A/N: I apologize, again, for the lateness of this chapter. However, I am excited that it is over because things only get more exciting from here on out. Let me know what you think, I love constructive criticism and to hear your overall thoughts on the story.

As always, my beta was the lovely Fuu43. I don't know what I'd do without you.

Timeline:

The Slayers takes place two years after Try. Lina is 19.

Inuyasha takes place while Kagome is 17. She is still dividing her life between her present and the past. The group is still after Naraku.

Disclaimer:

I do not own Inuyasha or The Slayers.

The Lesser Kindred

Chapter 6: Deal, or no Deal

Lina was mesmerized by the dog ears in front of her for more then one reason.

Firstly, dog ears were not even remotely a human trait, which meant that the person was not technically a person. She tilted her head to the side in thought. He was probably a monster of some kind. Her head cocked to the other side as she studied them more closely. But, then again, didn't the locals say something about a half demon that was with the hunters? Well, she was pretty sure the half demon wasn't either of the two women or the man. So that left the guy with the doggy ears. The insanely cute doggy ears. Her mouth scrunched as she compared him and their own part-monster companion. How much if at all was he like Zelgadis? Was he too some hybrid created by magic?

The second reason spawned from the first. Could he be trusted? This question applied to the whole group of course, but the ears added a little extra something. If he were a monster of some kind, then trusting him even a little bit would be a big fat no. A morbid obese, capital letters NO. Monsters were not trustworthy, they were never ever ever trustworthy. EVER. She had been taught that lesson more times than she cared to count. There were scars to prove it. So, Lina hoped that the locals were right in saying that he was only a half demon. Not that that made him a whole lot more trustworthy than if he were a full monster. She resisted the urge to throw up her hands. This was getting ridiculous. She did not need any more hassles.

Thirdly; Lina suspected that none of her other companions had noticed them yet. She was disappointed in them. How could a person that had eyes not notice them? Zelgadis and Gourry were still concentrating on the sword at his side and Amelia was too preoccupied by the demon-cat-creature thingy. The thing was cute…true…but come on! Dog ears on a person that was otherwise pretty normal looking?

The fourth reason even freaked her out a little bit; she wanted to touch them. They were tempting. Soft looking, white, cute even. Lina wanted to rub them between her fingers and feel the fur move. Her fingers clenched. This was something she would expect from Amelia, giving into the evil-cute-driven-needs. She stared at the back of Inuyasha's head trying to decide what he would do if she just had a quick feel. A quick touch. Would he roll over and beg on his tummy like a dog? Hmmm. . . .she thought probably no.

"What the hell are you looking at the back of my head for?" He yelled over his shoulder. She thought she saw a flash of fang. Damn supernatural creatures, they always seemed to know when you were looking at them.

Lina returned his look with her own glare and said in her smarmiest voice, "Nothing."

He snorted in reply and rolled his eyes. Lina still stared. Too bad the rest of him wasn't as cute and cuddly as the ears.

Gourry glanced over at Lina then followed her gaze to where she was looking. He raised his eyebrows and bent down to whisper in her ear.

"Are those dog ears?"

He sounded both confused and wowed.

"Yep."

"Huh," he pondered. "What is he? Are they real?"

"Not sure."

"You know," Inuyasha called back, his ears twitching slightly as he spoke. "I can still freakin' hear you even if you're whispering!"

Lina frowned and ignored the comment. Gourry made an apologetic noise and sheepishly straightened while rubbing the back of his head. What she really wanted to do was talk to her group without the newcomers. They needed a game plan. And if this Inuyasha character could hear them whispering, a private conversation was going to be difficult. She pulled at the ends of her hair. Just what she needed, more problems.

Currently, the shard hunters were searching for a place to camp for the night. Lina and crew were tagging along. It was a tense trek. Even with the shard hunters leading and her crew following, she could feel an itch in the small of her back like someone was watching her. Like she said, a better game plan needed to be made.

