InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All Things Come Full Circle ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Author note: I've decided to change this story just a tiny bit. It will now be taking place two years after Inuyasha is freed from the Goshinboku instead of one. I decided to do this because I wanted the characters just a little older, and I felt that one year wasn't enough to cover everything that happened in the anime. It isn't really that big of a change, but I just wanted to point it out. I'll be going back and changing time references that I've made previously. Now that that's settled, on with the story!!

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Chapter 5

The night went by slowly for Inuyasha, who chose to remain awake for the entire night. Shortly after midnight, Miroku had awoken and offered to take over watching the camp so he could get some sleep, but Inuyasha refused and told the monk to go back to sleep.

There was no way he could have slept anyway. His mind was racing with memories of the past that were brought to the surface by his human sister sleeping in his arms. How many times had he done this before? He didn't know, for there had been far too many times to count. He remembered the time after their mother had died, how on every full or new moon they would end up like this - the one of them with youkai blood trying to offer some feeling of comfort and safety to the other while their youkai blood waned. Of course, it wasn't just on the nights of the full moon that he had ended up with a sleeping Inukigo tucked in his arms. When they were first left on their own they had been like this every night, in his attempt to help her sleep when she feared the nightmares that would come when unconsciousness claimed her.

For months after their mother died the nightmares had been constant, happening nearly every night. He had taken to sleeping with her in his arms so that when she would wake he would wake with her, offering whatever comfort he could to her. It was at this time that he had begun to perfect the low, soothing growl deep in his chest that he had used earlier. He had done it instinctually the first time, and hadn't even been aware of what he was doing until she became relaxed against him. Once he had realized it's affect he had been very grateful for his inu-youkai blood at the times she would become distraught. 'But never once did she cry,' he thought as he looked down into her peacefully sleeping face. 'I could tell that she was terrified, but she never allowed herself to cry, even at that age. All she would do was awake with a start and tremble in my arms. I know what she dreamt about, and I'm surprised that that's all she ever did.'

Inuyasha then thought about what she had told him about how the nightmares never truly went away. After those first few months, they had died down and eventually stopped altogether, or so he had thought. He wasn't really happy with that knowledge, but was glad that she had learned to live with them.

He continued to think back, and eventually came to the time when he and Inukigo had first heard of the Shikon no Tama. After hearing about its power, he had wanted to set out and claim it immediately, but Inukigo was dead set against it. She had taken more heed to the evil nature of the jewel and said that she wanted nothing to do with it, and had tried to talk him out of it as well. He had refused to listen to her, and she ended up following along. 'What would have happened if I had listened and not gone after the jewel? Would things have been better?' Inuyasha wondered. He happened to take a quick glance at Kagome, and a small smile crossed his face as he shook his head. 'No. If things hadn't turned out this way, I would have never met Kagome, or any of the others. Hell, Inukigo and I would probably be dead by now.'

Inukigo may have stayed with him, but she had flat out refused to help him steal the jewel from Kikyou when they found her. Not once did she ever encounter Kikyou with him, but she had always been nearby, sometimes even in plain sight, just in case his life was threatened. She had been the one to pry him off the trees that Kikyou had pinned him to by his clothes. Every time that happened she begged him to give up, fearing that Kikyou would one day lose her patience with him and take his life. He saw the fear and worry in her eyes all those times, and even now hated being the reason for her worries.

Over time, circumstances had changed, and he had begun to grow close to Kikyou, enjoying her company, and all thoughts of stealing the Shikon no Tama from her had left his mind. There had been times when they would spend nearly the entire day together, just sitting in comfortable silence enjoying each other's presence. As time passed, those moments had become more and more frequent, and he spent more and more time with Kikyou while Inukigo…wait…'What did Inukigo do during the time I spent with Kikyou?'

It was something he had never given thought to before, and his brow furrowed as he wracked his brain trying to come up with something. It was in vain, for he could not remember ever knowing what Inukigo did while he was with Kikyou. He couldn't even think of anything that she would do because before meeting Kikyou they had always been together. Now that he thought back on it, Inukigo had become increasingly distant towards him as he got closer to Kikyou, he had just never noticed it at the time. He was quickly becoming confused. 'What caused her to start acting that way?'

Inuyasha thought back to the day that he had agreed to become human for Kikyou. He had gone and told Inukigo immediately in his excitement. For a split second he had thought he smelled sadness from her, but it had disappeared just as quickly and she had smiled and told him how happy she was that he had found someone to be with. Now that he thought about it, her smile that day had seemed very forced, and that sadness had not been something he imagined. 'Why was she sad that day?' he wondered as he looked down into his sister's face. He stared at her for a few moments before his eyes widened in realization.

"You…you thought I was abandoning you, didn't you?" he whispered.

