Again, a huge thanks to SageSK for dealing with my uncertainties over this chapter. She endured listening to me prattle on and waffle around between ideas for weeks. She deserves a nice round of applause for putting up with it all. And, thanks also to everyone who reviewed! Yet again, thank you guys so much for the encouragement!

The first thing Kagome became aware of was a cool wind ruffling her hair, brushing greasy strands across her face. How long had it been since she had last washed her hair? Too long if the feel of it was any indication. She needed a shower.

Her mind shifted to other concerns. Where was she anyway? She could feel warm morning sun caressing one cheek and something soft under the other. Not the crisp, smooth softness of her pillow but more of a fuzzy softness. Blearily, Kagome opened her eyes. Cream-colored fur danced before her sleep-crusted eyes. It reminded her of her old cat Buyo.

Buyo….

Kagome sat up quickly, away from her furry pillow.

Buyo! Home!

The top of her head collided with something hard. As spots danced before her eyes, a stifled curse split the air above her.

“What was that for, wench?”

She jerked her head up to meet a pair of burning amber eyes. Her fogged mind searched for where it had seen those eyes before. Amber eyes, a mop of silver bangs reminiscent of a sheepdog, red clothing…

“You!” she yelped as the events of the last day flooded back into her mind.

Inuyasha sniffed. “Keh, glad you remember me.” Scowling, he rubbed his chin where Kagome’s skull had slammed into him. Girl’s head was like a rock.

“Where— Where are we?” Kagome stammered. Memory was inundating her consciousness quickly now. She had been home. But, this wasn’t home! “Where is—?”

Without waiting for an answer, Kagome spun around, searching for anything familiar. Instead, she was met by three pairs of eyes.

“Kagome!” the green-eyed Shippou chirped happily.

“Kagome-sama, so good to see you finally awake!” Myouga echoed the fox’s sentiments from his perch on Shippou’s nose.

Kagome stared at them dumbly before her gaze dropped curiously to the last set of eyes. They were huge and blood-red. Just below them was a short snort, adorned with a pair of long, pointed fangs. The owner of those fangs met Kagome’s widening gaze levelly with its own scarlet stare. A deep rumble issued from its throat, vibrating the fur-covered body behind the girl. She was lying on it, Kagome realized with horror. Lying on an animal with a head the size of her torso and fangs as long as her lower arm.

With a short scream Kagome threw herself away from the animal and into Inuyasha, locking her arms around his neck. “What is that?”

Now at a distance she could see that the creature was some form of big cat. It was tremendous, with a creamy beige coat and black markings on its head, legs, and the tips of the great, bushy twin tails that rose over its back.

“Gak!” The hanyou in Kagome’s deathgrip choked as she cut off his air supply. “Th— That’s Kirara, you twit!”

“Kirara?” Kagome’s grip didn’t loosen. In fact, it tightened as the animal stood, wearing an amused Shippou on its head like a curious living hat.

“Kirara! The cat! The little two-tailed cat!” Inuyasha rasped.

Shippou stifled a giggle.

“What?” Kagome sent the silver-haired boy an incredulous look, arms releasing their stranglehold in favor of gesturing with her words. “That cat was tiny! This thing is huge!”

Inuyasha just gave her a sour look for a moment, rubbing his abused neck. Dealing with this girl was quickly proving painful. How did ordinary humans survive around her?

“Kirara is a youkai. She has two forms,” he grunted at last.

Kagome eyed him doubtfully. She looked back at the feline.

The massive animal rumbled anew. As though interpreting the sound, Shippou mumbled, “Oh, right,” and bounced off its head to skitter over to Kagome. As soon as he was clear, the beast’s body was engulfed in a flash of fire. Then, as quick as they came, the flames shrank and shuddered out of existence in one final, fiery gout. In their wake stood the tiny, two-tailed cat Kagome remembered from the clearing.

The girl gasped.

“Kirara! It is you!”

With a happy trill, the cat leapt to her shoulder and rubbed its cheek against the girl's. Shippou was quick to follow Kirara’s lead, jumping onto Kagome’s unoccupied shoulder.

Myouga rode along happily. Perhaps he could finally get a little “sample” of Kagome – something his most unreasonable young master had strictly forbidden while she had been sleeping. The old flea was already imagining how sweet her blood was. His proboscis quivering in anticipation, he bounced off Shippou and angled himself at the young woman’s exposed neck.

A clawed hand whipped out faster than thought, snagging the flea and closing around him painfully. Kagome blinked at the flash of red and followed it with her eyes back to Inuyasha. The silver-haired boy appeared to be having an argument with his fist, so she turned her attention back to Shippou, who was chattering happily.

