InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Beast ❯ Shedding Some Light ( Chapter 28 )

Disclaimer: I'm so out of it, I misspelled `disclaimer.' By that logic, I also don't own Inuyasha `n co. Think about it. Just not too hard, `cause I don't want to get sued for brained damages.

A/N: Okay, time to end this day…I haven't had writer's block so bad in months. :pain: Sorry for the delay. Let's see if I can't make it up a bit, ne?

Beast

Chapter 28

Rather than face a gauntlet of whispers and questioning stares from servants infesting the corridors between himself and the bottom level, Inuyasha elected to place himself outside, directly where the group had been not too many minutes ago. He focused his eyes on the now-empty space and blinked. "Huh?"

"Heads up!" Kagome's shout almost drowned out the smooth whiz of air next to his ear. Inuyasha just barely managed to put a hand up in time for something firm and unyielding to strike his fingers and bounce off.

"Really, Inuyasha, do you try to be inconvenient?" Sango chided half-seriously, just out of his field of vision on the right.

"Nah, he's just a pain," Shippou said nonchalantly from behind Kagome, several yards away.

"Oh, leave him alone." Kagome flapped her loose blouse and made a gesture Inuyasha didn't quite get. "Inuyasha, move so Sango-chan can throw it back, please."

"Throw what back?" The hanyou's mind was still in considerable disorder; he frowned at her, and then at the object on the ground, more out of confusion than spite. "The hell?"

Sango sighed, moved around him and picked up the bright red circle, holding it up to display curved edges and several ridges lining the rim. "It's a form of exercise to build speed and agility, intended also for amusement. It's called…" She paused, looking to Kagome for help. "Fu…Frizzy?"

"Frisbee," her friend corrected, jogging over to take it and move aside, bending her arm at the elbow and calling to the monk, "Try catching this one, Miroku-sama."

Inuyasha's left ear half folded as Kagome flicked her arm out hard. The strange disc, rather than falling or doing anything too much out of the ordinary - there went his theory that everything in this time was designed either to stink or make noise - soared in a delicate arc, curving away from Miroku and forcing him to run after it. The monk lunged, fingertips brushing the disc and tipping it out of the air to roll along the ground and further towards the woods.

"That was a pretty good try, Miroku-sama," Kagome said encouragingly.

"Yeah, you almost didn't make an ass of yours-" Inuyasha ducked his head under both arms to evade threatened blows from each side. "I was kidding, dammit! Not my fault he missed it!"

The monk did not deign to answer, wiping his sweat-dotted forehead discreetly on his left glove and turning away haughtily instead. "Did you want to try, Kohaku?"

"If you don't mind, houshi-sama." Flushed at the attention, Kohaku started towards the disc, bending to retrieve the now-muddy red plastic.

Awakened from her nap by the commotion, Kirara mewed from the roof above Sango's head, stood, and flared into her large form; before they could react, she had launched herself and swooped down to pounce on the disc and delicately snatch it from the boy's grasp just as he touched it.

"Kirara!" Sango and Kohaku scolded simultaneously as the fire-cat sailed back to the roof and trapped the disc upright between her paws, nosing it and turning it this way and that with unabashed feline curiosity.

"Kirara, give that back," the older slayer said firmly, fighting back a smile as the fire-cat managed to get the Frisbee onto her nose, lifted her head and let the disc slide down, catching on her ear as it fell. Kagome kicked herself for not having a camera, then settled for laughing with Sango instead at the sight of the great cat's head peeking over the side, Frisbee dangling precariously despite the large black ear's reflexive twitches. "Come on, Kirara, I mean it. Give it back to Kagome-chan now."

A grumbling meow of assent and a flick of her head later, Kirara glanced down resentfully and settled herself to go back to sleep, conveying plainly that she knew when she wasn't wanted.

"Oh, don't be like that, Kirara," Sango said, half amused and half exasperated. "You know you shouldn't have stolen it in the first place."

"Hmmmm…" Several memories flitted through Kagome's mind. But it won't work. Unle~ess…

Kagome picked up the dirt-specked Frisbee. She then glanced at Sango, to Inuyasha, over at Kohaku and Miroku, and finally looked back up. "Hey, Kirara?"

The fire-cat feigned deafness.

Kagome shrugged, ostensibly turning to Sango but raising her voice to be heard on the roof. "Well, it's a tradition to hold little throwing competitions, say, between guys and girls, but there's no way we could do that, `cause Inuyasha's too much faster than we are, and it wouldn't be nice to leave him out, either. Too bad we don't have any female demons around who would help even things out. Right, Sango-chan?"

Kouga was in an excellent mood; he all but hummed as he sped through the forest back to the castle, casually tossing the tiny thing in his right hand to his left and back before he remembered how frail it was supposed to be and stopped. She's not gonna be happy if I break it, eh? He grinned at the thought of the tongue-lashing he'd get. She'd never forgive me. His grin faded. Dog-turd would never let me forget it, either, the whiny little bastard…

Another glance at his loosely closed fist reassured him, however, and the smile returned in some measure. Nah, it'll be fine. Hell, it'll be better than that…!

The fresh scent of Kagome and her usual companions drifted to him on a shifting breeze. The wolf lord chuckled to himself and picked up his already considerable pace. I don't even have to get her away from that white-haired freak, either. Can't wait to see the look on his f…what the-?!

Kouga skidded to a halt just shy of the last few trees bordering the castle grounds and sniffed again, scowling. I know that stench. …Well, both of `em, but I know that brother of his has been here, but not the other one. Where the hell is he?

Upon circling around to the east and following the offensively fresh trail to its source, however, he did not find Naraku: instead, right where the smell was strongest, Kagome was running full tilt away from the younger of the two demon slayers in residence, and the fire-cat darted in long enough to take an oddly shaped red thing out of the girl's hands just as Kohaku closed in. What in the…

Inuyasha was keenly enjoying the exercise, so much that it took him several seconds to recognize the wolf's presence, and the interruption annoyed him even more than usual. He pivoted, leaped and just barely snatched the disc from Kirara's loose jaws - one of many rules Kagome had improvised was that if either of the nonhuman participants damaged the Frisbee, his or her side lost by default - landing on the balls of his feet facing Kouga. "Yeah? What the fuck do you want?"

"Why does it smell like Naraku was here?" Kouga ignored him and stalked over to the niche, where the odor was strongest.