'That was it, wasn't it? You thought I was going to leave you all alone. You never even said anything about it, just pretended that nothing was wrong for my sake. I was so caught up in everything that was going on that I never noticed. Oh, sis, I'm so sorry.'

Inuyasha hugged Inukigo to him as tightly as he could without harming her, making his silent apology to his sleeping sister.

Inukigo awoke in layers. The first thing she realized was that it was very warm, and the feeling of being held in someone's arms. Then there was the feeling of those arms squeezing her very tightly, and the sensation of not being able to breathe. When she came fully awake she realized it was Inuyasha who was squeezing her, and he was so caught up in what he was doing that he didn't notice that she was awake.

"Ooi, Inuyasha. Ease up a little. I can't breathe." she said quietly.

Inuyasha heard her and jumped slightly, then relaxed his grip on her. Inukigo pulled back to look at him, concern etched in her face.

"What was that about? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Just thinking."

Inukigo gave him a dry look.

"Yeah right. I know you better than that. What were you thinking about that made you hug me so tightly?"

"Keh! You looking too deep into it. I'll say it again - nothing's wrong." he stated, turning his head away from her.

"Inuyasha…"

Inuyasha turned his eyes to her, and the annoyed look on her face made him gulp.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked again, her voice serious.

Inuyasha was silent for a moment before he decided to answer.

"I was just thinking about…the time before I was sealed by Kikyou…" he trailed off, then turned to face her, staring her straight in the eyes, "Inukigo, at that time, did I make you sad?"

Inukigo's eyes widened in shock and she quickly turned her face away. 'Does he know?' she wondered. She didn't want to tell him.

'He'll feel so guilty. He'll blame everything on himself just like he always does.'

"What do you mean?"

Inuyasha knew that she was faking her ignorance. Her scent and body language told him that she was nervous and hiding something. Not only that, but she had looked away from him when he asked the question. Instead of calling her on it, he decided to humour her and explained.

"When I was with Kikyou…you became distant towards me, almost avoiding me sometimes. I can remember smelling sadness from you, but you would always cover it up with false happiness. Tell me, did I hurt you then?"

Inukigo looked back at him for a moment before dropping her head again. There was no point in denying it. He knew already, and would be able to tell if she lied anyway.

"Yes." she answered in a whisper that even Inuyasha had a hard time hearing. But he heard.

"I'm sorry."

Inukigo jerked her head up and glared at him.

"Stop apologizing to me. I've had enough of you making yourself feel guilty for everything." She whispered harshly. Her voice then softened as she continued, "I don't blame you for anything Inuyasha. What kind of sister would I be if I got angry at you for having feelings for someone and wanting to be with them?" she questioned as a small smile crossed her face, although Inuyasha could tell there was very little happiness to it.

Inukigo leaned against Inuyasha's chest again, rested her head over his heart.

"You know, you're wrong." Inukigo said quietly, causing Inuyasha to direct a confused look down at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You said that I covered up my sadness with false happiness. That's not true. My happiness was very real. I was glad that you found someone you loved that loved you in return. That you found someone to spend the rest of your life with. Yes, I was sad that you were moving on and leaving me behind, but I was happy, knowing that you would be happy. I guess you could say that the whole thing was bittersweet."

"I wasn't leaving you behind," Inuyasha said quietly as he hung his head.

Inukigo looked up at him to meet his gaze.

"Maybe not intentionally Inuyasha, but you had chosen to live a life that I couldn't rightly be a part of. You would have been completely human. You could have had a completely normal life, but not with me in it. Not with a hanyou as a sister," She dropped her gaze, then forced his chin up so she could tuck her head underneath it. "I…I was going to leave that day."

"What?! Why?!"

"Inuyasha, be quiet. I was going to leave, so you wouldn't have a life being know as a brother to a hanyou. Being there, I would have been a constant reminder to others of what you once were. Do you think that they would have treated you much better, knowing that you had once been a hanyou. With me gone, they would have eventually forgotten. I would have been alone, but I didn't care. I was happy knowing that at least one of us would live a happy life."

"What makes you think that I would have wanted you to! I wouldn't have cared what anyone thought of me having a hanyou for a sister, I would have wanted you with me! You're my sister! I will always want you in my life!" Inuyasha yelled as he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away from him so he could look her in the eye. The look of tremendous sadness in her eyes almost had him pulling her back, but he needed to see her face.

"Inuyasha!" she hissed at him lowly, "Calm down. There's no need to wake the others," she then went back to whispering softly, "It was my choice. I didn't want you to be tied back because of your connection to me."

Inukigo lowered her head slightly, and Inuyasha noticed her gulp and take a deep breath as she prepared herself to continue.

