Chapter 3: Concern

"What causes great suffering my also cause union. Remember only half of it is evil"

"What? Who's there" Kagome called into the blackness

"You must always remember for the past is your future"

"Who are you?" Kagome asked the voice

"I am the one whom does not exist but is waging war" suddenly a figure appeared before Kagome. It was a woman clad in armor but who obviously held spiritual powers.

"Midoriko!" Kagome exclaimed

"You must not forget" Midoriko said as she disappeared. Kagome was left in the blackness alone

'Not forget what?' Kagome thought

"Wait! Don't go" Kagome exclaimed as she shot up. She looked around her and realized she was still in the clearing she and Inuyasha had camped in the other night "It was just a dream she sighed"

"Kagome? Are you alright? Don't go where?" Inuyasha asked from beside her. Kagome looked over at him and noted the worry in his eyes.

"N..nothing. it was just a dream" Kagome said blushing. 'I wonder is it really was just a dream' Kagome thought to herself. She pulled the jewel out of her pocket and stared at the swirling black aura within it. She knew it would take a while before it was fully purified again. "We should go Inuyasha. I want to make sure Sango and Miroku are alright" Kagome said standing up. Within moments she was on Inuyasha's back headed towards the village.

When they arrived in the village they went straight to Kaede's hut. Sango was asleep but Miroku had still not regained consciousness. He was doing much better than before though, his wounds had closed and Kaede had given him an herbal remedy for the poison in his body. With their minds at rest, Kagome, Inuyasha and Kaede went outside to let Sango and Miroku have their rest.

"Sango has said that ye defeated Naraku, but what of the jewel?" Kaede asked Kagome

"Naraku had all the last pieces" Kagome answered pulling the jewel out to show her.

"Oh! It is horribly tainted. Nothing can be done until the jewel is purified. Ye must go and purify it at once" Kaede told Kagome.

"Go? Just where would she be going?" Inuyasha asked

"It will be far easier to purify the jewel if Kagome is in the sacred forest. Kagome, ye must prepare to leave at once." Kaede told Kagome

"Is this the only way to purify the jewel?" Kagome asked

"No, but all others will take far too long. And Inuyasha, ye must not accompany Kagome" Kaede replied.

"What? No way in hell! There are gonna be demons after the jewel now that it's complete!" Inuyasha protested. Eventually he gave in, because there seemed to be no other way to purify the jewel. After Kagome gathered everything she needed, food, water, and a bow and arrows, she decided she should leave this afternoon, the sooner she left the sooner she would be able to purify the jewel. She said good bye to Inuyasha and Kaede but thought it would be better to let Sango and Miroku sleep. Inuyasha watched her walk into the forest from a high tree branch. He really didn't like the idea of Kagome going alone.

From below him Inuyasha heard Kaede sigh and say to herself "Methinks it would perhaps be better for Kagome to leave this time"

Inuyasha jumped off his branch and gracefully landed beside Kaede.

"What's that s'posed to mean old woman?" he asked her

"Inuyasha, ye must know that keeping the jewel here may give rise to demons even more powerful than Naraku. Ye of all people must be concerned for Kagome's safety. Besides she belongs in her own time."

"Then…it would be for the best" Inuyasha said sadly as he jumped back into the tree. 'no I can't let her leave, I have to tell her first' he thinks to himself 'I'll follow her tonight'

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Kagome was panting as she sprinted through the trees. She spared a backwards glance only to see the huge ogre so close it was nearly blocking the setting sun. Just as she glanced back, her foot hit a tree root and she sprawled on the ground spilling her arrows. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run, knowing she had no time to draw an arrow. But the ogre was right on top of her. It reached down and picked Kagome up by her backpack. She desperately struggled to free herself from the backpack straps knowing she had to get away. Free of the straps, she fell to the leaf carpeted ground. She reached for an arrow in her quiver and only found one left. In an instant she fired a sacred arrow at the ogre, disintegrating most of it and unfortunately her backpack as well.

'That was close' Kagome thought relieved 'it must have attacked me because it sensed the jewel' she pulled out the jewel which was on a chain around her neck. It was still swirling with black evil and had only the slightest tinge of white.

'Sacred forest or not it could take a while to purify it. And I don't have any food or arrows left'

It was getting dark and Kagome knew she would have to sleep for the night. Without any supplies, the most she could do was find an area dense with trees so she would not be found by any other demons. She shivered in the cold. As she drifted into sleep she could not help but think of how warm she was with Inuyasha's arms around her.

Kagome was awoken from her dreamless sleep by a loud crash. She jumped up and noticed it was almost daybreak. She scanned the trees for the source of the noise and just a little ways off she spotted huge trees being pushed aside, some of them falling. She automatically moved her hand to draw an arrow, forgetting she had none left. The only other option she had was to run. She turned and sprinted just as the demon came in sight. It was a horrible ogre like the one she had killed only yesterday, but this time Kagome had no arrows with which to kill it. She ran as fast as she could, not noticing the trees getting thinner and the ground getting rockier. Before she knew it, she had come to a high cliff. With the demon right behind her she had nowhere to go. It lashed out with its huge hand, but Kagome jumped aside. The blow grazed Kagome's leg but hit the ground in front of her hard causing debris to fly up. Kagome was knocked backwards from the force of the blow, straight off the cliff. She screamed as she plummeted down.

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CLIFHANGER (lol kinda literal huh) lol

yay 3rd chapter and i have 3 reviews

the next chapter is where all the fluff is gonna be 3

so if you want all the cute fluff i need a review or two

so much fluff in just one chapter