Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. This story and all it's original characters belong to me. Don't use them without my permission.

Italics: Dreams and Flashbacks

Dictionary

Hanyou – Half-demon

Kitsune – Fox

Miko – Priestess

Miasma – Poison vapor

Hiraikotsu – Sango's weapon

Hi people! Chapter 7 is here. I will probably update every weekend from now on. My work schedule is starting to come together and I'm hoping things will be getting a little less hectic. I want to thank all of my reviewers both old and new. Without your support and encouragement I'm not sure I would have bothered to continue. But because you're all so supportive I will continue and hopefully I will not disappoint you. Personal thank yous will be put at the end of the chapter. Thanks again and happy reading.

Kagome walked through the forest with Sesi still riding on her shoulder. She stomped through the undergrowth in a mood of anger and frustration. They were almost to the campsite and the sun was beginning to set bathing the forest in a fiery orange glow.

I can't believe him! She thought angrily. He didn't even ask if I was all right or anything. He just starts complaining about Sesi. What a jerk. He doesn't even know what's going on.

Still he did come looking for you. That means that he was worried right? A little voice in her head stated.

Kagome stopped in her tracks. That's right he did come for me; maybe I shouldn't be so mad. He was probably just angry about the fact that I hit him. Still he didn't have to be so disagreeable.

Kagome sighed. Why do things have to be so complicated with him? She thought miserably. Turning to catch a glimpse of the hanyou who trailed her.

Inuyasha followed Kagome watching her carefully. She's still mad he thought unhappily.

Well if you weren't such an idiot she wouldn't be said a voice in his head.

Who asked you he yelled at the voice. Great, now I'm having conversations with myself he thought.

Inuyasha continued watching Kagome and was startled when she stopped for no apparent reason. He was going to ask her what was wrong when she suddenly turned and looked at him. After staring at him for a few minutes she turned and resumed walking to the campsite.

Inuyasha just stood still for a few minutes watching Kagome walk away. What was that all about? He wondered. Inuyasha hurried after her not wanting her to get too far ahead.

The trees started to thin as they neared the clearing where they had camped and Kagome quickened her pace, anxious to get back to Shippo and the others.

As she entered the campsite Kagome was almost knocked over by the ball of fur that flew at her striking her in the chest.

"Kagome!" Shippo yelled excitedly rubbing his head against her chest.

"Shippo." Kagome said putting her arms around the little kitsune and gently patting his head.

"Where have you guys been?" Shippo asked leaning back in Kagome's arms to look at her face.

"Long story" Kagome replied.

Shippo didn't even seem to see her. He was too busy staring at the little cat demon on her shoulder.

"Oh that's right." Kagome said putting Shippo down and taking Sesi off her shoulder.

"Shippo this is Sesi. Sesi this is Shippo." She set Sesi down and stepped back to give the two small demons some room.

While Kagome was introducing Sesi to Shippo Inuyasha looked around the campsite. He was surprised to find no sign of Sango or Miroku. He then noticed Hatchi sleeping near the fire and walked over to the raccoon demon. Gently shaking him Inuyasha woke the demon and asked him what was going on.

Shippo and Sesi stared at each other emerald eyes meeting icy blue. Some unspoken agreement passed between the two and Shippo smiled.

"So Sesi want to play?" Shippo asked the kitten curiously.

Sesi smiled at the little kitsune. "Actually would you mind if I got something to eat first?" he asked looking plaintively at the pot of soup still simmering over the campfire.

'Sure I'll get you something." Shippo said happily pulling Sesi towards the campfire.

Kagome smiled as she watched the two little demons bond. She was so absorbed with watching the two that she didn't hear Inuyasha approach.

Kagome jumped about two feet when she felt a clawed hand grab her shoulder and someone's hot breath on the back of her neck. She spun around to come face to face with Inuyasha.

"Inu.." she started angrily only to be silenced by the clawed finger that he pressed to her lips to silence her.

"Sango and Miroku are gone." Inuyasha began. "They left with Kilala to go and try to save Hatchi's village from Kohaku." When Inuyasha finished he took his finger away from her lips and awaited her reaction.

