I blinked and looked at Kagome. "I don't think I'll ever be able to figure him out…"

"Yeah, that's so weird. Inuyasha has never trained anyone before… not that anyone ever asked."

"I didn't ask for this…" I moaned, "Humph, he makes it seem so easy so he can just rub it in my face."

"Well, looks can be deceiving. There was a point where the Tetsusaiga was nearly impossible for Inuyasha to wield, but I won't go into that just yet. He learned his lesson on his own and you'll have to also."

"Hey, are you girls going to just talk all day! Let's go all ready!" Inuyasha called from ahead. Kagome and I walked and I laughed, "Seriously, how do you deal with this guy?"

"In some strange way, he wants to help you, but I gotta say I have no clue as far as his intentions go." When we arrived back at the group, I narrowed my eyes at Miroku as I walked past him. He sighed, "Is there always going to be this awkwardness between us?"

"Yes! And you'd best watch yourself unless you want me to use you for target practice!" I hissed, making his face go white.

Inuyasha marched up to him, his expression determined, but calm. "Miroku, the princess is going to be traveling with us for a while as I train her to become stronger. Things will be a lot easier if the two of you work out a truce."

I walked up to him, shaking his hand. "Fine, truce… but you'd best watch yourself." He looked a bit nervous as I winked. I joined Kagome's side and Inuyasha turned his back on Miroku, "just keep your distance and things should go just fine."

Sango joined us at the front of the group while Inuyasha stood between us and Miroku. Sango looked impressed, "I don't think I've ever seen a girl scare Miroku this much before. How do you do it?"

"It's easy," I cracked my right hand, "just as long as I have these claws, I'll easily be able to deal with him."

"Look, as hard as it is to believe, there's more to it than talk! So, less talking and more walking!" Inuyasha barked from behind us. I whispered in Kagome's ear, "Is he always this annoying?"

"Yeah, but you get used to it. He always means it in the best possible way."

"Hey! Don't make me come up there!" Kagome turned her back, "Sit boy!" He then fell over. Raye ran out from the cave, "Princess, where are you going?"

"Raye, I'm off to train for a while."

"But we need you."

"Look, if I'm going to take over this tribe someday, I need to be stronger. Although it will be difficult, Inuyasha is going to help me do that." She still looked discouraged. "Don't worry, I'll be back… eventually. I promise." I hugged her before letting her go. Before completely leaving my tribe behind, I saw the two cubs I saved from the fire. I looked at them and immediately ran over to see them. The twin brother and sister looked sad. I smiled, putting them on the head, "don't worry guys, I'll be back."

"I don't want you to go. You protect us." They both said.

"When I come back, I promise that I'll be strong enough to protect you from more than just a brush fire." I hugged them both before taking off with Inuyasha and the others.

"So, those cubs were the reason you came to be in such bad shape?" Miroku asked out of the blue. I looked behind and smiled, "that's right. It was all that I could really do for them."

"I gotta say that I'm impressed. There's no doubt that you are brave." He continued with the compliments.

I sighed, "All right, Miroku, I forgive you." Inuyasha drifted back and started their own conversation. "Inuyasha, are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"What's there to question Miroku? She's a miserably weak half-demon that, for some odd reason, seeks the courage and strength I have. Besides," he folded his arms, "I still question the calm aura around her. It can't be just the jewel shard because the last time I felt it was when I was sealed to that tree. Nobody has ever made me feel that calm about anything and I need to figure out why her."

"But Inuyasha, if you are planning to use your Tetsusaiga to train her, what's to say she won't turn on you?"

"Humph, yeah right, Miroku. She practically worships me and I don't sense any danger coming from her direction at all."
"Just saying that one can't be too careful." He shrugged.

Meanwhile, I was having my own conversation with Sango and Kagome. Sango spoke first, "I gotta say, I don't think I've ever seen Inuyasha quite so… well, it's just weird. You seem to be having some adverse effect on him. He's maintaining his usual attitude, but at the same time, he's breaking his own rules to take up on training you. I don't know what it is, but something about you is rattling him."

