Sigh I guess people didn't like the second chapter very much…oh well, I will try to improve but thank you to those who did review. This is the third chapter of "Hunted" and I hope you like it. Sesshomaru will likely be introduced in the fifth chapter, soon fellow Sesshomaru fans, soon.

Disclaimer: I own…nothing.

After leaving the spot where they had encountered Kikyo, Inuyasha had almost immediately started running north, Kagome doing her best to keep up with him. By the time daylight had appeared, they'd gone through several towns and reentered the countryside. Inuyasha slowed and then stopped just as the sun started to climb into the sky. Seeing his movements, Kagome immediately halted in her tracks and hunched over slightly, holding a stitch in her side. Inuyasha looked at her.

"Don't tell me you're tired."

Kagome's gaze snapped to him. "Well, excuse me," she said, though her tone wasn't as severe as it would have been, since she was out of breathe. "As it just so happens, I am tired."

"Feh. Pathetic."

Kagome nearly bit through her tongue to prevent herself from saying what she really wanted to at that comment. Inuyasha was now walking around a large cluster of trees.

"What are you doing?" Kagome asked.

"Its dangerous to travel during the day since you cant mask yourself. We'll stay here until its night."

"Okay."

Kagome wasn't about to argue with that. She was tired from running and hadn't slept in 24 hours.

"In there," Inuyasha said.

Kagome followed. The trees had grown close together, forming a small enclosure that was blanked with moss. Kagome immediately plopped down onto the ground and watched as Inuyasha took out a long strip of paper and stuck it to a tree. It looked somewhat like a sutra.

"What is that?" Kagome asked.

"It will mask demon aura within a six feet radius."

"Oh. But why couldn't I have carried it then so there'd be no risk?"

"It doesn't work that way."

"Okay," she said, not really understanding.

However, Inuyasha didn't elaborate and Kagome decided not to press. He leapt up and climbed into one of the trees.

"What are you doing?" Kagome called.

"Feh."

Kagome sighed. This guy was a pain in the ass. But her frustration gave way to exhaustion and soon she was asleep.

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"Wake up."

Kagome groaned and tried to clamp a pillow over her head. There was no pillow and she opted for putting her hands over her ears.

"Oi, wench! Get ur ass up!"

Kagome cracked open an eye and looked at Inuyasha. "Why?"

He growled, " 'Cause its time to go, that's why. Get up."

Kagome grumbled but complied and slowly got to her feet, trying to get the kinks out of her back. She yawned and rolled her neck, producing a satisfying crack.

"Are you done yet?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.

"Yes," Kagome said patiently, deciding not to take offense.

Inuyasha nodded once and left the trees before setting off at a run. Kagome fell in behind him, doing her best to match his speed and occasionally stumbling. She at least felt relieved that her vision was now completely clear at night; the stumbling resulted merely from the fact that Inuyasha was moving too fast. But Kagome didn't say anything, letting her pride make that decision. She was a demon now, right? She could tough it out. But she felt free to complain to herself. They'd been running for about two hours when Inuyasha suddenly stopped. Kagome nearly collided with him and fell to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked.

"You move too slow. We'll never get there at this rate."

"Excuse me! I've only been a demon for a day; I'm doing the best I can. What do you want me to do?"

Inuyasha seemed to consider her and then grunted with annoyance. "You're just too damn slow."

Kagome simmered. "Anything else you care to enlighten me on?!"

"Feh. Get on."

"Excuse me?"

Inuyasha knelt. "Get on my back. I can go faster and at least you wont complain."

"I haven't complained!"

"Whatever."

Even though she was simmering over Inuyasha's comments, Kagome got on, seeing that he was right about her speed. Besides, she was tired. As soon as Kagome was in place, Inuyasha started running. They passed mile after mile with neither demon saying a word. They were now much farther to the north and eventually entered a large city. They had gone perhaps two miles into it before Inuyasha stopped.

"Get off."

"No problem."

Kagome slid off before Inuyasha could drop her and looked up at the building they had stopped in front of. It was a high building covered with peeling brown paint. A glance about the neighborhood revealed other apartments and businesses in a similarly poor financial situation. What were they doing here? Inuyasha didn't say a word as he entered the apartment complex and then lead her up a number of stairs: there was no elevator.

Inuyasha unlocked the door which bore the brass numbers 521. The paint in the hall was peeling, the floor was grimy and scuffed, and there were no windows. The hall they were standing in and the stairwells they had come through were ones which Kagome would not have ventured through alone. Kagome felt a little apprehensive at what lay inside the apartment, if what she had seen so far was any indication. She need not have been so worried. The room was rather dusty but nice enough. They had entered into what appeared to be a living room with wooden floors and white walls. There was a couch, two of what appeared to be armchairs, several kitchen chairs, and a table, all covered in plastic or under sheets. There were also several rolled up rugs and a couple of framed picture against a wall. There was one window with the blinds drawn. Kagome began to wander through the apartment.

