Disclaimer: i do not own Inuyasha.

Thanks for your reviews! it feels good to know that my story matters to more people then just myself! hehe

here's the next chapter

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"Not so fast," the demon said to the two friends. "It seems that you have something I need, Higurashi Kagome."

"It seems you need to find a new hobby Naraku, because you'll never be successful at this one," Kagome retorted aiming her arrow at his face.

He smiled evilly at the two as the arrow struck him dead on. He instantly turned to dust.

"A puppet!" she growled. At that moment the bees arrived.

Sheathing the Tetsaiga, Inuyasha killed many of them with his claws as Kagome shot her purity arrows. The air was swarmed with these flying demon bugs. In the midst of this attack, they both heard Naraku:

"I'll give you some time to think about it Higurashi," his disembodied voice intoned. "Take this as a warning: You can hand the Shikon No Tama over to me next time we meet, or you can die painfully." Then, the demon aura dissipated along with the last of the bees.

"The Shikon No Tama!?" Inuyasha whispered as Kagome fell to her knees. "Kagome!" he rushed to her side, "Are you ok?"

"Yea," she said feebly. "Naraku…found a way to use my weapon against me. Each time my...arrow hits one of his…puppets…it weakens me. I'll be fine in a few minutes." She looked up at him and smiled faintly before going unconscious.

Inuyasha caught her before she hit the ground, and, picking her up, he took her back to the house. He laid her on the couch, untied Mrs. Higurashi, and made sure Kagome's Grandfather was still alive. Satisfied everything was ok for the moment, he ran out to the car to get Sota.

……………………...................................

Inuyasha sighed and looked out the window of Kagome's room. Earlier, when he had gone to get Sota, he'd returned to find Kagome already awake. 'Wow,' he said to himself, 'She must be a lot stronger than I thought. It really did only take her a few minutes to recover after being so weak before.' He had helped Kagome make sure her family was safe and then she had driven him back to school to get his car. Inuyasha followed the girl back to the shrine figuring he had nothing better to do and wanting to make sure Naraku didn't return and harm her.

When the two walked in to the house again, Kagome's Grandfather had awakened. HE and Inuyasha's first meeting hadn't gone to well.

flashback

"AHHHHHH!!" Her Grandfather exclaimed, leaping from the couch. "DEMON! Be gone!!" he yelled, throwing something around the hanyou's neck.

"Wha..Eh…Oww!" Inuyasha yelled trying to take the necklace off. "Heyy what'd you to do me old man!?"

"If he tries to attack, Kagome, say 'Osuide'," her Grandfather yelled holding up his cane in a defensive stance.

"Why would I say 'sit'…"

CRASH

"HEYY!"

Kagome winced, "Sorry Inuyasha…I forgot to mention that my Grandfather…erm…doesn't trust people with demon blood…" She helped her friend up and said into the tense silence, "Grandpa, Mom, Sota, this is my friend, Inuyasha."

"Nice to meet you Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said smiling warmly at him. She didn't have a problem with anyone who was a friend of her daughters.

"So…You're not here to destroy us… eh?"

"No, Grandpa. He helped me fight Naraku. Now can you please take that silly necklace off him?"

The miko's grandfather refused to.

end flashback

"Feh," Inuyasha said tugging at his neck again. Kagome had gone downstairs to get some snacks and to persuade her grandfather that Inuyasha could be trusted. The hanyou looked around the girl's room again, wondering how anything could be so pink.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice snapped him from his thoughts.

"Hey," he said. "Any luck?"

Kagome wince and sat down on the bed next to him. "Sorry. Grandpa is rather silly sometimes. Not to mention stubborn…I did bring some snacks though!"

"Sweet!" he said, ignoring the fact that he still had to wear the stupid necklace. The two sat in Kagome's room munching cookies in silence. Neither of them wanted to bring up the inevitable question.

Finally, Inuyasha broke the silence.

"So…what are you gonna do about Naraku?"

Kagome sighed and looked Inuyasha in the eye. "Prepare," she replied.

"Prepare for what exactly?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm going to prepare to fight Naraku…and win."

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Sorry to all you who hate cliffys but i dont feel right unless i end with atleast a partial one. I'll update again as soon as i can. R&R please! its encouraging! :-)

LostArtist