InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beast ❯ Fluffy, Part One ( Chapter 22 )

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone I'm writing about. Especially not my reviewers. And not my borrowed Irish Imp muse, either, so I don't have to foot the cleaning bills. Mwa ha ha.

A/N: In a funky mood, so let's see how that translates here. But fiiiirst, some reviewer responses…or way too many as it is, rather, so lemme just toss out a general thanks to everyone who gave me something with e-sugar in it, and for all the niceness and well-wishing in the form of ordering me to sleep. (I did sleep a lot this weekend, for the record.) I really like niceness, but I really like sleep…anyway, here we go:

Nabob - You're welcome. Again. It's good to keep your teeth clean, too. Especially when you munch bags of candy. Mmmmm. Candy. Where're my Hershey's…that I ate last night. Crap…

hecate2 - It was a bit rushed, but I went back and triple-checked the days (though lack of sleep probably made that more like 1.5 times in terms of efficiency…), and it's been just over a month now, never ye worry. ;D

Aliora - My muse being back in action means I have a lot of drunken antics to distract me…not that this is a bad thing, so thanks. : )

Rezol - I quite agree, except she isn't a clay pot this time around, `member? No Urasue to bring her back to life in an empty body, nor will there be…mmm, Pocky…

Dea Mariella - The circus music is called "Entrance of the Gladiators"?? Weeeird. Probably some Roman thing, with their death circus jingles and their fancy hair…(mumble mumble randomly)…Thanks for the random trivia. Me likey useless formation.

minaosu - XD Chupacabra…brilliance! (sets off to see how to write that in kana, then quickly loses interest, as I have a chapter to write and all)

RandomTale - I was speaking more from sleep-drunken hostility than anything else. :'D I blame my own muse for it, though I do admit he's at least never done karaoke in my hearing…

fardreamer86 - Oooh, enormous e-cake with…(ahem) Actually, the personal experience of which I spake, `twas actually the feeling of general angst when you're in love and all is not right with the world (I transplanted my own burning-grapefruit-wedged-in-your-chest sensation from "He's a couple hundred miles away" for "He doesn't love me back" and edited a bit so as not to be too humorous when it didn't fit). I did used to eat lots of garlic when I was little, though…

Midoriko-sama - Keep him away from the karaoke mike. That's all I have to say.

darkscorpio28 - Why does Fluffy want the land? You'll see.

blue morning tide - Isn't that a great song? :D Glad you liked it.

StarrFire - Thanks for all the reviews. My, that last one was a doozy…and I commend you for knowing more about much of what I'm talking about than I do. But please believe me when I say I've thought all this through fairly thoroughly, and it's not that easy; I was angling more at the fact that, as far as the world is concerned, no one in the castle really exists, and none of the residents have any skills to help them survive in this time-staying in the castle is all well and good, but what happens when, say, the kids grow up and want to leave, but have no school records or knowledge of how to get/keep a job? There's also still the wolves to deal with, even if Kag and/or Inuyasha have the money to survive, the land is theirs, and the outside world (i.e. government) leaves them alone. As for her dad being able to get in, well, if you go back a few chapters to 18, even Inuyasha admitted he didn't know how that happened. ;D That's yet to be explained. (Buyo's not affected by any of the barriers, either; there's nothing up to keep ordinary cats out.) My only hint about people having seen the castle even with the wards (good catch) is that Inuyasha doesn't know everything about the wards, or whether some people actually have somehow seen the castle every few years… And if all this crud isn't messy enough, well, remember that Fluffy's in the picture now…and keep in mind that probably the biggest roadblock is emotional: she doesn't want to marry him if he doesn't love her, mainly for his sake.

(One last thing: Kag's potty mouth is definitely not in her character from the main storyline, but trust me, a person raised in a stable, loving environment with only one little brother will speak a lot differently than the same person raised with a single not-too-effectual parent and several older siblings who frequently cuss around and at her, unless said person is a saint. Kagome is not a saint, especially not when she's got PMS. Plus, her actual yelling is reasonably in character, ne?)

Wow. That was way too long. Sorry…

Beast

Chapter 22

"And he hit him, knowing the messenger was from Sesshoumaru?"

"Yep. Knocked him out, too. He only woke up a couple hours ago."

Sango shook her head slowly in utter disbelief, grimacing as the motion almost undid the loose bun Kagome had made of her hair. She sat up higher in the water to keep the half-dried strands off her shoulders. "I can't believe him. He knows his brother despises him to begin with. Why add insult when he's already in a bad position?"

