Kagome did her best to school her features against the sharp stab of pain she received as her head, involuntarily, slammed into the window she was seated beside. Refraining from rubbing her tender skull that had already been subjected to the window numerous times before, she continued to stubbornly glare at Inuyasha.

Said dog demon was turned slightly sideways in his seat so that he could lock horn's with her. His expression smug and victorious.

A little over an hour ago the same young man had been quietly sulking in his seat next to her because she had claimed the 'window seat' before he had gotten a chance to.

Now Kagome was the one sulking... and fiercely wishing that she hadn't won the battle over who got to sit next to the window. Unfortunately for the raven haired teen, their driver looked like he belonged in a casket. Not a huge horridly colored bus filled with innocent people that were unable to control the fact that the elderly man seemed to enjoy hitting every bump and poorly filled pot hole in the street.

Sango caught Kagome's eye and expressed with her own miserable eyes that she knew how Kagome felt. She too had fought Miroku over the window seat. And won.

"Do you plan on answering the question sometime today, princess?"

Kagome slowly turned her head back to face Inuyasha, whom was suddenly reminded of the little girl that played in the exorcist.

He and Miroku had been trying to drill facts and all sorts of complicated things about her "past" into Kagome's abused head as they sped their way to the train station, for the better portion of the ride.

Kagome had given it an honest effort for the first forty minutes, since she was more then willing to learn about her family. She was having none of it now. Her head hurt, thanks to more then the senile driver, Inuyasha and Miroku were expecting to much of her to quickly. And on top of that, she had to pee.

"I don't know... tomato?" She guessed, throwing her hand to the air in an aloof manner.

"No! Come on now, girl. You have to learn-er- remember this stuff." Inuyasha told her firmly.

Miroku turned his body in his seat so that his tennis-shoe clad feet were blocking the aisle. Now able to make eye contact with his companions he went on to correct Kagome.

"We just went over this a little while ago, Kagome-sama, remember? Emperor Higarashi - your father didn't like soup."

Kagome crossed her arms and pouted. "Not fair you guys. That was a trick question."

"Alright you two. Lay off. You can't expect Kagome to learn -uh- remember everything at once. And I hardly think remembering what soup her dad liked is terribly important. We have plenty of time, don't rush her."

"He didn't like soup." Miroku repeated.

Kagome shot Sango a grateful look (ignoring Miroku) and wished she were sitting beside her friend so that Sango could block her from the two males consistent lectures. They were worse then her studies back at the orphanage.

From his seat in Kagome's lap Shippo glared at Inuyasha. "Leave Kagome alone, butt face."

"Shut up squirt." Inuyasha glared daggers at the small, red headed fox demon snuggled contently against the safety of Kagome's stomach.

"Leave Shippo be, Inuyasha." Kagome told him for the umpteenth time.

"He started it." Inuyasha retorted.

"He is a child. Oh, wait, I can't say that in Shippo's defense now can I? He's much more mature then you are." Kagome did her best to hide her smile as the kit beamed with pride at her comment. Inuyasha on the other hand sputtered incoherently with anger, his swear words being the only intelligible language.

"Now, now, Inuyasha. Watch your mouth. There are other people on the bus, and Shippo might pick up on some bad habits of yours."

Inuyasha sorely wished he could throw the girl out the window. Even he shouldn't have to put up with this!

'Don't... kill her. If you do you won't get the Tama. Just wait a little longer - you can get legal revenge soon.' he thought trying to calm himself.

Sango and Miroku exchanged smiles behind the safety of the wide seat. Sango reached down into her knapsack and pulled out a small book and pen. On one page, Kagome's name was written. On the other was Inuyasha's.

On Kagome's page Sango added another bold blue mark to the two already there. Inuyasha's page remained blank.

"At this rate you'll lose all your yen, Miroku." Sango goaded, referring to the bet she and Miroku had made.

"Oh, I'm not worried dearest. You'll see. Inuyasha can't stand to be outdone. By anyone. It's only a matter of time before Inuyasha exacts his revenge on Kagome-sama." Miroku winked one azure eye at Sango. She only closed the book with a snap and a cold glare at the dark haired boy beside her.

"Don't underestimate Kagome."

