The Bond of Silver and Gold

Chapter 1: A Glimmer of Mystery

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the original characters, plot, or storyline. I only own my fan-made character and her story.

Note: Anything in italics is a character's thoughts in their head or their inner dialogue.

Well, we all know how this goes. Inuyasha was roped into another "save the village" mission… or so that's what he assumed when his eyes followed the direction of Kagome's pointed index finger. If the world was a body, then this village would have been as insignificant as a freckle.

"Are you sure there is a jewel shard somewhere inside that village?" groaned Inuyasha. He was always stuck doing the dirty work.

"Positive," replied Kagome, "it's faint, but it's unmistakable."

"Who would possess a jewel shard in such a small village?" wondered Miroku.

"Guess we better check it out," added Sango.

The party ventured into the tiny community, with Kagome in front. She was following the flicker of the jewel, steadily getting closer and closer. Sitting under a shade tree was a young woman with jet black hair and a mask that concealed her face. The mask was painted to perfection, pale white with gold and silver paint strokes curling into the creation of patterns. Beneath her kimono, lying across her collarbone was the shard.

"Who is this girl? Is she a demon? I don't sense an aura… so how did she get ahold of the jewel?" Kagome wondered to herself.

"What is it Kagome? Why'd you stop?" Inuyasha said, breaking her concentration.

"It's that girl. She has the shard," answered Kagome.

"Seriously?" retorted Inuyasha.

Kagome nodded and was about to speak once more when she was cut off by a villager who noticed the gang's stares toward the girl. The villager was an old man, but with age grew wisdom, "You all seem interested in the masked slayer."

"Masked slayer?" asked Sango, "You mean a demon slayer?"

"That's what she told us. She said she sensed something evil was coming and wanted to stay and vanquish whatever it was. Though kind, the girl appears to make everyone who crosses her path feel as though they're walking on broken shards of glass. Her eyes are all that are truly seen, and they shine like emeralds torn from a mountain," explained the old man, seeming to go on and on, "Yes, her eyes are beautiful, but no one has ever seen her face."

"Why does she wear the mask?" questioned Miroku.

"I'm not too sure," answered the man, "There are rumors that the girl has been burned and hides her face because she doesn't want anyone to see the terrible scarring left behind. Others say that she hides behind the mask because her beauty brings men to their knees. Though the mask has a subtle smile, others say she has been cursed to pain and sorrow for life, and can no longer muster a smile of her own."

"All sounds like a bunch of crap to me," growled Inuyasha, growing impatient.

"Inuyasha," sighed Kagome.

"Maybe it's best if we get the answers ourselves. I do not sense a demonic presence nearby, so she is in fact human. She's probably harmless," Miroku couldn't help but wonder just how beautiful this young woman really was.

That's all Inuyasha needed to hear. Without even realizing it, his feet moved before his mind, and before he knew it, he stood over the girl. His arms were crossed, as if he was about to interrogate her, "What's your problem?" he barked.

Kagome and the others came toward the two to rescue the poor girl from Inuyasha's attitude.

The girl slowly got to her feet, her head lowered, she gradually let her eyes meet Inuyasha's, and he was completely cut off guard. Even to him, her eyes were enchanting, though he'd never admit it aloud, "Move," was the word of warning that escaped behind the mask.

"What?" asked Inuyasha in confusion.

"It's coming," she murmured.

Out from the nearby tree line sprang an enormous body of moldy green. With bared fangs that were tainted with yellow, and eyes bathed in bloody crimson, the beast let out a roar that made the ground tremble, "An ogre?" wondered Miroku aloud. How come they didn't sense this demon before? Where they so caught up in the girl that they hadn't noticed? A blur rushed passed the group of misfits and raced toward the magnificent specimen of a monster.

"She can't be serious!" Miroku yelled.

"An ogre is quite intense for even the most skillful demon slayer. There's no way one person alone can destroy it. Not a mere human," explained Sango.

Kagome gasped, "It has a jewel shard!"

Inuyasha grunted with enthusiasm, "That's all I needed to hear!" unsheathing the deadly sword known as Tetsaiga, "He's mine!"

Suddenly, the masked girl sprang into action, her hands glowing a vibrant green color. Jumping upward, almost flying…? She was using the generated light from her hands to cut the beast in half! It was amazing! Like she had a sword in her possession that could cut through diamond, but there was no sword. And like that, the ogre's body split in two and evaporated. From the mist of carcass fell the jewel shard. In a second's time, the shard was in the palm of the girl's hand. Landing gracefully to the ground she stared at the jewel that took no time at all for her to retrieve.