"Since when does Inuyasha think before he hits?" Shippou pointed out, squeaking a small rubber ducky for emphasis.

"Pretty much," Kagome agreed, scrunching down deeper into her side of the tub with a long sigh. "Then he just wanted to go back inside and go right back to what we'd been doing."

"Jaken didn't seem very happy when he woke up, either," Shippou noted.

"Well, I know I wouldn't be happy if I got a bucket of cold dishwater in the face." Kagome scratched her neck irritably. "That was all I could think about during dinner. Inuyasha thought I was getting sick again."

"Unbelievable. He'll be lucky if Sesshoumaru lets him keep all his limbs," Sango said darkly.

Kagome pondered that as they got out, sent Shippou for a servant to change the water, and dressed for bed. She'd given up on last month's custom of bathing in the morning: it wasn't worth the hassle of cutting her lessons with Kouga or Inuyasha short.

"So he's pretty strong?" she asked Sango on the way back to the room, and then stopped with her friend as rapid thudding steps grew louder ahead.

"Watch yourself," the slayer admonished Kohaku as he and Shippou raced around the corner. Kagome plucked the kit neatly off the ground, setting him down facing the other way with a pat on the back; he gave her a sheepish grin and set off at a more sedate pace towards the servants' quarters.

Kohaku ducked his head and bowed apologetically as his sister raised an eyebrow at him. "I told you, no running inside, and not when you have your weapon improperly secured." Sango gestured towards the chain sickle at his back; the tip was jutting out a little too far to the boy's side. "Don't let me catch you at it again, or I'll start you back at the beginning of your training. Understood?"

This was evidently quite the threat, for he gulped, nodding rapidly as his eyes widened and then dropped under Sango's stern gaze. She allowed a half-smile to escape and rapped the top of his head lightly with one fist. "Good. There's nothing wrong with playing, but inside at night is not the time nor the place. Now, go find Shippou and tell him you two can stay up a bit later and spend the night in your room so long as you're quiet. Kagome-sama and I have a few things to discuss."

"All right. Good night, ane-ue, Kagome-sama." Kohaku squeezed against the wall to let them pass first. Kagome tapped the sickle's half-secured handle lightly as she passed, and he obediently tucked it back in before Sango could see.

"Nice one," Kagome said in the safety of their room, snuggling down into her cool pillow. The weather had stayed fairly warm all day, and after the heat of the bath, she was starting to feel it. A purring lump of Buyo on the small of her back wasn't particularly helpful, either. "Does Kohaku always carry that thing?"

"We're taught to keep a weapon ready at all times, yes." She heard Sango pat her kimono's front. "I carry powder and a short sword whenever my Hiraikoutsu is impractical."

"I've always been nervous around blades. I cut myself once when I was little." Kagome yawned, rubbing her fingertips together. They had started to tingle slightly. "I never see you with a sword…"

"Underneath my clothes, but within easy reach," Sango answered, yawning back. "I usually find hand-to-hand techniques sufficient against humans, and many demons require better weapons, but I still keep it ready."

"Normal stuff like swords works on demons?" Buyo began to knead her back with his claws; she tried to wriggle him off, with the same success she would've enjoyed trying to lift a piano with both hands tied behind her back.

"Most normal blades won't harm the greater demons, such as those in Inuyasha's family. That's why we use weapons and armor made from the bones of our prey, like Hiraikoutsu and part of Kohaku's sickle," Sango explained, yawning again.

"So that's why I got a weird vibe from it." Kagome shook her hand at the wrist to try to dispel the itching numbness. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask how they could handle their weapons without any protection, but their earlier conversation came back to her and took precedence. "Oh, yeah, that's right-Inuyasha's brother. He's full demon, right?"

"Yes, and Inuyasha is no match for him. I doubt even Kouga could challenge him except maybe in terms of speed, and even then my money would go to Sesshoumaru. He's not noted for his leniency, either."

"And Inuyasha told Jaken to tell him to go to hell and…a lot of other stuff. Great." Kagome could see why her friend was disturbed now. Perfect. Another reason to worry about the big lunkhead is exactly what I need.

Sango snorted. "Indeed. Which reminds me, what were you and Kouga discussing this afternoon? I didn't understand much of what I heard."

"Oh, that?" Kagome made a face at the silhouette of the TV box. "All he wanted was to know how to get the laptop to work. Ginta and Hakkaku told him about that, and the TV, and some of the other stuff we have here. You came in as I was explaining how we'd need a power source and how expensive it'd be, which was about when Inuyasha came in and started talking about how you'd just tried to kill Miroku."