"On that day, the day that Kikyou sealed you, I was on my way to say goodbye to you. Then, I heard her scream your name and fire the arrow. When I made it to the tree, you were already asleep. I was so angry, I was about to kill Kikyou on the spot, but she was nearly dead then anyway, and I knew that she could seal me as well. Then she died and I was at a total loss as to what I should do. Keade mentioned a monk that lived deep in the forest a few days away from the village who was just as skilled with sealing spells as Kikyou, and I took off. I never anticipated how hard it would be to find the monk. Apparently, he was also very skilled in concealing spells. That added to the fact that the forest was huge made it extremely difficult for me to track him, even with my hanyou senses."

Inukigo quieted for a moment before leaning into Inuyasha seeking comfort. Not just for her emotional pain, but the physical as well. The pain in her arms was beginning to come back. He gave it readily and waited for her to continue.

"It was two years before I found him." she snuggled deeper as Inuyasha looked at her in shock.

'Two years?'

"In that time, I learned exactly what it was like, to be completely alone," Inuyasha felt her stiffen slightly, "Gods, I was so scared."

"Inukigo…"

"As soon as I was on my own, the nightmares started up again. Any time that I tried to sleep, images of ofukuro dying and you being sealed would plague my mind. Of course, I never had much of a chance to sleep anyway. I was always running. Youkai were after me constantly. Some that were natural enemies would even team up just to come after me. There were so many times that they would corner me, and I was sure that…that I was about to die."

Inuyasha heard the crack in Inukigo's voice and held her tighter as she gave a mirthless chuckle.

"Listen to me. I'm going on and on like a little pup. Gods, I'm such a weakling, being hung up on this, and spilling it all out to you."

"Hey, no you're not. You've never been a weakling. If you were weak, you wouldn't have survived. You wouldn't be here right now. So stop thinking it."

Inuyasha smiled a little, even though Inukigo couldn't see it.

"Baka. You're the one who keeps telling me to stop putting myself down about being a hanyou. What about you? I told you about things that were troubling me, and you thought no less of me. I think that you're worse than I am, always thinking that you're weak."

"But, I…" she started, but Inuyasha cut her off.

"But nothing. I know what you were going to say, that you admitted you were scared. That you opened up so much to me about the time when you were afraid. Those things don't make you weak."

"Eh? Inuyasha…"

"I know, I know," he said, cutting her off again, "I'm the last person that you would ever expect to hear that from. But, Kagome once told me that there's nothing wrong with talking about things that are troubling you. She said that it helps ease the pain of dealing with it alone, and I think that she's right about that."

'So that's why it didn't take much persuading to get you to talk to me, well after that slap you gave me. I was wondering about that.'

"I'm here for you Inukigo, and all the others are here too. You're not alone anymore."

"Inuyasha…" Inukigo said quietly, her voice cracking slightly.

"It's alright, you don't need to scared like that anymore, imouto."

Inukigo froze, and then very nearly burst into tears, but managed to catch it with a dry sob. She was cursing herself at the moment. Being human meant that she had none of the control over her emotions that she normally had. It was taking everything she had to not start crying at Inuyasha's reassuring words.

'Damn it. Why did I have to be human now? And what the hell is with Inuyasha? He's never acted this way before. He's being open, and considerate. Normally he just keeps quiet because he doesn't know what to say or do. He's matured so much. It must be from all the time he's spent with Kagome and the others. Damn, why did he have to be so caring now?! I can't keep my emotions in check while I'm human. I don't think I'll be able to hold myself together much longer.'

Inukigo was on the verge of a break down, and she knew it. Inuyasha knew it as well. He could hear her cut-off sobs and ragged breathing that were caused by her attempts to keep from crying. He could plainly smell the salty tears that were just barely held at bay in her eyes. He could also sense that she was in slight pain.

'The stuff that Kagome gave her must be wearing off.'

"A-Aniki…" Inukigo whispered.

It was now Inuyasha's turn to freeze. It was very rare for Inukigo to refer to him as 'aniki.' If she ever called him 'older brother,' she always said 'onii-chan.' It was really her way to humour him when he started bragging about being the big brother, since she used the most childish and least respectful term for it. But when she called him 'aniki,' he knew that she was serious. She had only ever used that term when she was extremely distressed. It was like an unspoken plea to him that screamed, 'Help me!' when she was unable to say the words.

'She's trying so hard not to cry. She doesn't want to do it, because she still believes that I will think her weak for it. That's why she's asking for help - she's in pain, and doesn't know what she should do to make it stop.'

"It's alright, imouto, you can cry. I won't say anything about it."

"I-I don't want to." Inukigo replied stubbornly.

Inuyasha scoffed at her response.

"Yeah, right. Sure you don't. Baka, I can smell it. The tears are all but rolling down your cheeks. I told you, it's alright. I won't say anything."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the tears started flowing, and at the moment there was nothing that could be done to stop them.