"How did she-?" started Kagome, but she couldn't form the words.

By now, Inuyasha was fuming with rage, "Dammit! What the hell are you!" he was almost tempted to swing his sword and unleashing the Wind Scar, but he had second thoughts. If this was just a human girl, he couldn't bring himself to kill her. She hadn't really done anything wrong.

The girl turned her head and seemed to be caught off guard. She leapt high into the air, almost as if she was frightened! The clawed hand of the ogre had not yet disappeared and was after revenge. Making one last effort to destroy her he swung at her. -Crack! The mask split in two!

Inuyasha had his sword pointed outward, ready to get at least one good lick into the remains of the beast, when suddenly a pair of feet balanced perfectly atop his blade. Once again, his eyes were staring into emerald gems, but this time, it was completely different somehow. He was so shocked, he couldn't move. The wind picked up, and a mess of black hair floated away, but under where the black once lay was not baldness, but a mess of golden waves that crashed and curved like a waterful down the back of the girl. Her hair was almost as long as Inuyasha's.

"A girl with golden hair?" thought Miroku, "Of all the women I've seen, never have I laid eyes on one with such rich golden hair…"

"What's Inuyasha thinking? He seems almost startled by her…" thought Kagome.

"She's balancing on the blade of the Tetsaiga… this isn't some ordinary human…" observed Sango.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to form words, but just when he was about to speak, the girl's face moved closer to his and he suddenly felt an enormous force hurl him back into a tree. Where Inuyasha once stood, the girl took his place. She watched Inuyasha, almost like she was trying to figure him out, "What the hell did you do that for!" barked the half demon boy who was back to his normal rage.

"What… is she?" turning to the voice the girl noticed that villagers were starting to gather. She knew that look. They felt threatened, even though she saved them, they didn't fear the ogre anymore, but they definitely feared her. Golden hair, green eyes that resembled gemstones… beams of light almost like they were cast down from heaven cut through a monster like a blade. Was she a demon in disguise?

"You're not welcome here demon!" yelled an old woman as she threw a rock at the once masked hero, now face of a demon. The rock was poorly aimed, and would have just missed the girl if she hadn't reached out and caught it.

"Leave at once, or we'll kill you!" yelled another villager.

"You lied to us! You made us believe you were here to help us, but you're the only monster I see!" exclaimed yet another.

"Hold on!" said Kagome, "I knew it's hard to believe, but she's not a demon!"

"How would you know girl? You travel with some low life half-breed!" argued a man.

More stones started to be cast at the golden haired girl. And like that, she disappeared into the nearby tree line. Prying himself from the tree which now held his outline, Inuyasha sheathed his sword and raced off after the girl.

"Inuyasha!" yelled Kagome, but he was already gone, "let's follow him," she suggested, turning to the others.

"Right," nodded Sango, as they sprang into action in the pursuit of their half demon companion and the mysterious green eyed girl.

Deep in the forest Inuyasha was in hot pursuit of this girl who happened to humiliate him. What did she have against him? He didn't even do anything! He immediately stopped when her scent seemed to come to an end. Scanning the trees with his eyes he listened closely to the sounds of the forest. Not only was this girl skilled in fighting, but boy was she fast. Almost like that mangy wolf, Koga, but then again… perhaps even faster? No way…

From the tree tops she landed in front of Inuyasha and they were in a staring chokehold of silence. Taking a deep breath, she held out the two jewel shards in her left hand, "This is why you're following me yes? If I give these to you, will you please leave me alone?"

The jewel shards… in all honesty, Inuyasha had forgotten about them for a second. He was just so curious about her, but now that she mentioned it… "Why the heck would you collect them just to give them away? I figured you had more guts than that. Are you scared of me or something?" he fired questions at her like a loaded gun.

"I merely collected these shards from the demons I killed just so they wouldn't fall into the hands of a greedy human or another demon, but you can take them. I have no use for them," the girl answered.

Finally, the others had caught up with the two they were chasing, "Inuyasha," said Kagome. Taken back by the girl, Kagome got a good look at her for the first time, "Wow, she really is something… but… she doesn't seem like she's from around here. She looks almost… foreign… like an American, but… how can that be?"

"Tell me, where is it you're from? Please, we aren't going to hurt you," assured Kagome.

The girl glanced over at Kagome and caught on to her clothes, "Y-You wouldn't happen to be from… the future would you?" asked the girl. Kagome watched as the girl removed her kimono, revealing that she had modern clothes underneath it. A black tank top and green shorts, the girl looked as if she had stepped out of a modern day America.

"No way…" murmured Kagome.

