Kagome froze, half with fear, half with confusion. She clutched the jewel and turned around to face the voice. Inuyasha was barely a foot away, baring his fangs. She fumbled backwards and hit edge of the well, tumbling over.
She fell back into the well and let go of the jewel, trying to grab the rope. Instinctively, Inuyasha flew into the well after the beautiful girl. He caught her just as she hit the bottom. Her legs and bottom were bruised, but he had managed to catch her head in time. She stared up into his eyes, not moving from his lap. For an instant his face was gentle, she didn't dare say anything.
After a moment he snapped out of it, snarled, and lifted her up and practically leaped out of the well. He set her down rather hard, and began frantically looking for the small orb she had dropped.
"Where is it? Why did you drop it you stupid girl!"
Kagome scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Hmph! Why should I help him look for that marble now? She thought to herself. Inuyasha got on his hands and knees carefully scrounging the area. At what seemed the same time, they saw a glint of purple from the sun a ways away.
Without thought, the dog boy flew to it and snatched it up. For a long moment he held it up to the sky in awe of its beauty. Kagome stalked to where he was and put her hand out, demanding it back. Inuyasha ingnored her and began to walk away after closing his fist around it. He whipped his long, silver hair in her face in the process.
"Hey! I found that fair and square! Now give that back!" Kagome shouted and ran after him. He didn't bother to turn around, he just kept walking to the forest and jumped into a tree and began to hop from tree to tree. Kagome lost him in minutes. Her frustration got the best of her. She was breathing heavy and decided he wasn't even worth it anymore. Let him keep the dumb marble.
She turned to go back into town, and after a moment she heard a loud shriek. She turned around in time to see the rat bird running straight into the crazy boy and lifting him into the air. Kagome stared in horror for a moment, then sprinted towards the village to get help.
She ran to Kaede, who was outside gathering some herbs. The girls terrified face made the old woman pause in her chores.
"Preistess, that boy! With the ears!" She gasped, out of breathe. She heaved for a moment. It was a long way from the well. Kaede straightened and tried to get Kagome to calm down.
"What's wrong with Inuyasha? Did he hurt you?" She asked, trying to get an answer.
"That monster from yesterday got him! Snatched him right up from a tree!" She finally got out. The woman was already hurrying into her hut. Kagome followed after her, almost tripping. She quickly gathered all sorts of herbs, some bandages, her staff and from a large chest she produced a beautiful bow and sheath of arrows. Kaede swung them over her shoulders and rushed out to the well.
When they returned, Inuyasha had been dropped about a hundred meters away. He was quite easy to spot from his bright red clothes. The demon was still flying overhead, but it seemed to have tripled in size. It screeched again and she had to cover her ears, it was so shrill. It started to swoop down and as it got closer, Kagome saw a bright purple dot in the bird-rats belly. He must have swallowed it!
Kaide gave her bandages and some plants and motioned towards the hurt man. Kagome took the items and ran his way. The preistess took her bow and an arrow from the sheath and aimed. The arrow seemed to just bounce off the demon bird. She tried again but to no avail.
Kagome, lifted Inuyashas head and he groaned a little bit. The back of his jacket and white undergarment were ripped to shredes, leaving his back deeply scratched and bleeding. She gasped at how badly it looked. She wasn't quite sure what these plants were named, but she had seen her granfather use similar ones before. She pressed the leaves onto the wounds and after they were soaked, removed them and replaced them with new ones. After the bleeding seemed to stop, she began to bandage quickly. Keeping an eye on Kaide and the demon.
Kaede seemed to be making little process with the bird; although he seemed to be getting lower. Kagome clutched Inuyasha tight, frightened. Inuyasha opened his eyes, saw the bird and whispered, cleary still in pain, "The jewel. He has the jewel."
Kagome looked down at him. She was afraid of causing the demon to notice her, so she whispered back. "What do I do?"
For a long moment, Kagome thought he would say no more. Finnally he managed, "Get it out." She nodded, and placed his head gently on the grass, and hurried to the worn down preistess.
"Lady Kaede, that bird has the jewel! We need to get it out!" Kaede stopped dead in her tracks.
"Can you see the Shikon Jewel?" She nodded, and Kaede quickly handed the bow and arrows to Kagome.
"Shoot him down." She demanded Kagome stood in shock for a moment. She had never even held a bow, let alone shot one.
"But I don't know how!" She protested. Kaede shook her head.
"Just shoot!" She shouted and ran towards Inuyasha.
Kagome took an arrow and set it into place. The bird had seemed to be much lower and slower moving. She took her time, and soon was able to see the jewel. She took a deep breathe and shot. It was close but too low. She took another arrow and again close, but not enough. Thanks to Kaede previous attempts she only had two arrows left.
She waited a long time before trying again. This shot finally made it. Right into his neck. The rat-bird screeched and began to fall. She quickly aimed again. This time at the jewel. She hit the monster right in the belly, right into the jewel.
The beast exploded! The light from the Shikon Jewel blinded her for a moment. She looked up and saw a million rays of light crossing the sky from where she hit the demon. Kaede ran back to her in horror.
Kagome just stood there stunned and very confused. A purple light fell near her and she went towards it. It disappeared, and on the ground was a tiny piece of the purple jewel. She picked it up gingerly and could feel the heat from it. It pulsed in her hand.
Kaede shook her head. Her face was one of utter dispair.
"You shattered the jewel! Who knows what will happen now. We must get them back."
Inuyasha started to come to again, and Kagome rushed to him. Tears began to form from frustration and guilt. She hadn't meant to break it. She didn't really know its importance. The silver haired boy asked why she was crying. She confessed to boy who appeared to be half asleep. He immediately sprung up and yelped.
"You did what?" He shouted at her! She stood up and her tears were instantly turned into anger. He began to pull at his hair and walk in circles like a crazy man.
"Hey, it was an accident okay! Kaede said we'll get them back!" He snorted, and turned to her, his arms crossed over his chest.
"That old bag? She isn't going anywhere, she's already worn out and she hasn't even left the village. If you want to find all the pieces, I'll have to take you." He smiled as if he was a genius. Kagome shook her head.
"NO way! You are not taking me anywhere! We need to get Lady Kaede back, she needs to rest, and so do you. Besides, I have a monk coming to get me soon anyways." She smiled smugly.
Inuyasha gave her a stern look and gave her a half cocked smile. It made her swoon for a moment, but she wasn't going to give in like that. He chuckled as if he knew, and scooped up the old preistess who was resting in the shade and began walking towards town.
Kagome followed and the townsfolk didn't flee or try to hurt Inuyasha. Some bowed their heads. Everyone was silent though. He took her to her home and laid her down to rest. Kagome motioned for him to take her bed to rest. He laid down reluctantly, but was asleep instantly.
The villagers provided Kagome with an extra mat for the night, and she decided she would figure out everything in the morning. Just to be safe though, she found a small pouch in Kaedes basket. She tucked her single shard of the shikon jewel in and pressed it close to her. She put it around her neck while she slept. The morning came quickly.
She was awoken to Inuyasha yelling "What did you put around my neck, you old hag!"