InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Destiny, Time Travelers, and a Little Baby ❯ Why You Should Never Grow Up ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer : Okay. Scratch the whole kidnapping thing. So I was thinking to myself :

"Hey self! I could just buy the whole franchise."

So I looked it up on E-Bay. And it was WAAAAAAAAAY more expensive than I could EVER afford.

So I'm back at square one. How to get my hands on that rude dog-boy and his little friends too…..

I'll come up with something. Have no fear! For I am a writer with a big imagination.

HEY!

I can hear you laughing!

Stop that!

*sigh* Critics.

Chapter 13 : Why you should never grow up…..

*~*~*~*~*~*~*Naraku's Castle*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The servants walked around in a daze. More of a daze than usual. The screams echoing through every corridor had made for a sleepless night. They set about preparing the castle for the day's events. Lord Kagewaki had made some odd acquaintances lately and hired bizarre new help. His new people liked to destroy stuff. Kill stuff. Basically make a mess of things.

So the cooks prepared LOTS of food, the maids fixed buckets upon buckets of scrub water for the blood and debris doubtless to be made during the day, the stable hands brushed the horses and locked them up from the hungry jaws of their masters new, uh, friends, and the guards earned their pay doing what guards do.

In all truth, the staff had no choice but to accept what their lord was doing and go about their menial chores in exchange for food and housing, for they all had the name "Naraku" printed across off-white headbands going around their topknots and underneath their headscarves.

But even with their will no longer their own, they couldn't ignore the half-naked, gorgeous youkai walking blindly through the halls and into the courtyard.

The ramifications of Kaede's transformation the night before were astounding. Her blue hair was long, longer than most women's. Her eyes retained their childlike hue and roundness. But her figure was the most astounding change. Her hips were round, her jugs were huge, her tail was long and shiny in the waning moonlight, and she had an overall tone that screamed deadly.

And the men took notice.

And it was not good.

The sound of elbows knocking against ribs, catcalls, and displeasing remarks were almost deafening to her as she walked through the square. Her clothes no longer fit for she had grown from a lass of six to a woman of twenty. The men were lusty, the women disapproving and the youkai were advancing. Kikyo dragged herself outside after the sound of screams ripped her from her meditating. The sight she encountered was impressive.

In a sick and twisted kind of way.

All around Kaede were dead or bleeding men. The fools had tried to approach her and suffered the consequences. Kikyo observed as the human men cowered in fear and the youkai only increased their efforts, the bloodlust and lure of sex charging their instincts and turning them into a surging mass of hungry men going for the only woman worthy enough of their affections in the entire castle.

Kosimu ran onto the porch after Kikyo and watched with horror the devastation being wrought. Who was that woman and why was she killing all those men? He stepped forward to stop the slaughter when a hand on his shoulder halted his movement. The chill from the hand against his skin indicated one person and he looked down at Kikyo.

"Don't even try. Kaede will kill you too."

`Kaede?' That woman was the little girl he was training only the day before? It wasn't possible. She was too efficient. She was too old. She was too beautiful.

Shaking that thought from his head, he looked on the fight with new eyes. He recognized her fighting style as a combination of what Kikyo had been teaching the child and what he himself had taught her yesterday. And upon closer inspection, he supposed she did look a little like the girl.

But why was she killing these men? And why wasn't Kikyo stopping her? He looked down at the dead miko again and saw her smiling. She was enjoying it!! The carnage was pleasing to her! And with his ability to read minds, he could hear all she was thinking. `It's all starting to come together. Soon they will both die. Then I will have my revenge for his treachery!' Sometimes it was more of a curse than a gift.

Disgusted, he looked away from the smiling corpse and back to the fight, if it could even be called that. Kaede had just landed from a spinning roundhouse kick. Her hair flew around her head in a glorious blue arc. The youkai struggled through breathless lungs and up from his purple ass where he'd landed. She was flexing her claws as he came closer, trying to get to her again. Kosimu yelled her name but she didn't even look his way as she sliced the oni from collarbone to hip, splitting him in half.

Kikyo chuckled darkly. "She can't hear you. Can't you tell she's sleeping?"

She laughed again as his face reflected his horror. `Never wake a sleepwalker' gained a whole new meaning as Kaede flipped her tail, knocking one youkai backward and impaling another. He couldn't take it anymore and stepped forward again, only to have Kikyo order him through his own headband to stay where he was. He couldn't fight the spell and he turned blank eyes once again to the fight.

