InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beast ❯ Halfway ( Chapter 24 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha own don't I. It got?

A/N: I wasn't going to answer any more questions for a little while, but I just have to shed some light on the last two chapters' titles…UsakoSerenity, you guys were both right, as part one referred specifically to Sesshoumaru and part two was inclined more towards poking fun at myself and/or punning. I like to do that whenever possible, so the question cracked me up. No one won that round. Sorry! (And nice catch on "Kind Lady," Chisuto-first review of the chappie, too. :D)

Shout-out to bijoux no miko for acting as a sounding board for names. Hi, Amy!

Beast

Chapter 24

Peace reigned in the castle for about seven or eight more hours at the very most, before Kagome and Inuyasha each awoke.

Kagome knew she was in trouble the moment her eyes popped open, staring wildly at the ceiling. Oh God. I did not just dream about Inuyasha. And in a particularly interesting context…nothing X-rated, but… Oh, God! She sniffed at herself desperately, remembered that she couldn't smell that and it wouldn't matter if she could anyway, and flung the comforter over her head. Maybe if I just stay here, it'll go away? She might also be able to count on the much heavier scent she'd be carting around for the next few days, anyway…

Not as if there was anything wrong with the dream itself. Far from it…no! Bad Kag! Stop that! She shook her head and flapped the comforter to get a breeze across her face. I'm a healthy girl, and I love him, and there's nothing bad about…stuff……except of course when the moron can smell what I'm thinking!

She sat up gingerly, shooting a glance at the kitsune curled up on her pillow. To her dismay, he stirred, stretched almost as lazily as Buyo, and rolled off to rub at his bleary green eyes and sniff at her avidly. "Morning….I thought you stopped smelling like that already."

A blanket of profane thought settled over Kagome's mind, but she forced a smile. "It's temporary. I'm gonna go change and take a bath. If Sango comes by, tell her to come meet me, would you, please?"

A temporary reprieve seemed in the cards as she opened the first shoji and heard footsteps approaching; smiling in considerable relief, Kagome balanced the clothes in her arms and opened the second set. "Hey, Sango-ch-"

"Well, someone's up early." Her smile froze at Kouga's surprised greeting. The wolf lord smiled and crossed his arms, eyeing the things in her arms. "Taking a bath already?" His nose twitched. "Oh, that's right, you females always want t-" His mouth stopped working right as his nose started back up without his apparent knowledge, and Kagome gulped at his knowing smirk. "I…see. Well, don't let me keep you." He half-bowed, moving aside so she could pass.

If there was any justice in the world, my head would explode rightnow. "Ah…heh heh…heh…uh…right." Of course he didn't know the source, but…

She was so eager to get away and find a hole to crawl into that she hardly noticed her feet were tangled up till she was halfway to the ground.

"Whoa!" Kouga grabbed her just in time. "Careful! You all right?"

"Yeah, thanks." She pulled away as soon as politeness and physics would permit and blinked, trying to get her bearings.

"Good. Here…" Before Kagome could stop him, Kouga had scooped all her clothes off the floor and compacted them against his chest, holding the small mess out to her. "Take it easy, eh?"

"Yeah, sure, thanks again," she chirped, forcing a nice smile to distract him from the frilly bra strap hanging halfway out as she all but snatched it back. "I'll see you in a few hours."

"No need. We're meeting on the ward's border to iron more details out, so I'll be out for the next couple of days." He bowed again. "I'll talk to you later, though. Tell dog-turd not to freak out too much about it, okay?"

"He'll notice soon enough, but it's not really like he can do anything about it." She grimaced at her own callousness. "Don't worry, I'll try to keep him sane about it."

Kouga nodded. "Good. I look forward to our next meeting…"

"Me, too. Later, then." Kagome ducked around him.

The bra strap promptly caught on one of his furred cuffs. Unaware of its function or significance, Kouga merely paused to unhook it with a casual "Pardon," and Kagome kept up her similarly cool façade till they were safely off in different directions and she had a chance to exhale and bang her head against the wall. I (thud) am (thud) not (thud) getting (thud) a very (thud) good (thud) start-

"Oi." Inuyasha's voice cracked as she was drawing back for another assault.

Her heart sank to her toenails. And the clouds opened up and God said, "Hey, that wasn't bad enough! Let's see how much more she can take till she cracks like an egg under a sledgehammer!"

Inuyasha had jerked awake at almost the precise moment Kagome had, except it was in utter triumph. Ah HA! I knew there was something I forgot to bring up last night! He'd completely forgotten to point out that he didn't give a rat's ass what Kouga did or didn't do so much as he minded the way she hadn't bothered to tell Kouga that she was going to try to have the land protected instead. Inuyasha wasn't stupid, and knew perfectly well that that worm who'd sired her would probably sell out the split second the wolf showed up and waved - what did she say the money was called now? - some yen around. However, this did not mean she could pretend to go along with their little scheme, particularly when part of it was that damn wolf's blithe assumption that Kagome was his because he'd said so.

