InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beast ❯ Sheep's Clothing? ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine. Me no own. And a partridge in a pear tree. (Which I also do not own. I just suck that much.)

A/N: Muuuuuchas sorry for the delay, folks. Work is getting more work-like and less like standing around and trying desperately to find something to do all the time; nevertheless, I've used some of that time to come up with a coupla ideas I predict y'all gonna `jooooy thor'ghly (an e-cookie to anyone who picks up that reference), and if this one runs as long as I think it will, I promise a repeat of the next-in-three-days offer I made last time, minus the `Net crapping out on me. And if I do, odds are good y'all will reeeeally like the chapter after this. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha...

-ahem- Right. On with ze show...after I give Rezol's sledgehammer back. I didn't have writer's block, so I just used it on comp-hogging roommate instead. So it did come in handy...yeah...

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Beast

Chapter 15

To Kagome's immense relief, when she woke up the next morning, it was not to talk with a dead priestess or have an out-of-body experience or anything similarly Not Fun: it was because Shippou had draped himself across her neck and was snoring in her ear.

And yet, somehow, she could still hear Sango humming off-key from the floor. Back to normal. Yee-haw.

"G'up, hon," she mumbled, gently lifting the kit off and scooting over to lay him down next to her head, where he scrunched deeper into the warmth and began snoring louder.

Well, there goes my pillow. She sat up slowly, scratched her nose where the boy's tail had been tickling, and yawned. Come to think of it, she didn't blame him; it wasn't exactly cold, but her thin comforter, which had sufficed quite well the past few days, was now barely adequate. Looks like another one of those days for dog-boy. Ah, well.

Kagome yawned again and rubbed the sleep from one eye, then the other. "Hey, Sango-chan?" No answer; sure enough, Kagome saw that her friend had the Discman on and was absorbed in the music, eyes half closed and humming sporadically-and badly. "Uh...Sango-chan?"

"Nah, I'm full," Shippou mumbled, rolling over against her back.

She sighed, then reached around and plopped the little fox onto her lap, petting his hair absently. "Kudos for sleeping through that, Shippou-chan," she muttered, wincing at one particularly interesting note from the floor. It was almost as bad as being back in her private middle school's choir class; not many of her classmates had had any talent, but the teachers had been paid too much to bring that fact to anyone's attention. I may not have much of a voice, but I can tell the difference between Hamasaki and a dying barnyard animal, no offense, Sango-chan...

Almost on cue, Sango glanced around at the bed and turned three shades of pink. "Kagome-chan! Good morning." She punched the Stop button and flipped the headphones onto her shoulders. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, it was him," Kagome said truthfully, hoisting the kitsune and his nest of blanket up so she could slide onto the floor and put him back on her lap. "You're...um...not used to singing, are you?"

"You could tell?" Sango flushed, then smiled ruefully and moved over so Kagome could kneel on the futon with her. "I haven't tried it much before, especially not anything like the music you have..."

"I know. You just need a little practice." Kagome shrugged. "I used to sing constantly when I was really little-drove my brothers and sisters crazy, `cause I sounded pretty bad most of the time." She cleared her throat and let out a hideous, faintly screechy note, and they both laughed. "But I got better. Like I said, I used to do it all the time, except for the past couple of years. I never really felt like it anymore, and it wasn't worth listening to my sisters complain about it."

"Well, you can sing here as much as you like," Sango said firmly, indicating the room with the wave of a hand. "No harm...as long as you don't sound like you used to, of course."

"No!" Kagome pretended to scowl, then did her impression again, worse this time. Shippou cracked an eye and stared up at her in disbelief, and they laughed harder, shaking their heads till he sighed irritably and curled back up, face buried in his tail.

"Perhaps you can help me with that some time later," Sango said once they had calmed down a bit, rising and motioning for Kagome to stay kneeling. "From the feel of the air, Inuyasha's not in the best of moods, but that's nothing new. We should go see Kaede before he comes to bother you about whatever he thinks is wrong now."

"Sounds about right...and you have to talk to Miroku, remember?" Kagome folded her arms as the slayer's shoulders hunched. "You promised, Sango-chan!"

"I know! I'll do it, too. I'm just..." Sango shook her head and began digging through a chest. "What do you want to wear today?"

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"About time, child," Kaede said in half-serious chastisement: by the time they dressed, ate breakfast and went outside into the feeble sunlight to meet the old herbalist by the shrine, it was almost noon. "If I had known ye would stay abed so long, I would have slept longer as well."

"Sorry, Kaede," Kagome apologized, glancing up at the heavily overcast sky. It wasn't cold enough for snow, but rain looked entirely possible. No treehouse stuff today. Nuts.

"No trouble, girls. Come." Kaede turned and began hobbling towards the little building. "Your brother is already there, Sango."

