DISCLAIMER: I don’t own any of the characters in here! They’re property of Takahashi-sama, and I love her for it! Any and all characters I make up are property of ME! and I'd appreciate it if you didn't steal them without letting me known. In addition, any of my characters with a near resemblance to anyone, living, dead, or created by someone else is purely coincidental. Anyway, this is the second chapter of "In a Cloud of Dust", so it takes place immediately following the last chapter. Tis a little shorter, but that makes the cut off point fun. <g> I hope you enjoy this non-lemony chapter as much as the lemony one. I promised you guys plot, and there’s some in here. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Let the Games Begin

"Inuyasha?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome shook him slightly. "Wake up."

"Hrm?" he murmured drowsily.

"I think someone’s coming." Kagome half sat up to the realization that she had no clothes on. "How’re we going to explain this to everyone else!?" She snatched the kimono and draped it around her shoulders, leaving him to find his fundoshin.

"Kaaaaaaagoooooomeee!" Shippou called out playfully. "C’mon c’mon, no more games," the kitsune sniffled after looking for her halfheartedly. "Where are you, Kagome?"

Kagome plunged into the hot springs, leaving the kimono in a lump on the dusty beach. Seizing the moment, and the kimono, Inuyasha hastily dressed himself and took to a nearby tree which was, hopefully, away from the watchful eyes of those below.

"Over here, Shippou. I’m just ah… taking a… bath! Found these wonderful hot springs. You guys should all come and join me."

"Count me in!" Miroku was already removing clothing and heading for the hot springs.

"Not you, hentai. I meant Sango and Shippou. You’ll have to find Inuyasha and bathe with him. Where is he anyway?" Kagome mused. Despite Kagome's protest, Miroku manage to slip around the lake a ways and hide himself inconspicuously behind a rather large rock.

"Who cares!" a small tuft of fur launched itself into the water. "He’s no fun anyway. Always whining about the shards of the Shikon no Tama. We could have so much more fun without-- yeaaaaaaaaah!" A lump began to form on the top of the kitsune’s furry head from where it was hit with a medium sized rock.

"No fun eh?" Inuyasha snorted. "Come over here, Shippou, and I’ll show you just how much fun I really am," an evil grin formed with each passing word. How dare the fur ball insult him, and in front of the others, especially Kagome. He couldn’t help but look at her. He couldn’t help but think of last night, no matter how much he told himself not to. Would things be the same between them? He didn’t know, and this wasn’t the time to ask, with everyone else being around.

Kagome hugged the wailing Shippou protectively from underneath the water. She was in up to her collarbone, just enough for modesty, while still being able to survey the goings on of the little incident. Calmly she dried Shippou’s tears, and then sent Inuyasha a cold and unforgiving look that wiped the smug grin from his features and replaced it with a sort of confused contempt. Content with the punishment, Shippou stuck his tongue out and then swam into a deeper part of the lake, changing into various woodland creatures to determine which would be best suited for aquatic travel. At length, he settled for an otter.

When she was sure no one else could see, Kagome subtly winked at Inuyasha. She hoped no one would notice but him. Thankfully, he did notice. He leaped down from the tree and landed gracefully on the soft grass the cradled the shore. "We should get going," he stated flatly.

"Oh, come on, dog-boy, the others just got here. Let them enjoy this while they can. How often do we get a chance to take a hot bath?" was Kagome’s coy reply.

"You have twenty minutes, and then I’m leaving, whether the rest of you are with me or not."

"Don’t be so hasty, its not like we can gain much ground on this demon anyway," came from across the water. She hated to admit it, but even Sango was enjoying this little break from demon hunting. As long as she was on this side of the lake, she was safe from the houshi’s advances, for now. It still made her skin crawl to know that she shared the same bath water with that pervert, but, for today, she would deal with it. Her muscles ached and her feet were a little sore from three days of nothing but travel. Anything was a welcome break from that, even if it meant being on Inuyasha’s bad side for a little while.

