Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "InuYasha" or "Avatar: The Last Airbender". InuYasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and ATLA belongs to Nickelodion.

WARNING: CHAPTER INCLUDES CUSSING (MOSTLY DONE BY A HOT-TEMPERED DOG-BOY!)

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: T(Teen)

Book One: The Jewel of Water

Chapter Three: Of Secrets and Prejudice

When she first embarked on this quest, Kagome never imagined to be taken hostage by a bunch of Fire Nation soldiers from the navy. No siree, that never came up in the job description! Kagome stared out at the tranquil sea as the navy ship navigated through the water, Buyo purring drowsily in her arms as she stroked his soft coat absentmindedly. It had been three days since she'd surrendered to the soldiers. She thought about escaping; after all, she could probably have been able to put up a good fight, what with being on the ocean and all, but Kagome knew better.

She knew that it would be too risky with the Lieutenant constantly breathing down her neck.

The simple fact was that she wouldn't stand a chance in a battle against him. At least not as she was now, unless it was a full moon when her bending would be at it's strongest. However, the full moon wasn't for another few days and by then she either would be in the Fire Nation still or hopefully on her merry way with the Jewel of Water back in her possession.

That was the second reason she had to stay.

Kagome couldn't very well leave the jewel behind after her promise to Midoriko, now could she? It wasn't in Kagome's nature to break promises, especially promises of great importance. As a matter of fact, breaking her promise to Kaede was the first time she'd ever went back on one. She'd make sure it was the last time, too.

Deeming it time to head back to her priso-I mean, room, the teen turned and stalked pass the two guards that stood on both sides of the open steel door. A sharp intake of outrage left her lips when one of the guards not so subtly slapped her ass while she went passed him. Not knowing which one was the culprit, the young girl gave both of them the same medicine; she flicked her wrist and in no time at all, there were two wheezing and moaning men on the floor, their bums now bruised from the nasty Water-Whip that struck them. Huffing, Kagome continued onward, her nose in the air as she entered the room.

Despite the fact that she was held here against her will, Kagome had to admit that her living space wasn't half bad. The room was lit by candlelight, giving it this dark, but warm feeling when she entered. There was also a desk for writing by the window, which allowed the sounds of the ocean to flow into the room, lulling her into a blissful sleep every night since arriving on the vessel. And finally there was the bed, a large mattress that was so comfortable that it made her feel like she slept on a cloud. And above the bed was a large banner with the Fire Nation emblem stitched on it. At first, Kagome was confused about the comfortable quarters when, before even saying anything, InuYasha growled out something about "needing the prisoner close so that he'd make sure she wouldn't get any funny ideas".

Placing the slumbering feline on the comforter atop the bed, Kagome sighed and was about to take off her heavy coat when there was a series of hard knocks outside the door. Wary that it was one of the two guards from earlier, the water-bender slowly made her way to the door, one hand discreetly behind her back as it formed water in her palm should any other perverted movements be made. Cracking the steel door open slightly, Kagome was relieved to see it was only the old soldier named, Chang Bao.

The senior was the only one on the ship that treated her with genuine kindness, something the sixteen-year-old was grateful for. He was a shorter old man, only two inches taller than Keade, with hair just as silver as his demon lieutenant, and a scarred face from battles long past, but a small smile present upon his aged face.

That same smile was what greeted the young woman and she quickly opened the door and let her battle-ready hand relax. The water-bender grinned sheepishly, "Oh, it's just you, Bao. What's up?" The old man grinned.

"It is dinner time upon the deck, my dear. Would you care to join us?"

Kagome was about to decline, when her stomach gave a very noticeable growl that made it clear it wanted food, and wanted it now. The water-tribe girl blushed heavily and decided to take the elder up on his offer.

"Um, sure. Why not?" she answered nonchalantly.

When they made their way out to the deck, Kagome's eyes were immediately drawn to the big cauldron surrounded by a small crowd of Fire Nation men, most with their protective armor and helmets off with soup bowls grasped in their hands. Laughter and companionable chatter met her ears as she made her way to the cauldron, ignoring the cat-calls and whistles directed her way and poured some soup into her bowl that she grabbed. Making her way over to Bao, the girl sat down with him and they ate in a comfortable silence.

It was only then, as she scanned around the deck that Kagome noticed something out of place; there was no sign of InuYasha.

In the few days she'd been on the ship, Kagome noticed that the dog-eared demon was never too far away, either giving orders to his men, training out on the deck, or looking out the window in the control deck alongside the captain, a stony glare etched on his face. More often then she cared to admit, Kagome would look up to the control station and, without fail, see the dog demon leering down at her as if she was a filthy criminal that needed to be watched over at all times. The unwanted attention was disturbing, to say the least, but Kagome refused to let the jerk see how uncomfortable the glares made her, opting instead to glare right back at him from wherever she was standing. Usually, they'd hold each other's glare for a couple seconds, before InuYasha, based on the movements she'd see, would snort and turn his burning gaze away from her, as if she weren't worth his time.