Her eyes flickered forward toward their new 'friends.' She was still unsure what to make of them. Kagome kept looking back at them before whispering something to Inuyasha every once an awhile. Shippo, who also was on the possible monster list, kept trying to butt into the conversation much to Inuyasha's dismay. He was still sitting in Kagome's backpack, just like a little kid. The whole little kid aspect made Lina doubt that Shippo was monster. She didn't even know if monsters were ever children, or if they were born fully grown adults. Hmm. . . .something to think about later. But the idea of a monster as a kid gave her the heebie-jeebies. Sango and Miroku were talking very quietly, most likely about the same topic Inuyasha and Kagome were. Aka…them. Although, she had noticed Miroku's hand nearing Sango's rear end several times. The woman's gaze would then fix on him and he would smile boyishly, removing his hand as he did so. She wasn't sure what that relationship was about.

Her eyes glared once again at Inuyasha's ears. It simply wasn't fair. Since they could obviously not hear their new friends' conversations, shouldn't they get the same privacy? Not that she could say that out loud. That would be a big no-no. Beside her Zelgadis walked purposefully with his cape in full coverage mode. His eyes stared forward in thought. He seemed to have come to the same conclusion as her. Or he was just being very quiet or depressed or thoughtful. With him in full 'don't look at me mode' it was practically impossible to tell. Lina was betting on quiet and thoughtful because he seriously had no reason to mope around right now. At least, she hoped he didn't. She didn't want to deal with a depressed-sulky chimera.

"Hey Lina," Gourry whispered in her ear again. She supposed he was trying to be sneaky. Unfortunately, the height difference made it impossible. He was practically bent at a ninety degree angle.

"What?" she quietly hissed…er…replied.

"I'm hungry."

Lina laughed, the sound jarring the stillness. "You don't have to whisper about that."

Gourry pulled away, more than a little bit confused. He looked like a befuddled puppy.

"But it's so quiet."

Lina waved a hand around. "That's just from the tense atmosphere. Besides, I'm hungry too. Isn't it about lunch time?" She turned to Amelia. The girl was humming to herself and playing with her bracelets. "Hey Amelia, what do we have to eat for lunch?"

"Um, some hard bread, cheese and dried beef," she responded, her eyes shifting from her wrists to the cat thing near Sango. Lina could see the want in her eyes.

"But we ate that yesterday for lunch and the day before, and the day before that," Gourry whined. His feet dragged, and she could see the tears at the corners of his eyes. He, like her, appreciated good food at great quality and in great proportions.

"And it's not very filling," Lina added.

"I know. But we are traveling and we can't afford to always eat at restaurants and we certainly can't carry fancy food, or a lot of food with us because it will spoil."

Lina could read the underlying words. We can't afford taking you and Gourry out, and you would eat all of any good food we bought immediately.

"This sucks," Lina moaned.

"Quit whining you two," Zel said. He still hadn't emerged from beneath his cape and his voice was both exasperated and slightly muffled.

"Maybe we can find a stream and go fishing," Lina turned her attention to the shard hunters in front of them. Dog boy and Kagome continued to talk in low tones. "Hey, Kagome. Can we camp somewhere near a stream so we can go fishing?" She asked them. It couldn't hurt to ask.

Kagome turned around, a little surprised that they were talking to her. Her wide eyes blinked as she toyed with a strand of hair. "Um, sure, that shouldn't be a problem. Inuyasha, do you have any suggestions?"

His eyes fixed on hers, and Lina wasn't sure what to make of his expression. While Inuyasha and Kagome talked it over, Miroku and Sango tuned into their conversation.

"There should be a spot about another fifteen minutes from here. I saw it while we were at Mr. Yuki's this morning."

Inuyasha was right. It took slightly longer than fifteen minutes, but they found the stream. The water ran wide, deep, and Lina could practically taste the fish she was sure to catch in it. It only took few more minutes for them to find a flat and clear enough place to camp close to the path.

It was a nerve-racking atmosphere while they set up camp. It was apparent that neither group trusted each other, and Lina didn't blame them. In fact, she was in total agreement. They were still trying to figure out whether they were even going to share the jewel shards. If the answer was no, then there would be a fight. Hence, the lack of trust. You couldn't trust someone who you may have to kill, or who may try to kill you.

She watched Kagome take off her back pack and Shippo jumped out. The kid tripped over his own feet twice before gaining his footing and scampering off. He made a run over to some wild flowers and starting making a bouquet. Shippo didn't seem to notice the dirt or roots still attached.

