Disclaimers: I do not own Inuyasha

A/N Here's a new story! I hope everyone likes it! Remember to R&R!

Forest of Purity

Chapter 1. The Spell

The cooling breeze stirred the leaves of the enormous trees, the foliage rustling against each other noisily. It was peaceful in the forest, birds singing a lovely tune, brown rabbits leaping in the tall mounds of grass in search of food. Their ears had perked at an on coming sound of a foot landing on a branch and pressing on it to bounce off. They had dashed away for cover, not wanting to be caught by the predator.

He breathed in deeply, clenching his teeth together and gritting them. He clutched onto his bleeding arm to stop the blood flow, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment due to the pain in his limb before opening them again. His foot had touched yet another branch and he leapt upwards, just barely dodging an arrow. His white appendages on his head had twitched backwards at the sound of a yelling voice.

"Inuyasha!"

The hanyou growled, focusing his golden orbs ahead, leaping once more. 'Damn it.. I don't know if I can do this for much longer..' He hissed when another arrow had struck him, but in his leg. He stopped briefly, only to pull the arrow out of his wound and throw it away. 'Damn her..' He growled, leaping again into another tree. 'Damn you, Kikyo.'

The woman chuckled darkly, following closely behind the hanyou. "Soon, you will meet your fate, half breed."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, 'Shit!' There was a field dividing him from another section of the forest. A very wide field. He cursed under his breath and leapt out of the safety of the trees into the field, his baggy red haorie almost falling off his shoulders. 'Shit shit shit!' He made for another leap, but failed.

Another arrow had pierced his side, causing him to cough up a crimson liquid from his lips. 'N-no..' He fell to his knees, grabbing the arrow from his side and throwing it away. 'I c-can't die like this.'

"You were destined to die, Inuyasha." Kikyo walked out from the darkness of the forest, readying another arrow.

'No I wasn't..' "Fuck off." He managed to bark out before using the last of his energy for a final leap. He had landed on the outskirt of the forest before his eyes began to get foggy.

"Die…" He had heard her say, hearing the twang of the string from her bow.

'No..' Inuyasha clenched his eyes shut, but felt no more pain than what was already inflicted upon him. He had turned briefly and gaped at what he saw. There was a barrier around him. More specifically, around the entire forest area he had just leaped into. "Wh-what the.."

Kikyo blinked, "What's this? A barrier?" She laughed, "You were lucky, half breed. Unfortunately for you however, I am able to break any form of barrier with my spiritual powers. Your death will not be postponed." She pulled her bowstring back and shot another arrow, the object glowing a bright pink before hitting the barrier.

He had completely collapsed into the soft green grass. Inuyasha only watched, not able to move his body anymore. The last thing he remembered was seeing her surprised look and a barrage of arrows shoot back at her.

A woman wearing a green and white priestess uniform emerged from the shadows of the forest behind the barrier, readying her bow once more.

Kikyo gasped and formed her own barrier, the wall shortly falling after the first round of arrows, too weak to stay up. 'Who has the power to do such a thing?' She narrowed her eyes at the figure approaching the barrier.

"Who dares attempt to interrupt the peace within these walls?" The voice questioned strongly. Her brown orbs glittering in anger.

Kikyo snorted, "My name is Kikyo, I am a priestess of the village near these forests." She growled, 'This is the first time I encounter this woman and yet she seems vaguely familiar to me.'

"Kikyo you say?" The girl frowned, "You are unwelcome here. This forest rejects you as do I. Leave at once."

Kikyo bit the inside of her cheek to keep from shouting, "I only ask that in return you give me the hanyou. It is my duty to rid him from this earth."

"No, this creature is to stay with me." She replied.

"Give me the half breed, girl."

"My name is Higurashi Kagome. I am the protector of the Forest of Purity and all that resides within it. You Kikyo, under no circumstances, may trespass here again to retrieve this boy. If ever you do, you will suffer the consequences." Kagome bit out.

Kikyo smirked, "Ah, so it is you, Kagome-sama. I was never aware of the location of the Forest of Purity, but now that I do.. Be warned, for I will return to retrieve him without fail." With that said, she had turned her back and left the scene.

Kagome huffed and lowered her bow, placing the arrow back into its quiver. She walked over to the silver haired man and moved him to get a better look. 'Im-impossible!' She gasped, 'In-Inuyasha?' She furrowed her brows, 'But I clearly remember watching him fall into here at a much older age than this!' She wrapped the small boy in the red haorie and grabbed the hakamas and sword from the grass.

'He's only a boy that looks no older than the human age of five.' She walked back into the depths of her forest.

'What happened to him?'

.:.:.:. Kagome's Home .:.:.:.

The young maiden stirred the soup with her ladle to ensure that the food would not burn above the heat of the fire pit. She brought the ladle to her mouth and tested the substance, nodding her approval before pouring a bowl. She sat down next to the sleeping boy, placing the bowl down next to him.

Kagome chewed her bottom lip nervously, 'Should I wake him up?' Her hand hovered over the boy's shoulder hesitantly. "Maybe I should let him sleep a bit longer." She whispered, moving her fingers instead to his head, brushing a few silvery locks away from his face. She pulled her hand away quickly when his face scrunched and his body shifted.