Kaede's hands, face and rags were soaked in demon blood and it never even registered what she'd done until the light of dawn crept over the battlements and hit her eyes. She was awoken in the most hated of ways possible and slowly began processing the massacre around her feet. The stench of blood was overwhelming and she fought the urge to run and hide. Then her eyes focused on the bodies. The slashes and holes, bruises and broken bones were sickening to her and she fought the newest urge to empty her stomach.

She looked away only to notice the servants looking in her direction terrified. She turned in a circle looking for the threat but no one was there except Kikyo. The miko was slowly making her way towards the girl. She was smiling a slick smile and clapping.

"Well done, well done." She praised. "You've learned well. One more day here and we leave to find that dog and his shard detector." She turned back, walking towards the castle. Noticing that no one was following her, she turned back around and saw Kaede about to cry. "What's wrong? This is what you were trained for. You must harden your heart if you want to destroy your parents murderers. Don't you want to anymore?"

Kaede looked up at her and knew she spoke the truth. There was only one way to defeat them. She had grown for that purpose, gone through the pain for that purpose, and now she knew what she was capable of. Her eyes turned to silver slits and she walked past Kikyo into the castle as the woman smirked and followed, telling Kosimu to meet them in the dojo in an hour.

"Yes Mistress." His hollow voice intoned as he walked back to his own quarters to prepare for the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*In a comfy room inside a foreboding castle*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Upon waking, Kagome snuggled deeper into her Inu-cacoon. His arms tightened around her and his warm breath stroked her neck from where his head rested against her shoulder. It was a wonderful thing to wake up to. And it just got better every time.

She turned in the circle of his arms and gazed into the face she so loved. How anyone could hate him, she didn't know. They hated him at first glance without even getting to know his crass, surly, high strung, hot headed…..

Okay, so maybe it was better if they didn't talk to him first. Still, he was the most handsome man she'd ever met. He was even hotter than most of the movie stars at home. But even if he walked around looking as he did now, relaxed, friendly, innocent even, she wasn't sure people would put aside their prejudices for a moment and get to know the hanyou she did.

He was so full of life, passion, fire and love. Too bad he kept it too bottled up and hidden away, even from himself, to let anyone know him like she did. Because for all the acts he put on she could see through all his posturing and into his heart. If they got to know that side of him she was sure some of the hostility toward hanyous would abate. Even if it was miniscule, it was enough to hope for.

The anathema to his very existence twitched and took her eyes away from his face, away from his full, pouty, pink lips glossed over from sleep, away from lids perfectly encasing eyes too beautiful to be real, and to the top of his head where the white appendages lay. She was struck with the sudden urge to touch one. Just to see if it was a soft as she remembered.

She reached for one and was amazed at the sheer fuzziness of it. `Why would anyone hate him for these? Just because he's different doesn't mean anything!' Filled with a sudden loathing scorn for her own people, she slid up and kissed one in apology.

She heard a sudden intake of air and a deep growl start. Her heart jumped in fear and she quickly pulled away to see if he was still asleep. He still was and there was no sound coming from him. She figured it was her imagination wishing for his eyes to open so she could see the amber hues.

Shaking her head slightly at her own silliness, she turned her attention back to his ears. She smiled faintly, thinking of all the times when she'd been distracted by them in the middle of one of their many fights, of the first time she'd seen him and found it odd that she was just as attracted to them now as she was then. Two years and they still fascinated her. She reached for one again, but it flinched away. She went in pursuit.

Inuyasha had almost had a heart attack when he awoke to Kagome's scent being so strong in his nostrils. The feeling doubled when he realized that they were so entwined together, legs and arms wrapped around each other intimately as they'd slept. The wave of love he felt for her took his breath away and he nearly choked on the need to make her his own. Then no one could take her away from him.

No one could touch her.

No one WOULD touch her.

Not that mangy wolf, or that pansy boy human. Or even his best friend, that lecherous monk. Miroku might have been acting like a pervert all these years, according to him, but as a great scholar once said `Perfection is a habit, not a state of being.' Or something like that. And the same went for lechery.

The growl that was formed from his musings was waking Kagome up and he tried to still and pretend to be asleep, hoping to give her a few more hours of much needed rest. No such luck. Her heart beat faster, her breathing became shallower and he knew she was awake.

