Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Black Widow Miko ❯ Bindings and Bonds ( Chapter 14 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

**Well, what can I say? I never expected this chapter to take so long to write. Yeah, I could play the “holidays” card, followed by the “4 kids and their busy schedules” card and the “seasonal illnesses” card, then throw down the “family member serious illness” card. I even have a couple of extra “bizarre, irritating events” cards up my sleeves. BUT, since even I expected to have this chapter out before New Year’s, I’m going to save you the trouble and thumb my own nose in my general direction (not an easy feat!) and say, “Wah, wah, wah. Just get the next damn chapter done sooner, okay?”

However, on top of all that stuff, this was just not an easy chapter. It was kicking my butt all over the place. And I completely lost perspective several times. I went through Kagome’s story so many times, tweaking it here and re-writing it there that I’m going to let you in on just how far gone I was: The music I was listening to for the first part of this chapter was Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done.” LOL!! That “Halloween”-type intro just tickles me, and the lyrics just seemed so appropriate. After the first three or four run-throughs, I’d just hit play after the 3rd paragraph. (You should try it there. Heh heh!) I followed that up with “Remember” by Disturbed. “Your Guardian Angel” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, one of my new favorite bands, rounded off her story-time. ^_^

DISCLAIMER: Professionals like Takahashi-san and Togashi-san create and write wonderful series like “InuYasha” and “Yu Yu Hakusho,” and actually manage to produce their next segments in a timely fashion. Losers like madmiko, who write fanfic bastardizations of their creations, just take too damn long sometimes to get their crappy chapters posted. But hey! You can dock my pay! Heh heh!

talking
mental/telepathic conversations - "Hiei" "Kurama" "Youko"
(thoughts to self)

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Last time:

Hiei frowned at the desperation in her voice. She was absolutely convinced he would be killed if he stayed here, now that she was pregnant. Because people would know that she must have taken a mate? Or did it have something to do with the pregnancy itself? And she might be telling him to go, but she was holding onto him as if he was her lifeline. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t going anywhere. “If you think I’m leaving you, and our children, you’re crazy, onna. Listen to me,” he demanded. “I am stronger than you think. There is more to me than the fire and ice elements that course through my blood, more than my swordsmanship and fighting skills, -- more than the Jagan, even. Kagome, I have powers that I can access and control from the underworld in the form of the Dragon of Darkness Flame. I have faced countless foes of tremendous power. You must believe me when I say that I can defend myself.”

She raised her tear-stained face to look at him, and took a shaky breath. “I know you are strong, and under most circumstances, I’m sure you are unbeatable. But, …” her hands began to glow with a bright pink light, “can you defend yourself … from me?” And he went sailing across the room, where he hit the wall, and slid down to a heap on the floor.
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Shaking his head to clear it, Hiei's eyes glinted dangerously in the faint light filtering in through the curtains at the window. He watched as Kagome covered her face with her hands and sank to her knees on the floor in front of the bed. He snarled as he flashed across the room and grabbed her by her wrists. He had obviously been hanging around those idiots for too long, because he had been acting like a fool since this whole case began. Well, he had had more than enough of the whole damn mess. Maybe slamming into the wall had finally knocked some of the cobwebs from his brain. When he is forced to admit, to himself at least, that Kuwabara is the only one among them who is making any sense in his thoughts about how to approach the whole damn case, well, it's time to wake up.

("Why don't you just ask her?") Damn it! That was what he had said at the very beginning, -- that they should just take her into the Reikai and find out the truth. All right, so his earlier thoughts about asking her hadn't exactly involved finding her a comfy seat or serving her tea, and if anyone dared to suggest taking her into the Reikai now, he'd remove their head from their shoulders. The point is, if anyone could simply ask her, it was him. He could have done that some time ago. And not only had he not asked her about it, apparently, he hadn't listened to her, either. He had arrogantly dismissed her fears for him, without once considering there might be more behind them than the obvious.

He yanked her up, but she wouldn't look at him. "Get yourself together. You falling apart isn't going to solve anything, and I'm ready to listen to you now," he said gruffly. He couldn't afford to give in to the urge to try to comfort her now, -- he was still too bad at it, and too impatient to finally have some real answers. "I have a feeling you are trying to tell me something beyond just making a point that perhaps I am not vigilant enough."