"Well, I'll have to see about that. I'm still unclear on his intentions. Whatever he did, he convinced me to agree to this. He's got the attitude, but when he feels like he's running out of options, he puts on this whole other face. I gotta say that I like seeing that softer side to him." I went off on a tangent, "last night he just made me feel so safe. It's not like I don't feel safe with him even when he's running on 100 proof attitude power… it's just easier to like him when he's being soft."

"Well, I know what you mean. I wonder sometimes if Inuyasha even sleeps because usually, he sits in a corner by himself with his arms folded. Usually, he sleeps with one eye open, so he's always making sure that we don't get attacked while trying to sleep. He's good for things like that." Kagome said.

I thought, "So, you said that you two didn't exactly hit it off when you met?"

"Actually, I came here through a mysterious well in Inuyasha's forest. For some reason, Mistress Centipede dragged me down the well because she was after the Shikon jewel inside my body. Although, I didn't know it at the time. Inuyasha woke up and I pulled out the arrow sealing him to the tree. He destroyed the demon, but then he came after me to get the jewel. Kaede strung those beads around his necks so I can "hold his spirit", so he won't be able to get the jewel. At one point, he figured that he needed me to help him find the shards of the jewel, although his intentions are still questionable."

"Yeah… why would he need the jewel? I still can't figure that out. We might never know."

"I don't think he knows himself, to be honest." Kagome laughed and I joined in. I sighed, "I think that you and I are gonna become great friends, Kagome."

"Yeah, I think so too. I think your fear of humans isn't going to be an obstacle once I'm through with you." She laughed. We continued to head north until night fell. We made camp and a fire. I warmed myself against it, rubbing my hands together. Inuyasha was sitting across from me and a few minutes after stoking the fire, I snuck a look at his eyes. It was like he was watching my every move to figure out how to read me. A bit nervous, I looked back into the flame.

Then, I saw the brush fire happening again. I rescued the cubs and rolled down the hills. Thinking back on that event led me to rub my splinted leg. "You okay?" Miroku asked, attempting to put an arm around me when Sango smacked him away. I then saw the events of the past reoccur again. I saw my mother and all of the tribe members die in the hands of humans. I saw myself hiding like a coward, but I was only so young, so it was only natural. I saw myself come upon Inuyasha, sealed to the tree and how he magically came back to life. I saw the fire and comfort in his eyes as he talked me into coming to train under him.

I stopped rubbing my leg and nodded to myself. I decided to take a little walk on my own. I lay on a grassy hill, looking up at the stars and the moon that was no longer full. I exhaled as my breath was visible. My ears twitched and I smiled, "Inuyasha, you can come out of hiding." I heard him walk towards me. "You know, I don't like being closely watched like that. Sometimes, I just need to be by myself to think."

"Hey, I hear ya. Mind if I join you to look at the stars?" I shrugged, "Sure, whatever."

"Just so you know… you don't have to like me."

"I know, but I kinda want to. It makes things easier on me, considering… you know."

"Yeah, but sparring will come with part of the training. Just saying that you might wimp out because 'you don't want to hurt me', although I doubt that you can."
"There's that attitude of yours again. It's just the thing to burn me up…"

"Oh, then maybe I'll just jab at you about how weak you are and really get on your nerves! Rage can become a good thing because it could be something to focus your energy. That's what brought you scratch Miroku as bad as you did." He laughed.

"Out of curiosity, with that attitude of yours, you might soon enough make an enemy out of me. Would you really want another enemy or another friend?"

"Humph, it's not like it matters, but with me training you, it might be better if we were… friends. In the end, you could very well become a formidable adversary, but you'd know better than to cross me."

I sighed, "Inuyasha, I promise that I wouldn't dare betray you. Seeing as you are a critical player in the race for the jewel shards, you've got enough to deal with. Besides, that would be the last way to repay you for what you're about to do for me. It's almost too much."