"I did not!" Sango protested, half sitting up. "As I said before, I didn't even touch him!"

"So? That doesn't mean Shippou didn't see you giving him The Look when he had just stopped to talk to the laundry maids."

"For two and a half hours?!"

Kagome sighed. "It's just habit, and you'll notice he never touches anyone anymore except you. Just give him a chance to get used to the idea that he's attached now."

"…Do you think so?"

"'Course. He's friggin' nuts about you." Kagome still hadn't told her she'd eavesdropped on that fateful conversation a few nights ago, and after the surprise and happiness she'd expressed when Sango shared the good news - even if all but the surprise was genuine - she wasn't sure she ever would.

Sango made a diffident noise, but Kagome knew she was pleased. The servants hadn't tapered off their attacks lately, switching instead to lengthy discussions of how long Sango would amuse herself with the houshi before moving on, possibly to Kouga. This time, though, Kagome had gotten her friend to laugh about it, and the slayer was more at ease overall than she'd been since Kagome first arrived.

Inner devilry and curiosity reminded Kagome now that they were kit-less for the first time since it had transpired, and she started to open her mouth…and closed it. Damn. If she was Yuka or Eri, I could ask away, but Sango's not used to talking about any of this stuff. Nuts!

"So…" Sango's voice - or, more accurately, her tone - got Kagome's immediate attention. "Did you…well, did anything…happen with Inuyasha?"

The Irony Fairy's right on time, as usual. Guess I shouldn't complain…"He got a faceful of garlic breath," Kagome grumbled, channeling her irritation into the strength necessary to turn over and dislodge Buyo, who plopped onto the floor with an offended yowl. "And of course now that I've started, he's not interested anymore."

Unseen on the floor, Sango smirked ever so slightly, unconsciously imitating her houshi. "Am I just imagining some disappointment, Kagome-chan?"

"Well…" Kagome shifted, flapping her nightshirt in vain to cool herself off. "…I was curious, and he was so close, too…" She sighed mightily and drummed her hands against the mattress. "I guess it was for the best, though. Now that I think about it, I don't want him to want to slobber all over me just `cause he likes my smell."

The pause that followed was so loaded that Kagome grunted and hefted her pillow towards the futon. "You say anything and you're eating polyester!"

Sango coughed and held up one forearm just in case; neither could see in the dimness, but the creak of mattress as Kagome leaned forward warningly was clear enough. "No, no, Kagome-chan, I was just…er…admiring your, um…choice of words." Kagome didn't move, and Sango went on levelly, ducking her head for protection: "I didn't mean to imply that you basically said you wanted-"

Wham went the pillow on Sango's arm, and the slayer was soon laughing too hard to argue as Kagome tried to belabor her head and arms, missing spectacularly most of the time; Sango had only to back out of the futon to make her topple off the bed entirely, trying to gasp "Worse…than Miroku!" in between breaths. Honor decreed that Sango had to claim insult and retaliate with the abandoned pillow, which forced Kagome to yank her comforter from under Buyo and attempt to use it as a weapon. Those efforts proved so ridiculous that they were out of breath with laughter and exertion within minutes.

"Peace?" Sango mumbled from under the comforter, flipping one corner up to allow air to circulate underneath.

"Yeah," Kagome wheezed, rolling off the lumps of fabric and legs to allow Sango the chance to cool off. "And that was what we like to call…a pillow fight."

"I…see." Sango grinned and wiped her forehead. "We'll need another bath in the morning at this rate."

"If we do, you get to pick whether I stiff Inuyasha or Kouga on time and then explain it to them." Kagome sighed and leaned back against the bed, fanning herself vigorously. "Or, I think I might just take tomorrow off."

"I think you should. And you never built that…tree thing for the children, remember?"

"Oh, crap, you're right!" Kagome had completely forgotten about the treehouse. She rubbed her eyes guiltily. "I'll have to do that soon, or they'll think I'm some delusional, promise-breaking witch."

Another silence descended as they made themselves comfortable in the tangle of blanket and futon, silently conceding that sleep was not going to happen for a while. Kagome felt around to her right and, locating a glob of warm fur, began to stroke it absently as Buyo purred. "Hey, Sango-chan. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but… what's… um… love… like?"

Dead silence. Even Buyo fell quiet in disgruntlement as Kagome's hand paused. "I'm sorry. Too personal?"

