Chapter 3

~X~

I woke up a while later to a warm fire and the smell of fish. My stomach growled in appreciation.

"Looks like she's finally awake," someone said.

I stiffened before I remembered that it was just Hakkaku. I opened my eyes and turned my head to see Ginta tending to a fire. Strangely, Koga wasn't anywhere to be seen. The wolves were laying near the fire and Hakkaku, though having spoken, was busy with the task of cutting up some fish before skewering them and handing them to Ginta to be cooked.

"Sorry, what happened?" I asked as I sat up.

My headache was gone, but I could feel a small ache on the side of my temple. When I lifted a hand to it, I found the forming of a bruise.

"Well after you claimed the necklace as yours, you passed out," Ginta answered for me.

"Oh," I said stupidly.

"Here, have something to eat," Ginta said, offering me two skewers of fish.

I hesitated, I had never eaten fire cooked fish before and didn't know if it would still taste okay without all the special seasoning they had back at home. But I was really hungry, so I took a small bite.

"Holy crap, this is good!" I exclaimed before devouring both skewers.

'This must be the magic of anime food.'

Hakkaku laughed at me and said, "Slow down before you choke."

I blushed a little at the fact that I was acting like a total slob. Heck, I was even dressed like one. Speaking of which, I really wanna change. From what I've heard, staying in soaking wet clothes after almost drowning isn't exactly good for your health.

"Do you guys have any spare clothes?" I asked after wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I have a spare change of clothes that you can have," Ginta offered.

"Okay, that'll do," I said without a second thought.

"By the way, what are your names?" I asked despite already knowing them.

"I'm Hakkaku," Hakkaku stated.

"And I'm Ginta! The guy that was with us earlier was Koga," Ginta informed me.

"Ah," I sounded out, nodding my head in acknowledgment.

"What's your name?"Hakkaku asked.

"C-" I paused.

Casey isn't exactly a common name here in the Feudal Era (which I still can't believe I'm in). What if they suspect me? Oh shit, what if they find out I'm not from here? What if they think I'm a stalker because of what I know? What if-?

I was cut off from my worries by Ginta asking, "You're name is Ca?"

"What? No," I said shaking my head, "I, uh..." Without knowing any Japanese names starting with C, I broke out into a heavy coughing fit.

"Whoa, you ok? Need any water?" Hakkaku asked, handing me a waterskin.

Keeping up my coughing fit, I waved him away while lightly patting my chest. Come on, think Casey! Japanese name, Japanese name... Well, I guess I always did like Lucia Nanami's last name... Deciding to just settle on Nanami before these guys got the idea that I had some type of disease, I quickly gave up my coughing fit.

Clearing my throat one last time, I finally said, "Uh, sorry about that. Guess I almost did choke on that fish... ha, ha..."

Hakkaku laughed along with me, more convincingly than I had.

"Anyways, my name is Nanami," I introduced myself as smoothly as possible which, for someone like me, wasn't smooth at all.

"Oh, well, nice to meet you Nanami!" Ginta greeted me cheerily.

Hakkaku called out a similar greeting and I let out a small sigh of relief that I was, for now, in the clear.

I gave them both a sheepish smile, "Nice to meet you guys too."

Feeling a small breeze waft into the cave suddenly reminded me that I was still soaking wet.

Trying not to shiver as I crossed my arms over my chest, I turned to Ginta asking, "So, where are your clothes?"

"Over there, you can change behind that stone over there," Ginta said pointing out both objects.

"Okay, I'll be right back," I said, standing and picking up the clothes which lay in a worn satchel bag.

I went behind the stone, needing to crouch down a little bit so as to hide the rest of my chest, before taking my clothes off. I kept my underwear on, but I would definitely need to get some more later on. I pulled on the fur skirt and briefly wondered why the guys wore skirts at all, especially short ones like this. I shook my head before pulling on the top.

I slapped my forehead when I realized that the shirt was exactly like Ginta's. Not only would I be dressed like him, but I would also be dressed like a prostitute. I sighed quietly to myself before pulling on the fur boots. They wouldn't be much help protecting my feet seeing as they let my toes peek through.

"Where's the girl?" A voice suddenly asked, catching my to attention.

"She's over there changing," I heard Ginta reply.

Turning my head a little, I caught a glimpse of him pointing in my direction. I quickly gathered up my clothes and walked back over to them.

"And the girl has a name," I stated before sitting down near the fire to warm up.

"Which is?" Koga asked.

"Nanami," I said glancing up at him.

'Good Lord he's hot,' I mentally drooled.

Koga nodded at me before stealing one of Hakkaku's skewers.

"Hey!" Hakkaku yelled indignantly.

Koga only ignored him and began eating.

"So what am I to do? Are you going to drop me off at a village or something or will I be staying with you guys?" I asked absentmindedly as I held my hands up near the fire.

"I say she stays with us!" Ginta exclaimed.

