Author's Pre Notes: Ok here's number three . . . Things are starting to get going but we have a bit to go . .so I don't really have much to say yet . .so to those wonderful enough to review!!

rainbow-monkey88 Thanks so much for coming back! Lol I'm glad you're so interested. That's what this is all about . thanks os much it really means a lot! Hope you like this chapter!

Asfaloth5 Thanks so much for reviewing!!! YAY! I totally agree thoug, I hate stories with new characters . .but I CAN"T HELP IT!! sobs uncontrollably . .then straightens up fine I'm so glad you like it . .and as for your question . .internally struggles y----o----u—re-----go-----nna have to see . . I can' t tell! SORRY!! Thanks so much for reviewing I hope you like this chapter. Thanks!

Onto the words . . . . .

-------------- The first rays of the morning sun began to creep over the countryside --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They approached her quietly.

The large beast beside her didn't stir but watched them as they stooped by his mistress.

"Shira-Lady Shira," Sango prodded the woman gently.

Shira's eyes fluttered open and she tilted her head puzzled at the two girls standing over her.

"Good morning ladies," she yawned.

"We found a warm stream not too far off, would you like to join us for a swim," Kagome asked quietly with a cheerful smile.

She looked up at them a moment and then her face broadened into a bright smile.

"I'd be delighted,"

"But we have to hurry before they wake up," Sango whispered.

Shira looked over at the slumbering monk and smirked.

"I think one of them is already awake, what do you think Inuyasha?" she asked comically smiling as his body stiffened at being discovered.

"Inuyasha! You were awake the whole time!" Kagome said hushed.

"Well how couldn't I be with you thundering about like a—" he started but stopped at Kagome and Sango's warning glance. "Feh, just get going already," he said crossing his arms.

Shira patted her horse on the head, it seemed to nod, understanding, and rose to its feet.

"I think that's a good idea," Shira smiled as they started for the stream.

"What are you looking at?" Inuyasha snipped at the beast, but it just stared back at him.

"Cut that out!" the girls heard Inuyasha growl, enticing a giggle from the group as they reached their destination.

"How long do you think we have?" Kagome asked.

"Till what? Miroku wakes up. Not long enough," Sango sighed laying her things out.

"I take it our dear man of the cloth is a dear man of the ladies," Shira smirked sitting on the edge of the stream as she took down her hair.

"Yah, something like that," Sango laughed.

Kagome gave Shira an amused look.

"Friends are nice," Shira smiled running her finger tips over the surface of the water, "Even if they are a little . . . . like them," she smiled hearing the echo of Inuyasha's annoyed voice.

Kagome and Sango exchanged a look at Shira's nostalgic face.

She rose and gently leapt to some stones in the middle of the stream.

"So how long have you been traveling Shira?" Kagome asked.

"Oh," she sighed "It seems to be such a long time now and yet I feel like a began just yesterday. . . . I suppose it's because it all starts to blend together after awhile," she chuckled dipping her foot into the water. The wind blowing her garments to the side.

"I understand," Kagome said looking at the water that shimmered around her ankles as she slipped off her shirt. She knew, it always seemed so long when she was here walking always walking. Things would start to blend and before she even realized it weeks had passed since she had seen her family and her friends. She could say the same though for when she was there, but Inuyasha always came to get her so there was no time to forget, there was no time at all.

Sango started to loosen her obi when she noticed something, "Shira what happened to your leg?"

Shira looked up at Sango and then down at her leg. The wind had pushed the robes back revealing it up to her thigh making the marking on her leg clearly visible.

"Just an old wound, healed but never forgotten," she said her tone changing on the last word as she fingered the four short stripes on her thigh, "I see you have your own."

Sango nodded pulling her kimono up from where it had fallen away from her back.

"They're there to help us remember what we've learned," Shira smiled almost scornfully pulling her foot completely from the water.

There was an intense pause where everyone became lost in their own minds.

"Shira!" Kagome suddenly yelled out as an arrow whizzed past the mysterious woman's head.

Sango quickly retied her kimono, following Shira as she grabbed Kagome and sprinted off into the forest. She looked back to see five uniform clad reptile demons chasing after them.

Shira pushed Sango and Kagome ahead of her.

"What's going on?!" Kagome yelled.

"Who are they?" Sango growled

"Not important right now, run! RUN!" Shira said pressing them forward.

She suddenly yelled out and Kagome turned back to see her face contorted in pain.

"Shira!"

"Come on," she yelled in reply pulling her forward into a clearing, Sango behind them.

"Shira!? What's going on? do you know them!? SHIRA!?!" Sango questioned watching Shira scurry around the clearing. Suddenly she turned lunging at them pushing them both back into the bushes and into a hole behind them.

"What the-!"

"Shira!" Kagome called as she gave them a fleeting glance and dashed off out of the clearing.

"Sango wha-" Kagome started but was interrupted when Sango covered her mouth and pulled her further down into the hole.

The scaled demons reached the clearing and sniffed about, their forked tongues whipping around in front of their noses.

They hissed to each other scanning over the area. One came dangerously close to the bush above them but they held their breath, staying still as stone, as they pressed their bodies up against the side of the hole and it passed them by being suddenly interrupted by one of its companions.

They hissed and crackled to each other pointing at the ground and then took off at full speed in the direction Shira had fled.

Sure that they were gone Kagome and Sango grabbed the roots from the bush above them and pulled themselves out of the hole.