"What are you two whispering about up there?" Inuyasha demanded, undistracted now that Kagome was ignoring him.

"Oh, nothing..." Both answered in unison trying to look anything but guilty.

Inuyasha and Kagome eyed them doubtfully but returned to their own business. For Kagome this meant starring out the window, trying to take in as much of everything as she could. For Inuyasha this meant counting the gum blobs underneath Miroku and Sango's seat.

Everyone rode in silence except for the occasional squeal of tires as the driver aimed madly for a speed bump, and the angry echo of flesh on flesh as Sango slapped Miroku for inappropriate touching.

High above the badly driven bus, Kagura sat upon a large white feather that was both wide and strong enough to support her. The elegantly designed fan she carried with her always, closed and reopened multiple times.

Kagura herself was watching the vehicle below with avid interest. Wearing a frustrated scowl on her painted lips she kept her gaze trained on the bus. It was hard to miss seeing as it was a painfully bright orange.

The abnormally large feather she rode upon stayed directly above the orange monstrosity, while still using the clouds to keep out of sight. She had to think of something to destroy the bus and it's occupants. But what could she do? Her powers were limited to controlling the dead and wind.

Power one was out because the hanyou that traveled with Kagome could dismember her dancing corpse easily. And if he didn't get around to that first, someone would be sure to notice a corpse tailing a bus. And she had been ordered to remain discreet.

Her ability to control winds looked slightly better... but a terrible storm wouldn't do much harm to a bus.

The worst that could happen was that they had to pull over and be late for their train. (The information was coaxed from Kanna's very unusual mirror) She could always tear it in half with strong gales and get to the girl inside. But it was to much of a chance to take. Kagome could dodge her winds, given the circumstances, and escape to safety. Meanwhile others not just including Inuyasha would notice that something weird was going down. And then she would be discovered.

She sighed heavily and massaged the bridge of her nose with her hand. What was she to do? Pondering her predicament she decided that she would adopt one of Naraku's bad habits, however much she hated it, and get someone else to do the job.

A slow smile replaced the scowl. She knew just the person to do the deed.

Inuyasha watched Kagome begin to doze off for lack of nothing better to do. He'd already counted the gum under the seat (twelve globs of sticky used pink gunk), counted the number of seats on the bus, and hit the back of Miroku's seat with his feet, trying to get an interesting reaction.

Unfortunately he'd forgotten that Sango shared a seat with him and he had gotten the reaction out of her instead.

A serene look came across Kagome's face as she started to drift off. He watched as she started to blink drowsily, trying to remain awake. Besides her efforts not to, she was losing the battle. Her chin hit her chest, causing her jet tresses to come loose from their confinement behind her ears.

His eyes widened a little and once dormant emotions came bubbling to the surface. The calm serene look on her face, the way she held her eyes downcast, the way her raven locks fell beside her face...She looked the perfect image of Kikyo.

That was until they turned a sharp corner and Kagome's head was thrown forcefully against the window.

Now jostled awake she took to yelling at the driver. "Jeez...this guy needs his licence revoked." she grumbled unhappily, slumping in her seat.

Well, the likeness she shared with Kikyo sure didn't last long. He could be grateful for that at least.

Inuyasha suddenly found her innocent eyes locked with his as she finally noticed him watching her.

"What?" She asked uneasily. His intense gaze was unnerving.

He closed his eyes slowly, "Nothing." He said as he turned his head in the other direction.

She was left with the view of the back of his silver head. What had that been in his eyes? His golden orbs had held something other then anger and contempt for once. She had seen a gentleness there. It had been nice... but why would he look at her like that? He made it very clear he disliked her.

Unless he had taken on a sudden fondness towards Shippo... she knew that was as far from the truth as it got. His amber eyes had been on her and her alone. But if she imagined the whole thing because of the brain damage she could have received from hitting the glass with her skull so many times. . .

Kagome suddenly sat straight in her seat as she remembered something, nearly waking Shippo who was snoozing in her lap.

"Hey, Miroku, Inuyasha." Kagome called to get their attention.

"I was wondering, how do you guys know so much about the Higarashi family? I mean to know such intimate details..."