She nodded as she tried to wipe away her tears, which wasn't easy considering he still had a firm grip on her wrists. When she finally raised her eyes to look at him, he was shocked by the abject misery he saw swirling around in the dark, gray-blue orbs. "Hiei, I think ... I think I killed them."

He just stood there for a few minutes, staring at her blankly, as he tried to understand what she had just said. It definitely wasn't what he expected, and he wasn't even quite sure what to ask in response. Finally, he gave up, and with a sigh, he sat down on the bed and hauled her into his lap. After he had settled back against the headboard, with her sitting between his legs with her back against his chest, he rested his chin on her shoulder and waited. Somehow, he knew it would be easier for her to talk if she didn't have to face him, but he wanted to make sure she knew he was there to stay.

After a few more minutes of silence, she finally began to speak. "I know what you're thinking, -- you're wondering how in the world I can not know whether or not I killed them. I think I was possessed or somehow controlled by someone. It's happened before," she sighed. "A kuromiko named Tsubaki sent one of her shikigami to bite me, then she used my blood and her dark powers to taint the jewel shards I was carrying, through the huge chunk of the jewel Naraku had given her. The shards entered my neck and she was able to control me through them. She tried to make me kill Inuyasha. I can still remember hearing her voice in my head, -- it was ... incredibly frightening. I was able to fight her control just enough to miss him with my arrow, but it was very close. Even back then, he was too stubborn to run when I told him to.”

Hiei remembered that Shippou had mentioned that she had faced a kuromiko before, and he recognized the name from the first list of her enemies that the kitsune had given them. “This Tsubaki is dead, isn’t she?”

“Hai,” she nodded. “She was killed long before we defeated Naraku,” she paused for a minute, then continued, “One of his detachments tried to take control of me, too, -- a baby named Akago. He gained hold through the darkness in my heart concerning my feelings of jealousy and envy towards Kikyou and my resentment of Inuyasha’s continuing devotion to her. He and Kagura were able to capture me that way, but he couldn’t maintain his hold because I accepted that those feelings were normal and not unreasonable and I refused to let them control me. His goal was to use my eyes to find the last of the shards, -- he didn't try to turn me against my friends, though.”

“He is dead also, isn’t he?”

“Hai. I have no idea who could have possessed me to use me to kill my mates, or how they managed to gain such control,” she confessed in a slightly shaky voice. “When I finally learned how to control my powers, I tried to shield my mind against such forms of attack.”

He frowned at her words. “And your mental barriers are very strong, -- I don’t know how someone could have broken through them to control you.” He thought about what she had said. “You said you think you killed them, so you don’t actually remember doing it, do you? So what makes you think that is what happened? You were aware of what was happening the other times.”

When she didn’t say anything, he smoothed her hair and tucked all of it over her other shoulder so he could press his cheek against hers. She was trembling slightly, and he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “I do remember something,” she whispered. “It’s ... hazy, though, and I’m not sure if it’s a true memory. It’s elusive, -- like trying to remember a dream. If I focus, though, I can vaguely remember being in the hallway where Sesshoumaru was killed. It ... it doesn’t seem real, but I can see myself standing in front of him. He had the kaiken he had given me to wear when he presented me as his mate sticking out of his chest, and he was bent over slightly and seemed to be ... struggling with something. And I just stood there, and watched and ... and I laughed ...”

“He was struggling? But not with you? And you don’t remember actually stabbing him? Or poisoning him?”

“No,” she said quietly.

“Tell me what happened, -- everything you remember from the nights each of them was killed,” he commanded. His mind was racing. Who in the world would have ever believed she might be guilty and innocent? Under the circumstances, he didn’t believe the Reikai would try to punish her, but then again, this was the Reikai they were talking about, and they tended to have a bizarre sense of justice. Hell, who else would force a youkai who had tried to take over the Ningenkai to help a wet-behind-the-ears Spirit Detective protect it from other youkai? Not to mention, sending two youkai thieves to retrieve lost and stolen artifacts of power? No, he wouldn’t take for granted that the Reikai would react sensibly to the fact that even if she had killed the Taiyoukai, she was really just the instrument of their deaths, and not responsible for them. They still needed to catch the person who was. And if her ‘memory’ was real, what, or who was Sesshoumaru struggling with if not her? Could the real killer have actually been there? Or was the whole thing just a dream she had that had made her feel guilty all these years? There were signs that she and Sesshoumaru had fought, and she was found there in the hallway with his body, but, ... something just didn’t seem right about it. He needed to know more, -- he needed to know everything she knew.

