Chapter 3! Yay! Whoo hoo! Tis short. Alright, now please review. I like reviews.
Disclaimer: Still don't own Inu Yasha.
"Priestess Rin?" Kaze started, cutting a few carrots. Rin looked at her over the boiling pot. "Who's Kagome?"
Rin cackled, cocking her head to listen for Inu Yasha before answering.. "Kagome was a girl from what she called the 'present,' but what we most likely would have said 'future,'" Rin explained. "She and Inu Yasha spent a long time together, searching for the jewel shards, before they were torn apart by Naraku."
Kaze frowned. "And Naraku?" She asked.
"He's a demon with a human heart who wants the jewel," Rin explained. He can sense the jewel shard also, but because that one," she indicated the shard Kaze was studying, "was hidden in Inu Yasha's forest Naraku's jewel is still incomplete. No doubt he'll come back now that this shard is out in the open."
"You talk too much, hag," Inu Yasha said, sitting down. "If you can't help me find someone who can sense the jewel, then shut up."
Rin frowned. "But we already found someone who can sense them," she said as Kaze began to eat.
"No we haven't!" Inu Yasha snorted. "You're too old to travel and this girl is useless."
"Hey!" Kaze yelled, indignant. "I'm useful! You'd still be stuck to that stupid tree if I hadn't come along!"
"Naraku also wouldn't know where the last shard is if you hadn't come here," Rin pointed out happily.
Kaze paled as Inu Yasha turned a cold glare on her. "W-well," Kaze stuttered, grasping for a reason. "A-anyone would have found this thing, it was glowing like a sun!" She finished, scowling.
"Ah!" Rin suddenly yelled, causing the other two to jump. "That's right, you can sense them!" Rin stated with finality.
"Uh… what?" Kaze asked, pulling on her hair in annoyance. "What do you mean I can sense them?"
"What you just said," Rin explained. "You said it was shining, so you picked it up. Normal people can't see the shine."
"Hmm, so you are useful," Inu Yasha mused, setting his empty bowl down. "Fine, I'll take you."
"Hey, I never agreed to anything!" Kaze argued as Inu Yasha left the hut.
"You should probably get some sleep," Rin said as she took herself off to bed.
Kaze frowned before also going to sleep.
The next morning, Kaze made up her mind to get back home. When she told Rin, the old woman frowned at her. "Why have you decided this, child?" She asked carefully.
"This time is freaking me out," Kaze said tugging on her braid in agitation "Demons I can handle, spells I could appreciate, but attempts on my life, I'm a bit wary about."
Rin nodded in understanding. "Make sure to take the jewel shard with you," she suggested. "I can't think of a better place to hide it that in the future." Kaze nodded, checking to make sure the shard was still in her pocket before grabbing her bow and leaving the hut.
"Thank you for everything, Priestess Rin," Kaze called over her shoulder. Halfway through the town, Inu Yasha dropped in front of Kaze.
"And where are you going?" He asked accusingly.
Kaze sighed. "I'm going home, Inu-san," she answered, passing him.
"The shard?" He pressed, falling into step with her as she made her way to the forest.
"I'm leaving it here," Kaze lied quickly, stuttering slightly, but otherwise keeping her voice and face calm. Inu Yasha's eyes narrowed and he jumped in front of her.
"You are lying," he said, watching her face carefully. She stared back at him impassively, but the back of her neck started heating up.
"Of course I'm not!" Kaze argued, taking refuge in anger to hide her lie. "Priestess Rin told me to leave it in this time so that-"
A cloud of purple smoke rolled over them, cutting off Kaze's sentence. Inu Yasha started coughing while Kaze frowned at the smoke. "I'm trying to escape!" She told it exasperatedly. "How can I do that if I can't see?"
The smoke dispersed and someone dressed in a white fur pelt appeared in front of them. "It's about time the shard reappeared," a man's voice said smoothly. "You hid it well, Inu Yasha."
Inu Yasha growled and stood in front of Kaze, hiding her from the other man's view. "I'm not the one who hid it, Naraku," Inu Yasha snorted.
"Ah, who are you hiding?" Naraku asked, trying to look around Inu Yasha. "Is it that woman Kagome, or perhaps Kikyo?"
Kaze had silently notched an arrow on her bow as Inu Yasha growled at Naraku "Inu Yasha," she said clearly His ears twitched at the sound of his own name. "Sit," and he was flung to the ground. "Now, die, scum," Kaze said to Naraku, releasing her arrow.
Naraku's side exploded and a bright pink light had Kaze seeing stars. Then something stabbed her hand and she made a blind grab for it, her fingers closing around what felt to be a piece of glass.
When the light finally disappeared and Kaze could see clearly, she noticed that Naraku had disappeared and Inu Yasha was unconscious on the ground next to her. Quietly, Kaze slipped away, trusting him to wake up.
Kaze ran into the forest, more than prepared to finally get back home. She passed Inu Yasha's tree and headed in the direction she hoped would lead her back to the well.
Finally, she found the clearing with the well in the middle of it and looked down. At the bottom were bones and fresh carcasses, causing Kaze to gag. Instead of jumping immediately into the well, Kaze sat on the edge and looked at what she'd grabbed during the small bout with Naraku.
She held a slightly larger piece of the Shikon Jewel than she already possessed. Pulling the first shard out, she compared them. They were each a light pink, and one side looked as if they fit each other perfectly. Not really expecting anything to happen, she put the two shards together.
A bright pink light blinded her again momentarily. When it disappeared, Kaze found she was holding only one piece of the jewel the size of the two put together.
"That's a nice trick," a man said from the trees. Kaze jumped and faced him. He was a tall, well built man with yellow and brown hair, yellow eyes that looked like they belonged to a cat, and a tiger patterned loincloth that didn't cover much. He grinned at her and Kaze saw sharp canines in his mouth. She decided he'd be very handsome if he wasn't looking at her like she was his next meal.
Kaze put the shard carefully into her pocket. "And you are?" She asked, her voice polite, but her eyes narrowing suspiciously.
The man shrugged. "My name's Sho, but I don't think that matters," he began in a slight accent Kaze wasn't familiar with. "Since I'm about to kill you," he finished, running towards her. Kaze saw him move and stepped back, holding her bow protectively in front of her, but she tripped over a tree root and fell backwards into the well, just as Sho swiped at her.
"Even better! Your bones can lie in the well!" Sho cackled, jumping down after Kaze. He landed at the bottom of the well, but didn't see her "Where'd you disappear to, Kitten?" He asked the well in confusion.