“Kagome! I’m so glad you’re back!” Shippou bounced on his perch. He was practically vibrating with excitement, his fluffy tail waving. “It’s so boring with just Inuyasha and Myouga and Kirara. No offense, Kirara.”

The cat mewed in response and contented herself with securing her two tails around Kagome’s neck comfortably.

“I...” Kagome wasn’t sure what to say.

Wait.

Back…

Back where?

She turned. There, behind her, was the old well. In a field. Four hundred years in the past.

Kagome rounded on Inuyasha. He had finished threatening Myouga and adopted a rather pronounced pout in response to Shippou’s comment.

“You brought me back!” the girl snarled.

On her shoulder, Shippou winced as her voice became shrill and let himself slip down her back to the ground wordlessly. Kirara followed him. Even Myouga abandoned his perch on Inuyasha’s shoulder and hid in the hanyou’s silver mane. This didn’t look like it was going to be pretty.

The hanyou, however, seemed relatively unaffected. “Of course I brought you back. You passed out. We were just lucky that creepy well brought us back where we came from.” He wrinkled his nose. “The smell in that place was about to kill me. How do you stand—?”

“No!” Kagome interrupted him with a shriek. “Take me back!” She turned toward the well, moving to throw herself in once more.

Inuyasha was faster. Before Kagome could take another step, he was between her and her goal.

“I can’t let you do that.”

Kagome’s jaw dropped in shock. He was going to stop her?

No.

“No!” She tried to slip past him but was again blocked as he slid in front of her. “No!”

Another dodge, another block.

“Kagome...” There was a warning tone in Inuyasha’s voice suddenly, a subtle deepening. “Listen to me.”

Feint. Block. Dodge. Block.

Kagome didn’t listen. Didn’t hear the quiet warning. She was blind to all but the dark opening that would take her home.

“No! Take me back! My family probably just moved! I can find them! I can—!”

“That wasn’t your home anymore.”

What? How dare he?

“Yes, it was!” Kagome’s voice was bordering on hysterical again. “Now, take me back!” She raised her hand, unconsciously preparing to strike the boy standing between her and her way home. “Let me go!”

Her hand flew forward.

He caught it mid-swing.

Kagome started, snapping back to reality and instinctively pulling away. Neither the immobile hanyou nor her hand responded to the tug in the slightest. His grip was like iron. It wasn’t painful – though the slightest pressure on his part would have made it so – but she was powerless against it.

Hesitantly, the girl met her captor’s gaze.

Inuyasha’s face had tightened into a dispassionate mask. His amber eyes had darkened and now bored into her own with an incredible intensity.

“That’s enough,” he ground out around clenched teeth.

For the first time, Kagome noticed the abnormal size of his canines as his lips curled back from them in a restrained snarl.

“You can’t go back. There’s no where to go back to,” the silver-haired boy continued, never relinquishing eye contact or his inexorable hold on her hand. “You’ve had all night to rest. We’re leaving. Now. And, you’re coming with us.”

Inuyasha’s voice was rough, almost a growl. There was no room for argument.

But, that meant nothing to Kagome.

“What do you mean? I never agreed to go with you anywhere!” Kagome tried to pull her hand free again. “Let me go!” It was like pulling against a brick wall.

“Yes, you did.” His voice was flat and emotionless. “I gave you my vow that I would marry you if you would use your power to help me find the shards.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Kagome felt that acute sense of an ethereal bond between them anew. It felt stretched, pulling at some corner of her being painfully.

“Do you want me to renounce my end of the bargain?” the hanyou demanded tonelessly. His eyes were now completely dark and unreadable.

The air rushed from Kagome’s lungs as she felt a sharp stab of pain in her chest.

“I…”

Inuyasha was silent, waiting.

Kagome slumped.

“No. I’ll go with you.”

“Good.”

He released her hand and turned away from her.

Kagome let her hand drop to her side limply. How could she have forgotten? She was a prisoner.

Inuyasha bit back a curse as the smell of the girl’s tears reached his nose. He might have known she would cry. Shippou had cried too. He swore silently again. Why did he keep having to deal with this? It was like a sick joke.

The hanyou’s internal invective was cut short as a new scent reached his nose. This time, the curse tore from his throat as he wrenched himself around to face his companions again.

“Kirara!”

The firecat had apparently caught wind of the putrid stench as well. She had already transformed to her larger form and was growling softly. The hanyou followed her example and wasted no time in rushing to Kagome’s huddled form, grabbing her up and depositing her on Kirara’s broad back before she could protest.

Of course, once she was there, she had plenty of time.

“What are you doing?” the girl squawked. A spike of fear laced both her voice and her scent.