"It's a long story, but his…well, I guess you could say she's his granddaughter, was sitting there," Kagome said awkwardly, shrugging and edging away as unobtrusively as she could. "Her name is-"

"Shimoko was here? Why in the hell…?" The wolf's ice-blue gaze swept the ground. "Ginta said she's with her mother on some kind of business trip."

"Her mother was an offshoot of Naraku," Miroku explained, coming up to retrieve his staff from where he'd leaned it against the nearest wall. "Calm yourself, Kouga-sama. She means us no harm, and she is not Naraku."

"You'd better be right about that, human, `cause if anything happens to Kagome…" Kouga let that hang for a moment, then turned his back on the monk and beckoned Kagome closer, speaking over Inuyasha's growls. "Speakin' of which, I have something for you."

"Really?" Unenthused at the prospect of having to deal with more of Inuyasha's jealousy, Kagome let Sango come up closer beside her before stepping forward herself. "What is it?"

"It's…uh…here!" Kouga unclasped his hand and held it up triumphantly.

Inuyasha's smirk at the wolf's obvious forgetfulness faded as Kagome got a good look at the proffered object and gasped sharply, bringing one hand to her mouth and staring, wide-eyed. "Is that…?" She looked up at Kouga, still awestruck. "Can…can I-"

"Hakkaku let me borrow it just so you could," Kouga said graciously, and Kagome almost snatched the cell phone from his hand, dimly aware of Inuyasha growling and equally aware that she didn't care at the moment.

"What is it, Kagome-sama?" Kohaku asked, craning his head around his sister's shoulder with uncharacteristic boldness.

"It's a cell phone, Kohaku-kun, a device that lets people talk to each other over long distances without seeing each other. The curse wasn't designed to keep these out-oh, I hope I can get a signal-Dad has one, too, let's see if I can remember his number…" Kagome let herself babble to work out her excitement lest she drop the palm-sized phone, figuring out how to flip it open and punching the digits carefully. "Thank you so much, Kouga-kun. This means the world to me…"

"Yeah, I thought you might like to tell `em about everything, talk to your dad and warn him not to do anything till the castle's gone," Kouga said modestly.

How very sweet. But she was too elated to feel more than fleeting irritation; besides, who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? Or gift…wolf. Or is the phone the gift in this case? I dunno. Don't care, either…

"So, what exactly are you doing, w-"

"Moshi moshi?" Everyone but Kouga gaped as she spoke loudly, using words specifically designed for use over the phone-words thus not employed in the feudal era, and certainly not at full volume with a small, glowing lump placed over the ear. "Is this the Higurashi residence?"

"Kagome-sama, what in the world are you-"

Kagome flapped her hand at Miroku urgently for silence; their puzzlement grew as her face fell. "Isn't this…" She repeated a long sequence of numbers, and her face grew pink. "Oh. I'm very sorry to have bothered you." She took the phone away, punched another button and sighed. "Wrong number."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha grated.

"If you want to talk to different people, you have to know each person's code, which is made up of lots of numbers, dog-turd." Kouga raised a smug eyebrow, which did nothing to improve Inuyasha's temper. "Right, Kagome?"

"Yeah, and I accidentally got one of the numbers wrong just now," Kagome admitted. She glanced around at the largely-still-blank faces and sighed. The tension she'd worked out by running around was starting to return, tightening around her scalp. "Maybe this was for the best. Now that I think about it, I need to talk to Dad without everybody listening. I'll meet you guys in my r-no, actually, Sango-chan, I'll meet you and Shippou-chan in the baths soon." The kitsune had been watching from the sidelines, but he perked up at the mention of bath time again despite his relative cleanliness. "Okay?"

"Maybe I should talk to him, too," Kouga mused, tapping his chin in sudden thoughtfulness. "He is gonna be my father-in-law, after all, and it'd be polite. What d'you think, Kagome?"

"I think you'd better get your ass inside before you really piss me off," Inuyasha cut in, advancing and edging between them.

Kagome rolled her eyes behind his back, turning to sneak quietly off towards the forest as Kouga crossed his arms, glaring at the hanyou. "Oh, really? The last time I checked, you had nothing to do with her except trapping her in your stupid curse. Why don't you go talk to your dead wench instead?"

Happy thoughts, Kag, happy thoughts… Kagome willed herself to block out the sounds of bellowed curses and something large slamming into something else. Instead, she focused on the tiny buttons, marveling at how much smaller the things had gotten in just three years. Let's see…

Dialing from memory again, Kagome let her fingers remember the sequence, careful to keep her short nails from slipping and hitting any other keys. Then she hit the last button and brought it to her ear, holding her breath.

Neither of the combatants might have noticed that the object of their duel was gone if Inuyasha hadn't caught himself on the ground and planted his left foot for balance directly on the forgotten Frisbee. His ears snapped out of their flat defensive posture. "OI! Where's Kagome?!"

Kouga pulled the blow he'd aimed at the hanyou's midsection, leaping back instead to glance around and sniff the air. "She's just in the forest, dog-turd. There's nothing else out there, either. We scared some cat demons away this morning, and Ginta said he'd check again before they left for Ho-why-some island humans like to go to. Kagome'll be f…oi, come back here!"

By some miracle, Inuyasha managed to track Kagome a few hundred feet into the forest without Kouga alerting her of their presence; the wolf demon caught up to him in seconds, but caught the hanyou's warning glare and gesture just as Kagome's voice came through the trees. "No, no, Dad, I'm fine. Really."

By what surely had to have been further divine intervention, the two managed to reach an unspoken agreement, fanning out to the girl's left and right to hide behind trees close enough to hear both ends of the conversation. Inuyasha clearly recognized Yoshio's whining tenor coming from the strange device in reply: "Are you sure he hasn't hurt you, honey?"

Damn, that thing's loud, he noted in bemusement, even as his hackles rose at the voice's implication.

"I'm fine, Dad. Inuyasha hasn't so much as touched me."

Knew it! Kouga exulted on the other side of the log upon which she'd seated herself to talk. Must be some other explanation for his stink all over her.

"A monster like that?" There was a vague mumble, which Inuyasha guessed must have been the man talking to himself or someone else. "Akemi is convinced that he's…well…"

"Tell Akemi that Inuyasha's very strong, but not even he's capable of doing that without touching me," Kagome said at her driest.

Yoshio chuckled nervously, and Inuyasha suppressed a growl at the barest hint of a snort from Kouga's direction, too soft for Kagome to hear. "I suppose, dear. I'm just glad you're safe, that's all. But why would that thing keep you there if he's-Ake…!"

