InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Autumn Bane ❯ Lady Jun ( Chapter 2 )

Author's Notes: I have had to resort to using anti-shadow eye cream now due to the little baggies under my eyes from lack of sleep… It's getting close to midnight right now and whilst I post this chapter I should be doing research for Psychology… bah, never mind ^_^

Autumn Bane

Chapter 2

Lady Jun

~Kagome~

At least once a week, every Autumn at Toshiyama, there would be something I liked to call 'the little arrangements from hell'. Not a very cheery title, but a heart-felt one. These little arrangements usually involved me sitting alone in a room with Inuyasha for an hour or so. Usually the get-togethers involved eating breakfast together, drinking tea, or playing a board game of some sort.

Naturally, the first time we'd been shoved into a room together and told to eat breakfast, we had thrown a fit. Within thirty seconds we were hurling food at one another and pulling each others hair, I remember distinctly that at some point I often liked to smear sticky stuff on Inuyasha's ears. It was only until our parents found us were we finally separated… and then quite wisely kept apart for at least a whole week before another arrangement was attempted.

The first time we'd played a board game together it had dissolved into a fight, though this time we battered each other with counters and boards instead of bowls and rice.

It really should have given our parents a clue that we just weren't a suitable match… but they were persistent and eventually we stopped physically starting fights when we sat down for the 'arrangements from hell'. We discovered that the less we fought, the more our parents seemed to believe we were getting accustomed to one another and didn't need forcing together so much.

I suppose in a way… we were getting accustomed to each other?

The third day of our tenth visit marked the first Arrangement of the season. I was haplessly strolling through the halls of the inner castle when my mother came across me. Without breaking a smile or a morning greeting she halted me to speak. "Inuyasha's waiting for you in the breakfast room. Go to him."

The way she said it almost made it sound like Inuyasha was diligently waiting for me because he wanted my company… while in truth he was probably short of being chained to the floor and threatened to wait up for me on pain of death. I sighed inwardly and lost my dwindling appetite. Eating with Inuyasha wasn't my idea of fun.

There were several rooms for eating in within the castle. The large room on the second floor was for servants and soldiers to eat in, whilst smaller rooms on the third floor separated by screens were private dining areas for slightly more important people. I guess since me and Inuyasha were both children of a Daimyo, we were classed as important enough to warrant separate breakfast arrangements.

I found Inuyasha on the third floor. The moment I pushed the screen back I found myself locking gazes with him… both of us glared instantly. Old habits die hard I suppose… we just weren't going to ever get that used to each other.

The best way to go about this was to just shut up and eat. Exchange no greeting or any other kind of verbal or physical contact and hopefully it wouldn't lead to any other kind of contact such as hands around throats.

I sat down at our table and folded my legs beneath me, keeping my eyes glued to my breakfast - a simple meal of a portion of rice and vegetables. My mouth moved before I could stop it. "Food seems a little basic this year."

He narrowed his eyes as he watched me dip my chopsticks into the bowl and bring a slice of parsnip to my lips. "Basic huh?" he commented. "You are what you eat."

Well done, Kagome! I congratulated myself as I chewed the vegetable sullenly. I admit I had probably provoked that response from him. And usually I was so good at keeping my mouth shut… With a mental shake I tried to put myself together, I could get through this one meal without starting a fist fight like last time, couldn't I?

"You seem different." Inuyasha said suddenly.

My chin shot up and I stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"Have you done something with his hair." He cocked his head as he chewed, looking at my hair curiously.

That ridiculous fluttery feeling in my chest started again. I wondered if I was ill… "Why… actually I have, yes. I was getting tired of keeping after hair that was so long… so I trimmed it a little." More like a lot. It had been down to my hips last time… now it only gently brushed my shoulders. It was no way as straight and perfect as other girls… but I'd never been able to manage my hair as well as some people… such as Kikyo.

"Looks very masculine on you." He nodded after a moment. "Suits you."

My hand clenched unintentionally around my chop sticks and I heard one of them splinter slightly as I took a sharp intake of air. "What did you say?" I ground out in a low voice.

He smirked slightly and leaned forward. "I said you look like a man, Princess."

I sat so still and silently that he assumed I was too shocked to make anything of it right then. He grabbed his cup of water and brought it to his lips to drink from, as if passing the time for me to react.