Inuyasha and Miroku both winced. They hadn't been counting on this question. How to answer without seeming suspicious?

Miroku recovered first and decided to answer truthfully.

"Well, Kagome-sama, Inuyasha, Sango, and I used to live with them. Like we told you, the building we just left used to be home to the imperial family. Our parents, with the exception of Inuyasha's, worked in the palace. They guarded the emperor and his family.

"Now, you didn't see the whole complex. A very large section of the palace is hidden by overgrown foliage and such things. So the place was big enough to let the most trusted stay within the castle walls. So of course we learned all these things just by simply being around to notice them." Miroku finished his speech off rather nicely.

"Wow." Kagome breathed. "So you knew my family?"

Sango turned around backwards in her seat so she could face Kagome, her long brown hair cascaded over the back of her seat as she did so. Dark eyes bright, she merrily answered Kagome.

"Yes. Not really the emperor, but the empress was a lovely person, and I met Souta and Kikyo on more then one occasion."

"Oh, that's right. Souta and Kikyo...they were my brother and sister. Tell me, what were they like?"

Sango felt the beginnings of guilt start to hammer away at her. She shouldn't be tricking someone like this. It was low. And Kagome was so nice...She pushed the guilt away with a quick smile.

"Souta was very young. He looked a lot like the emp - your mother. He was always smiling and I swear he knew every joke you could ever think of. Kikyo on the other hand, she was very mature and quiet for her age. She was also very Pr-"

"Enough reminiscing already!" Inuyasha shouted loudly.

His rough, masculine voice ripped through Kagome's happy mood like an arrow. All at the mention of Kikyo.

She noted that Sango whipped back around with a guilty look on her face. Miroku seemed to stiffen slightly as though he expected a blow.

Shippo mumbled something about pudding in his sleep, and Inuyasha was practically growling. Where had all this sudden anger come from? She sensed not to probe him for answers. He looked like he was about to ignite. Maybe she really had imagined that soft look creeping into his eyes.

She sat back in her seat and decided she would either interrogate Sango, or Inuyasha when he trusted her more. They were definitely keeping something from her. And her natural curiosity was burning to find out just what it was.

After a while Inuyasha seemed to calm down. He no longer looked like he was about to commit homicide, instead he just seemed more sulky, and withdrawn then usual. Almost... sad.

Not long ago he had pulled a water bottle out of the small cooler Sango had packed. The plastic container, now half empty, made swishy, foamy, noises as the liquid inside hit the walls containing it, as Inuyasha bounced the bottle against his leg.

Kagome was torn between wanting to ask Inuyasha to stop tapping his bottle against his leg, and throwing it out of the window. She opted for her first idea.

"Inuyasha?"

"Mm?" He hummed, back to using one word sentences.

"Could you please stop moving your water bottle?" She asked in the most polite voice she owned.

Without turning his head to look at her he asked, "Why?"

"Because I'm asking nicely."

The water tapping increased.

"Alright! I have to go to the bathroom really bad and your not helping." She hissed.

Had Inuyasha been facing Kagome like one is supposed to do when carrying on a conversation (However one-sided the conversation may be..)with someone, she would have seen a truly evil smile snake it's way onto his ruggedly handsome face.

The middle aged woman seated across from Inuyasha noticed it, however. Not wanting to cease living anytime soon she quickly moved back a few seats to sit with a lone lynx yokai.

"That so?" he asked.

Kagome turned to sit in her seat sideways, she didn't trust the sudden sympathy that was forced into his voice.

"Sorry princess, I had no idea." He apologized with a fanged smile as he twisted the cap off the bottle so that he could take a long, elaborate drink. He finished after making sure she could hear each gulp of water as it slid down his throat.

"Oh, come on now! That's just cruel."

Inuyasha leaned closer to his bottled water to examine it with mock interest, he shook it a little and then put it back to his mouth.

"And childish..." Kagome continued while feeling a very uncomfortable pressure in her lower abdomen.

The silver eared dog demon pretended to ignore her and continued to examine the contents of his bottle, shake it, and take another small swig.

"And horrid..."

He slowly put the cap back on and resumed tapping it to a beat only he could here.

"And ghastly..."

