Chapter 1: Is something Wrong?

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, I've came to terms with this, however, my therapist says that if I am forced to say that too many times, I might go crazy, so this is the only time I'm saying it, I disclaim Inuyasha, and all characters therein. Oh well.
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Kagome stretched out on her sleeping bag, exhausted from the long day's journey. Inuyasha could be so demanding when he heard rumors of Shikon shards! Well, at least that was what she assumed had happened... But he hadn't exactly just came out and said that he had heard a rumor, or smelt a powerful youkai...

But what else could it be? Further more, why the heck was she wandering about it?

If the reason they had left was, in fact, because he had heard some rumors of shards, there had better be a lot of them in one place, otherwise, Inuyasha was in for it in her book. For, today, he had not allowed them to take a break even once! They had been traveling for at least fourteen hours now, she'd been counting!

All those hours and not one break? That was just ridiculous!

They had left right after she woke up too! He hadn't even gave her time to eat breakfast. She'd been sleeping soundly, having a wonderful dream about making all A's on her report card, but then, her report card had suddenly turned into a inu hanyou standing over her, staring at her.

It had seemed that he had been attempting to will her awake. And wake she most certainly did, for who could sleep with who could sleep with a dog demon hovering over them?

But there was still something bothering her about that event. It had really seemed normal enough, him being his usual impatient self and staring her to death… but, it had seemed there was something else underneath that impatient stare… something else in those overly eager eyes..

Had he been… nervous? That sounded stupid. Inuyasha? Nervous? Not a chance. Nervous was for 'weak humans', not big strong, inu hanyou like himself. Inuyasha never got nervous, no, of course not… nothing could phase him..

But that was exactly what bothered her. Inuyasha never got nervous, but she could almost swear that she had seen that in his eyes.. that… uneasy uncertainty.. And if, the great Inuyasha was nervous, than it probably wasn't a good thing…

Something else about today had bothered her.. They had left Shippo with Kaede. Inuyasha had insisted upon it. And, unless she was wrong, it wasn't everyday that something bothered Inuyasha enough to care about the kitsune's well being. She couldn't remember the last time they had done that… it had to be pretty darn dangerous to leave him behind. Actually… Inuyasha had actually asked her to stay with Shippo as well. He had made up some nonsense excuse for it, something about Kaede might think Shippo was a herb and grind him up..

The hanyou really wasn't the most convincing person in the world.

Why would he want to leave her behind? He was that worried about her? Sure, he was over protective.. But if he was that worried about some measly shard carrying youkai, he was just getting absurd.

She had of course, reassured him that Kaede would not in fact grind up Shippo, and even if she tried, the kitsune was sure to protest… after all, Shippo probably wasn't too fond of being ground up..

More than likely knowing the argument would probably only end in a sit for himself, Inuyasha had chosen to not pursue that conversation anymore, and had simply reminded her not to forget he bow and arrows.

After rethinking the events, Kagome was no longer wandering if she had imagined Inuyasha's nervousness, Kami, how could she not notice it! He had been acting completely bizarre all day! Trying to take extra means of precaution and such!

Kagome rolled over onto her back and sighed, now she was worried, not to mention extremely curious.. What could be bothering Inuyasha so?

Her eyes ventured to the dimming sky already dabbled with a few stars. The sun had just sat and it was growing darker by the second.. Out of habit, she took note of the moon, just to make sure there weren't going to be any unexpected 'surprises' from Inuyasha for a while..

No, it wasn't time yet for the new moon.. They had a few days still until Inuyasha would have his 'time of the month'..

She glanced over to the bushes, wondering when exactly Miroku and Sango would be returning. They had gone out to retrieve some firewood.

To be more precise, Sango had left to go get firewood, but Inuyasha had forced Miroku to go with her, 'just in case'. Of course, there really wasn't much forcing involved in that.. Miroku had agreed a little too quickly.

This strange act of extra precaution Inuyasha would not normally take had only added to her already growing suspicions. However, Miroku and Sango seemed oblivious to anything out of the ordinary going on. Sometimes she wandered if the lived in their own little world.

So, with Sango out getting firewood and pounding people on the head with her boomerang, and Miroku being the one getting pounded, she was alone, well, alone with a not so visible Inuyasha… this was a perfect time to discuss his suspicious actions... well it would be perfect if she actually see him.


She tried unsuccessfully to find him, searching the surrounding trees for the one Inuyasha was undoubtedly perched in.

Well, that didn't seem to be working, maybe she should try another approach.

"Inuyasha?", he voice came out barely above a whisper, but she was sure Inuyasha could hear it with his dog ears.

"Yeah? What is it?", There it was again, that concern and uncertainty hiding beneath his brash tone.

Kagome sat up on her sleeping bag and attempted to locate him by where she had heard his voice come from. She stared into a tree to her right, straining her eyes, she was almost positive that was where she had heard him from. However, this approach to finding him seemed hopeless, she couldn't even see so much as his silhouette. She sighed loudly, she didn't like talking to people she couldn't see.

Inuyasha noticed her agitation and jumped down from his perch in the tree. He didn't want to upset her.. This really wasn't the time for them to argue… He sat down on the ground a few feet away from her.