"Hey, kid." The phone on Yoshio's end had evidently been stolen: this speaker used a heavy female drawl. "Nabiki and I figured you were still around after somethin' took your bed out. It grabbed some of our stuff too, y'know. You're gonna give it back whenever you come back, right?"

"Glad to talk to you, too, Akemi," Kagome snapped, and even Inuyasha winced at the edge on both voices. "Give the phone back to Dad. I don't have much time to talk, and this is kind of important."

"Oh, don't be such a bitch about it. C'mon, you've gotta have some pretty good stories about livin' in a magic castle with some kinda monster. Is it, like, something from the feudal era, where all the guys slept with guys `cause it was cooler back then?"

"He's not a monster, he does not sleep with anyone, and I am not talking to you about this now, Akemi. Okay?" Kagome held the phone away from her ear, leaning her head on her free hand in utter disgust as the other end protested loudly.

No wonder she was willing to die, Inuyasha mused, and caught himself wondering how long it would've taken him to just say "Hell with this" to the curse and kill his guest if Akemi had come instead of Kagome. Three days? Two?

Finally, Yoshio managed to resume control of the phone, and Kagome rather tersely explained why he shouldn't sell his property till the month after next at the very least. "You haven't had any offers yet, have you?"

"No, honey, I don't think so…" There was a pregnant pause, as Yoshio evidently had to search his memory to double-check whether a potentially life-changing event had happened yet or not. "No, no one has. You say…some wolves want to buy it?"

"Uh…yeah." Kagome exhaled. Her headache deepened, and she rubbed her face wearily. "Um, look, Dad, this thing's batteries are almost dead. Maybe I'll be able to borrow it again sometime, but till then, I have to give it back. I love you." She swallowed hard at his long pause, whispering a faint "Bye" and clicking the phone off.

Inuyasha remained carefully still and sensed Kouga doing much the same as Kagome sighed, laying the phone in her lap and burying her face in her hands. Nearly a minute passed, and he was almost beginning to wonder if he should show himself when her head came up, and he ducked behind the tree.

"I know you guys are there." Both males cringed at her flat, implacable tone. "The first one to come out might not die."

Kouga promptly stepped out, ducking his head and offering a sheepish smile. "You got me there, Kagome." She glared at him so mightily that the powerful wolf demon gulped and shrank back. "Sorry `bout that."

Without answering, Kagome eased back, turned and seized Inuyasha's sleeve, dragging him out into the open and withering him with a slight upgrade of the same glare. "What were you two doing out here? I thought you'd still be trying to bash each other's heads in."

"We noticed you were gone and followed you," Kouga volunteered.

"I was the one who noticed, fleabag, not you!"

"Who the hell cares?!"

"Why shouldn't I care that you're lying right to her face?!"

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

"Both of you shut up!" Kagome balled her hands into trembling fists. "I cannot believe you'd stoop to eavesdropping after I said I wanted some privacy-and then you weren't going to let me know you were there?! Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you two? It's bad enough that you're always acting like I'm some kind of toy you can fight over, but then you sneak around like this and blame each other?! Thank you for the phone, Kouga-kun, but if I see either of you two again for the rest of today, maybe tomorrow, I'm going to shove it down - or up - the worst place I can find! I'll see you both later-the later, the better, okay? Okay. Have fun killing each other."

Neither male was quite dense enough to respond or attempt to keep her from stalking off towards the castle. In fact, it was only when the sounds of stomping and muttering had faded even from their keen ears that Kouga exhaled and scooped up the cell phone. "Good one, dog-turd."

"Shut up, asswipe." Inuyasha was as subdued as the wolf, though, and he could only muster token irritability when Kouga began fiddling with the device. "What're you doing now?"

"She must've wanted to leave pretty bad. The battery's almost full." Kouga didn't bother explaining, but Inuyasha felt he understood the gist of it.

"Don't tell me you know that spineless moron's number," Inuyasha muttered, resisting the urge to lean over further as Kouga kept pausing, tapping more buttons, pausing, and punching more with his thumb.

"Nope. But there's a way to retrieve numbers that've been dialed, and if I can find it, we can…ah, here it is," Kouga said smugly, pivoting on his heel and sauntering away insolently. "You can go back to the castle now, dog-turd. This doesn't concern you."

"Go to hell and gimme that!" Inuyasha made a lunge for it.

"I don't think so." Kouga almost brushed him aside with a well-aimed kick. "Besides, this thing isn't meant for use by freaks. Look where my ears are, then look at yours." He pushed another button and made a great show of lifting the phone to his pointed but human-placed ear. "See?"

"I can't look at my own ears, dipshit," Inuyasha retorted, but folded his arms over his aching side and stubbornly stood listening without further comment.

Kouga made a face at him, then coughed and spoke politely, nearly giving Inuyasha coronary failure. "Higurashi-san? This is Kagome's fiancé."

Yoshio sputtered, groped for words and then haltingly asked for confirmation, unaware that his daughter's ostensible intended had moved with blinding speed to pin the lord's castle underfoot and caught him in a neat headlock with his feet and one arm.

Kouga smiled as Kagome's father noticed aloud that this was the same number Kagome had just called from, yes…. The wolf raised his voice to drown out Inuyasha's curses. "Yes, actually, it's just been decided, and Kagome's not up to talking about it quite yet," the wolf said cheerfully, grinding his knee into the hanyou's back to keep the growling from getting too much louder. "She's very upset right now. Suffice to say, I'm also trapped in the curse, and I've gotten to know her quite well."

"I…see. Well, I must say, it's very relieving to know there's someone there to keep that horrible creature from molesting my little girl," Yoshio admitted.

"Yes, it's been very difficult, but Kagome's very strong," Kouga said sincerely, and if bloodlust could be quantified, Inuyasha's would have tripled. On the last word, Kouga had to shift himself to hold the phone between his muscular shoulder and ear so as to keep Inuyasha from tearing off whichever of the wolf's limbs he could reach. "Your…uh…family seems to have put up with adversity very well."

"Oh, you've no idea of the half of it," Yoshio said candidly, warming up rapidly to the idea of having a sympathetic ear, regardless of how he sounded or why Kagome had not mentioned something as momentous as being engaged-not to mention the sounds of scuffling on the other end. "My wife died when Kagome was young, and her older brothers and sisters…well, mainly her sisters blamed her for it, and when we lost all our money a few years back, she took charge of the household."