Kagome balanced the bag precariously in her arms, dipping slightly from the weight. Inuyasha sighed seemingly at her before rolling his eyes and taking it back. The woman looked embarrassed as she leaned forward and said something to him. His ears twitched as he held the pack open so she could dig through it. Interesting. Lina filed the scene away. She needed to understand the dynamics of this group.

It was Kagome that they needed to convince about the jewel. She was the one in charge, which Lina understood. After all, she was the priestess. Although… Lina's eyes followed Inuyasha. She was willing to bet that Inuyasha was the muscle. He talked big, but the way he carried himself spoke louder than his words. He knew how to handle the huge sword he carried. Sango and Miroku looked like they would be a good ally in a conflict too. Each moved fluidly, and had a self awareness about them that she usually saw in fighters. How good they were though, she wasn't quite sure. Miroku was dressed like a monk of some kind. The purple of his robes reminded her of Xellos.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief. Thank God that Xellos wasn't there. Lina just didn't think that she could handle that level of frustration. It had been a long time since she'd seen the meddling priest, and she was in no hurry see him again. Ever. Things always seemed to go to shit whenever he appeared.

Gourry was putting up a tent with the help of Amelia. Even though neither of them had the best common sense, she was pretty certain that between the two of them they could put it up. They'd done it enough times that she didn't need to supervise. She could hear Gourry complaining to the younger woman about the lack of food, and her incredibly off topic response about how she wanted a demon kitty pet. Lina felt her eyes roll before moving on. Zel moved branches and other underbrush, creating a space for the fire pit. He was still in his thoughtful/quiet/depressed mood. So, that left Lina to go find some fire wood. Over the years of traveling together, they had gotten very efficient at setting up camp.

Within half an hour, they were done. It looked like the other group was finished as well.

"Come on," Lina said. "Let's go fishing."

"All of us?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah," Lina replied turning to the other group in an attempt to be diplomatic. "We'll probably catch more than enough fish, you're welcome to have some if you watch our site."

"Nummy fish!" Shippo exclaimed as he wove his collection of flowers into a necklace. She eyed the necklace warily. There were still roots and dirt connected to the otherwise pretty blossoms. As long as she didn't have to wear it, things were fine.

Inuyasha snorted. "Why the hell would we want your fish?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome swatted his arm and glared at him before turning back to Lina. "That would be wonderful. Thank you very much."

Lina dug into her pack and grabbed her trusty fishing gear. It was well worn from use, but still in great condition. Gourry was already ahead of her, his gear slung haphazardly over a shoulder. He walked downstream, scoping out a good spot. She headed his way with Amelia and Zelgadis not far behind her.

"What about here?" he asked, eyeing the water thoughtfully.

Lina looked back; nope they still were not far enough away. She wanted to make sure that they would not be overheard. Them all leaving together was a bit obvious, but it was the best she could do. Who knew how long it would take for another chance to talk privately.

"Let's go down stream some more. There should be some good fishing near those reeds," she pointed the spot out to him and led the way.

It took several more minutes to hike to the spot. But it was worth the distance to make sure they couldn't be overheard.

Lina sighed as she sat down on a rock to tie a hook onto her line. She flipped her heavy hair over one shoulder.

"So," she said to no one in general.

"I don't see why we have to walk so far away just to go fishing," Gourry stated. His stomach growled.

"Privacy," Lina replied.

"Oh," he looked thoughtful for a moment. "But won't the others be suspicious?"

"Perhaps, but I think that they will want to speak among themselves as much as we do," Zelgadis threw his line in the water as he spoke.

"I agree. Now, we have lots to talk about," Lina stated.

"Yeah, like whether we can trust them.? How much to tell them? How long we should travel with them? What the payment will be? What is Inuyasha? How big of a threat is he? Are the others dangerous? How dangerous? The list just goes on and on," Zel rambled. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Among friends once again, he had removed the covering from the bottom of his face.

"That's a long list," Amelia stated the obvious.

"Well, let's start at the top," Lina sighed. "I'm sure that they were watching the fight with the grape ape thing, or at least part of it."

"I only think they saw the end of it," Gourry stated.

"Why's that?" Lina asked. Her line gave a slight jerk, but it was empty.

