InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price ❯ For the Record ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha; Rumiko Takahashi and a large publishing conglomerate hold his leash.

 

A/N: Thanks very much for all the terrific reviews!

 

Regarding the floor plan of the Higurashi's house in this fic, the bathroom is on the ground floor and is entered via the laundry room, which is itself accessed through the kitchen. The toilet is also located on the main floor, but in a room by itself close to the foyer. Sota and Grandpa's bedrooms are on the main floor as well, while Kagome and Mrs. Higurashi's rooms are upstairs.

 

Bouquets: to my lovely CMAs, Forthright, Ranuel and SilverOnTheRose.

 

Warnings: Violence, coarse language.

 

The Price

Chapter Two: For the Record

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Sha quickly matched the youkai pinning him down glare for glare. “How the fuck was I supposed to know that the ugly hag was sealed beneath the courtyard?”

 

The claws retracted from his throat and the anger in the creature's remarkable eyes dimmed. “Mistress Centipede was from before your time, when Lady Kikyo still walked this earth. My apologies.” With that, the weight on his body lifted and the youkai rushed to Kagome's side.

 

Sha blinked several times up at the sky. How in the hell does this thing know about Kikyo? Cautiously raising his head, he watched a slender youkai with daintily pointed ears and delicate facial striping gathering Kagome into its arms. “Don't touch her, you bastard!” he shouted, struggling upright.

 

The youkai bared some very impressive fangs over its shoulder. “I have every right to touch what is mine.”

 

He nursed his cracked ribs and wondered how long it would take his powers to return. I don't fancy tangling with a full-blooded youkai while I'm at a disadvantage… this might not be Sess, but it can still kick my human ass without breaking a sweat! Noticing the extreme care and solicitousness that the creature was displaying towards the injured girl, he inspected it more closely. Ivory skin, long chestnut hair tipped with black… pale green eyes… waitaminute… “Buyo?”

 

“Give the dog a cookie,” the cat-youkai hissed as she rose to her feet with Kagome cradled in her arms. Raking Sha with a caustic look, Buyo added, “Come along and I'll patch you up, too. Being purified makes healing somewhat difficult, I'd imagine.”

 

“How'd you manage to avoid that blast?”

 

“Not being restrained by my opponent made it easier. Use that bucket to wash the blood off the paving stones.” She indicated the container with a toss of her head. “There is a faucet on the other side of the well house. Her family must not find out if at all possible.”

 

“Gonna be kinda tough hiding her injuries, doncha think?” he pointed out as he hefted the bucket, then let out a pained whimper that he wasn't quite able to stifle.

 

Buyo rolled her pale eyes as she headed towards the house. “Never mind, puppy; I'll do it later. Bring the medical case and her weaponry, please.” He retrieved the items and painfully hop-skipped to catch up as she expertly opened the foyer door with her foot. “Watch the step, Lord Inuyasha.”

 

“Now that's a name I haven't heard in a really long time,” Sha commented as he closed the door behind them, kicked off his boots and followed the cat-youkai into the house. Striding through the kitchen, Buyo elbowed open the sliding door to the laundry room and then bore the unconscious young woman through yet another door into the bathroom. “What about her grandfather? She said something about him opening the shrine shop.…”

 

“She is alone here today; her family left her in peace so that she could practice for an upcoming archery meet.”

 

“Guess she didn't trust me.”

 

“Can't imagine why,” Buyo said dryly as she carefully laid Kagome on the tile floor and tucked a folded towel under her head. As she began slicing away the young woman's torn, blood-soaked clothing with lethal-looking claws that were suddenly at least a foot long, she said, “For the record, the unofficial version is correct; a third party was behind Lady Kikyo's death. He apparently hoped that she would kill you and then wish on the Jewel to survive; she managed to unknowingly out-manoeuvre him because she only sealed you before going peacefully to her grave.”

 

“Keh. How do you know all of this?” he asked uneasily. Can't tell how old she is; could be two hundred or two thousand.