Inuyasha grumbled a response and resolved to brood against the trunk of a nearby tree. He didn’t really feel like arguing either; he was content just to watch them all in the lake, protecting his charge from afar, for now. It was obvious to him that Kagome didn’t want to tell anyone just yet by the way she busied herself with Shippou. Shippou would dart about this way and that while she would clap and urge him to do more tricks. Their time at the lake became less of an actual bath and more of a playtime for all of them, except maybe the houshi, who was attempting to sneak a peak at the girls from behind a rather large rock. It wasn’t working too well. Sango seemed to always have her boomerang in hand just at the right time to promptly clock him over the head with it. This happened three times in succession before he finally got the idea and retreated out of the water.

"So dog-boy, where were you last night?" the houshi queried while assembling his clothes.

Inside, Inuyasha was screaming. He didn’t really know what to tell anyone about last night. He obviously couldn’t admit what they had actually done, so he made something up. "Your incessant snoring kept me up all night. So, being the nice demon I am, I slept here last night." It wasn’t totally a lie. Miroku could definitely snore with the best of them, no wonder he could chase demons from any passing mansion.

"Lord Inuyasha!" Myouga the flea demon hopped on his collarbone for a quick snack. "You smell funny, you smell like—" SPLAT. Inuyasha promptly flattened the flea demon who whined in protest. Myouga floated slowly to the ground and landed softly on the grass below before puffing himself back up the best he could.

Miroku leaned over to Inuyasha and sniffed. "I don’t smell anything different. You smell like you always do, terrible."

"Feh, have you smelled yourself lately?" huffed the slightly annoyed dog-demon. He scolded himself for not being more careful. Sure, the humans couldn’t smell it, but surely most demons would be able to. He stank of Kagome and the act they had performed only hours earlier.

Regaining his roundness, Myouga again perched on the shoulder of Inuyasha and whispered, "I shall be loyal to my Lady as well as I have my Lord." The youkai just huffed and crossed his arms across his chest indignantly, inwardly grateful that the coward had enough good sense not to make the matter public.

Kagome jolted, slipped, and tumbled back into the water. Her mind went blank as she sunk deeper in the water. If Inuyasha had not been trying to think up a better lie without blushing, he might have noticed that Kagome slipped from view. Unfortunately for all involved, he hadn’t. An image flashed before her eyes, laughing maniacally back at her from the murky water. The girl just stared at the image in front of her. Whoever it was, he was close, she could feel it, and he had a Shikon shard. Behind a nearby tree maybe? She couldn’t pinpoint his location, she just knew he was to the west of them. It was strange though, she had felt his aura before, but never actually seen this man. It gave her the chills.

After a few moments, Kagome finally realized where she was and swam as hard as she could for the surface. Her lungs gasped for air as she broke through the waterline. How long had she been down there? No one else seemed to notice, Shippou was busy with Sango, and Inuyasha and Miroku were having who-knows-what kind of conversation on the beach. Kagome clutched to a nearby rock to catch her breath and steady herself. She had the oddest feeling, as if someone were watching her. The thought made her skin crawl, and, moreover, the knowledge that it was probably the man she saw underwater.

Hastily, she climbed out of the water and grabbed her clothes, not taking the time to be discrete. Oh, what a big mistake. Miroku was still talking when he noticed Inuyasha’s eyes go wide. He stopped in mid sentence to discover what he was looking at. The two males on the beach just stared, open-mouthed as she dressed, somewhat concealed, behind a thicket.

"We have to move, now!" the miko stamped her foot urgently. She was answered by two blank stares. It took her a moment to realize that they had probably seen her unclad a moment ago. "OSUWARI!" Inuyasha promptly hit the ground, and the ecchi houshi remained openmouthed for the moment.

Inuyasha peeled himself from the dust and was the first to utter any kind of intelligent speech. "But I thought you wanted to stay here and ‘relax’," he mocked while unkinking the rest of his body.