Despite always seeing him in one of those three places, the one place that always remained a constant for him was the deck at dinner time. InuYasha was always the first one aside from the chef to get his bowl of whatever was for dinner that night, sweep pass the growing crowd of soldiers, jump unthinkably high to the very top of the ship, then settle down at the edge and look over his crew as they all ate together, while he sat and ate alone. Kagome would always watch him do this, making sure to be discreet so she wouldn't catch his eye, and wander why he never ate with everybody else.

But tonight was different; tonight there was no brooding fire-bending demon on the deck, or on the top of the ship. Even with the bitterness she felt towards the young lieutenant, the water-wielder felt a twinge of concern, wondering if he was alright.

"What troubles you, Kagome?" Bao asked, taking notice that the teen was scanning the area, as if looking for something.

"Bao, where is Lieutenant InuYasha?" Kagome asked, turning to him. The old soldier gave her a strange look and was about to reply, but then-

"Why does a pretty, little thing like you wanna know where that bastard is?"

The sudden voice startled Kagome, and she turned her head to see a man with sandy brown hair standing over her with a sneer. There were a few others who apparently overheard her question, 'cause there were about five other men staring at her. The girl grimaced before replying, "I'm just wandering; I see him all the time at dinner and I-"

"Well, quit wandering. A demon like 'em isn't worth being worried over," the man standing over her interrupted, his tone cold and slightly disgusted at the mention of their lieutenant. As the man stocked away from the flabbergasted teen, Bao went to stand, his old bones creaking and popping at the effort.

"Don't worry yourself about Sao, dear. He's always been that way about demons, just as many others in this world are. He is right however; you don't need to worry yourself because Lieutenant InuYasha always disappears on the night of the new moon," the old man assured.

At that, Kagome turned to stare up at him in curiosity, "The new moon? Why?" she asked.

Chang Bao shrugged, "No one knows. Not much is known about our great lieutenant; one day he just showed up with nowhere to go and joined our ranks. Though, some say he knows the Fire Nation's Prince on a personal level, and that's what landed him the position of Lieutenant to the navy," he explained.

Kagome hummed in understanding and turned back to her soup, her thoughts lingering to the hot-tempered lieutenant...

Later that night, the petite water-bender found herself getting out of bed and strolling along the outside of the deck, stopping every once in a while to do a trick or two with her water-bending. It was true that on the night of the new moon, water-benders control over water was stalled or hindered, but it also depended on a bender's skill level. Because Kagome was able to exceed to the Mastery Levels of water-bending, her abilities were only hindered, albeit to a great extent, but not stalled. Still, it would be foolish of her to go into a fight on the new moon, as her level of bending would be greatly depleted.

Kagome, like many water-wheilders, was not fond of the nights that the moon vanished from the sky, for it made her feel anxious and weak. To put it simply, Kagome didn't feel safe on the night of the new moon, and now that she was out of the South Pole, on a Fire Navy ship surrounded by soldiers, the anxiety had only grown tenfold.

"Oh well, at least no one was up here, so better take this time to clear my head," she thought.

It was in that moment, she felt something.

A sensation prickled at the edges of the sixteen-year-old's subconscious. Halting in her steps, Kagome closed her eyes to focus completely on the strange feeling, the water she was bending dropping down to the metal floor of the deck. Not a second later, she felt the sudden pulse of the jewel nearby, sending her senses into high-alert. Moving her back against the nearby wall, the young woman crept quietly to the end where the wall turned, and peaked her head out from around it to see the widespread part of the deck on the back of the ship. There, she spotted a figure, draped in a cloak, his back to her, as he held the half-assembled jewel above him, while the artifact itself gave off an ethereal glow that the teenager knew only she could see.

"Keh! Figures that little wench would break it! Now what am I gonna do?" The person asked himself, just loud enough for Kagome's ears to pick up on it. Upon hearing that obnoxiously familiar voice insulting who she knew to be herself, the water-tribe girl went to make her presence known by retaliating, but stopped dead when a heavy gust of wind blew off the hood of the ragged cloak to reveal long, dark, black hair cascading down his back.

Not gleaming silver.

But dark, solid, black.

Kagome remained hidden behind the other side of the wall, wondering who exactly this man was, and why he had the jewel and not the lieutenant. It was only when the stranger turned around for her to see his face, that all thought was wiped clean from her mind, her body freezing in shock.

It was the lieutenant.

"But...how?"

Despite not being able to see his facial features too well because of the darkened night, she didn't need anymore confirmation once she saw his eyes.