"Well, they kept looking at Zelgadis like he was the leader. I mean they didn't pay much attention to you. So, they must have not seen a whole lot of what happened."

Lina smiled at the blonde's unexpected insight. Occasionally he said something that surprised her.

"I agree," Zel replied. "They probably saw me kill the monster with the Rah Tilt. My guess is they also noticed Amelia healing you."

"So they think that I'm dead weight," Lina raised an eyebrow. She didn't like that.

"Something like that," Zel smiled. "We can use it to our advantage."

Lina sighed, she really liked being in charge.

"So, am I going to play a stupid little girl?" She'd tried it before and it hadn't gone… well.

"No, just don't show off your power," Zel replied. "You can show restraint, right?"

Lina glared at Zel.

"Right Lina?" Amelia asked. "I mean no offense but sometimes you do have a problem with over doing it."

"Excuse me!" Lina yelled. She didn't understand why everyone was suddenly attacking her! She always got the job done! She didn't dance around it either. Something needed blowing up, she blew it up!

"Even I know it's true," Gourry inputted while shaking his head.

"I do not have a problem!"

Everyone suddenly became interested in fishing. She fought to control her breathing.

"You know," Gourry said. "The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem."

"Shut up Gourry!"

She hit the back of his head.

"Anyway," Zel asserted, ignoring the two of them. "Make sure to tone in down Lina."

"Fine," she grumbled. She saw their point, she really did. And it did make sense. But she was known for being one of the best, and damn it, she liked it that way. It wasn't like it would be difficult; she had already let Zelgadis take the lead with speaking to them about the shards. The idea made sense. It was logical. Damn logic.

"Next topic," Lina uttered, still very annoyed with the first one. "Inuyasha. What the hell is he? I mean the locals said he was a half demon, so does that he mean he's like you Zel? Because, I got to say I'm not so sure what else he could be. He might be like a half werewolf half human. Remember Dilgear? The half troll half werewolf thing. He could be like that."

"Well, why can't he be just half demon?" Gourry asked.

Lina shrugged. "If he is he must have been created the same way as Zel because humans and monsters don't mate. It's just not possible."

She cringed at the thought.

"Why?"

"Well, it would be like mating a horse and a tree." She saw Gourry try to picture it, "They are just too different. A monster's body, or being or whatever you call it mostly resides on the astral plane. Hell, in reality monsters are sexless, or I guess both sexes. They are made completely different than us."

"He's definitely the most dangerous of the group," Amelia said.

"Or at least the most rash," Zel added.

"Which is what makes him the most dangerous," Gourry affirmed, nodding his head vigorously. Man, Gourry was on a roll today. It had been awhile since he had so many intelligent thoughts in a row.

"I agree," Lina nodded. "We'll have to watch him, but we need to also pay attention to the others. They have been hunting the shards for while now. So they know what they are doing." She kicked her legs back and forth, "I hope that it doesn't come down to a fight. As much as I enjoy a good fight, I want to avoid one if possible."

"Which means that we have to find a way for them to work with us," Gourry said. Lina felt her jaw start to drop before she caught it. This was getting freaky.

"Well, how much should we even tell them about our situation?" Amelia asked. "They already know about why we want the jewel, but the monk also knows that we are looking for Kara. I asked him about it when I saw him the other day. He said that he didn't know who I was talking about. But that seems fishy. I mean if these are the guardians of the jewel, they probably have an idea as to where to find her."

"Yeah," Lina thought out loud, tapping her free hand against her chin. "Kara gave away her shard easily. I have no doubt that she either knew what it was, or had many others, or could get that one back. Or both. Hmmm…Maybe they're rivals. If we play our cards right they might help us find her or tell us what they know."

"Then we can return the book back to daddy!" Amelia exclaimed.

"Should we wait to say anything until they make their decision to ask about Kara?" Gourry asked.

"I don't know," Lina sighed. This was getting complicated. Scratch that, even more complicated.

"Well, Kara is obviously a bad guy and they are good guys," Amelia began. "So, they will help us find her."

"It's not that simple Amelia," Zelgadis lectured as Amelia visibly deflated. "If Kara does possess a great deal of shards, then the other group might not want us to find her."

