A small child sat near a small fire that he struggled to keep going. The rain poured down on him and his little fire, as if determined to snuff it out. He held his robe over his head and over his fire.

"Please don't go out." He begged as he tried to feed it more wet wood, only making the situation worse. "Please don't go out." He begged again, desperately, his voice staring to crack. He was so cold and scared. He could hear noises surrounding him getting closer. He could smell the demons nearing him and he knew he could do nothing to stop them.

As the light and fire faded, the noises and smells grew closer and the boy began to cry, terror and cold making him shake. He begged the fire one more time to stay lit. He watched as the flame shrunk until it looked as if it was just a match before doing something unexpected and completely against nature.

Without warning, the fire erupted, startling the boy, making him fall back onto his hands. He watched in awe as the fire grew and swirled around him and the clearing, illuminating the dark forest, burning the demons who had gotten to close and fending off those who were thinking of coming closer. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, he could see the smoke of the fire begging to solidify and condense in the middle of his little fire that was now the raging flame. A figure began to form. First he saw the hands and arms, outstretched and waving around, directing the flame. The arms connected to strong shoulders and a slender neck that reached up to a fierce face, with gold eyes blazing. Her hair was red and wild, curling like the smoke that made her.

The woman stepped from the fire and attacked any who came near. She hissed and growled and flung fire until those who were still alive retreated back into the dark forest. She never stopped moving until she was sure they were safe.

She turned on the balls of her feet and saw the small boy sitting, staring, his mouth hanging open in awe. Her golden eyes calmed and a soft smile formed. With a smile, her face was softer, her cheeks round and full. She was pretty. And nude. The small boy looked away blushing. She paid his discomfort no mind as she knelt in front of him and pulled him into a hug, kissing his forehead.

"Hey, lady!" The boy shouted as he struggled against her. She held him tight and he could help but to relax against her. She was warm and soft and smelled faintly of smoke. He could feel his hair and clothes drying where her skin touched them. Her hand ran through his hair and he couldn't help it when his eyes closed. She hushed him and kissed the top of his head.

"Sleep, little boy." She said to him gently. "No harm will come to you so long as I am here, sleep." She repeated this softly until he had no more energy left to struggle against her. He fell asleep in the woman's arms and slept soundly, comforted by her smell and her warmth.

When he woke the next morning, he found the rain had ceased, but he was under a little lean-to. He frowned in confusing and rolled onto his side and sat up. He saw a fire before him and saw the woman crouching next to it. He saw her in profile and saw she was eating an apple and poking something she had over the fire. He sniffed and smelled the fish cooking. She must have heard him, because she turned to him with a smile.

"Good morning, little boy." She said to him. He blushed and looked away.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" He shouted, embarrassed for her. The woman blinked and looked down before looking back at him.

"I don't need any." She answered, confused. "I'm warm enough, why would I need any?"

"Because you can't just walk around naked!" He argued. "Go find something to wear!" He told her.

"Why?"

"Because that's what people do!" He argued, still not looking at her. There was silence and he wondered if she was still staring at him. After a moment, he heard a bag being ruffled through and the sounds of someone pulling on clothes. He looked out of curiosity and found her standing in black hakamas with a white under shirt and a large grey coat that seemed more like a blanket. She held up her arms, confused. The boy rolled his eyes and sighed. "No, no you're wearing it wrong." He said and marched over to her. She crouched down so he could reach. He rearranged the coat and found it was long enough to reach her knees. The sleeves were loose and her hands peeked out from the long sleeves. She scowled, not liking the feeling of being trapped. "There. That will have to do for now." He said and the woman smiled at him, shaking her head before plopping her hand on his head.

"Thank you, little boy." She said. He pushed her hand away and frowned.

"It's not little boy!" He shouted. "It's Inuyahsa!" He corrected, but she didn't sseem to listen. As he was shouting, she stood and walked back over to the fire, waving a dismissing hand at him.

"yeah, sure. Come eat." She said and sat down, looking over her shoulder at him. Inuyasha frowned but joined her by the fire, sitting next to her. She shoved a stick into his hands that had a fish on it. He took it and began to eat. Once he was done she gave him another. This kept happening until the fish was gone, five total. He fell back, full and content. He lay there and realized she hadn't eaten any fish. She gave it all to him, opting to eat the apples. He sat up.

"Hey, why didn't you eat any fish?" he asked ,starting to wonder if his trust was misplaced. Did she poison it? Was she going to kill and eat him?

The odd woman looked at him, eyebrows raised, and swallowed her bite of the apple.

"I don't like fish."