 

“I'm beginning to wonder if you're hard of hearing,” Buyo answered coolly. “I already told you that I was… oh, good… not as bad as I feared, thanks to the Jewel.” Sha flinched away from the bloody mess revealed as the cat-youkai stripped the ruined jacket, t-shirt and bra from Kagome's body. “Try not to ogle, if you don't mind. Make yourself useful and clean up her bow and quiver… hand me the medical case, please.”

 

“I'm not ogling, dammit; only ghouls are turned on by blood.” He handed over the case, and did his best to be clinical as he looked over Kagome's naked torso, quickly realizing that under the coating of gore, the young woman appeared to be somehow intact except for some deep… and rapidly-closing… gouges. Crap! That's some impressive youkai-level speed healing! “Amazing,” he murmured as he snagged a towel and set to wiping down her weapons. “I could use some of that ability right now.”

 

“The Jewel has a vested interest in keeping its host alive,” Buyo said as she wrung out a facecloth in warm water and began cleaning the blood from Kagome's skin.

 

Sha noticed that the youkai's claws had retracted and realized how she had been able to shred his jeans earlier with one blow… and also realized that she could have removed his entire leg if she had so desired. Not someone to mess with, that's for damn sure! Claw to claw, she has the advantage! “Is she a reincarnation?”

 

“Yes,” Buyo confirmed. “Surely you have noticed the similarity in their scents?” Flashing Sha a thoughtful glance, she added, “If you choose to improve your acquaintance with Lady Kagome, the differences between them will become obvious. Are you done cleaning those? Wash your hands; I need your help with Lady Kagome's injuries, and then I'll have a look at yours.” Sha complied, gamely ignoring his complaining ribs to prop Kagome upright enough so that Buyo could wind a roll of bandaging around the young woman's body after taping a gauze pad in place. Once the cat had pronounced herself satisfied, she created a makeshift mattress out of towels on the other side of the room and moved her patient onto them, with another clean towel for a coverlet. “All right… let's see what can be done for you.”

 

She helped Sha out of his jacket and took a moment to poke her long finger through the hole driven clean through the tough leather from front to back by the centipede's fang while he struggled with his t-shirt. “Dragon hide lined with fire-rat; at least we won't have to worry about repairing the damage.” Noticing his difficulties, she brandished her claws; he held very, very still as the sharp weapons made short work of his clothing. Buyo clucked her tongue at the lurid bruise already forming over his ribs and the wound in his shoulder. “Let me put a couple of stitches in that; you won't be fully hanyou for a little while yet.” She tapped the white, fang-shaped jewel bracketed by a pair of black stone beads hanging from a heavy leather cord around his neck. “Is this the anchor for your concealment spell?”

 

“Yeah… not that I need it right now. Where's yours?”

 

Buyo wrinkled her nose. “I don't have one.”

 

“You mean you're holding that transformation out of sheer will?” he asked, highly impressed with her level of control. “Even my brother uses an external anchor to control the size of his true form…”

 

“It's become second nature,” she offered distractedly as she rummaged in the medical case.

 

“Oi, what's the big deal with you blowing a fit over my `carelessness' outside?” he suddenly demanded. “If youkai blood was the catalyst for the insect-hag's release, then you could've done it when you slashed my leg!”

 

The cat-youkai's pale cheeks tinted pink. “Quite true, Lord Inuyasha. I was thinking only of protecting Lady Kagome… and to be honest, I forgot exactly where Mistress Centipede was sealed.”

 

He muttered a few choice epithets, but allowed her to work on him without complaint as she expertly sutured the injury. They were silent until Buyo abruptly answered his earlier question. “I doubt that you noticed a small kitten living in Lady Kikyo's hut; I `belonged' to her younger sister, Lady Kaede, but I was really there for the Jewel.”

 

“So you wanted to steal it, too?”

