Author's note: Ok, I'm sorry to say this, but I've ditched the old story line. It didn't really interest me and wasn't as much fun to write, so this chapter signals the new line. The fluffy parts I'm keeping, so you'll notice that those parts are the same. The rest has changed.

The wind rustled through the trees in the early morning light, signaling the start of a new day. A lone creature lay on his back on a thick branch, staring irritably at the sunrise. Right on schedule, his stomach growled.

Sighing, he dropped to the ground, his feet hitting the dirt soundlessly. He paused, sniffing at the air.

"Interesting." Slowly, a smirk spread across his face. A tantalizing scent wafted through the air. "It's been a while since I've run into one of those."

Crouching, he slunk through the still forest.

The hunt had begun.

Inuyasha flinched, his eyes snapping open.

"What the…?" He blinked blearily at the morning light. Birds flitted from treetop to treetop, their song filling the gentle morning air. Dew on the grass sparkled merrily.

His gut was churning.

Uneasy, he rose to his feet and made his way over to Kagome's huddled form. The girl was curled into a tiny ball, her sleeping bag in jumbled disarray. A tiny frown marred her face.

He gripped her shoulder and shook. "Hey! Kagome, wake up. We're leaving."

"Mmph. Cows ate my homework…" She mumbled incoherently and rolled onto her back. Inuyasha smirked and shook her harder.

"Wake up, moron." He stilled when her eyes cracked open and gazed at him. "C'mon, get off your big butt and…"

Inuyasha trailed off when she mumbled under her breath and reached for him. "Wh-what are you doing?"

A tiny smile on her face, Kagome clapped both hands on the sides of his head and tugged…

…And pressed his face into her chest.

"Wh-mmmph!!!" Inuyasha's face turned bright red, his arms flailing. W-what the hell is going on?? Is she awake??

"Mm, Shippo, there you are. I was wondering where you went…" Her voice lowering into a sleepy murmur, she fell into a deeper sleep. Seconds later, she began snoring softly.

Ears twitching frantically, Inuyasha tried to remove his head from her iron grip. Oh man, oh man, oh man. What am I supposed to do?? He managed to slip his head partly free, but Kagome simply locked both arms about his head and rolled onto the side facing him.

Inuyasha whimpered, his face turning purple. If she wakes up, I'm a dead man. End of story. Cautiously, he tried to pry her arms off his head without waking her. It's a good thing that monk isn't here. He'd have a field day with this.

At the added pressure on her arm, Kagome tightened her grip. Inuyasha's heart started pounding in his chest. Attempting to keep a grip on his brain, he analyzed his situation: something ominous was in the woods, they could possibly be in danger, he had his face smothered in Kagome's chest (which actually wasn't so bad), Kagome was probably going to kill him when she woke up, and worst of all…

…He couldn't breathe.

Abruptly, Kagome released him and rolled away from him, murmuring something about yellow elephants and geometry. Inuyasha flung himself away from her and pressed a hand to his burning face. He struggled to get a hold of himself. Ok, calm down. It's not that big a deal! I mean, who the hell cares if you had your face in…in Kagome's… His blush increased. Damn.

When he eventually managed to get his heartbeat and breathing under control, he snagged a nearby stick and started poking her.

"I said get UP!" She didn't reply, making him scowl and rap her harder with the stick. No WAY was he getting that close to her again. Inuyasha growled at her lack of response.

"Kagome, WAKE! UP!!"

"…Sit boy."

As Inuyasha hit the dirt, Kagome yawned and sat up, stretching her arms over her head. Scratching her head, she blinked sleepily at him.

"Inuyasha? What are you doing down there?"

That does it! His muted growl was her response until he could pry his head out of the ground. A tremendous scowl marred his still-red face.

"DAMMIT WOMAN! I've had ENOUGH of your crap!!" Spitting dirt out of his mouth, he lumbered to his feet. "We're leaving. MOVE IT."

Kagome blinked up at him in surprise. "What's your problem?? Get up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Folding his arms in his sleeves, he turned his back on her. Try as he might, he couldn't get that previous…encounter out of his head. He scowled and snapped at her over his shoulder, his face still burning.

"Just get your ass up." He sobered slightly, glancing at the woods. "Something's not right out there. We gotta move."

Kagome blinked at him in surprise, then gathered her things without complaint. Shrugging her "remodeled" backpack onto her shoulder, she climbed onto Inuyasha's back and let him take off.

Something must be wrong if he doesn't even want breakfast first. I'd better not argue. Tightening her grip on his shoulders, she leaned to glance into his face. His red face confused her. Was he mad about something?

"Inuyasha, did something happen before I woke up?"