The hanyou tried to ignore it. Galling as it was that she feared him now, she would have worse than him to be frightened of in a moment.

“Just sit there and hold on to Kirara as tightly as you can. No matter what happens,” he hissed, throwing himself onto the cat just behind her. There was a sudden weight on his shoulder as Shippou joined them.

“Inuyasha,” the kitsune squeaked, “I smell—”

“I know,” the boy snapped, impatient. “Get off me and get down low.” His right hand slid across his chest to rest on the hilt of the sword hanging at his side. “I may have to fight them.”

The fox child gulped and obediently leapt down in front of Kagome, burying his tiny hands in Kirara’s fur.

Assured his companions were as prepared as he had time to get them, Inuyasha bellowed to the firecat. “Let’s go, Kirara!”

The huge feline nodded and lunged into the air. Flames blazed beneath each paw as she literally raced up into the sky, running on air.

Wide-eyed, Kagome clung to Kirara's neck. “What’s going on?”

Her companions were silent, tuned to something she couldn’t detect. In the silence, she allowed herself to look longingly for the well. It and the clearing that housed it had already been swallowed in a verdant sea of trees. Kagome took a deep breath, forcing down the sobs she felt rising in her throat.

‘Mama… Souta… Ji-chan…’

Clutching fistfuls of Kirara’s soft fur to maintain her balance, she focused on watching the forest roll by below. The trees rushing beneath them abruptly came to an end, revealing blackened, scarred earth. Shattered structures littered the ground. What might have once been rice paddies lay abandoned as nothing more than mud holes.

Kagome’s eyes widened, a gasp escaping her.

“What happened down there?” she found herself whispering.

“The same thing that’s gonna happen to us if we don’t move,” Inuyasha answered the involuntary question in a low voice.

The girl turned halfway around to focus her wide, blue eyes on the silver-haired boy. “What do you mean?”

Then, she felt “it”, a sudden tenseness deep inside, urging her to action. No, not sudden Kagome realized that the sensation had been teasing the back of her consciousness for some time now, but she had been too lost in her grief and heartache to pay it any mind. Now that she had given the strange presentiment the attention it demanded, it could not be ignored. It was a rush of adrenaline through her veins, a tightening in her stomach, a pulse along some sixth sense she had never known she had until falling into this mad, mad world. And, there was no question as to what it meant. It was a warning, a profound sense that something horrible was coming.

She twisted her head to look around wildly as the realization hit her.

“What is—?”

The sky had darkened. Thick, black clouds blotted out the sun.

Shuddering with the deepening feeling of dread growing in the pit of her stomach, Kagome looked back at Inuyasha again. His mouth was pulled into a grim line.

“Here they come,” he growled.

“They?”

A cacophony of horrible voices filled the air, drowning her words. Screams and wails, the cries of thousands, hammered at her ears.

“What is that?” Kagome yelped.

Inuyasha’s ears were pinned back. “Those,” he began slowly, his voice strangely clear amid the chaos, “are what destroyed that village.”

There was no time to digest his words as the leaden clouds suddenly exploded. Creatures of all shapes and sizes burst forth like a terrible, hungry rain. Most looked like hideous, overgrown worms. Some had vaguely humanoid shapes – at least so far as in having the human body structure, give or take the odd limb or head. All shared one singular trait - their gaping, fang-filled mouths and the horrible hungry light burning in their eyes.

Kagome gasped at the sight. “What— What are they? What do they want?”

“They’re youkai, and they want… you,” Inuyasha answered simply.

“Me? Why do they want me? There’s not enough of me for all of them to even get a nibble!” Kagome was screaming by this time, her voice rising over the tumult. “Can’t they find something bigger to eat? At least a cow or something?”

“They don’t want to eat you,” Inuyasha snapped. Then, he paused. “Well, they do want to eat you, but it’s not for food. They’re attracted to your power.”

“What?”

No answer was forthcoming as Inuyasha turned his attention to their predicament. The youkai were swarming toward them, mindlessly targeting the pure power emanating from the girl now in his care. Inuyasha cursed himself for staying by that wretched well for so long. Stupid sentiments. Thinking he might let the girl offer some parting words. (As if that went over well.) Of course the youkai would have sensed the backwash of miko power when he freed Kagome. And, they were all still crazed, just like so many others. Still filled with bloodlust. They were drawn to any source of power like moths to flame. Running away would not be an option.

The hanyou’s face settled into a humorless smile. He despised running anyway.

“Take us right into them, Kirara!” he yelled, removing his right hand from the hilt of his sword and reaching up over his shoulder.