 

“Yes,” she bluntly admitted. “When Lady Kikyo died, I decided to remain and watch over the village. I surmised that the Jewel would eventually resurface because that kind of power cannot remain quiescent forever, and I was right.” Knotting and cutting the suture, she selected a gauze pad of the right size. “However, when the Jewel reappeared, acquiring it turned out to have a higher price than I was willing to pay.”

 

“Which was?” he prompted, when she was quiet too long.

 

“The Jewel was reborn inside Lady Kagome,” Buyo finally answered. “The legendary priestess Midoriko's crystallized heart now resides inside Lady Kagome's chest.”

 

Sha exhaled sharply, and it had nothing to do with the pressure exerted on his wound while she applied some tape. “So, in order to get the Jewel…”

 

“… Lady Kagome would have to die,” she finished sombrely.

 

He again found himself the target of an icy green stare and quickly held up his hands. “All I want is my sword. Sure, I wanted the Jewel back then, but not now. Seen too many innocent people die, especially in the last century, to know that absolute power doesn't do anyone any good… and it sure as hell doesn't make you a better person. Look at my asshole brother, for example.”

 

“The Western Lord regularly checked on you during your sealing,” Buyo commented calmly. “Even if I didn't see him, I still detected his youki in the area.”

 

“No way,” he scoffed.

 

“Yes way,” she insisted, nudging his arms upwards so that she could stabilize his ribs with another roll of firmly-wrapped gauze. “Besides, it is well-known that he accepted you as his kinsman both before and after your sealing.”

 

“Only because he said it would be a disgrace for a son of the Inu-no-Taisho to be defeated or killed by a lesser youkai, and as a `weak hanyou' I needed his protection,” Sha grumbled.

 

“He attained a splendid sword out of his largesse, did he not? The Bakusaiga?”

 

“Nah. He already had it by the time I woke up. Some idiot went after his wife back in the day and Sess went all super-youkai on his ass; the Bakusaiga appeared in the course of that battle.”

 

“Ah. The rumours said that Lord Sesshomaru now had `someone to protect'; I assumed it was you because I only heard about it after your awakening.”

 

“Pfft… please. He tolerates me.”

 

“I wonder at your attitude towards your brother, Lord Inuyasha, because to all reports you have been a valued member of the Western Pack for several centuries.” Sha muttered and looked away; she allowed a significant pause before clearing her throat and continuing, “Lady Kagome's recovery will then be of interest to you, because she is the only one who can release the Tetsusaiga from its seals.” When his head snapped around, his expression eager, she added, “Before you get any bright ideas about coercing her into doing so, let me inform you that her actions cannot be tainted by fear or the seals will remain inviolate.”

 

“I would never threaten a woman!” Sha protested angrily, then quieted at Buyo's dry look. “Okay, so I did once… then let my guard down with the same woman and got pinned to a fucking tree for 250 fucking years because of some other asshole…”

 

“253 years and five months,” Buyo blandly interjected. “You awakened during a thunderstorm; it was a Tuesday, I think, around two o'clock in the afternoon.”

 

“Did you camp out under the tree or something?” he demanded.

 

“Or something,” she agreed cryptically. “We had best determine how much you will tell Lady Kagome…”

 

“Me? Isn't that your job?”

 

“I cannot,” Buyo replied carelessly, but Sha noted the tension in her slender frame.

 

“Why?”

 

“It is my wish to remain a part of her household, as I have been for the last five centuries.”

 

Sha had a flash of insight. “You're afraid that she won't accept you for what you really are,” he flatly accused. Buyo turned away, busying herself with the medical case. He watched for a moment before asking hopefully, “Can you speed up my recovery from the purification?”

 

“In exchange for your silence?”

 

“No!” he protested. “Ya got your reasons for concealing your true self, just like I do. I'll keep your secret; got enough of my own.”

 

“I can't undo the purification, unfortunately I am nothing more than a simple house-cat.”

 

“Keh. `Buyo' can't possibly be your real name…?”

 

“It suits me well enough.” She gracefully rose and crossed the room to carefully lift Kagome in her arms. “I will take her upstairs; join us in a few minutes.”