Once more grateful for Miroku's absence, Inuyasha flung off the cover of his futon and marched straight down to the first floor. He smelled wolf nearby and growled in disgust, ducking around to take a smaller side passage to the baths to avoid having to deal with Kouga. Freak better stay away from Kagome, too…He flexed his claws, too intent on murderous thoughts to hear voices till he came out the way the servants usually took to and from the baths. When he did, he stopped dead. No. No way.

But his ears very distinctly confirmed what his nose was telling him. Kagome and Kouga were talking nearby, the latter speaking as he started to really listen. "…so I'll be out for the next couple of days. I'll talk to you later, though. Tell dog-turd not to freak out too much about it, okay?"

"He'll notice soon enough, but it's not really like he can do anything about it."

What? Do anything about what?! He edged closer as she paused, then spoke again. "Don't worry, I'll try to keep him sane."

"Good. I look forward to our next meeting…"

Slimy brainless hairless smug stupid-

"Me, too. Later, then."

Inuyasha reeled. What the…?! That's all?! She's not even gonna yell at him?! Kouga's "Pardon" almost escaped his notice as his mind raced to try to fit everything together. The hell were they talking about…?

The sound of Kagome's light step heading towards him and away from Kouga's stupid heavy ones snapped his ears forward, and the left swiveled as her pace stopped and a strange, dull noise started instead. He came around the corner. …Hitting the wall with her head? What the…? That does it! Time for some damn answers! "Oi."

She stopped, head still back, and looked around wildly, dread written all over her features. "Uh…hi."

Inuyasha came closer, wrinkling his nose at Kouga's odor. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Kagome gave her best `I'm hiding something' smile and backed up. "Just going to take a bath."

"Without tracking Sango down? Or the brat?" Inuyasha's scowl deepened to a snarl as she matched pace, stepping back as he came forward. "Whatever you're tryin' to hide, spit it out and quit backing off. You're makin' me nervous."

Had he heard them talking? Kagome gulped again. "I just went to take a bath and Kouga bumped into me."

"He hurt you?" Inuyasha was beside her and gripping her arm loosely in the space of a blink. "Did he? If he so much as touched you, I'll-"

Kagome's world grew very small and cold as he stopped, eyes widening at the message his nose was screaming at his brain, and sniffed again. And again. "You…"

I give up! Kill me now! "It was nothing, Inuyasha, don't worry about it. He…it…it didn't hurt anything," she babbled, trying to pull free, mouth leaping to try to explain that the dream was just something stupid, nothing he needed to know about, before her brain could point out the obvious. His gaze had gone large and blank, red growing wider and wider as Kagome's mouth abruptly ran out of ideas. She tried to smile, but it felt and probably looked painful. "Uh…Inuyasha?"

All Inuyasha could do was put together what he'd heard and smelled. Under the pervasive odor of her cycle, that smell, just familiar enough to pluck at his nostrils. Kouga's stink coming from the clothes in her arms.

"Tell dog-turd not to freak out too much about it, okay?"

"He'll notice soon enough, but it's not really like he can do anything about it."

"It didn't hurt anything."

No. No fucking way. Inuyasha's teeth slowly ground down until that familiar prick on either side of his bottom lip reminded him he was biting himself again. As usual, he couldn't have cared less. "He just bumped into you?"

Kagome's breath lodged in her throat as his meaning slowly crawled into her understanding and began carving its initials into the walls. "Not literally. We just met outside my room, and he picked up my clothes when I dropped them," she heard herself say mechanically. He can't be serious. He CAN'T!

"Oh, really?" Inuyasha's eyes blazed. He sniffed shortly at the clothes. "It reeks of him."

"Yes, Inuyasha, in order to pick something up, you have to touch it." Kagome fought down the urge to slap him and chose her words carefully instead. "You're not insinuating anything, are you?"

"Why were you sneaking out in the first place? You never go bathe without company. Even when Sango and the bouzu don't come out of hiding till noon." Inuyasha watched her keenly, heart crumbling a little further at her defensive flinch. …Gods. Why did I ever… "So? Have anything you wanna confess, wench?"

Kagome's chin came up. She took a deep, ragged breath, torn between rage, hurt, disbelief and heartbreak at the pain he was trying to hide. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Really." That came out flat, toneless, and she nodded defiantly. "So…nothing the wolf wanted you to tell me? That I maybe wouldn't want to hear?"

"He's meeting with his pack and maybe Sesshoumaru or Jaken again later. That was all. He wanted to tell me where he was going," Kagome answered, praying he wasn't too upset to know the difference between truth and lies.

"How cute." Inuyasha patted her arm lightly, then snatched the hand back to his nose. "And your skin smells like him…why?"

"You of all people should know that it's pretty hard to help someone up with telekinesis. He had to touch me for all of five seconds," she snapped. "For crap's sake, will you stop it? I didn't do anything!"