A shriek of protest at the mad proposal died on Kagome’s lips as Inuyasha withdrew his hand and flung something into the torrent of youkai. As she watched, the dark matter formed itself into several crescent-shaped arcs of crimson light. Then, the blades of light struck the oncoming youkai, ripping apart all they touched.

Taking that as her cue, the saber-toothed Kirara charged into the opening Inuyasha had created.

Kagome shot a glare at Inuyasha. “Are you crazy?” she squalled. She could hear a second voice, probably the hidden Myouga, screaming something similar from the general direction of Inuyasha’s hair. “Are you just going to feed me to them?”

Any more screams were cut off as Inuyasha forcefully pushed her head down with his left hand, the other grasping over his shoulder again.

“Stay low,” he ordered.

Kagome tried to question him further and only got a mouthful of fur for her troubles. Giving up on Inuyasha, she instead slipped a protective arm around Shippou, who was huddled under her crouched form. The little fox quivered under her touch, unconsciously snuggling closer to her. Somewhat comforted by one another’s presence, the two braced themselves.

The air swelled with the horrible cacophony as Kirara plunged them into the cloud of youkai. And, Inuyasha met it with a deep-throated roar of his own, releasing another volley of his curious energy blades. Again, the blades sliced through the youkai, creating a little pocket of safety for Kirara and her passengers.

Her face buried in the wind-whipped fur of Kirara’s tawny mane, Kagome only dared to open one eye. She was greeted with the sight of masses of coiling bodies rushing past. And, the splattered remains of those that got in Inuyasha’s way.

Then, suddenly, her field of vision was marred by a single, twisted face. Red eyes burned in deep sockets. A hungry mouth opened wide.

The scream had barely formed in Kagome’s throat when the creature struck out with a clawed hand. Shrieking, Kagome jerked away, clutching Shippou to her.

The grasping claws lashed out after her, closing around the kitsune’s fluffy tail. Then, with a single tug, he was gone.

“Shippou!”

Kagome threw herself as far to the side as she dared, looking down into the roiling clouds of youkai. There was no sign of the little fox.

“No…”

Above her, Inuyasha swore loudly and, suddenly, he was crouched over her.

“Kirara, head down! Find Shippou!”

Kagome’s stomach took wing as Kirara swung her head downward and dove. Then, she felt a sharp tug on her left arm. She looked down to find wild, yellow eyes burning back into her own. For an instant, she thought of Inuyasha. But, no, these eyes held none of his expressiveness or intelligence. They were hungry, burning with a single-minded intent. And, set in a horrible face composed of sagging green skin and jagged teeth.

The girl screamed and jerked away from her assailant. But, its claws only bit deeper into her arm, piercing her thin blouse sleeve like tissue paper. Desperate, Kagome lashed out with her free hand.

Its jaws had almost closed on her thin fingers when Inuyasha ended the short struggle. Hissing a crude comment on the beast’s heritage, he slashed his left hand across its torso diagonally. Kagome watched in shock as four parallel blades of energy arced from his clawed fingers, tearing the imp-like creature to shreds. All of it but its arm, which was still firmly latched onto her own. Inuyasha ripped the offending limb away before she could react.

Unfortunately, the action further tore open the claw wounds the creature had made. Blood flowed freely from three deep gouges in her lower arm to run down over her hand.

The girl was too numbed to respond. Too numb to even register the pain.

Inuyasha was not.

With a fresh curse, he lowered himself over her hunched form protectively and reached to gently tug her arm into view. Feeling a stickiness to his touch, Kagome glanced down. She gasped.

The fingers of his right hand were slick with blood.

She twisted to look at him.

“Are you hurt?”

The boy’s amber eyes widened in surprise. Then, the familiar smirk claimed his features.

“Keh, it’s fine. You’re the one that’s a mess.” A scowl crossed his face, but there was no rancor in it. “Just get them a little more stirred up with your blood scent, why don’t you?” With that, he wrapped his sanguine fingers around her arm, covering her blood with his own.

Kagome felt a brief squeeze – a reassurance? Then, he’d released her, drawing away and focusing on their attackers again.

“Kirara, can you see Shippou?”

The firecat answered Inuyasha with a rumbling growl. Then, Kagome’s world spun as the cat suddenly banked to the left.

“I see him!” Inuyasha yelled behind her, following Kirara’s line of sight.

What? Where? The blue-eyed girl scanned the skies in the hopes of catching sight of Shippou’s bright red hair. Then, she saw what Inuyasha had seen. However, unlike her hanyou companion, she could only stare in confusion.

What was a silly-looking pink balloon doing in a cloud of youkai? Let alone in a cloud of youkai centuries before balloons were invented?

And, it was screaming.

Screaming?

