Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, and never will. Sadly. But Bumi is my own character, and if you wish to use her in any of your stories, please ask.

Review Replies:
Elf: Hmm. Being grounded does suck. It seems that that 'grounding bug' seems to be going around a lot lately. I do hope that you get off grounding soon (if you haven't already)!
Lisa: That's awesome. Hope you're on to be able to read this chapter!

A/N: I don't know how long it'll be till I'm able to go online again, so I really hope you enjoy this chapter!

No Way Out
 Chapter 6 - Bumi's Difference: Part One

The next morning when I woke up, I was still in Kouga's arms. I quickly closed my eyes, hoping he hadn't realized I'd woken up.

He was gently caressing the stripes on my upper arms, mumbling something. I smiled inwardly, happy that he wasn't touching the stripes on my legs.

Ever since I was a child, I'd wondered why I had stripes while most hanyous didn't. To this day, I still don't know.

I opened my eyes before my thoughts wandered to my mother. "Kouga? You can let me go now."

Kouga quickly let go and backed away. I turned to look at him. Is he blushing?

"I should go," he said, standing up.

I tried to keep from frowning. Kouga was nice company. "Oh. Okay."

He smiled. "I'll be back, Bumi. I just need to collect some stuff."

I smiled, nodding. "Okay." I stood up, and before it registered in my mind, I was hugging him.

"Uh... Bumi? What's that for?" he asked, confused.

I pulled away to look up at him and smiled. "For keeping me warm during the night, silly. My dress is all dry now."

He smiled. We said our goodbyes, and I started walking back to the campsite.

My ears started twitching as I got closer. Inuyasha and the others were talking. I hid behind a rock, hoping they didn't notice me yet.

"I'm telling you, Kagome, she's not a normal hanyou."

"She seems perfectly normal to me, Inuyasha. She's a little nicer then most, but..." Kagome replied.

I slid onto the ground, listening.

"She hasn't come back. What if she had stolen all of your jewel shards, Kagome?"

"She's not like that!" It sounded like Sango and Miroku had left. "Besides, why would she travel without her daggers? She said she never would. What if something happened to her?"

I heard Inuyasha growl. "I did smell Kouga around here last night..."

"Maybe they'll get together! They are both Wolf youkais..."

"Are you forgetting that she's a hanyou?" There was a short silence. "There's just something odd about her, Kagome. And because she's so small, I don't know if she can protect herself..."

"Since when do you care if someone can or can't protect themselves, Inuyasha?"

"Keh. I already have to protect you! I don't want to have to protect another weak female."

I bit my lip to keep myself from growling. I heard Kagome stomp her foot on the ground. "I'm going back home!"

"Feh. Nothing's stopping you."

"I know." I heard metal clicking together. "I'm just gonna wait for Bumi to get back, so I can say goodbye."

"How do you even know if she's coming back?"

There was silence, and I smiled. Kagome wants to say goodbye to me. It isn't that special, but does it mean I made a friend?

I stood up and walked into the clearing. Kagome smiled and waved at me. "Bumi! I'm going home for awhile, okay?" I nodded, and smiled when she glared at Inuyasha, giving him an 'I told you so' look. "Okay! Make sure Inuyasha doesn't cause any trouble."

Inuyasha mumbled his usual "Feh" while looking away. And with that, Kagome rode away on her 'bike.'

Once Kagome was out of our vision, Inuyasha hit me on the back. I let out a loud "Ow!" in response, but he ignored it. He kept his hand on my back as he talked to Sango.

"Sango, do you know where we could get Bumi a sword?" Sword! I looked up at him like he was crazy.

Sango raised her eyebrow, but nodded. "I think in the village nearby. If not, we could try to find Lady Kaede. She could probably help."

Inuyasha nodded, and started walking. I picked up my daggers and put them in their rightful places. Should I follow them?

Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha stopped walking. Shippou jumped up and down on Kirara's back, who was in her large youkai form. "Aren't you coming, Bumi?"

I slowly nodded and ran up to them. "You guys really want me to travel with you?"

Sango nodded, smiling. "Why not? We could always use an extra hand defeating all those youkais."

"But I cannot wield a sword, and there's not much I can do with daggers alone..."

Sango kept smiling. "We'll teach you, Bumi."

I smiled brightly. "Really! Arigato, Sango!" I hugged her tightly, but pulled away. The last person I had really hugged with my mother. And Kouga... Both of us blushed and started walking again.

Behind us I heard Inuyasha say, "She's more of a human then a demon..."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Inuyasha. A hug is a symbol of gratitude. Maybe you should learn the female language."

I smiled to myself. I heard Miroku say, "She's right, Inuyasha. I wouldn't mind learning the female language..." I sweatdropped. That pervert...

I looked up at Sango, and she was smiling. "Sango, why are you smiling?"

"I'm just thinking, Bumi. You've never wielded a sword?" I shook my head. "This should be interesting, then..." I nodded.

"I'll need to learn how to," I said to myself. I touched my daggers. These won't help me at all if I were to get into a battle... And I probably will, since I'm traveling with Inuyasha.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again. I looked over to where Sango was, but instead, I saw Inuyasha.

I looked back and saw that Sango had fallen back next to Miroku. Is there something between them?

"Inuyasha? Why are you sorta being nice to me?"

"Who said anything about being nice?"

I stared at the ground. "Oh. Then... why are you letting me travel with you?"

"You have a jewel shard, remember? I'm not gonna let you out of my sight until I have it."

I glared up at him. "Well then, you're gonna be watching me for a long time, because I'm not gonna give this shard up!"

He huffed and looked away. "What, are you afraid to fight?"

"No, I just don't want to hurt such a small female when she's obviously weak."

I fumed. "Don't mock the short! And I'm NOT weak!"

"You're gonna get the chance to prove that tonight."

I looked up at him, dumbfounded. "I...am?"

He nodded, and that stopped the 'conversation.' So, he really is gonna teach me to use a sword... I couldn't believe it. Inuyasha, the infamous hanyou, was gonna teach me, Bumi, a small hanyou girl, how to use a sword!