There was a small kitchen with several boxes marked appliances, a small hall, and three rooms. The first room appeared to be a kind of (very small) study with a desk and bookshelves under plastic. The other two rooms appeared to be bedrooms. The contents were uncertain as they were boxed or under sheets but one had boxes with her name on it, so she assumed it was to be hers. Each bedroom also had its own miniscule bathroom. Kagome wandered back to the living room. Inuyasha stood where she had left him, by the door.

"Whose place is this?" Kagome asked him.

"Your father had it prepared for your use, and instructed me to bring you here if your life was ever threatened. This house is safe because he enlisted the aid of an old woman named Kaede. She works underground attempting to assist demons and those with demon blood. She placed charms and spells all around this place, so our presence can not be detected."

"What's with the shady location?"

"Easier to come and go without being noticed."

"Oh." Kagome bit her lip. "So…how long is this for?"

"For awhile at least. At least until you can build up defenses to protect yourself. Like learning to disguise your scent and presence so demon hunters can't locate you."

"Oh, okay. How am I going to learn all that?"

"You'll be getting help from me, Kaede, and some others."

"Oh…" Kagome said, wishing she could come up with a more intelligent reply.

Inuyasha rummaged through one of the boxes marked "Inuyasha" and pulled from it a jacket and a wallet. "Well, I'm really hungry, so I'm gonna get something to eat. I'll be back."

And without another word, Inuyasha swept from the apartment, leaving Kagome alone.

Kagome stared around the room. How had she gone from living at home to staying in a dusty apartment with a guy she didn't even know? She sighed, supposing the best way to prevent the water works was to keep busy.

She rummaged around in a couple of the boxes until she came up with some rags. She then proceeded to start dusting the apartment. She wiped down the walls, the counter tops, and surfaces in the kitchen and living room. The apartment was in even better condition than she had originally thought. Under the dust on the walls, the paint was still fairly white with no major imperfections. It looked as though her father had taken some pains for which she was thankful. She went to work sweeping up the floor and, with a furtive glance around her, simply swept the dust out the front door into the hall. The extra dust probably couldn't make it any worse. She then removed the sheets and plastic bags, put the chairs around the table, and began putting stuff in the kitchen away. She had just managed to unpack one of the boxes in the kitchen when she heard Inuyasha coming through the front door. She went out to help him

"I didn't know what you liked-"

'That's because you didn't ask,' Kagome thought.

"-so I got some take-out and some groceries."

"Whatever you have is fine. I'm starved."

Inuyasha looked at her and seemed genuinely puzzled. "I would have thought you wouldn't be hungry after all that happened tonight."

"Well…I am. So, let's eat."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Whatever."

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Over the next few days, things began to take on a pattern. They both finished cleaning up the apartment and unpacking all the stuff for the living room and kitchen. Inuyasha would often go out at night to do who knows what and he would run any errands that needed to be done during the day. Kagome, unable to leave the apartment, attempted to keep herself busy. But, after awhile, the apartment began to feel more and more confining.

"Hey Inuyasha, how long do I have to be cooped up like this. I'm not sure how much longer I can stay inside doing nothing."

"Would you stop complaining…you should feel glad that you even have a place to go. Anyways, Kaede should be stopping by in the next week. She's going to be teaching you to disguise your presence."

"I wasn't complaining. Besides, what would you know? You are free to go outside."

Kagome regretted her use of words the moment they left her lips and even more so after she saw the look that crossed Inuyasha's face, that furrowed his brows and made sparks seem to fly from his eyes. Then, without a word, he leapt from the only window into the cool night. Kagome sighed. She hadn't meant to remind him of his duty to her or the fact that he was bound to her side indefinitely. She mulled over what had just been said…perhaps she was complaining. And she really didn't have a right to…Kagome sighed and made her way to her room.

Kagome had done her best to make her room comfortable and like her own. Her father, probably knowing how she would be cooped up, seemed to have done his best to provide her with nice things. She had a full sized bed, a bookcase, desk, and a dresser. The furniture had all been sanded and painted white. The comforter was a deep blue as was the throw rug. The pillows were the same blue as well as white. There was two shelves worth of books, paper, pencils, and a doll. Her father had also bought several straight skirts in varying colors as well as a number of blouses, socks, but no shoes. She had an ivory backed brush and comb. Kagome sighed. She knew she ought to feel more grateful but the room resembled her own at home, when she was ten. As for the clothes, well they were nice if not a tad too big, but they were all achingly alike, and no sign of a pair of jeans. She'd also discovered a significant amount of money. Kagome had felt both shocked as well as guilty. It didn't seem quite right somehow…