Before he could say a thing, she shrank more into him, shoving her perfect posterior into his groin. His eyes rolled back and he bit his lip to keep from groaning. His arms tightened even more possessively around her. No one could ever have her but him.

As she turned to him, he closed his eyes and relaxed. Maybe if he looked asleep she would go back to sleep and stop affecting him like this. After all, it worked with Kaede when he wanted her to sleep.

But again, no luck.

He was having a hard enough time controlling himself with her just breathing on him, but the emotions coming from her were driving him crazy. Sadness, guilt, anger, desire, all melded together in his nose, seeping through his every pore, making him long to fight off all the unpleasant ones and help her appease the other. And feeling her eyes scour his face didn't help.

When they settled on his mouth he almost lost it and kissed her then, but he held himself in check well enough. That is until his ears twitched, drawing her attention to them. He almost sighed in relief.

Then he felt her fingers rubbing the base and around to the inside. He almost died. It was at this precise moment that he found they were sensitive to more than just sound. Her touch was so much different than when his mother had petted them, comforting him as a child. And it was sooooooooo much better.

She slid her body sensually up his own until his face was encased in the cottony softness of Kagome's bosom. He was in heaven as her scent was multiplied ten times and fed directly to his nose. It was at this moment that he had another epiphany.

She was in heat.

He could've beat his head against a wall. How could he forget that??? It was almost time for the quarter moon, the one time every month Kagome went into heat. Usually he'd be more difficult to get along with. Trying to keep her away because all she did was distract him. But this time it was different. He knew who she was.

Well he always knew who she was, but this time he KNEW who she WAS!! And it was getting pretty hard to ignore all these feeling she was bringing to him. The need to claim and mark his territory.

Her.

The youkai was fighting to come out and he was fighting to keep it in. He started breathing through his mouth, trying to resist as much temptation as possible. But then she kissed his ears and he gasped out loud. He couldn't hold the pleased grumble in as the pure adoration of the action took his heart on a flight in wonderland. He quickly cut off the growl before she could hear the want behind it.

She pulled away from him and he was surprised at the intense urge to pull her back and shove his face between her breasts again. They fit his head so perfectly. It was like they were made for him. And in a away, he guessed they were.

Just as suddenly as she'd left, she was back. He could feel her fingertips questing for his ears again. He knew if she touched them once more he'd lose it and end up marking her right there, in his old bed, in his old room, in his brother's house.

The thought of Sesshomaru abated his ardor enough for the moment to clear his head and he could finally hear her hunt for his ears. He didn't get why they fascinated her so. They were just ears. Albeit ones that were different than everyone else's, but they were still just ears.

"Come back here you little suckers." Kagome mumbled, trying not to wake him. She wanted to feel his glorious ears just one more time before the chance was taken from her. Probably forever. Unfortunately for her, they were harder to catch than a fly at a disinfectant plant.

She gave up and slid back down his body to come face to face with two glowing golden eyes and a rod poking her in the stomach. Her eyes widened minimally at the revelation that he was awake at all. She wondered briefly how long he had been awake before she caught a glimpse of fang between slightly parted lips. That was when she realized three things. One: That was no rod poking her. Two: He was getting her wet just looking at her. `Since when did that happen?!' And three : If he didn't kiss her soon, she would die.

Inuyasha's mouth became dry as her heated stare settled on it once again. He slipped his tongue past equally dry lips, moistening them, unaware of how much that would inflame her desire.

Okay. She was a patient girl, but enough was enough! She'd waited for him to make the first move for too long and it was getting her nowhere. `A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.' Taking the initiative she closed the small distance separating them and once again she found herself trembling in his arms.

With Kagome's kiss, he could no longer stop the influx of her scent to his nose. He couldn't stop taking the full impact of her desire and feeding it directly to the youkai inside. The extra enticement called to him `Take me. I'm yours.' And he fought his hardest to stop the transformation from happening.

He nearly whimpered as she moaned into the kiss, feeling the pleasure of it vibrate through his mouth, urging the youkai to take hold. His claws gently scraped against her back dragging to her hips and pulling her harder against his chest and beyond.

She shivered and arched more fully into him when she felt the claws that had ripped hundreds of youkai apart to protect her caressing her from back to hip passing just below her breast. She ached to feel them just a little higher. The tingle in her loins was turning into an inferno. An inferno that she wanted nothing less than to consume her alive.

