Chap. 3

A/n: Hey Peoples! I'm back! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. And for all those who are waiting to sue me, don't. I do not own Inuyasha and friends and I'm not going to say it again. K? K.

After a long days walk, and I mean long, we finally got to the village. I had barely gotten any sleep and every step felt like I was gaining pounds. I rarely got tired from walking, but today was the exception. When we got unpacked, all I wanted to do was bathe and go to bed, but by the time we got to do so, the sun was setting. Screw it. At this point, I didn't care.

"Hey, Herupa, is there a hot springs anywhere close to here?" I asked.

"Yah, just follow that path right there and it'll take you strait to it."

"Thank you very much." I said, grabbing my bathing suit and a towel and following her instructions.

The warm water felt good on my cuts and bruises, but when I nearly fell asleep, I decided I should hurry up and get out. I washed my hair quickly and left. As I was drying off I heard an all to familiar voice say,

"What's all the cuts and bruises from?"

I whirled around to find Inuyasha. He had a weird expression on his face.

"Inuyasha, you hentai!" I exclaimed, wrapping the towel tightly around me.

"Answer the question."

"Go away!"

In a flash, Inuyasha was right in front of me, glaring.

"Just answer me, Quisha!"

My eyes softened at the mention of my long forgotten nickname. I raised an eyebrow, and thought up a lie. I didn't want to be pitied because my brother was an ass.

"I fell asleep in a tree a lot. Sometimes I fell off."

This wasn't exactly a lie. Some of the bruises were from falling out of that tree.

"Why are lying to me? True, some of these cuts are from falling, but most of them are from hits."

"What do you want to hear, huh?! That my brother was an asshole and needed a personal punching bag?! Or how 'bout I wasn't allowed to protect myself because it would've gotten me hung... or even worse? Huh? Are you happy now?! Now that you know my little secret?"

I stopped ranting when I noticed Inuyasha was growling.

"Um, Inuyasha. are you ok?" I asked timidly.

"It's nothing, I'm ok. I'm just angry that I didn't know about it sooner. I would have done something about it. I'm sorry to have interrupted your bath."

I walked away making plans on what I was going to do with her brother. I heard her dress quickly and run after me.

"Inuyasha! Wait up!" She called.

I turned around and looked at her outfit. She wearing a pair of loose fitting pants and a low-cut, sleeveless top.

"What kind of outfit is that?!" I asked.

"Night clothes. Now, will you talk to me a sec?"

"What?"

"I know you plan to do something to my brother, but, please don't. Even if the bastard deserves it, he's not doing anything anymore. And, jackass or not, he's still blood......... half-blood, but blood none the less."

I stared at her a moment.

"Fine." I said, folding my arms.

"Thank you! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

"G'Night, Quisha."

"Night, Inu."

I woke up in a cold sweat. I sighed and thought back to what woke me up. Then I remembered......... the dream. I had it again. Only this time the voices were louder; as if calling to me. I had to find my mother's crypt, tonight. No matter how tired I was from the day's events. I got up, even though Sesshoumaru would probably get mad that I didn't ask before I left. I dressed quickly and slipped out the window. Once into the comfort of the trees, I let my instincts guide me to a path. After awhile, though, I heard the slight sound of someone following me. I jumped into a tree and waited. That girl Kagome showed up a few seconds later. I landed right behind her with a slight thud. She turned at the sound and I put a hand to her mouth before she screamed.

"Shhhhhh, it's just me." I hissed in her ear.

"What are you tryin' to do? Give me a heart attack?"

"What are you doin' following me anyway?"

"I don't know. I thought you were running away and if I followed you, I'd be free too."

"Oh, well, good plan, but I'm just tryin' to find something."

"At past midnight?"

"It's the most convenient time for me, ok?"

"Ok."

I started walking again. I heard that she was following me again. I didn't do anything about it. I had wasted too much time talking to her already. We walked in complete silence, that was a good thing. I needed to focus on all the sounds of the forest. I had cut myself on God-knows-what and I didn't need a surprise attack from some bloodthirsty demon. As I expected would happen, I heard something in hunting mode coming swiftly towards us. I sniffed the air and growled as I inhaled the familiar scent.

"Kouga." I muttered.

"What?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome, there's something coming this way. When I tell you, you need to get away from here as fast as possible. I'll catch up. If you feel like you need to, climb a tree. I'll find you, I promise. Ok?"

"Ok."

I heard a tremble in her voice. The scent of her fear was going to give away our position. Kouga was really close. Kagome needed to get away.

"Go now!"

She took off running as fast as she could. She was soon out of sight. No sooner had she disappeared; Kouga came bursting out of the trees.