"Is he?" They started after the old woman, and Sango craned her neck around to wave at her little brother, who was staring off at the edge of the forest. Kirara was pacing back and forth in her large form, glaring at the trees. "Is something wrong?"

"Inuyasha has felt the presence of more demons in our boundaries, strong enough to be detected at distance, unlike the lizard ye encountered before, Kagome. Kohaku was out this morning and found several tracks. We also wonder at Kouga-sama's recent absence..."

"You're right, he hasn't been back to see Kagome for a while," Sango mused, patting the front of her kimono absently. She had told Kagome, after the last incident with the wolf lord, that the pouches she'd had ready contained powder capable of disabling even a full demon's sight and smell. "Do you think he's been killed? Surely we would've heard of, or Inuyasha would've felt a demon or demons strong enough to do that."

"I do not know, Sango, but all the more reason for me to see what Kagome is capable of as far as defense goes-and ye need to take your dose for the morning, correct?"

Sango made a face and nodded. "Defense...do you think she has some of the same abilities as...?"

"Not only those, but the power of the Jewel, as ye must know." Kaede stopped at the doors and placed her hand on one. Kagome winced at the flare of light, surprised that Sango didn't even seem to notice it.

Wait... "So the Jewel wasn't the only way Kikyou could do stuff?" Come to think of it, the priestess had mentioned doing things without it, but Kagome had never really thought of using the Jewel as being separate from any other set of abilities. It was confusing enough as it is.

Sango also looked puzzled as they came inside and sat down. "So Kagome-chan has her spiritual powers, aside from the Jewel?" She paused, wide-eyed. "My. The curse is weaker here."

"Indeed. And ye seem unaware of this; perhaps I explained too hastily yesterday, Kagome, but many people, men and women, have spiritual capabilities such as purification of evil beings, heightened senses of demons' presence, and such." They waited for Kaede to settle herself on her cushion inside before stepping in and trying to make themselves comfortable in the cramped, musty space as the herbalist continued. "My elder sister had all these and more; she rarely used the Jewel, if ever, though I believe not. Ye do have the Jewel's power, but I think ye may wish to use your own ability and not the Jewel whenever possible." Kaede nodded and began preparing some odd-smelling liquid from two jugs set next to her cushions.

Kagome could feel a headache coming on. "So...I can do stuff without the Jewel? But Kikyou said-"

"Did she ever tell ye directly that ye must use the Jewel for anything?" Kaede cut in without looking up.

"Y-" Kagome bit off the word and thought about it hard. "Well, she said you couldn't tell me how to listen i-uh, do some weird things around the castle, like teleporting, nothing to do with spiritual stuff..." She coughed. "She said you couldn't tell me that `cause you never worked with the Jewel."

"She meant only that I lacked the power, and thus had no experience with the technique." Kaede handed Sango a cup of the liquid and smiled at Kagome's utterly blank expression. "Such things as moving instantaneously for short distances may be possible with your own power alone, but it requires near-frightening amounts of strength to accomplish. Many demons possess such strength to some degree - take Kirara's power of flight, for example - but of all the human priests, monks and priestesses I have known in my life, only my sister could have done it without the Jewel's aid. Even demons prefer to use less tiring methods of transport." Kaede took the empty cup from Sango and gave the sour-faced slayer some tea to wash the taste out. "I am surprised she did not caution ye against using the Jewel at all, for surely she knew that tapping its power could be dangerous, even to one as-" She broke off as a violent coughing fit suddenly overcame her.

"Kaede?" Sango hurriedly offered her the rest of the tea, and Kagome bent over the old woman in concern as the coughing grew worse. "Kaede! Are you okay?"

"Nay," Kaede wheezed, single eye shut tightly. "I believe the curse may be stronger here than we thought. The Jewel does not like hearing warnings against its use-"

Kagome caught her as the hacking grew drier and more intense, and she patted her back gently, fuming at the curse more than ever. Whatever happened to just shutting her up? Good thing Naraku's dead, `cause if I ever met him, I'd...

"Ane-ue?" Kohaku's voice outside the shrine brought all three of their heads around, even as Kaede struggled to breathe normally.

Sango got up and pushed the door open. Kohaku had his chain sickle ready and was looking at Kirara again; she was growling, hackles raised and eyes fixed on the trees. "I don't think it's close, but she definitely smelled something."

"Right." With a last look at Kaede and Kagome, who nodded reassurance, Sango jogged over to the fire-cat and placed one hand on her back, scanning the treeline. "Where's Miroku, Kohaku?"

"He went out to investigate this morning, I think. He's been going out and checking the forest every day since we all woke up." Kohaku came up behind his sister and frowned. "I hope he's all right."