Kagome turned from the hanyou to look around the campsite, only then did she notice the raccoon demon sitting by the fire. "Should we go after them?" she asked turning back to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Nah, no point, Hatchi said it would take them about two days to get there. Besides they have quite a good lead and by the time we get there they would probably already have everything under control."

"You don't think that they'll need any help?" Kagome asked him worriedly.

"I'm pretty sure Miroku and Sango can take care of it. In the meantime I guess we'll just take the kid home. We have a few days before they get back anyway." Inuyasha said giving Kagome a look that he hoped told her what he was trying to say.

Kagome smiled at Inuyasha and returned his look with a look of her own, one that she knew told him that she understood what he was silently trying to tell her.

Inuyasha smiled back at her, happy that she had accepted his unspoken apology. He then turned from her and started towards the campfire.

Kagome watched Inuyasha walk away from her his long silver hair swinging from side to side. He moved with a canine grace that astounded and captivated her.

She was surprised that he had smiled at her, an actual smile. Inuyasha looks nice when he smiles she thought. Another thought silently entered her mind. He always looks nice. She blushed at that thought.

Kagome quickly shook her head to try and dispel her thoughts of Inuyasha and turned her face towards the darkening sky.

The stars were just beginning to appear and the night air was beginning to chill. Kagome shivered as she looked up at the bright stars. She was always swept away by their beauty. They were so much clearer and brighter in the feudal era.

Kagome sighed. "Sango, Miroku good luck." She whispered as she made her way to the fireside.

As she approached the campfire she could hear Sesi explaining how to get to the village his mother was staying at. Kagome sat down beside Inuyasha and listened to the small kitten.

When Sesi had finished speaking Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "Why don't we all get some rest and then set off for his village early tomorrow morning?" He asked her. "It should take us about a day to get there. By the time we get back from his village Miroku and Sango should also be getting back."

Kagome stared at Inuyasha, stunned at this sudden change in his attitude. He had been totally against the idea of helping Sesi before and now he was all for it. It was definitely weird for Inuyasha.

"What are you gawking at?" Inuyasha said to Kagome. Her reaction to his suggestion was starting to irritate him. Did she really think that him deciding to help Sesi was so weird? He was doing it to make her happy so what was her problem? Kagome's voice broke his train of thought.

"You. I'm staring at you." She responded to his inquiry.

"Well I could tell that much." Inuyasha said biting back the insult that came to his tongue. "I meant why are you staring at me like that?" he finished struggling to keep the annoyed tone from his voice.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha" Kagome started. "It's just that...well It's not often that you're this agreeable. It's kinda nice." She finished smiling at him and reaching up to tug on one of his ears.

"Feh, well don't get used to it." Inuyasha said adverting his gaze from her and impatiently brushing her hand away. He felt himself blush slightly and was grateful for the darkness that surrounded them.

To Inuyasha's relief Shippo took that moment to yawn taking distracting Kagome.

Kagome smiled at the little demons that were both sleepily staring at the fire. "You guys must be tired." She said smiling at the pair. "You ready for bed?" she asked them.

As if on cue Shippo and Sesi both shook their heads. "No we're not sleepy." They chorused in unison. Inuyasha just snorted and shook his head. He opened his mouth to make a comment but was cut off by Kagome.

"Okay if your not sleepy then how about I tell Sesi about our quest? I mean you are curious about what we're doing here I bet. Plus knowing a little about us would probably make you more comfortable right?" She asked the little kitten.

"Yeah good idea Kagome!" Shippo said excitedly, practically dragging his new friend over to the blanket that Kagome was spreading on the ground.

Once Kagome saw that both young demons were comfortably settled on the blanket she took the bottle containing the shikon jewel shards from her bag and showed them to Sesi.

"These are shikon jewel shards." She said to Sesi. "We are collecting them to try and complete the whole jewel before someone else does."

Before she could say anything else Sesi interrupted her. "My mom has one of those things. She found it one day when she was out hunting. I didn't know it was special. I thought it was just a shiny rock."

"Really? She has one." Kagome said excitedly. That was probably the shard that I sensed earlier. She thought excitedly.

"Yeah I'm positive. She'll probably give it to you if you ask. She just kept it because she thought it was pretty." Sesi said. "Are they hard to find?" he asked Kagome curiously.

"You better believe they are." Shippo told his friend. "Kagome can sense them though so we're lucky. We usually get to them before anyone else does."

