Well, I'm back.

            Once again, a quick comment to Time's Mortal Enemy.

            Hehehe, I did in fact have fun with this chapter as well. Atma will not have a love interest in this fic, nor the sequel. She did have a love interest in the past, and that will be very important. I've already hinted at it just a little. As for why she's behaving much differently, it's because I really, really disliked the way I portrayed her in two weeks. I wanted to make her different from the rest of the dragons, because she is in fact very different. I did a horrible job of that in the first fic, but I'm doing it better in this one. All the other dragons seem to be optimistic, happy, and child-like. Atma, on the other hand, has a much darker personality. If I can work it in, I'll try to explain why that is at some point or another.

            And for anyone who wants it, I now have a piano score for a theme I wrote for Atma. If anyone out there plays piano, I could E-mail it to you. It's on Finale Notepad, so you need Finale to read it.

            Anywho, I've only got three weeks of school left, so I'm counting down. I'm going to be updating more frequently, so look forward to it.

            Kagome sighed, her eyes drooping. Once again, InuYasha had carried her all day long, but being inactive can sometimes be as tiring as a day of hard work. But then again, days of rest are also good for thinking.

            The sun was beginning to set again, and Kagome's mind was much clearer than it had been last night. She had come to quite a few conclusions during the day.

            She liked InuYasha. Well sure, of coarse she did. But she… really liked him. Was it love… A light blush spread across her face, and for the millionth time that day, she was glad that InuYasha wasn't watching her. Maybe it was love. She smiled lightly. And so what if it was? And besides all that, InuYasha at least had some feelings for her. Maybe they weren't romantic, but there was something there. Sure he kept up the façade, hut he couldn't really hide it. He had worked his butt of to get her to Vadise, after all. And even then, he had given up the Shikon no Tama for her. She giggled silently. Just a few months ago, she had been convinced that that had been all he was journeying for. His constant claims towards her being a shard detector, his constant striving towards becoming a full demon. He threw it all away for her.

            She had finally managed to get her Miroku-ish thoughts under control, maybe around half way through the day. InuYasha must have noticed something, because he had remarked that she was holding on weird. Well, he hadn't figured it out yet, apparently.

            "Hey, Kagome." InuYasha said from over his shoulder, "Are you holding up alright?" He demanded. "Or are ya getting tired?"

            "You're the one doing all the work." She remarked. "Why would I be tired."

            InuYasha grinned. "Well," He remarked, "You are only human. You can get tired doing anything."

            Kagome scowled, and lightly punched his shoulder. "Watch it." She said ominously. "You just be sure you aren't ready to pass out. I seem to remember you falling over twice last night."

            InuYasha snorted, and hitched her up on his back, taking even faster steps. "Don't be ridiculous." He muttered. "My body's a ton tougher than yours."

            Kagome rolled her eyes. "Right." She said sarcastically. "Well, don't work to hard. We don't have that much food, you know." And that was no idle caution. InuYasha had been so tired last night that he had eaten all the fried egg without so much as a compliment, and then went through three packages of instant ramen. Then he ate all of Kagome's leftovers. They couldn't continue eating at that rate. Granted, InuYasha had been taking it easier today. He was traveling at more of a light jog than a fast run.

            The idea of running out of ramen, however, must have scared InuYasha just a little. "Well, I'll find a place to camp soon." He assured her. They were running down a well traveled path, so it wouldn't take too long. "I don't want you overexerting yourself."
            "Right." Kagome muttered, rolling her eyes again.

            InuYasha grinned, and increased his pace, looking forward to just a bit of rest. It was maybe a mile longer before they found a suitable campsite. It had been obviously used before, a little pile of firewood sitting on the side of the road, and a pre-made fire pit.

            InuYasha casually shrugged Kagome from his shoulders, and turned to face the girl. "This look fine to you?" he demanded.

            Kagome nodded. "Looks good." She said, walking over to the fire-pit. "I'll go look for some kindling." She said practically. "You go see if you can find some water, so we can make this ramen."

            InuYasha sighed, and nodded.