"Soooo, it is you. I thought I would never see you again. Lucky me." He said.

"Yah and unlucky me."

"Oh, is that any way to greet an old friend? Just to let you know......... my offer is still good."

"Well, the offer is still not being accepted."

We were circling each other like the wolves we were. Kouga had tried to get with me two years ago. It didn't work of course, but it came close.

FLASHBACK

I was walking through the woods. There was a voice behind me.

"And just what is a woman of your beauty doing in the woods by herself?"

I whirled around and there was some wolf demon behind me.

"Taking a walk." I replied coolly.

The demon bowed and said, "I am Kouga, and you night think me strange, but I've been watching you for awhile. I couldn't help it, I never knew a maiden of such beauty. It's Laquisha, isn't it?" (A/n: I know, I know, OOC, but I had to, ok?)

This guy was pretty charming, but I think I know where this was heading.

"Yes, my name is Laquisha, but why would a youkai like you be interested in a hanyou like me?"

"As I said, I've been watching you for some time, and I'm offering to take you away from that cruel brother of yours."

This seemed like a good offer, but...

"What's the catch?"

"You have to stay with me and become my mate."

I stumbled backward. To get away from my brother was one of the best things I could do, but, had sworn to myself never to be someone's mate. I weighed the two options. I decided against it. This guy wasn't being sincere about something.

"Well?"

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm too young."

And then I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, leaving him in my dust.

END FLASHBACK

"I still don't get why you want me as a mate." I said.

"I have my reasons." He replied grabbing me and pulling me into a kiss.

I pushed him off and said, "I'm sorry, Koga, but I can't accept."

"That's twice now. I guess I'll just have to do this the traditional way and force you into submission." He said approaching me.

I backed off as he came toward me.

'God, I could use some help right about now. I really don't have time for this...'

I woke at past midnight. I hadn't been sleeping well lately. Growling in frustration, I went to the window. A light breeze hit me. My eyes widened. I smelt Laquisha's blood. I dressed quickly, grabbed tetsusaiga, and leapt out the window. It was a faint trace, but it was still her blood. I had to get to her. Something told me something was wrong.

At a distance I saw some wolf-demon kissing her. The protective side in me raged. She had never mentioned a lover before. She would have told me about it, right? Proving my theory, she pulled away. The demon shook his head and said,

" That's twice now. I guess I'll just have to do this the traditional way and force you into submission."

I leapt forward and yelled,

"Keep your hands off of her!"

The demon looked at me, surprised. Laquisha retreated behind me and whispered in my ear,

"Nice timing."

"Oh, how sweet. Two hanyous. I must confess you two make a cute couple. It's a shame I'm going to have to kill your lover, Laquisha. It's the only way to claim you."

Her growl filled my ears. She made an aggressive move toward him, but I stopped her. I looked at her and saw her eyes were filled with hate toward him.

"Oooo, is Laquisha getting mad? I'm sorry if I've offended you. Well, not really, it'll make it more interesting to claim you that way." The demon taunted.

In a flash, Laquisha had leapt at him, grabbing him by the throat. He was surprised at the attack, but that didn't keep him from retaliating. He slashed at her a few times, but she had some impressive moves and got her licks in. Eventually, out of desperation, the demon slashed at her ferociously, catching her off guard. The scent of her blood filled the air as he hit his mark. She fell, holding her stomach. I jumped, pulling tetsusaiga out, and struck the demon. I had missed my mark, but he had a severe injury. He leapt up and ran off yelling,

"We'll meet again!"

It didn't occur to me to go after him. All I was worried about was my friend. I hurried to her as she got up.

"I'm fine," she said through gritted teeth.

There was a large slash across her stomach.

"No you're not, come on, we have to get back."

"No, Inuyasha," she said firmly, "I can't."

"What? Why?"

"Because I have to find my mother's crypt."

She hesitated, then turned and started walking down the path. She kept on going, but I paused in confusion. What was so important about finding a crypt? Whatever it was, it must be urgent. Finally, after my musing, I followed.

After a while, she sighed stopped at a tree, obviously giving me a second to catch up to her without having to run. As soon as I had caught up, she started walking again. As we walked, the trees got thicker and the path got narrower. Finally, we reached a clearing, but all that was there was a stone wall.

'What the hell?'

So it is here... my mother's crypt. Exactly as it was in my dream. I remembered the voices in the dream and I gathered my energy and released it in the form of lightning.

Lightning hit the wall and a section disappeared and revealed stairs. I started going down them, but stopped and turned around.

"Inuyasha, you can't follow. I know you want to, but you've got to trust me."

He looked at me severely for a moment.

"It's not that I don't want you to come, but it's a journey that I've got to make by myself." I said

He didn't look too happy.

