Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Inuyasha, the graphic novels or the television show.

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Chapter One

Uneasy Alliance

Kagome lay on her back, gazing up at the cracks in the ceiling, still restless. She

was unable to sleep, even though it was so late that the pale light of dawn had begun to

creep into the sky. The small hut in Kaede's village always seemed to make some noise

as soon as she was ready to drift off; a branch would scratch against the sides, or she'd hear

the creaking noise of the house settling into the ground.

She sighed, knowing that she'd never get to sleep now, and rose to her feet slowly,

careful not to wake Shippo, who was sleeping by her side, and slipped outside, closing the

door behind her quietly.

She strode quickly toward the woods near the village. She wasn't sure where to go,

but needed to do something, anything, to shake off this restless feeling.

Branches scraped against her face and legs as she walked by. They almost seemed to

be blocking her way, making a type of barrier- but that was crazy. Kagome wandered blindly

through the dense woods, starting to regret this idea- by now she was more than a little lost,

and completely miserable from the chill air and the scrapes from the various branches and

thorns that harassed her. She was about to turn around and try to find her way back to the

village, when she emerged into a large clearing.

She had to stop and look- it was beautiful. Tall, majestic trees encircled it, their

immense branches reaching for the skies. Small flowers showed up here and there among

the tall grass, and a clear stream trickled through it, giving an air of peace to the place.

What drew her attention the most, though, was a willow tree at the end of the clearing. Its

branches bent over gracefully, just touching the ground, making a wall of the green leaves

hanging from them. Behind the leaves.. Is that... a girl?! She stepped closer, cautiously

pushing aside the screen of leaves.

Sure enough, a girl lay there, fast asleep. She must have been at least sixteen, but

the round shape of her face gave an innocent quality to her, making her look years younger.

Her long black hair was snarled and matted, and leaves and twigs were entangled in it- that,

and the fact that the clothes she wore were smeared with dirt, and covered in grass stains,

gave off the impression that she'd been traveling for some time. Kagome kneeled by her

side. The girl looked so helpless, so childlike, that she felt as though she should do

something for her.

She reached out and touched her cheek. "Hey... you okay?" she asked softly. The

girl's eyes flashed open, and Kagome jerked back in shock. Her eyes were blood red. She'd

never seen eyes like that before, unless they belonged to a demon. The girl didn't look any

less surprised- she sat up quickly, her eyes wide with fear. Without thinking, she reached

out and clamped one hand over Kagome's mouth. "What do you want from me?" she

demanded.

She stared back at Kagome for a moment, then slowly released her. "What is it you

want?" she repeated, her voice slightly softer, almost apologetic.

"N-Nothing," stammered Kagome. "That is, I was just-"

"Never mind." She glared at her suddenly. "Time for me to move on, I guess."

"Wait. I didn't mean anything, I just wanted to know if you were okay."

Another glare. "I didn't ask for your help."

"You don't have to be so rude, I was worried about you," said Kagome, a little

annoyed.

"No, you weren't. You don't even know me. There must be something else you want.

Whatever it is, I'm sure I can't help you with it. Now, leave. I've no time for you," she replied

in a dismissive tone. "If you were able to find me, a youkai surely could." She got to her feet,

then looked behind her, her eyes lingering on Kagome's school uniform curiously. "That skirt is

unusually short... isn't it uncomfortable?"

"What?" Kagome said, a little surprised at the change in subject.

The strange girl nodded and blushed softly. "Don't worry, I understand now. You

must be a prostitute. Unfortunate, really, but nothing I can do about it."

Kagome blushed bright red, her eyes flaming with anger. "I AM NOT!" she shouted

at the top of her lungs. The stranger winced at the sudden sound.

Kagome glared at her so fiercely that she backed away from her slowly, holding

her hands out in front of her as if to protect herself. She opened her mouth to say

something, but it never came out. They both turned to look in the direction of the village.

There was the sound of someone running here. Fast. A hanyou dashed into the clearing,

stopping in front of Amaya. His enraged eyes were the last thing she saw before something

hit her, hard, and she blacked out.

Kaede knelt over the unconcious girl. "She'll be alright."

"Inuyasha, you didn't have to hit her so hard," said Kagome in a scolding tone.

"You didn't have to yell so loud," he snapped. "I could hear it all the way over

here."

Inuyasha had been sulking ever since they'd arrived at the village. After he'd

knocked out the strange girl, Kagome had yelled at him for attacking her- she hadn't

harmed anyone, she was innocent. She knew it was unfair to be angry with him since

he'd only been trying to protect her, and she felt like she should apologize, but she

hated to admit that she was wrong. Besides, it would only give him something else to

hold against her.

She glanced down at Amaya. "You're sure she's not-"

"She's human. I'd be able to tell if she wasn't."

"I know, but..." Kagome paused, troubled. "It's her eyes. I've never seen

anything like that before."

Her thoughts were interrupted when Amaya opened her eyes and sat up in a flash,

staring at them wildly. She put her hand near her belt, feeling for a dagger that wasn't there.

Kagome put her hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. Amaya pulled away and

scowled at them.