Her arousing scent was spiking, He could feel it seep through every pore in his body. Instincts raging, he could do no more than hold tighter as his reined in the demon trying to escape. He knew if he didn't stop her they really would end up mating right here. And as much as he wanted pups with her, he seriously doubted that now was the time for that. There was still so much to do. So many shards to collect. So many demons to kill. So much need to fight off.

He reluctantly pulled away from her, but she followed and resumed her unknown torture on him. She landed kisses on his cheeks, his jaw, his neck, anywhere she could find in search of his sensuous mouth once more. She even went so far as to straddle him, even though she knew as well as he that her slight weight wouldn't keep him there if he wanted to get away.

But he didn't want to get away. He'd conceded to letting her trap him there, just to enjoy his mate's alluring caress a little longer. To hell with the trouble he'd have keeping the demon at bay. She kissed him thoroughly, bringing her tongue to touch his, stoking his mouth from the inside out, lighting upon his fangs and getting even more pleasure from the prick of the tip. She didn't even notice that she'd started rocking against him, repeatedly bringing her heated core in contact with his throbbing desire until she heard his loud voicing of appreciation.

She continued and he was more than willing to let her. Oh boy was he willing! But when he felt her hands on his bare chest and his own going beneath her skirt to hold her tighter against him, that's when he knew they'd gone too far.

He renewed his fight and took control. Reluctantly tearing his mouth from Kagome's, he unwound their legs, arms, and clothing to lift her off of himself and set her on the bed next to him. Kagome's eyes finally snapped open as she realized that he had escaped her grasp. She looked at him questionably and felt her heart sink as he looked at her. He sat up and straightened his jackets, building up the confidence to tell her they couldn't do this now. Then he looked in her eyes. Said eyes filled with tears as he looked at her with such sorrow that it could be for no other reason than he regretted what they'd just done.

"Kagome-" was all he got out before she jumped from the bed and ran from the room. He sat stunned as what had happened sunk in. "Well THAT didn't go right." He groused as he fought through the blue balls left to him by his lady love.

He followed the inebriating scent through the hall and to Rin's closed door. There he used his ears for a less erotic purpose, the one that they were made for, and listened through the shut portal for any movement inside. He heard the girls talking. Well, he heard Rin talking and Kagome `Uh-huh' ing every few minutes to let Rin know she was listening. Though, her `uh-huh' seemed to be a little flat. But listening to Rin talk about how pretty and strong his brother was only made him want to do three things.

One: Throw up.

Two: Laugh.

And three: Break down the door and drag Kagome out kicking and screaming.

But he wasn't particularly fond of being sick, his laugh wasn't a nice thing to hear and, much as he would love to throw Kagome over his shoulder, he seriously doubted Sesshomaru would take kindly to him walking into Rin's room uninvited, let alone destroying his property and scaring his mate.

So he opted out and walked down the corridor, trying to get rid of the frustration and heartache of Kagome running away from him. Halfway down the hall, his stomach growled.

"Well at least now I know where to go."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*Outside a village far away*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sango had woken before the sun and ridden Kirara hard all day after her restless night of worrying about Miroku. She saw the smoke rising from the houses before she saw the village and set Kirara down outside in the forest. The fire-cat detransformed and trotted along behind Sango, trying to keep up as the exterminator stormed through the village.

Kaede saw her coming as she picked herbs in her garden. When she saw the equally enraged and worried look on her face, she held her tongue from asking what was wrong. When Sango passed all she could do was shake her head and stare after her rigid back.

"Miroku, what stupid thing have ye done now?"

The same thing crossed the villagers minds as she stomped through the crowds. They gave her a large berth. The slayer stormed into the elderly miko's hut and straight to the futon she borrowed when the group stayed there. Once she was sure she was alone, she gave in to the tears. Her sobs racked her body as she fought to keep it quiet. Her legs curled up to her chest and she buried her face in her knees.

`How could he say that? How could I do that?! I HATE him! But GODS how I love him.' She cried harder as she replayed the event through her memory. His hurt look. Then his ire. She wouldn't be surprised if she never saw him again and that thought made her weep all the harder.

By this point, after a restless night's sleep worrying if he was okay out there and not dead, and a day full of stewing on the thoughts running through her head, she felt, quite literally, like shit. And not a little dog diddle by the bush. Or even a steaming pile of horse dung in the middle of the road. More like a giant bear youkai after too many fish and bad berries. Stinky, runny, and multi-colored. That was how she felt right now.