The reply was slow in coming. "…Very nearly too personal to ask, yes, but you've said talking about it to close friends is acceptable in this time, so I take no offense." Sango sighed and wrapped her arms around her knees. "It is too personal to answer, though. Father said it's not the same for everyone, and treating it as a toy or a game to be shared freely demeans it. I know you didn't mean it that way, but…"

"Nah, you're right. I'm sorry." Kagome also rested her head on her arms. "Just curious. Tell you the truth, I've never even held hands before I came here. I was too picky before we lost everything, and then I didn't get the chance to meet anyone."

"We'll see," Sango said quietly and strangely. Then, before Kagome could ponder her meaning, she felt the slayer sit up. "The only thing I can tell you is, as you yourself said about love, not to expect perfection." She chuckled evilly and dropped her voice. "The first time, anyway."

"Sango!" Kagome's face had to be three shades of red. "Okay, I get the point! Geez…he really has rubbed off on you."

Sango's only response was more laughter, and Kagome flushed further. "All right! That's enough! Time for bed now!"

Discovering that her shy friend had the capacity to speak in innuendo blotted out her worries about Inuyasha's brother till she fell asleep, and even then the pillow fight seemed to have a restrictive effect on her mind's ability to be serious: she dreamed that Sesshoumaru came to the castle and demanded to speak with Inuyasha, except that he grew angry because his orders weren't obeyed thanks to the clown nose he was wearing (she couldn't recall what he looked like otherwise), so he simply gave everyone rubber ducks to hold, and it somehow ended with everyone dead and Kagome very confused, even as a corpse.

"That's the last time I don't eat a full meal before I go to bed," she mumbled as she mulled over it the next morning, shaking her head at Shippou's inquiring look.

It was a little less warm and pleasant out today, and several clouds on the horizon effectively killed her plans to gather the children to hunt for a good treehouse site. "Well, maybe we can go see if there's anywhere nearby that might work," Kagome suggested, scanning the dark cloudbanks and wondering irritably why the wolves had decided to buy her plenty of amusing but thoroughly useless trinkets, yet neglected to include any umbrellas.

"I suppose," Sango said doubtfully, indicating Kagome and Shippou should follow her out to the weapons sheds so she could retrieve Hiraikoutsu. "The houshi-sama said he was going to try to reason with Inuyasha about his brother, so we'll have some free time before he recovers enough to follow us."

Inuyasha had been piqued about Kagome's declaration of free time for herself, but he'd made up for it by taunting Kouga about his lesson's cancellation, and the resultant fight had been just long enough to bruise most of Inuyasha's ribs. He would be fully recovered by nightfall, but at the moment, he was not pleasant company. Thankfully, Kouga had vanished immediately afterwards.

Kirara joined them at the border to the forest, and for about an hour, their walk was quite pleasant. Shippou and Kirara frisked around their feet as they strolled through the trees, marking two very likely spots out of five initial possibilities; the larger set of branches showed evidence of being rotten or dead in places, but was still sturdier than the alternative.

"We could strengthen either one with more wood," Kagome was saying absently when the skin on the back of her neck went stiff, all the hairs standing straight on end. That mental itch she felt whenever the wolves approached was back, but more like the buzz of a hacksaw than a gentle sensation.

She lurched to her feet, heedless of thunder rumbling overhead or of how dark it'd gotten as the feeling snapped her mind to attention. "Something is…"

"What is it?" Sango stood and hefted her weapon, glancing down at Kirara as the fire-cat ceased batting at Shippou's tiny hands, rolled to her feet and began growling steadily, flaming into her larger form and pacing restlessly around. "Maybe we should go back now, Kagome-chan…"

"Too late," Kagome heard herself say, and almost on cue the bushes to their left rustled warningly. Shippou squeaked and leapt into Kagome's arms; Sango stepped in front of her, and Kirara crouched at their side.

"Good morning." They almost fell over as Jaken stepped out and scurried forward in all his misshapen, undisguised glory, stopping too close for comfort and coughing importantly. "This Jaken is humbled to announce th-"

"Silence." Another roll of thunder accented the command, given in tones of cold silk, elegant and almost emotionless. No noise heralded the speaker's entrance, and they all started as Jaken lingered a moment too long groveling and was swept aside with swift, casual violence.

Ice seeped into Kagome's veins as the newcomer materialized where Jaken had been bowing not half a moment ago, and she got her first solid look at him: tall, slim and well-muscled, beautifully defined features-long and straight nose, perfect cheekbones and slanted eyes all balanced flawlessly, enough so to put any woman to shame, but cold, utterly untouchable, like iced-over glass or unpolished marble; as she stared, the frighteningly expensive business suit, silky shoulder-length black hair and glittering black eyes seeped away into his true appearance, and the first look into his real eyes was enough to make her swallow hard, barely summoning the effort to speak. "You…you must be Sesshoumaru."

