Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi does. twitch Why do you people do this to me?!? Oh yeah, thanks to the two who reviewed. I appreciate it. I don't know if it's a great start or not, but I'm happy. I'm updating as soon as I can, with school and such.

japanesegirl101 - Thanks! I thought so too!
kagome gal 20 - I added the pairings now, sorry about that earlier. Hope you like this next chapter.

A/N: So, recap. Inuyasha and Kagome had a fight with Kouga, Ginta, and Hakkaku as witnesses. To make it worse, some creepy thing is wandering around with tons of power and the jewel shards. Bet you can't guess who it is.

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Chapter 2 - Danger Ahead

Kagome brushed some more dirt from her face as she stormed furiously through the heavily wooded area. Her clumsiness didn't let her down – she tripped and went plunging to the ground. She propped her elbows on the forest floor and let out a cry of anguish. "Inuyasha! Why do you have to be like this?!" Rearranging herself to a kneeling position, she sighed. "Maybe it was my fault too..."Shortly thereafter, her miko powers brought her to her senses. She stood up and looked around cautiously. The Sacred Jewel shards were near by. Glancing around wildly, her instincts were shouting at her. She turned and ran back to the place where she left so angrily. The branches and twigs tore at her face, making her wince with pain. But she just kept going, afraid what might appear if she looked back.

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Inuyasha turned and scoffed. So, she's coming back already? Wait... His eyes shifted from one tree to the next. There's that smell again! What if the others are in trouble? He ran as fast as he could when suspicion started taking over. "Dammit!" he yelled, cursing to himself. Whoever it is is getting closer, I can feel it. Anger and worry started to flow through his whole body. He stopped again to sniff the air, trying to track down where the scent was coming from. It was everywhere, and he couldn't pinpoint its exact location. A growl began to reverberate in his throat as he raced back to the others.

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Kagome ran to the clearing and staggered to the ground, her arms flailing around her. She stumbled hard to her knees and gasped for breath, waiting for the sting from countless scratches all over her body to fade. Her friends stared at her for a moment before Sango and Miroku finally ran to her side.

"Kagome-chan, what happened?" Sango asked worriedly. Her eyes were asserting mute curiosity and a tinge of fear. She glanced around as if something was going to appear from the trees at any minute.

"It's the jewel shards! I can sense them, they're coming closer," she managed to choke out. Her friends hadn't fully grasped what happened. They stared at her blankly for a moment, as if she had just been speaking a foreign language. Kouga had jumped up upon her arrival and was furtively scanning the area, his nose in the air trying to track down the scent.

Inuyasha jumped through the tall grass and held the Tetsusaiga at his side, fully unsheathed. "What the hell's going on?" He glanced at Kagome kneeling on the grass. "Kagome, are you all right?" His hands rested on her shoulders as he looked her up and down, eyeing all the cuts.

"I'm fine, Inuyasha. They're just small scratches. It's nothing." She stood up and glanced around, still a little nervous. "I can sense the power of the shards all around here." Kouga stood protectively by Kagome's side and put one of his arms around her waist, drawing her next to his side. "Can you tell which way it's coming from, Kagome?" A smirk crept to his face as he leered at the enraged hanyou, now clenching his fists tightly at his sides.

Kagome's face turned a faint shade of red as Kouga held on to her. She glanced up and a sigh escaped her lips as Inuyasha started venting his anger out on Kouga.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER!" Inuyasha shouted at Kouga before he grabbed Kagome's arm possessively and tried desperately to yank her away from him.

"Would you two stop!?" Kagome pointed an angry finger at Inuyasha. "SIT BOY!" The yelling ceased and she sighed again, suddenly aware that the jewel shards were coming closer yet.

"If you three are done with your brawl, can we focus on the jewel shards?" Miroku asked sternly, looking at each of them in turn. "An evil aura is steadily approaching." The houshi's eyes were serious, making Kagome feel a tinge of guilt when he looked at her.

Inuyasha lifted his head off the ground and gripped the Tetsusaiga. Using it as support, he stood up and swung the sword over his shoulder, glaring at Kouga. His mood changed quickly when he turned around as something rustled in the bushes. A young girl stepped out quietly and smiled. Her eyes were green and she had blue-black hair that was hanging loosely to her lower back. Her kimono was green as well with blue flowers sprinkled everywhere.

Miroku grabbed the girl's hands, unable to resist temptation. "Would you do the honor of bearing my children?" Kagome and Shippou sighed while Sango gaped open-mouthed at the lecherous monk. Can't he get his mind out of the gutter for one minute?!