His voice became higher and thinner with distaste; Yoshio took a deep breath and charged ahead, unaware that his audience - both of them - had stopped dead and were listening intently. "And now this horrendous beast has taken her away from us and threatened her and stolen my family's property, we haven't been sure whether she's alive or dead, and even if she returns safely, we can't be sure she won't remember such a terrible experience for the rest of her life, can we?"

"No, indeed, sir," Kouga murmured, glancing significantly at Inuyasha. The hanyou did not look up.

"But if a nice young man is there for her, why, I'm sure she'll be just fine, sir, fine indeed." Yoshio hesitated. "Er…forgive me, but…your name is…?"

"My family includes several respected entrepreneurs, journalists, and scientists," Kouga said smoothly, breathing an inner sigh of relief as the words came out the way he'd practiced. "Trust me, Higurashi-san, I intend to care for your entire family as if it were my own-which it will be, soon enough, if I may say so."

Inuyasha's stomach turned itself in and out steadily as Yoshio tried to work out how best to indicate just how much Kouga was permitted to say so without licking the `younger' man's feet. This is pathetic. Gods, this is worse than fucking pathetic.

But what was he supposed to do about it? Tell Kagome? He knew the stupid wolf well enough: Kouga would willingly admit to calling Yoshio, because he wouldn't see that he'd done anything wrong. Kagome would either have to give in and go along, or spend a helluva time extricating herself, which would still leave her family high and dry once she'd made her feelings clear.

Kouga ended the conversation with vague promises to talk more later and clicked the phone off with immense satisfaction, lazily getting to his feet and scratching his ribs idly. "Well, dog-turd, you heard the man. Do me a favor and tell Kagome I talked to her old man when she gets over bein' mad at us, will ya? If you do, I might just let him know you didn't even try to eat Kagome."

Inuyasha said something so uncharitable that Kouga burst out laughing, scaring several birds away with the crack of his hand against his bare thigh in pure merriment. "You are one pathetic piece of crap, you know that?"

No answer. The wolf gave one last snort, shoulders still shaking, and sauntered off. "I'm not gonna bother kicking you while you're down. In fact, I'm gonna take a bath and catch up on some sleep, so if you want a rematch, you know where to find me. Later."

A long, hot soak eased most of the stiffness from Kagome's muscles, and her headache diminished almost entirely in the damp heat.

"That certainly was fun," Sango remarked, flexing her right shoulder. The slayer had been able to throw further than anyone but Inuyasha, who often as not ended up flinging it more towards the ground than his partners. "Even Inuyasha seemed to enjoy it."

"Yeah…" Kagome sighed and slid down till the water hit her chin. "I shouldn't have reamed them so much."

"Why? They actually worked together for once, and they listened to your private talk with your father," Shippou said reasonably, attempting to doggy-paddle the way Kagome had showed him not long ago.

"That's true, but I owed Kouga a favor, and Inuyasha was in such a bad mood earlier. I should've cut `em some slack." Kagome sighed and lifted the kit out of the water. His sodden tail dragged him down too much for swimming to be feasible for at least five more years. "Too late now, I guess. I'll apologize to Inuyasha at dinner."

"Um…excuse me, Kagome-sama…" A servant woman slid out of the shadows and bowed deeply. They jumped, and she flushed, bowing as far as she could bend her waist. "I'm so sorry to intrude, but Inuyasha-sama requested dinner early. He usually does so when he wants to go to bed early as well, or whenever he plans to inspect the grounds unseen. There must have been a failure to communicate his wishes to you properly, and I apologize. I only happened to overhear…"

"That's all right," Kagome said quickly, as the woman - hardly more than an adolescent girl - began fidgeting and twisting the front of her kimono with both hands, turning the knuckles white. "Thank you for telling me." She squinted at the servant's face as the woman started to bow out. "What's your name?"

"Kossetsuko, Kagome-sama. Also, Sango-sama, your brother asked to see you as well once your bath is concluded." With no further excuse, the servant abruptly turned and limped away swiftly, leaving a thick silence over the room.

"What kind of name is that?" Shippou wondered aloud.

"Shippou-chan!" Kagome scolded. "Didn't you see her ankle? She broke it and it didn't heal right. `Fracture' is probably just a cruel nickname she got stuck with."

"I don't remember a servant with a badly healed leg," Sango said quietly, frowning at the water. "I suppose she usually stays in the laundry room or kitchens to keep from showing it, or stressing the injury."

"Probably. I never knew there were any pregnant servants until Saki gave birth, after all," Kagome reasoned, daring herself to get another Bad Feeling over something fairly trivial, if unnerving. A mild gurgle arose in her stomach, but nothing came out of it save a light belch. "S'cuse me."

"Well, either way, you'd better go to dinner," Sango said briskly. Kagome nodded, and despite Shippou's protests, they dried themselves off and got dressed with much more haste than usual.

To further save time, Kagome waited till no one was looking and then willed herself into the dining room, pleased that the action caused no more than a twinge of dizziness. "How's it go…ing?"

She was speaking to an empty room. The little table hadn't been set up, there was no light nor food, and Inuyasha was most definitely not there.

"Dammit…" Okay, don't panic… On a whim, Kagome tentatively checked Inuyasha's chamber and the surrounding area and hallway with her mind: nothing out of the ordinary. Inuyasha was nowhere to be found, though. "Dammit!"

Waaaaaitaminnit… This felt familiar, if a little less scary and more irritating than before. She directed her sense towards the pavilion-and there he was, looking sullenly at the horizon again. It was all she could do to pull back without going out into the dying sunset and strangling him. "Inuyasha, you moron!"

Then several things clicked: the ordeal with the spider and their little slumber party outside had taken place almost…no, exactly a month ago now. That meant he would lose his powers again tonight, and ordering dinner early had been a ruse to keep his secret from being discovered. Wonder how many servants have figured out something's up by now? Not many, now that she thought about it; if this was a common enough occurrence, no one would link Inuyasha retiring early to the new moon or losing his powers. Wonder why that even happens…

But, then, why hadn't he told her?

Probably some combination of me knowing already, not wanting anyone to overhear, and not wanting me to tear his head off and eat it. Kagome grimaced. I knew I shouldn't have yelled at him earlier.

Then she perked up. Hey, another slumber party-he probably won't be bleeding to death this time, either. It would be as good a chance as any to find out whether his change in personality had been due to the new moon or his weakness, not to mention apologizing privately. And if he complained about her presence, well, she'd saved his life once already, hadn't she? Not like he can go anywhere, either. So there.