Kirara poked her nose around the reed door to see if the tsunami had blown over yet. Still smelling anger, sadness, and above all, salty tears, she hopped through the door and pawed over to her mistress. She nosed the girl's hand, trying to get her to pet her, knowing it would comfort the distraught girl. She licked away her tears, but new ones replaced the old faster than she could be rid of them. She purred reassurances to her, but still Sango didn't respond.

So she did the only thing left to do and lent the girl her warm presence until she fell into another restless slumber. Once that occurred, she got up, walked into the woods and transformed. Then she flew away to find that deceiving houshi. And when she did, nothing could save him from her fang-lashing.

Retribution would be served for her friend's pain, and it would come from the girl herself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*In a forest even farther away away*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Miroku was walking as he thought.

Last night had not been his best sleep. Even if he was used to sleeping in a forest on the ground, last night had been hell. He tossed and turned, not finding a suitable position anywhere. It was too lumpy or there was a rock or it was too cold. He had finally given up on sleep because his brain wouldn't shut up even if his body had settled down.

All he thought about was Sango.

How was he going to get her back?

How could he have said that?

Well, it had seemed true at the moment, but he knew Sango wasn't that kind of girl. Even if she had slept with someone before him, which he hated the thought of, she had chosen to sleep with him next. It made him feel like scraps when thought of that way, but she had chosen to be his wife that night. Even if she didn't realize it, it was binding and blessed by the gods. She had said she wanted to be married before she did `that' with him. It was the honorable thing to do.

Was she married before? The thought was sudden and it rocked him to the core. But even if she was married, he was dead now. Along with the rest of her village. He wondered briefly if he had buried the guy or if Inuyasha had. What had he looked like? Was he a slayer too or just one of the laborers? Why would he let his wife choose that field to work in? If Sango hadn't already been an accomplished slayer and he'd met her, grown up with her even, he would forbid her to go into that dangerous line of work.

His mind leapt from that track and onto a new one. She never spoke of being married. Her talks of the village mostly included her father and brother. Not too much mention of her mother either. Odd, he'd never noticed that omission in her life. Had her mother died after giving life to Kohaku? Or was it during? Or was she killed when Naraku attacked? But that didn't make any sense. Why wouldn't Sango be grieving her mother as well as her father and brother.

Then again, why wasn't she mourning her husband. His heart constricted at that. If she was hiding the pain that well, what would she do when he died? Would she even mourn him? He would mourn her if she died. Hell, if she died right now he'd die too. His heart would die with her and it would only be a few days, or maybe months, before his body followed. His head began to ache and he closed his eyes, rubbing the pain in his forehead, as he walked.

Suddenly he bumped into a solid being. He backed up and said sorry without opening his eyes. The sunlight was making it worse and he knew he'd have to stop and find herbs to get it to go away. He began walking again until he no longer felt the ground beneath his feet.

Stunned eyes shot open, ignoring the pain of his pupils contracting with the invasion of light. It was fuzzy for a moment as his eyes adjusted to the brightness, but when they cleared he almost screamed with fright. He was floating miles high in the air.

He began to calm down and think up a logical explanation for the sudden flight as a growl sprang his mind on alert mode. There was a tugging on the back of his robes, which he discovered as his breathing began to slow. The air wasn't filling his lungs as it once had, when whatever was holding him up didn't have it so his robes were being pulled across his throat. And that's when he saw the blur of blond fur being blown in the wind stirred from the flight. Just before darkness encompassed him, he smiled. Sango had come for him. He knew she couldn't stay awa-

*~*~*~*~*~*~*Sesshomaru's Castle*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As Inuyasha walked through the castle he noticed some things that shouldn't be there. Everyone was well into the days activities and assignments. Frowning, he looked at everyone as they passed. He caught sight of the progression of the day through a small window set high on a wall. The sun was well into the sky and he couldn't believe it. Had he really slept that long? He supposed he had. The servants were up and doing their chores. Rin was up and had been for hours if her ceaseless chatter was any indication. And everything was homey feeling. More so than he remembered.

Was he really so relaxed here that he forgot about all the dangers outside and gave into the safety it's walls provided? He closed his eyes, remembering back to a time before his parents died. It was almost as if he could feel his father walking around this place and hear his mother's tinkling laugh echo through the stone corridors. Shaking his head of the nostalgia, he felt his stomach boil as it begged for food and he began walking once more to his original destination.