His foot slipped on his next landing, and he stumbled into his next leap. "W-what makes you think that?"

"Well, you seem upset. Did something happen?"

He turned his face away from her. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. I d-didn't do a damn thing." He mistook her silence for suspicion, and he scowled. "Besides, it's not like it was my fault! You're the one who—"

"What are you talking about?" she interrupted, voice filled with confusion. "I thought you said something was in the forest, did something…?"

His eyes widened. "Wait. You're talking about the forest?"

"Yeah. What were you talking about??"

"N-nothing." Inuyasha mentally berated himself. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! "I, uh, sensed some evil energy in the forest first thing this morning. It gave me a really bad feeling."

"You think we were in danger?"

He hesitated. "Maybe. I can't be sure." Shrugging, he dropped to the ground and took a few running steps before leaping again. "We should be fine once we reach the road."

Nodding, Kagome gently tightened her grip on his shoulder. "Still…what happened that you were talking about? What was my fault?"

She watched his blush reach around his face. Frowning, she leaned forward. "Inuyasha, what are you hiding from me?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment the hair on the back of his neck began to rise. He ground to a halt, every muscle in his body tensing.

Kagome frowned in concern. "Inuyasha, what's the matter?"

"Shhh." Ears twitching, he glanced at the trees around him. Cautiously, he took one, then two steps downwind. He stilled, but no noise sounded in the woods aside from the gently crashing leaves. His heart started pounding as he slowly began to walk forward.

Something in the forest moved with him.

Swallowing hard, he changed his pace, first walking, then running, and then walking again.

"Inuyasha," Kagome asked with a hushed voice. "What are you doing?"

He hesitated before replying.

"We're being hunted."

"What do you mean, we're being hunted??"

"Keep your voice down!" Irritated and nervous, Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder at the thick underbrush. "Something is following us." All of his instincts were screaming at him. "I'm sure of it."

Kagome bit her lip. "Do you know what it is?"

Scowling, he started walking again. He kept his ears trained behind him. "No, I don't know what it is. The damn thing is downwind from us. I can't catch its scent."

Coming to a dead stop, Inuyasha released a low growl from his throat. His fingers tightened on Kagome's legs.

"Kagome, hang on tight."

She tightened her grip on his shoulders. "O-Ok."

Shifting her position on his back, Inuyasha crouched…

And took off.

Feeding adrenaline into his system, Inuyasha hurled himself at a tremendous oak, lifted his feet, and launched himself into a back flip. Kagome buried her face in his neck as they flipped upside down.

Landing on one foot, Inuyasha charged in the opposite direction. A black scowl covered his face.

So he wants to hunt me? Screw that! Let's see how he holds up one-on-one! The trees raced by as he flew through the woods. Abruptly, a scent passed his nose.

"THERE you are!" Inuyasha pivoted and swung his weight backwards to change his momentum. A dark shape leapt out the way, obviously trying to remain unseen. Growling, Inuyasha pushed Kagome off his back.

"Stay out the way, Kagome!" When she nodded, he ripped Tetsusaiga out of its sheath. "Get out here, you jerk!"

Lifting his sword, Inuyasha aimed at the trees. "Kaze no Kizu!!"

As the trees exploded in light, a dark shape leapt over the blast and landed behind Inuyasha. Inuyasha spun about, his sword at the ready.

"Who the hell are you??"

Slowly, the demon straightened. Massive muscles bunched under orange and black fur as the tiger demon growled down at Inuyasha. Standing bare from the waist up, the demon wore a black cloth wrapped tight around its waist with a sword nestled on its hip. A lithe tail flicked back and forth behind him.

Fangs glinting, the demon smirked. "My name is Kaijin." He lifted a clawed hand and cracked it menacingly. "Though I don't expect you to remember that."

"Feh." Inuyasha lifted his sword. "You were doing a pretty bad job of hunting if you were caught by your prey."

The smirk dropped right off the tiger's face. "Shut the hell up." Kaijin took a step forward, his claws extended. "I've hunted far stronger demons than you."

"Hunted maybe, but let's see you catch me!" Wind swirled about Inuyasha's sword as he pulled it back. "Kaze no Kizu!"

Kaijin threw himself out of the way of the blast, landing with grace in a nearby tree. Smirking, he dodged as Inuyasha launched another, then another blast at him.

"Dammit, cut that out!" Why can't I hit him?? Inuyasha swung back his sword as the tiger raced through the air again. "Why don't you try this o—"

Inuyasha found himself cut off as Kaijin turned towards him on a branch and lifted his claws.

"Kasai Tessou!"