Drawing in a deep breath, Kagome slowly pushed away from him and stood up to walk over to the window. She touched the glass with one hand and stared out of it, as if she could see the scenes of the past playing out in the still dark, pre-dawn sky. Hiei hesitated a moment, wondering if he should give her some space as she sorted through her memories. Then he got up and followed her, simply standing behind her while bracing one hand on the window frame and resting the other one at her waist. He wasn't going to let her stand there alone while she recounted some of the worst moments in her life.

As she began to speak, her voice was soft and distant, and he could tell she was reliving the events in her mind. "The night that Inuyasha ... died ... was his human night, and like always, the later it became in the day, the more irritable he got." Watching her reflection in the window, he saw the corners of her mouth lift a bit at that thought. "He had always been very fond of the packets of ramen we could get in my time, and I had tried to learn how to make a reasonably close version of the noodles for him. So, when I wanted to try to do something to soothe him, I would fix them. But when I made them for dinner that night, they didn’t turn out well. The vegetables and meat were all right, but the noodles were sticky and chewy, and the soup was way too salty. It was awful. But he ate it anyway, even though I told him not to. Even poor Shippou couldn't stomach it, as much as he didn't want to hurt my feelings, and had to go have the cooks fix something else for the rest of us."

He didn't want to interrupt, but he asked, "Who else was there besides the regular staff?"

"What?" She seemed to snap out of the trance her memories held her in and she glanced at him over her shoulder. "Oh. There was Shippou, Myouga, Sango, Miroku, and Kaede obaa-san."

He nodded at her to continue and she stared back out into the darkness. "After dinner, we all went into the library to talk about how Sango's village was growing, and her and Miroku's plans for the future. After we defeated Naraku, several young men and even a couple of women had approached Sango and asked her to take them on as apprentices so they could learn the ways of the Taijiya. She had never imagined she would be able to rebuild her village so quickly. The only problem was, she and Miroku wanted to go ahead and have children. They had married just a few weeks after the battle. Kohaku, who had stayed in the village while they came to visit, was a tremendous help, but he really wasn't ready to take over the duties of teaching and training.

So, when Sango had first confided in me that she was torn between what she felt was her duty to the village and her desire to start her own family, I told Inuyasha about it. He surprised me by writing to Sesshoumaru. He said that since Kakuremichi was part of the Western lands, it was Sesshoumaru's problem," she smiled at that. "Of course, he would never admit it, but the truth was that he knew his brother was very good at dealing with problems like that for other villages that were part of his domain, -- maybe not exactly that kind of problem, since finding a skilled Taijiya was quite different than finding a skilled artisan or brokering a deal for one village to supply another with hogs. But, if anyone would know where to find someone and be able to make a deal with him to move and take over duties in Kakuremichi, while still allowing Sango to retain her title and authority as headman, it was Sesshoumaru. And he did.

He knew of another village of Taijiya much further West, in a secluded area of the Sand-kyo Valley. He had never actually dealt with them before, preferring to leave them to themselves as long as they didn't interfere with the affairs of his other landowners. Not only did he arrange for three of their skilled warriors to move to Kakuremichi, but he also arranged for several young women to come with them to take over some of the other duties in the village. In exchange, Miroku, Kohaku, and Shippou had to escort a young priest Sesshoumaru had selected for the other village. They were building a new shrine, and even though the priest would be living there, Miroku would be the one to consecrate the ground as a symbol of the tie between the two villages. And Kohaku and Shippou had to stay and apprentice there for a year. He thought it would be good for Shippou to have some formal training from someone who wouldn’t put up with his antics the way we did. He was quite a mischievous little kitsune. And it was a show of good faith to have Sango’s brother live there with them, but I think Sesshoumaru engineered that part of the deal because he knew Kohaku and Rin were fond of each other and he wanted them to spend some time apart before they reached the age to start thinking about marriage. Inuyasha laughed at that, and said his brother was the only youkai he knew who could figure out a way to personally benefit when dealing with Taijiya.”