"What was that all about? They're after Shira?" Kagome said still sitting on the ground.

"They'd have to be, they followed her," Sango said, "I wonder why-"

"Kagome!! Sango!!" They heard they guys calling.

"We're over here Inuyasha!" Kagome called and was suddenly pushed back by the force of a certain kitsune.

"Oh Kagome!" Shippou whined.

"Are you two alright? We heard screaming," Miroku said

"Where's Shira?" Inuyasha growled tetsaiga ready.

"She ran off, we were being chased by- by retile demons," Sango said Miroku helping her up.

"Then how-?"

"She pushed us into a hole over there and led them away."

"Do we know what they wanted?" Miroku asked genuinely concerned.

"What does it matter anyway. It isn't our problem."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded

"What? It's not," he said replacing tetsaiga in his belt and crossing his arms.

"She just saved our lives," Sango said looking at Miroku, "She didn't have to do that."

"And look," Kagome said softly picking a blood soaked arrow up from the ground, "She's hurt."

Inuyasha closed his eyes his brow furrowed fighting to not give in. They had enough trouble of their own.

Miroku looked at him, he knew he wanted to cave. He just needed one of those 'selfish' excuses.

"What if the demons are after the shard? If we don't get to her they'll get it."

"Oh no, that's not going to happen. Not when she was with us! No way! Come on!" Inuyasha growled storming into the forest.

Kagome and Sango smiled graciously at Miroku. He pretended to blush then shot them one of his 'looks.'

They rolled their eyes and walked away after Inuyasha.

"Hey!"

--------------In the dense wood---------

Shira was starting to get sluggish. Her face glistened with sweat, her breath heaving as she limped quickly over the forest floor. She suddenly tripped, stumbling into a tree where she let herself slide into a sitting position.

'That's not fair,' she thought wryly, 'they can't sneak up on me like that without him.'

She silently cursed looking down at her leg. The wound wasn't too deep but the blood running down her leg wasn't what was worrying her. Her vision had started to become blurry and the trees had started slowly spinning before her. The arrow had been poisoned.

"Now what do I do?" she panted. They had caught her entirely unprepared; how stupid of her it was to not bring any weapons to the spring. She had learned better by now.

She took a deep breath composing herself. Things cleared up slightly and she pulled her self to her feet. She'd fight this as long as she could. She just needed to find somewhere to hide before . . .

The three demons soldiers suddenly jumped out of the brush circling her. They didn't attack though, they seemed to be waiting for her to pass out.

'Well that's not going to happen, not if I can help it," she thought pushing off the tree and lunging, as best she could, in between two of them.

She roughly made it through but was suddenly knocked to the ground when one of the soldiers kicked her wound. She pulled her feet under her ready to strike as they drew closer. Her vision suddenly coming in blinking frames of black. She reached out around her. Her hand suddenly grasped something and she swung it around causing the lizards to back up. She tried to focus on it. It was a bow that she had knocked off one of them as she pushed passed. She reached for the stray arrows that had also fallen. A solider tied to stop her so she lunged for it then rolling back into a sitting position drawing the arrow back. She tried to aim, but everything seemed to be blurred and double. She closed her eyes and let it go, then tried to make a blind break for it. She had hit something she knew because the lizards were angrily hissing and saw this distraction as her only chance but didn't get far enough suddenly feeling a scaled hand grab the back of her throat pushing her face first into a tree.

She whimpered as it tightened its hold on her neck but suddenly with a forceful shove the pressure was released but she was took weak and the darkness consumed her. She heard a struggle a nostalgic memory creeping over her weary body.

--------------

Inuyasha slashed through the reptile soldier making them quick work for tetsaiga. The rest of his group suddenly entered the clearing the battle already won.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said "Oh my- Shira!" she suddenly cried.

Inuyasha turned around moving his attention to the woman lying still on the hard earth.

"Lady Shira? Lady Shira!" Miroku said shaking her.

"She isn't waking," Sango said looking over the wound on her leg.

Miroku felt her pulse and lowered his ear to her mouth. "Her pulse and breath is very weak she needs help and fast."

"Inuyasha," Kagome said looking at him. He nodded suddenly feeling a strange type of wistfulness as he looked at the women's pale face. Something about her was familiar, but he shook these thoughts away. There were more important things to take care of.

He quickly scooped her up and with a nod to Kagome took off running through the forest.

As he left the forest and was racing over the plain he noticed her horse join him running just as fast, it seemed with little effort. He stopped having a thought, the horse stopped just ahead of him and stamped his foot impatiently.

Inuyasha puffed angry with himself but approached the animal. It reared back pounding its feet on the ground before him.

"Your Mistress is very sick, I have to get her to help fast. Are you going to help me or not?!"

The horse reared again pounding its feet and shaking its head up and down furiously. Inuyasha took that as a yes and climbed up on to the beast, Shira still limp in his arms. He looked at he reins unsure of what he really needed to do, he never had really ridden a horse before. So maybe he just . ..

The horse suddenly snorted and took off faster than the wind in the direction Inuyasha had originally be heading.

Author's Post Notes: Well that's the end of number three . .the next two chapters are where things really start to pick up I PROMISE . ..specifically in number 5 . . .So thanks so much for reading . . and please review . .I really appreciate the input . .plus . .

Remember Reviews are motivating . . . . . . . . .