His eyes, which were still a molten amber.

Like the jewel, his eyes glowed, like two miniature suns.

There was no mistaking it; that was Lieutenant InuYasha.

But as a human.

It didn't seem like he noticed her, and Kagome held her breath as she slowly began backing away, her heart pounding in her chest, trying to be as quiet as possible so she wouldn't draw his attention to her.

Apparently, however, her nose decided that today would be the day to screw her over.

She felt a tickle.

Her nose twitched.

And Kagome sneezed.

Loudly.

Seconds later, she was harshly shoved against the steel wall, the metal connecting with the back of her head roughly, sounding a pained gasp from the girl's lips, while large fingers wrapped tightly around her neck, and a flaming fist pointed at her face, ready to strike her. The only thing was, it didn't. The fist didn't strike her. There was only silence, save for the restrained girl's heavy breathing. Opening her aqua-blue eyes, not even realizing she had shut them in the first place, Kagome's gaze was immediately drawn to her captor's own wide-eyed stare, the light from his inflamed hand just bright enough to allow her to see all of his features.

If she still had any doubts that this fire-bender was InuYasha, then they would've been shot down right then and there, for the man staring back at her had the same hard jawline, nose, chin, black eyebrows, and of course, the same eyes. The only exceptions were his hair and ears. Yes, ears. The once pointed dog ears that stood proudly atop his head were now gone along with the silver tresses, replaced by normal, human ears like her own, and Kagome couldn't help the disappointment that tugged at her heart at seeing them absent.

The two teens just stared at each other, both in a state of astonishment and dread as they each took in the other's features, trying to comprehend what the Hell just happened.

"You," InuYasha whispered.

Kagome didn't respond, mostly due to the firm grip still around her neck, but also because she didn't know what to say. Snapping out of the spell first, the demon-turned-human released the female water-bender from his vise-like grip, to which she dropped to the floor, coughing and heaving as the oxygen rushed freely back into her lungs. Once her breathing was steady, Kagome picked herself up off the floor and looked to the trembling lieutenant, only to see him a few paces away, but still looking at her with a mortified expression. It was as if he was still trying to understand the gravity of the situation, and despite being the victim in this case, Kagome still reached out a comforting palm to the young man, only to retract it when he flinched.

With her fist clenched over her heart, Kagome cast one last glance at the human InuYasha, before walking back to her room.

She didn't feel like walking anymore.

When Kagome returned to her room, the first thing she did was head straight for the small chest that held her clothes. When she was taken by the soldiers onto the navy ship, they had confiscated most of her belongings.

They had let her keep her clothes, after making sure there wasn't anything that could've been used as a weapon hidden inside the pockets and folds. Little did they know, was that in her parka (A/N: A parka is a thick, bushy jacket with fluffy layers of animal hair inside the hood you'd wear in winter, or in Kagome's case, the South Pole.) there was a hidden pocket, where a small bottle contained a ripped piece of paper she'd torn from one of her scrolls about demons. Kaede had given her a basic rundown over the different types of demons and their lifestyles only four months before her departure, and there was a section from one of the scrolls that particularly sparked her interest, so she'd torn it off and put it in a bottle for later. For some reason at the time, Kagome had a hunch that she'd be needing that torn parchment for later.

Taking out the said parka out of the modest-sized chest, Kagome immediately went for the hidden pocket. Taking out the small bottle, she twisted the cork open with ease and tilted the mini container until the torn, but preserved parchment fell into her waiting hand. The water-bender hastily unraveled the paper and read through it, looking for the section she knew was there.

Bingo.

Kagome squinted her eyes slightly to read the surprisingly short section in comparison to the other sections.

Hanyou

-Not much is known about hanyou, or half-demons, as they're sometimes called. The product of a human and a demon, hanyou are not very common to come by, often times killed at birth or early childhood by both humans and demons for their mixed blood. Because of the unstable genetics from both parents, it is believed that the phenomena of a hanyou's appearance altering can occur. Although it is not confirmed, many speculate that, in a dire situation, a hanyou may revert into that of a full-fledged demon in order to protect itself. It is also believed that hanyou have a certain time every month where they loose their demonic attributes completely and temporarily become human.

Doing a double-take, Kagome reread the final part of the paragraph, thinking over the words in her head.

"-hanyou have a certain time every month where they loose their demonic attributes completely and temporarily become human."

Instantly, Chang Bao's own words echoed back into her mind.

"Lieutenant InuYasha always disappears on the night of the new moon,"

"-hanyou have a certain time every month where they loose their demonic attributes completely and temporarily become human."

"-disappears on the night of the new moon,"

"-hanyou have a certain time every month-"

"Does this mean..." Kagome began, thinking fast.