            "Are you gonna eat all that?" InuYasha demanded, pointing his chopsticks at Kagome's bowl of ramen. Kagome's eyes narrowed, and she held her little disposable bowl of ramen close to her. InuYasha snorted. "Fine." He said, and quickly finished off the rest of his little bowl. "Is there any more?" He demanded.

            Kagome scowled. "We might be out here for a while, InuYasha." She said. "We need to conserve whatever food we have."

            InuYasha sighed, and shook his head. "What's the point of having food if we can't eat it?" He sighed.

            "It's called 'self control,' InuYasha." Kagome sighed with a roll of her eyes. "You could really use some."

            The hanyou scoffed, using his traditional 'feh.'

            Kagome took a few more bites of her ramen, chewing carefully before swallowing. Then she placed her little container neatly beside InuYasha's. "So," She said slowly. "Where are we headed?"

            InuYasha shrugged. "Probably towards the same place we left for Shinjuku the first time we went. I'll try and see if I can get Syldra to take us over again."

            "And hopefully we won't get attacked by another sea monster." Kagome said sarcastically.

            "Right." The hanyou sighed. "I'm more worried about bounty hunters."

            The young Miko stared at InuYasha. Had he just… admitted he was worried about something? "Do you really think that they're that strong?"

            InuYasha snorted. "They're called bounty hunters for a reason, Kagome." He spat into the fire. "Even human bounty hunters are feared by most youkai. Weak hunters don't last long enough to collect the bounties, so almost all of them are strong."

            Kagome swallowed. She had never really heard InuYasha talk like this before.

            "And youkai hunters are even worse. You know how Sango is in a battle?" The hanyou pressed on. "That's the kind of training these things will have. Most train from infancy to become hunters."

            "So, basically, you have about twenty Sangos chasing you?" Kagome asked, her voice wavering slightly.

            InuYasha nodded once. "Only worse. Sango isn't so hard because she fights relatively honorably when she has the choice. These things don't waste time with that."

            "Our lives are at stake then." Kagome said slowly, then shook her head. "Somehow, that doesn't seem like Sesshoumaru."

            "Not our lives." Interrupted InuYasha. "Sesshoumaru wants me alive, and unless you get in the way, the hunters won't bother you." He chuckled bitterly. "I'm not sure what Sesshoumaru wants, though. I don't think he wants to kill me." He looked up at Kagome. "Like you said, that ain't his style. He'd hunt me down himself to do that. He probably wants something else, but I sure don't wanna know what it is."

            Kagome nodded, absorbing all this. However, it was at this point that a large yawn took control of her, making her stretch luxuriously. InuYasha grinned wolfishly, and shrugged. "Figures that you'd get tired just riding all day." He said.

            Kagome shook her head. "If these hunters are as bad as you say they are, we should set up a watch. I'll stay up a little while longer. You get some sleep." She said, tiredness evident in her voice.

            InuYasha shook his head. "Even if we did get attacked, you couldn't wake me in time." He gave her his trademark arrogant grin. "Your human senses aren't good enough, and I don't need as much sleep as you anyway. You get some sleep, and I'll keep watch."

            Kagome shook her head, and yawned again. "You need sleep too." She objected, trying feebly to speak through the yawn.

            InuYasha shook his head, and stood up. "Even if you do stay up, I wouldn't sleep tonight anyway. Like I said, by the time you managed to wake me up, it'd be too late."

            Kagome blinked, and struggled not to yawn again. "Fine." She said. "You can stay up, but I'm staying up too."

            InuYasha raised an eyebrow, and nodded. He walked over to a nearby tree, sat down, and leaned against its thick sturdy bark.

            Kagome herself also sat, leaning back against her backpack. InuYasha must be really worried about these hunters… She would stay awake… If any attacked, InuYasha… would need her… help…

            Kagome's head nodded forward, and her eyes drooped closed.

            A sudden snap of a branch triggered Kagome's senses, and her head snapped up, eyes wide. The offending branch fell out of the overhanging canopy, falling just beside her. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked across from the still glowing embers, to where InuYasha had been sitting. He wasn't there.