"Then we wait," Lina stated. "Unless they bring it up first, then… shit. . .I don't know. . We wing it?"

Zel snorted. "Nice plan."

"Shut up," Lina defended. "Like you can do any better."

Zel gave her a smirk as he pulled his line out of the water, complete with a fish. It was the first catch of the day. Damn it, technically, he just did better. And every time he did better he gave her that stupid shit-eating grin. Damn, she wanted to just wipe that stupid smile off of his face. Figuratively and literally. But she supposed hitting him right now was a bad idea.

"A fish, great...I don't see how that will help us with finding the solution-" the rest of Lina's sarcastic comment was cut off by Gourry.

"I call that fish! He's mine."

"We need the jewel," Zel said ignoring the blonde. "So we'll get it. Whether by cooperation, or force. I don't give a damn if we have to fight them and torture the information out of each and everyone of them if it means we get the jewel."

Amelia made a face. "You can't mean that. . . .can you?"

"If that is my only way of become human again, then yes."

"Man Zel," Gourry said, temporarily distracted from the fish. "That was depressing."

"No kidding," Lina added, maybe he had been depressed and not thoughtful earlier. "We just have to make sure that we find a way to work together so it doesn't come to that. They did say that they'd consider payment for our partnership."

"I don't think they meant it," Amelia frowned. "My guess is that they said so just to get us off of their case."

"Not true," Lina persisted. "For the right price, you can buy anything. And I mean anything."

"So, we just have to figure out what is important enough that they might share the jewel for," Gourry finished her sentence for her.

"Yep."

"It can't be money," Amelia thought out loud.

"I think it will have to be something personal," Zel suggested. "Something we won't figure out until we spend more time with them."

"Damn," Lina muttered.

"Now Lina," Amelia smiled. "Not everyone can be as greedy as you are."

Lina scowled at her and pulled a fish out of the river.

"Why the fuck did you allow them to leave!" Inuyasha yelled at Kagome as soon as their visitors were out of hearing.

"Excuse me," Kagome responded. "But I thought that we might just want the chance to have a private conversation about them without worrying about being overheard."

"You know damn well that they're doing the fucking same thing."

"Well duh," Kagome frowned then decided to appeal to his appetite. "At least now you'll be getting fish for lunch."

Inuyasha briefly smiled at the thought before frowning again. "Damn it bitch, don't change the subject!"

"Inuyasha, calm down," Sango came into their conversation, Kirara following behind her. "Kagome's right, we need a chance to talk. Who cares if they are talking too, because if they trust us enough to leave, then we should show the same courtesy."

"Fuck courtesy!"

Kagome sighed loudly as she sat down, leaning her back against a tree. He had been so nice earlier, holding her pack for her while she dug through it for supplies. She'd almost, almost, forgotten how aggravating he could be. Funny, considering that he was usually in such a pissy state. "How can I just tell them no without even considering their offer?"

"Simple, you tell them to fuck off."

"Inuyasha! How can you say that? Remember, there was a time when you felt the same way. A time when you wanted to become human as well." Kagome hated even remotely hinting to her hanyo about Kikyo. It not only got him riled up, but made her depressed and angry. However, sometimes it couldn't be avoided.

"Yeah, so what. And now I realized what a bunch of shit that notion was in the first place. Why the fuck did I ever want to be weak and pathetic?"

"Being human is not weak and pathetic!" Kagome yelled back at him. How could he never learn? "Out of every one here I thought that you just might be the only one to really understand how he feels. That you might just feel a little sympathy for the guy. But no, you can't even consider the offer."

She wanted to stamp her feet at his childishness. She settled on crossing her arms and turning her head.

"There is no way in hell that I will willingly let them use the shards. Damn it Kagome, the shards are not a toy. We cannot just let whoever comes along with a sob story use them. You are the guardian you know, so why don't you fucking do your job!"

"That's right. I'm the guardian, not you. So that means you don't even get a say in what happens to the shards."

She came to her feet, wanting to even the playing field in any way she could.

"That's not what I meant wench, and you know it!"

He moved closer to her and she could practically feel the heat coming off of him. She stood her ground and looked up into his angry face. She knew how he worked. If you gave him an inch, he'd take a mile.