"Of course he is," Sango snapped, and even Kirara glanced around at her in surprise before returning to the forest. "Kirara, can you go find him? I'll stay here and guard Kagome-chan."

"Wait!" A sudden impulse made Kagome jump to her feet; she paused long enough to accept the old woman's nod of thanks and wave away, then ran out to join them. "Can we go with her? I have a feeling it's not anything that wants to hurt us."

"You what?" Sango frowned at her. "Do you know what Inuyasha would say if I took you out there based on a feeling you have? Not to mention how I'd feel if you got hurt?"

"Oh, c'mon. You, Kohaku, Miroku and Kirara will all be there. Besides, I really think it's okay, and I'm always right about this kind of stuff, remember?" Logically, Kagome did agree with Sango, but her curiosity was getting the best of her.

"And you say this is just a feeling?" Sango crossed her arms, tapping her fingers restlessly. "I don't like it, Kagome-chan..."

"I know, but I'm telling you, it's okay. Actually..." Kagome trailed off and frowned as a kind of mental twinge made her look to their right. "They're over there. ...Three of them...and I think one's Kouga."

Kohaku and his sister exchanged dubious looks. "If she has those kind of senses, maybe we should trust her," the boy said timidly. "It's worth a look from above, at least, right?"

"I still don't-"

"All of ye, go and investigate." Kaede's thin, tired voice right behind them made the four all jump. "If Kagome is correct, ye know to trust her in the future. If not, come back here and regroup. `Tis simple enough."

"Fine." Sango patted Kirara's ruff and sprang onto her back, helping Kagome sit behind her and Kohaku in front. "Hold tight to me, Kagome-chan. Just look for the houshi-sama, Kirara, please."

The cat rumbled assent and sprang into the air, clearing the treetops in two bounds and leaning to the right. "I don't suppose you know where Miroku is as well?" Sango said dryly over her shoulder, scanning the treetops.

Before Kagome could reply, Kirara suddenly mewed, dipped and dove into a gap in the canopy, settling down with a thump not ten feet away from where the monk was crouching next to a tree.

"Gods!" Miroku whirled around, staff tucked under his arm and left arm ready to unwrap the beads from his right hand. "Sango-sama! What are you three doing here?"

"Kagome insisted," she replied darkly, holding up a hand when Kagome began to dismount. "She thinks the demons may be with Kouga."

"Oh? Well, that wouldn't be unreasonable, Sango-sama. Kagome-sama could very possibly have already developed the n-"

"There he is," Kagome said abruptly, pointing to their left. The other three humans barely had time to turn and come to stand in front of her before a blur of brown erupted from the trees and skidded to a halt.

"There she is!" Kouga clasped Kagome's hands briefly, then grinned at her exasperated look and dropped them. "What brings you out here, Kagome?"

"We're just checking things out, not much." Kagome felt that twinge again and peered around Kouga. "Is that...?"

Sango and Miroku swiftly came up in front of her, but Kouga only shrugged and sauntered away a few steps. "C'mere and meet Kagome, you guys, and don't keep us waiting."

"Sorry, Kouga," a man's voice wheezed from a good distance away. Everyone except Kouga and Kagome tensed as the sounds of leaves and twigs crackling grew louder, and Miroku loosened the beads as the speaker's voice came again, much closer. "We can't move as fast as you, y'know."

"Yeah, yeah. Hurry it up." Kouga raised an eyebrow at Kagome and smirked.

"We're coming," another male voice complained, and Kirara began growling as two grey forms became visible through the trees.

Kouga crossed his arms. "You have three seconds. Onetwoth-"

In one leap, the strangers came up to a gap between the two nearest trees, jammed for a second, and then shoved their way through, nearly falling on their faces. "Here! We're here, Kouga! See?"

Kouga looked down at them, expressionless. "You..." He looked around at the humans, who were all gaping at the two panting, doubled-over newcomers. "You morons! You forgot to...!" He slapped his head with one hand and began laughing. "Oh, man!"

Kagome could understand why Miroku, Sango and Kohaku were so confused: the `demons' resembled nothing more than two aging, out-of-shape humans-and they were dressed in modern business suits, ties askew, shirts rumpled and sweat-stained. The one on the left had wire-rimmed glasses and almost no hair left save for a strip down the middle of his scalp; the other was thinner but, as if to compensate, wore hugely ridiculous bifocals and had wildly bushy hair in all directions. It was almost as if someone with an odd sense of humor had brought two perfect stereotypes of "goofy middle-aged businessman" to life and then forced them to run around the woods for a few hours.

But...Kagome squinted at them harder. "You guys...you're not human, are you?"

"No, they are not," Miroku said flatly, also squinting. He brought his staff up to the ready. "The illusion is commendable, but you can remove your disguises."