Kagome flashed him a grateful smile, "Thanks, It's always nicer to talk to people face to face."

"Feh"

Her gaze switched from his face to her own lap, where she had began to play with her hands nervously, "I was just wondering...well, you've been acting strange lately...it's
as if you have been on guard all day..."

"Feh"

She looked up to glare at him, did he really have to make everything so difficult?, " I really don't think 'Feh' is an answer, Inuyasha, now tell me, is something wrong?"

"Feh, nothing's wrong, you humans with your imaginations, you worry too
much, I'm always on guard! I'm not any more on guard than I usually
am-"

Of course, his sentence would have held a lot more conviction if it weren't for what happened next…

Just then a slight rustling was heard in the bushes, interrupting Inuyasha and his denial of acting strange.


Kagome, barely took any notice of it. Inuyasha however..

The hanyou immediately leapt up, drew out Tetusaiga, and slashed poor Miroku's head off as he came out of the bushes wielding firewood.

At least, he would have slashed poor Miroku's head off, had Tetusaiga actually transformed.

Instead of transforming, which would have resulted surely in Miroku's demise, Tetusaiga stayed as a rusty old Katana, obviously being much more aware of the lack of danger coming from the bushes than Inuyasha seemed to be.

Rather than decapitating Miroku, the very much still un-transformed Tetusaiga
met with the boomerang of a very confused Sango, who, luckily, had very quick
reflexes.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Apparently going over the situation.

Kirara hissed.


Kagome looked between the hanyou holding his dull katana pressed up against Sango's boomerang, which in turn was held up less than an inch from Miroku's head. She went over a list of possible reactions to take before finally deciding on one.

She laughed.

"Of course you're not any more on guard than usual, Inuyasha.", she took a moment to try and hold back more laughter, "You always try to decapitate our friends after they bring us firewood… speaking of firewood...", her voice trailed off as she went over to pick up the now scattered firewood from where Miroku had dropped it in his brush with death.

Inuyasha was unable to hold back a blush, even so, he did turn his head to glare at the still occasionally giggling Kagome.

Miroku continued to look at him in shock. Then, noticing the still unsheathed Tetusaiga, he took a few cautious steps back. Sango did the same, after all, she wasn't really in the mood to die.

Glancing down at his hand, he quickly sheathed his sword and blushed again.

Kagome continued to pick up firewood, seemingly oblivious to everyone, and, to Sango and Miroku, eerily calm.

Kirara meowed and snuggled up next to Sango's leg, waking her from her stupor.

Regaining the ability to speak, Sango finally got out the same question that Miroku was thinking,

"What the hell was that for!?!"

Miroku stepped back even farther, still very uneasy. "Yes Inuyasha, one would think you didn't like me…", he tried without success to make his face match the serene tone of his voice.

Kagome momentarily glanced up from her now rather large pile of firewood, still smiling,

"Oh, it was just Inuyasha being his usual "on guard" self, nothing
new here."

Inuyasha glared at her, again.

Miroku's face lost even more color as he stepped back a few more steps, resulting in accidentally walking backward into a tree.

Sango took one last dubious glance at Inuyasha before returning her boomerang to its usual position.

Kagome brought the firewood over to the middle of the clearing and proceeded to go and get a lighter from her backpack and light the fire.

Stepping back, she returned to her previous spot on her sleeping bag.

Kirara glanced disdainfully at her other companions before going to sit in Kagome's lap.

All the while, Inuyasha continued glaring at Kagome, while Miroku and Sango stared at both Inuyasha and Kagome, wondering which one, if not both, had gone mad.

Kagome grinned innocently, ignoring the glare and curious looks she was receiving from everyone, "Are you ready to tell me what's bothering you now, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha racked his brain for a normal response to what she said. He couldn't go on glaring like an idiot. He tried his best to recover from almost killing his friend, not to mention being extremely embarrassed.

'Should I.. Smirk? Yeah, that sounds like a normal reaction for me.'

Inuyasha smirked, " Feh, stop looking at me like that Miroku, believe it or not, I don't
want to kill you."

"You tried to chop off my head! Had it not been for the quick reflexes of
Sango here, it might have fallen with the firewood!"

Sango couldn't help but stop to debate whether he had meant something perverted by that, she shook her head, even if he was, she could always bonk him on the head later for it.

Inuyasha stopped smirking and blushed again, turning away from the accusing eyes of his companions, with the exception of Kagome, who was still smiling like everything was just peachy.

As bad as he hated to admit it, he was rather embarrassed. After all, he had made such a very careless mistake. He was a hanyou for Kami's sakes! He was the one who should have smelt them coming a mile away, he was the one who should have heard them coming a mile away, he was the one who was supposed to be protecting them, not the one who they were being protected from!

He mentally cursed himself, his anxiety had made him more open to attack.

He hadn't had any idea that anyone was coming their way, hadn't spelt anything, and hadn't heard anything until he heard the bushes rustle, and even Kagome had heard that with her human ears!