Orange arcs of ki slashed through the air and caught fire. Eyes wide, Inuyasha threw himself to the dirt as the fiery blades exploded in the ground about him. One blade nicked him in the side.

His mind was racing. How the hell did he do that?? That attack was just like mine! Ears tweaking, Inuyasha grunted and lifted himself onto one arm, then hurled himself forward to escape another volley of blades.

Landing on his feet, Inuyasha started to swing Tetsusaiga again, but the tiger jumped down and snagged his wrist. Kaijin grinned into Inuyasha's face.

"It's been so long since I've eaten a dog demon, let alone one that's half human." He started to laugh, wrenching Inuyasha's hand until he was forced to drop Tetsusaiga. The hanyou growled violently.

"You think you've won, Smartass?" Inuyasha smirked, pressing his free hand against his wound. Kaijin frowned at him.

"What did you just call m—"

"HIJIN KESSOU!!" Inuyasha hurled a volley of red blades at the tiger demon at point-blank range.

"Graaaaaaaaagh!!" Howling in pain, Kaijin fell back. He glared at Inuyasha as the hanyou bent to retrieve his sword. "How DARE you!"

Kaijin's eyes widened as Inuyasha leveled the sword on him again. Damn! I won't have time to dodge! Acting quickly, he reached for his own sword.

Eyes glinting, Inuyasha swung. "Kaze no…"

CRASH!!

Inuyasha's jaw dropped as his sword was parried…by a nearly identical blade.

Kaijin scowled, holding up his tremendous black sword. Its blade had started out small and rusted, but in a burst of red flames, it grew to match Tetsusaiga's length. The blades howled as they ground against each other.

"How…the hell…did you do that?" Inuyasha ground out as he struggled to hold Tetsusaiga. Kaijin growled at him.

"My father was Lord of the Southern Lands. He commissioned a sword smith to make me, his only son, a weapon worthy of our line." He frowned down at Inuyasha's sword. "But from the shape of yours, I'd say yours was made from a Taiyoukai as well."

Inuyasha snorted. "What a coincidence. My father was Lord of the Western Lands. He donated his fang for this sword and left it to me."

Kaijin blinked, then eased up on the pressure. As one, the two adversaries lowered their weapons.

"Wait a minute." Kaijin cocked his head to the side. "Don't tell me that the man who forged your sword was an old bat named Totosai."

Inuyasha smirked. "Huh. What a coincidence." He hefted his sword, his eyes glinting. "Let's see just how tough yours is!"

Kaijin let out a bark of laughter, lifting his own blade. "I was about to say the same to you!!"

With similar cries, the two raced towards each other.

Miroku yawned mightily in the morning light, stretching his arms over his head.

"Honestly, Sango, must we leave so early?" He sighed when she glared at him. "Look, I'm just as worried about Inuyasha and Kagome as you are, but I don't think we'll do them a lot of good. If we go looking for them, and they look for us, we might not find each other. If, instead, we go back to Lady Kaede's village, they—"

"Look, if you want to go back to Kaede, you can go. All I know is," she leapt onto Kirara, "I'm going to find them!"

Miroku sighed and gathered up the still-sleeping Shippo. "Then we're going with you." He watched her warily. It's not like Sango to be so reckless. If we don't go with her, she could get herself into serious trouble. Placing an easy smile on his face, he seated himself behind Sango. Besides, if I let her go on alone, how would I get back? Not to mention the… His gaze traveled down her back. …Perks of going with her.

Sango wrestled with a vague sense of guilt. She glanced over her shoulder at him as Kirara leapt into the air.

"Houshi-sama…I'm sorry. I know you mean well, but…I can't help worrying about them."

He lifted his eyebrows in surprise, then smiled. "No apology is necessary, Lady Sango. I'll just have to make sure you don't worry too much." His smile grew when she started to blush. "Someone needs to look after you, after all…"

Sango allowed a small smile to cross her face as she turned to face forward. He cares about me? Her smile fell when a familiar hand began to rub her bottom. Closing her eyes, she let her hand curl into a fist. So much for that thought!

She turned towards him, her fist unfolding.

"You PERVERT!"

SLAP!

Stars wheeling in his vision, Miroku lifted a hand to his stinging cheek and winced. He struggled to keep his balance as they flew through the air, his expression sober.

I will look after you, Sango. Make no mistake of that.

He fell into silence as they headed towards the mountains.

The search for their friends had begun.

Kagome folded her arms and watched the ensuing fight, which was less than a fight than a light show. The two demons just kept swinging their swords, running from the attacks, and then swinging again.

"KAZE NO KIZU!"

Kaijin dodged the attack, then froze, eyes narrowing. Twisting, he seemed to line up a shot.