"Thank the gods," the bushy-haired one said fervently, and jabbed his thumb against the side of his neck. Instantly the business clothes, glasses and sweat all vanished to reveal a much leaner and younger-looking wolf demon with white-and-black hair, dressed like Kouga but with a less commanding air. He stretched, yawned - revealing a full set of fangs - and flexed his claws, cracking his knuckles appreciatively. "Maaaan, this is better!"

"Good idea." The other also jabbed his neck hard and became another wolf demon with a long white mohawk, also much younger in appearance. "So, Kouga, this is Kagome?"

Kouga nodded and swiftly whacked the other wolf demon upside the head. "Kagome-sama to you, till she's out of here and we've made it official."

"Nothing's going to be official," Kagome said automatically, mouth working independently as her brain took in the transformation. How had they done that?

Kouga chuckled and gestured at the other wolves. "This is Ginta and Hakaku, two members of my old pack. They say it's a little scattered since we were last together, but they know where almost everyone is."

"Pleased to meet you, Kagome-sama," they said as one, with Ginta - or was that Hakaku? - rubbing his head sheepishly.

"You live in this era, in disguise?" Sango said slowly, frowning. "So humans really are dominant now, as Kagome-chan said?"

"Yes indeed," Ginta replied, glancing to Kouga and continuing at his nod. "It wasn't too long after we lost Kouga that they started to overrun us. Even our mountains were threatened after a few centuries, till we struck a bargain with a human mystic and learned how to disguise ourselves. Then we just went human, pretended we drove the wolves out, and turned ourselves into a remote village."

"A lot of other demons tried to kill all the humans, but more humans equaled more monks and priestesses, so that wasn't much of an option, either," Hakaku said sadly. "We thought we had a solution for a while, but humans don't even taste very good."

Ginta nodded forlorn agreement. "Pretty soon, we had to be human most of the time, and then it got so hard to find food that we agreed to split up till Kouga woke up and we could reestablish our pack."

"And that's where you come in, Kagome." Kouga held a hand out to Hakaku, who scrabbled at the front of his armor and dug out a tiny box.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Kagome muttered in complete disbelief as Kouga took it and opened it, examining the contents critically. Miroku and Kohaku looked askance at her, but Sango took one look at her friend's face and put a hand to her forehead: Kagome had mentioned the significance of rings to her.

"Uh..." Ginta scratched his head. "Maybe you should hold off till the castle's gone, Kouga. You did say it's gonna disappear, right?"

"Oh, right." To Kagome's almost overwhelming relief, Kouga tucked the box away and leaned closer. "This is pretty important, so I'd better ask you now...d'you know which humans have the legal rights for the land we're on?"

"Legal rights?" she repeated, warning bells going off like sirens in the back of her mind.

"Yeah," Ginta said eagerly. "We thought we knew who owned it, but we couldn't track him down. D'you know the Higurashi family, by any chance?"

"Why, yes, that's Kagome-sama's f-" Miroku's eyes popped as Kagome sidestepped and ground her heel into his instep.

But it was too late. "You mean, your father is Higurashi Yoshio?" Kagome sighed and nodded.

"YES!" Ginta grabbed Hakaku in a headlock and swung him around in an excess of joy. "I told you they were nearby! We just couldn't find `em thanks to the damned curse protecting the castle and the woods!"

"Then how'd they get here and settle down in the first place?" Hakaku complained, but his friend paid no attention.

"So, if we wanna have this land as a base to gather the pack again...well, I'll be damned. This must have been fate-it all works out perfectly." Kouga bowed to Kagome, all grace and self-assurance now.

Oh. Shit. "No, actually, it doesn't." Kagome shook her head rapidly. "First off, he'll probably sell it to someone before he dies or anything, and even if he doesn't, it won't be mine. I have older brothers and sisters."

"We checked his will, and you're the first one in line for everything," Hakaku piped up. "Title goes to Higurashi Kagome. And if your siblings take it to court, we'd back you all the way."

"You checked his will?" Suspicion arose. "Wait a minute...what do you two do for a living, exactly?"

"Me?" Ginta blinked. "I'm a biologist. Hakaku's a journalist."

"...Are you guys married, by any chance?"

The three wolves traded uneasy looks at her tone and her sudden scent change: this wasn't leading anywhere good. "Yes, in fact, we're-"

"Brothers-in-law?" Kagome's brain made a few more connections, and humans and demons alike winced as her voice rose. "And your fathers-in-law are my dad's partners? And the ones who screwed us out of our lives?!"

"Whoa!" Kouga held up his hands. "Calm down! They might be kinda stupid, but these guys wouldn't do anything like that to you!"

"That's right, Kagome-sama," Ginta said earnestly. "We didn't know what they were doing till it was too late, and then we couldn't buy the land from him because we only had his cell number, and he never returned our calls till my wife's dad called him about the new study."