First things first, though: if I don't tell Sango I'm camping out with Inuyasha…argh, better come up with a reason…damn, can't think of anything…well, I'll just tell her and Shippou not to expect me in the room tonight, and maybe Inuyasha will let me tell them why. It beats getting tied to a stake in the yard. Better get my jacket, too…

Naturally, neither Sango nor Shippou were in their room. Kagome rolled her eyes at the ceiling, then shrugged, located her comfy old denim jacket and headed for the entrance area, slipping on her shoes. Too many servants around now. Maybe they're outside; if not, I can sit down somewhere and search, just as long as-

"Kagome-sama!"

-no one bugs me. Kagome just barely managed not to cringe at the voice hailing her from the courtyard. She came to the railing and squinted against the sun's last rays, making out Ginta's waving form. "Ginta-san? What're you doing here?"

"I have something to show you," the wolf called, smiling genially at servants who passed with nervous bows. "It'll only take a few moments. Would you like to bring Inuyasha-sama or your other companions?"

Kagome hesitated. "Is it very far?"

"No, no, Kagome-sama, just inside the woods." Ginta waved carelessly at the forest. "Actually, it might even be more fun if you rode it up to the cas-" He stopped, eyes going wide. "I mean…um…forget I said that."

"Rode it?" Kagome couldn't help smiling at the blatant slip. "What is it, a pony?" Her eyes widened. At the top of the list she'd requested had been… "A bike?!"

Ginta shrugged with elaborate nonchalance, cracking a smile at her growing excitement. "Well, you can at least show it to your friends by bringing it back to the castle. If you'd really like, I can just deliver it in the morning, or I'll just roll it-I mean, take...whatever it is…here, right now. Kouga-sama thought you'd like the surprise more, though." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Could you please pretend I still surprised you?"

"For a bike, I'd pretend to be a drag queen!" Kagome placed one hand on the railing to hop on, then thought better of it as servants eyed her discreetly. Suddenly, and very strangely, she was reminded of similar looks she'd gotten last month, when she'd first slid down the rail in blind panic, trying to locate Inuyasha. The day she'd recovered from her cold - and Buyo had shown up - was the only other time, and that had been for fun…

Huh. Weird. Shrugging, Kagome came down the steps with her best combination of speed and dignity, nodding to the wolf demon, who nodded back politely and set off for the woods. "Not too far, Kagome-sama. This way, please…"

Inuyasha sighed grumpily as the sun dipped lower. I thought she'd be here by now, dammit. Don't tell me she's so pissed that she decided to leave me here and eat with Sango? It was entirely possible. Guess it's a good thing I didn't talk to her earlier, then, or she woulda killed me.

There was no way she could've forgotten about the new moon, though. Damn nosy wench figures everything out sooner or later…empty room, clueless servants and me up here would tip anyone off. She didn't know Kouga had had the area cleared of demons, either, and that he was more or less safe out here. Therefore…

…What the…?

Inuyasha's nose was still sharp enough to catch Kagome's scent, very, very faintly, but unmistakably outside. For a second, his heart lifted absurdly. Is she coming up here?

Seconds passed, and no Kagome materialized. What little he'd detected of her scent also faded. Dammit.

Now what?

"Oh, rats," Ginta grumbled, stopping so suddenly that Kagome nearly ran into him.

"What is it?" She stepped aside, leaning against a tree and noticing a definite lack of bike in the area.

"Hakkaku was supposed to drop it off while I went and got you." The wolf scratched his head. "I'm terribly sorry, Kagome-sama. We can go back to the castle and I'll deliver it tomorrow, if you like…"

"Uh…" Well, it wasn't even dark yet…quite. "Let's wait a few minutes. Is it already assembled?"

"Yes, ma'am, all ready to go," Ginta said happily, settling down in a crouch not far away.

Greed got the best of her. "Great! If he doesn't get here by dark, then we'll just get it in the morning." Kagome also sank to her haunches, scratching her legs. The sound of nail scraping skin was conspicuously loud. "It's really quiet out here."

"Yes, most forests are during twilight," Ginta noted. "The forest surrounding our mountain was very peaceful at dawn and dusk."

Kagome nodded politely, unwilling to say that the silence here was borderline creepy. Maybe it was just being out without Sango, Miroku or Inuyasha, but the forest didn't seem quite as inviting as usual. Stupid new moon weakness weird thingy messing with my head…

Something about that prodded at her. She shooed it away. "So, what speed is this surprise? 10?"

"It's very fast, Kagome-sama." Ginta bobbed his head.

"Ah." Should've seen that one coming. New topic time. "So…you don't have any kids?"

"No, Kagome-sama," Ginta said ruefully. "Only pack leaders - alphas - are supposed to breed; otherwise there'd be too many of us. At least that was the rule back when territory and food supplies were outnumbered by hungry demons, anyway. I do know a few female wolves, but the only unpaired one has been waiting for Kouga-sama to awaken for…is something wrong, Kagome-sama?"

"No, just a little headache," Kagome said brightly, glad she wasn't standing. Otherwise, a sudden head rush would've sent her right to the ground, hopefully just on her butt. What? What the hell is the matter, body? Either tell the rest of us or shut up!

She smiled and nodded at Ginta's prattling, concentrating on herself, waiting for some kind of magic signal or premonition that would alert her to danger. Nothing.

Huh. See, me, I don't feel anything. That's wh-

Nothing.

With a wolf demon sitting right there, and after she'd detected both Kouga and even Inuyasha's much weaker youki just a few hours ago, Kagome could now feel not a damn thing in the area.

Either I'm losing my powers, even though I can still zip around, or…

Her voice was cracked and weakly dry, chest constricting as her heart sped up. "Ginta-san? I'd like to go back now."

"It took you this long to notice, Kagome-sama?" The wolf's eyes gleamed in the encroaching dark. He rose with menacing purposefulness, towering over her and raising a hand almost carelessly.

A scream died in Kagome's throat as the arm…melted, flesh seeping into a sickening ripple of dark purplish-black muscle, slowly twisting itself into a thick limb and coming to a sharp point. This he aimed directly at her heart, voice melting from the wolf's self-effacing tones to a deep, chilling baritone. "You prefer not to run, and accept your fate as punishment for your stupidity, girl? You disappoint me. Easier for all concerned, though. Goodbye."

The shout of her name from her right broke Kagome out of her paralysis, and she dove to the side just as the not-demon thing slammed the point into the bark without moving its body. She made the mistake of twisting around and saw the limb retract, curling out of the hole it'd made halfway through the trunk as its owner slowly turned to face her. Then his head raised, and a thin smile curled the edge of his lips. "Ever the sentimental fool, Inuyasha."

