Kagome sighed as she pulled herself out of the well and into the wilderness of the feudal era. She lifted her hefty backpack over the side of the well and allowed it to drop onto the grass below. She stretched as she picked the pack up and threw it over her shoulder. She began her lone walk towards the village, her mind heavy with sadness. [That last fight… with that thing of Naraku’s… I can’t believe that Inu Yasha chose to protect Kikyo, who was armed, over me—I had nothing to protect myself with… And then, to make matters worse, he followed her when she left. It wasn’t until the next morning that he returned… and he couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to speak with him… He’s such a simple-minded fool… that’s all he is… he doesn’t understand anything about women, just that he’s blindly willing to do anything for Kikyo…]

[She’s still mad…] Inu Yasha watched from the safety of a tree as Kagome muttered curses about him and about Kikyo, and about both of them at the same time. He did regret that he acted as he had, just ignoring her and her needs—but if she was allowed to talk to Kouga, why could he not speak with Kikyo? It had not been as though they did anything aside from talk… he just happened to fall asleep with her in his arms—no harm in that.

Inu Yasha sighed slowly as he decided that the only way to break the cycle was to jump down and talk to her. He stopped, though, when he noticed a blinding light emerging from the depths of the forest. Before his more protective instincts had the chance to take over, a yokai flew out from the light and sliced completely through Kagome. Fear gripped Inu Yasha as he looked down on the scene just shortly below himself. He screamed out in rage as he leapt from the tree down to attack the creature that had hurt Kagome. He looked down to see how injured she actually had been, but she was far beyond injury—she was dead.

Tears stung Inu Yasha’s eyes as he turned to face the demon that had brought this fate to Kagome. It was but a small beast, but it was the spider-shaped mark on its back had been the center of Inu Yasha’s anger towards it. Inu Yasha screamed at the beast as he drew his Tetsusaiga, "So, Naraku sent you to assassinate Kagome? Well, don’t worry—you’ll see your master in hell!"

"Yess… But not today…" The creature hissed in reply to Inu Yasha. The beast slanted his eyes as a smile spread over his face. He quickly dodged each of Inu Yasha’s attacks and then began moving away from the forest, leading Inu Yasha in another direction. It was only a short matter of time before he had led Inu Yasha miles away from the site where Kagome had been slain.

Inu Yasha angered more with every time the beast dodged his attack. Finally he noticed that the creature was in a plain, with nothing of which to hide behind. He drew the Tetsusaiga into the air, as he forcefully sliced through the Kaze no Kizu (‘Wind Scar’). The small creature screamed in agony as it was vaporized by the force of the attack.

Inu Yasha sheathed the Tetsusaiga and fell to his knees, tears now openly flowing from his eyes. [That bastard… Kagome didn’t deserve that—she didn’t even see that thing coming… Naraku will pay dearly for this… I will tear him to so many pieces that even he cannot regenerate himself…]

{A.N. Yes, I know, first chapter and no sign of Sesshoumaru—he’s coming soon, as in next chapter, I promise. ^_~}