"And we didn't know that he hadn't passed all the information on, or that he made him spend so much and waste his time," Hakaku agreed quickly. "We'd been looking to buy the land for years, but the owners always had heard of the curse and either wouldn't sell or denied even owning it. And ever since your father acquired it, we've been trying to find a way to get a hold of it quietly, without our human families asking where we got the money or why we want it so much."

"If you live so long, how do you explain that to your family?" Kagome asked sulkily, not pacified, but curious.

"We die in accidents a lot," Hakaku explained cheerfully.

"Yeah, we've each had five or six human wives," Ginta added. "We don't have children, and when we reach the right age, away we go."

"Do all demons exist as you do?" Miroku asked, startling Kagome badly-she'd forgotten about the others for a moment.

"Some do. The ones that didn't get themselves killed for trying to exterminate the humans either coexist like us or have moved to more remote places." Hakaku shrugged. "We'd never leave Japan, though, `specially with Kouga here and with a new mate."

"Well, I'm sorry to ruin your plans, but I'm not his mate," Kagome said flatly, scowling and speaking over their protests. "Like I said, I don't want to marry him or Inuyasha. If you're so sorry about what happened to my family, I can always get Dad to sell it to you for what it's worth, which is a lot in this case..."

"True," Kouga said casually. "But keep in mind that we don't have to buy it right off. When the castle's gone, your dad'll still have it, but what can he do with it? And who else could you sell it to for any price with all that stuff about squirrels getting in the way?"

Kagome's mind raced for a minute and came up with nothing but a stitch in its side. "...What's your point?"

"Point is, I really hate to break it to you, but we're your only option. And before you think I'm tryin' to blackmail you, I also have to say Ginta and Hakaku here don't have that much money. They could if they were any other kinda demon, but we don't steal from our families, even fake human ones." The other two wolves nodded vigorously. "Even if we buy it and you just go back to your dad, we could only give him enough to make you comfortable for a while, not enough to move that huge pack of yours into the city."

"And especially not enough to attract another mate for any of you with the way your sisters behave-with all due respect, Kagome-sama," Ginta added.

"Of course," Kagome said sardonically, nodding with satisfaction when Kouga gave him another whack.

It was true, of course. Not like I could abandon everyone even if I did get married-and who'd agree to take us all in? "So you're saying...?"

"If you become one of us, your family becomes part of our pack, too," Hakaku explained. "And our human fathers would have to help us look after all of you. We could always wait to inherit their money, but we're supposed to be in our fifties, almost as old as them, and we're almost due to die now."

"So you need it soon." They nodded, and Kagome mentally ran through her list of favorite swears. "D'you realize how sudden this is? Three weeks ago, my biggest worry was getting the shopping done before it was time to go home and do the laundry."

"Of course. You don't have to do anything till the curse runs out," Kouga said generously. "Just hang around here, and as soon as dog-turd loses it, away we go."

"You don't have to be so callous about it," Kagome snapped before she could stop herself. Kouga raised his eyebrows, then shrugged, and she fought the urge to start growling like Kirara.

"What if you just killed Inuyasha, Kouga?" Ginta suggested, and Kagome's nails dug into her palms.

"Thought about it, but it might screw things up even worse," Kouga said dismissively. "Not a good idea to mess with the curse, y'know. We can wait a little longer, right?"

And the fact that Inuyasha has Tetsusaiga now has nothing to do with it, I'm sure. The thought that Kouga was scared of him made her feel better, calm enough to speak rationally. "In that case, you guys had better go wait for Kouga somewhere else. Inuyasha's already noticed you here."

Kouga snorted. "They've been here two days now. If he just now sensed `em, he's even dumber than I thought. Don't worry about us, Kagome."

Who said it was you I was worried about?! "That's not what I m-"

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Kouga held up a hand to forestall the wolves as they glared at Inuyasha, who had materialized next to Kirara a second ago. "Nice timing, dog-turd."

"Go to hell. And take your cronies with you." Inuyasha loosened Tetsusaiga in its sheath and turned on Kagome. "And you! What're you doing out here, talking to these losers? I told you to quit running around on your own!"

"Do they look like I'm on my own?" she snapped back, pointing to the monk, two slayers and fire-cat behind Inuyasha. "And don't take it out on them, either! I'm not in any danger! We were just talking, so relax!"

"Relax?! When I warn everyone about demons running around in the forest and you come out here and start making small talk anyway?! How the hell is that supposed to make me relax?!"

"You know what, Inuyasha? I'm not in the mood for this now! I'll talk to you later, Kouga! And it was nice meeting you two!" Kagome turned on her heel, stalked over to the fire-cat and threw one leg over Kirara's back. "Take me back to the castle, please, Kirar-"

"Hey!" Inuyasha leaned over to grab her arm, caught a look that would've frozen a gasoline fire, and backed off hurriedly. "...Fine, wench, we'll talk about it tonight." He caught everyone else watching them and bared his fangs. "All of you, clear out, dammit. And you wolves stay the hell off my land!"