"How can I relax when there are goons looking at us from the trees?" She pointed towards the west. "He’s out there, I can feel him," her uneasiness seeped into her voice. She didn’t really know why she was worried this time. Fighting demons was a part of daily life since that fateful day a year and a half ago. The thing that bothered her the most was that it backtracked to find them. He could have been long gone by now. Never before had he confronted the mismatched troop, preferring rather to keep several steps ahead of them, but leaving enough of a trail for them to follow. It almost seemed like he wanted to be caught.

Almost instantly Inuyasha’s ears began to twitch and his nose sniffed the air. The demon was indeed to the west, and close. He grabbed Kagome and placed her, bow and arrows in hand, on his back to take to the air.

‘Good, they’re coming,’ the aforementioned demon mused. ‘It’s about time.’

"Have you picked up his trail yet?"

"Gods woman! Can’t you hold your tongue for a minute?" The dog demon’s nose sniffed and found the scent of the demon, so he proceeded in that direction.

Kagome just scowled and then shook her head. The only thing that was important right now was to get the shards from that demon lurking around.

The pair landed in a nearby clearing, followed soon by Sango, Miroku, and Shippou. Myouga had since found a safe spot to hide. Surprisingly enough, the demon just sat content on a fallen log near the far edge of the clearing. For the first time, Kagome got a good look at the demon. He was tall and thin, with ears the same as Inuyasha’s, yet his hair was a tawny yellow and his eyes blazed a deep green. His features were feline in nature, upon which two Shikon shards glinted in the morning sunlight.

"Shinesuke, the cat demon," Inuyasha said indifferently.

"Cat finally meets dog, how amusing," the feline chuckled sinisterly. "Will the outcome be classic? Dog beats cat? We shall see."

Inuyasha set down the girl and produced the Tetsusaiga in one swift motion. "The dog always wins, today will be no different."

"Strong words for a half-demon with such a pathetic sword. You plan to best me with that rusted stick? How enchanting," the cat demon chortled.

To the dismay of Inuyasha, he was right. The Tetsusaiga hadn’t transformed yet. He shook it franticly in front of him, trying to get it to work.

"I think you broke it, what a dreadful waste. Tales of the majestic Tetsusaiga have traveled even to my lands in the east, and, to think, here I am face to face with the wielder of such a divine object, only to be disappointed by the showing. Maybe it doesn’t like the idea of attacking an unarmed opponent, might that be the trouble?" He swiftly launched himself to his feet, pulling out a sleek katana. "Might it work now?"

"It’ll do more than work. It’ll rip you to shreds, kitty," Inuyasha shot back, a sneer forming across his lips. He took a step closer to his assailant and the blade pulsed with life, growing from a rusted stick into his father’s fang.

"Ooh, now that is impressive. I can honestly say I’m thoroughly pleased by the blade, though I wouldn’t trade my katana for that," he gestured with his katana to the Tetsusaiga. "Now, the question is, Inu-chan, can you keep up with me?" He lowered the tip of his katana to the ground and leaned on the handle. "Are you game?" his eyes glinted with excitement.

"Make it easy on yourself and just hand over the shards." Inuyasha was becoming severely irked by this time, and would hear nothing more from this latest nuisance. With a mighty swing his arm; he flung the blade of the Tetsusaiga at Shinesuke. Smoke and dust billowed around the pair and took several minutes to settle. "That was too easy." Indeed it was. When the smoke cleared, there stood the other demon, totally unharmed, and in the same position he was before Inuyasha’s blow, with a grin on his face.

"Are you ready to listen to me now, puppy?"

Inuyasha’s mouth dropped open. He hadn’t even flinched! This might be a little harder than he thought. Instinctively, Sango, Miroku, and Kagome took their places along Inuyasha’s flanks, weapons ready.

"Oh don’t tell me you’re going to need reinforcements, little dog. I was hoping to face you alone, but if you can’t---," he was cut short by Inuyasha’s interjection.

"You want me alone? Fine, you’ve got it."