The gang moved out of the creepy forest and into a more suitable place to sit and talk. Beneath some shady trees they gathered around in a circle and started a conversation they were all dying to hear.

"You're from America aren't you? How did you learn Japanese?" asked Kagome.

"Yes, I'm American. I took some in high school, plus I watch a lot of anime. Go figure." shrugged the girl.

"How in the world did you end up here?" asked Kagome. Only Inuyasha and her could pass through the Bone Eater's Well. Were there other ways to travel back to the feudal era?

"This I do not know… I just woke up here about six weeks ago… these abilities I have… I don't know where they come from… and I just figured this whole thing was just one big dream. I keep telling myself I'll wake up… but every day… it seems as if the nightmare gets worse," the girl started to look out at the nearby field in a daze, like she was reliving the past few weeks of her life, "I just remember waking up to some sweaty bandits trying to take advantage of me… and I freaked out… I think I killed them… but I don't remember how I got here… it's like before I appeared here, my mind is blank. I remember my parents, my friends at school, and all that, but…" the girl sighed.

"That's just so weird…" said Kagome, also lost in thought. Every time she traveled back she was conscious.

"Could it be that something tragic happened to you before you dropped in?" asked Miroku, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer.

"What do you mean?" answered the girl with a question.

"Well, it's just a guess, but perhaps your mind is blocking out what happened to make you come here on purpose, because the memory is much too painful." Miroku answered.

The girl lowered her gaze, and felt something start to tug at her heart strings. Was he right?

"How rude of me," broke in Kagome, trying to pull the girl from her thoughts, "my name is Kagome Higurashi. These are my friends Miroku the monk, Sango the demon slayer with her partner Kirara, and that angry boy with the dog ears is Inuyasha."

"Don't forget me Kagome!" yelled Shippo.

"That's Shippo the fox demon," explained Kagome with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you all. My name is Chelsea," at last the name of the girl was revealed.

"Be honest," started Miroku, "have you ever, in your last six weeks, done anything that would make the villagers hate you?"

"The only humans I killed where the men who tried to do horrible things to me… and that was by accident… that's when I realized I had these abilities," nodded Chelsea, "but… I wore the wig and mask for a reason. When people see me, they fear me. I look different… I've been called a demon, a half demon, a freak… all of it… I hate it… so I hide," she half smiled, in sadness, "Those last ones cast stones… but that's not nearly as bad as the village before them… when one of the children saw me without the mask they told one of the villagers… and in turn they set the place I was sleeping in on fire…"

"She speaks of it so casually, like it's such a common reoccurrence…" thought Kagome, now frowning, "That's just horrible."

"We humans aren't that great to begin with," shrugged Chelsea again. Taking a deep breath she stood to her feet, "Anyway, I've taken up much of your time, and I should be on my way."

"Where will you go?" Kagome started to sound worried.

"Wherever I guess… I just kind of drift here and there…" replied the golden haired girl. Turning to Inuyasha she walked up to him. He was pouting on the other side of the tree. Holding the jewel shards out to him, she dropped them in his hand, "I'm sorry I slammed you into that tree. I got scared, but that's no excuse. It makes me look no better than those villagers," she forced a smile, "Take good care of these for me okay?" starting on her way down the hill she waved goodbye.

"Are we just going to let her leave?" asked Kagome into the open air.

"Men could try to go after her again…" muttered Sango with worry.

"Or a demon like Naraku might get ahold of her." Miroku said, weighing the possible outcomes.

Inuyasha stood to his feet and rolled his shoulders, "She's strong. She can handle herself."

"Couldn't she come with us for a while?" asked Kagome.

"We should let her come. She doesn't seem that bad, and she could probably help us get jewel shards," smiled Shippo.

"It would be nice to have a beautiful woman like her in our party," agreed Miroku.

"Your logic would turn to that monk," growled Sango.

Inuyasha let the idea rattle around in his brain, "When people see me, they fear me. I look different… so I hide." He knew that feeling better than anyone else. Letting a sigh escape his pouty lips he turned to the others, "Just for a little while… once she starts getting in the way though, she's on her own." turning to the hill he rolled his eyes, "I'll go get her," and like that, he was off to fetch the mysterious girl with the golden hair.

"I knew you'd understand Inuyasha…" thought Kagome, letting her smile return.

Author's notes: I've wanted to write this for a few months now, but I've been in a funk and just haven't been able to get myself to until now. Sorry if there's spelling or grammar mistakes… it's late so there's bound to be a lot. I have fun things in store so stick around and check it out. Thanks for reading. It's nice to write again. Hope to update soon. See you at chapter 2 =]