'I think we're gonna be great friends,' I thought with a small smile.

"No way, she's a human!" Hakkaku protested.

"Hakkaku's right, she'll just be a bother," Koga agreed with a haughty look on his face.

I glared. I take back what I said about him being hot, he's just an arrogant bastard.

"Aww, come on Koga! Please? I'll take care of her!" Ginta pleaded.

'Excuse me? Am I some kind of pet?' I though indignantly.

But I did really want to travel with them. It'd be a lot of fun, and eventually we would run into the Inuyasha gang so it's a perfect plan! Koga was silent for a while as Ginta stared at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, she can stay!" Koga huffed in annoyance.

"Yes!" Ginta and I exclaimed together as we both launched ourselves at Koga and hugged him.

"Whatever, just get off! And I never said a human like you could touch me," Koga muttered.

"Not human. Nanami," I reminded him as I let go.

"Like it makes a difference," he muttered.

Before I can answer back, Koga stood up and said, "Now come on, we have to get back to the group."

"Yes, sir!" Ginta and Hakkaku both saluted.

They quickly gathered what was left of the food and put out the fire. I had to wait a second for my eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. When I could see their shadows, which were already walking away, I hurriedly grabbed my clothes which lay next to me and followed them at a fast pace. Once we were outside, Ginta turned his back to me.

"Get on, it'll be faster this way," he said as he knelt on the ground.

I shrugged and said, "Alright."

I climbed onto his back and barely had enough time to get comfortable before we shot off.

"Holy. Shit!" I screamed as the wind harshly whipped my hair into my face and forced me to close my eyes.

I could faintly hear laughter, but I couldn't tell who exactly laughed. All I know is that we're going hella fast and that I'm probably flashing everyone we pass by.

It was only a few more minutes before we came to a sudden stop. Carefully, I opened my eyes to find a group of wolf men all eyeing me hungrily. I tried to avoid their gazes as I slid off of Ginta's back.

"You brought a snack?" One of the men asked.

"No, she's not a snack. She's gonna be traveling with us. Nobody is to lay a hand on her, got it?" Koga demanded.

The men nodded their heads, albeit some reluctantly. I shivered at this, and was grateful when they returned to what they were previously doing. We were at a waterfall with big rocks, so I decided to dip my feet into the water. I took my shoes off before doing so.

I leaned over and was surprised when I saw my reflection. I looked like an anime character. My light, brown skin was unbelievably smooth looking and my mid shoulder-length, brown hair looked suspiciously tame considering I just got off of a speeding wolf man... demon... person. Shaking my head, I examined my eyes which were impossibly wide. It sort of freaked me out, but I guess that's the norm with anime girls.

I had just cupped my hands together to splash some water on my face, when I heard a scream. Turning my head, I saw another wolf man with a single scar over his left eye and a fresh looking gash going from his left clavicle down to the middle of his chest.

I stood up just as I heard one of the men ask, "What's wrong with him?"

Another one of the men asked, "Didn't he go with the northern tribe?"

'Northern tribe? I always figured there was just one whole tribe,' I thought curiously.

Koga pushed his way to the front of the forming crowd and asked, "What happened?!"

Instead of answering him, the wounded man said, "I was only able to get one."

He shakily held up his closed fist and opened it, revealing a small and shiny shard.

Koga gasped and his eyes widened, "You got a sacred jewel shard!"

My eyes widened as well. Where the hell did he get it? I walked over and pushed my way to the front of the circle to get a closer look.

"Hurry.. To the castle, Koga. If you don't... Everyone will be slaughtered," the man told him.

That was all Koga needed to hear before he took off running.

"Come inside and rest," Hakkaku said as both he and Ginta walked up to the man.

"You're amazing," Ginta praised.

"How'd you make it back with all those injuries?" Ginta asked right before he patted the guy on the back.

What happened next, I really wasn't prepared for. The man's wounded started... Foaming all around before finally his body split in half starting at the wound. I gasped in horror as his body fell to the ground in a giant puddle of blood. I wasn't the only one horrified by the sight seeing as both Ginta and Hakkaku yelled in fright.

"He's dead," someone whispered hauntingly, pointing at the corpse.

'Thank you captain obvious,' I thought sarcastically.

I looked over to where Koga had taken off. What if this was a trap? The man said something about a castle, and as far as I know, Naraku is the only one with a castle and a jewel shard. I know that Koga isn't gonna die now, at least I hope not, but I can't help worrying. I have to warn him. At least this way he might leave with less injuries. With determination coursing through my veins, I pulled on my shoes before running off into the night.

~X~

A/N: Incase you didn't notice, I'm doing this almost exactly like the anime with my own input in it. I'm watching the anime piece by piece as I write this story out, so you won't believe how surprised I was when I found out it really was a trap XD! If you think I shouldn't follow the anime exactly, just tell me and I'll try to make it more interesting.