"Inuyashaaaa! Get your butt down here and save me!" the balloon wailed. For the first time, Kagome realized that the balloon had a face. Two wide, round eyes and an even wider mouth dominated one half of the "balloon's" spherical body. It also sported a pair of indeterminate, round appendages on either side of its face. Both were beating at the air wildly as the pink creature continued to shriek for help, alternately bellowing insults at Inuyasha and then screaming desperately for his help.

Realization dawned.

"Shippou!"

Kirara swooped toward the hovering, transformed blob that was the little fox. And, she wasn't the only one.

A hulking, porcine ogre had also noted the flailing balloon creature. And, scenting the distinct smell of fox only thinly disguised by the assumed form, singled it out as a likely next meal. Brandishing a bladed staff, the youkai lunged for the helpless Shippou.

"Kirara!" His left hand fisted in the cat’s mane, Inuyasha's blood-smeared hand flew to the sword at his side. Tightening his grip on the sword, he let his own youkai power, his youki, flow into the time-worn blade. He felt the familiar pulse as the Tessaiga responded and ripped the sword from its sheath. Before Kagome’s astonished eyes a blade emerged from the narrow sheath at Inuyasha’s hip that was at least twice the size of its housing. It was tremendous, almost as long as Inuyasha was tall. Its curved length was nearly a foot wide at the tip, and every inch shone like the sun.

Taking the pulse of power from the transformed sword as her cue, Kirara lunged at the ogre. Her jaws parted in a roar of fury as she charged through the air.

The pig-like beast looked up from its helpless prize at her roar and prepared to fight the cat that apparently wanted his tender morsel. It never noticed Inuyasha. Not even when his blazing sword sliced it cleanly in half.

"Shippou!" Kagome cried, reaching out for the metamorphosed fox as Kirara flashed past him.

With a pop and a puff of smoke, he returned to his true form and tumbled into her arms. The girl clutched him tightly to her bosom, resolved that nothing would snatch this child from her arms again.

Assured both his charges were secure, Inuyasha again settled himself low on Kirara's back, leaning over the girl's hunched form and yelling to the firecat anew. "Take us down and under them, Kirara!"

With a growl of agreement, the feline dodged a fresh wave of incoming youkai and plunged downward. More writhing, seething bodies rushed across Kagome’s field of vision.

As they hurtled through the masses of youkai, Shippou allowed the strange, new girl to hold him close, privately enjoying the comfort of her embrace. He hadn’t been held like this in a long time. It only confirmed his first impressions of this Kagome. He was going to like her. He was glad Inuyasha was taking her as his wife. Granted, his happiness with Inuyasha’s choice – forced as it was – didn’t stop him from yelling some further insults at the dog-eared boy. Albeit they were muffled ones.

“Did you have to take so long? I was almost that pig’s dinner!” he yowled.

Inuyasha shot a dark look in the kitsune’s general direction. “Don’t make me sorry you weren’t, brat,” he snapped.

“I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Keh! Shut up and try not to get grabbed this time.”

“Can you continue this later?” Kagome demanded, twisting around to look Inuyasha in the eye.

“The brat started it!”

Kagome’s blue eyes narrowed. “He’s a child. You’re old enough to know better.” With a sniff, she faced forward once again, her hair flipping Inuyasha in the face.

With a growl, the hanyou shoved the ebony strands out of his eyes. “Now, listen here—!”

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as Kirara suddenly snarled, her body shaking beneath them. All eyes slowly turned to face forward.

A pointed nose topped by two gleaming eyes rose before them. Slowly, the beaked snout slid apart, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp fangs.

Staring into the gaping maw, Kagome and Shippou’s faces held identical looks of surprise and horror. Inuyasha’s visage held only irritation as he slowly reached for his sword.

Shippou broke the little group’s silence with a sudden scream.

“It’s gonna eat u—omph!”

The kitsune’s cry became a muffled yelp as Inuyasha yet again forced Kagome’s head down, effectively tamping the fox’s shrieks in Kirara’s fur. With a deliberate, practiced slowness the hanyou drew his transforming sword. His eyes narrowed.

“Kirara! Charge!”

Kagome felt the tawny body beneath her lurch. She tightened her grip on the cat’s creamy fur, arms placed to either side of Shippou. Above her, there was a surprised roar of agony from the snake creature followed by a horrible wet, sucking sound. Then, nothing.

The girl felt the ominous knot in her stomach uncoil. She opened her eyes. Clear blue sky greeted her. They were through. The howls of the youkai were rapidly fading into the distance. And, the release of the foreboding feeling she had sensed assured her they were safe.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kagome tilted her head back to look at the azure sky. Something sparkled in the golden light of the morning sun. Kagome looked up at it curiously. Snow? Rain?

