HALF-DEMON INUYASHA

KOGA LEAPED OUT OF THE WAY OF INUYASHA'S SWORD, THE TETSUSAIGA. Despite the sword's massive size, Inuyasha was able to swing it with ease – being a half-demon, he was bestowed with the superhuman strength of a demon, but also the personality traits of a human. And this sword, Tetsusaiga….It was a sword that he had inherited from his late father, the Great Dog Demon, who perished on the night Inuyasha was born, nearly two centuries ago.

"Get out of here, you scrawny wolf," Inuyasha growled. "Leave Kagome alone."

"Geez, you make it so that I'm not even allowed to drop by for a visit," Koga said. He turned to Inuyasha's female companion, Kagome. Despite her…odd attire – she claimed to be from a different time period – and the fact that she was human, while he was the leader of the Wolf Demon Clan, Koga found her to be the loveliest, most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. "Don't know why you put up with this mutt, Kagome. Why don't you just ditch him and tag along with me? I'm sure I'll be much better company."

"Uh…." Kagome hated being in the middle of these squabbles. On the one hand, she was sort of flattered that two boys were fighting over her – any other girl would be in her glory. But then again, Kagome always found herself having to choose a side, and she didn't want to seem like she favored one over the other.

Besides, she'd been traveling with Inuyasha for so long that she couldn't even think of tagging along with someone else. After all, she and Inuyasha had a similar goal – gather the shards of the Shikon Jewel. She wouldn't even be here in the Feudal Era, tracking down the shards, if she hadn't accidentally shattered the jewel with an arrow.

"Look, Koga, you're a good guy, and a really good friend, but to be honest, I kind of have to stick with Inuyasha," she said.

"Yeah, she's the one finding all these Jewel Shards," Inuyasha added. "So unless you got something better to add – besides what I think you do – then get lost, ya rabid wolf. Unless you want me to put you down."

Koga just crossed his arms and stared at Inuyasha with a smug smile. "Half-breed, I would love to see you try."

Inuyasha tightened his grip on the sword and hoisted it above his head. "You asked for it, asshole! Wind – "

"Inuyasha…." Kagome said in a threatening tone. Inuyasha turned to her, his eyes wide with fear. As much as he wanted to cleave Koga in two, he knew what Kagome could do to him – the beaded necklace he wore wasn't for show, it was part of a spell the priestess Kaede placed on him, allowing Kagome to subdue him whenever she felt he was getting out of line. And the last thing Inuyasha wanted was to end up face-first on the ground.

"Look at that, mutt, you're whipped," Koga taunted. He walked over to Kagome and took her hands. "Don't worry, Kagome. I would have gone easy on him."

"Just so you know, Koga, I didn't do it for him," Kagome said. "Look, shouldn't you be with Ginta and Hokkaku? They're probably looking for you."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Koga said. "Don't you worry, Kagome. Next time we meet, I'll have Naraku's head on a stick."

You say that all the time and yet you still haven't delivered, Kagome thought. She would never tell him to his face; she didn't want to hurt his pride.

"Well, I'm off. Maybe next time I'll actually slap you around, mutt," Koga said as he turned to leave.

He was gone in a flash, a whirlwind following behind him – the result of his legs being empowered by Shikon Jewel Shards. Inuyasha just glared after him, his teeth glared in a deep snarl. He hated that wolf, always bragging that he was going to destroy their mortal enemy – a demon named Naraku, who was created when a bandit named Onigumo allowed his body to become host to hundreds of demons – and how he was always flirting with Kagome. Kagome had made it clear to both Koga and Inuyasha that she only saw the wolf demon as an acquaintance at best and had no romantic feelings towards him.

The Tetsusaiga returned to its inert form, which resembled a rusted and beaten-up katana, and he slipped the sword into its sheath. "Have I mentioned that I hate that guy?"

"You just let him get under your skin way too easily," Kagome said. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulders; despite being filled with only two textbooks, one notebook, and an extra change of clothes, it was starting to weigh her down a little bit.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Whatever. Let's get going. Everyone else is waiting for us."

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They headed for the village they used as their home base in silence. As they went, Kagome couldn't help but think about Inuyasha's past. She wasn't there to see it – she hadn't been born at the time, and besides, that was nearly 200 years ago, 700 in her time – but from what little Inuyasha had said, it wasn't a pleasant childhood. Besides the fact that his father died the night he was born – he died protecting Inuyasha and his mother from a Samurai named Takemaru – the fact that Inuyasha was a half-demon caused a lot of animosity between him and not only humans, but demons as well. The only person who showed him any love was his mother, a woman named Izaiyoi. But she died when Inuyasha was just a child, leaving him to fend for himself in an incredibly dangerous world.

Over the years, Inuyasha developed a rather brash and anti-social attitude, which only began to soften after he met a priestess named Kikyo, who had been tasked with keeping the Shikon Jewel purified. Over time, the two developed romantic feelings for each other and met every chance they got, while at the same time Kikyo was caring for Onigumo, who had been severely injured in a fire.

Onigumo had become lustful of Kikyo, and the Jewel, but there wasn't much he could do with his broken body. That was why he summoned the demons to take control of his body, and thus Naraku was born. Through Naraku's manipulations, Inuyasha and Kikyo turned against each other, which ended with Kikyo dying from severe wounds she received from Naraku – who had disguised himself as Inuyasha – but not before she sealed Inuyasha to a tree, where he would be freed by Kagome fifty years later.

Kagome reached under the collar of her sweatshirt and looked at the small glass bottle she wore around her neck, which was filled with small Shikon Jewel shards. It was thanks to Kagome accidentally shooting the Jewel with an arrow while trying to get it back from a crow demon that the Jewel was shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. Naraku had already gathered a large amount of shards and put them back together.

The Shikon Jewel….Even one tiny shard was enough to enhance a demon's powers ten-fold. The entire Jewel would increase the demon's powers exponentially. And if Naraku were to gather every shard….

Well, we won't let that happen, Kagome thought.

"Inuyasha! Kagome!"

The young fox demon, Shippo, leaped into Kagome's arms. He had been travelling with Inuyasha and Kagome ever since they helped him avenge his father's death at the hands of two demons named Hiten and Maten – the Thunder Brothers. He and Inuyasha tended to argue about the smallest of things, but Kagome could tell that Inuyasha looked out for the little kitsune as though he were a younger brother.

The Demon Slayer – Sango – and the monk – Miroku – weren't too far behind. Sango was the last true survivor of a clan of Demon Slayers – the rest of her clan being murdered by Naraku, directly or not, while her younger brother Kohaku was Naraku's undead puppet thanks to a Shikon Jewel Shard embedded in his back – and despite Miroku's…questionable actions, he was very good at what he did, being a monk who exorcised demons.

"How was your stay in your world, Kagome?" Sango asked.

"It was nice to get back there for a little break," Kagome said. "But we've got some important things to do here, don't we?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and turned away. "Hey, as long as Koga stays away from me, I'll be happy."

"Had a run-in with Koga, didn't you?" Miroku guessed.

"Yeah."

"And let me guess," Sango added. "Inuyasha and Koga got into another cockfight."

"Yup."

Inuyasha growled. "Don't we have some jewel shards to find? Let's just get going, already."

"Geez, someone's cranky," Shippo said.

Inuyasha responded by slamming a fist into the top of Shippo's head.