"What're you getting so defensive over if nothing's wrong?" he ground out, letting a familiar and comfortable wave of pure anger wash out the ache in his chest. Bitch thinks she can lie about it when even I can tell she's scared shitless of me finding something out?

"I am not dignifying your paranoia with any further answers-but if you must know, I…I have other reasons for smelling weird, and shacking up is not among them! So leave me alone!" Kagome stepped away forcefully, going cold as he let his hand slip with no resistance. "Look, if you still don't believe me, go ask Shippou-ch-"

"Go take your bath." It took every shred of his self-control to keep up his sneer as her face fell, mouth slightly open and eyes beginning to glisten. "Don't gimme that look, wench. Guess I should lay off, though. S'your business, not mine."

"Inuyasha-"

"After all, I'm not even going to be around much longer, and you've gotta go back to your family sometime. Might as well have some rich asshole's puppet to keep handy in case things get too bad, right?"

Icy hands squeezed Kagome's lungs and wrung them out for good measure. She tried to swallow or work some moisture back into her mouth, but even her eyes had gone dry with sheer disbelief. He had not just said that. He could not have just said that.

Bile rising in his throat in violent self-disgust, Inuyasha waited for her to scream at him, or slap him, or cry, do something to punish him, ears half folded in anticipation. Come on, wench, snap out of it, scream something at me, tell me it's true and get this over with… The moment stretched out, agonizing both of them, and he growled. "Well?"

All her frustration, hurt and rage welled up, refilling her lungs till her whole body tensed as if ready to explode at any second with the force of it, and she directed the entirety into three well-enunciated words he did not expect. "I hate you!"

Panting, she gritted her teeth and sized him up, waiting for a response. Inuyasha didn't so much as twitch.

That did it. Kagome turned and fled, dropping all her things in a blind rush to get away as fast as possible, not caring about the servants who came up curiously and flinched back at her expression, or how she nearly knocked Miroku down the outside steps in her launch at Sango, literally clinging to her friend.

"Kagome-chan? What in the…?" The slayer's good mood vanished, and she hurriedly half-lifted her silent, trembling friend up off the steps and pulled her aside, Miroku following closely and deflecting servants' inquiries as they went.

Sango patted Kagome's head timidly, soothing her as best she could till the servants were safely away - some already mingling with housemaids and trading information in order to piece it together as quickly as possible - and Kagome could speak unimpeded.

Of course, it only took one sentence to bring everyone nearby to a standstill. "He did WHAT?!"

"Jinx," she mumbled, almost managing a half-smile at her friends' simultaneous and identical reactions: they were pissed. "Yeah, he did accuse me of…that."

If Inuyasha regretted his words before Kagome ran away - which he did, overwhelmingly so, though he was still convinced that she was lying - he was wishing he'd never woken up that morning by the time noon rolled around. His head was sore from repeated blows with Sango's fist, Miroku's staff, and the frost in his servants' speech when he tried to request lunch in his room. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha-sama, but we've had some trouble in the kitchens and your food may be slightly delayed," one normally pleasant older woman told him, eyes drilling into his in a definite role reversal: he found himself squirming and couldn't stop. "We will attempt to serve you as soon as possible. Please accept our humblest apologies." His discomfort increased at the barest emphasis on the last word.

It was nearly an hour before he saw her again, and when the food did arrive, it was cold, undercooked and plainly made with the oldest ingredients at hand. He pushed it away in disgust. The hell do they think they're lecturing me for?! Okay, I was kind of an ass about it, but still, she has no right to cozy up to me, spout all that crap about being friends and then lie about him!

"As trusting as ever, Inuyasha." The last voice he needed to hear rang directly into his ears, and he jumped around to face Kikyou, scattering food everywhere. "Amusing, how little time it took her to win the entire castle to her side…save you, of course."

"I don't want to hear it, Kikyou." Inuyasha crossed his arms irritably. "What do you want?"

Kikyou raised an eyebrow. "I need a reason to see you? Particularly when that girl must have relayed to you that I am willing to consider your version of our…parting?"

Inuyasha paused mid-turn. "What…" He straightened, ears swiveling. "What did you say?"

"Didn't she tell you? I now try to consider that error or even perhaps fate played a part in that night, even if I have yet to find a decent explanation." Kikyou smiled thinly. "I see she did not. I hardly blame her-neither of you have discussed me for quite some time. You seem to prefer talking about each other…or others, of course."

He couldn't answer, busy as his mind was trying to figure out her sudden change of heart and just how much she'd been watching them for all this time. Of course he hadn't forgotten about her, but life with Kagome around had turned so, well, interesting that he couldn't recall the last time he'd seen her. Renewed guilt and self-hatred stabbed at him. Shit. I'm completely worthless to both of them…

"I leave you to your thoughts. Tell the girl I wish her luck with her foolish endeavor in the woods-one hopes none of the children are harmed because of it." Inuyasha opened his mouth defensively - to say what, he had no clue - but she was no longer there.