"A-Arigatou, aniki," Inukigo whispered brokenly as she buried her face in his shoulder.

After that, she cried silently, giving only the occasional sniffle or deep, gasping breath. Inuyasha never said a word, just curled his body around hers in an attempt to shield her from the world. He could feel her shaking with the effort it was taking her to remain silent, so he guided her head to his shoulder, lay his atop of hers, and rubbed her back, just like he had done many times before when they were younger.

'I suppose it's better that she's quiet,' Inuyasha thought, 'I know that she wouldn't want the others to be worried about her, or see her cry like this.'

On impulse, he happened to look up to glance over at his sleeping companions. Only, they weren't sleeping. He managed to fight off his shock and not stop what he was doing so Inukigo didn't notice, because looking straight back at him were the concerned eyes of Kagome, Sango, and Miroku. Shippou and Kirara were the only ones who remained oblivious to the going ons, but he guessed that Kirara was just ignoring the situation. If the humans were awake, there was no way that she wouldn't be. At first he turned a little red in the face with embarrassment from being caught in his current position, but that quickly turned to anger. How long had they been awake, and how much had they heard? That conversation was meant to be private, not something for all of them to hear. His anger quickly dissipated though, when he realised that it was most likely his fault that they were awake. There had been a few points in the conversation where he had been anything but quiet. He sighed then looked at Kagome, who was sitting up and looking right back at him. The extreme look of concern on her face told him that she had heard a very large portion of the talk he and Inukigo had had. The look in her eyes also told him that she was contemplating comforting her friend. His assumptions proved to be correct when she made to remove the sleeping bag from her legs so she could get up. Thankfully, she was still looking right at him, so she noticed when he slowly shook his head. Inukigo took no notice, just thinking that Inuyasha was rubbing his chin against her head. Kagome immediately complied, and remained seated on her sleeping bag.

Inuyasha sent her an appreciative look, then returned his attention to consoling his sister. Inukigo seemed as though she was calming down, but he knew that in her current state, now that she had started crying, it could take some time before she would be able to stop.

Only a few moments passed, when Inuyasha glanced to the sky. To his relief, he saw the first signs of sunrise on the horizon. He rested his chin on Inukigo's shoulder, placing his mouth close to her ear.

"The sun is rising." he whispered.

Inukigo nodded her head in agreement, confirming that she already knew this because she could feel her youkai blood awakening. 'She'll most likely stop crying as soon as the sun rises.'

Inuyasha could sense it in her as well, then panicked when he saw that the others were still watching them. 'Kuso, she'll know that they heard and saw everything.' He quickly mouthed the words 'go back to sleep' in hopes that they would understand. They looked at him strangely for a few seconds, before Miroku caught on and silently explained what he meant to the two girls. Inuyasha sighed in relief when all three of them went back to their previous sleeping positions. 'Good. I hope that they're good at pretending to be asleep.'

Inuyasha turned his gaze back to the sky, just in time to see the first rays of sunlight peek over the horizon. Inukigo stiffened against him, and he watched as her hair bled white, and her ears returned to their normal form on top of her head. Although he couldn't see it, he knew that her other demon traits had obviously returned as well.

Another thing that he noticed had returned were her emotional blocks, because as soon as the transformation was over, she took a deep breath, let out a shaky exhale, and that was the end of the tears. She let out a contented sigh, and was once again completely composed, the only evidence of her crying being the semi-dried tears on her cheeks.

"Feel better now?" Inuyasha asked quietly.

"Much." she answered in a somewhat steady voice.

"Good."

"Arigatou, Inuyasha."

"Don't mention it." he replied as he pulled her away from him so make sure she was really alright. One look into her eyes told him that she was still in pain over what she had just shared with him. She was usually better at hiding things from him, but she hadn't had the time to put up any barriers. He looked at her sympathetically before raising his arm to wipe the moisture from her cheeks with the sleeve of his white under kimono.

"Did you ever plan to tell me any of that?" Inuyasha asked as he went about checking her injuries to make sure they were healing properly again.

Inukigo sighed before she answered.

"Honestly, I don't know. It's not really something I want to relive."

Inuyasha nodded in understanding.

"Still, you shouldn't hide it so much." Inuyasha said softly.

"You're one to talk." Inukigo said crankily while sending him a half-hearted glare.

Inuyasha rose both eyebrows in surprise and question.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Most of my problems are also your problems. You hide them as well, so don't act as though I'm the only one who does it."

"You don't know what you're talkin' about. I already told you, I'm over that stuff." he replied, knowing immediately what she was referring to.

"Bull."

"What?"

"Bull. Shit."