The kitchen was empty but for one person. She was humming a tune that caught his attention, bringing him back to his childhood and the scent of fresh bread, sweet dumplings, and love in an otherwise hateful world.

She looked the same as he remembered. Her pink hair fading to white was the only difference. The cook was the one person he'd trusted to talk to when he had lived here. She didn't hated him for being a hanyou. She had loved his mother like a sister and missed her almost as much as he did himself.

He just hoped she didn't hate him know. He had run away without saying a thing to her in way of a goodbye, even though she was his only friend. Even more of a friend than his brother.

He'd never been close to Sesshomaru, but the youkai had become so much colder since their father's death. He'd ignored him, choosing instead to bury himself in the work of running a kingdom and placed his little brother's well being in the hands of retainers that hated him for who he was.

He couldn't count how many times he'd been beaten for being `too stupid' as he tried to learn his lessons. How many time's he'd been denied even a break to water the tree. If he'd learned anything from them, it was that he couldn't trust anyone. And he'd kept that lesson with him. Followed it to a T in fact. That is until Kagome. But he, for once, didn't dwell on her as his stomach called for attention.

The cook turned her robust frame to the doorway as she heard the familiar rumble of an empty stomach. But she stopped when she'd looked fully on the hungry person. He'd grown into a fine looking young man. She always knew he would. He had been well on his way when he'd left them all. Even after almost a century, the pain of his sudden departure hadn't disappeared. But here, standing as he was, uncertain of her reaction to his presence, she was transported back to the first time she'd seen him. Smiling, she said the same thing she had that day.

"Want a dumpling, Dumpling?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*Rin's Room*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kagome listened with half an ear as Rin praised Sesshomaru. He was her idol and all she wanted to do was please him. It would've been cute if she weren't so depressed over Inuyasha. She kept having to tell herself `He's not my personal sex toy. He's not my personal sex toy.' But, oh how she wanted him to be. That and soooooooo much more.

He'd said he loved her. He said he'd protect her. He acted like he was jealous of every man she gave attention to, even Miroku. So if he was all this, why did he regret it? Why did he always take off to see Kikyo? And if Sango was right about the mating stuff, why had he fallen for Kikyo in the first place?

Circular thoughts are bad, she decided. The only way to stop being sad is to make an effort to fix it. So she put on a smile and talked with Rin of stuff other than Sesshomaru. They spoke of her lessons and Kagome was surprised to find that what she was learning wasn't too different from what she'd learned at that age. OF course, the science stuff was different, but that was logical. They didn't see things as modern people do.

Her time was so cynical and mean. People were open to all kinds explanations about `unexplained phenomena' and didn't even consider the possibility that it could be spirit related, even laughed it off as ridiculous notions. But here it was all too serious. Monsters, witches, demons, all of them were running around. And enchantments, spells, spiritual power, it was all too real. Rin's lesson were infused with this type of thinking.

But the math was the same. Two plus two is four. Four minus three is one. As was the writing and penmanship, which Rin was excellent at for her age. She was beginning to rival her own signature at twelve and Rin was just ten. So she praised the girl for her efforts. Even though she could hardly read the writing the girl was using, it being in Hiragana or `women's writing', whereas Kagome used a mixture of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

And so, she began to get a little less angsty with the girl's love of life cheering her up. And slowly she was able to face the day again. That is, until she went into the kitchen and saw Inuyasha sitting there being all chummy with the cook, eating dumplings and rice with steamed fish and pickles like it was the best thing since ramen. And maybe it was for all she knew. Maybe ramen wasn't even his favorite food at all. How well did she know him really?

The minute she stepped foot in the kitchen, Inuyasha knew something was wrong. Cook stopped talking about what his brother had been doing during the time he was stuck to the tree and since Rin came to live with them. Busy Busy Sesshomaru had dropped everything when Rin came along. He found her the best teacher's, redecorated everything just the way she wanted it, in the east wing only of course, fired everyone who had a problem with a human in the house, except for Jaken, but only `cause he liked to torment the toad, and he even seemed to warm up a little. If Inuyasha hadn't known his brother's reasons, he would've been almost jealous over the way he'd went through so much trouble for Rin but had only found the bare necessities for his own brother.

A small noise sounded from the same spot Cook was staring at. He looked in the doorway just in time to smell Kagome running away. Again.

"She's been doing that a lot lately." He muttered to himself, forgetting that Cook was a fox and could hear him just as well as he could've had the situation been reversed.

"Trouble with the Missus?" She asked with a gleam in her eye.