With a cool glare at Miroku, who was grinning with a sweet expression on his boyish face, Sango resignedly reached back into her bag and pulled out her small book and ink pen.

This time a blue mark went under Inuyasha's page.

"I tried to tell you, Sango." Miroku told her in a soft whisper. "Soon I'll have won this bet and you will be - "

Sango cut him off in a harsh whisper. "So what, he's only got one. Kagome has three." she explained logically.

"Aww... You guys are betting!" Shippo whispered loudly, a conniving gleam in his emerald eyes.

Sango and Miroku jumped at his small voice and turned around to see him hanging off the back of their seat.

"What! Weren't you just asleep?" Miroku asked, trying desperately to take the kits mind off the subject. Hopefully he had a short attention span.

"I was. But Inuyasha started talking about water for some reason and Kagome had to cross her legs. It was fun to watch them for a while but you guys were whispering up here, and now I know why! I bet they wouldn't be happy to find out." Shippo jabbed a thumb at the arguing couple behind them. "But if I can get in on the action, maybe they'll never have to know."

Sango exchanged a grim look with Miroku. What was wrong with kids these days?

"Alright Shippo. If Kagome gets ten marks under her name first, then I win and Miroku has to give me all his yen and swear not to touch me. If Inuyasha gets the ten marks first then Miroku wins and I have to go out on a date with him. What are your conditions?"

"If Kagome wins then I want a big box of doughnuts."

"That's all?"

"I can get more?"

"No, no! Your fine." Sango reassured him.

"Why are you guys so set on having Kagome win? I'm telling you Inuyasha will have the last laugh." Miroku stated looking dumb founded. He had known Inuyasha back when they stayed with the Higarashi's, and Inuyasha was a natural born trickster.

"Oh, for pities sake! Are we there yet?" Kagome cried out scooting as far away from Inuyasha as she could get.

They all peered out the window and realized that the station was indeed in sight.

"Thank God!" Kagome gushed in relief.

Kagura's feather took her to a secluded part of down town Tokyo. She stopped above a decent sized Building. She lowered herself to the ground until she could step gracefully off her feather. It shrunk in size and started to float to the ground.

Kagura reached out with a perfectly manicured hand and tucked the feather back into her dark bun. She turned to study the house with scrutinizing eyes. It was decent, she decided, albeit a bit shabby. The graffiti on the left side of the house did nothing to help.

Training her face to look uncaring, she went to knock on the door.

Her ears heard the footsteps before a young male wolf yokai with a white mohawk came to open the door.

He looked Kagura up and down whilst using his pinky to clean out his ear, whipping whatever it was off onto his black leather pants he tilted his head.

"Who are you?"

Kagura couldn't control her face as one corner of her mouth turned down. "None of your concern, little wolf, I'm here to see your leader."

Mohawk blinked at her for a few moments then moved out of the doorway to allow her entry.

She followed, careful of where she set her feet as the wolf demon took her down a poorly lit hallway. They arrived in a room littered with wolf demons. Some were playing pool at the pool table placed in the far corner of the room, while others seemed content to sleep, or laze about eating Chinese food.

In the center of the room, sitting upon a large sofa, was the one Kagura came for. His long black hair was kept in a smooth pony tail, a black bandana kept his long bangs out of his face, while still allowing a few pieces to hang freely in front of his eyes.

As they entered the room he turned blatant, aqua blue eyes on her. She went to stand in front of him.

"Koga, I presume." She purred.

"And if I am?" he snarled, bringing a can of soda to his mouth.

"Naraku has a job for you..."

As they stepped out of the bus Sango used Kagome's shoulder to steady herself. "That man is not fit to drive anything but a wheel chair." She muttered darkly, cursing the bright orange bus. "I think it's illegal to have something that color..."

Inuyasha and Miroku, practically unaffected, took up the chore of carrying the luggage.

"Do they have a restroom here?" Kagome asked Sango.

"Um... Yeah over there." Sango said pointing in a particular direction.

"Thanks." Kagome said over her shoulder, springing off in the appointed direction.

Sango turned around to the guys.

"Well Miroku? Stage one of your plan going smoothly?" She crossed her arms.