The only prospect worse than having to eat dinner alone with half-frozen, half-burned fish and gummy rice was actually having to eat with her after that morning. Inuyasha was therefore bitterly unsurprised when the evening rolled around and Kagome came up just before the servants did. She nodded shortly at him and knelt in her usual place, eyes distant but otherwise appearing perfectly normal.

Like hell. Inuyasha tested the air discreetly and discerned anger, hurt, sadness, tear-salt, that sweet brown stuff she liked to give Shippou, and some kind of obnoxious, flowery artificial scent. Four out of six, anyway.

Kagome deliberately kept him hanging till the meal was nearly over. She set her bowl down lightly, and he nearly had a heart attack at the slight sound. "I have one question, maybe two, and I want honest answers, please."

All sorts of caustic rejoinders sprang to Inuyasha's mind, but he literally bit his tongue and nodded instead.

"First, I'd like to know if you're even willing to consider believing me. If not, explain why. No yelling, accusations, or anything. Just explain, please."

"I…" Doubt snuck up on him and began prickling his scalp. He'd rarely wanted anything so much as he wanted his assumption to be wrong. If he discovered that even she'd turned on him, he didn't know what he was going to do. "I…look, it made sense at the time, and I was mad anyway `cause you didn't do what you always do and tell him off when he starts talking about all that `afterwards' crap, even though he still thinks you're…"

He faltered as he glanced up and caught a long and very warning look. "Yeah, I know we were supposed to be done with that fight, but that got to me and I forgot to bring it up, and then I smelled…" He shrugged. "You acted like you knew about it this time." Inuyasha looked her fully in the eye for the first time, relaxing slightly at her more easy posture. "And you acted so defensive, I just figured that was it. You still haven't given me any other explanation."

"Because it's embarrassing," she retorted. "I just…look, I…it…" She massaged her temples. "I know I smelled when I woke up, `cause Shippou commented on it. Ask him if you want."

Inuyasha's resolve softened almost completely, and the rest of him flared in alarm at the near-capitulation. Not that easy! "You could've bribed him or something. If it wasn't the damn wolf and you're not in heat, why else would you-"

"I don't believe you!" Kagome buried her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes. "I thought we were past the `push the evil modern chick away at all costs and against all logic' part. I guess not, if you're willing to think I'd toss myself away on anyone that fast, much less him!"

"Okay, then, fine." Inuyasha folded his arms, ears flicking nonstop. "I'll be open to the idea that maybe you didn't, but I won't be convinced till you offer me some proof. Good enough?"

Kagome scowled at him. That sounded a little familiar. "You didn't have any visitors today other than cranky servants, did you?"

"Maybe." Inuyasha let that hang for a minute. "Point is, you never finished. What was the other question?"

"How d'you pass my not finishing off as the point of this conversation?" Kagome stuck her tongue out. "I was also going to ask if we could just forget about it, and until you get it through your hairy skull that I'm telling the truth, it looks like that's what's gonna happen anyway."

"Oh, yeah?" Inuyasha couldn't think of any other response.

"Yeah, actually." Kagome tapped a rhythm he recognized from a DDR song on the tatami. "I have an idea. Why don't we just agree to not talk about this for a while? I'm still kinda mad, but fighting isn't getting us anywhere."

"You're still mad?"

"YES." Inuyasha twitched all over. "In fact, this conversation is no longer open. We are not discussing Kouga, the land, your brother, or anything else until it comes up again in a fresh conversation from an outside source, or unless you decide to be mature about it. Okay?"

"But what about the way the wolf-"

"Baa."

"…What?"

"What do you mean, `what'?"

"…I just want to know why that sme-"

"Baa."

"Dammit, Kagome! Quit making sheep noises!"

"You're the one making sheep noises, not me."

"Wh…what the…?"

"What did I say that even remotely resembled a sheep noise?"

"Don't try this on me, wench! You said `baa'!"

"Whatever are you making sheep noises for, Inuyasha?"

Silence, except for a few sputtering sounds.

"I agree. I'm glad we had this conversation." Mentally crediting Nabiki for a foolproof subject-stopper - confusion and contradiction were always reliable for getting off a topic - Kagome stood and folded her arms. "So, got anything to ask me?"

Sango was less than congratulatory upon hearing of her tactics at dinner. "You really should've told him the truth, just in more discreet form," she reprimanded her as they lay in the cool darkness. "He was acting on instinct, but he does have a little human sense in his head somewhere."

"Instinct?" Kagome snorted. "What kind of instinct makes him act like a complete jerk?"

"For one thing, dog demons are exceptionally loyal, Kagome-chan, and they expect the same from members of their `pack,' which you undoubtedly are by now…" Sango mulled that over briefly. Except it's usually their mates they're the most jealous of, not merely acquaintances. But then, those two are probably closer to the former than that…

Kagome also thought about it and made an irate noise, startling Buyo into turning over into the same comforter indentation he'd occupied all day, save for two meal breaks. "That doesn't excuse him from turning into a jealous psychopath at the slightest hint."