 

“Isn't that improper, considering I'm a stranger?”

 

“You will have to confirm her experience because I cannot, and impress upon her that she must conceal everything from her family.”

 

“Crap. Don't really want to, but don't have much choice, do I?” he grumbled as he stood aside.

 

“Leave the damaged clothing in here,” the cat-youkai said coolly as she swept out of the room.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Sha turned to regard the mess in the bathroom; pink-and-red stained towels, scattered medical wrappers, soggy scraps of clothing. Guess I ought to help her out, since she did bandage me up and all… Avoiding the heavy wet towels, he quickly put everything else destined for the garbage in one pile. Frowning at the suture packaging, he wondered, Why would an ordinary family have this kind of stuff in their house? Puzzling over this tidbit of information, he used the hand sprayer to sluice the tiled floor until all traces of blood swirled down the floor drain.

 

Satisfied with his clean-up efforts, he collected his jacket and limped into the kitchen. Dropping the perforated garment over the back of one of the chairs, he noted the homey atmosphere that included a goggle-eyed tanuki tea cup perched on the counter next to the sink. He started down the hall towards the stairs that he assumed led to the young woman's second-floor bedroom, but he first spotted something through a half-opened sliding screen that seized his attention with both hands.

 

Veering into the traditional tatami room, he detoured around the low table with its collection of floor cushions to reach an old-fashioned chest against the far wall. Coming to a stop before it, Sha stooped to inspect the collection of family photographs arranged on its polished surface.

 

Three wedding photographs held pride of place. The first was in full colour and about twenty-five years old, showing a winsome bride in a crisp white kimono seated on a lacquered chair. Her face was composed, but her dark eyes held a merry twinkle as she displayed an elaborate fan while the groom sat proudly beside her, trussed up in full traditional rig. Must be the girl's parents…her mother looks really familiar for some reason. The second photograph dated roughly twenty years before the first and was in black and white. The bride wore a crane-patterned uchikake over her white kimono and the groom sported a neatly-trimmed dark moustache and goatee. The third, and oldest portrait was even more formal, both participants severely poker-faced and stiff in their robes as they posed like porcelain dolls before a painted screen. Sha tilted his head, frowning a little as he examined the solemn young couple. I think I remember these two… shit, has it been that long since I've been back here? I guess it was just after the last war; time flies even when you have more of it than you need.

 

Perusing some casual photographs arranged to the side of the wedding portraits, he grinned at a laughing young boy on a beach, and then the same boy, now a gangling teen, posing in his high school uniform against the Goshinboku's picket fence. Good-looking kid; hello… who do we have here?

 

A pretty young woman, wind-tousled and wearing a bright floral swimsuit, posed on a rocky outcropping surrounded by the sea. Sha scooped the photograph and carried it over to the window. Carefully studying the image, he observed that while the shape of her face and the tilt of her nose were the same as Kikyo's, Kagome's dark grey eyes held the sunny laughter of her bright smile. She has a softer voice, too… and her scent is sweeter. Absently rubbing the spot on his chest where the long-dead priestess' arrow had held him in stasis for two and a half centuries, he considered more of the little details that marked Kagome as a unique individual instead of Kikyo's carbon copy. Her eyes are shaped differently and her lips are fuller… pretty smile.

 

Sha carefully replaced the photograph of Kagome and turned to leave, bringing a wall niche next to the open screen into his line of sight. The dull gleam of metal caught his attention, and he quickly crossed the room to stand in front of a shrine. The metallic glint belonged to an antique bronze finial from what he recognized as a Buddhist monk's staff. Next to the finial, a black-and-white portrait of the groom from the most recent wedding photograph stared out above an engraved memorial tablet, and he realized why only the old geezer and the teenager were participants in the Setsubun ceremonies. Sha did some rapid math based on the tablet's dates. Her father's been dead since she was a kid, just like me. She has no one to protect her, and now that the Jewel's woken up, she'll be in the cross-hairs of every ambitious youkai in Japan.