"We'll talk to your mom about the shard when we get you home." Kagome said turning towards the fire. "In the meantime do you want to hear about some of the experiences we've had on our quest?"

Sesi nodded excitedly. "Yeah. You guys must have had some exciting adventures." He said staring up at Kagome.

"Feh, Exciting is an interesting way to describe them. I prefer to call them nightmares." Inuyasha said grumpily.

"Oh, just ignore him." Kagome said shooting a disapproving glare at the hanyou. Oh well I knew his good mood wouldn't last forever she thought.

Kagome cleared her throat and began to recount some of their less frightening experiences. Sesi listened wide-eyed while Shippo occasionally chimed in with a comment of his own. Inuyasha just closed his eyes and listened to Kagome's voice.

Her voice actually sounds nice when she isn't yelling at something. He thought. He listened to her for a while letting her soothing voice lull him to sleep.

Kagome stopped her story when she noticed that both young demons were asleep. She tucked them both beneath the covers and turned to Inuyasha.

"Hey Inuyasha" she started but stopped when she noticed that he too was fast asleep. She smiled at the hanyou. "I guess you were pretty tired too." She said to him covering him with a blanket. Inuyasha stirred slightly snuggling closer to the blanket she had placed on him. Kagome smiled at him.

"Good night Inuyasha." she said softly, turning and stepping carefully over Sesi and Shippo. She walked over to her bag and carefully replaced the bottle of shards. Taking a blanket from her bag she settled herself on the other side of the fire.

I don't want to wake the others if I have another nightmare she thought sleepily. Snuggled in her blanket she soon fell into a restless sleep.

The small sapphire snake that had been watching the campsite hissed softly. He slithered quickly away from the clearing making his way into the forest and speeding quickly though the dense undergrowth. Ayon will be extremely pleased with me he thought happily.

That was Chapter 7. A little longer than my previous chapters huh. Well I hope you liked it. Next chapter will have some Sango and Miroku in it plus Ayon makes a return. Well have a good week. Here are your thank yous. Just find your name. Don't forget to review if you're new to my reading crew. Even if you're not new it's nice to hear your encouragement and help. Thanks and happy reading. :)

HJ

I'm glad you think my story is great. Thanks for the review.

Sakura234

I'll try to update regularly. Thanks for the review.

orange-Inu Yasha

Thanks for all your reviews. You've given me a lot of encouragement. I'm not too patient either. Lol

anime-queen45

I'm happy that you love my story. I'll try not to disappoint you. Thanks for your review.

DemonDragon000

I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review.

Martina-san

Hopefully I can keep it exciting. Thanks for the review.

Inuyasha'smistress

I'll try and keep it that way. Don't worry Hatchi and Shippo will be okay. For now at least.... Thanks for the review.

Yvonne

Sorry I haven't been able to talk to you lately. I'll try to check my e-mail regularly so maybe we can keep in touch that way. I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review.

inuyashaobsesed1598

Wow thanks so much for this review. I'll try and make my story a little fluffier. I'm glad that you think my story is one of the best and I'm honored that you put me on your favorites. I'm trying hard to keep all the characters in character and I'm glad that you think I'm doing a good job. I'll try to keep it that way. Thanks for the review. It was very encouraging.

Sarcasm Girl8

Glad you like the story. Thanks for the review.

Suaru

I'm happy that you like my story. I'm honored to be on your favorites. Sango and Miroku will get some fluffy time too don't worry. I'll read your story when I get some extra time. Thanks for the review.

Inuyashafan

Thanks for the compliment. Thanks for the review.

Purplefr0g

Thanks I'm glad you liked it. Updates will come don't worry. I won't let my loyal readers down. I'm not sure if you meant fluffy as in Sesshomaru but if you did don't worry he's going to be in my next fic. Thanks for the review.

Kagma

To answer your question Hatchi is a friend of Miroku's. He is a raccoon demon who has the ability to transform into a huge flying creature. He occasionally gives the Inuyasha gang a lift. He's not in many episodes so I'm not surprised that you don't know who he is. Don't worry there are plenty of InuKag moments in the future and some san and Mir too. Thanks for the comment about my workload. It's getting better though. Thanks for the review.