"I told you…"

"And I'm telling you - you're lying. I said before that you hid it better than I did, which is true. Being able to hide it well doesn't mean that you've gotten over it."

Inuyasha started growling and glaring at her, but said nothing, proving that Inukigo was right. Inukigo saw that he was quickly getting angry with her, and decided that she should put a stop to it. She didn't particularly feel like dealing with him if he got cranky later on.

"Look, Inuyasha. Let's just stop this, okay? Arguing over it won't get us anywhere. I, for one, do not want to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. We'll talk about it later."

"Huh?" Inuyasha said, so confused by the sudden turn of Inukigo's attitude that all his anger was forgotten. When he realized what she had done he became slightly irritated. "How do you do that?"

"What, make you forget that you're angry with me?" she asked innocently as she smirked at him, "It's not so hard, since I've had a lot of practice. As for how it's done, that's for me to know, and you to find out."

Inuyasha scowled at her, but there was no heat behind it, and Inukigo chuckled lightly.

"Forget it. It's not important. Now," she said as she stood up, "I'd say it's about time we got ready to head out." She then turned around and looked at the rest of the group. "C'mon guys, it's time to stop pretending to be asleep and get your lazy asses up so we can get ready to go!"

Instantly, three pairs of eyes shot open and stared at the female hanyou that was smirking cockily at them, with her arms folded across her chest. Even Inuyasha had a disbelieving look on his face. How had she known? As if she could read everyone's minds Inukigo laughed lightly as she explained.

"My hearing isn't completely shot as a human. I could hear you guys shuffling around just before the sun rose. I don't know how long you all were awake, but am I correct in assuming that you all heard most of what Inuyasha and I said?"

All three looked at her sadly and nodded. Kagome was the first to speak.

"Gomen ne, Inukigo-chan. I know that you don't like sharing your past, much like Inuyasha," she said, sending a gentle look to Inuyasha that had him blushing slightly before turning back to Inukigo, "You're not angry with us, are you?"

Inukigo looked thoughtful for a few moments before turning her amber gaze to Kagome and smiling gently.

"No, I'm not angry with you. It's true that I don't like to talk about the…harsher aspects of my past, and this wasn't really the way that I wanted you to find out. But, there is nothing to be done about it now. You heard, and there is nothing that can change that."

Kagome got up from her sleeping bag and walked over to the taller girl and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Inukigo-chan…you know that if you ever need to talk to someone about the things that are bothering you, you can always come to one of us about it, right?" Kagome asked worriedly, fearing she'd get the same dismissal that Inuyasha usually gave her when posed with that question.

She was relieved when another small smile graced Inukigo's face.

"Arigatou, Kagome. I'm glad to know that."

The entire camp was silent for a few brief moments, before Inuyasha got annoyed and decided to voice his irritation.

"Keh! Why is everybody just sitting around doing nothing?! We've got things to do, so somebody hurry up and make breakfast to we can get going!"

Everyone knew what he was trying to do of course, and it worked like a charm. Kagome and Sango went about digging through Kagome's bag for breakfast, while Miroku set out to light the fire which had died out over night. Shippou, who had awakened at Inuyasha's 'Keh!' walked by Inukigo, saying good morning and asking how she was feeling, before hopping over to see what Kagome was doing.

Breakfast was prepared and eaten in record time, and the group of shard hunters resumed their quest once again.

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It was two days after the night of the full moon, and Inukigo was currently sitting against a tree at the edge of the group's small campsite, sighing happily as she flexed her fingers. It had taken two full days for her hands to heal completely. In that time, they had not run into Naraku's new incarnation, or any other demons for that manner. Inukigo was a little disappointed that they hadn't encountered the demoness that almost took Kagome's life, but she supposed it was a good thing that they hadn't, seeing as how she was mending. Now that she was fully healed she was itching to dig her claws into the youkai woman's face for what she had nearly done.

'Bitch better show up soon. I'm getting impatient.'

Inukigo decided to calm her thoughts, and instead occupied herself with observing her fellow travellers.

Inuyasha was fighting with Shippou - as usual - over something stupid. Kagome was nearby, trying to read one of her strange books, but failing due to her brother's increasingly loud and distracting yelling. She watched Kagome's face, and noticed that her right eyebrow was ticking slightly, an almost unnoticeable movement that usually didn't mean anything good for her brother.

'Here it comes. 3, 2, 1,…'

"Inuyasha, osuwari!"

"Gah!" *SLAM*

'And there it is.'

Inukigo shook her head, laughing silently to herself, before a cry of 'Hentai!' and a loud smack drew her attention to the other dysfunctional couple of the group.

She looked on in amusement as Miroku rubbed his throbbing cheek and Sango fumed, threatening more bodily harm if he dared to touch her again.