"No, it doesn't, but you should know better than anyone else how…" Sango cleared her throat. "How his…past associations…have left him very reluctant to fully trust anyone, even those closest to him."

"Yeah…it's like he's just waiting to turn around and find out I'm sneaking up on him with an ax." Kagome sighed. "It's not like I don't know why he acts the way he does, but it doesn't make it much easier to put up with his insecurity." Damn Kikyou for ruining him like this… She blinked, surprised and a little dismayed by her own vehemence. Ease up, Kag, it wasn't her fault. He was born and raised to be himself now way before they met. And he's not a CD; she didn't scratch his bottom and then walk away. The mental image was pretty funny, though, and she bit her lips to keep from laughing and having to explain herself.

"True. But you also must keep in mind that he's very protective of you, and he sees Kouga as a threat, perhaps even a rival, though he doesn't realize it. Just be careful, Kagome-chan."

"Sure, blame it on me…" Kagome yawned. Rival? Pffft. No way… "I'll think about it. Hey, how about starting on the treehouse tomorrow?"

"Yaay!" Shippou piped up in her ear.

Kagome sighed and tried to relax with the now-excited kit wriggling next to her on the pillow. Big fat moron. I'm not his property, and Kouga hasn't tried anything in a while now anyway. She yawned again, growing drowsy as Shippou's batteries finally began to wind down. Guess it is kinda flattering from a very unfeminist point of view, him getting so worked up over me…not that it matters with the way he keeps his feelings super-glued down. A stray thought made her grimace even as she drifted off. Wonder how he acted when he told Kikyou he loved her…

The next day, and the days after, though, kept her too busy to brood on those kind of icky, melancholy things. She conferred with some of the head servants (the ones who kept the place running with little or no help from her or Inuyasha, for which she was profoundly grateful) and cleared a little time in the early noon each day for everyone interested to come and either observe or help with the treehouse's construction. There were benefits for all: Miroku and Inuyasha got to interact with the other men of the castle more than they had for years before the curse was inflicted, as the men instructed them on how to make the intricate cuts and where to drive the stakes that would hold to wood together and Inuyasha's strength provoked guarded compliments from the men, several of whom had never had the chance to witness it before.

Then there were the children, who got free time either to play nearby, safely out of the way, or were assigned to small tasks like tying a rope ladder together - and occasionally to each other till Kagome intervened - collecting stray lumber or bringing food and drink out, bursting with pride at the opportunity to help Inuyasha-sama and the other men out; meanwhile, their mothers, aunts and other relatives kept a careful eye on the younger children, kneeling just out of the woodwork's area and balancing infants on their laps, gossiping politely, relishing the rare chance to simply sit and talk during the day.

Amazing what being forced to talk about something other than the four of us can do, Kagome thought dryly on the morning of her somewhat official halfway point at Inuyasha's castle, one month and two weeks into the curse, roughly one month and two weeks to go. She rather liked observing and sometimes speaking with the women, who were proving more and more that people everywhere were just about the same. It also got her mind off how quickly the curse was running out…

Kagome accepted the place that had been reserved for her the first day, a cushion set at the head of a loose circle, and smiled as Sango knelt at her right. The slayer had been extremely stiff the first morning, and ignored by all, but Kagome's grimly determined politeness, coupled with her higher social status, forced her into joining the conversation, and now she could almost talk freely with the women who had formerly made her life miserable. The inevitable backbiting about her slowness or snobbishness after the informal meetings was soon drowned out by increasingly universal agreement that, while her taste was abysmal, perhaps Sango did not quite deserve to be regarded as a mannish pariah any more, and that was more than good enough for her and Kagome.

"Tell me, Sango-sama, do you and the houshi-sama plan to have children?" one kind but none-too-bright maid asked this particular morning.

Sango withheld her scowl and shrugged gracefully. "I'm afraid not, Keiko-sama. We're not certain enough about the future."

"Well, you must at least have Inuyasha-sama declare you wed, else your man will have to perform the ceremony himself," another noted, and Kagome joined the polite laughter, reminding herself sternly to remind Sango about it later.

Sango was saved from having to reply by a new arrival. "Saki-sama! Please join us." The slayer graciously moved aside so that the older woman wouldn't have to move herself or her two children - one baby in a sling and the other tucked in the crook of her arm - any further than necessary. "Are you feeling better?"

"You are too kind, everyone." Saki smiled at her and at the murmured inquiries from the circle. "I feel much better, as do the little ones."

Kagome grinned as one infant yawned, fussing as her mother shifted her around her sister. Slight ingrained cynicism or not, she was a sucker for kids, the younger, the worse so. "This may seem unusual, Saki-sama, but may I?" She held out her arms.

There were tolerant smiles all around as Saki carefully handed Kagome the baby. Odd as some of Kagome-sama's habits were, the women had taken to her thoroughly enough that her strange ways were simply ignored or accommodated. It would be unheard of for most feudal ladies to mingle with servants, much less play with their children in such an open and familiar manner, but, rather than losing respect for her, nearly all the servants chose to be slightly amused at the young woman's habits and leave it at that.