The one thing that had made her day though were the framed pictures. There were four. One of her father when he appeared to be about ten, one of her mother when she seemed roughly eight, a picture of her parents together with the background of a beach, and the last showed her parents on their wedding day. Kagome cherished these sole links to the past she never knew and spent ample time gazing at them, and wondering. Her father had long silver hair that fell to his waist and deep golden eyes that seemed almost like honey. He had a high unlined forehead, a strong straight nose, and smiling lips. Her mother was very petite, coming only up to her father's chest. She had shiny black hair that fell nearly to her knees and enchanting violet eyes. Her face was heart-shaped with a delicate nose and full smiling lips. Kagome had always wondered where she got some of her features from. Disguised as a human, she looked almost exactly like her mother. Now, as a demon, she could see that she had her father's hair and skin. She had her mother's facial features and her violet eyes. It felt slightly odd to see someone she'd never known who looked so much like her. Or who she looked so similar to.

Knock knock knock

Kagome sped to the door. She peeked through the peep hole and saw the brown uniform of an UPS delivery man. She opened the door, signed for the two (rather large packages), and then shut the door again. She then lugged the boxes to her room and sighed happily as she opened them. She had sent her mother a plea for help and she had certainly risen to the occasion. She then proceeded to pull out clothes for herself, a CD player, CDs, and finally, some clothes for Inuyasha. She decided to get these because he was still wearing his old clothes and didn't appear to have any others. She had had to guess at his size but she figured it would be close. She had gotten him a couple pairs of jeans, some dickies, some t-shirts, a couple hoodies, and a jacket, as well as some socks. She hadn't even attempted to guess his shoe size; he could always get that himself. Smiling to herself, Kagome folded up the clothes and put them on Inuyasha's bed. Then, instead of leaving, she took a look around his room; she had never been in here before.

His room was fairly bare. His bed stood, unmade, against the far corner. There was a nightstand next to the bed and a dresser against the wall. The floor was bare, as well as the top of the dresser and the walls…There was a reading lamp next to the bed and Kagome noticed what appeared to be a sack leaning in the far corner. She went over to the sack and peeked inside. Surprise. There was what appeared to be a very old sword sheathed in a very careworn sheath. Kagome then noticed that the night stand drawer was hanging open and decided to close it before she left…The sparseness of the room was rather depressing. As Kagome went to shut the drawer she saw a framed picture, upside down. Curiosity getting the better of her, she turned it right side up to see who Inuyasha could possibly have a picture of and why he would have put it in a drawer. Kagome felt a gasp escape her lips. The picture was of that woman, Kikyo, but she wasn't alone. Holding her close with his arms wrapped around her waist was…Inuyasha. Kagome whirled around as she heard a noise. There stood an extremely livid Inuyasha.

"In-Inuyasha?"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YER DOIN'?!"

"No-Nothing. I-I'm sorry."

"GET THE HELL OUTTA MY ROOM. NOW!"

With a small 'eep' Kagome darted out of the room, after putting the picture on the bed. Kagome heard Inuyasha's door slam, shaking the walls in the process.

Inuyasha ignored Kagome for the rest of the week with a sulky silence and nothing Kagome did or said had any effect on him. She couldn't even draw a 'feh' or grunt from him. Kagome alternated between hurt and annoyance at his attitude. This tension also did nothing to help alleviate the sense of confinement and boredom that Kagome felt in being cooped up in the apartment.

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Before Kagome had time to respond to the knock at her bedroom door, Inuyasha pushed it open and stood in the doorway.

"What-"

"Kaede is coming tomorrow. Let her in. This is what she looks like."

Inuyasha tossed a small photograph on the bed and left before Kagome could say a word.

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Kagome looked up from her book as a knock reached her ears. She looked through the peephole and saw Kaede, at least from her photograph.

"Kaede?" Kagome asked loudly.

"Yes. Is this Kagome?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to let me in, child?"

Kagome hesitated and opened the door, sensing somehow, that it was safe to do so.

"Hello Kaede," Kagome greeted sheepishly, opening the door. "Sorry."

"Good afternoon child. Do not worry. I understand your caution."

"Thank you. Please come in."

"How are you?" Kaede asked, stepping inside.

"Fine. And you?"

"Very well, child." Kaede discarded her coat, looking about her. "Is Inuyasha here?"

Kagome looked away. "No," she said in a low voice.

Kaede looked at her. "What is wrong, child?"

Kagome hesitated before looking at the kind elderly woman and was vexed as tears sprang into her eyes. "Inuyasha is angry at me."

Kaede sighed. "Why, child?"

"I was putting clothes in his room when I saw an overturned picture. I was looking at it when he came in."

"Kikyo."

Kagome was surprised. "Yes. How did you know?"

Kaede sighed once again. "I will explain, for she bears great importance to you as well."

"Me?"

"Sit down child and have patience."