I reacted alright. Faster than he or I could follow, my hand snapped out and smacked his cup flying over his shoulder, spilling the water down his front and mostly onto his lap. A nice big stain spread out across his clothes… like perhaps the little Prince had had an accident?

"Oh dear…" I contrived to look sorry and shocked at my actions, drawing my offending hand back to touch my lips. "Did I do that?"

His hand slammed down so hard on the table that the contents jumped and rattled. I didn't even bat an eyelid. This annoyed him apparently. "You can drop the maidenly act, Princess! I know you are anything but sweet an innocent!"

He saw through my make-up and kimono better than my own mother did. I folded my arms and flipped my hair back over my shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about. I am Kagome-Hime of the Northern domain of Mitsu - daughter of Lady Jun and Lord Ochu who-"

"You know, I learnt something very interesting over the summer." He interrupted. I fell silent, annoyed that I'd been cut off.

"Oh?" I said testily.

"Lord Ochu isn't your real father."

My blood ran cold. How did he know that?"

"Your mother isn't a lady either. She's a former prostitute who worked for the locals of a small village." A nasty smile curved his recently rather perfect lips. "You're a simple bastard child. You have no real claim to your 'father's' inheritance."

Fortunately I didn't lose my head. I pulled a perplexed expression and shook my head like I didn't understand. "What? Did you hit your head this morning? Maybe I stepped on your chest too hard and you haven't had enough oxygen to the brain or something. You're not making any sense."

He looked around as if checking for eavesdroppers… apparently he didn't find any since he quickly leaned forward in a conspiratorially way. "It's a rumour that's been circulating for a while now. Everyone says that Lord Ochu picked up Jun from a village he passed through, who wouldn't? You're mom's not that bad looking."

I wanted to hit him so hard…

"And six months later you were born. Hmmm…" he pretended to stroke his chin as though in thought. "Sounds fishy."

"Just a vicious rumour." I tried to quash it with a flat denial, but it had upset me and I could tell he could see it on my face.

"What, like the rumour that says you and your mother plotted together to kill him off so you could take over the country?" he challenges.

"My mother plotted his death - I had nothing to do it." I told him quickly. He looked surprised for a moment. "What? You think I'd deny something like that? So my mother killed my father - like no one's ever thought of that before."

"B-but you-"

I interrupted him to give him a taste of his own medicine. "And ok, I admit, that the probability of Lord Ochu being my real father is very close to zero, that still doesn't exclude me from the family. He married my mother and formally adopted me as his own in name and honour. Even if we are not related, I am still his daughter." I looked him square in the eye. "And just because my mother was a former prostitute does not mean that she's any lower than he was. In my opinion, my mother is the best human being I know. She cares about people, whether she likes to admit it or not. And when my father started taking out his drunk rages on me and the servants, she didn't hesitate to slip some belladonna in his drink. And perhaps, thanks to her former profession she has a better command over men than me or you or any other ruler in the damned continent."

I paused to take a sip of my water. Inuyasha had sulkily folded his arms. I doubted that the truth about my family shocked or disgusted him… but I think he was rather upset that he couldn't quite use it against me. I wasn't illegitimate since I had been adopted by a lord, no matter what my heritage, I was still a Princess. And it wasn't a crime to kill a lord either. People did it a lot these days.

"Anything else you want to say about my mother?" I inquired. "Because I may be forced to hit you repeatedly if you do."

He seemed to think for a moment, before making a sound in his throat like a scoff as he rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "Jeez, some people just suck up all the luck in life don't they?" he sounded resentful. "You were just delivered a noble title at your feet weren't you?"

I'd been delivered the silver spoon… he'd been born with it in his mouth already. What a hypocrite. "You should have told me I had all the luck when my 'father' was strategically knocking out my teeth."

He pulled a face like he was bored with the conversation and walked out. But I knew that whenever he made a speedy exit like that, it was only because he felt he was losing the battle. It gave me a few moments to dwell in my triumph smugly… before my brow crinkled into a frown and I stared off into space.

I'd always wondered… if Lord Ochu wasn't my father, then who was? The obvious answer was; a local villager in the town my mother originated from. But that wasn't very helpful… I would have liked to have known what kind of person he was. Anyone would have been better than Lord Ochu…

~Inuyasha~

It was so annoying how practically nothing could get her down. She wasn't a typical Princess… if she was, then I would probably just ignore her, marry her, then ignore her some more. But she stuck out and irritated me to no end. She threw all my barbs back in my face and never backed down from a fight.