He could feel pain, but it wasn't a searing pain, just dull throbs coming from various points of his body. He shivered, feeling eyes on him but sniffed. It was a woman, and she smelled nice… Was that stew he could smell too? His golden orbs opened, he shifted his body, his eyes meeting with glowing brown pools. 'A-a priestess!!' He froze up and pushed himself away from his warm bed and away from her. The wall of the hut stopped his further attempts to get away from her.

Kagome blinked, "I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay, don't be afraid." She smiled warmly.

He visibly trembled and shook his head.

Kagome stared at him sadly, "I can see why you wouldn't want to trust me, Inuyasha. At the very least, could you please have some food? You can leave my home after that, but not this forest. Otherwise, Kikyo will be able to catch you."

Inuyasha eye's widened, his trembling ceasing, 'She's helping.. me?' "H-how do you know m-my name?" His tiny voice squeaked.

Kagome laughed, "You may not remember, but we were friends when we were little." She stood and walked over to the pot of stew, pouring a bowl for herself. "That doesn't matter now though. What matters is that you stay inside my barrier. I found traces of black magic on you while I was tending your wounds. Until I find a way to break the spell, you have to stay under the protection of the barrier."

He stared down at the hot soup near his bed. He nodded and shyly crawled to his bowl, sniffing it. He had also finally noticed that he was wearing odd clothing, a small blue robe and a sash.

"Your clothes are a bit big on you, Inuyasha. I gave you an old outfit that my brother used to wear. Don't worry, I'll make you some pants tomorrow." She reassured him.

He nodded his head, taking the soup and sitting back into his corner, continuing to sniff the stew before taking a small sip. "What's… your name?" He asked, just above a whisper. His ears twitched, hearing her say 'Kagome'. He sipped his stew and ate the vegetables and meat.

Kagome stared out the window of her hut, the stars barely visible due to the light of the fire inside her home. "But you can call me Kag-chan if you want." She placed her empty bowl down.

"Gome-chan."

"Hmm?"

"I like.. Gome-chan's food." Inuyasha put down his empty bowl.

'Gome-chan?' Kagome inwardly smiled, 'That's what he used to call me.' "You can have more if you like."

"No." He yawned widely, and then rubbed his eyes.

Kagome stood and walked to him, he visibly tensed as she drew nearer but then lowered his guard when she merely patted his head, telling him it was time for bed. He had argued that he wasn't tired, but those protests went unheard of as she picked him up and placed him in his temporary bed. He was already asleep when she tucked him in.

"Silly Inuyasha, you always were stubborn." She patted his leg and walked out of the hut, leaving the fire to burn and keep the hanyou warm.

.:.:.:. The Next Morning .:.:.:.

Inuyasha sprung out of his bed, his injuries completely healed and his energy restored. He crouched down doggy style and sniffed the hut. He could smell Kagome's scent, but it was old. She hadn't been in the hut for a long time.

He was now on high alert, his ears twitching at any sound that happened outside the hut. He suddenly could hear someone approaching. He narrowed his eyes and prepared himself.

Kagome moved the doormat from her view and entered the hut with fresh fruit in her arms. Well, they were in her arms, until something had mulled her to the ground. "Eeek!" She gasped, falling.

Inuyasha blinked, looking up at the groaning girl and down at the fruit sitting in the grass. "Hn? Gome-chan?"

Kagome nodded her head slightly, "Inuyasha, just what exactly were you trying to do?" She sat up, his form falling into her lap as she rubbed the back of her head.

He blushed in embarrassment, "Protect the hut.." He replied sheepishly. He glanced up at her, his eyes watering, "I-I h-hurt Go-Gome-chan."

Kagome tensed, "No you didn't! I'm fine, don't worry Inuyasha. Please don't cry." She said. She gingerly took one of his dog-ears between her fingers and rubbed it soothingly.

He sniffled then dried his tears, relaxing as she rubbed his appendage. He felt her move him and place him in the grass, her fingers having left his ear. "Hn?"

"I need to bring the fruit in and wash them. I also have a small surprise for you." She winked at him, taking the dropped fruit and entering the hut. He soon followed her and sat down as she dug inside a basket at the back of the hut for something. "Aha!" He heard her muttered. She had revealed to him a pair of blue pants, the same blue as his robe and given it to him. "I know you hate not wearing pants, so last night I found material and sewed this for you."

He blushed, thanking her and changing as she had her back turned, washing the fruit. He leapt to her side afterwards, and helped her.

Though Kagome had yet to know that this was merely the beginning of an unexpected transformation in her life. That soon she would have to face great troubles and turmoil's waiting for her just ahead.

A/N It's short, but sweet I find. For this story I think I'm going to keep the chapters relatively short but I'll update quickly since I have nothing better to do with my life lol. Don't be shy and R&R!!

Kag: OOOOooooo, he's sooooo kawaii! With his big eyes and cute ears and--

Inu: Kagome! You're embarrassing me!! –blushes-

Kag: Oh please, that isn't even you! It's just an actor that looks like you when you were a kid! You don't even get to be in this fanfict except maybe in flashbacks… oh and possibly in the end..

Inu: Damnit!! WHY THE HELL NOT!! Do something about this ya damn author!

Moi: -glares- OH I will… SIT BOY!

Inu: Wh- -face plant-

Moi: That's right.. In my fanficts I also have the power to sit you! Bawahahahaha! … Moving on…

Kag: -sweat drop- R&R!!