Kouga snorted and waved lazily at Ginta and Hakaku. "If your curse doesn't keep demons out once it's reawakened, you can't keep my pack away, dog-turd. And it's not gonna be your land much longer, either, so enjoy it while you can."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Shut up, Kouga," Kagome snarled, and the wolf demon twitched. "Sango-chan, Kohaku-kun, and Miroku-sama, get on now."

Inuyasha's ears flattened. "What crawled up your kimono today, wench?"

Kagome turned the Look on him full force. "I'm wearing pants, you idiot! If you're gonna insult me, at least do it right! And for your information, I was defending you! See if I ever do it again! Now let's go!"

"Indeed," Miroku said dryly, settling himself on Kirara's haunches, leaving Kohaku to gulp and climb on right behind Kagome. Sango gingerly climbed onto the cat's shoulders, avoiding eye contact with her seething friend. For his part, Inuyasha had retreated back into the trees so rapidly that even Kouga looked surprised.

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Kaede was still too weak to begin training as they'd planned, so Kagome led her friends inside and gratefully accepted Miroku's suggestion that they work off some of her anger in a card game.

"You mustn't let them make you so angry, Kagome-sama," he said suddenly, after about ten minutes of silence broken only by the thudding of hands on tatami when a double came up-usually with Kagome's hand on the bottom, sped up by rage channeled into concentration. "Kouga will see your point soon enough, and Inuyasha-"

"Is an idiot."

"Well, yes, but-"

"If I were anyone else, I'd accept Kouga's offer just to spite him!" Kagome threw her next card down. "It'd be better for my family than just sitting here and then going back to the shrine when...once...aaargh!" She slapped the deck. "...Damn. I thought that was a 6." Kagome picked a card from her hand and slipped it under the deck. "I hate it when the numbers look alike."

"Yes, what looks like an opportunity may in fact be a very poor idea," Miroku murmured.

Kagome's eye twitched. "Yeah, well, rubbing my face in it isn't helping."

Kohaku said nothing, only watching them play once he ran out of cards. Shippou, who had been restricted to the castle with the other children that morning, came in from outside and headed for Kagome's lap, then thought better of it. "Kagome? What's wrong?"

"Inuyasha's a moron and I don't know why I bother," she snapped, then kicked herself as he cowered. "No, no, I'm not mad at you, Shippou-chan." Kagome set her cards down and stood up. "Let's take a walk, and I'll explain what happened. Want to come, Kohaku-kun?"

The boy started to shake his head, then thought better of it at Kagome urgent expression and stood as well. "My pleasure, Kagome-sama. Ane-ue, you and the houshi-sama should finish."

Sango's lips pressed into a thin line, but she nodded slowly and picked up Kagome's deck. "Fine. I'll join you outside once we've finished here."

Once Kagome was outside, however, she realized her tactical blunder: with the boys accompanying her, she couldn't stop and exercise some of her newfound abilities. Crap! Crap, crap, crap! I'll have to find out what happened later! Maaaaan...

To both her relief and annoyance, though, once she'd finished filling Shippou in with some help from Kohaku and headed back to the room, the card game was still going, and by their intent expressions, neither Miroku nor Sango had done much but play in the interval. "Wow, not done yet?"

"No, Kagome-chan...sama," they answered together, Miroku a beat behind, and continued.

The room grew warmer as they stopped for lunch and played into the afternoon, and not just from body heat, it seemed. "I think Inuyasha's finally cheering up," Kagome noted as Sango excused herself to get some torches.

"Maybe," Miroku said, stretching both hands and careful not to disturb his right. "One hopes so. Didn't you want to begin collecting wood for your project tomorrow?"

"Yeah, so I hope it stays dry outside." Kagome linked her fingers and pushed them out, wincing in relief as the joints popped. "You'll still give us some sutras in case any more demons show up, right?"

"Actually, Kagome-sama, with the wolves nearby, most of the lesser demons nearby will likely choose to go elsewhere. I suspect their appetites are what have kept the wolves from becoming wealthy in this age, and any free meals would be more welcome." Miroku rubbed his neck wearily. "I will provide a few just in case, though."

"Thanks." Kagome watched him discreetly for a few seconds: he really was quite good-looking... Good thing he's more like the perverted big brother I...well, already have...or Sango and I would be having some serious conflicts. Now, Inuyasha, on the other hand............idiot!

"It's almost time for dinner, Kagome-chan," Sango said from the door, and Kagome grunted acknowledgment, getting up slowly.