Kagome didn't need Jaken's indignant sputtering over the proper form of address to his lord as confirmation. Though Sesshoumaru's ears were set alongside his face like a human's, they were sharply pointed, and running across each deceptively soft-looking cheek were two purple stripes, though these were smooth and came to sharp points-no jagged lines to be found anywhere, Kagome figured, including similar stripes running down each forearm and tapering at the wrist. A strange crescent moon of the same purple adorned his forehead, but where such a decoration would make most people look a bit silly, the moon only seemed to make the utterly unmoving features more impressive.

His hair was now a liquid sheet of white, past his waist; a bizarre, furry, boa-like cream-colored object - a tail? - was draped over his shoulder in strange complement to feudal-style armor and richly patterned white clothes that had to be worth more than most feudal villages, even with their lord's castle included; but it was his eyes that gave her the greatest pause, staring down unblinking and icily golden, faintly familiar yet completely unlike the single second a month ago she'd thought she'd seen Inuyasha's turn that very color. Sesshoumaru was so…cold-looking…gorgeous, to be sure, but absolutely nothing like the rough self-consciousness she liked…loved…so much in his half-brother.

"You see through the spell." Like her, Sesshoumaru was not asking: there was no need. His gaze shifted just enough to give the impression of piercing scrutiny to the other three without leaving Kagome's. "Demons, a remnant of that pathetic demon-hunting village, and a wench who sees past this Sesshoumaru's guise…and stinks of Inuyasha." They tensed as he let the human semblance fade entirely and shifted his weight forward imperceptibly, allowing them to see a sword's hilt emerge from under one billowing sleeve. "This Sesshoumaru understands that Inuyasha is awake and the castle bound no longer."

What a snotwad. No one talks like that unless they're drunk and trying to be funny, the Akemi/Nabiki-trained part of her mind groused, even as the rest tried to think of something safe to say.

Kagome shifted Shippou up to her neck, patting him reassuringly as he trembled, proud of how steady her voice was. "Yes, and no. It's a long story."

"The hanyou is trapped here under a ridiculous plot of revenge, Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken volunteered from his prone position in the undergrowth. "He cannot leave the castle, and he's bound to the wench from this era. The rest were caught in the geas when he was sealed and are also bound here. No one of any threat to you, of course-"

"How the hell did you find all that out?" Kagome snapped, mentally rescinding every scrap of pity she'd felt for the little bastard yesterday.

"That'd be me." They all backed up further as Kouga came up behind Sesshoumaru, rubbing his head sheepishly, human image flipping in and out as he moved.

"Kouga?!" Kagome gaped at him, shaking her head in disbelief as Ginta and Hakkaku also came up, gulping and darting nervous glances at Sesshoumaru. "What're you doing telling him this stuff? Whose side are you on?!"

"Not Inuyasha's," the wolf replied easily, grimacing at her enraged look and scent. "Look, it's okay. He's offered us a deal." Kouga inclined his head towards Sesshoumaru, who did not deign to acknowledge the breach of manners and gestured for Jaken's indignation to cease once more. Kagome had a feeling that even bothering to act superior was beneath Sesshoumaru. "You know how Jaken's your dad's other partner, along with Ginta and Hakkaku's dads, right?"

Sesshoumaru's gaze on her sharpened, and Kagome could only nod, almost defiantly, choosing to keep her eyes on Kouga. Staring contests were all well and good, but not with horribly powerful, unfriendly and amoral demons.

"Well, the thing is, the land only came up for sale, for the first time in centuries, I might add, because the half-demon who had somehow gotten his hands on it died a few years ago, and Sesshoumaru told Jaken to get it fast. Then he had Ginta `n Hakkaku get to work making sure the land got to be worth a lot right as he bought it so no one would wonder why he'd bothered." Kouga shrugged. "Too much trouble, if you ask me, but he's pretty careful about appearances.

"Anyway, Jaken here-" He waved at the imp in the bushes. "He screwed up. He was gonna have your dad take over an area with a small, unpolluted natural aquifer under it that's been hidden and maintained by water demons for centuries, and all the attention that that got would overshadow Jaken buying the castle, just in case anyone got suspicious enough to look into it-don't ask why all the secrecy, `cause he's not telling.