"I'll be here when you get back." He replied through gritted teeth.

I smiled, whirled around, and sped down the steps. When I came to the landing, the skeleton of a demon warrior sprang to life raising an ax over its head. Then it lowered the ax, bowed, and crumbed to a heap of dust on the floor.

"Creepy." I muttered.

Ahead of me was a table with, a gem, an orb, and a scabbard. The orb glowed as I reached out to touch it and shot out a beam of light. I shielded myself and when I looked back up, there was my mother standing in that weird blue light.

"Laquisha, my daughter, you've found my crypt. I'm very proud of you. If you are seeing this, I am no longer there to present this orb to you. Before you take it, there is something you need to understand. When I was younger, I was cursed to protect a certain human miko named Kikyo. That gem, is the thing that Kikyo was born to protect. When she died, she gave it to me to protect. Laquisha, you must take this gem and protect it with your life. In addition, you must find the reincarnation of Kikyo and give the gem to her. Then, protect her with your life. I am asking you to do this because this gem......... it is the Shikon Jewel. It MUST NOT fall into the wrong hands. Trust no one. Kikyo looks like this," She paused to hold out a hand and magically produce an image of her, "To help you find her, the orb will glow if she touches it. Now speaking of the orb, I must tell you about it. This orb has been passed down through the generations of the female side of my family. Our family is royalty. We rule over the Northwestern lands......... the lands of the wolf-demons. At age 13 the father of the female heir chooses a mate for her. This is when I ran away. I took the orb with me. It has magical powers. With each generation, it grows stronger and it has a different effect to each holder, but there is one thing in common. It will change into any weapon you call it to. When you pick it up, it will automatically change to the weapon that you have the most experience with. You can also change it into a staff and a necklace. I recommend putting the scabbard on the sword before you turn it into a necklace, though. There are so many things I could tell you about this wonderful weapon, but, alas, I am running short on time. One thing I can tell you though is if want to use its magic, you have to turn it into a staff first. I do not know what ability it will have in your care, but maybe that calls for an experiment. Ne? That is all I can say. There are other things you need to know about the curse I passed down to you, but there is no time. Instead, seek out Kaede. She will tell you all you need to know. To get the information out of her, you will need to tell her this: 'Danger comes to those who seek the gem and have hearts filled with hatred and greed. Instead, I seek to protect it with a heart void of these things.' That is all I have time for. Good-bye, I love you, my moon and stars. May the gods help you with your quest."

The image flickered, faded, and went out. I fought back tears. I HATED crying. Too much emotional crap. I walked over and picked up the orb. It flashed and turned into a sword.

"Very nice." I said, looking the blade over.

Then, a strange light engulfed me, and, after it was gone, I looked down and found, instead of fingernails claws took their place. I felt up my face and found no ears where they should be... instead, on the top of my head were two little wolf-ears. My hair had come out of it's usual braid and, instead of falling to my waist, it fell to mid-calf. Grabbing a strand of my hair, I found that, replacing my regular dark brown hair; black with red, blue and silver highlights was the color of my hair. Shrugging indifferently, I put the sword into the scabbard, strapped it to my waist, grabbed the gem, and headed out.

When I got out, the door shut behind me, never to be opened again. Inuyasha was sitting cross-legged a few feet away, asleep. I hesitated, not sure of what to do. I put the gem in the leather pouch I always wore around my neck and sat in his lap, wondering what to do next. I couldn't just leave him; that would be mean.

I was so very tired, and, eventually, I closed my eyes. Though, I didn't mean to fall asleep...

A familiar smell woke me from my dream. Then I noticed I had dosed off and I would have jumped up, but there was something on my lap. I looked down and there was Laquisha, curled up and asleep. I noticed there was a new addition to her wardrobe, along with the demon features I remembered seeing in her when we were little. The addition was a sword strapped to her waist. The handle was very detailed with etched ivory wrapped around a mysterious looking orb. It was probably an old family treasure, but it didn't explain why she had felt so strongly about it. I would ask questions later. Right now, she was injured and exhausted. She didn't need any tiring questions.

I picked her up and carried her back home. When we got there the sun was slowly rising. I hesitated and thought of what to do with her. I didn't know where her quarters where. Sighing, I took her to my room and set her on the bed. I tried to un-strap the sword from her waist. It shocked me with a bit of static and placed itself next to the bed.

"Weird." I muttered and sat in the seat next to her.

In not even a minute, I was lulled to sleep by her soft breathing.

A/n Ok, so I'm just making this up as I go along. Oh, well. And don't worry; I will eventually put Kagome/Inu pairing. I'm getting around to it. Inuyasha has to actually notice her first. Don't hurt me! Flame or praise, please review