*I'm sorry for being so late with this chapter, and I truly apologize but school was beginning to tug at my time.grrrr.*

Disclaimer: If you don't know that I don't own Inuyasha and co. then go to the other disclaimer's and they'll tell you.
Chapter 8

He didn't know why he had thought of her, this dark starry night he sat up in his tree, watching the stars. Why had he?

They had just come from a major battle, and had settled down in this clearing of the forest, he insisting that there were other demons out there, and that if they didn't move farther, that one with a shikon shard would attack them. Kagome had of course insisted that they were staying there and any demon that attacked, if it wasn't Naraku of Sesshomaru, could most likely be beaten. He had of course given in to Kagome, poor him.

In the beginning he could argue with her about the simplest things, such as what she wore or how she acted. And now he found that he could no longer keep his own when she came into one of her mood swings. What had happened to him, he Inuyasha, the careless blood thirsty hanyou that only desired the Shikon no Tama for more power? What had changed?

And why had he thought of his elder master on this night, when all was at peace and he sat there gazing at the stars, now in his human form due to the new moon.

It's because you feel secure now with your friends, just as you did with Kojika on nights like this, his mind told him. That had to be it. What other reason was there.

That day.the day that Kojika died. He had been so heartbroken and yet so angry.

How could that stupid human do that.hadn't he seen that they had been helping them in defeating the demons? Hadn't he seen?

She had died, and no matter what he had done, he hadn't been able to save her. But in a rage, he had killed every demon there, including the human who had killed her. But upon sorrow for her, had buried every single being that he and she had slaughtered. Then he buried her under what he called the "Firefly" tree, because is was always surrounded by dragon flies. There he had buried her and left her name scratched into the tree by his own talons. After her death, though, he had lost all belief in caring for humans, and he again wanted to have more power.

If I had had more power, maybe I might have been able to save her? Was his continual thought. Only if.

Only if he had been a pure bred demon, a full blooded extremely powerful demon.

Maybe then he would have been able to save her. And there wasn't a day he didn't feel remorse for what had happened. From that day on, he fought to be stronger, killed simply because he was annoyed to exhaustion, and began to seek strength in something that could give it to him quickly. The one thing he found.was the Shikon no Tama. But then there was Kikyo guarding it, that miko whom he had fallen in love with. But why had he fallen in love with her in the first place?

At first, it was just for the jewel. He simply wanted the jewel, to become a full bred demon so that he could show everyone that he had the power to support his words, so that he could beat Sesshomaru and any demon that threatened his life. But every time he attacked Kikyo, he could never kill her, and she could never kill him.

Even at death, she had not killed him, but put him in a deep sleep for fifty years. Even then?

And the only reason he could not kill her, was that she reminded him of Kojika too much.

She had that same wisdom, that same personality to her, that she knew more than he did, and she could save herself whenever she needed to. Kikyo, had only attracted his interests for that. Had he never been so close to Kojika, he would have slit open Kikyo's chest and pulled free her heart like it was nothing. But then, he would have never met Kagome.

She too reminded him of Kojika, with her black hair and brown eyes, and the spirit about her that showed that she was indignant to what any one said and would fight for herself and anyone else she saw needed the help. Kagome believed in having an equilibrium between species of demon, human, hanyou, and miko. And ever day, she fought for that belief, just as she did for the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha looked down upon the sleeping figures of Kagome and Shippo, the little fox demon that followed them about ever since they had saved him from the Lightning brothers. Kagome's raven black hair was sprawled around her delicate face in an array, and her beautiful brown eyes were closed in slumber.

Soft breaths echoed through the cold night.

Miroku the monk, a hentai in the worst way (would touch the behind of every girl he met but hadn't touched Kagome's in a while because he knew Inuyasha would hurt him far worse than a slap could) was sleeping against a large oak tree, his staff leaning on his shoulder. Sango the demon exterminator was sleeping in her own blanket, her boomerang lying right at her side, for the moment she would need to fight if she were attacked during sleep. Kirara, her fire cat was small as he usually was, sleeping just at the head of her pillow, right next to her left ear. And here he was up in the tree, the only one awake. He wanted to make sure they weren't attacked by night, now that they had just gotten their latest shikon shard.

But what was it that kept him awake?

Was it the fact that tonight was the new moon, and that he, Inuyasha, was a human for the night? Or perhaps it was the fact that he felt closer to his new friends than he ever had. Every day was a joy, with the different views each person had, and the multiple fighting strategies everyone came up with during battle. Everyday, he found himself desiring the shikon no tama even less, thinking that he could find power without it. But then that memory of Kojika would come back.her face pale with surprise.her deep maroon blood gushing from her wounds.and that look of indignity on her face.that she did not want his help.for he might be harmed. Even in death she cared for his safety, his master.

And she had helped him far more in life than the shikon could, he saw that now. She had taught him to wield a sword, which skills he used for the tetsaiga every time he battled, and how to keep a strong and clear mind about things when they got rough.she taught him that. But in grief of her death, he had chosen to forget all she taught him, because it hurt him to much to think of.too much to want to review. And yet, it had all come back when he met Kagome.Kikyo could never strike the full change in him.but Kagome had.

'Course he would save Kikyo when the time came about, but he never felt this level of longing for her like he did for Kagome. Every time they fought, he found himself keeping more of an eye on Kagome than on the opponent, and whenever she was in trouble, he always knew. He would love nothing more than to be with Kagome for the rest of his days, but then there was Kikyo.whom would not let him be. Ever since she was revived.brought back to life, the image of her bloody body and that sacred arrow flying at him was enough to keep him loyal to her. He felt, that the only way to free her spirit would be to die with her and go to hell. If only.if only he had never met Kikyo. Then he and Kagome would have no trouble at all at being together.

There was a sound in the bushes.

What was that.?

He kept his violet eyes set on the bush nearest Kagome. It had rustled, shaking almost violently as if it were a cage to something vicious. There was no smell.no scent or trace that anything was there.

Best to take a look.

Inuyasha jumped down from his branch, his nose working over time in the search for something he hoped was just the wind.

He creped ever so quietly, like a cat to it's prey, waiting and glancing about for any sign of life. Now he was standing right over the bush. Yet there was still no scent, and finally he became agitated and had to swipe at it.

He of course wiped the small tree clear from it's roots and the most beautiful and mystical creature jumped out to give him one swift glance before racing off into the moonless sky. A red dragon.small and sleek, glistening as if it's scales were water. It displayed two long whiskers extending, one from each side of it's mouth, and it's eyes were a beautiful gold.just like his. It had four legs, two tiny ones in the back, and two tiny ones in the front. This dragon reminded him of a lizard, but it was too graceful and beautiful to be one. The spike like hairs stuck off it's head and glided with the wind as it flew off, a pair of reflecting metallic wings flashing in the starlight.

So beautiful.but what was it doing around the camp.

He doubted it was after the shikon shards, dragons didn't hunt for those. They had too much power already.

Maybe it was Kikyo's dragon come to spy on us?

No.

Kikyo's dragons were spirit catchers that had light blue scales, insect like legs under the head, red eyes, and not a wing to be found.

Who knew how they flew?

Then why was that dragon spying on them.and why couldn't he tell it was a dragon.

Never the less, there was no sense of a demon or dragon left in the vicinity, so he could finally go back to his perch. But he doubted that he would be sleeping much this night, if any at all.

*Send me reviews! With reviews I can have the courage and the inspiration to keep this going. You may even find a surprise.*