While she was ranging far afield from simply telling him the events of that night, Hiei stayed quiet and listened to her. Her love and affection for her friends and her mate were blatantly obvious, as was the fact that up until that night, she had no idea at all that any of them might be in serious danger. The inflection in her words clearly showed the light-hearted, hopeful way she had been envisioning all of their futures at that point in time. And he was learning a lot about both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, -- two males who had captured her heart completely. Considering the circumstances, namely that her life with them happened before he was even born, and the fact that they were long-dead and he was very much alive and here with her right now, he was puzzled and irritated to realize he was feeling a pang of jealousy. Then he realized that it wasn’t necessarily simple jealousy over the fact that she had loved them, -- he was jealous that their time together had been spent openly, and that their friends had been a part of it, joining in on their happiness. And they had so much hope for the future. He wanted that with her.

While he wasn't fond of the idea of everyone knowing his personal business, he wanted to be able to reach out and touch her whenever he felt like it. He didn't like having to deny himself. The restriction on their time together was grating on his nerves. Waiting for the others to go to their rooms for the night before she could come to him, or having to sneak into her room just to see if she was all right, -- he'd had enough of that. He wanted to be able to go for a walk with her in the afternoon, or just hole up in bed with her all day and tell everyone else to just fuck off and leave them alone. And he definitely wanted all other males to know she was off limits. She was his onna, and now she was carrying his children, and once they got this whole mess straightened out and taken care of, he wanted to be able to sit down with the whole lot of sneaky kitsunes, idiots, and overbearing, loudmouth heirs of the Makai, and listen to her talk about their future in a happy, light-hearted, hopeful tone of voice. Then he could kick them all out and tell them to feel free to visit again in a few years.

With that determination in mind, he focused on what she was saying. After she talked just a little about how Sesshoumaru had spent a lot of time with Inuyasha during the first few months after Naraku’s defeat, helping him make decisions about the Eastern palace as it was built and telling him about his new responsibilities and what would be expected from him, she grew quiet again. Knowing she was returning to that night in her mind, he gently eased her back against him and lightly ran his hand over the dragon marking her hip. “Miroku had just finished telling us about his plans for the trip to the Sand-kyo Valley, when I began to feel a bit ill. Inuyasha got worried, even though Kaede obaa-san assured him it was not unusual. At the time, I thought he was just being his usual overprotective self and I attributed part of his unease to him being human. Looking back now, I can see that the poison he was given must have been taking effect ...” she stopped abruptly.

“What is it?” he prompted her.

“Well, if the poison was in his system then, it must have been given to him at dinner, and he was the only one who took more than a few bites of the ramen I made. I ... I must have put it in his food. Maybe I even made it bad deliberately so he would be the only one who ate it,” she said in a stricken whisper.

“But you don’t remember hearing anyone in your head tell you to make the food bad or to add the poison to it?”

She shook her head.

Another thought occurred to Hiei. “Were you ill often during your pregnancy?”

His question took her by surprise, and she turned slightly to look at him. “Not really. I had the normal morning queasiness in the 2nd and 3rd months, and certain smells could make my stomach flip-flop, but other than just feeling more tired than usual, I didn’t really feel sick unless I had overdone things.”

He filed that information away for later. “And had you overdone things that day?”

“No, I was a very good girl that day because I knew Inuyasha would be anxious and irritable enough without me adding to it by worrying him. If you are wondering if my feeling sick that night had anything to do with what happened, I’ll go ahead and tell you that I also felt ill the nights Sesshoumaru and Kouga were killed. I was a bit nauseated and extremely dizzy to the point that I felt disoriented. I think those were the signs that someone was taking over inside my head, but I didn’t realize it. Nausea and occasional light-headedness, especially from standing too quickly, are normal during pregnancy. But those three nights, especially the night Kouga was killed, there was a different feel to it, -- it was more pronounced. And the dizziness made me feel fuzzy-headed. When I felt it with Kouga, I told him to get away from me, -- far away, but he wouldn’t leave the palace.”

“Don’t skip ahead. Finish telling me about the night Inuyasha was killed,” he directed her. She had already come to her conclusions, but he wanted to sort through it for himself.