"So Sesshoumaru's habit of not telling anyone anything bites him in the hand this time, `cause Jaken doesn't know why he needs to buy the tiny, crappy plot outside Tokyo when there's a much richer piece of land just waiting to be snapped up…and he figures the guy who relayed Sesshoumaru's instructions got mixed up, buys the aquifer quietly, and gets your dad to go for the castle. Sesshoumaru finds out, heads literally roll-" Looking at the demon's short, sharp and well-kept claws, Kagome had no doubt about that. "-and Ginta and Hakkaku get to work making sure no one will ever want to buy Higurashi out. Trouble is, they disappear as soon as it's safe to approach them, and no one's found them till now."

There was that mention of disappearing again. But Kagome had way more to ponder than vague geographical mysteries. "Y-you mean we went through three years of dirt poverty when we could've stayed put and…?!"

Silence was all the answer she needed.

"Son of a-!" She bit her lips and willed herself not to explode. How many more people were going to step out of the shadows and blithely tell her that the worst time of her life had been accidental and completely avoidable? "All right," she said tightly, trying not to smother Shippou against her chest. "What now?"

"What the fuck is going on here?" The only person who would word a request for information thus limped into sight behind them and snarled, baring his teeth at his older half-brother, heedless of Miroku coming up behind him too late. "You…!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed to slits, and for one moment of sheer hell Kagome thought he was going to spring at Inuyasha. But he relaxed after a few agonizing seconds, contempt replacing caution. "Curse, indeed. You imitate your betters as pathetically as ever."

"What?!"

"Hold on, Inuyasha," Kagome hissed, holding one hand out to restrain him, and he gaped at her. "I'm not saying you should give him a hug, just listen for a minute. This is important." She turned back to Kouga as the hanyou was still trying to process what she'd said. "Continue, please."

Kouga eyed Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha uneasily, shrugging. "Okay…well, Sesshoumaru's made a d-"

"Are you certain the curse will affect the castle if he were to simply die now?" Sesshoumaru did not have to raise his voice to cut in.

The wolf lord blinked, taken aback. "Well, no, but it's just a couple more months, and it's easier that way…"

"Tell this Sesshoumaru something, half-breed. Where is your mother?" Kagome's stomach churned at the scalding disdain placed in the last word, the same way one would ask an acquaintance if a vermin or insect problem had been taken care of yet or not.

Inuyasha's eyes went very wide, and the red seemed to harden, solidify, as a deep growl worked its way up through his chest, lost in the thunder's roar. "What…did you-"

Miroku wisely backed off, edging his way towards Sango instead, and Kagome nearly traded places with him, patting Inuyasha tentatively, as if that could diffuse the situation.

"This Sesshoumaru wishes to know whether the creature our noble father left in his stead still exists. If she does not, there is no reason to tolerate the memory of her filthy presence in this Sesshoumaru's castle."

Only the bruises on Inuyasha's ribcage saved his life as reason, logic and the feel of Kagome's restraining hand on his arm were swallowed in rage and he made a single mad lunge for his brother's throat. His mind was far beyond the reach of mere physical pain, but the involuntary muscle spasms in his right side did not escape Sesshoumaru's notice even as the full demon watched the hanyou carelessly, gliding to the side and almost delicately planting his fist directly into Inuyasha's ribs, mashing him into the ground with such casually ruthless power that even Kouga winced a little.

"You are damaged." Raw derision left them fully aware that Sesshoumaru was not just thinking of his half-brother's now-broken bones. "This Sesshoumaru will not sully his hands on one such as-"

"Oh, shut up and leave him alone!" Everyone watching nearly suffered heart failure as Kagome stormed over to where Inuyasha lay, literally underfoot. Sesshoumaru melted back, appraising Kagome dispassionately as she fell on her knees at Inuyasha's side, whirling to give his brother a glare only slightly impeded by tears. "If you're so much better than he is, why can't you piss off and condescend to let him live two more freakin' months?! Or would you rather spit on your dad's grave by killing your own brother when he's already hurt?"

Sesshoumaru's tone did not change; only Kagome could see by the slight narrowing of his golden eyes that she had managed to hit a nerve. "This Sesshoumaru may yet kill both of you for your disrespect and seek out your father to acquire the property with no further nonsense."

Miroku started forward, easing the beads free from his hand, but Sango caught him and shook her head; Kagome realized later that he couldn't have used his hand to eliminate Sesshoumaru when she and Inuyasha were also in the way.