"I fucking killed you!" Inuyasha snarled, sparing a second to give the monster a look of hatred and rage Kagome had never thought him even capable of before he whirled around to scoop her up and place her on her feet safely behind him. "Are you all right, Kagome?"

"Yeah, but…what is that?!" Fear overruled other questions: why he was here, whether he should be out when the sun was no longer visible…

"It sounds and kinda smells like Narak-"

Inuyasha's reflexes were sufficient only to save his life and Kagome's, jerking them out of the way so that the monster's arm tore open his right cheek instead of impaling their heads. "Run!" he shouted, nearly dragging her along and shoving her ahead as the monster chuckled hideously.

Kagome's legs obeyed, even though her mind had decided it would be more fun to run around in circles and bash into ideas at random in the hopes of hitting a good one by accident. Naraku's alive? No, he's dead. Kikyou thinks he killed her? This isn't Ginta. So did Shippou eat all my raspberry chocolates, or was it Nabiki and I just miscounted?

"You can't run forever like that," the cold voice said, almost disapprovingly, after a few minutes. Inuyasha barely avoided another stab, pulling Kagome to the side and out of harm's way for the moment. Shit. He's playing with us! He could feel his muscles burning, legs still working fast, but with a fraction of his hanyou speed; he didn't even want to consider whether Kagome's breathing was labored out of fear or exhaustion, or both.

The voice laughed quietly, and every hair on Kagome's body stood on end. The laughter continued, following them even more slowly as Inuyasha leapt to a stop and shoved her almost face-first into a tree. "Rope! Climb! NOW!"

Kagome scrabbled at the dark, locating the ladder by feel and banging her knees and elbows in her haste to get up into the treehouse. Wards, safe, gotta get in- She threw herself into the doorway and yanked Inuyasha's extended hand, neither caring that he hit his head on the doorframe before she got him inside and they lowered the reed door.

"Shit!" Inuyasha collapsed on the floor, panting. "…Shit!"

Kagome couldn't speak; she felt around frantically for the flashlight, cursing richly inside when she failed to locate it. Dammit, this is all my fault, and now we're stuck in here and it's all my fault… She gulped, working her panic, guilt and fear down, lowering herself to pat around tentatively. "Inu…yasha? You okay?"

"I am fine, you gullible, brain-dead, worthless excuse for the most witless bitch alive!" Kagome yelped as an arm found her leg and used the guide to circle her waist and yank her down against him. Whether he had his usual powers or not, his grip was still uncomfortably tight, winding around her waist and shoulders as he continued to hiss at her. "Didn't you hear the wimpy wolf say his lackeys weren't even in fucking Japan?! And couldn't you feel the difference between a demon and a kugutsu?! Naraku used those damn dolls all the time to do things he didn't want to dirty his hands on-they have no youki, but they can take his shape, and they can gut you like a fish if he wants them to!"

Kagome shrank, burrowing into his shoulder. "I didn't know," she mumbled. "M'sorry."

"Don't bother apologizing, you stupid bitch!" She flinched, pressing harder and eliciting his new-moon version of a growl. "And don't cry, either, okay?!"

"You just yelled at me `cause I was stupid enough to get killed over a damn bike and compared me to a dead fish! Why the hell would I not cry?!" Kagome sniffled and tried to push away, but his arms flattened her again. "Let me go!"

"Like hell!" Inuyasha half rolled over, pinning her almost fully against the sleeping bag. Each could feel the other's heart thundering, but Kagome was too shaken and Inuyasha too lightheaded with relief and anger to see any danger beyond what they'd so narrowly escaped. He buried his face between her neck and shoulder, inhaling the scent of sweaty skin and letting his senses convince his brain that she was not dead, or in immediate danger of becoming such. "You move, and you're probably gonna run out there again and I'll have to save your ass on my h…bad night!"

"I am not! And I'm sorry I didn't come up sooner! Now lemme go!" Kagome weakened her point by wriggling over to fit more completely under him, not caring that she was using him as a human blankie, or that she was playing with long, satin-soft hair freely as he nuzzled her neck. This doesn't count! And I've earned it!

"No." Adrenaline was still pumping, and even vague awareness that he wasn't thinking clearly didn't stop him from propping himself on his elbows to rub his uninjured cheek against hers. "If you ever scare me like that again, I'm gonna have Sango chain you up somewhere."

"Bite me," Kagome murmured out of habit, running her fingertips across his scalp absently.

"I mean it, Kagome." A light scrape against her throat got her immediate and undivided attention. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Look, I said I'm sorry," she said quietly. Now that she was beginning to calm down, things were beginning to sink in, and their position was not entirely appropriate. If this was a romance novel or a shoujo anime, we'd be leading right up to the big makeout/NC-17-rated scene…but we've already made out, albeit way too briefly, and in here, too…better stop before we get carried away and Kikyou turns us both inside out.

"I told you, don't even bother." If Kagome was becoming more rational, Inuyasha was losing it. All he could think of was the moment he'd decided to try to reason with her tonight and use the last moments of his full power to come down and find her. If he'd been so proud and stupid as to stay up and wait for her to come to him-

Kagome gulped as he returned to her neck, inhaling so deeply that it almost tickled. "Inuyasha?"

Dulled as his sense of smell was, his nose was still linked to his most evocative source of memory, and though he couldn't smell arousal anymore, Inuyasha couldn't help but notice that the scents of wood, sleeping bags, night air and Kagome were all present, just like last time. Somehow, his unsettled mind decided that maybe his body had a point, and if the scents made him think of that, well, maybe that was just what one did in here. She hadn't protested for a while, and she wasn't being shy about making sure he was okay. So, well, why not?

"Inu…?" Kagome's breath flickered out as the weight above her descended and firm warmth grazed her lips, brushing lightly, lifting just long enough to try another angle, coming down again with more force and awakening every nerve ending in her body. Now he's done it.

Inuyasha sank down against her more comfortably, keeping most of his weight on his elbows and letting her hold his head in place again. Kagome was careful to let him lead, though, and she suppressed a sigh of mixed content and frustration as the warm pressure on her mouth remained chaste, unhurried. Like last time, he clearly was not thinking straight, though fear for her safety was what needed to be addressed now, not lust.