"Calm down you two," Miroku finally decided to intervene. "I've had enough. You have to admit Kagome, Inuyasha has some points-"

"Damn right I do!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"And," Miroku continued. "Kagome has some valid reasoning as well for considering their offer."

"Keh, whatever," Inuyasha scoffed. "Feeling sorry for them is hardly a reason."

"That is not the only reason that I want to help them!" Kagome huffed back.

"What? Do you want that blue freak!"

Kagome felt a scream growing in her throat. How exactly did he get that absurd notion? It was just like him to jump to such a ridiculous reason. She was going to kill him.

"Inuyasha," Miroku continued to moderate the conversation. He almost looked…amused. "Why don't we let Kagome explain all of her reasons."

"Why? It's not like they're going to make any sense."

Kagome glared at her companion.

"You won't know unless you give her a chance," Miroku gave a tentative smile.

"Fine," Inuyasha snarled.

All eyes turned to Kagome.

"Oh, what makes you think I want to explain now?" Kagome re-crossed her arms dramatically.

"Kagome," Miroku sighed. "Stop acting like Inuyasha."

Kagome let out a small snort.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha yelled.

"This fighting is accomplishing nothing," Sango said.

"You're right," Kagome sighed, putting a hand briefly to her forehead. "The way that I see it is if the others are gathering all of the jewel shards, it means that they are going to have to go after Naraku sometime. After all, he does have over half of the shards by now. I think that the only ones left are those located in Kouga's legs. You guys saw them take down that monster earlier. I think they could be valuable allies in the fight with Naraku."

"Bullshit! We don't need them to take down Naraku. I can do that all by myself," Inuyasha shot at her.

"Oh yes," Kagome replied sarcastically. "It's not like you fought dozens of times before and always got your butt kicked or anything like that. How could I be so stupid to forget?"

"Are you making fun of me!" Inuyasha snarled at her.

"Would you put away your pride for one second Inuyasha," Sango interrupted before there was more fighting. "Kagome is right. Look at how many times we went against Naraku in the past. We have never won. If he lets us gather up the other half of the shards then he doesn't have to look as hard for them. He can just steal them from us. . .which if you haven't noticed is exactly what he's been doing. Now that there aren't that many shards left to be gathered, it's just a matter of time until the next fight with him comes. And this won't be a like the others. He will come after us with everything that he's got. He won't just steal the shards, run away and taunt us. He'll kill us. We can kill his incarnations, hell we might even be able to kill him, but do you honestly think that we can kill all of them if they attack at once? And do you think that we could defeat him and his minions without taking heavy losses? We are going to need more people to help us in this battle. I don't want Kagome or…hell even Miroku to die because we were being stubborn. And if they are willing to help fight Naraku in exchange to use the whole jewel; then I agree with Kagome. It might just be worth it."

Kagome smiled at her friend. "Thank you Sango, I don't think that I could have put it any better."

"And what if this is just some elaborate plot of Naraku's?" Inuyasha shot back at the girls. He'd listened to Sango's short speech with a growing frown on his face.

"I don't think that's the case," Miroku spoke up. "The girl with the black hair, I think her name was Amelia, she was the one who was asking about a woman who suspiciously sounded like Kagura."

"Really. Huh," Kagome said. Things were getting more complicated it appeared. How exactly had they met Kagura?

"That doesn't mean shit!" Inuyasha defended.

"I disagree," Sango inputted. "If they are asking around about Kagura, then they're probably not working with Naraku. I mean, why would they ask us about it? If they worked for Naraku, then they'd know who we are, and they would obviously make the connection that we would recognize who they were asking about. I'm sorry Inuyasha, but it doesn't make sense."

Miroku nodded his head. "I think we should give them a chance."

"Me too," Sango added.

"I think they're nice," Shippo added for the sidelines. Kagome had seriously forgotten that he was even there. Oops. She felt like a bad parent.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha yelled bringing Kagome back to their current fight.

"Come on Inuyasha. If they are willing to help us kill Naraku and get the rest of the jewel shards, I think it is reasonable payment to let them use the jewel. We'll just have to get a clear idea of what they are going to do with it," Kagome pursued. She didn't want to say it out loud, but the thought of the final battle scared her. She didn't want anyone to die. Not Sango, not Miroku…and she didn't even want to think about anything happening to Inuyasha.