In a way I suppose that every time she fought back, it encouraged me to push her that little bit more, in search of something that would break her limit, make her crack and have a mental break down or start weeping like a child. I'd love to see that girl finally slump and admit defeat…

Though I also knew that if I did find her breaking point I would probably back off quite sharpish. Even I wouldn't be as cruel as to kick a girl when she's down. Unlike her. She'd probably happily kick me when I was down - in all sorts of places.

So I'd pretty much lost round one this year - but there were several hundred more rounds to go and I was sure that I could probably even the score by tomorrow if I put my mind to it. Perhaps I could start by putting a few lizards in her bed… yeah, that had freaked her out pretty well last time.

I was half way to the bedroom when Miroku intercepted me. It was actually quite scary really how he appeared out of nowhere, blocking my path. "Hi." He greeted. I stopped dead, staring at him. I tried to move around him but he side-stepped and blocked me again. I'm not that slow… he was up to something. "What?" I demanded, wanting a straight answer.

"Nice day isn't it?" he said, looking around as though to him the walls might as well be invisible and he could see out into the world beyond. I'd already peeked out the window earlier that morning. It was not a nice day at all.

With a roll of my eyes I shifted and folded my arms. "Yeah, what do you want?"

"What makes you think I want anything?" he replied in a sincere manner.

"Oh… I don't know…" I sighed deeply… the tried skirting around him again. Nope, he wouldn't let me. He definitely wanted something. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Come on. Spit it out - you don't normally jump me unless you want money, booze, or women. And sometimes all three."

"Well I only want one this time." Miroku confessed.

"Which?" No way was I going to give him anything.

"You know Lady Kagome's new handmaid…?"

Oh dear… another one bit the dust. "What about her?" I played dumb, though I had a feeling I already knew what he wanted.

"She's quite pretty, don't you think?"

"If you say so." I gave a half-hearted shrug. Miroku admitting that a girl was pretty wasn't anything new. He'd been doing it a lot over the past few years. "And what do you want me to do about it?"

"You couldn't perhaps have a friendly chat with your future wife and find out-"

I burst out laughing and he stopped short, looking at me with the most ticked off expression I'd seen in a while. Somehow I managed to squash my laugh, letting it die to a smothered snigger before straightening again with a lop-sided grin. "You should tell jokes more often, Miroku. You're funny!" I clapped him on the shoulder as I passed. "The day the maid is interested in a creep like you is the day I am willing to marry the Princess!" Never going to happen.

But I had no idea that Miroku would take that comment to heart.

~Kagome~

"The air seems so much fresher here in the mountains!" Sango sighed happily as we walked around the outdoor compound. Well at least one of us was happy… I was still a little miserable from my confrontation with Inuyasha that morning… already I was getting tired and fed-up with our feud. Sango's enthusiasm wasn't exactly contagious. "Oh look - there's the well."

"Decrepit little thing, isn't it?" I sighed as we moved towards the middle of the courtyard towards the old wooden structure. It really was a very plain well for such a grand castle. A few crumbling stones around the base and a dinky little roof built over its head… it looked like any other you would find in a local village. Except it was empty.

"Wasn't there supposed to be a Dragon down there?" Sango asked, leaning down to peer into the depths of the well. I kept well back.

"Six Autumns ago… a little boy fell down that thing." I warned, Sango stepped back slightly.

"That's awful."

"I pushed him." I said casually and watched Sango give that exasperated look. "I wanted to see if Hanyous bounced, that's all."

"Did he bounce?" She asked.

"Not really, no." Unfortunately he survived.

"Pushing the Daimyo's son down a well isn't a very nice thing to do, Kagome." Sango lectured me.

"I know… but he kept putting fire lizards in my bed. And after his broken arm mended from the fall, he shaved my fringe off. So I think we were even by the end of the season." Even I had to wonder why our parents still thought having us marry was a good idea by the end of that particular visit. We'd both separated with some rather unusual and strange injuries.

"I suppose he didn't find any dragon down the bottom then?" Sango remarked with a smile, leaning down on the edge to peer down. "Wow… I can't even see the bottom."