…Or so she thought until he shifted from two elbows to one, the other hand drifting down to rest idly on her hip. She noticed with no more than passing interest, only paying more attention when his head lifted slowly to rest back on her throat. Disappointment swiftly met surprise as her short blouse's hem lifted away from her side and long, callused fingers crept underneath.

Kagome couldn't have made a sound to save her life, even if she'd wanted to.

"You're warm." Inuyasha sounded almost apologetic, but he didn't remove his hand. The coolness of his flesh seemed odd, considering what they'd just been through, but she vaguely remembered that he'd been cold last month, too. Then again, he'd also been losing blood at a ridiculous rate…

Wait…no claws. No claws meant…no fangs? "Inuyasha?"

He sighed and slipped his hand out, pulling her shirt back down. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she said with mock crankiness, almost managing a laugh as he grunted and returned his other arm to wrap around her shoulders. "Actually, um, I was kind of wonder-"

Light spilled from the doorway, and Kagome was momentarily blinded. When the spots cleared, she gave a choked whimper and clutched Inuyasha's shoulders so hard that he grunted and twisted to get free. Then he caught sight of what she had seen behind him and felt dread pool in his stomach. All he could do was press Kagome down protectively as the kugutsu loomed directly above his head, unnatural illumination throwing Ginta's cheekbones and gaunt features into terrifying relief against the surrounding blackness. "Kugutsu have no youki, and ofuda do not keep me out. Goodbye." A tentacle came up. "And I shall inform Kikyou that her faith in your fidelity was mispla-"

"Kikyou knows as much already."

"What?!"

The demon puppet never got an answer: one second it was trying to see the cool female voice's source behind it, flinching at light it obviously had not been aware of as it crept up on its prey, and then a katana's tip was jutting from between its eyes. As they watched, transfixed, the blade dropped in a shower of loose earth, and the katana fell out of sight, something else hitting the ground with it.

"What the…" Kagome tried to get around Inuyasha to investigate, but as the light blinked out, he refused to get up. She freed an arm to rub at her eyes. God, I must've been out of it. Thought his hair almost looked black against the light… Newfound fear seemed to have solidified Inuyasha's thinking, though, and Kagome found herself confined. She exhaled shortly. "Fine, then. Hey, who's out there?"

Inuyasha growled, but did nothing to stop her calling out again, especially as a familiar voice replied from the ladder, "Kagome-chan! What on earth…?"

"We're fine, Sango-chan," Kagome assured her, tracking her friend by sound as the slayer climbed up and into the treehouse. "I think we owe you one, too."

"Don't thank me. I'm to blame, too, for falling for its tricks." Sango sheathed her katana; Kagome heard her grunt, something snapping in two, and the pieces falling to the floor. "I was right about the servant. She must've been another form, or perhaps another doll entirely, but there are no servants with injured legs at the castle. She made up both messages to separate us."

"What servant?"

"I'll explain later, Inuyasha," Kagome said wearily, wriggling a little as Inuyasha's body heat began to overstep the bounds of comfort, spurred by both their scares.

"Not wise, girl."

"Kikyou?!" Inuyasha started to lift himself off Kagome, then remembered that it was still completely dark, and experienced opposing relief and anger when she slipped out from underneath anyway. "What're you…"

"She saved your lives, Inuyasha," Sango said heavily. "The houshi-sama is out with Kirara to check for more of them, but Kikyou-sama saw you being attacked and found me trying to figure out what Kohaku could've wanted when he was asleep."

"Purification does not work against the kugutsu, only physical weapons," Kikyou said calmly. "I thank you for the service, taijiya. Please leave us and stand guard outside."

"As you wish." Sango was more than glad to get away from the dead priestess, though she would've liked to stay for Kagome's sake. If anyone can deal with her, I suppose it'd be Kagome-chan… She half-smiled, bowed out of habit and leapt easily to the ground. Good luck, my friend. …Oh, and you, too, Inuyasha.

Kikyou rather graciously put their curiosity out of its misery right off the bat. "More than ever, after tonight, I know it was one of those creatures who was responsible for my death." She paused, evidently approving of her audience's restraint. "The kugutsu are created out of mud, wood, magic, and a single strand of Naraku's hair. Knowing him, he may very well have created more than one ahead of his death, able to be activated by a follower or even any demon powerful and clever enough to determine how to control it. The work was already done-it needed only to be activated.

"When I came into contact with the bound youki in the boy's weapon, I realized that the feel of it - of that monster's power, curtailed - was much closer to what I felt just before I was struck down than Inuyasha, whom I can still recognize leagues away." Kagome almost thought she picked up a little affection there, and suppressed a flare of jealousy. She didn't miss a slight pause, either, and winced. The priestess had to be wondering why that familiar youki was missing tonight. What'm I saying? Hell, she probably figured it out years ago.

"So what happened? To each of you?" Kagome asked aloud. "When I saw your memories, Kikyou, they were nothing like what Inuyasha told me."

"I was trying to find Inuyasha and admit that I had spoken in haste…" For the first time, Kikyou faltered. "As I approached the Tree, I saw a demon at a small distance. I went towards it and started to aim my bow, but…I was…struck down, from behind."

Kagome shuddered, trying not to remember that awful dream…the pain in her flesh and torn muscle, the sight and stench of blood everywhere, the heartache…

"That's not what happened, Kikyou!" Inuyasha protested. "I was trying to kill the centipede, and you came out of nowhere and got in the way of my last attack!"

"When have I ever blundered into the path of danger like an amateur, Inuyasha?" Kikyou snapped. "Did it even smell like me?"

"Yes, actually, it did!" Inuyasha snarled. "And I smelled your blood, too!"

Kagome started. "Wait-Kikyou, I remember seeing…it was almost like there were two Inuyashas, the one that attacked you and laughed about taking the Jewel, and then the real one, where…" She couldn't continue. "Well, what if there were two of the doll things, one wearing Kikyou's clothes or something with her smell on it, and the Inuyasha one making sure he did smell your blood at the same time and wouldn't think about how far away it was?"

"Sounds like a helluva stretch…" Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably.

"No, she makes sense, sadly enough."

Kagome took advantage of the dark and flipped the priestess off for a very satisfying moment.

"Just as you smelled my blood, I sensed you," Kikyou continued, "but the pain and shock prevented me from realizing you were too far away to have done it. Only now do I know what that small, foreign element was….Then I went to the Tree, and you killed the centipede, followed what you believed was me, and found me lying there."

Silence descended, thick and pervasive as each thought around the theory and tried to find fault.

