Strange New People

AN: All these characters are mine as is the plot. So please don't use them without my permission.

Katia was relaxing in hot spring thinking about what had happened recently. It had been a week since she'd gotten her memories back and neither she nor Niroku had brought up her confession before she had "died."

'I wonder if he feels the same way. He hasn't said anything and-' Katia's thought were interrupted when she realized that the presence she had felt earlier hadn't left. In fact it had come closer. She knew it wasn't Niroku, she would recognize him anywhere. Just then she was thankful that the water already covered her from her chest down. She swam over to the bank and as she did so she contacted Niroku.

~*~*~*At the Camp a couple minutes beforehand*~*~*~

Niroku had been sitting and thinking at the camp while Katia was gone at the hot spring. 'Why haven't I told her?' he asked himself. 'Damn it! I know she loves me, she said so before she died...but what if that was only because she was going to die. What if she didn't mean it?' His thoughts were interrupted when Katia contacted him through their link.

~*~*~*At the Hot Spring*~*~*~

~Hey, Niroku.~ She called to him

~Yeah. What is it?~ He asked.

~Seems like we have an unwanted guest. I'll pin him to a tree and call you again when I'm dressed okay?~

~Okay. I'll see you in a minute.~

With that Katia made sure the steam around her body was nice and thick so as not to reveal anything to the staring lecher behind the trees. She did the same thing as she did when she had first met Niroku again. She reached down seemingly for her clothes but quickly picked up her bow and arrows instead. She fired toward the presence and a surprised yelp told her that her arrows had met their targets. She quickly dressed and contacted Niroku again.

~Hey, Niroku. Meet me by the spring. I'll be talking to the little lecher who decided to spy on me.~ Katia said.

She walked behind one tree to where she saw a man pinned up by his robes. Katia could tell by the robes that he was a monk, but that confused her because monks weren't supposed to be lechers. She quickly did a mind scan on the struggling young man in front of her and found that he was indeed a monk. Just then Niroku appeared.

"Who's this?" Niroku asked.

"My name is Kamen and I am but a humble monk. Now will you please release me from the body this young lady has placed on me?" The young man said. It looked like he was having the same difficulty Niroku had had when he had tried to remove the arrows from his clothes. Katia had obviously infused them with magic.

"First answer this, why were you spying on me?" Katia said.

"I will explain if my lady will please release me from this most uncomfortable position." Kamen said.

~Can we trust him?~ Niroku asked Katia. He knew that she had most likely already done the mind sweep.

~I believe so. He is a monk even if he is lecherous.~ Katia responded.

With that Katia removed the arrows, Niroku couldn't because she had infused them with magic. Niroku dragged the young man back to the camp. To tell the truth he was a bit angry because the guy had tried to spy on Katia, though it hadn't exactly worked.

When they got back to the camp Niroku Set the guy down and sat beside Katia staring at him. The young man had dark blond, almost brown, hair and grey eyes. His hair was pulled back into a tiny rat's tail at the base of his neck.

"Now, explain your reason for spying on me." Katia said.

"Well my lady..."Kamen started.

"Katia, call me Katia." Katia interrupted. She hated being called "my lady" because it reminded her of her old house and the betrayal that had occurred there.

"My name is Niroku." Niroku said as well. He understood perfectly well why Katia didn't wish to use formal titles of any sort.

"Okay then. Well Katia, I had just been passing by when I caught a glimpse of your beauty and was completely captivated." Kamen said. "I couldn't help but stop at the sight of such radiant beauty."

Niroku growled low in his throat. He really didn't like the way the guy was acting toward Katia.

"Cut the crap. Okay then answer me this question. Who exactly are you and why do you have three pieces of the Silver Life Jewel?" Katia asked. The question seemed to startle Kamen but not Niroku. Niroku had sensed them just before she mentioned them, but he also correctly guessed that Katia would mention it.

Kamen recollected his composure. "As I said before Katia, my name is Kamen and I am but a humble monk. And may I ask how you know I have three shards of the Jewel?" Kamen said calmly.

"I can sense them as I too have quite a few shards." Katia said. She pulled the Jewel out from under the neckline of her dress. It was still about three-quarters of the way done, their journey had been interrupted for quite a while after all.

'Looks like we can trust him' Niroku thought. He knew this because Katia would only show it to the monk if she knew they could. He smirked as Kamen gaped at the Jewel.

"But, how did you acquire that much of the Silver Life Jewel?" Kamen asked. He stared at the young woman in front of him.

"I've been traveling for quite a while collecting these things." Katia stated simply.

"Would you mind if I traveled with you for a while as I too am searching for the Jewel?" Kamen asked.

Niroku, personally, didn't want the lecherous monk around, but he knew to keep his jealousy at bay. He didn't want to alert Katia to the fact that he was jealous, but she seemed to guess as her next words held a hint of laughter that the half-demon knew was meant for him.

"We wouldn't mind." Katia said. She had a hard time keeping from laughing as Niroku's ears flattened against his skull. He obviously hadn't forgiven Kamen for spying on her.

"Thank you Katia." Kamen said.

"Now, shall we all get some sleep. We start traveling early tomorrow." Katia warned Kamen.

"That's fine Katia." Kamen said.

With that said Katia took a blanket from her rucksack and Niroku one from his. He'd gotten in the habit of carrying one when he'd traveled alone. Kamen also had a rucksack, which Katia had taken with them when Niroku had dragged Kamen to their camp. They all fell asleep one by one. Kamen first as he was a regular human and needed actual sleep then Katia and finally Niroku. Before falling asleep one hazy thought came through Niroku mind, and that was 'I WILL tell her the truth. No matter what.'

AN: Sorry for the kinda action-free chapter, but I needed you all to meet Kamen as he will help and cause difficulties in future happenings.