"REIKI NO CHI!"

Kagome's jaw dropped as the air around Inuyasha erupted into red flames. Yelping in pain, the half demon dropped to the ground.

"Inuyasha!" She started to run forward. "Inuyasha!!"

As the flames dispersed, crackles of red electricity hovered about Inuyasha's prone form. His clothes were burned and shredded.

Groaning, Inuyasha lifted his head. Gods, that hurt! Ignoring the pain screaming through his body, he rose to his hands and knees.

K-chink.

Inuyasha stilled as the tremendous black sword swung towards him, pausing when its tip grazed his nose. He glanced up at Kaijin's calm face.

"You put up a good fight, half demon, but you lack skill." He lifted his sword and narrowed his eyes. "Die."

"NO!!"

Kagome launched herself forward and stood protectively before Inuyasha, her hands spread wide. "Don't even think about touching him!!"

Kaijin blinked at her and frowned. "A human girl? Do you really think you can protect him?"

"I do and I will!" Lifting her chin defiantly, she glared Kaijin in the eye. "Just try and get past me!"

"Kagome, are you nuts?!?" Inuyasha struggled to his feet and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "He'll kill you!!"

She spun around and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, so I'm supposed to just abandon you, is that it??"

"No, dammit, you're supposed to stay back and let ME handle things!"

Kaijin lowered his sword and scratched the back of his head. "Um…"

"Let you handle things? You're the one who ran straight into this fight! Am I supposed to sit back and watch you get killed??"

Kaijin lifted a hand. "Excuse me…"

Incensed, Inuyasha put his face in Kagome's. "Are you saying you think I'm going to lose??"

"It's a possibility!!" Her voice wavered, and her face crumpled. "I can't just stand by and watch you get hurt!"

Inuyasha reared back as angry tears welled up in Kagome's eyes. She's not going to cry, is she?? Panic began swimming around in his throat.

"H-Hey, don't do that. Don't you dare cry!"

She scowled at him, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Who said anything about crying, you jerk!"

"EXCUSE ME!!"

Both the hanyou and the girl turned to face a disgruntled tiger demon. Kaijin's blade rested on the ground next to an impatiently tapping foot.

Scowling, the demon placed a hand on his hip. "May I PLEASE get a word in edgewise??" He waited as they stared at him. "Thank you."

His smirk returning to his face, Kaijin lifted his sword and locked eyes with Kagome. "Girl, I don't know who you think you are, but you're a fool. Do you honestly think you can hold up against my sword's attack?"

After a moment of silence, Kagome strode right up to him and glared him in the eye, planting her hands on her hips.

"And I don't know who you think you are, but you're nuts if you think I'm going to let you hurt Inuyasha." Her eyes narrowed at the surprised expression on his face. "In fact, I think you're stupid for even taking him on!"

Inuyasha blinked. Wait a minute. Wasn't she just saying a second ago that she thought I would lose?

Kaijin scowled at the girl standing before him. "Then maybe I should give you a taste of my sword's power!" Lifting his blade, he narrowed his eyes. "Reiki no…"

"Do and die!!" Ignoring his wounds, Inuyasha raced forward and snatched Kagome out of the way. "Why you little…how dare you even THINK about using that attack on…" Trailing off, Inuyasha took in the horror dawning on Kaijin's face.

"What's your problem?"

"The attack won't work on her." Swallowing hard, he took a step back. "Girl, you wouldn't happen to be a…a miko, would you?"

When she nodded, the tiger dropped his sword and staggered back. "Y-you're a miko??"

"Yes," Kagome replied slowly. Kaijin's face paled beneath his fur.

Without warning, the demon dropped to his knees and bowed. "S-Sorry for bothering you!!" He glanced up, eyes wide with terror. "Forgive me!!"

With that, he snagged his sword, leapt to his feet, and took off at a dead run.

"H-Hey!" Scowling, Inuyasha quickly sheathed Tetsusaiga and raced after him. "Come back here!!"

The leaves rustled in the suddenly empty clearing as Kagome stood in shock.

"…What just happened here?" Abruptly, she shook her head. "Hey!"

Gritting her teeth, she turned and ran after the boys.

"That JERK! He left me behind!!!"

I like this version a lot better. This fic is going for humorous more than anything other than romance, so I'll be more interested in it.

This is also where we leave Sango and Miroku. I'll write a parallel story later for their adventures during this time aloooooooone. Lol.

Fyi: Kasai Tessou means claws of fire and Reiki no Chi means Aura's Blood. (more or less. If someone takes japanese grammer and I'm wrong, please email me!!) Japanese names for attacks just sound cooler than the English version.

Ja ne!