Kagome knew all this, and frankly, she couldn't have cared much less. She balanced the child on her knees, bouncing gently and cooing at her. "What's her name?" she asked Saki, shifting the baby to her shoulder when there were no signs of objections.

Saki had to check the baby in the sling before she could answer. "Ah, you're holding Hanako, Kagome-sama. I have Yukiko here."

"Lovely." Flower child and snow child. Gotta love Japanese names. She liked Western names, too, but nothing beat her native language for sheer poetry in simple things. Kagome shifted Hanako so she could get a better look at the tiny face, marveling at the compact, scrunched features. "She's beautiful." Kagome made a little buzz with her lips, and everyone smiled as the baby's eyes grew huge. Kagome did it again and earned a wide, lopsided grin. She couldn't resist doing the same. "You like that, do you?"

"You've a marvelous way with children, Kagome-sama," Saki said warmly, rocking Yukiko against her chest as the infant stirred in her sleep.

"Oh, no, I'm just used to them. I practically raised my little brother…" Kagome shook off dark thoughts and buzzed again, earning a gurgle and two tiny hands batting at her face. "Oops, sorry, Hana-chan, you can't take it out."

She missed Saki exchanging glances with a few of the other mothers, and didn't look up when the servant spoke. "Ah…forgive me for being forward, Kagome-sama…"

"Not at all. Please go ahead," Kagome said automatically, absorbed in the baby's intent expression as she tried to grab the dark locks against Kagome's shoulders.

"Well…" Saki hesitated. "Our…" She stopped again.

"A former woman of high rank," someone supplied, and Saki nodded gratefully as Kagome looked up.

"Yes, thank you. A former woman of high rank had a custom of giving children born within the castle her own special name, and, well, I do apologize-" Everyone covered their amusement at Kagome's yelp: Hanako had succeeded in grabbing a tiny fistful. "…Apologize for such an asinine request, but, well, one of your graciousness and stature will surely forgive me if-"

"Would you like me to nickname them?" Kagome guessed, hoping she hadn't made an ass of herself. To her overwhelming relief, Saki's expression cleared, and she smiled. Kagome smiled back, pleased and flattered, then tapped Hanako lightly on the nose. "It would be my honor. Let's see…"

Unseen by the women, Inuyasha broke away from the men as they adjusted the fourth wall and tried to fit the roof against it so Miroku could begin affixing sutras. He wandered a few trees over and perched where he could listen and watch the little circle, ears pricking forward as Kagome's laughter drifted over.

Naturally, they were playing with babies. Inuyasha didn't know what the hell it was with women and other women's pups, but Kagome hadn't been able to explain it to him, and he guessed it was just a female thing. Anything that makes sure there're always more is probably good in the long run.

He idly listened to Saki's request, knot forming in his throat at the careful phrasing. He shook it off in curiosity as Kagome deliberated, handing the baby in her arms back to one woman, only to receive another. Weird. Who wants to hold something with foul-smelling stuff always coming from one end or the other?

His bemusement faded as Kagome coaxed the second baby into looking at her with a weird buzzing noise. The servants all laughed as the infant the woman had just taken back stretched her tiny arms out to Kagome at the sound. Wench really does have a way with kids. He'd never seen Kikyou around very young babies, so there was no comparison to make here.

…Comparison or not, though, something made him both smile and want to punch a hole through a tree at the way she rocked the child, holding her up and startling her by blowing a loud rasping noise on her tummy and grinning triumphantly when the razz finally elicited a huge grin. Guess she'd make a damn good mom, too, the way she keeps the kids in line and they all still worship the ground she spits on. This of course was none of his business, though, and he gripped the branch almost hard enough to split it at the thought of Kagome being wasted on someone like Kouga. If I don't find out whether she was telling the truth or not soon, I'm gonna… He hadn't had the courage to confront the wolf about it; besides, doing so would ensure that the servants heard about it, and that would humiliate Kagome. No, as long as she's here, she's under my protection, dammit.

His ears reminded him that Kagome was speaking, and he turned with them at the sound. "I think, for Hanako…" She buzzed and touched the baby's forehead gently. "Minami. The best flowers always grow in the south. And you, Yukiko-you're Kita, because it always snows up north in Hokkaido, and I love it there."

The women - fully and comfortably including Sango, he saw with some shock - applauded the pair of names, north and south, how very clever, blah blah blah, and Inuyasha drummed his nails on the branch irritably. She's just doing you a stupid favor. Get over it. Don't know why I'm listening to the hens cluck in the first place!