"But I swear Sango, I didn't do it intentionally! My hand has a mind of it's own."

"Shut up, you damn pervert. I don't want to hear your excuses." Sango ground out as she got up and moved away from him. Inukigo's eyes followed her, and then widened in shock at what she caught a glimpse of. Sango was…smiling? What the hell?!

'The little pretender! She enjoys the attention that he gives her. Well, I'll be damned.'

Inukigo shook her head again and moved her hand to pet the untransformed Kirara, who was sleeping in her lap.

'I swear, this has got to be the most messed up group of people in all of Japan.'

Inukigo's thought had her smiling.

She turned her attention back to Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome was once again reading her book, and Inuyasha was now sulking at the base of a tree. Inukigo then suddenly remembered a very important conversation that she had mentioned two days before.

'Shit, how did I forget that? My memory must be totally shot.'

She sighed before picking up Kirara from her lap to lay her on the ground, then stood up and walked over to Kagome. Kagome was so wrapped up in her reading that she didn't notice Inukigo, and started when the female hanyou squatted down directly in front of her.

"Hey, Kagome? How about you and I go for a walk?"

Kagome was confused by the request, and tilted her head slightly in question. Inukigo recognized the questioning look, and explained.

"I needed to talk to you, remember?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she tried to remember what Inukigo was talking about, then widened when the realization hit her.

"Yeah, I remember. Sure."

"Alright then." Inukigo replied, standing up. She waited for Kagome to put her things away, then came to stand beside her.

"So where are we going?" Kagome asked.

"Nowhere in particular," Inukigo replied, and then started to walk towards the trail that they had used to enter the campsite, "This way I guess. We'll see if we can find a good spot to talk in private."

"Okay."

The conversation between the two girls didn't really surprise Miroku and Sango, they remembered Inukigo mentioning it before so they didn't really pay them any mind, except to wave back at Kagome when she waved at them. Inuyasha, however, was an entirely different story. He hadn't known about this, and wasn't too happy about both his sister and Kagome wandering off while one of Naraku's incarnations was still running around somewhere. He got up, and began to make his way over to them, but Inukigo saw him and stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Nuh uh. You stay right there Inuyasha. Kagome and I are going for a walk to discuss some things. You're not stopping us, and you're not coming, so just stay where you are."

"But…"

"No buts. I'm completely healed now, so you don't have to worry about us being attacked, I'll be able to take care of it. If we really need you, you'll know. Don't worry, okay?"

"Keh, I'm not worried." Inuyasha huffed, turning his head away and stuffing his arms in his sleeves.

Inukigo looked at Kagome and both fought to hold in their laughter at his little act. Inukigo made sure to get herself under control before she spoke again.

"Okay then. We're gonna go now, and we'll let you know if we need you in the unlikely event that we run into something that I can't handle on my own, okay?"

"Fine." he said grumpily, going back to the tree that he had previously been occupying.

Inukigo smiled and shook her head, then motioned with her hand for Kagome to follow her and both girls set off into the woods

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Inukigo and Kagome walked for about twenty minutes in relative silence, mostly because Kagome was so caught up in wondering what Inukigo wanted to talk about. Inukigo finally settled on a secluded little opening in the trees that was far enough from the trail to prevent any travellers that may pass by from seeing or hearing them.

The two girls sat down and got comfortable, and remained silent before Kagome couldn't wait any longer.

"Alright, Inukigo-chan. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Inukigo sighed. This wasn't really a conversation that she ever thought she'd have with someone.

"Kagome, I brought you out here because there are some very important thing that I need to talk with you about. Things involving my brother."

"Inuyasha?"

Inukigo nodded before taking a deep breath and getting started.

"Kagome, I'm sorry, but I have to be blunt. Tell me, do you love my brother?"

"Eh? I-I…I mean…umm…" Kagome stuttered, her face turning a bright shade of red.

"I think that answers my question," Inukigo said with a hint of laughter in her voice, "Although I would have preferred for you to actually say the words."

"I-I love him." Kagome whispered after a few moments.

"That's better," Inukigo said smiling warmly, "I needed to hear you say it before I had this talk with you. You see, there is something that I need to explain to you."

"What would that be?"

"The wonderful process of youkai courting, canine youkai courting to be exact." Inukigo stated, with a large smirk on her face.

"Nani? Why would you need to explain something like that to me?" Kagome asked.

"It's very simple Kagome, my brother is courting you."

"He is?! B-but he…"

"Yes, I know, he does a lot of things that make you think that he would never do that, but believe me he is. I'm his sister, I know these things."

"O-okay."

"Now, I need you to pay very close attention because this is important, okay?" Inukigo asked gently, placing a hand on the startled girl's shoulder to make sure she had her attention.

"I understand."

