--------------------------------------- Friendly Fire ----------------------------------------

Inuyasha smirked and flexed his claws. His amber eyes held a glint in them that Akemi knew all too well. "Is that a challenge," he snarled as he took a step towards the lone kitsune hanyou.

"Come and get me," she began with her own smirk. "If you can." She had drawn her own kodachi blade out and in an instant dashed off into the field surrounding the camp, away from Kagome and the others. Inuyasha followed her quickly, teeth bared and claws outstretched as he tried to swipe at Akemi, who always seemed to be at least two steps ahead of him.

Kagome tried to move forward but was quickly pulled back by a strong hand. "No Kagome," Sango said, her voice filled with concern. "It's never wise to get involved in a battle between two demons."

"Half-demons," Kagome corrected. Her brown eyes watched in horror as Inuyasha tried desperately to slice his 'friend' with his claws.

"Nevertheless Kagome," Miroku said as he stepped forward. Shippo was resting peacefully upon his shoulder. "This battle seems personal and you will more than likely get hurt if you get in the middle. Perhaps there was something that Inuyasha didn't tell us about."

Kagome looked at Miroku and sighed before she turned back to watch the fight. "I just don't understand. I mean, they're friends. Why would he be fighting her like this?"

"It's like Akemi said," Shippo chimed up. "He only cares about the jewel shards. And she wouldn't give them to us, so…"

"That's not a good enough reason!" Kagome's chest heaved heavily with every angry breath she took. She knew far too well how it felt to think that the shards were the only important thing in the world. She herself often felt that Inuyasha only wanted her around as a shard detector. It was a sentiment he expressed so often in the beginning of their friendship that there were times Kagome still thought that this was how the half-demon felt all the time.

"I can't let him do this," she said as she pulled herself away from Sango's grasp and rushed out toward the two half-demons.

"Kagome, no!" Sango rushed after her leaving Miroku and Shippo behind. The pair looked at each other until Miroku finally shrugged and ambled forward, following the two girls that were already halfway across the field.

---------------------------------------- Meanwhile ---------------------------------------

"Fox fire!" Akemi had jumped into the air and released her attack upon Inuyasha, a swirling cloud of blue flames that traveled toward the silver-haired hanyou at an amazing speed. Inuyasha lifted his arm to shield his face. The blue flames licked at the half-demon's clothing but the robe of the Fire Rat proved its worth once more as it dispelled the flames.

"You're going to have to do better than that," he shouted as he sprang into the air and swiped a foreboding claw at Akemi. The half-fox demon girl evaded his attack easily and performed several back flips away from her opponent putting even more space in between them.

"Give up yet, Inuyasha," she called out to him, her emerald eyes sparkling despite the clouds that had suddenly overcast the sky.

"Keh, you must be joking," he said as he reached for his Tetsusaiga. But Akemi raised a finger and wagged it at him.

"Uh uh uh. No weapons, remember?" The young fox hanyou placed her hands on her hips and cocked a brow at Inuyasha in silent reprimand. Inuyasha grunted and took his hand off the hilt and placed it back at his side.

"You're using your fox magic!" His retort came after several seconds of silence.

"That's what I've got naturally. I'm not using my weapons." She pointed to the kunai on her sash and the kodachi on her back. "Enough talk!" Akemi lowered her eyes and crouched on the ground. She winked at Inuyasha and within an instant she dashed toward him, a veritable blur of motion as she quickly closed the distance.

Inuyasha braced himself and kept his senses on high alert. He could barely keep up with her and the golden-eyed half-demon remembered that speed was one of Akemi's strengths. "She's gonna try to catch me off guard," he thought quietly to himself as his ears twitched. He heard a sound to his left and flexed his claws once more slicing down at what he thought was movement on his left side.

"Gotcha!" A triumphant battle cry that seemed to mock him when he realized there was no one there.

"You always fell for that one," said Akemi's voice from behind Inuyasha as he suddenly felt his feet being swept out from underneath him. The hard ground met his back and his eyes clouded over for a moment.

"Dammit," he muttered as he shook his head bringing his eyesight back into focus. He met Akemi's eyes and felt her small hands pinning down his shoulders.

"I win," she said haughtily.

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Kagome ran as quickly as she could toward the two half-demons. Sango had caught up with the young school girl while Miroku and Shippo remained farther behind, trotting through the field as if they were taking a stroll. Kagome stopped for a moment in her tracks when she realized that she no longer heard the sounds of battle.

