Hanyou : Half-human Half-Demon

Miko: Loosely translated as a priestess

Hai: yes or acknowledgment

Goshinboku:God Tree the one inuyasha was pinned to for 50 years

Sama: lord or lady basically means Mr. Ms. or Mrs.

Chan: a suffix used when taking to someone who is of equal status

Kitsune: fox demon

hoshi:Buddhist monk trained to fight (miroku)

Shikon no Tama: jewel of four souls

Ohayao: Good Morning

Oi: Hey

Kami: god or gods

yukata:undergarment worn under a kimono

Haori: male kimono top much like a jacket

Harikatsu: Large boomerang made of demon bones ( sango weapon)

Kaze no Kizu: wound of the wind or wind scar a powerful attack of the tetsusiga

Tetsusiga: inuyasha sword made of his fathers fang

Neko: Cat

Koishi: Dear or beloved on

Tatta hitori no watashi: My one and only

Okaa-san: Mother or mom

Sunshine splashed down on his face as the wind whispered to his silver hair, he had been laying on this same branch near the well all morning, waiting, somewhat in anticipation, somewhat in worry. "Will she be here, why should I care anyway" he thought to himself, yet he still watched and waited to see her hands come over the top of the well. He found himself lost deep in his thoughts when he heard a faint echo coming from the well. Quickly he leapt to the ground, moving into a position behind the well housing, in some bushes where he couldn't be seen. Slowly a beautiful raven-haired girl emerged from the old well, She cast her gaze up into the trees looking for something or someone.

"Inuyasha are you here"? Kagome asked aloud.

No response, she slowly took a few more steps looking higher into the tops of the forest, "About time you got here" Inuyasha growled lowly.

Kagome let out an 'eep' and lept forward spinning around, placing her small hands on her chest, the look of fright on her face. He saw this and knew what was coming next, he waited for that dreaded word, he just knew she was gonna yell 'sit'. Instead she slowly approached him smiling,

"nice to see you too" she said.

She had been gone for 3 days now and even though she nor he would admit it, they missed each other. Kagome suggested they head for kiadaes village, and as she walked in front, Inuyasha couldn't help but form a small smile at her reaction when he startled her. As he slowly caught up with her, his mind finally realized what his heart had been yelling for so long, watching her as she walked ahead of him, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. Her long, flowing, black tresses draped over her shoulders, how the sunlight seemed to sparkle when it rained down on her, the soft glow of her skin, and the way she seemed to radiate warmth. Shaking the clouds from his head he caught up with her before she noticed him taking in her form. As they approached the village they were met by sango, miroku, and shippo. As usual the little kitsune cub launched him self straight into her arms, yelling "kagome, kagome, i missed you, you have been gone for 3 days"

"i missed you too shippo" the young miko replied.

After a plesant reunion, well pleasant for everyone but a certain hanyou who just muttered a quick Feh! They were quickly hurried into kiadae's hut for dinner. After eating they began to talk about their next move. They had realized that finding all the shards of the shikon no tama was going to be a daunting task.

"Miroku" kagome asked, "did you find anything out following your lead on a jewel fragment?"

"Yes he responded, there is quite possibly 3 jewel shards about 2 days journey from here, one of the young lords i encountered in the village who had requested that I remove a restless sprit from his home informed me of a neko demon who had attained 3 shards of the shikon no tama. apparently this demon has been giving a neighboring village some trouble since attaining the jewel shards. I spoke with the village elder and he asked if we would be able to rid them of this new enemy."

For no apparent reason Inuyasha got up and quickly left the hut. Leaping from the ground to the trees above, finding the highest branch overlooking the village, kagome followed him
"Inuyasha where are you going" she yelled but got no response, following close behind her was sango.