No sound could have creeped Kagome out any more than that of Kikyou's laugh. "You were right along, Kagome," the priestess said darkly. "However did you know? You couldn't have put this information together alone, or even with both parts, as you were unaware of the kugutsu."

"I just had a hunch that Inuyasha wasn't the lover-killing type," Kagome replied.

"…Right." Kikyou was silent for a few moments. "I was never aware of his using the kugutsu for forms other than his own. It must have been residual power from the Jewel, as I seem to remember he possessed it briefly before I began to purify it."

"He had it for a while?" Kagome repeated, shuddering at the thought. Ewwww…so, either one of his cronies is pulling the strings, or his spirit's around because it was buddies with the Jewel?…No, she would know if the Tree was some kind of halfway house for ghosts…

"Briefly. Long enough to gain sway over large parts of the countryside and create several offspring from his own body. The daughter of one such offspring and Inuyasha's own half-brother seems to have become a regular visitor here."

Kagome nodded slowly. "I gotcha. So, what about the curse, then?"

She heard and felt Inuyasha grunt. "What the hell kind of question is that?!"

"Peace, Inuyasha. And peace between us, for a time." They couldn't hear or see Kikyou `rise,' but her voice indicated an exit. "I leave you now, and trust you will do nothing to dishonor me or your guest, Inuyasha." Unseen, she smiled grimly at Inuyasha's incoherent protests. "Good night."

Neither of them felt quite safe anywhere after that; but, as moving was even less safe than staying, and because it was still the new moon, they agreed to just stay in the treehouse till morning. Though it was not stated as such, they also gravitated to opposite sides of the little room as time for sleep approached.

"Hey…Inuyasha," Kagome said sleepily. "What was your dad like?"

Inuyasha stiffened out of his near-comatose stage. He'd been on the cusp of asking her the acknowledged Closing question, too. "Big. Looked like Fluffy, but not as snobby. Most powerful demon I've ever met. And by `met,' I mean I got to stand within fifty feet of him…maybe ten times in my life. More like five or six."

"Did you ever talk to him?"

"Hell no. Why would I? What would I say? `Hey, Dad, tell the cooks to quit poisoning my food, `cause they're wasting their time'? `Aren't you glad I'm wasting your wife's time?' Or maybe, `Good job training Sesshoumaru. I think his backhand's getting stronger every day.'"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Kagome wasn't sorry she'd brought it up, though. In fact, she was a little amazed at how easily he'd coughed it up.

Inuyasha debated telling her about Kouga long and hard, as he had been all day. What can she do about it now? He'll ask her the next time she…does that talking thing anyway. Besides, those remarks about him still rankled. They did kind of have a point, even if Kagome kept insisting it wasn't his fault…hell, they'd even figured out that he really hadn't killed her. That gave him a nice excuse to try and drop the guilt he'd been carrying - even if it did nothing for the sorrow - and fill the space with rage at whoever planned this and used those fucking dolls. He'd never seen one up close before, hence his mistake earlier-

"I do miss Mom, though."

"Huh?" Inuyasha's ears would've pricked up, had they been in the normal place. That's right, he said they blamed her for her death? What the hell? "You never finished your story, either. You know, that big damn scar on your back?"

"Thanks for putting it so delicately," she snapped. Inuyasha kicked himself heartily. Good one! Throw it in her face after she proves you really didn't kill the love of your life! "There's not much to tell after that."

"Well, go back, then," he said stubbornly.

"How she lived?" Kagome laughed. Inuyasha's foot twitched. Would Kikyou's laugh have sounded like that if she'd lived…? "You've seen a little of what my family's like. It used to be a lot saner, when Mom was still holding it together. She was the one person Akemi and Nabiki didn't talk back to."

"Can't imagine why she married your dad, then," Inuyasha mumbled.

"Jerk." Kagome made a rueful noise. "He was poor and, no, not very bright, but she loved him anyway. That was why, you nincompoop." Inuyasha snorted, and Kagome shrugged. "She said things like that all the time. `As long as you know him, you love him and you love knowing him, marriage becomes a little less impossible than you think.' Or something along those lines, anyway. She did tell us all not to be spineless, though."

"I never would've guessed that one."

"Shaddup. You're just jealous that she could spout advice and people would actually listen to her."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sitting even this close to you, one smells a `No one listens to me!' complex."

"What's a complex?"

"It means you're insecure."

"Am not!"

"Are too, o insecure one."

"What's `insecure'?"

Kagome suddenly burst out laughing.

"What now?"

"Just thought of something else," she said weakly. "Akemi had a boyfriend for a few years, and she was thinking of getting married to him some day because he never argued with her and going out with him was easy. She told Mom about it, and Mom just kind of looked at her and said, `Well, that's fine, honey, but if two people always agree, one of them's not necessary.'"

Inuyasha snorted. "So actually getting along with someone means you're a waste, or they are?"

"There's a difference between getting along because one person doesn't want to change and getting along because you've talked through your differences and still want to be together," Kagome said loftily.

Inuyasha's ear wanted to flick, but it wasn't there. "Oh, please. Did she make you memorize this shit or something?"

"Ah ha! You're getting cranky. Either you need to go to bed, or I hit a nerve."

"…Will you marry me?"

"No, I will not, you cranky person, you. Good night."

"Good night."

Kagome fell asleep soon, but Inuyasha did not. Too much had happened that day: the kitchen, the mirror, that weird game - damn, that had been fun - the calls, the kugutsu and now Kikyou's absolution…thinking about any one of them gave him a headache, much less all together.

…

"There's a difference between getting along because one person doesn't want to change and getting along because you've talked through your differences and still want to be together."

Because one person doesn't want to change, eh? Shows what she knows. We were both going to change our whole lives.

Unfortunately for his peace of mind, a hitherto silenced voice spoke up. If she'd just been more flexible about telling my mother, we never would've fought and gotten into this mess in the first place. Hell, it was her whole idea! This is her fault!

Inuyasha waited for the rest to pick up after that lone complaint fell silent. It did, of course, but it was a long time coming, and for the first time in his memory, he wasn't entirely certain of the outcome when his inner dialogue faded to grumbling and he drifted off, mind uneasily full of possibilities he'd always been content to discard lest they clutter up his thinking…till now.

A/N: Wow. This reeeeally would not get written. My apologies for posting these last two chapters so long after they went up on ff dot net.

Now that that nasty plot's out of the way, let's see if we can't have a little more fun next time, ne? (Only partly kidding!) The next chapter should be up soon.