"Yeah." He jolted upright. "I mean `No'. No, of course not. Who is this Missus that you speak of? I see no Missus." He sweated.

She just rolled her eyes. Some guys never change. "Right and I just imagined that intent claim on you both. You forget Inuyasha, I've known you since you were born. And this" She pointed to her nose. "Is almost as good as this." She reached across the counter and flicked his own.

"Hey!" He protested. "My nose. Not yours."

She simply smiled at his uttering of their inside joke from ages ago. "Talk to her. It's obvious to anyone with eyes something happened between you two."

He hung his head and sighed. She knew him better than just about anyone, save Kagome. It was almost frightening the way that girl could read him. Like she could see into his thoughts. All except the most important ones. She always caught him at the worst times too.

Whenever he was musing on Kikyo, there Kagome was to see him pine. Whenever he was pushed to the limit and stressed, there Kagome was to see him snap. Why couldn't she read him when he wanted her to? Why did everything have to be so damn difficult with her? And why was he sitting here berating himself when she was running through the halls like she knew where she was going when he knew the only place she was going to get was lost.

Thanking Cook for the lunch, he practically ran out of the kitchen to catch Kagome. Only to be stopped by a strong hand attached to one strong arm.

Sesshomaru needed to speak with his brother. It had kept him up almost all night long. They'd had the mating talk, which still annoyed the fire out of him to think he'd had to have it at all with his almost two hundred year old brother. And as Inuyasha was walking away to snuggle with his legally aged mate, `Lucky dog. Damn fates.', he remembered a rumor he'd heard. Granted he could've told Inuyasha before he went to bed, but they'd had that long conversation and he was sure his brother's mind was too full at the moment with new revelations into his own behavior to digest anything more than a `Goodnight'.

Inuyasha looked up at Sesshomaru through frustrated yet curious eyes. The youkai didn't say anything for a while, thinking about how to tell him without it being a shock.

"Oi, Sesshomaru, if you're not gonna say anything, I have to catch Kagome before she gets lost forever in this place." His foot started tapping, his eye was twitching and he was just about to blow up at his brother when said brother began talking.

"I WAS trying to make this easier, but tact is not the way you do things."

"Is this more mating shit, `cause if it is, can it wait until I get Kagome?"

Now it was Sesshomaru's turn to have an eye tick. `Try to help him and look what happens. Why am I even bothering?' His grip on Inuyasha's shoulder tightened minimally. "I have some information on Naraku. Thought you might want to know."

Well, this wasn't what he was expecting. "And?"

Sesshomaru's eyebrow raised a fraction. "And what?"

"What do you want me to do? Beg?" Inuyasha huffed. Sesshomaru's brow raised another fraction. "Fine! Please tell me what you know about Naraku." Sesshomaru still didn't look like he was gonna talk. Inuyasha sighed and grunted. "Big brother of mine who is so much more powerful than I can ever hope to be."

"And?"

If Tetsusaiga wasn't at his hip, Inuyasha would've seen red. This moron was holding him up from getting Kagome. He grit his teeth. "And richer and more handsome and- Can I stop now?"

Sesshomaru smirked, yes smirked. You didn't think the only traits they had the same were human mates did you? "Good enough. I heard talk that a castle appeared out of nowhere a days travel from here to the north. The villagers say it is Lord Kagewaki. I do believe that was the name Naraku was using last we saw him. If you leave now and hurry you can get there by early this evening."

Inuyasha smiled a crooked smile. "Thanks." Sesshomaru nodded his acceptance as Inuyasha raced off to find that wayward mate of his before she got lost or hurt or anything other than in his arms again.

Kagome was rounding corners, going deeper into the castle depths. The air was constricting and musty. She could practically taste the muck, mold and age of the place. She didn't know how long she'd been running when she realized that wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done. She had no idea where she was. Nothing looked familiar. Nothing even smelled familiar. Where was that fresh breeze that she needed in this oppressive basement level death trap. Well, it wasn't a death trap yet, but if she stayed down here it would become one. She turned back the way she'd come and found herself staring into a dust cloud.

"Great! This is all I need! Allergens." And the worst part was, she couldn't see a thing through all the dust she'd kicked up. Looking forward again, she saw the floor was covered in a carpet of the dust. Not a footprint was seen in the grime of ages. How long had it been since someone had been down here. How did she even FIND her way down here. `By running blindly through a house I don't know with no regard to halls, corners or people asking me if I needed help with something.' She would've kicked herself in the head if that didn't mean falling into the muck when her leg didn't bend that way.