"Alright. For starters, courting is divided into two stages. The first stage, or initial courting, would probably be closest to what you would refer to as becoming friends. After the male has determined from a female's scent that he is interested in her, he will stay close by her side in order to imprint himself on her. This will involve protecting her and providing for her as well as putting his scent on her and warding off other males."

Kagome's eyes widened as she took in the information.

"N-no way. He's been like that around me since I've met him! I mean, there are a lot of times that he tells me that he hates my scent, but the first time I ever saw him turn human he told me that was a lie. I don't know what to think, he's got me so confused."

"Him telling you that he hated your scent was his own stubborn way of him covering up the feelings he has for you. He didn't want to let you know because he was embarrassed. Probably even a little scared of what he was feeling. Don't dare tell him I said that. Now, I really need to go into the 'warding off other males' part."

"Why is that?"

"I know about this Kouga guy. From what I heard the way you act with him has Inuyasha doubting that you have any feelings for him."

"Inuyasha is always doubting me. I keep telling him that Kouga-kun is just my friend but he just doesn't get it," Kagome pouted.

"Whoa, wait, Kouga-'kun'? Okay, this may be a little harder than I thought," Inukigo said, scratching her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Kagome, in initial courting, the claim that the male is trying to make is not concrete. It can be challenged by another male. This Kouga guy knows that Inuyasha is trying to make a claim and he's trying to challenge it."

"But, both Inuyasha and Kouga-kun know that I only think of Kouga-kun as a friend."

Inukigo shook her head.

"That's just it. They don't know that. You see, females need to be very direct with males or they seem indecisive. Since you let Kouga make advances on you to be nice to him and not hurt his feelings, you're making both of them think that you're considering dropping Inuyasha and accepting Kouga."

"I-I didn't know that. I had no idea," Kagome said, looking down at her lap.

"Yeah, I knew that you didn't. I explained to Inuyasha that you didn't mean it because you had no clue about what was going on."

"What can I do to fix it?" Kagome asked without hesitation.

Inukigo smiled at Kagome's enthusiasm.

'This girl was definitely made for you aniki.'

"Well, for starters, drop the 'kun'. I know you want to be his friend, but for the time being you cannot be excessively friendly towards him. Do not let him touch you, and reject any advanced he makes towards you."

"What kind of advances?"

"If he calls you his woman or anything else that implies that you belong to him you need to tell him the difference until he gets it through his head. Basically you need to tell him 'I don't want you so leave me alone,' although when dealing with a wolf you'll definitely need to be a bit more forceful than that."

"Okay."

"There's one more thing Kagome. If Inuyasha tries to physically drive Kouga off you have to let him. Don't stop him and let Kouga escape by using the rosary."

"But I don't want Kouga-k…Kouga to be hurt because of me."

Inukigo smiled at her correction. "Gomen, Kagome, but that's how it needs to be. Inuyasha has a right to defend the claim that he has on you. And protecting Kouga is seen as accepting him as well. The female is actually supposed to stay out of it altogether."

"I understand. I'll stay out of it."

"Good girl. Now, after the initial courting, there is the marking. After the male and female have been around each other for awhile, the time varies from a few weeks to a few months, the male will ask the female to become his mate. If she agrees he will mark her, and in inu youkai courting, the female will mark him back."

"Mark?"

"Yup, it's a bite mark that is made in the juncture of your neck and left shoulder," Inukigo explained, reaching over and tapping the area she was referring to with one finger, "Usually it's just the male that marks the female, but inu youkai females mark their males as well."

"So that means I'll have to mark Inuyasha? How will I be able to do that? I don't have any fangs."

"You'll do fine. You'll just have to bite hard enough to draw blood and leave a mark. It will be harder for you to do without fangs, I admit, but you still have to do it. It's necessary in inu youkai mating."

"Why is inu youkai mating different?"

"Inu youkai males only take one mate, whereas many youkai males will take multiple mates. An inu youkai pair will mate for life, unless one of them dies, then the one that lives is free to take another mate if they choose to. Although there are some that undergo a soul bonding and will never take another mate as long as they live."

"Wow, they're very committed."

"You sound surprised."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound that way. It's just so different from how humans do things, that's all."

Inukigo nodded in agreement.

"I know humans aren't like that. The bonds formed between some youkai pairs are much stronger than anything you could ever imagine."

"Does that mean that a bond formed between Inuyasha and I won't be all that strong, since we're not youkai?"

Inukigo had to smile at Kagome's concern.

"No, it doesn't mean that at all. It depends on the individuals involved how strong the bond becomes."

Inukigo was happy to see Kagome's spirits lift immediately.

"Alright. Well, what happens after the marking?"

"Oh, I'm not sure what you would call it. The male and female get closer to one another, spend time alone together."

"That sounds like dating in my time."