"I don't like this," Inuyasha muttered. "And I still don't trust them."

"I know," Kagome replied, trying now to soothe his ruffled feathers. She stepped closer to him and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. "I don't necessarily trust them either, but I'm willing to give them a chance. Please, just give them one too. I need us to stand together."

"I'll think about it," he responded, turning his back and walking away.

"Where are you-" Kagome started.

"Give him some time, he's going to go do exactly what you asked and think about it." Miroku said cutting her off, "You're probably the only one that could have convinced him to do that." He transferred his staff from one hand to the other, "I know he wouldn't have listened to me or Sango."

"Oh," Kagome sighed as she watched Inuyasha's retreating form. She saw his point, she really did, but she also understood the potential that this union could have. They all saw what the blue light did to that monster. The power she had felt from it had been incredible. What if it had the same effect on Naraku? Or perhaps they had some other spell or power that could be helpful. The information that they could provide was too important to just blow them off. This could be the big break that they needed. There was no way that she could just pass this chance up. No way in hell. Inuyasha's ego was just going to have to get over the fact that although they were getting stronger, they wouldn't be able to defeat Naraku as they were now.

Once Inuyasha left her sight, she turned back to Sango and Miroku. She had no problem disagreeing and arguing her point to her hanyo, but it was always easier to have the others on her side. Sango and Miroku agreeing with her definitely boosted Kagome's confidence in her decision. It wasn't as if she was going to tell their visitors, 'here take the jewel and do with it as you please.' No way. She was not that stupid. Kagome wouldn't let the jewel leave her sight. Whatever ritual or spell that was needed could be done with her present. And if they didn't like it, tough. She was the guardian and she had a job to do.

"It really is the right decision," Sango's voice broke Kagome out of her thoughts. "No matter what Inuyasha says."

"I know," Kagome replied. She was going to say more when voices in the distance distracted her. Looking around her shoulder, she could see the young red head running her way with the blonde man chasing after her.

"Lina!" he called. "That's not fair!"

"Well I caught most of the fish and I decide that you don't get any Gourry!" her reply made Kagome smile. The girl did have spunk.

"But," Gourry responded. "You cheated!"

"Stop being jealous because you didn't catch any!"

"How could I catch any when you decided that you were just going to levitate them out of the river? That is not fishing, it's cheating."

By now, Lina had arrived at the large campsite, a bundle of fish floating behind her. Kagome hadn't even noticed the gravity defying fish before. She walked up to them and waved her arm above the fish. She couldn't help it. Lina watched her as Kagome repeated the gesture with underneath the bundle.

"Wow," Kagome smiled. "They're actually floating."

"Oh," Lina looked at the fish. "Well, yeah. I mean I wasn't going to carry all of them back myself and if I let Gourry here carry them then he would think that he was entitled to eat some."

"But I am going to eat some!"

Lina just ignored his outburst as he stopped next to her. "Does that surprise you?"

"Um, no not really," Kagome shrugged, not sure how much she should give away. "I mean I'm pretty used to magic and stuff, but I usually don't see it used so casually. Most of the sorcerers that I have met in the past need rituals and incense and other stuff to do spells. Demons tend to do magic and whatnot more often, but you're human so it's just unexpected."

"Well, this is a simple levitation spell, so it's fairly easy," she said offhand. Kagome digested her words. Magic for her seemed to be something done everyday and with little preparation. Interesting.

"Please Lina, let me have some fish," Gourry pleaded with her. His eyes had gotten large and dewy.

She continued to ignore him.

"What do you mean by easy? Easy as in anyone can do it?" Kagome asked.

"Um. . . .well, I guess not anyone. I mean, not every person out there can do magic, they can't levitate stuff. But you're a priestess, right? So you should have some magical aptitude, it would just be a matter of teaching you."

"Hmm. . ." Kagome continued to stare at the fish as she thought.

"Where's Inuyasha," Zelgadis asked as he caught up with Lina, Amelia in tow.

"Oh, well he's just off sulking somewhere. He'll be back as soon as he gets hungry," Kagome snorted. "Which will probably be in ten minutes or so."

"Sulking," Amelia asked. "What's the matter?"

