on slicing the branches, turning them into large logs she hoped would keep the demon a length away. She concentrated on just that, until she swung just as a dark, small figure stepped in her way. A small gasp escaped her lips as her sword touched the child before Icari hurriedly pulled it away. A green light surrounded the figure.

*~*~*~*~*

Pain, all she felt was pain. After being hit by that large lizard, Rin had been flung through many small branches before being stopped by the tree she was resting on. It had hurt so much that, at first, she had felt numb throughout her body. Now, the pain filled her, and Rin couldn't move at all.

She couldn't comprehend the feeling; she had never felt it before. Of course, she had practically been killed a while back, but she hadn't been conscious to feel anything. Now, though, she was hurting throughout, and nothing else seemed to matter at that point.

Until a large, calloused hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, jerking it up. With that movement, came another burst of white-hot pain and Rin cried out loudly. Slowly, she looked over to see who had caused all this, and screamed again when she saw a mole demon looking at her with hungry eyes. With much regret, Rin realized that she was going to die, and her Lord Sesshomaru would not be here to resurrect her. Tears came to her eyes at the realization, making the tears that had come with the pain burst through her eyelids. She was going to die…

A blood curdling scream and a loud growl emitted from where the mole demon once stood, and Rin caught only the slightest bit of white and blues. Her lord had come. There were fighting sounds coming from them, and Rin watched fearfully on, adrenaline covering up the physical hurt she felt.

 "Lord Sesshomaru!!" Rin jumped when the mole demon bit into her lord, wincing a bit at the annoyance in her backside. Right now, she was too worried about her lord to fear for herself.

 "Rin! Run!" His growl came quick and cold, so much that Rin had lost the ability to comply. Her legs were weak, but his growls came again, this time making her obey and she ran off, searching desperately for someone to help Lord Sesshomaru. The once forgotten pain took her up again, but Rin didn't give into it completely much too worried about her lord to really care about herself.

Twigs and sticks scratched at her arms and legs, as well as her kimono as she ran. Her head was kept up as she searched for a familiar face, but instead seeing only wildlife. Foot over foot, Rin continued to run, hard. Her hair whipped behind her and at her face when she turned to look around. The warm rays from the sun didn't seem to fit as Rin thought of her lord, getting bitten and hurt by the mole demon.

There! She caught a glimpse of red and yellow in the forestry to her right. It must be Inuyasha and Kiara! They were running too. Rin looked forward, and realized that she had a chance of intercepting them if she turned a bit to her left, knowing full well that demons ran much faster than humans. Rin wished Ah and Uh were here with her.

A branch caught her foot, causing her to trip, but Rin stood up and continued to run. Her lord's life might depend on it. Knowing that her tripping would change their interception a bit, so she turned more to the left, hoping that it would be enough. Soon, Rin burst into their path, on to see a sword, transformed in a tremendous size, heading straight for her.

Rin prepared herself for the blow, but, surprisingly, it didn't cause any pain. Though, a green light surrounded her, and Rin could feel her inside churning, and expanding.

What was happening to her?