"Smooth as silk, dearest. We still have a little less then an hour before the train leaves. Come on Inuyasha, we'll go set the stuff in our seats. Then Sango and I will run out and get a few supplies. Why don't you take Kagome and Shippo to stretch their legs? I see a nice little trail over there..."

"Why do I have to be the one to baby sit?" Inuyasha fumed, following Miroku.

Kagome left the restroom feeling much better. She couldn't have survived much more of Inuyasha's cruel teasing.

She stretched her arms above her head and yawned. It was nice to be able to walk around again, and she was slightly put off that she would have to spend even more time on the train. Even though she was reluctant to get on another vehicle, she was very excited about riding on a train.

She walked back to the place she had left her companions. It was empty of anyone she knew, even Shippo. She glanced around in all directions, hoping to catch an eye full of someone she knew.

Nothing. She started walking slowly, keeping an eye out for a familiar face. It was crowded here, more then a few people ran into her elbow, or shouldered her causing her to stumble.

She knew it would be useless to call out names, with all the noise their was no way anyone could hear her.

"Oh!" She cried out as someone ran into her, knocking her off balance. She tried to regain lost composure, but it was futile and she put her hands up to protect her face from the asphalt.

But the ground never came. She felt a strong grip around her waist and elbow. Slowly she opened one eye.

Inuyasha's scowling face met her gaze. "Can't turn my back on you for a second, can I princess?" He asked, turning one corner of his mouth up into a smirk.

Ignoring the rudeness Kagome saw right to the goodness of his deed. "Thank you, Inuyasha." She said looking up at him through her dark bangs. "I appreciate it." her heart rate had mysteriously picked up it's pace.

Inuyasha looked stricken. His cheeks took on a darker hue as he released her to stand on her own.

"Feh! Whatever..." he grumbled turning his back to her.

Kagome rubbed her arm where his hand had been. "It's no big deal, Inuyasha. It was just really nice of you. I would have expected you to let me fall and then point and laugh."

Why hadn't he thought of that? "Whatever." He repeated hurriedly. "Come on, Shippo's waiting for us near the entrance to the trail."

"Why is he there?"

"Miroku said we should get the kinks out of our legs, he and Sango ran to the market to get a few things we didn't grab earlier." He crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head from her. He still wasn't quite sure why he had caught her. Usually he would pull the point and laugh routine, as Kagome had observed.

"Wonderful! It is so pretty here, I was hoping we could go through the trails. I read a sign in the bathroom that said this station is famous for it's gardens." Kagome exclaimed smiling up at him. He wished she would stop doing things like that. It... unnerved him? Perhaps frightened him.

His thoughts were cut off as a burly man ran straight into Inuyasha. Both men stumbled back away from each other from the force of the impact.

The man, obviously a demon if his features were any clue, glared at Inuyasha. They studied each other for a moment and then the man scoffed.

"Watch where your going, half-breed!"

Kagome watched as Inuyasha's eyes took on a dangerous edge. He cracked his knuckles and growled menacingly.

"You're the one who needs to watch where your going, you stupid second rate demon." Inuyasha retorted bracing his feet on the ground.

The man eyed Inuyasha with contempt, smiled, and walked on to disappear in the crowd.

Kagome felt a little frightened in spite of herself as a murderous look tainted Inuyasha's golden eyes. She had never seen him so angry. Sure, she'd pissed him off a good time or two, but...his eyes looked feral. Kagome didn't doubt that he was at the point where he would hunt down the other demon and start a fight.

"Inuyasha!" she called resting a hand on his shoulder. "Let it go."

Inuyasha barely heard her voice over the blood pounding in his ears. He was ready to fight! He wasn't about to roll over and allow someone to step all over him. That guy was dead where he stood. Inuyasha could still smell him, and was already envisioning the guys blood on his hands.

But his thoughts were wiped clear as he felt a light weight on his shoulder. He whipped around to face Kagome and immediately wished he hadn't.

Her soft brown eyes were filled with worry, and maybe a little fear. Had he scared her? He suddenly felt like he should go lie down in front of the train. He felt the fight leave him as he stared down into her eyes. It was like getting sprayed with a water hose on a hot summers day, minus the icy blast of freezing water.