"It's there." I turned my eyes away from the well and began looking around the compound. A few of the people who had been watching us now turned and went back to work. Though there was one figure who remained staring at me… rather obviously and rudely I might add.

He sat on the steps of the main building, in a rather laid back pose with one knee drawn up and an elbow resting on it. From this distance I couldn't really tell his age… other than the fact that he was pale, wore the clothes of a lord and had inky black hair that met past his shoulder blades.

He just kept staring at me…

I was a little unnerved so I quickly turned away and started looking elsewhere in the compound, pretending I hadn't noticed him in particular. But when Sango left the well to join me as we walked towards the stables I drew her attention to him. "You see that man on the steps to the castle?"

She looked discreetly over her shoulder then back at me. "I don't see anyone."

One glance at the castle steps informed me that the man had departed. "He was staring at me… whoever he was."

"A lot of people stare at you. You're Kagome-Hime." Sango reasoned. "What did he look like?"

"He looked scary beyond all reason."

"Ah!" She jumped in recognition. "You might mean Lord Naraku."

"Lord who?"

"Lord Inu's new advisor." She told me. "I was talking to your mother about things around here this morning. Apparently Lord Naraku arrived last Winter, just after we left… he's been advisor since. Lady Jun doesn't like him."

"He's scary beyond all reason." I repeated, shuddering. "He just kept staring at me… no normal person is that rude."

"Well… Lady Jun did say that Naraku has a passing fancy for Miss Kikyo. And pardon me for saying so, but you do look considerably like a younger version of said miko…"

"I suppose…" Even I had noticed that fact. I guess that was one of the reasons Kikyo disliked me. No one liked having a double to infringe upon their uniqueness. It didn't exactly bother me though.

"Don't let him get to you. He was probably just admiring your beauty." Sango grinned at me.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Sango."

~Inuyasha~

A part of me was still reeling in shock from what I'd discovered… part of me was burning with anger. I couldn't seem to balance the two emotions out… I didn't know whether to sit in a quiet place and say not a word, or whether to tear the place apart and see if that helped any. I didn't know how to deal with this… I didn't know what to do.

Some of my troubles must have shown on my face as she swept through the corridors. I didn't know where I was heading. Out, I suppose. Maybe I could go lose myself in a forest and be able to sit tranquil and tear everything to shreds simultaneously to vent my conflict without worrying about hurting anyone. I had to get out of there otherwise I might just lose it if my control ran out on me before I made it through the gate. But like I said, some of the trouble must have been showing on my face, because when I stomped past Kagome she stopped and turned to follow my progress.

"Is something wrong?" she called.

If I hadn't been so angry I would probably have noticed the concern in her voice. As it was, all I heard was her voice - the voice that had irritated, patronised and insulted me over the past ten years. That was when my control snapped.

I swung around so abruptly that she started and took a step back, but too slow. With one hard shove I threw her against the wall, not caring the moment I pushed her, but when I heard the thud and her cry of pain and surprise some of that hot anger left me in an eye blink and I hovered between fear and guilt at what I'd done. I opened my mouth, about to mutter an apology when she flashed a steely glower on me.

"What's the matter with you?!" she yelled, everyone on that particular floor stopped what they were doing and stared at us. I looked into her angry face, and my own rage doubled twice to what it had been before. How dare she talk to me that way? Especially after what I'd just seen her mother do!

"Everything was fine until you came along!" I yelled. "I was actually happy - but you've made a mess of everything! It's your fault!!"

She made a very un-princess-like snort. "That's probably the most immature thing you've spouted since-"

She stopped short when I took a threatening step towards where she was slumped against the screen wall. "I want you to shut up and leave! You and that whoring mother of yours!"

For a moment she looked like she was going through the same motions as me. She looked shocked, pale, and then suddenly she looked very livid, bringing the colour back to her cheeks in an angry blush. Not surprisingly, she was embarrassed… I'd just announced to everyone listening that her mother was one of those kinds of women.

"I can't believe you…" she whispered under her breath, just loud enough for me to catch. She looked disgusted in me.

I turned and literally ran before I could see anymore. I pushed past a gaggle of maids that were milling around the stairs, they didn't seem to mind too much. The only other person I passed on my way down was Miroku, he didn't make any comment on my rush, he'd already informed me in the past that the best way to deal with one of my moods was to ignore it. So I raced past him without having to worry about explanations… he'd probably ask Kagome about it… and she'd probably winge and say I had attacked her for no reason at all…

Which in a way I had.