After a cursory bath and a change into her favorite green skirt and white blouse, Kagome headed up to Inuyasha's room and opened the shoji with irritation still weighing heavy on her mind. If he gives me any crap, I swear...

"Hurry it up, wench. I'm starving."

So far so...normal. "Fine." She sank onto her cushion and picked up her chopsticks and bowl.

Inuyasha eyed her skirt in disbelief but elected not to say anything...till she was busy chewing her first mouthful of rice. "Why do you even bother putting anything on in the first place if you're going to run about almost naked?"

"Because, Dad, this is comfortable, and if you don't like having to look at my legs, just keep your eyes to yourself. And this isn't that bad, I'll have you know. Lots of girls now wear shorter things than this."

"Feh." Inuyasha returned to his food, and she did the same, warily.

"So." Her head jerked up at his single word. Inuyasha was not looking up, and she waited, motionless. "Have fun today?"

Kagome willed herself not to snap the chopsticks in half and plastered on a smile. "Oh, yeah. I just love being hit on by guys who have no clue when to stop and meeting people who..." She shoved more rice into her mouth before she let the rest of that slip: no telling what Inuyasha might do if he knew Ginta and Hakaku had been somewhat responsible for her family moving and, consequently, her part in the curse now.

"Who...?" Inuyasha prompted, and she swallowed so hard she almost choked. Ye gods, he sounds bored! Is he doing that thing again...?

"Uh..." Damn, her mind wasn't working. "Never mind. Playing cards was kinda fun, though. So I guess it wasn't too bad overall."

"Right." Inuyasha sipped his tea and frowned at her. "What was that about the land? I was only listening for a second at the end."

"You don't want to know, trust me." Kagome tapped her chopsticks on the bowl, cursing silently and wondering just how much was safe to tell him, as he was definitely not going to let it go. "...Well, he wants this land for his pack. But my dad owns it and they don't have enough to buy him out, so don't worry about it." She held her breath and looked up: white lie and all, was that enough to keep him from going berserk?

Inuyasha was very still. "Not enough to buy it? I thought you were desperate for money."

Kagome stuck her tongue out. "We are, thanks for your tact. But if I were to go back and tell Dad not to sell it to the wolves because that'd mean more demons moving in and probably hitting on me nonstop, he'd listen. I could always ask Kouga to wait a few more years and try again without him knowing if I were to, say, have Dad put a clause in his will turning the land into a wildlife preserve or a national park." That was a new idea, and a downright appealing one. She rather liked it, actually. ...Oh, yeah, and Kouga would have to move on. Sucks for him, but otherwise, everyone wins!

Inuyasha didn't seem to agree. "...Meaning...?"

She scowled. "It means that the government would own the land and no one could live, build or otherwise mess around here, end of story. It's the best I could do."

Inuyasha's scowl deepened even further, and she fumed. Dammit, does he even have any idea how nice I'm trying to be?! I mean it, t-

"You'd do that?"

"Huh?" Kagome blinked and looked up at him. He was toying with his miso, but his ears were slightly drooping and his voice had been so quiet that she'd barely heard it.

"What about your family? They wouldn't like it if you gave up the money and kept this land untouched just so the wolves wouldn't get it, would they?" He stirred listlessly, still speaking more softly than she thought she'd ever heard.

"Well...the government might help us because we donated the land," Kagome pointed out. "And it's not like I like the idea of Kouga profiting off the curse, or of us getting a lot of money because of it. Now that I think of it, I'd rather still be poor."

"...Thanks."

Kagome dropped her chopsticks. "Uh..." She gaped at him for a second. "Y..."

Inuyasha kept stirring, glanced up, and scowled. "Yeah, what?"

"Uh...well...you're welcome. And I mean it." She ducked her head to look for her chopsticks, clumsily picking one up. Her heart almost stopped when a clawed hand delicately lifted the other and held it up for her to take. Dammit. What's wrong with me? He says thanks and picks something up, and I go Idiot Babbling Shoujo Heroine?! "Thanks." Kagome carefully took it back and repositioned the sticks in her hand, not daring to look at him. Why oh why didn't he just eat me? That would've been so much less awkward...

Inuyasha grunted and went back to playing with his food. All his senses were concentrated on deciding whether she was lying or not, and everything indicated that she really meant it. Must be some catch somewhere...maybe she's just trying to keep me from going berserk or something?

But what she did she have to gain from that? Gods knew the wench could hold her own in an argument and wasn't the type to always keep her mouth shut to avoid more... Dammit. Maybe I should've really eaten her and spared myself all this crap.

A few minutes later, it became evident that neither of them was going to finish their food. "I'm about ready for bed," Kagome said quietly, risking a glance up at him and returning to her food, poking the half-full rice around. "Are you almost finished?"