However genuine his irritation was, though, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes off Kagome. In fact, he'd been doing that a lot lately, and it annoyed the hell out of him that he couldn't figure it or her out. You'd think I'd get used to her and ignore it by now…It wasn't that she was acting out of the ordinary or trying to be more alluring than usual-though he did approve of her decision to start wearing kimonos for the outside chats in order to blend in. Things between them had settled back down to their normal companionable bickering, and she headed off any attempts at unpleasant conversation with more barnyard noises, the result being he soon quit trying. Therefore, all was pretty much as okay as it could be. It was just…

Ewwww. See, I told ya… He was glad he couldn't smell it as Yukiko burped up and very narrowly avoided Kagome's hair. Luckily, she was in transit as it happened, so the ground was the main victim, and Kagome politely laughed off Saki's embarrassed apology.

What he could smell, though, and sense, brought his head around almost 180 degrees, and Kagome thought she caught a blur of red up in a tree as something caught at her awareness and she looked around. "Excuse me, ladies…" She got up, motioning urgently at Sango, and they said their goodbyes with some regret, Miroku doing likewise from the men at Sango's wave.

They found Inuyasha on all fours a little distance away, Tetsusaiga brushing the ground as he crawled along. Kagome couldn't hold a snort in. "What're you doing?"

"Tracking a scent, wench. What's it look like?" He raised his head and scowled. "Keh. I know I smelled something, and there's a demon I don't know out there…think the toad's with him."

"Jaken? Is Sesshoumaru…?"

"I said I don't know him, stupid, so it's not Fluffy." Inuyasha ignored her hand gesture and glared at the ground. "Whoever it is, he better have a damn good explanation for that stench."

"Why? Is there something peculiar about it?" Miroku winced as Sango whistled for Kirara next to his ear.

"Hells yes, there's something peculiar. Couldn't smell worse if he frickin' tried." Inuyasha leapt into the nearest tree and began casting around. "I know I smelled it, dammit!"

"If it's any help-"

"Would you shut up, wench? I'm tryin' to find it!"

"Okay, then." Kagome turned her back on him and addressed the other two. "So, do either of you care that I feel a demon not too far from here?"

Inuyasha promptly hopped down. "Where?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and pointed to the northeast.

"There's no scent coming from that direct-" Sniff. Sniff. "What the hell…?!" Inuyasha bounded off, and they had no choice but to follow at a trot.

The little group almost immediately came to a halt at the edge of a large clearing, staggering as a strong wind whipped at their faces, dying just as soon to reveal two visitors.

"Who the fuck are you?" Inuyasha greeted the stranger with his usual courtesy.

The object of his address, a tall woman, made no answer, looking down her long, finely sculpted nose at him before speaking sharply to her companion. "Jaken."

The toad demon ambled out in front of her, ugly features screwed up in evident distaste-whether of the woman, Inuyasha or both, Kagome wasn't certain. "You have the honor of standing before the heiress to the house of Morimoto, the honorable and terrible leader of demons and human alike, and though such an exalted name is not worthy of your ears, you may yet properly address her as HOT!"

Even Kirara gaped as the woman pulled a cigarette from the front of her excruciatingly fashionable black silk blouse, held it to slightly made-up red lips, snapped her fingers, took a single puff of the now-blazing cig and flicked it neatly atop the toad's head, all in less than ten seconds.

Her expression of refined disdain didn't so much as budge as Jaken clawed at the burning cigarette, running around in steaming circles before she snapped her fingers and a tiny breeze sent it tumbling to a patch of bare ground.

"You know your lady hates your habit, Shimoko-gozen," Jaken whined, blinking bulbous eyes at her pleadingly.

Kagome had to think hard to remember that honorific. Only titled ladies in the feudal era were called that…she must be pretty important. Great. How many more scary/rich/powerful old demons were going to show up and harass them? And what did this one want, anyway?

She had to suppress a shiver as the woman's coppery red-orange eyes fixed on her. "You there, girl." Inuyasha promptly moved in front of Kagome, who squeezed his sleeve briefly before craning around to look at the woman again. "Ah, then you must be Higurashi Kagome."

Inuyasha growled. "What's it to ya, you stinking-"

"Jaken. Leave us." Beautiful ash-gray hair trailed from a loose ponytail high on the woman's head; Kagome watched it ripple like water as the demon turned her head. "You will tell our lady that I was successful, and you will not say anything else."

"Of course, Shimoko-gozen." Jaken bowed till his forehead thumped the ground. "By your leave…"

"Yes, by all means, leave." A wave of her hand, and they blinked: the toad was gone.

A long moment passed; the wind seemed to pick up again, ruffling the woman's hair again. Kagome momentarily felt drab in comparison-demon or not, this lady was more like a model in terms of looks, dress and bearing than most models Kagome had ever seen. Then Inuyasha moved in front of her again, and she had to smile. Not that that matters to everyone…

The woman gave a long, quivering, almost theatrical sigh, and turned back to them. "Forgive me. I can never resist giving the little bastard a hard time." She popped her knuckles so loudly that Kagome winced out of sympathy. "My name is Morimoto Shimoko, though you can call me just about whatever you like. If I like you, it's allowed, and if I don't like you, your opinion hardly matters, does it?"