"Just a difference of opinion," Sango replied, smoothing over anymore questions with a vague answer. "We'll talk about it later. Those fish sure look good."

"I agree," Miroku began to add more wood to the fire. "After all, we both had an adventurous morning. A nice meal would be tasty."

"What did you guys do?" Amelia asked.

"We had to exorcize a demon out of a poor unfortunate soul's house," Miroku sighed. He straightened his purple robe and put on his 'serious' face. Swiping back his bangs with his rosary covered hand; he let it hover in the light with obvious emphasis. She wondered if they bought it.

Sango made a face. "Yeah right. The only thing you were doing this morning was staring at the ass of the poor unfortunate soul's daughter."

"Why Sango, are you accusing me of not doing my job?"

"No, I'm accusing you of being a lecherous monk. Which I know you can't refute." Sango smiled as she turned her attention away from him. "So, what can I do to help?"

It took an hour for lunch to finally be over. Cooking for everyone, even over the large fire took longer than expected. Not to mention the antics that the other group actively engaged in. As Kagome predicted, Inuyasha showed up ten minutes later claiming that he was hungry. She let his sulkiness slide, and even shared her fish with him. See, she didn't hold a grudge…even if he didn't say thank you. Lina argued loudly with Gourry about why he shouldn't get any fish. She even made a ten point list and gave a presentation. Gourry twiddled his thumbs, whined, and looked about ready to cry. Amelia was not amused and proceeded to lecture Lina about the importance of sharing. The others watched trying not to snicker at the situation because when someone slipped, Amelia would turn to them and say something about how Lina's greediness was a serious problem and that her antics were not funny. Shippo ate his fish contently and talked with Amelia. They were talking about the flower necklace he had made which he had given to Kagome as soon as he had finished. She had reluctantly tried it on for him, even if it dirtied her outfit. Overall, lunch had a pleasant atmosphere and tasty food. In fact it was about a hundred times lighter then the atmosphere earlier. It was almost enough to make Kagome trust the new people, almost.

Lina watched as Kagome made her way over to a large tree near the river after lunch was cleaned up. The short conversation they had had earlier buzzing around the inside of her skull. Since Kagome lived on the other side of the barrier, it would explain why she hadn't seen much advanced level magic. But levitation wasn't that advanced. Lina bit her lip in thought. Kagome was a priestess, so she should have enough magical training to be able to do a simple spell like that. Most priestesses were trained as soon as they began to show magical talent. But Lina had a feeling that Kagome had had hardly any training at all.

Smoothing her skirt, Kagome sat down and crossed her legs. Lina gave a small smile as she watched the girl meditate. . .or more like try to meditate. She entered the first stage quite quickly, but the deeper stages where one connected with their magic was not coming easily to her. Even from twenty feet away, Lina could feel Kagome's wild magic come out in uncontrolled bursts. The girl was powerful, yes, incredibly powerful. But without the proper control she was barely scraping the top. Interesting. It seemed like the young priestess had very poor management over her powers. Interesting indeed.

Lina smiled, a plan was forming. They needed an extra edge, another way for them to gain trust and a better footing. Possibly even a partial payment? She could hope. This might be the ticket.

"Hey Amelia," she commented to her friend who was teaching Shippo a game. Amelia looked up at her and smiled.

"Yes Miss Lina?" she asked. Shippo was still caught up in whatever the two of them were playing.

"Since you are a shrine maiden and Kagome is a priestess, you two have the same type of magic right?" Lina already knew the answer, but she needed Amelia to come to the conclusion herself.

"You're right!" Amelia exclaimed as she looked over to where Kagome was sitting. Her eyes searching out the fellow white magic practitioner. "Oh dear."

"What's wrong?" Lina inquired, already knowing what her answer would be.

"It's just that Kagome is not doing so well."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It can be quite dangerous for her without a teacher. Someone should really be helping her out."

Lina didn't respond. She knew that Amelia would make the connection in a few more seconds.

"Oh I know," it was like a light bulb lit up on the side of her head. "I could do it. It's obvious that you can't, you know, with you specializing in black magic. But I can." she clapped her hands. "It'll be so much fun!"

Lina glanced back at Kagome and smiled. Oh, yeah. Let the shard hunting begin.