"What happened to focusing on the jewel shards?" Inuyasha asked angrily. "She wreaks with Naraku's stench." He poised his sword in front of him and smiled wryly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're just another one of his reincarnations."

"Inuyasha! She has two jewel shards in her neck!" Kagome cried out. This girl wasn't human, couldn't Miroku tell? He was too busy flirting to notice, she finally decided.

Miroku let go of her hands, only to receive deadly glares from Sango. Her nerves and mouth twitched. Boy, is she angry. I'm really in for it... He looked back up at the girl and sensed the evil aura around her. "Who are you?" he demanded, finally realizing she wasn't human.

The girl sneered as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "My name is Shiori. I've noticed that priestess can see my sacred jewel shards." One of her hands went gently to her neck, as if to caress the shards, whose power was pulsating from her body. "Unfortunately, she is the one that Naraku wanted me to kill." She spoke softly, but there was an evil drawl to it. With that, she raised her hand as an orb of energy grew in her hand.

Sango was faster. Her eyes grew wide with anger and she sprinted towards Shiori. "Hiraikotsu!" Sango's faithful weapon swung wildly at her and disrupted her concentration on the ball of energy.

"Impudent wench!" Shiori jumped up and slashed at Sango with her hands, claws flying every which way. Sango was sent flying backwards into the trunk of a tree. She gasped for air and closed her eyes, while the Hiraikotsu was too far away to reach. Giving into the dizziness, she closed her eyes and her mind went black as she slowly lost consciousness.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome broke free of Inuyasha and Kouga's protection and ran towards her unconscious friend. She kneeled down in the grass by her and wiped a bit of blood away from Sango's lip. "Sango-chan, can you hear me?"

Her eyelids fluttered slightly when she heard Kagome's voice. "I'm fine...don't worry about me." She sat up straight and winced, the pain from her collision shot searing to her head. "Damn her..."

Miroku looked at his beloved Sango. Anger was radiating from his very pores as he turned back to Shiori. He removed the prayer beads from his right hand. "Kazaana!" A burst of wind was sucking in everything in its way. However, Kagome had noticed something he hadn't. "Miroku, don't! There's saimyosho!" she exclaimed hastily, pointing towards Shiori as Naraku's venomous insects gathered around her. Miroku quickly wrapped the beads around his hand, panting. "Dammit, Naraku!"

Kouga jumped in the air and lunged at Shiori. "You won't be laying a finger on my Kagome!" He flared upon her, but she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"You're wasting my time, wolf!" She sent him sprawling back, a smirk playing on her face. "If you think that any of you are going to stop me, you're wrong!" Abruptly, an arrow went darting past her face. Shiori watched it out of the corner of her eye. Following the arrow's path, she set her glare upon Kagome. She was standing with her bow at her side, a hateful expression on her face.

"Next time, I won't miss." Kagome pulled the arrow back, aligned with the string of her bow. She stared at the area around her. Miroku was useless at the moment, Sango was injured, Kouga was still lying on the ground, and – well, she didn't know what Inuyasha was doing because he was gone. Her thoughts swarmed wildly in her head.

Shiori, however didn't notice. She was too busy worrying about the acute pain in her back. She turned slowly, only to see that hanyou behind her with his claws extended. Dammit! I let my guard down! Spatting blood from her mouth, she smirked. "You may have defeated me this time, but I'll be back for that arrant wench." Her feet lifted slowly off the ground and she began her leave, her eyes glowing with malice. Bastards...

Kagome sank slowly back to her knees by Sango's side. Her face showed weary exhaustion. It took only a minute for Inuyasha to run by her side and hold her in a tight embrace. "Are you hurt, Kagome?" His tone was soft and drizzled with worry.

"No, I'm okay." She blushed slightly as Inuyasha held her, but finally gave into the comforting, yet firm, warmth. "I don't know about Sango or Kouga though." She glanced at her injured friends and sighed. Pulling back from his embrace, she turned to Sango. She began rummaging through her backpack and pulled out her First-Aid kit. A clear, sticky substance was applied to Sango's cuts. "I'm glad you're okay," Kagome murmured quietly to herself.

Miroku walked over quietly and stroked Sango's cheek lovingly. She had fallen back to unconsciousness. Holding his hands up in prayer, he looked up only to see Kouga was being brought – or should I say dragged – along by Inuyasha to where Kagome was kneeling. He let Kouga drop to the ground and immediately turned away, his arms crossed. His face was wearing a grim expression.