"What do humans do when they're 'dating'?"

"Well, we do what you've already talked about. They touch more, like holding hands and putting their arms around each other. They kiss, and they do nice things for each other. Stuff like that."

"Youkai don't act that way, but it's safe to say that Inuyasha will since he is half human. That stage goes on for awhile, since the male and female need to know for certain that they love each other since they will be mates for the rest of their lives."

"I'm confused. You said that the two phases were defined by the marking, but Inuyasha and I act sort of like we're in the second phase and he hasn't marked me, or even made it clear that he wants to do that," Kagome said with at slight blush on her face.

"I know. He has his reasons for doing that, and it's not really my place to explain them to you. It's better that Inuyasha do that when he talks to you about it."

"He's going to talk with me about it?" Kagome asked with an embarrassed squeak in her voice.

Inukigo had to resist the urge to laugh.

"Yeah, I convinced him to talk to you about it when you return to your time. But don't talk anymore about this until then okay?"

"Alright, I understand. What happens after the second phase of courting?"

"After the courting is complete, then comes the mating. There's a whole ritual behind that, but I won't get into that until the time comes. At the moment it isn't really important. And that's it, unless you have some questions."

"Well," Kagome asked, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, "When Inuyasha has his talk with me, is there a particular way that I have to respond to him to let him know how I feel?"

"No, just listen to him and support him. I'm sure you know that he hates to have to talk about his feelings," Kagome nodded, "Although there is one thing that you can do that will put any insecurities he has to rest."

"What would that be?"

"Come a little bit closer."

Kagome did as she was told and kneeled directly in front of her friend. Inukigo leaned in and surprised Kagome by rubbing her cheek against her own. Kagome stayed absolutely motionless, unsure of how she was supposed to respond. Inukigo felt Kagome stiffen and chuckled to herself before pulling back and smiling at the younger girl.

"Sorry that I startled you Kagome," Inukigo giggled, "I just thought that it would be better to demonstrate it rather that just tell you."

"What was that?"

"That gesture is something that is very important among inu youkai. It is a display of affection that is only allowed to be used by mates and close family members. There are more intimate actions, but I doubt that you would feel comfortable using those right now. You can use the one I just showed you if Inuyasha starts to clam up while he's talking, it always works when I use it. Just hug him and do what I just did to you until he responds. And if he ends up doing it to you instead, don't freeze and just sit there like you did just now."

"What do I do?"

"Just do the same thing back. It's pretty simple. Anything else, Kagome?"

"No, I don't think so," she then lowered her head to look at the ground, "I can't believe that he's courting me and that he wants me as his mate. I never thought, it's just the way he acts with…"

"Kikyou?" Inukigo sighed when Kagome nodded, "Listen Kagome, I'll tell you something that I don't think that even Inuyasha realizes. I was there when he was courting Kikyou, and I can tell you that what he feels for you goes much deeper than what he ever felt for her."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When he's with you he shows his true self, because he knows that you accept that. When he was with Kikyou, it was almost as if he was hiding part of himself, because he knew that Kikyou would not accept the demon in him. Believe me, seeing Inuyasha act the way he did around her sometimes was scary." Inukigo said as she shivered.

Kagome giggled at her friend. "Arigatou, Inukigo-chan."

"Don't worry about it. Now I think we should head back. I'm sure Inuyasha is probably ready to come tearing through the trees after us by now."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Kagome giggled.

Both girls got up from their seats on the forest floor, but before they started walking, Inukigo turned and spoke again.

"Oh yeah, there's one other thing."

"What?"

"Please try not to be too offended from now on when my brother calls you a bitch."

"Why not?" Kagome asked.

"Think about it for a minute Kagome. What kind of a demon is my brother?"

"A dog demon…ohhhh…"

Inukigo grinned.

"Get it?"

"Yeah. I should have seen that one coming."

"It's alright. It's natural that you would take that as an insult. My advice for dealing with my brother's behaviour is to think more like a dog demon. It'll probably make things a whole lot easier."

"I'll keep it in mind."

Inukigo smiled and turned back around, and both girls slowly made their way back to camp and their companions.

They were halfway back when Kagome froze and stopped in her tracks. Inukigo stopped and looked back at Kagome with concern.

"Kagome? Daijoubou ka?"

"I'm alright. It's just that there are two jewel shards coming toward us fast. It's…" Inukigo cut her off by holding up her hand and then sniffed, not really liking what she smelled.

"I smell a…"

"OII!! KAGOME!!"

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Three guesses as to who just showed up. J

Please review people. I'm not gonna hold off updating waiting for reviews (it takes me long enough as it is), but it would be really nice to hear from people. Hopefully the next chapter won't be so long in coming (I guarantee that you'll all like it). Until next time!

Ja ne!