            Instantly, Kagome froze. It was dark, probably in the early hours of the morning. The coals of the fire were still hot, and the waning moon was hanging overhead, barely giving any light though the branches.

Slowly the miko rose to her feet, and drew her bow from behind her backpack. Knocking an arrow silently, she balanced her feet and got ready to fire.

            Something fell to the ground behind her. She squeaked in fright, and whipped around, pointing her arrow at it. It was another branch. There was another snap from above her, and at once Kagome looked strait into the canopy. At first she could make nothing out. She looked up into the darkness, making her way to the trunks of one of the trees. A sudden dart of shadow hit the corner of her eye, and she turned her head quickly.

Nothing.

Kagome inhaled, and leaned against the tree, still looking up. There again, another shadow, darting between the moonlight. Her head jerked to the side again, looking up. Something was definitely up there. Kagome's eyes narrowed, and she turned around. She slung the bow across her back, and clenched the arrow in her teeth. With that she leapt up, and caught the lowest branch, and began to laboriously haul herself up onto it. Slowly, she made her way up the tree. By the time she broke the canopy, she was sweating hard.

            Slowly, she pulled herself up to a thick branch, and planted her feet firmly in its center. Darting her eyes back and forth constantly, she leaned up against the trunk of the tree, and knocked her arrow again. The snapping sound came again, this time from around the other side of the tree. It was very, very close. She swallowed nervously, and drew the bow even tighter, adjusting her feet on the branch carefully.

            The snap came again, and she turned, sighting quickly down the shaft of the arrow. However, it was no enemy up in the trees.

            The half light of the near-full moon was filtering down through the trees, illuminating the smooth, masculine features of InuYasha in an eerie blue-gray light. He was standing stark still on a branch, the Tetsusaiga grasped in one hand lightly. The skin of his upper torso seemed to be deathly pale in the dim light, and his hakama was a deep, rust red. His hair was turned from lustrous silver, to cold, hard steel. His back was to her, and the Tetsusaiga was raised in an odd position above his head, one hand out to the side, claws flexing rhythmically. Slowly he turned, lending a profile of his face. His eyes were a burning, amber liquid, focusing on her.

            Kagome gasped, and stumbled back against the trunk of the tree, the bow and arrows falling below her through the branches. Why wasn't he saying anything? He was just staring at her with that burning gaze.

            She swallowed nervously, and lent her voice up. "Sorry…" She stuttered. "I thought that maybe… Y'know."

            InuYasha's burning gaze slowly receded, and he slung the Tetsusaiga over his shoulder. "Feh." He said, leaping casually to the branch that she was standing on. "I told you that I could handle it, wench." He said.

            Kagome nodded, and slowly sat down on the branch looking up at the hanyou. "You're really worried about these hunters, aren't you." She said.

            InuYasha shrugged, and made a few practice swings with the Tetsusaiga. "Just wanna be ready." He said. "I'm no match for them at this point."

            Kagome blinked, and clutched her legs towards her. She was suddenly very cold, and very tired. A shiver ran through her uncontrollably. "You were practicing?" She asked, looking down at his feet.

            InuYasha shrugged. "You should be sleeping." He admonished.

            Kagome didn't say anything, but she nodded slowly.

            "Come on, stupid." He said patiently, planting the Tetsusaiga in the trunk of the tree right above her. He slowly leaned down, and gathered up the tired Miko into his strong arms.

            Kagome inhaled sharply, feeling the heat of InuYasha's skin on her own. The hanyou easily stepped off the branch, and landed smoothly on the hard earth. Kagome looked up at InuYasha's strong jaw, and blushed lightly. InuYasha smiled at her as he laid her down, propping her up against her backpack. "Now," He said, as she yawned, "Get some sleep."
            With that, he disappeared back up into the canopy with a single leap.

            Kagome, however, could not get any sleep. The feeling of InuYasha's skin was burning into her, and she looked up into the trees, seeing the shadow of InuYasha darting through the branches.