When Kagome realized what Inuyasha had done, she smiled. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Damn right," he said, as Kouga slowly opened his eyes. "I did that for you, Kagome, not for him. I could've just left him there." Kagome turned and began him as well. Kouga was fully conscious now. He let her treat and bandage his wounds. When she was done, he smiled gratefully. Ginta and Hakkaku were waiting patiently, watching in amazement at what she did.

"Thanks a lot, sister," Ginta said. "We owe you one." The two wolves helped Kouga stand, and he started brushing himself off.

"Don't think I won't be back to check on Kagome. If anything happens to her, Inuyasha, you're the one I'll be after." He smirked and waved good-bye as he disappeared in a whirlwind. Ginta and Hakkaku started running after him, yelling for him to wait up.

Kagome sighed happily as she packed away her medic supplies. Sango was awake now and was talking to Miroku quietly. She seemed perfectly fine now, and all worry had soon evaporated from Kagome's thoughts.

"Feh, why'd you help that wolf, anyway? You could have just left him here." He growled a little as he sat down moodily on the ground beside her. "It's not like he needed it anyway."

Everybody looked up as Kagome slammed the cover to her First-Aid kit down. "I'm not going to leave him here hurt!" she replied hotly. "He needed our help, so I helped him. What was I supposed to do?" Brushing off her uniform, she put her kit in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. Knowing Inuyasha, he wouldn't let this go easily unless she dropped the topic. "Are we going to go after Naraku and the jewel shards or not?"

"Kagome, what about that Shiori person? She said she was after you!" Shippou jumped onto her shoulder. "If you ask me, she sounds dangerous."

"Shippou's right, Kagome-sama. We're going to have to be extremely careful. We have no idea of Naraku's intentions. Therefore, it would be wise to stay low for a while." Miroku was now standing and acting as support for Sango, who was leaning on his side. She had a weak smile on her face, but her eyes were show enough that she was angry.

Kagome lowered her gaze to the ground and brought her fingers thoughtfully to her chest. Why is Naraku after me? We almost couldn't handle Shiori this time. It was Inuyasha that really saved us all. What happens if... She shook her head as she heard her voice being called, her thoughts slowly leaving her mind, bringing her out of her reverie.

"Kagome?" She lifted her head up only to see a pool of amber staring back at her.

"What?" Her attention was drawn to Inuyasha standing in front of her. He blinked in confusion as she slowly realized she had been standing there like an idiot. A heat began to steal her face as it turned a nice shade of red. Nice going. She mentally slapped herself and began waving her hands in front of her. "No, I'm alright! Really, I'm just thinking." She laughed a little and sighed, hanging her head down and pretending to be suddenly interested in the ground.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Whatever," he said as he began walking away. "Are we gonna get going or stand around here while we wait for Naraku to make his move?" His impatience was showing as he frowned at them.

"Maybe we should go back to Kaede's village. We will be safe for the time being," Miroku implied. "Afterwards, we can go after Naraku."

Sango, Shippou, and Kagome nodded. Inuyasha grunted, which everybody took as an agreement. They all looked up as a soft rain began to drizzle from the sky. It splashed on their faces and crawled down their necks, dripping to the ground. The rain made a pattering noise as it began to fall more heavily. In this state, the group began traveling back to Kaede's village.

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Naraku glowered again at the girl bowing in front of him. She was trembling, and it made him smirk to see that she was so terrified in his presence. "So, Shiori, I send you off in search of that miko and ordered you to kill her. And you come to me with a wound in your back." He clenched and unclenched his fists at his side. If he killed her now, she would be of no more use to him. Instead he sat back down with his legs crossed and pulled something out from the folds of his haori – another shard of the sacred jewel. He flicked the fragment at her and it landed on her back. She whimpered quietly when the wound began to heal and the blood slowly stopped flowing. Her head snapped up as the pain entirely disappeared. A new power began to surge through her veins. The sacred jewel shard was supplementing her with tons of it, and it felt exhilarating.

"I've changed our plans, Shiori. I intend for you to bring that wench to me. I will personally take care of her. You can go after the hanyou, Inuyasha." He paused and sneered, taking his eyes away from Shiori for a moment. "As for the demon slayer, Sango, I would like you to bring her here as well. I have a plan for these two. How you get them here if up to you. I'm sure you can figure something out." Naraku stood up and walked over to the door, sliding it open and stepping out into the cold night. He took a few steps and disappeared, leaving Shiori alone to contemplate how she was going to go about this. A smirk played at her face as she stood up and laughed quietly. "Don't worry, Inuyasha. I won't let Naraku down this time."

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A/N: So, what did you think? Reviews please! Tell me honestly what I think, I don't mind being criticized. It shows me places I could improve on. I know this chapter was kind of short, I promise the next one will be longer. I love ya guys!