Nodding, she continued, “Inuyasha picked me up and took me to our room. He helped me undress and asked if I needed a drink of water, but I just wanted to lie down. He never said a word about feeling ill himself, but he must have been. When he climbed into the bed and put his arm around me, I remember thinking that his skin felt really hot and slightly sweaty. I asked him if he wanted to open a window, but he said he was fine. I should have known something was wrong when he closed his eyes. He never slept on his human nights. But I was glad he was going to get some sleep instead of fussing over me all night.” She stopped there and reached out to touch the window again. Hiei didn’t have to be able to see her face to know that her eyes would be glistening with unshed tears. Whatever else had passed between her and her mate, whatever words had been spoken or unspoken, was intensely personal and none of his business, and he would not intrude on those memories.

When she began to speak again, her voice was low and laced with pain. “The second I woke up, I knew he was gone,” she reached up and covered the spot where his mating mark had been. “I felt ... empty. It wasn’t like a cold or numb feeling, -- more like a deep, aching void. It seemed to be welling up inside me and pouring out at the point where he had marked me. I panicked and called for him, but I knew he wouldn’t answer. The sun hadn’t quite risen yet, so I tried to tell myself that was the reason I couldn’t feel his youki, but it had never been like that before. I couldn’t feel him at all. I looked around our rooms and when I realized he wasn’t there, I went out through the changing room he had set up that led to the hot spring, but he wasn’t there, either.

I don’t know why, maybe it was because subconsciously I knew where he was, but I started to search around the outside of the palace. I started calling for him again, and I guess I woke up some of the staff. I wasn’t aware of anyone coming outside, but when I finally saw him, pinned to that tree, Miroku grabbed me and tried to keep me from going to him. Shippou and Sango ran ahead of me and I screamed at them not to touch him. They stopped and stepped back and I ...” she couldn’t go on.

Hiei picked her up and carried her back over to the bed. This time he sat with her across his lap, and he yanked one of the sheets off to drape it around her shoulders. As she buried her face in the crook of his neck, he cursed silently. (“Why don’t you just ask her?” This is why, damnit.) He wasn’t sure yet how he was going to tell all of this to the others, or even if he was going to tell the others, but they would sure as hell have to be satisfied with hearing his version of it, if he did. If the fox or the detective, or even that pathetic excuse for a demi-god, dared try to question her about any of it, he was going to rip out their tongues and shove them down each others’ throats.

She made no attempt to move at all, so her words were muffled when she spoke again, her lips brushing against him, “The way he was hanging there was so much like the first time I ever saw him, except when the sun came up, his hair stayed dark. Those beautiful, fuzzy ears that had intrigued me so much ... I didn’t get the chance to touch them again. He was shirtless, and the arrow had hit him directly in the heart. If he had put on his fire-rat hitoe, maybe it would have protected him. All he had on were the hakamas.” She drew in a shaky breath and it warmed his skin on the side of his neck. “I reached up to pull out the arrow, but I couldn’t. I poured my purifying energy into it, but it had no effect. There wasn’t a drop of holy, or unholy ki in it. It was just a regular arrow. And he was just a human. I didn’t find out until later that it was one of my arrows that had been used to kill him.

Miroku and Shippou had to get him down, and when they did, I just sat there with his head cradled in my lap. I don’t know how long I was there, but when we finally took his body inside, Myouga had already left to tell Sesshoumaru. Sango started ranting and raving about how it had to be Kikyou, but I knew it wasn’t her. She could never have killed him while he was human, -- that was the part of him she loved.

Sesshoumaru arrived the next morning, and after just a brief examination of Inuyasha, he ordered Myouga to check his blood. It would never have occurred to me to check for poison, when he had been hit by an arrow. Miroku and Shippou helped build the funeral pyre, and so did Kouga when he got there. I have no idea who went to tell him. Sango and Kaede obaa-san offered to help me prepare his body, but I needed to do it myself. It all happened so fast. That evening, Miroku conducted the service. When it was over, he tried to hand me the chopsticks and urn to collect his bones, but I wouldn’t take them. When I gathered the bones with my hands and started to purify them, I think Sesshoumaru would have gladly strangled me if I hadn’t been pregnant. He believed Inuyasha’s remains should have been placed in his father’s tomb. But he understood why I did it, when I told him later.