"You don't have to sully your nail polish doing so," she said with as much coolness as she could muster under the circumstances, stroking Inuyasha's hair briefly before rising to negate at least some of Sesshoumaru's height advantage. "You've waited…what, over five hundred years for this? What's two more months? Probably a heartbeat, for you. Even less."

"Less so if you were to die now."

"Yes, but…but…" Her mind screamed at itself for a solution, something that would appeal to this horrible person, anything… "But you don't want to have to keep all the human servants his mother has at the castle, do you? Especially not when they're culturally illiterate and loyal to Inuyasha." Please, God, tell me he can't smell lies… "If you just leave things be for two measly little months, the curse will end with…with Inuyasha getting rid of them for you, then…then himself." Only desperation kept her speaking around the lump in her throat. "It'll all be taken care of for you, even cleaned up as the last part of the curse, and there's no way Dad would listen to me even if I told him not to get rid of the land after that. You see that, don't you? It all works out if you just wait!"

Sesshoumaru watched her, eyes about as expressive as the metal whose color they shared, and Kagome was just beginning to despair when the demon turned his back on her and glanced at Kouga, who couldn't conceal his jump. "You will tell the wench the terms of the agreement, and caution her that she will not treat this Sesshoumaru thus again with impunity." Suddenly light blanked out his form, and he was suddenly gone, with Jaken scrambling up out of the bushes, screeching vainly after his master.

Kagome was able to keep her knees locked for maybe five seconds after the sounds of Jaken's frantic pursuit faded. Then a crack of thunder overhead released her control: her legs crumpled beneath her, and she pressed her forehead to the ground for a moment, panting, feeling the beat of footsteps as Sango rushed forward to grab her by the shoulders, shaking her roughly and asking if she was all right.

That only reminded her of Inuyasha. Kagome tried to get up and turn around, but her knees wouldn't move, forcing her to almost drag herself the few feet to him so she could pat his cheek. "Hey," she whispered, too shaken to notice whether the contact changed his face again or not. "Hey. Can you hear me?"

Inuyasha cracked an eye at her, mumbling in between stiff and evidently painful breaths. "Stupid. Moron. Idiot."

She half-laughed, half sobbed. "That's a yes. Can you move?"

"Don't be…" Inuyasha strained to sit up and gritted his teeth, pricking the skin of his jaw. "Just gimme a minute."

"Want me to carry dog-turd back inside?" Kagome heard behind her, and turned long enough to smile and shake her head to thank him for the grudging offer, knowing Inuyasha would rather drag himself back in with his teeth if need be. Besides, now that the immediate danger was over, a few hours would permit him limited mobility. He'd literally be as good as new by this time tomorrow.

"Sorry about this," Kouga said awkwardly, gesturing for Ginta and Hakkaku to leave. "I'll come by tomorrow when he's up to breathing again." He snorted at Inuyasha's mumbled attempt at a comeback, nodded to Kagome and stalked off.

"That certainly could've gone better," Miroku said dryly, kneeling to prod Inuyasha's shoulder. Shippou came out from under Kirara - where he'd ducked the moment Kagome moved to confront Sesshoumaru - and snuggled down into Kagome's lap as Inuyasha assumed a familiar, mulish expression and the monk sighed. "I don't care if your pride is wounded or not, Inuyasha. The pieces of your ribs take priority at the moment. Besides, Kagome-sama is right here. There's no reason for you not to-" Two whacks silenced him, and Inuyasha submitted with an even grumpier scowl.

No surprise that it was drizzling sullenly by the time they got Inuyasha comfortably settled on Kirara for the short ride back to the castle, and he was so weary just from his insistence on crossing the great hall unaided that Kagome yanked him away from the stairs by one lock as he began to lift his foot. "Where're you going?"

"Lie down," he snapped as effectively as he could. "Why?"

Kagome pressed her lips together. "Can you take yourself to my room? It's closer."

He was gone, and she gathered all her reserves of patience to wait till she'd marched into the room and found him collapsed on the bed to smack her forehead with her hand. "I meant walk into my room! Not use up all your energy just so you can save twenty seconds!"

"…The hell?" Inuyasha indicated an oddly shaped set of lumps atop the TV box. "Smells…wolves…and kinda…burnt."

"Shut up. You're the one who's not allowed to talk now." Kagome rubbed her hands almost gleefully, glad she'd sent the others to Kaede for medicine. Only Shippou had questioned the need to have three of them plus Kirara go and Kagome stay with Inuyasha, and he'd figured it out quickly enough.

"You look…sadistic." Inuyasha tried to scoot away and grunted in pain.