"Sango," she said, worry dripping from her voice. "What if…"

Sango put a reassuring hand on Kagome's shoulder and shook her head. "Don't think that. I'm sure everything is fine." Kagome nodded and continued to make her way up the hill that blocked Akemi and Inuyasha from view. When the two girls reached their destination they were surprised to hear the sounds of laughter resonating in the air. And when they finally saw Inuyasha and Akemi, the two girls would find that the half-demons were no longer fighting but laughing and talking playfully in the tall grass.

"You've really gotten good with your fighting, little brother," Akemi said as she leaned back upon her hands. She reveled in the way the grass felt against her bare skin.

Inuyasha smiled proudly. "Hey, you're not the only one who's gotten practice over the years," he offered in explanation. "Besides, my sword has made it a lot easier."

Akemi glanced at the hilt and scabbard that lay on Inuyasha's side. "Can I see it?"

Inuyasha nodded and pulled out the Tetsusaiga. Akemi's eyes widened in awe as the small and battered blade transformed into a grand spectacle. A patch of sunlight managed to break through the clouds at that moment and seemed to illuminate the sword in an ethereal light.

"Inuyasha," Kagome cried as she and Sango traveled down the hill. The school girl's face was painted with confusion, as was Sango's.

"Oh, hey Kagome," he said as he placed the Tetsusaiga back within its sheath. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Kagome couldn't believe that he was acting as nonchalantly as he was. "What's up is that you and Akemi ran off to fight each other and now you're talking?!" Her brow twitched again.

"Inuyasha, what happened," asked Sango as she rested her hands upon her hips.

Akemi and Inuyasha glanced at one another and smirked. "It's a game we used to play," Inuyasha said with a shrug.

Akemi nodded, "I used to pretend to be evil and he'd be the good guy who came after me. I'd always get him in the end, though."

Kagome felt her brow twitch at the explanation. It was a game. She was worried over a game and Inuyasha didn't seem to care at all that she was worried. She looked at Inuyasha and opened her mouth to say something.

"What," Inuyasha asked before anything came out of Kagome's mouth.

Kagome sighed and turned around. "Nothing, I'm just going to go back to camp." She began to walk away from them muttering incoherently as she did so.

"What's wrong with her," Akemi asked as she rose to her feet. She watched Kagome walk away, a pang of guilt suddenly washing over her. She bit her lower lip and looked at Sango. "I didn't mean to make her upset."

Sango smiled. "She was just worried is all; she thought you two were going to kill each other."

Akemi smiled. "I'd never kill Inuyasha."

At that moment, Miroku and Shippo appeared at the top of the hill and waved down at the group.

"Hey, is the battle over already," the monk asked as he carefully made his way down toward them. "I saw Kagome going back to camp," he said as he reached them. Shippo quickly scampered off his shoulder. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Kagome's just upset… AGAIN," Inuyasha replied, exasperated. "She always gets upset about something," he offered in explanation to Akemi.

The fox hanyou smiled and patted Inuyasha on the arm. "Come on, let's go back and help your Kagome clean up. We've got a lot to talk about."

Akemi began to walk back toward the camp with Shippo close behind her. The little fox demon had actually jumped upon Akemi's back and began chatting with her wildly and Inuyasha was left with the sounds of his friend's laughter upon the wind.

Miroku glanced at Inuyasha and smirked. "Your Kagome, huh?" The monk waggled his eyebrows at the half-demon and laughed.

"Shut up, Miroku! You don't know anything about it." He crossed his arms and looked away, nose pointed in the air.

"Right," Miroku said, drawing out the word. "Whatever you say, Inuyasha." And with that the monk turned on his heel and jogged toward Akemi and Shippo. "Hey wait up," he called out to them as his form slowly faded from sight.

Sango smiled at Inuyasha and shook her head. "Miroku may not know much but I think your friend has a pretty good idea." Inuyasha remained silent as Sango left him alone in the field. She ran to catch up with the others and soon she too was out of Inuyasha's sight. The half-demon looked toward his companions as they walked away. He sighed as Akemi's words rang through his mind.

"Your Kagome," he said under his breath. "Keh!" His contemplative gaze turned into an annoyed one. "She doesn't know anything. None of them do!" And with that the hanyou left the field and made his way back to camp as well wondering just what it was that Akemi wanted to talk about.