 

Slowly ascending the stairs, he mulled over this revelation, then hesitated between two identical doors. Shrugging, he tapped on the nearer and was rewarded with a quiet hail. Entering the room, he nearly tripped over a bag containing Kagome's blood-soaked jeans as he glanced around a room full of the lovingly-arranged clutter that spoke of the young woman's interests. Shelves contained rows of stuffed animals as well as colourful ribbons and trophies that testified to her prowess with the bow, while collections of photographs stuck here and there showed her and the same group of three friends mugging shamelessly for the camera in a variety of settings. Her desk was tidy and organized, with notepads, mechanical pencils and textbooks neatly stacked. Briefly perusing the titles, he noted several standard medical texts, but puzzled over the apparently-random inclusion of a treatise on herbal concoctions.

 

“Lady Kagome intends to become a practitioner of traditional medicine,” Buyo explained, noticing his interest.

 

“How anachronistic of her.”

 

“Do not scoff, Lord Inuyasha. She has worked very hard towards her qualification; if she received the proper spiritual training to harness the Jewel's power, she could save those on the very threshold of death.”

 

“Her studies explain the professional-level medical supplies in the house.” Sha snagged Kagome's desk chair, spun it around and straddled it, resting his forearms on the seat back. Giving the cat-youkai what he hoped was an intimidating stare, he demanded evenly, “Tell me everything you know about Kikyo's death.”

 

Buyo smoothed the blanket covering Kagome; Sha noticed that the young woman had been dressed in a pale pink pyjama top, decorated with beribboned white kittens. “I will start at the beginning. Lady Kikyo had been tending a wounded bandit who called himself Onigumo. She and Lady Kaede stumbled across him one afternoon; he was grievously burned and his bones crushed from a fall. Lady Kikyo made him comfortable and showed him compassion.”

 

“I couldn't stand the smell on her robes,” Sha said faintly as he relived the stench of decay that had surrounded the priestess like an ominous cloud for several days.

 

“He reeked of old evil and base desires of all sorts, and I began accompanying my humans as soon as I had the first whiff of his scent. Once, when Lady Kaede tended him alone, he asked her the vilest questions about her lady sister. I wished to claw out his eyes, but I decided to wait and strike when I could destroy him without revealing myself.” Buyo bowed her chestnut-and-black head as she closed her pale green eyes. “It has been my biggest regret,” she replied hoarsely. “In the depths of the night, I returned to the place where he lay, determined to act on my earlier impulse, but I was too late… he was gone.”

 

She fell silent when Sha leaned forward, his entire posture radiating fury. “Do you mean that you could've saved Kikyo's life?” he snarled. Buyo nodded once. Sha controlled himself with an effort and asked in a slightly more reasonable tone, “How can someone as badly injured as this Onigumo simply get up and leave?”

 

“From the clues left behind, I assumed that he had been devoured by a youkai, because not a scrap remained… either flesh or bone. Only the bandages were left behind, as if his body had been simply sucked out of them whole, and a new scent wiped away the old. Two days later, you were sealed and Lady Kikyo dead, and the altered scent was inside the village, in the meadow… everywhere… and I knew that Onigumo had played a role in the tragedy.”

 

Sha frowned. “When Kikyo shot at me the first time that day,” he began, his voice and thoughts very far away, “It happened so fast… I think… no, I'm sure that she was standing downwind.” His eyes cleared and sharpened. “He could have taken on her form to betray me… and mine to attack her… if he was a shape-shifter.” When Buyo nodded, he sat up straight. “How do you know?”

 

“Not long after your unfortunate encounter, I began to hear of other devilries, always associated with the name `Naraku'. The creature was astonishingly dangerous and sowed death among humans and youkai alike. It is my belief that Onigumo took a new name to reflect his new powers because Naraku's abrupt appearance cannot be a mere coincidence. Someone I met fifty years after your sealing had a grandfather who survived several consecutive encounters with Naraku; his opponent had a different form each time.”