Kagome sat, full of curiosity. She couldn't explain it, but she felt an instant camaraderie with this woman. She could sense the goodness and she…trusted her. Kagome felt a small nagging voice against trusting anyone so soon but she repressed it.

"Many hundreds of years ago," Kaede began in her low gravely voice. "Demons and humans co-existed fairly harmoniously. Then demons gradually grew power hungry. Violent demon wars stretched on over fifty years, and in the course of this time, humans were felled as bystanders or taken into slavery by conquering demons. Gradually the fighting calmed as a number of demons lords took control, putting to death demon rebels and instilling calm. There were four major demon lords. Takeshi, Mizuyasha, Reukoto, and Inutaisho."

Kaede glanced at Kagome to see if she understood. Kagome, feeling a little queasy, nodded her understanding.

"However, the relative peace did not last long. The wars had severely decreased the demon numbers until there was no more than one to every 1000 to 2000 humans."

"What was the ratio prior to the wars?" Kagome asked.

"One to every 25 or so humans."

Kagome nodded. "Sorry to interrupt."

"Its fine, child. The humans began to exterminate demons. The humans were now of a large enough force to be able to do so and the attacks came at so unexpected a time that many demons were slaughtered. This wide-spread persecution gradually died down and today most humans believe demons are a species of legends." Kaede paused. "It is believed that the approximate number of demons today is now less than one per every 500,000 humans."

Kagome really felt queasy now. So much death…

"How does Kikyo tie into all this?" Kagome asked.

Kaede sighed heavily before continuing. "Kikyo and Inuyasha were lovers 200 years ago."

'200 years?' Kagome wondered.

"-the facts are not clear but both claim the other betrayed them. We know Inuyasha was nearly killed. Kikyo had managed to lure Inuyasha and promptly bound him to a tree with a sacred arrow. Kikyo and Naraku were about to kill him when your father saved him. Kikyo was gravelly wounded at the time and it is hard to believe she could have managed to subdue a half-demon in that condition. Someone attacked them, but whom, why, or how we do not know. Kikyo survived but immersed herself in dark magic in the attempt to save herself, for only dark magic could have overcome the injuries she sustained. She was one of the most powerful mikos in history and her power only increased as she was turned into a dark miko. Through spells and enchantments she had given herself immortality but the dark magic can not be used without a price and her existence is but a half life. The walking dead, her body fueled by hatred. She is a leader of a group whose sole purpose is that of exterminating demons as well as the proof of their existence."

Kagome was horrified and her mind was struggling to digest this information.

"I'm confused about something," Kagome finally said. "If my father was demon and my mother was a miko, that would make me a half demon, right?"

"You would think so, but no. You are in fact a full demon but with miko capabilities."

Kagome was confused. "That doesn't make sense."

"It is a rare thing but not unheard of. The way miko inheritance works is a complicated thing that is not always understood. And it is sometimes believed that mikos are indeed their own species but one that can exist simultaneously with another. Sometimes the children of such unions will in fact be half demons but sometimes they will be both demon and miko…are you all right, child?"

"Yes. It's just overwhelming."

Kaede nodded sympathetically. "Are you ready to begin your training?"

"Yes."

"First you will be learning about auras. How to feel others and mask your own."

"Okay,' Kagome drew out, not fully understanding.

"An aura," Kaede explained. "Is like a creature's essence. It is composed of both their species, their total power, and their soul. An aura is also affected by the amount of good, or evil, that resides in that individual. With training, you can not only sense the presence of a demon, human, or miko but also the depth of their power and what their intentions are. Also, in time, you will be able to know how many individuals are around a certain location simply be identifying the individual auras. Another more difficult thing to learn is how to distinguish between an individual's true power and their current state, whether they have been weakened or injured."

Kaede then began to explain to Kagome how to sort through what she was sensing already and what it meant. By the time Kaede had to leave, Kagome was able to distinguish Kaede's aura to a certain degree and to figure out that she was miko and filled with goodness.

"You have done very well, child," Kaede said, her voice sounding pleased.

"I guess so," Kagome said doubtfully.

Kagome's initial pleasure had worn off, replaced by a frustration at how inadequate she seemed. She could tell, after four hours, that a person a foot away was a miko and good. What good was that?

"Don't worry so much, Kagome. With time, you will improve greatly. You are very powerful, simply untrained. Very powerful mikos can often sense aura's across a country and I would be very surprised if you didn't turn out to be one of them."

"Thank you."

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Kagome set the table and put dinner out. Wiping her hands on a towel she went over to Inuyasha's closed door. She knocked.

"Inuyasha? Dinner."

She waited and there was no answer.

"Inuyasha?"

With a sigh of frustration and hurt Kagome went back to the kitchen and stared at the table set for dinner. She sighed again. How long was he going to be angry at her?

Okay, that was chapter three. PLEASE read and review!! I need stimulus!