Inuyasha threw his arms up in one last desperate gesture of annoyance before sitting down in defeat. How was he supposed to come up with an excuse for his actions without just all out telling them what was going on? And he didn't want to do that, not yet anyway. Why not? Because he just didn't, and his way was always right, because he was the single greatest creature in the world. Yep, that was him.


Very, very hesitantly, Miroku walked over to another tree, this one a good 10 feet away, all the while casting nervous glances over his shoulder. He sat down, leaning his back up against it.

With the usual uncertainty known to people who's friend has just had a brush with death, Sango walked over to Miroku and sat beside him, eyeing her other companions very
suspiciously.

However, she scooted over after realizing she was within groping distance. Just in time too, as Miroku's hand was already traveling dangerously close to her butt. She slapped his hand away and returned her gaze to her "friends".

Miroku just stared at his own hand, almost as if he were trying to condemn it, honestly, sometimes he felt like it had a mind of it's own.

Kirara looked up at Kagome's smiling face and then towards Sango's warm beckoning lap, but it was just so far away.. and this perfectly fine lap was right here. Finally coming to a decision, she made her way over to Sango's and sat down.

Kagome stopped smiling quite so largely and approached Inuyasha, sitting down beside him.

"Inuyasha...", she began, laying a hand on his shoulder, "I think you should tell us all what's made you so...jumpy..."

Sango cocked her head, confused by the strange word, "Jumpy??"

"Umm...paranoid?" Kagome offered, searching for a word that they
wouldn't have to wait centuries to understand, however, this attempt was met
with two confused faces and a still silent hanyou, who had not lifted his gaze
from the ground since sitting down.

Miroku went over the sentence Kagome had said again and hazarded a guess as to what the word meant, "You mean why he was so quick to try and kill me?"

Kagome laughed nervously, "Um... Well.. I guess you could put it that way..", she racked her brain for a more er.. 'polite' way of putting it, one that didn't make Inuyasha sound like a homicidal maniac.

"I've just noticed that he's been acting more.. cautious than usual.", there that should do, phrasing it in a way that both addressed the problem and didn't make Inuyasha sound insane. .

Sango gazed at Kagome skeptically before making a valid point, "Cautious people don't usually mistake their friends for Naraku."

The instant Sango said the word 'Naraku', Kagome felt Inuyasha's shoulder tense under her touch.

At last understanding, she released her hand and replaced it with her head.
She leaned up against his sturdy frame, bringing one arm around his other
shoulder.

His own hand reached up and clasped onto it, more than likely out of habit more than intention.

She could remember sitting like this with him once before. The time after he had killed those villagers when he had let his youkai blood get control of him. She couldn't help but note that the similarities between that night and this one were undeniable.

"I understand...", she whispered for only him to hear. Those had been the
exact words she had used that night...his body began to loosen up a
little...

She turned her head to the others as best she could considering it was still resting on Inuyasha's shoulder, "Maybe cautious wasn't exactly the best word to use... what about
protective?"

Sango only looked at her pointedly, as if to say, 'protective people
don't try to kill their friends either'.

Kagome sighed.

Miroku pushed away another bout of fear, resolved to achieve his usual placid quality, "Inuyasha, could you please inform us of why you attempted to kill me?", the forced calmness wasn't working out to well.

"Inuyasha..."

The hanyou in question looked over to Miroku, "Feh, you already answered your own question baka!"

To the others, it sounded like he was back to his usually rude self, but to Kagome.. she could see right through his cover up.

Miroku and Sango exchanged confused glances.

Kagome sighed at the other's ignorance, she had learned long ago to decode the language of Inuyasha.

"You mistook him for Naraku… that's what your saying.. right?", though phrased like a question, her voice held not an ounce of curiosity. It was more of a statement, telling the others what she had found out already, all through that tell tale flinch at the mention of the evil baboon guys name.

Inuyasha gave a half-hearted attempt at smirking, trying his best to sound sarcastic, "You're smarter than I thought Kagome.", but even as he seemed to be making fun of her, he squeezed her hand a little tighter as if to thank her for her understanding.

Kagome smiled to her self, squeezing his hand right back, "Gee thanks Inuyasha, means a lot to me.", she played along with his act, her actions being quite contradictive to the cynical quality to her voice.

He turned his head a little look at her in silent gratitude. She returned the gesture with a worried smile.

Miroku and Sango once again exchanged puzzled looks.

Sango cleared her throat loudly to get the twos attention, "Um excuse me, but, why would you mistake him for Naraku?"

"Yes, why, Inuyasha?", interjected a very puzzled, and still slightly
nervous, Miroku.

Kagome sighed yet again, "Inuyasha, I really think you need to tell us what's going on."

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Alright Peoples, I am in the midst of revising and editing this story, so the next chapters are going to be of varying quality. My writing has improved a great deal over the course of this fic, so the last 20-ish chapter I have are pretty good, however, my earlier chapters pale in comparison to them, so, if you come across some that haven't been revised, or haven't been re-revised, (revised after march 17 2003), then just bare with me and keep reading, I promise they get better. Thanks so much for reading, and please, try to review every few chapters or so, (like, every 5 at least), instead of just writing a review at the end. Thanks! Ja Ne!

I assure you, your reviews are VERY much appreciated!

The Deity,

-Heather-