"Yeah, yeah." Inuyasha gulped down the rest of his tea and stood, waiting for her to do the same. "So, wench. Will you marry me?"

Kagome shook her head slowly. "No, I won't. I'm not marrying anyone."

"Good." Inuyasha's eye twitched. "I mean, right. And good-that you won't. Me, I mean....Right. G'night."

Kagome stared at the shoji as he nodded awkwardly and retreated as fast as humanly (half-humanly?) possible. Huh. Weird... Was he embarrassed...? Huh. Weird. This calls for some girl talk...

She was so lost in thought that she almost bumped straight into Miroku as they approached her room from opposite directions. "Oh! Pardon me, please, Kagome-sama," the monk said with obvious surprise and what sounded a bit like disappointment. "You're down rather early this evening."

"Am I?...Yeah, we really weren't that hungry, so I left a lot earlier than usual." Kagome studied him intently. "Why, did I interrupt any plans?"

"Oh...no, no, of course not." Miroku smiled brightly and waved at her in dismissal. "I really must be going now, Kagome-s-"

"Uh-uh! Wait right there!" Kagome called sternly as he took off down the corridor.

The monk's shoulders jerked, and he stopped long enough to look over his shoulder. "...Yes?"

"Uh..." "Come back and do something with Sango" doesn't have the right ring to it...! "Uh...you know, tomorrow night, I think I can make sure I stay at dinner a while longer. Would you be able to drop by if I did?"

Miroku frowned slightly. "By Inuyasha's room? For what purpose, Kagome-sama?"

Kagome smirked. "Not his room. I'm not the one you need to talk to alone, am I?" Miroku gulped, and she grinned. "I thought so. Look, she needs to talk to you, too, so I promise I'll hang around Inuyasha longer tomorrow night."

"Oh, you needn't give us that much consideration, Kagome-sama..." It was Miroku's turn to look suggestive. "Though if you would also benefit from your extra time...eating, I would have no objections."

"You...!" Kagome crossed her arms. "I'm offering entirely for you guys, I'll have you know. I hope you appreciate it!"

"Oh, of course, Kagome-sama, of course," the monk said gaily, turning and bowing deeply. "I accept your selfless offer with utmost gratitude."

"Good. You're welcome..." Some inner demon prodded her into coughing and dropping her voice. "You're not going to make me stay up at dinner the whole night, are you?"

Her mock severity had the opposite effect: Miroku's face darkened, and he shook his head with a sad little smile. "No, Kagome-sama, I wouldn't do that to you." He shifted his staff and flexed his hand slowly. "And please understand that I would certainly not do that to Sango-sama. You do understand, correct?"

"I think you'd better ask her about it before you make any decisions like that," Kagome said coolly. "Remember your own lecture about an opportunity being a poor idea? Sometimes that works both ways."

Miroku's eyes widened slightly, but then he shook his head. Kagome growled and tapped her foot irritably. "Look, just think about it, okay? And ask her what she thinks before we have to trade more of these double entendres." Not to mention that I'm going to go ballistic and superglue them together if they don't get a clue very, very soon. Man, I wish I had some way of getting to the store...

There seemed to be some kind of idea lurking in the back of her mind about that, but she was too preoccupied with Inuyasha's weirdness and the frustration of matchmaking with two people as romantically dense as her friends to pursue it. Screw it. I'll think about it tomorrow as soon as we start getting all that wood together. Gonna need some tools...

Thankfully, Sango was in no mood to talk, and after a brief exchange of "Good night" and blowing the lights out, they each settled down to bed with their own thoughts. Shippou, who had heard the entire conversation outside the room in addition to the one from last night, began making a few plans of his own for tomorrow and fell asleep mid-scheme.

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A/N: Okay, this one was running too long to include more days like I'd planned (trust me on this one); I have not only today (more like this evening by now) off, but tomorrow as well, so I swear by whatever you want that I shall have another chapter up by tomorrow night. How, you ask? Well, I know exactly what I want, have no obligations to get in the way, and I lose my `Net connection on the 12th and don't get another one till I come home on the 18th or 19th...so another long delay is in the cards, which I fully intend to make up for in advance with a looooong chapter that I think you'll enjoy. Mwa ha ha ha ha. (It was going to be in this one, but it ran way too long, even for me. You'll see what I mean very soon. Mwa.) See y'all soon, and sorry again for the delay. Stupid work...

(P.S. I can still check my e-mail for a few days and type on this comp once my paid dial-up expires; I must say, y'all's reviews make me very very very happy, and happy more writing. Just a thought. Mwa ha ha ha ha.... Not that I'd hold out for reviews. I'm not that desperate, not to worry. I've just had a bad week, and rereading my revs made me feel much better. Thought I'd randomly pass that on before I ask Sis to update for me `cause my dial-up can't handle the upload of a 455KB file. X''D)