“Oi… Kagome…,” Inuyasha started behind her.

One of the “sparkles” splashed across the bridge of her nose. For an instant, Kagome stared at it cross-eyed in confusion. Then, the smell hit her.

A squawk erupted from the startled girl. “What is this?” Kagome pawed at the noxious substance, swiping it across her hand and bringing it into her field of vision.

Thick, black ichor dripped from her fingers.

As she was still staring at the goo in horror, Inuyasha piped up and confirmed her worst fears.

“That’s that snake’s guts.”

--------------------------------------

“You didn’t have to scream like that,” Inuyasha groused, idly rubbing one of his pointed ears as he crouched by Kagome. His face was set in the familiar petulant scowl Kagome was already learning to dread.

“You could’ve told me sooner!” she snapped back, furiously scrubbing at her hands in the fast-flowing stream Inuyasha had located for them. Hands cleaned to her satisfaction, she drew in a deep breath and leaned over to splash the icy water onto her face, rubbing her nose vigorously. The water was frigid, but she refused to run around with something’s guts on her face. And, Inuyasha had assured her that she smelled so bad he would dunk her in bodily if she wouldn’t do it herself.

Shooting the hanyou a murderous glare, Kagome batted her face dry on her clean sleeve. That done, she turned her attention to the blood-stained mess of the other. The wound wasn’t hurting, but she had no illusions that that would continue once she pried the crusty blouse off it. Maybe the freezing water could numb it a bit. Steeling herself, Kagome plunged her arm into the stream.

As expected, the icy waters dulled the immediate pain, and Kagome did her best to clean the affected area, sleeve and all, even as her fingers grew clumsy with cold. When she could bear it no longer, she pulled her arm free, shivering and clutching her numbed limbs to her chest.

“Oi, don’t do that!” Inuyasha barked, realizing the girl was further soaking herself. “Here.”

Kagome barely had time to react as his kariginu suddenly came sailing through the air towards her. Fumbling, she caught it by one wide sleeve with her stiff hands.

“Eh?” There was no answer. After a brief inspection, mainly to make sure that it was free of youkai guts, Kagome draped the heavy material over her shoulders like a cloak. Turning, she found the hanyou wearing only an off-white undergarment that had been pulled down to bare his left shoulder. With a messy swipe, he splashed water over the bare skin. Watching him, Kagome forget her concerns over her own wounds.

“What about you?” she asked, reaching out to tug his clothes down a little further. “Did you hurt your shoulder? You were bleeding.”

“Hey!” With a sharp jerk Inuyasha hauled the shirt back up and over his shoulder. But, not before Kagome saw the five thin lines marring the smooth skin of his back.

“Were you hurt?” she asked as the hanyou busied himself adjusting his clothing.

“No,” Inuyasha grunted, standing. “It’s just where I cut myself a little so I could use that attack.”

Kagome rose to her feet as well. “Attack?”

“Back there, with the youkai. That’s what I threw at them. My blood infused with my youki.” With the opposite hand on his injured shoulder, he rotated his right arm experimentally, stretching his muscles. Finding no undue stiffness that would prevent full use of the arm, he re-focused on Kagome. She was gawking at him. “What?”

“You mean you cut yourself open to do that?”

The boy shrugged indifferently. “Keh, it’s no big deal. What about your arm?” Before she could react, Inuyasha had pulled her arm free of the kariginu and held it up to his face. For a moment, he appeared to scrutinize the wounds. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him. He grunted something akin to, “Good,” and released her. “They’re not that deep. They should heal well enough.”

“Oh.” Not knowing what else to say, Kagome nodded dumbly as Inuyasha turned away from her.

“Come on.” Without another word, the hanyou began striding back along the narrow animal track they had followed down to the stream.

Kagome trailed behind, letting Inuyasha lead the way back to the small clearing in which they had left Shippou and Kirara. Her mind was swirling with thoughts and questions. Just who was this boy she was bound to? What was he? Yesterday, Shippou had briefly explained Inuyasha’s mixed heritage - and the somewhat negative connotations it carried - as they had watched him slowly transform from human to hanyou.

Hanyou; that was Inuyasha. Half human, half youkai. Simple enough on the surface. But, what was a youkai? Her grandfather had told her countless legends about youkai. The villagers she had met briefly prior to her sealing had told similar stories. Stories of monsters and magic, creatures who lurked in the shadowed, untamed parts of the world.

The girl shivered a little. She had seen those creatures. Her right hand rested involuntarily over the long gashes in her arm, pulling the affected limb closer under the warmth of Inuyasha's kariginu.