 

“If he can change his appearance, he'd be damned difficult to track. Fuck.” They sat in silence for a while, the only sounds Kagome's even breathing and Sha's madly churning thoughts until a whisper of memory tugged at his consciousness and he decided to test it. “Just before my seal completely broke, I began to sense things… mice nibbling on my robes, the rustle of foliage, bird song, light and shadow.” Watching Buyo carefully, he added, “I could swear that someone would wipe my face and comb my hair once in a while… even pet my ears…”

 

The cat-youkai unflinchingly met his gaze. “It was I,” she admitted. “I prevented indignities to your person, such as when the village children dared each other to enter the forest and cut locks of your hair.”

 

“Please tell me you used a cloth and not your tongue!” Sha protested, then shuddered dramatically when she flashed a mischievous smile. “Why'd you bother?”

 

“I felt responsible,” she replied quietly. “Instead of roaming far and wide, which is the nature of my kind, I remained in the village to guard you and await the Jewel's reappearance, hoping that I could make amends for my cowardice.”

 

Sha reached over and awkwardly patted her shoulder. “Thanks, Buyo. You've given me plenty to think about, so I'll help you look after your girl… although having my sword would be a help.”

 

“Only Lady Kagome can grant your desire, Lord Inuyasha.”

 

He nodded as he focussed on Kagome's pale face. “So she has the Shikon-no-Tama inside her? Poor girl, doomed to be hunted in her turn for the Jewel's power…” Buyo scowled, and Sha hastily held up his hands again. “I swear all I want is my sword!”

 

“The Tetsusaiga,” she murmured. “Sealed by the most powerful holy man of the era to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, and more shielding sutras added over the decades to conceal its youki by the most gifted members of his family line. Even your own lord brother gave up trying to locate the weapon.”

 

“Funny how he's never mentioned that.”

 

Buyo shrugged. “The Tetsusaiga was forged to protect humans, beginning with your lady mother, correct?”

 

“Yeah,” he answered, wondering where she was going with this, and he wasn't too happy when he figured it out.

 

Touching the young woman's cheek, the cat-youkai murmured, “Lady Kagome is a human, and a most worthy one at that.”

 

“Screw that, kitty. Once I get my sword, I'm outta here and after Naraku. He's gonna pay … long, hard and painfully… for what he did to Kikyo.”

 

A frosty look stopped him in his tracks. “If you choose to remain at Lady Kagome's side, Lord Inuyasha, I fully expect that Naraku will come to you.”

 

“How's that?”

 

“He was once in pursuit of the Jewel; it shall not be long before he becomes aware of its return.”

 

Sha sat back, regarding her with interest. Nodding slowly, he said admiringly, “Pretty sharp thinking, kitty.”

 

“I have only my claws and your help would be most welcome, even if you are a dog.”

 

The purified hanyou bared his blunt teeth. “You take the form of a calico cat; aren't they usually deaf?”

 

Buyo stiffened. “My hearing may be compromised from a youkai perspective, but it is still more acute than a human's,” she crisply replied.

 

Sha smirked and changed the subject. “So, any pointers on how to win Miss Higurashi's trust?”

 

“You will have to prove your good intentions.”

 

“As my true self or what I pretend to be?”

 

“That is entirely up to you.”

 

At that moment, the young woman let out a long, low groan and shifted, making a face of discomfort. Buyo quickly slid off the bed and whispered in Sha's ear, “I will finish the clean up downstairs and outside; this is your chance to make a favourable impression.”

 

He glanced down at his bandaged torso. “Ya got anything that I can borrow to wear, in case my naked manliness is too much for her virginal eyes?”

 

“I am fairly sure that she will survive, as she has dealt with naked cadavers for the last couple of semesters.” Buyo scooped up the bag containing Kagome's jeans, then crossed to the built-in dresser and extracted a t-shirt plus an over-sized screaming yellow sweatshirt which she shook out, eyed critically, then tossed to Sha.

 

“Are you kidding me?” he spluttered, aghast at the violent colour.