The morning after that, he took me to the Western palace and told me that he would take me as his mate to protect me and my unborn child. I didn’t find out until much later that Kouga had also wanted to take me as his mate at that time. Apparently, he and Sesshoumaru had argued about it, but as Inuyasha’s half-brother, Sesshoumaru’s familial responsibility gave him the greater claim. For months, he had spies out roaming the Eastern lands, trying to discover any trace of who had killed Inuyasha, but there was never any news. I immersed myself in thoughts of the baby and in trying to be somewhat helpful to my new mate. But it never once occurred to me that I might have been the one to poison Inuyasha and pin him to that tree.”

Since she had regained her composure, even if she was still clinging to him, he decided to plunge right into her next mate’s death. “Tell me what happened the night Sesshoumaru was killed. Did you have any visitors?”

“No, it was just the family. Sesshoumaru, me, Daitano, Rin, Shippou, and Jaken.” She didn’t see him raise an eyebrow at her including Jaken in the family group. “There wasn’t anything unusual at dinner that night. After we ate, Jaken went on to bed and the rest of us went out to the enclosed garden. There was a corner of it that Sesshoumaru kept lit up by torches at night, and we often went there in the evenings. We sat at the base of a huge maple tree and he told us a story about a great battle from his younger days. He was a wonderful story-teller, -- he had such a great speaking voice. Sometimes Shippou would get restless, and he and Rin would go play instead, but Daitano was always mesmerized by him. He would sit in his lap, not moving an inch, and just stare at him in awe. Sesshoumaru was his hero, and he couldn’t have been prouder of Daitano if he’d been his own son.

I think he was completely astounded to find himself so fascinated by Inuyasha's son, and I also think it was his growing love for Daitano that led him to open his heart to me. At first, he simply watched over him carefully, taking his duty to protect his brother's heir very seriously. Then slowly, he became more and more involved in his day-to-day care, and would often just carry him with him as he prowled the castle grounds, supposedly to give me some time to myself. But, I would tag along with them more often than not. I tend to be one of those mothers who hovers around her children all the time, and Daitano was my first. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Sesshoumaru to take care of him, but, ... I didn’t want to miss out on anything cute he might do,” she confessed a bit sheepishly, and he could feel her smile against his skin.

"As we spent more time together, I began to see him in a way I had never looked at him before, and I guess the same was true for him. When Inuyasha was killed, I felt completely lost, -- for the first time I felt trapped in a time and place that were not my own. But Sesshoumaru gave me a sense of security from the moment he told me he would see to it that the baby and I would be protected and taken care of. He was so ... solid. And trying to be somewhat worthy of him and his generosity by learning his ways and trying to be a help to him gave me a sense of purpose. But, it was the time we spent together with Daitano, and Rin, that led us to each other. He was so powerful and regal, and honestly, just so incredibly beautiful in a completely masculine way, that the thought of actually being mated to such a dangerously sensual being was completely overwhelming at first, even when I knew it was going to be in name only. But the more we were together, the more I was able to look beyond what he wanted everyone else to see, and he became more comfortable letting me know him.

I had always been intrigued by the way Rin would follow him around, but it was really quite amazing to see the great Lord Sesshoumaru toting an infant around. Yet, it also seemed very ... right. He never looked awkward or uncomfortable. And he would stop and point out family portraits and tell him about their connection. Even more amazing, Daitano never cried when Sesshoumaru had him, and he always seemed to be listening to him attentively, -- even when he was just a few months old. Sesshoumaru said it was a sign of his intelligence," a small giggle escaped her. Then she sighed, and snuggled down further in Hiei’s lap, turning her face to rest her cheek on his collarbone. “He was a wonderful father. I wish ... I wish he had been able to see his own son.”

Hiei couldn’t stop himself from placing a hand over her smooth, flat stomach. He vowed to himself that he would see his children born, and he would be around to watch over them as they grew up. And he would free her from this fear she had been living with. As if she knew what he was thinking, she covered his hand with hers and squeezed it gently. “It doesn’t matter what else I say, does it?”

“No.”

Kagome just sat there for a minute, then she squeezed his hand again. She was really, really scared for him, but it felt good to know that he didn’t blame her for what had happened, or think less of her for her weakness. And it was comforting to see that he would be a devoted father, -- provided he didn’t get himself killed. By her.