"Better a sadist than a masochist, I always say." Kagome knelt next to the bed and began running her fingertips over his scalp lightly. "Speaking of which, you're gonna have to take this off again. It does look pretty bad, but-"

"You were doing it again." That was all on one breath, and Kagome looked at him curiously. His brows were drawn together slightly. "Fluffy almost…killed you. Surprised he didn't, you and…me."

"I'm sorry for what I said." Kagome made a face and rubbed at the bases of his ears by way of apology. By the way his feet were twitching, she judged it'd been accepted. "I don't like thinking about it any more than you do."

"Don't be. S'true."

"Not necessarily. Things change." Realizing how that sounded, Kagome coughed and hurried on. "I mean, we might figure out a way around everything, break the curse some other way or something. You never know. No reason to worry about things we can't control right now, is there?"

"You're nuts." Inuyasha shifted slightly. He couldn't believe how calmly she was taking everything, especially after the way she'd insulted the most anal demon in existence to his face. Sure, he had been doing it since he was a kid, but Fluffy had been "damaging" him since he was a kid, too… "Just don't put…yourself in…danger like that… again. Scared…the crap out of me."

"Really?" Kagome stopped and glanced up. He was giving her what she recognized as a concerned glare, something only Inuyasha could really pull off. "I figured you were too busy trying to breathe to fend for yourself."

"Keh. Don't…underestimate m-" He broke off on a yelp as Kagome sat down next to him, bouncing the bed slightly. "Bitch! Careful!"

"Yeah, I'll be careful to hit you with a sledgehammer the next time he comes around and save everyone the trouble," she shot back, tugging at his haori collar. "Come on, get this back off. I don't know why you wanted it on in the first place. Don't growl at me, young man!"

"Weirdo," he muttered, allowing her to carefully fold his garments back to expose his right side. The swelling was already a bit less pronounced, and she checked it against his relatively untouched left side: yep, it already looked better. "Don't want…servants gawking."

"Gawking? At what? You're nothing but muscle." Kagome poked him in his uninjured ribs, slightly alarmed at his jerk in response. "Inuyasha? You're not hurt there, too, are you?"

"No," he said quickly. Too quickly.

"Oh. Okay. I just thought-" Kagome feinted another check and poked him again, cackling madly when he twitched again. "You're ticklish! Ha ha ha haaaaa!"

"Don'tyoudarebitch," he wheezed, leaning away and trying to fend off her hands, manage his breathing and suppress laughter at the same time.

"Okay, okay, but as soon as you get better…" Kagome flicked his forehead very lightly. "Now lay back down. I promise I'll be good."

"Doubt that."

There wasn't much to do at that point but wait for the others. Kagome settled back onto the floor, surreptitiously sniffing her hands. Who'da thunk a guy who's technically half dog could smell so good? …Man, I'm getting as bad as he is…but that doesn't change the fact that-

"Hey."

"What?" she replied, sitting up higher and resuming her scalp rub. His eyes half closed appreciatively.

"Funny…was going to ask…is everyone now…always touching?"

"Touching?" Kagome considered that as she switched hands. "Well, compared to your time, it's a little more acceptable for friends to do things like this when we're relaxing. I'm worse about it than most Japanese people, though. Blame Western influence for pretty much everything weird about me." She smiled. "And if you think I'm weird, you should meet my brother's American friend some time. She said that across the ocean, people think nothing of cuddling or kissing in public."

"Really?" Inuyasha's nose wrinkled. "Who the hell…would mate where everyone…watches?"

Kagome laughed and shrugged, secretly relieved that the mention of kissing hadn't embarrassed him. "I think she was exaggerating, but they do tend to be, well, more open about that kind of thing. The culture is much more different about…pretty much everything, now that I think of it." Except for the fact that dog demons kiss, too. Probably not as casually as… She shoved that thought back into its corner, where she had resolved to keep it. It would get her nowhere helpful. "I'm surprised I haven't alienated the whole castle by now, come to think of it."

His only response was a stiff mumble and a turn of his head so she could reach his right ear.

A/N: Yes, that's the end of this chapter. I am about to drop. I need to stop pulling all-nighters, especially now that I've got a job working overnight at Target and I start next week-ish. I'll post what I intended to be the rest of this chapter (part 2, I suppose I'll make it) either tomorrow or the next day at a sane hour for once. Till then, I catch a few hours of nap. After I upload. Yeah. Sorry again. (You know you're an obsessive author when: you apologize for writing only 16 pages in Word…)