"whats wrong with inuyasha" she inquired

"i have no clue sango"

High above the village, inuyasha sat, "I can't believe that i have forgotten, how could i, 53 years ago today, is when i met kikyo. When i first learned of the shikon no tama. I wanted it for my self to become full youkai. To think, it was because i wanted that damn jewel, kikyo died, if i had just left well enough alone and never met her she would still be alive today, all those years ago, she was the only one who treated me like i wasn't some monster and now what about kagome, will the same thing happen to her" "She reminds me of kikyo in some ways but she is so different in others when she is around i seem to be finding it difficult to concentrate on the past". One thing that was different between the two was, kagome accepted him as a hanyou, she didn't want him to change, yet he couldn't understand how she could feel anything for a disgusting half breed like him self. However she accepted him. Inuyasha sat there, pondering all these thoughts, trying to understand them but to no avail. He didn't want to admit it but he loved her, however his arrogant pride wouldn't allow him to share his true feelings. No it wasn't just the pride, he couldn't stand the thought of her not loving him. Many nights in the goshinboku he laid there thinking about their future together, he had wanted the shikon jewel so bad in the beginning but now a part of him hoped they would never find it all because it meant kagome leaving him. Which brought him to his next thought, should he tell her how he felt, would she accept him, did she love him? Just as that thought traversed his mind, he heard someone scream, Before the thought could leave his mind, he leapt from the tree, drawing the tetsusiga on the way down. Landing and running as fast as he could, he entered the village in only a few seconds. Standing there in a circle was kagome, sango, miroku and kiadae. Sheathing his sword, he slowly approached them, trying to see what had happened, he could smell blood, human blood.

"Don't try to move" kagome said.

"Your hurt way to bad, miroku help me get her inside" sango said,

"Here lay her here on this mat, child tell me what has happened" kiadae asked

"My village, it...it...it was attacked, demon.... neko ...destoryed everything....killed everything...." kiadae looked down at this young girl. She had deep claw marks across her chest and legs. She had lost a lot of blood, too much for anyone to lose. Kiadae bowed her head slightly and motion for miroku to follow her out of the hut.

"What is it kiadae-sama" miroku inquired.

"Hoshi-sama i shall need your assistance, this girl shall not survive the night. Please ask inuyasha to assist you in making a grave for her, and ...

"say no more kiadae-sama" miroku stated "I shall make preparation for her funeral" "thank ye hoshi-sama i shall attend to her and see what i can do to lessen the pain"

Miroku started walking towards the hut where his companions were, but was cut off as a red clad figure stepped in front of him.

"I know what your going to ask, lets get it done soon, we have a demon to kill" Inuyasha stated pointy

"Inuyasha how did you know?" miroku asked.

"I can smell death all over her, she wont survive another hour" After finishing the final resting place of the young girl, they laid her body in it and covered her up. Miroku stepped forward, bowing his head and said a prayer for her. Inuyasha noticed kagome sitting a little ways from the grave on a rock. He could smell the tears coming from her eyes.

"kagome" inuyasha asked "are you ok?"

kagome just looked up at him with tears falling from her face. She lept forward grabbing on to his haori, burying her face into his chest sobbing.

"Why! Why! Everyone who comes into contact with the shikon no tama ends up like this. She was just a young girl, younger than me, she didn't deserve to die"

Inuyasha could only hold her, what could he say to her, nothing, no words could help at this point. After a few moments she consoled her self, slowly removing her face from his haori, she looked up into his amber eyes, for once he didn't look away. He returned her gaze and for a moment she could see something. Something she had never seen before. A single tear fell from his eye. He quickly blinked it away and muttered a "Feh! Damn wind." She knew it was the tough guy in him but she didn't believe for a moment that the wind had anything to do with it. She released her grip on him and turned to look at the rest of the group. sango looked to her with sadness in her eyes.

"This girl had been walking for at least 2 days, looking for someone to help. How in kami she got this far is beyond me."

Miroku started walking towards kiadae's hut and motioned for the rest to follow. Once inside they all set around the fire in an uncomfortable silence, which seemed to last forever. Inuyasha was the one to break the silence,

"That damn demon is going to pay for this, sango, miroku, kagome, we leave tomorrow for her village, we have to find that damn neko before he destroys another village. Also, i smelled something on that girl, something that makes me want to retch" no one needed to asked what it was. A low growl escaped from inuyasha's chest. With it one word, one name, one that said all that needed to be said "naraku".