He was calm before she told him to "Let it go."

He ripped his eyes off of hers and took a step back, her hand fell away from his shoulder and he unexpectedly missed its presence.

"Whatever. Let's go, princess." he hissed. Inside he winced. He hadn't meant it to sound that venomous.

Without a word she followed him to the place he had left Shippo. Upon her arrival, aforementioned Shippo ran up to her and found a comfortable place on her shoulder.

"What took you guys so long?" He asked Kagome.

"Minor inconvenience." Inuyasha answered for her.

"Um, right." Kagome agreed.

"Alright, let's go already before we run out of time!" Shippo hopped down from her shoulder and entered the gardens at a quick lope.

Inuyasha and Kagome followed silently side by side. Kagome managed to enjoy the scenery. It was like a mix between a flower garden and a nature hike.

"Wow! Isn't it beautiful?" Kagome breathed, examining the vividly colored flowers.

"Mmm." Inuyasha mumbled, his mind obviously elsewhere.

Kagome approached him. "Hey, earth to Inuyasha. You alright in there?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"You make it sound so believable." Kagome muttered, sarcasm dripping from her canines.

He sighed in answer as he tucked his hands into his jean pockets. He walked over to a bench located in the midst of the flowers and sat down.

Kagome looked around. Their was no one else besides them but Shippo at this particularbend in the path.

She went over and took a seat beside Inuyasha.

"What's biting you?"

"Your stupid questions!" He snarled, still not meeting her gaze.

"My questions aren't stupid! I'm worried about you, dog-boy." Kagome huffed, crossing her legs.

"You don't need to worry about me, I can take care of myself. Something you should try, klutz."

"Why are you getting angry with me? I haven't done anything!"

"Well, continue to do nothing!" He stood and walked away from her.

"Hey!" Kagome called jumping up to follow him.

"Are you mad about that guy running into you?" She inquired.

"Holy shit! You don't stop do you?"

"Don't avoid the question."

"No! I'm not mad about him running into me, however, I am slightly pissed that he blamed me for it." His eyes took on a guarded look, "But I guess I should be use to that by now."

"What do you mean?" She asked softly.

"Like you care! Back off, I don't have to tell you anything." he eyed a tree, but thought that if he were to jump into one Kagome would climb up after him.

"I do care. And no, you don't have to tell me... but I wish you would."

"No you don't." Inuyasha lowered his voice. "No one does, no one ever will."

Kagome stared at him with her mouth agape. Originally she'd just thought that he was an egotistical, jerk with social problems and a unhealthy interest in weaponry. Now it seemed he was more troubled then that. But Why?

She raked her brain, thinking back to the incident earlier on.

The man, obviously a demon if his features were any clue, glared at Inuyasha. They studied each other for a moment and then the man scoffed.

"Watch where your going, half-breed!"

Was that what upset him so much? What did the man mean by half-breed?

"Inuyasha... why did he call you a half-breed? Is that what has you so upset."

He spun back around and walked back to the wooden bench. "First off, I'm not upset. Get that through your thick skull. Second, I am a half-breed."

"Half-breed? You mean like. . ."

". . . Like I'm half demon half human, princess."

"Oh." Kagome bent her head in thought, "So? Why did he say it like he did?"

Inuyasha rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand. Was this ever going to stop?

"Not many people are very fond of hanyou's" He gritted out through his teeth.

"Why not?"

"What do you mean why not? Your thicker then I thought."

"Well, yelling and insulting me isn't going to help my intelligence any. Your probably killing mybrain cells."

He sighed and continued on to message his temples. "It's nothing, princess. Humans don't like me because I'mdifferent fromthem, demons don't like me because they think me to be weak. It's complicated. Drop it."

"You know I'm not just some naive little girl - "

"Yes, you are!" he shouted, then added in a softer voice, "Please stay that way."

"Huh... ?"

Suddenly Inuyasha seemed back to his old self. He scowled at her and stood up, "Look, it's not important. Let's get Shippo and meet Miroku and Sango back at the train. It's almost time to go anyways..." He let his sentence trail off as his ears caught some sound far away. His eyes narrowed and he stood in front of her protectively.