Self-disgust made me grimace and threw myself out of the entrance of the building, nearly tripping over in my haste to pass the steps. I didn't bother to take the conventional way out of the compound, that would take too long, trying to get clearance fast enough for the guards to open the gates.

I ran past the servants quarters and rounded the allotment (didn't want to step on anything that would make Kikyo mad) and the moment I met the perimeter wall, I took off the ground on one foot, outstretching my hands to leapfrog it, out into the growing darkness.

The drop to the ground on the other side was further than I had anticipated and it was either my clumsiness or my anger that made me stumble when I landed. It was a stumble which overbalanced me in an instant and had me tumbling down the slope of our hill. I careened into several trees before I managed to right myself and slid down the moist mud and earth with two fists jammed into the hillside to steady me, ripping through turf and root with my claws on the way down.

The ground evened out slightly and I released the hill as I staggered back.

After such an unusual trip down to the valley, I was left feeling a little hollow, tired and exhausted. Looking down at myself I took in my appearance - half covered in mud and grime, my hair was almost completely coated with grey clay.

I looked up at the castle again and sighed. The mist still swarmed around it like a cloud of white locust, consuming it from the world and blocking it from view. I looked further, past it's vague, blurred outline to the sky above. It had darkened a lot by now, the grey outline of clouds drifted across the charcoal heavens… those clouds parted for a sparse moment and a tingle went down my spine.

No moon…

"Aw… hell…"

I still had a few minutes left… the sun hadn't completely set behind the horizon, and until it did, I was still a Hanyou. Until the sun rose again in the morning, I would be vulnerable… so it made me wonder if I should probably head back to the castle before sundown.

Another thing I hated about Autumn: the nights lasted longer - hence the reason why I tend to stay human just that little bit longer than Summer nights… but Winter was much worse. The nights seemed to last forever in that cold season.

"What are you doing down here?"

I spun around on one heel, almost stumbling in my surprise. I saw my father standing a little further up the slope and my breathing began to get choppy…

He'd seen me…

"You look like you slid down this hill using your face." He approached me… I couldn't help my naturally reaction of darting backwards a couple of paces to keep the distance between us. He saw my movement and narrowed his eyes a moment before sighing. "I know that you know… Inuyasha."

A mixture of disgust and anger welled up inside my chest at this blatant confession. But most of all confusion. "Why… how could you do this to me?!"

He flashed hard amber eyes on me. "It's not always about you," He said gruffly. "In fact this has got nothing to do with you whatsoever."

I fair exploded. "Nothing to do with-?!"

"Pipe down and listen to me!"

"Doesn't mother mean anything to you-?!"

"She died a long time ago!"

"I still miss her!"

My father didn't have a comeback for that one. He fell into a thoughtful silence, and I fidgeted, wanting to run, but at the same time wanted to stay and scratch his eyeballs out.

We had a dilemma. A problem in the family. The problem being that I had just caught my father hooking up with another woman who wasn't my mother… and if that wasn't disturbing enough as it was, this woman just happened to be the mother of the girl I was 'supposed' to marry. I had horrible horrible visions in my head that I didn't want to think about…

"Your mother died nearly a decade ago." He told me. "I have moved on from my grief… you should too…"

"I'm over my grief." I told him honestly. It was true that thinking about my mother didn't making me sad anymore… I didn't really feel very much actually. "But at least I'd respect her memory and keep out of other women's beds for a while!"

"I'm not in anyone's bed!" he argued hotly. "I haven't even touched Jun!"

"You haven't touched her?!" I shouted. "Then what the hell were you two doing back there?!"

"It was one little kiss!"

"'Kiss' my arse!" I darted an uneasy look towards the sky again. It was growing increasingly dark now, and the light was fading fast. I had only scant minutes until the sun set and I didn't want to be here arguing with my father when I transformed.

"Inuyasha, trust me when I say that me and Jun have both honoured your mothers soul and not consumed our relationship in any way. We both feel that would harm both you and your mother."

"Damn right!" I snapped. The roots of my hair felt strange… like my scalp was crawling…

"I'm sorry."

I didn't want his pitiful apologies. "So is this the reason behind all these Autumn visits. You pretend that you're courting your children, when in fact you two are courting each other."