"Good doggy," the cat demon smiled genuinely. "But not here, they might have the urge to come and save you. We can’t have that. Besides, we wouldn’t want your lovely mistress to get her face mauled now would we?" He motioned in the general direction of Kagome.

Kagome blushed visibly and was too stunned to even utter a response. Luckily, Sango, standing next to her, mistakenly thought that the cat demon was referring to her and retorted, "Mistress?! You’ve got to be kidding me! You’ve got some nerve. Why I oughtta," she raised her boomerang and readied to throw it.

Inuyasha stuck a hand out to stop her. "This is my fight," he turned back to Shinesuke. "Let’s get this over with. Where to?" Tentatively, he stalked over to the other demon, sword still drawn.

"Oh, it’s not far from here. Just to make sure you don’t try anything suspicious…" His image seemed to faze in and out he moved so quickly. When he appeared to be solid, he was holding Kagome, kicking and squirming, under one arm.

Inuyasha stood horrified and wide-eyed. "You said you didn’t want others involved!"

"She’s not going to be involved. She’s an insurance policy so to speak. Oh, she’ll be out of the way, don’t worry. Now you have incentive," he stated flatly. Shinesuke turned on his heels and bounded towards the south through the forest. Inuyasha had to struggle to catch up with the feline. Though he himself was awfully swift on his feet, even without the others to hold him back, he still had trouble keeping pace with the other demon.

"Now, now, girl. If you keep squirming like that I might just drop you, and that would be a terrible waste. I’d hate to see you go splat on the forest floor, but if I must I must," Shinesuke sighed with remorse.

"No no! I’ll stop, I’ll be a good captive, I promise!" Kagome waved her arms and then slumped almost lifelessly in his grip. Sure she didn’t like it where she was, but anything was better than being a human pancake on the ground. "So, ah, where’re we going?"

"Oh, you’ll find out soon enough, that is if your lover can keep up with us."

"My what?"

He chuckled. "Your little jaunt in the woods last night gave me the perfect time to strike. I could’ve killed you both then, but I decided to make Inuyasha’s death more sporting. Besides, I’m getting restless. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight. I hope he doesn’t disappoint, even though he chi will be somewhat lower. That’s why I’m bringing you into this. He’ll be angrier and more determined if his Lady is in danger. Wouldn’t you agree?"

"Why didn’t you just take the shards then when you had the chance?" Kagome was genuinely curious now. She had to keep him talking in order to find at least something out before the fight.

"Because he would’ve hunted me down eventually. And what a challenge that would’ve been!" his eyes became dreamy and wistful. As quickly as they changed, his eyes changed back to being serious. "But, that would’ve taken even more time, and I want to fight him now. Well, enough chit-chat, here we are."

Almost as abruptly as they started, Shinesuke stopped near a small, rundown cottage amid, yet again, another clearing. Nestled against the edge of the trees, it almost looked cozy, as if someone hospitable could have lived there, not some jewel-hungry demon. Moments later, Inuyasha landed on the opposite end of the octagonal patch of land with a sharp thud.

"You made it. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t make it," Shinesuke chuckled, the mischievous glint returning to his eyes. "I’ll just put this over here, so it doesn’t get away," he motioned to Kagome and tied her to a nearby tree with his wrap.

"I am not an IT! My name’s Kagome. Ka-go-me. Not it, or Kikyou, or whatever else you people thing I am. Ka-go-me," she spat. It didn’t matter at this point; neither of them was really listening to her anyway. She tried to worm her way out of the wrap, but it wouldn’t budge. For cloth, it was surprisingly strong. No matter how much she wiggled and tugged, she couldn’t pry herself loose.

"Are you ready for me, Inuyasha?" Shinesuke called across to him. Again, he removed his katana from the sheath at his waist.

"Always," Inuyasha held the Tetsusaiga poised and ready in front of him.

***To be continued***

Who will win? Dog or Cat? A fight to the finish! Oh, what a terrible cliffhanger. Maybe that way you people will write me more and tell me to finish the dang thing. Mwa ha ha. Please R&R, I love the criticism.