"Well, I'll say this much." I looked at him as he continued to gaze at the stars. "You're not as weak as you think you are."

"Quit pushing my buttons."

"No, I'm being serious. What brought you to want to become stronger to help defend your tribe as leader someday is your heart. You want to protect everyone at any cost. Your heart does all the talking." He made a fist, "I think it might have affected me in a weird way. It reached into mine and calmed my spirit. That could very well be the key to your inner strength. Still, it's going to take a lot more than that to prepare what other dangers lie ahead for your tribe."
"Yeah. So… I gotta ask. Why do you want to help me? What makes you think I'm worth your time?"

"Humph, ask me again at the end of your training. It'll give you something to look forward."

"If you say so, but it sounds like you're toying with me."

"Well, for all you know, it could be part of your training." He joked, "Nah, we'll only train during the day unless I have a special assignment for you, but that won't come for quite a while." He shrugged, "Besides, nighttime sneak attacks aren't my style and that's sometimes how I end up in some of my toughest fights."

"Is that why you always sleep with one eye open?"
"Yeah. It's always been that way. I grew up alone, so I learned to be on my own. More so, I have to now because Miroku, Sango and Kagome are with me."

"Since you're half-demon, what about on the nights where you… lose your powers?"

"Well… I've never actually slept on the nights I lose my powers." He then stood up in a huff, "It's not like I'm scared or anything. Sometimes, some demon attacks us when I'm mortal, but I somehow always make it through."

"Wow…" I could only whistle. "I'm kind of weird as a half-demon. The full moon is when I lose my powers, but I get them back whenever there's a cloud covering the moon. That was just a few nights ago, when I came back to the forest looking for you at the Sacred Tree." I sighed and laid back down. I yawned, "It's a nice night tonight, the perfect time to fall asleep under the stars." I shut my eyes and within a few moments, I was dead asleep.

Inuyasha looked back down and saw that I was sleeping. He knelt down and stroked my bangs. Then he got up and whispered, "What the hell am I doing? Anytime I'm alone with this girl, I just get overcome with calmness and generosity and stuff." He laughed, "All right, it's all right because tomorrow, I'm not going to be showing any slack." He sat down, folding his legs, carefully raised my head to his chest and embraced my with his left arm.

I woke up for a brief moment, seeing that Inuyasha was holding me again. I whispered, "Inuyasha… what…"

"You're going to need your strength tomorrow, and I'm going to need my patience. The best way to accomplish that is sleep in this manner and starting now, don't question me about this. I just think it's the best for the both of us." I put my other hand by his chest and I slowly fell back asleep. "Thanks for what you're doing for me and I appreciate it."

Meanwhile, Kagome and Sango spied the two of us sleeping. Kagome whispered, "It was like that last night too… what's going on?"

"I don't know, but I think I heard Inuyasha tell her that it's the best way for them to get sleep. I think it was his idea."

"It's something about what she does to him when she's that close. I just hope that this doesn't become a habit…"

"It's all about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, but with her, it could go either way. I'm not sure… Inuyasha has been unpredictable lately."

"But I do get a great vibe from her. I don't think we need to worry about her. I think she knows about my relationship with Inuyasha and she wants to be friends." She looked over and smiled, "Sleep well, Inuyasha and don't be too hard on her tomorrow."

As I slept by Inuyasha, everything felt so right. I felt at peace and completely relaxed and happy. I wondered on about what his feelings towards me were becoming. I obviously made a good impression on him if he allows me to be this close. As I listened to his heart comfortably beat strong, I swore to myself that I would never betray Inuyasha or become tempted to even try to hurt him if I really wanted to. I just want him to be alive so he could protect me and others like this forever. Even with what he has planned for me tomorrow, I knew that I could always think of his heart, so I won't be able to get too mad at him if he's a bit too harsh. But since he's so strong, I wouldn't expect anything less.