"No." he said sharply. "For the sake of both our domains, we wish for you to marry Lady Kagome."

"Why don't you marry Lady Jun then?!" I barked. "You'd get the same results…" I trailed off as I began to feel the changes overcome me. I shot my father a startled look, before attempting to bolt past him and run as fast as I could with dwindling powers.

He caught my arms as I passed.

"Let go!" I shouted.

"Not until you listen to me, son!" he said in that authoritative voice he thought would convince me. I struggled helplessly. My ears were sliding down the sides of my head, disappearing into my dark hair.

"Let go of me and I'll listen tomorrow!" I was leaning dangerously far over now, if he let go of me I'd fall flat on my face.

"I can't marry Lady Jun for a reason." He told me. I was only half listening because I was too desperate to get away from him. "Lady Jun is dying."

"What?!" I shouted, still struggling, still not listening.

"She probably won't last another winter at this rate."

My struggles gradually ceased as his words sunk in. If he hadn't been holding me so tightly, I would have certainly dropped to the ground. The final changes of the new moon took affect and at once his grip on my arms seemed too tight and painful, even though he hadn't inclined his fingers in the slightest. I ignored the pain since I was a little too shocked at what he'd said. "What?" I said again, this time with more feeling.

He let me straighten and turn to face him properly. He looked serious. "Lady Jun has been ill for a very long time. She knows her time is short and she does not wish to inflict her condition upon me, so marriage is out of the question. Though it is also her wish to see her only daughter marry someone respectable before she dies."

I stared up at him, not quite believing this was true. "She can't be dying… she's the same as always. How do you know she's ill?"

"I can smell it." He tapped his nose. His sense of smell would always be better than mine. I was only a Hanyou after all.

"She'll really die?" then something occurred to me. "Kagome doesn't know, does she?"

He shook his head. No. "And don't tell her, either."

That seemed a little unfair. The one closest person to Lady Jun hadn't been let in on the secret. "Why not-?"

"Because it's best that as many people as possible act as if everything's fine. It'll just get depressing for everyone if they knew her death was imminent." He told me.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to make out his expression but with the dimness of human vision and the lack of guiding light from the moon, I couldn't make out a thing. I inhaled deeply and let it out slowly… so if Lady Jun was to die soon, I would mean that I would have to marry her daughter even sooner. Two depressing thoughts for the price of one.

"Are you ok?" My father asked, sensing my unease.

"I'll live." I said sullenly.

"Don't let Jun know that you know about anything more than you did this morning. Ok?"

I nodded reluctantly. I felt a little bad actually. The princess was due to lose her only remaining parent soon and then she'd be an orphan. I at least had my father, but I knew what it was like to lose a mother. Granted, my mother was a lot warmer and gentle than Lady Jun… but a mother was a mother. I felt a pang in my chest that could have been considered sympathy by most; I called it one of those strange weaknesses brought along by 'that time of the month'.

My father squeezed my shoulder, more lightly than he would normally now that it was a human shoulder he grasped. "Come on." He urged me to follow him back up the slope. We made a strange father and son. One pristinely dressed, white haired demon; one scruffy, mud covered black haired human.

When I got to my room I walked in to find Kagome sitting upright on her futon, peering at a bruise on her shoulder. The moment she spotted me she yanked the sleeve of her night-dress back up to hide her bare skin… not that she'd revealed too much anyway. "You could knock!" she said sharply, pulling the blankets over her lap.

"Sorry." I muttered.

She blinked. "Well… I guess it is your room."

"No, I meant, sorry about giving you that bruise." I winced. "And sorry I said those things about your mother."

A blush spread across her cheeks and she suddenly seemed very flustered. I watched in mild surprise as she made a show of lying down and pulling the covers over her body. What an odd reaction…

I made to go to my own futon when I heard her say in a small voice. "You always seem nicer on the new moon… when you're human…"

"Well it's only one night a month. Don't get used to it." I said a little more sarcastically than I meant to. I heard her sigh and turn away from me. Too late to take it back now.

Once I settled down on my bed, I opened my mouth to ask her something… but at that precise moment Sango and Miroku walked in as acting chaperones. No one said a word after that.

I didn't get the chance to ask her if she preferred me as a Human or a Hanyou. I didn't know why I wanted to ask either…

AN: Right… time for more anti-shadow eye cream…