But, what about Inuyasha? And, Shippou? And, Kirara? They weren’t monsters.

She was still puzzling over it all when an odd prickling feeling ran up her spine. Quickly, she spun around, searching the underbrush. There was nothing to be seen. She turned back to call to Inuyasha. With a start she realized that the white-haired figure ahead had disappeared. Kagome blinked. She was back in the clearing where they had landed after the attack earlier. Kirara, still in her larger form minus the flames, greeted the girl with a purr-like rumble and then resumed a quiet vigilance of the silent forest. Shippou was curled up in a pile of dead leaves, snoring softly.

Kagome sighed, still seeing no sign of Inuyasha. Maybe he had slunk off to visit the little boys’… bush. Shivering lightly, the girl settled herself against a tree, slipping her arms into the wide sleeves of Inuyasha’s kariginu and wrapping it around herself properly. She was wet, she was bone tired, she was filthy, she was hungry, and she was so spooked she was jumping at things that weren’t there. Moreover, she was seated on the cold, hard ground in a forest somewhere four hundred years from home. Not for the first time, she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

It was so hard to accept that her family was gone. They couldn’t be gone. They just couldn’t.

“Kagome?” Shippou’s hesitant voice snapped her out of the gloomy thoughts. Looking up, their eyes met. Shippou’s bright eyes were soft, uncertain. Kagome offered him a small smile. Immediately, his bouncy, cocky self was back. “Inuyasha forgot humans get cold easily again, didn’t he?” He made a face. “Stupid Inuyasha.”

“But, he gave me—” Kagome started, attempting to point out that the hanyou had left her with his outer garment.

It was no use. Without another word, Shippou had called for Kirara. Kagome gasped softly in surprise as she found herself suddenly wrapped in Kirara’s two tails, the cat’s body curled comfortably against her back. Just as she had slept the previous night. It was incredibly warm and cozy.

Quickly, Kagome sniffed back her tears as Shippou leapt into her lap.

“Thank you.” Unconsciously, she hugged the little fox close.

Shippou stared up at the girl. He knew what she must be going through. It wasn’t so long ago that he had lost his own family. His little face scrunched up in thought as he wondered what to say to her. Comforting grownups wasn’t something he was accustomed to. Fortunately, Kagome saved him the trouble.

“Where did Inuyasha go?” she asked, scanning the trees for any sign of his red clothing.

“Oh,” Shippou was unconcerned, “he probably went to get some food.”

“Food? From where?” With Shippou still in her lap, Kagome leaned back into Kirara’s soft fur, getting more comfortable.

“Probably fish.” Shippou made a face. “We eat a lot of fish. Inuyasha says all the larger game is still hard to find because of Naraku.”

“Naraku?”

In answer, Shippou leapt from Kagome’s lap to stand in front of her. “It’s a long story. I’ll have to tell you everything from the beginning.” He plopped down onto the ground, crossing his short arms over his chest and adopting his best “serious” face. He opened his mouth to begin his tale.

“Shippou!” In an instant, Myouga had bounced from Kirara to fasten himself on Shippou’s nose. “You know Inuyasha-sama means to tell her himself. He’ll be furious if you—”

Shippou casually flicked the flea off his nose, sending him sailing into the nearby bushes. Then, he looked up at Kagome earnestly. “Inuyasha can’t tell stories right. He gets tired before he’s even started, and he ends up just saying, ‘Look, it doesn’t matter anyways. The important thing is what we’re doing now!’ then he crosses his arms and looks away.” Shippou did a very credible impression of Inuyasha’s classic pose.

Kagome giggled. She had only known Inuyasha for one full day, but the stance was already immediately recognizable.

“So, what is the story?”

“Oh, right.” Shippou resumed his solemn sitting position. “You see, there was this guy called Naraku. He was sort of a hanyou… But, not like Inuyasha. Inuyasha may be a half-breed, but he’s of noble blood.” There was almost a note of pride in his voice that made the raven-haired girl wonder what lay hidden beneath the two boys’ bickering.

“Naraku was born human, but he cast a spell so that all these youkai merged with him, giving him their power.” Shippou paused. He didn’t know much more about Naraku’s past. Best to skip ahead. “Then, he formed an army of lesser youkai.”

“Lesser youkai?” Kagome broke in.

“Like those nasty things that attacked us today.” Shippou sniffed. “Not like me and Inuyasha. Even Kirara’s stronger than them.”

The feline youkai mrred in agreement.

Well, that explained a couple things, Kagome mused. Lesser youkai…

“So, Naraku formed his army, and they helped him find all the pieces of the Shikon no Tama.” He paused. “You know what that is, right?”

Kagome nodded. “It’s a jewel with incredible power, right?”