 

“Beggars can't be choosers,” she smirked, then whisked out of the room ahead of his answering insult, just as Kagome groaned again, her eyelashes fluttering.

 

Muttering dire imprecations against colour-blind cat-youkai, Sha held off donning the sweatshirt and instead moved his chair so that he was in just the right spot to be the first thing Kagome saw. Right on cue, the young woman opened her eyes and stared blindly for a long moment, then blinked slowly. Keh. Isn't that just too damn cute? She looks like a drowsy kitten. He was rather taken aback when the young woman focussed on him and her expression flickered rapidly through a series of emotions including surprise, confusion and fright.

 

Before he could say anything, she demanded in a panicky voice, “What the heck are you doing in my room?”

 

Sha hastily rolled his chair backwards in an attempt to calm her fears. “Don't jump to conclusions, girl! I didn't touch you!”

 

Kagome scowled even as she realized that she was also sporting bandages, and then wondered how she happened to be in her room, since her last memory was of being out in the courtyard. “If you didn't touch me, then how did I end up wearing nothing but some bandages and my pyjamas?”

 

He blushed, mentally cursed Buyo a few more times, and said, “Okay… technically I did touch you, but only to make sure that you didn't die on me, all right? No nasty stuff; I'm not so hard up that I'd take advantage of an injured woman.”

 

“Oh, really?” she asked sharply, simultaneously casting aspersions on his morals as she tried sitting upright so that she didn't feel so vulnerable. Oh, that was a bad idea! She had a vivid visual memory of dagger-like teeth and glowing red eyes rushing towards her just before pain doubled her over.

 

“Dammit, lie still! You took some serious damage out there!” the dark-haired man exclaimed as he grasped her shoulders and gently forced her to lie flat. Kagome fell silent, her eyes wide with shock at the unexpected physical contact, not to mention the subtle but possibly unintentional reminder that she was at his mercy.

 

“Um… okay,” she mumbled, drawing the blankets up to her chin and warily watching as he retreated back to her desk chair. More memories of the battle tumbled through her mind, and she remembered to ask, “Are you all right, er, Mr…?”

 

He noted her expression changing from `frightened' to `nervous' before answering, “Nishiki, Miss Higurashi. Sha Nishiki.”

 

She nodded. “Right. Um, weren't you bitten…?”

 

“Just a scratch,” he assured. “Everything is back to normal.”

 

“Normal?” she queried sceptically, then gasped, “Grandpa's gonna freak when he sees the damage to the courtyard! How'm I supposed to explain that?”

 

Watch yourself, hanyou… on your best behaviour so that she believes you're a nice young man with good manners. “When I said `back to normal', I meant `absolutely no trace',” he said calmly. “If I didn't have a bum shoulder and a couple of cracked ribs, I'd carry you over to your window and show you that the courtyard looks exactly the way he left it… no broken pavement, no busted fence and most importantly, no dead centipede-youkai lying around.” Plus, I don't want risk you seeing your cat strolling around on two legs.

 

Kagome considered this for a moment, then whispered, “I don't understand…”

 

“I'll do my best to explain,” Sha replied, but first he held up the virulent sweatshirt. “My clothing was pretty thrashed, too, so is it okay if I borrow this? I found it when I went looking for something to dress you in.”

 

“Sure… but that's my favourite exam-studying sweatshirt, so I'll need it back before Golden Week.”

 

“No worries that I'll swipe it… not my colour.”

 

As he pulled the garment over his head, wincing while his muscles complained, Kagome snickered. “I think the yellow nicely compliments your violet eyes.”

 

“Then you're nuts,” he retorted, briefly losing his train of thought when he discovered an unexpected side benefit of wearing Kagome's clothing; it was saturated in her warm scent. She smells fucking wonderful. Lucky I don't have my hanyou senses, or I'd be glassy-eyed and drooling. Tugging his long hair out of the neckline, he did his best to appear both unaffected and unthreatening as he asked, “How much do you remember?”