"Please, try to calm down. No one here is going to hurt ye," said Kaede in a calm

voice. "What is your name?"

Something inside the girl seemed to break- the defiant look in her eye was gone,

replaced by sorrow and insecurity.

"Amaya." She muttered, resigned.

"A lovely name," said Kaede, smiling reassuringly. "What village are you from?"

Amaya looked down and said nothing. They waited in vain for an answer. She

gave none.

"Why were you sleeping in the woods?" Asked Kagome, feeling a need to change

the subject.

"I don't have anywhere better to go."

"You could stay here," she said kindly.

Amaya opened her mouth to speak, but stopped and winced.

Kagome looked down at Amaya's stomach. Blood was gushing freely from a

wound there, and she had clamped her hand over it to try and stop the bleeding.

Kaede's eyes widened at this. "Oh-" she gasped. Amaya groaned. The miko

reached out to her, but she jerked away. "Amaya, that wound-"

"I'm fine!" she snapped, struggling to her feet. "I got in a fight with a youkai,

that's all. I bandaged it myself, and I can do it again. I don't need any help."

She staggered to the door, stepped outside, glanced back at Kaede

triumphantly, then fell forward, unconscious.

Several hours later, once Kaede had finished bandaging Amaya and Kagome

had succeeded in coaxing her to come outside, she was sitting by Sango and Miroku,

hugging her knees to her chest and listening to the conversation, but never joining in.

Kagome sat across from her, next to Inuyasha, who had only stopped sulking

when she had taken out the ramen he liked so much. Shippo sat on her lap, content,

joining her for the moment in staring at Inuyasha, who was occupied in stuffing as much

ramen into his face as he possibly could. Kagome struggled to suppress a laugh. I never

knew anyone could eat that much ramen. She was trying hard to keep a straight face,

when she heard a sound she'd never expected. Amaya had buried her face in her hands

and was laughing hysterically.

Inuyasha stopped eating for the moment, and looked up at her. "Mhuh?" His

voice was muffled from the large amount of noodles in his mouth.

Amaya didn't answer- she just laughed harder. Kagome smiled, desperately

trying to keep it in, then burst into giggles along with her. Sango, who was usually so

serious, eventually started laughing with them, twisting her face in her struggle to look

calm. Miroku laughed softly and covered his mouth with his hand, snickering and

trying to look composed.

Inuyasha stared at them all. "What's wrong with you?" He demanded rudely.

No one answered - they probably wouldn't have been able to if they tried. "What the

hell is so goddamn funny??"

Amaya buried her head in her lap, muffling her laughter, and shaking her head

violently.

"C'mon, tell me!! What's so funny?! Hey, you listening??"

Shippo smirked, and with a loud pop turned himself into a mirror image of the

hanyou, his cheeks bulging with ramen, which succeeded in making everyone laugh even

harder. Inuyasha was not in the best of moods by the end of the day.

It was the next day. Kagome yawned and rubbed at her eyes. Maybe I should've

tried harder not to laugh at Inuyasha. Something had obviously been bothering him. He

woke them up early that morning, snapping at them that they'd wasted enough time

here and should go to look for shards of the Shikon no Tama.

She glanced at Amaya. The girl seemed to have completely forgotten her laughing

fit yesterday. She'd acted as though it had never happened, and snapped at Kagome

whenever she tried to bring it up. Now, Amaya was sitting on a bridge over a stream, staring

fixedly at her reflection in the water. Kagome stretched her arms briefly and walked over to

her, smiling.

"Hi."

No answer.

"We're leaving today to look for the Shikon shards," she continued cheerfully. "Do

you want to come with us?"

Amaya shook her head, still staring at her reflection as if she hardly recognized it.

After hours of work, and, she suspected, some magic, Kaede had managed to untangle

the girl's hair, and coax her into taking a bath. Amaya gazed at herself, confused. Can that

really be me? She smiled, realizing that without the tangles in her hair and the dirt and grass

stains on her face, she actually looked pretty. Not beautiful, but not ugly, as she'd so long

believed.

Kagome looked at her for a moment, then said kindly, "Well, okay, but if you

change your mind we'd be glad to have you."

Amaya didn't answer. The same soft smile stayed on her face. She continued looking

into the water, as if Kagome had never been there.

Kagome sighed and got to her feet. She's hopeless. "Bye, then."

Amaya looked up to watch as Kagome joined the rest of her company, Inuyasha

looking impatient and annoyed and muttering "Finally" when Kagome reached him, Shippo

nodding off to sleep and complaining about the time, Sango struggling not to yawn as she

grasped her boomerang, waiting for her friend, and Miroku trying to get a good look down

Sango's kimono, until she realized what he was doing and brought Hiraikotsu down on his

head, hard.

She watched as they walked down the road, out of the village, talking cheerfully,

completely at ease with each other. They were out of her sight. She stared after them for a

long while, before cursing, standing up and walking after them, careful to keep enough

distance from them so that they wouldn't see her. It's not like I really want to go. I'm just

curious.

That's all, she convinced herself as she tightened her belt and followed them at a quick pace.