It was all she could do not to cry in self pity and loathing. She could try to wander through the maze again in the dusty fog. Or she could stay here and wait for someone to find her. And subsequently die in the process of waiting. Neither of her choices were appealing.

"Hmmm. Weeeeell, it's better to do something than do nothing. Plus the rules of the lost don't really apply here. I'm sure I'll find someone. I just have to keep going until I DO eventually reach some INHABITED part of this castle."

After a few sneezes and sniffles, Kagome found herself backtracking through the cloud with minimal difficulty. Sure, she couldn't see a thing. Sure, she had no idea if she was even going the right way. But wander around long enough and something's bound to happen. And something did happen. In the form of a red coated wall that sent her crashing towards the ground.

Inuyasha had followed her deep underground. He'd never even seen this part of the castle and was starting to find it a little intimidating. But he kept going. He had a great nose. He could find his way back. Right? That's when he ran into the dust cloud. The spores clogged his nose until he couldn't smell anything but the dry, stale powder. There was no way of knowing which way she'd gone. The dust dampened every scent but it's own. `Which way did she go now?!' So it was a great surprise when his quarry bumped into him.

Reflexively he reached his hands forward and caught the damsel before she hurt herself. The minute Kagome felt herself stop falling, she tried to figure out what had happened. Her brain began turning out possible answers, each one worse than the last. She fought with all her strength, grunting and screaming for help, against the youkai who wanted her for dinner, or was it the deranged madman that wanted her body, until it dropped her. Then she ran again. Away from the danger. Noticing the steps getting louder behind her as her attacker chased her, she ran faster through the cloud.

"Damnit!" Inuyasha swore. Why would she need help against him? He could almost see her running now. The cloud was thinning as the dust settled back down and soon he would have her. Then he could lead them back to their room and all would be right with the world. That was the plan anyway. Kagome obviously didn't get the itinerary. She only poured on more speed the closer he got, stirring the dust back up and obscuring his vision of her.

She was home free as the sound of steps chasing her rattled away to nearly nothing. The hall turned into a somewhat recognizable passageway and she knew everything would be all right now. Then the wall that she'd ran into earlier fell in front of her. He dropped from nowhere and she couldn't stop the scream from escaping her in her fright.

Then he grabbed her and she knew there was no point in running. He'd just catch her again. So she stopped struggling, hoping to conserve her energy until the time was right to get away. She looked up into the face of her captor and almost fainted. It was Inuyasha. Her heart, her love, her man, er, hanyou. The one that had spurned her and started this whole mess in the first place, causing her to get lost and then scaring the piss out of her by not saying it was him when he'd had her the first time. And she was back to being angry. Ripping her arms from his hands, she slammed into his shoulder as she stalked past.

He stared after her back in disbelief. `I come and save her and look what she does! Does she have any idea how scared I was for her?! If I had never come after her, she'd have be stuck down here forever.'

He followed her back upstairs until she'd found her way to their room. He figured that then he could talk to her, get what was bugging her dealt with and get on with the mating. Uh. I mean. Love. Yeah. Love.

But again, things didn't happen the way they were supposed to for Inuyasha. She had sealed the door on him. Where she got the sutra, he only had one guess. "Damn you Miroku. Even when you're gone you make my life hell." And yet again he was faced with possibility of his brother's wrath for breaking in one of his doors. "Shit." He slumped against the wall. "Kagome!" He yelled through the thin wood. "Come out here and talk to me."

"SIT!" He heard as his head smacked the floor. The door eased open as Kagome stuck her head out. "I don't want to talk to you, you jerk! I don't even want to see you!! Now, LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" She quickly shut the door as the incantation wore off. It wasn't long before she had her answer.

Frustrated, he growled and turned to go back to the kitchen or outside or anywhere as long as it gave Kagome time to cool off.

"Damn wench." The muttered as he walked. "I didn't even do anything but care about you. FINE! Stew over nothing! See if I care!" He shouted back down the hall, but only got silence in return. Sighing, he shuffled along, trying to figure out a way to keep Kagome away from him, for her own safety, and still tell her he wants her as his mate while they slaughter Naraku and get Kaede back.

He was screwed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There you go. Finished, polished, and fine-tuned to as close as I can get to perfection.

So tell me what you think.

R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!