 

The bedroom door creaked and a moment later, a rotund feline hopped up onto the bed. Purring loudly, Buyo bumped her furry head against Kagome's hand and settled herself against the young woman's side within easy scratching range; celadon-green eyes blinked innocently. Sha resisted the urge to make a rude gesture as Kagome slowly asked, “What exactly was that thing? You called it a `youkai', but…”

 

“There are nearly as many types of youkai as there are species of birds, animals and insects,” he said. “Cat, dog, horse, snake, bat, frog… you name it.”

 

Kagome turned that idea over for a few times. “So… they live among us?”

 

He carefully considered his answer while studiously avoiding Buyo's gaze. “Yes, and most of the time we peacefully co-exist. However, that centipede-youkai had been sealed in another dimension; a rift opened in the time stream, allowing her to cross into our reality.”

 

Kagome's eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. “Does this happen to you often?”

 

Sha couldn't help chuckling. “Not that often, but I know what I'm talking about.”

 

“What are you?”

 

“An expert in folklore and the supernatural. It's part of my interest in antiquities,” he coolly fibbed.

 

She contemplated him for a long moment while she scratched Buyo's ears. “Do you understand what the centipede meant when she called me the Shikon-no-Tama?”

 

Running his hand through his hair and mentally grumbling over his lack of canine ears, Sha decided to be direct. “Do you remember the pink light that erupted when you shot at the centipede?” Kagome hesitantly nodded. “That was the Shikon-no-Tama's reaction to the threat. When the centipede tried munching on you, it was purified into oblivion. You should have died from your injuries, but you survived because the Jewel needs you to stay alive.”

 

“How do you know this?” she asked weakly.

 

Sha shot Buyo a look before ad-libbing like mad. “I'm just guessing, but your incredible rate of healing, not to mention the spiritual energy you radiated earlier, indicates that you're a uniquely powerful individual… as unique as the first Shikon miko, the Lady Kikyo… but in this case, the Jewel is inside you.”

 

“That was only the first attack, wasn't it?” Kagome mumbled in a very small voice.

 

“I'm afraid so,” he agreed, impressed with how quickly she'd put two and two together. “The Jewel is awake now, and it'll attract the ambitious like moths to a flame… exactly like what happened when the Lady Kikyo protected it. Once word gets out among the human and youkai elements of Japan's criminal underworld, the shrine will become a target.”

 

Fear again tainted both Kagome's scent and expression and Buyo purred even more loudly. “My family will be at risk!” she exclaimed. Sha nodded, pleased that she understood, but was then floored by her next statement. “I'll need more arrows; I wonder if Coach Sagara could score me a full case…”

 

“You think that you can handle this on your own?” he demanded incredulously.

 

Her chin lifted. “It's my responsibility to protect the Jewel and my family. I can't exactly ask the police for help, can I? They'd lock me up for being a crazy person!”

 

Sha shook his head. “Mistress Centipede was a lightweight in terms of what you'll face; how does tackling a panther-youkai sound? Or a shadow kitsune? You'll need more firepower at your disposal than a handful of arrows, girl.”

 

“I'll have to make sure that I nail them with the first shot,” she insisted mulishly. “Hey, since you know so much about youkai, maybe you could help me out by teaching me the best way to defeat the most common kinds?”

 

Just give me back my sword, and I'll be happy to take them down for you, he thought, but instead made a show of considering his words before replying, “I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises.”

 

“Thank you, Mr. Nishiki,” she answered primly. They sat in silence for a few moments longer, while Kagome digested all the information and he idly wondered how long until his hanyou powers returned because his ribs hurt, dammit. She had just opened her mouth to ask another question when they both heard a car pulling into the parking area across the courtyard, and she sat upright, apparently without pain this time. “Oh, no! Quick! You have to get out of here before Grandpa sees you!”

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

A/N: One of the meanings of `buyo' is `dancer'; RT was probably having a bit of fun when she named the rotund feline thus, because another of the wordplays beloved by the Japanese is `buyobuyo', which means `chubby'.