"Cut the crap. Who are you, and why do you smell like the two biggest assholes in the world combined-not to mention they're both guys and one of `em is dead?!" Inuyasha swiftly unsheathed Tetsusaiga and pointed it directly at the demon.

"Are you crazy?" Kagome hissed at him.

"Most likely, but not in this case," Shimoko answered with evident amusement. Kagome chose that moment to glance down at the cigarette, and started. It was gone.

"Don't worry, girl." Kagome jumped as Shimoko approached gracefully and Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga harder. "I made sure to send it back with him. I know I probably shouldn't, but after 150 years listening to him, you would, too."

"I guess so," Kagome said thoughtfully, laying a hand on Inuyasha's arm to restrain him. This woman didn't seem as bad as most of the other demons they'd encountered; besides, there was no telling if she was someone Inuyasha should be challenging.

"Look, just tell us who the hell you are and quit trying to act all friendly, okay, bitch?" Inuyasha snarled.

Shimoko's impeccable features furrowed into a rather impressive scowl. She whispered something under her breath and made a sweeping upward gesture: the Tetsusaiga was suddenly not in Inuyasha's hands anymore.

"Wh…what the…?!" Inuyasha gaped at his empty hands, then started back violently as Shimoko glided in and raised an eyebrow at his bewilderment.

"I'll give you your sword back, Inuyasha," she said evenly, stepping back smoothly and half-bowing. "Just come forward briefly so that I can explain my…ah…unique scent to you. First, though, I have a present for you from my lord and lady. Don't worry, I won't harm you," she added at his hesitation.

"This better be good, b-"

Their jaws dropped as Shimoko swooped down and suddenly enveloped him in a crushing hug, lifting him half off the ground and swinging him a bit like a rag doll. "There." She released him, and he choked, stumbling backwards and clawing at himself. "Oh, come now, I may have a little of Sesshoumaru's smell on me, but surely you don't hate him that much."

"Okay, one down," Inuyasha wheezed, letting Kagome go through the motions of checking him for injuries she knew wouldn't be there, biting her cheeks to hold utterly clueless laughter in. Miroku and Sango also didn't know whether to be alarmed or amused. "Crazy bitch! Now tell us why you smell like-"

"Naraku?" Shimoko was no longer smiling. "That's hardly my fault. If you don't enjoy my scent, please stay away from my lady, or else your head will turn itself inside out."

"Please tell us, Shimoko-sama…who are you?" Kagome stood on tiptoe to get around Inuyasha's shoulder. "Are…" She squinted at the tall demon, and it suddenly occurred to her why the woman seemed so familiar. Click. "Are you Sesshoumaru's daughter?"

"Damn! It was going to be a bigger surprise," the woman grumbled, popping her knuckles again. Inuyasha's ruby eyes went as wide as Kagome had seen them yet, fangs hanging out as his jaw went slack. "He told me to annoy you as much as I could, and my mother said to thank you on her behalf, so I combined business with pleasure-I've always wanted to meet my uncle." Shimoko inclined her head, silver earrings shimmering.

"Was your mother a wind demon associated with the demon Inuyasha and…the priestess defeated?" Miroku asked from the back of the group, startling all save his addressee.

"You must be Miroku." Shimoko tilted her head, more curiously this time, and sniffed at the breeze that whispered past their ears towards her. "I believe the name you were searching for would be Kagura…" Miroku nodded. "Yes, that is my mother." She pouted slightly. "I was so looking forward to surprising you all, too. You're really no fun."

Kagome wondered briefly at the woman's shifts of attitude and speech - formal one second, then almost Western the next - but pushed it aside. "How was she associated with Naraku?"

"You're my niece?" Inuyasha had found his voice, though it was thin and squeaky. "Wh…how the hell did that happen?"

"This may explain all easier…" From the back of her loose white silk slacks, Shimoko removed a small, round object wrapped in velvet. "This is a relic of my aunt's, if you will. I believe she was killed shortly after Naraku…" She beckoned them closer, and Kagome nearly dragged Inuyasha in to watch her carefully unfold the velvet from a small, eerily glistening mirror.

"Wait one damn minute…" Inuyasha sniffed at it. "I remember that creepy little thing. Her name was Kanna, right?"

"Yep. My mother was actually rather fond of her, God knows why, so the fact that I was even allowed to touch it, much less ordered to bring it here, is one helluva big deal. Hope you appreciate it." Shimoko knelt in the grass and set the mirror down gently. "Gather `round, everyone. This's gonna be quite a show."

A/N: I need more cliffies. I'm gonna fulfill that evil desire now and compensate with a big ol' chapter very very soon. Meanwhile, thanks for pushing my eg-I mean, review total to over 500, and I dedicate the entire last scene to Dori, who is probably wondering how Connor-san is going to get me to explain this. (Long story, nicknames and Irish Imp muses heavily involved.) We'll see, lassie, we'll see…in the meantime, I upload a little earlier than usual and thank God this is the last day I take Sis to school in the morning. Maybe I'll actually be awake and alert `n stuff when I write one of these for once then.