"-they loose their demonic attributes completely and temporarily become human."

An image from just minutes ago popped up in her mind's eye, the pieces of the puzzle slowly, but surely unraveling in her head.

Dark hair. No dog ears. Yet, the same face...the same eyes.

"-temporarily become human."

"The lieutenant...he's..." her thoughts were coming together at last.

"Hanyou,"

"He's a..."

"Half-demon,"

"Lieutenant InuYasha's a half-demon," Kagome concluded.

The puzzle was solved.

It was early on in the afternoon the next day when they finally docked at the port of Capital Island, the mainland of the Fire Nation. Looking out at the island, Kagome saw a modest-sized boating town just ahead of the port. Looking farther up, the water-bender easily spotted a large mountain. What was odd though, was the fact that the entire upper part of it was gone, looking almost ripped away judging by the noticeable gagged tips at the top.

"That's where the capital is," a sudden voice broke through her musings.

Kagome jumped at the voice, but quickly relaxed once she saw it was only Chang Bao. Nodding in understanding, the teen walked down the boardwalk that connected the ship to the cobblestone platform and sighed. Buyo dowsed atop her shoulders, although Kagome kind of wished he wasn't. It was extremely hot out; nothing Kagome was used to, and the added heat on the back of her neck from where the demon-cat's three tails covered it wasn't helping in the slightest. She could already feel the sweat on her brow and she cursed herself for wearing one of her thicker outfits.

"How in the moon's name are these people not being boiled alive!?" was her exasperated thought.

Stopping to gently detach the groggy feline from his perch, to which said cat hissed fussily at the sudden movements, Kagome took it upon herself to peel off the parka she wore to reveal a deep blue, short-sleeved, tight-fitted shirt, exposing her arms that were wrapped up in bandages from the elbows down, open-fingered, meeting with black gloves comfortably secured around her pale hands. Tying the thick jacket around her waist, Kagome could feel herself already cooling off, if only a little bit.

Scooping up her companion, Kagome carried him in her arms instead of placing him back onto her shoulders. Being an ice-based demon, Buyo wasn't dealing too well in the steaming heat and humidity, and Kagome hoped that they'd be out of the burning oven of an island soon. Very soon.

Back on the ship, standing by the boardwalk, InuYasha observed the young girl with an aprehensive eye as she made her way down the port, memories from the night before still fresh in his mind. He shuddered in revulsion thinking about; seeing Kagome's crystal-blue eyes lock with his own, an all-too familiar emotion that seemed to always be directed his way: fear. There was one, major difference this time, however; this time, when the fear was looking him through oceanic-blue eyes, he was human.

Not a demon.

Not a half-demon.

A full-blooded, mortal human.

He'd seen men tremble at his feet, mothers steer away their children once he came walking down the road, those same children shooting fearful glances back at him over their shoulders. He's watched his own crew gossip about him in contempt when they thought he couldn't hear them, faced down demons who underestimated him for his blood or otherwise, and has always ignored the ridiculed and distrustful sneers from the other important officials whenever he walked in to give his status report to the Fire Lord.

Over time, he learned to ignore it, be indifferent to it all. It was just another aspect of his life; the prejudice he'd face. No one knew the truth of his heritage, of what he was, except for the few demons that scented his blood, though he always made quick work of them before they blabbered out his secret for the whole world to know. However, just being classified as a 'demon' does little in his favor, especially amongst the humans, who fear anything and everything involving demons, much less hanyous.

In truth, it was the few times he went out in his most loathed form that InuYasha was looked at with no malice or disgust, but complete trust and acceptance. As much as he hated his human state above all others, it was the only time the fire-bender ever got a temporary reprieve from the prejudiced glares and scowls of the humans at the ports they stopped at. It was, at those times, InuYasha knew fear would never be directed his way; not as a human.

An image of two, terrified, aqua-blue eyes popped it's way into his head, staring back at him with pure, unadulterated fear.

The teenage lieutenant clentched his hands into fists, as he grit his teeth and fangs, banishing the unwelcomed image from his mind's eye.

But he'd been wrong.

A/N: I'M ALIVE!

So, you guys probably really want to kill me for disappearing for, well...forever but life's been in the way and for the longest time I didn t know what direction to go in with this chapter. It's been sitting in my files for ages 'Cause I planned it to be much longer than it is, but as I've said, I had no clear direction for this chapter, so I'm sorry it's really short in comparison to previous chapters. I also wanted to post this because I have a few other fanfic ideas I wanna get started on, but I would've felt really guilty if I didn't post a new chapter to this story that I haven't updated for MONTHS!. Again, really sorry it took so long to post this chapter, but mores to come (hopefully) soon along with new stories, one of which I'll probably try to upload sometime this week. (Don't you just LOVE winter break!?)