“Incredible.” Shippou spread his arms wide, indicating the vastness of the jewel’s power. “With it, Naraku could do all sorts of things. He split himself into pieces, forming these other youkai from his own body. His two main ones were Kagura and Kanna. They were really powerful.”

“So, what happened?”

“Well, eventually, the youkai and the humans joined forces. Naraku had attacked everyone’s villages, destroying everything.” Shippou’s eyes focused on the ground. “It was really awful then,” he murmured softly. He abruptly shook his head and looked up quickly. “So, everyone joined against him. There was a huge battle. The wolf youkai tribes were there and so were the humans from the taijiya village. Then, Inuya—”

“Oi, Shippou!”

With a thump Inuyasha landed between Shippou and Kagome. Before either could react, he shoved an armload of fish at Shippou.

“Make with the foxfire, runt.”

Ten minutes later, Kagome had two new vows. One was to hear the rest of the story about this Naraku. The second was to teach Shippou how to cook. Apparently, Inuyasha had decided that the young kitsune’s magical foxfire was more efficient than a conventional campfire and it had become the little band’s typical method of cooking their food. Or flash frying their food, however you wanted to look at it.

The girl studied the blackened remnant of a fish that had been offered to her on a stick. She glanced up. Inuyasha and Shippou were devouring their own fish, squabbling over the larger ones in the pile between them.

“That was mine, Inuyasha! It’s crispier!”

“That’s why it’s mine, brat!”

“No fair! I cooked that one special!”

“So, cook another one.”

“You jerk!”

“I’m the jerk who saves your butt all the time.”

Apparently, they had acquired a taste for char.

Myouga wasn’t in sight, and Kagome had no desire to ponder what sort of meal he was having. Kirara was daintily eating her own share and, for just a moment, the girl envied the cat her raw dinner. But, she decided against fighting a shape-shifting, fiery monster cat over its food and settled to nibbling at her own offering. What it lacked in taste her empty stomach’s hunger more than made up.

Her stomach still feeling hollow, the girl found herself hesitantly venturing into the war zone around the remaining fish. She had barely taken two steps when a second well-done fish on a stick was thrust toward her.

“Here,” Inuyasha grunted.

Kagome took it, murmuring her thanks. She started to return to her spot by the tree when a quick glance confirmed that the fish in her hand was the last one. She paused, turning back to the silver-haired boy.

“Uhm… Are you sure you or Shippou don’t want—?” she began hesitantly. She could hear her stomach rumbling angrily at her traitorous good manners.

But, it was spared further discomfort as the hanyou waved his hand lazily. “We were saving it for you.” He flopped back on the ground, propping his head up with one hand. Shippou had already fallen asleep beside him, his little stomach round and tight as a drum. “If you’re still hungry after that, I’ll get more.”

“I… Thank you.”

“Keh.” It was as close to, “You’re welcome,” as Kagome suspected she would get.

The girl retreated to her little corner of the camp and ate in silence, watching Inuyasha. He seemed to be dozing as well, but his ears moved continuously, twitching this way and that.

Again, she wondered at him. Her new fiancée. He had freed her. He had denied her her home. He had obliquely threatened her. He had saved her. He had cared for her.

At length, there was nothing more worth picking off the remains of her fish, and all her questions and concerns were rapidly fading into so much mental static. Kagome tossed the fish, stick and all, into the woods. Drowsily, she leaned back against her tree. She was dead to the world long before her half-youkai companion crept over to settle a sleeping Shippou and Kirara against her.

“Hmph, you're gonna be trouble, aren’t you?” he whispered to the sleeping girl as he tucked the kariginu she still wore around her and his other charges. With a shake of his head he leapt up into the lower branches of Kagome’s tree. His back against the trunk and the sheathed Tessaiga resting against his shoulder, he took up watch for the night.

The surrounding forest was unnaturally silent. It was a silence he had grown accustomed to in the aftermath of the horror Naraku had unleashed. But, something felt even more unnatural than the norm tonight. He sniffed the air experimentally. He found only the scents he expected - mouldering leaves, small animals, and a myriad of other scents he knew well. For once, there was no blood on the wind. The hanyou relaxed fractionally.

As the long hours passed, his head slowly dropped to his chest, his breathing becoming deep and even. His ears stilled and drooped.

The little clearing settled into an eerie calm. And, somewhere within the silent trees, a voice whispered to itself.

“My children. My poor lost children.”

To Be Continued...

Just a note:
Yes, I realize that Shippou's story about Naraku casting a spell to merge himself with youkai is not true to the canon. However, remember that, not only is this an alternate universe, that was the Shippou version, and Shippou really doesn't know a lot about it.