"Inuyasha, what are - " She stopped as her own ears picked up on the noise. It sounded like the rev of an engine.

"Motorcycles? Why do I hear motorcycles? They aren't allowed here."

"Hush!" He commanded.

For once she complied and bit her tongue.

"Wolf demons." He said more to himself then her. "They smell like trouble."

Kagome wanted to ask him how he could smell trouble but the question died in her throat as the loud, thunderous, rumbling that had been so loud a moment ago, dissipated.

"Hmm, I guess they went in another direction." Kagome said trying to move away from Inuyasha.

"Stay." He said so forcefully that Kagome listened. "I can still smell the fuel close by so they haven't gone anywhere."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this? So what if a couple of bikers are around, even if you aren't supposed to ride on this land, they probably missed the sign or som - "

Her sentence ended in a shriek, as Inuyasha scooped her upbridal style and took to the air. Terrified, she threw her hands around his neck and held on for her life. She had never been afraid of heights, but she found it unusual to suddenly be so high in the air.

She got herself ready to chew him out when she noticed that the very spot they had been in was desecrated.

They landed back on the ground in a crouch, Kagome still held firmly in her position.

"So, your Inuyasha? Hmph, I wonder what you could have done to make such strong enemies."

Inuyasha and Kagome both turned their heads at the strange voice. A boy that looked to be around eighteen with long black hair was standing on the spot he had destroyed, looking for all the world like he owned it.

At that moment Inuyasha knew two things. He should have kept the Tetsusaiga with him, and he really hated this guy.

He sat Kagome gently on the ground with a quick "Keep your mouth shut." and stood to face the muscular wolf yokai.

"What do you want, flea-bag?" Inuyasha yelled out, narrowing his eyes at his attacker. This guy knew his name. Inuyasha was sure he would remember such an aggravating person.

"Ah, not much. Just the girl and her life." he replied casually as he scratched the back of his neck.

A/N :

Hmm... Would that count as a cliff hanger? If so, I'm very sorry but I'm afraid I have to end the chapter here. ; Don't worry, the next chapter will at least another two pages long. I'll keep to that if you review! Speaking of reviewing I need to thank all you that have. You guys rock! I nearly cried, your all so... nice. This time I give you all super-sized, chewy, chocolate chip cookies. (Except for those of you who don't like cookies. You get a giant carrot)

M3GGO:

Aww, thanks. I didn't think the fluffiness was all that fluffy myself but... I would much rather agree with you Thanks X 100 for reviewing!

SilverSilkySesshoTail:

Ooh, your too kind! Did you really like it? Confrontation and all? You're the best! Well, chapter 4 is here and my fingers feel the full 15 pages of this. I hope it doesn't disappoint you at all! Atto, bucho. Much love.

Mini Nicka:

Thank you so much! I am trying really hard to make this as original as I can. Thanks for noticing I hope to hear more from you! Thank ya very much.

Inuhihe27:

(Spits lemonade out, shocked) You - you think my writing is wonderful? Honestly? Well, even if you didn't mean it flattery goes a long way here, pally, so Chapter 4 is here as quick as I could get it. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reviewing.

Pua lahi lahi:

No, thank you. Your review was really helpful and reminded me not to mooch off of the people who came up with Anastasia first. I'm doing my best to make this as original as I can, I can only hope that I'm doing a decent job and rely on reviewers like you to tell me my strong points and then point out what I suck at. Thank you so much! I hope to hear from you again.

Demonchic39:

(Spurts lemonade out yet again) Holy cheese cake! Fire! And I thought I was bad around flammable stuff...Just playing! But really, I got this out as fast as I could. Wouldn't want smokey to take away another one of my reviewers. Especially you because your reviews always make me feel great. I'll be sure to keep my chapters long and as detailed as possible. (You know you're the only one who said something about that?) Anywho...I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to kill Souta! I didn't! It was an accident, it just... happened! Oh lord! Shippo could be next! Oh, gods, no! Not Shippo-chan! I'll have to keep my murderous side under control, I guess. I need shippo alive... for now...On a more cheerful note I hope you liked this chapter as much as the others and continue to review because I'll be just torn if you don't!

Until next time! (Review... review...review...)

SilverSqueakyInuEars