Sighing heavily, she focused on telling him the rest of what had happened. “When the story was over, we all took a walk, then we went back inside to get ready for bed. After we got Daitano to go to sleep, Sesshoumaru chose a few scrolls of poetry and had some tempura and fruit brought up. We sat in the bed while he read some of the poems aloud. He wrote some, you know. He had quite a romantic streak.”

Hiei broke in, “Did you usually have something to eat late at night?”

“Hai. During my 6th month, I tended to get a little hungry at bedtime, so after several nights of prowling down to the kitchens with me, Sesshoumaru made sure something was always sent to our rooms. I, um, had been craving tempura, -- seafood, especially prawns, and so I showed the cooks how to make the batter, since the idea of preparing food that way hadn’t been introduced in our country yet by the Portuguese. I couldn’t remember exactly when that would be, but I thought as long as we kept it ’in-house’ in a youkai household, I wouldn’t be tampering with the timeline too much. And I really was craving it terribly,” she glanced up at Hiei a bit apologetically. “Sesshoumaru discovered he had a particular fondness for vegetable tempura, especially kakiage, which made me laugh, because my mother always called it ‘comfort food.’ It's Eishumaru's favorite, too," she added, a bit wistfully.

“But you weren’t feeling ill when you lay down?”

“No. I didn’t start feeling dizzy and muddle-headed until after we ... well, until right before I was ready to go to sleep. And when I mentioned it to Sesshoumaru, he was very concerned and he wondered if maybe we shouldn’t ... until after the baby was born. But, I assured him it was nothing to worry about. Funny, ne?” she said bitterly.

Hiei ran his hand through her hair and up and down her back a few times. There was nothing he could say that would make her feel any better.

“When I finally convinced him I would feel better after some sleep, he lay back down. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hallway. Someone was shaking me to wake me up, -- I don’t really remember who, though, because I never even looked at them. I felt that painful emptiness again, and I saw Sesshoumaru lying there about 10 feet away from me. Jaken was leaning over him, crying, and there were a lot of other people in the hall. I didn’t bother to get up, I just crawled over to him. Everyone was asking me what happened and who had killed him, but all I could think of was that he couldn’t possibly be dead. Not Sesshoumaru. He was too powerful and too strong, and he was going to live forever.”

She paused briefly and took a deep breath, but continued on, “And the only wounds I could see were from that damned kaiken, which was sticking out of his chest, and some scratches running down one of his arms, -- the one he had regained when he surpassed his father’s strength and power and was able to forge and harness his own fang, Bakusaiga, from within himself. Ikiji made the others move back, then he kneeled down beside me and asked if I was all right. I hadn’t even noticed the claw marks on my own arm or felt the sharp ache throbbing in my head until then.” She shifted in Hiei’s lap to place a hand on her upper arm where the faint scars from her mate’s claws remained. “The sleeve of my yukata was ripped and bloody, and there was a large knot on the back of my head where I must have hit the wall.

When Ikiji asked me if I could tell him what had happened, I drew a complete blank. I concentrated really hard, and that’s when that foggy image of me standing in front of Sesshoumaru and laughing while he struggled came to me. But the pain in my head intensified when I tried to remember more, and I passed out. The next time I woke up, I was back in my bed and I honestly couldn’t tell if what I remembered was real or not. I called for Ikiji and told him about it, but he said he thought I must have had a nightmare because it didn’t make any sense. He knew how much I loved him, and he said if I had seen Sesshoumaru struggling with something, he was positive I would have helped him. Everything was so raw and I was so confused, and I desperately wanted to believe that.

Jaken directed the building of the funeral pyre, and Shippou went to get Sango and Miroku and their little boy, Taro, and Kohaku. The whole palace was in an uproar and there were guards everywhere. Tensions were running high, and there were whispers that we had fought. At the pyre, when the fires had finally died away and I gathered his bones and purified them, like I did Inuyasha’s, several members of the guard and staff rushed towards me in anger, but Ikiji and some of the others held them back. The next morning, half of the staff and guards were gone. They believed I murdered him, and I was beginning to fear they might be right. Myouga told us that Sesshoumaru had also been poisoned, just like Inuyasha. When I tried to put everything together for myself, and I thought about that hazy memory I had, the only answer I could come up with was that it had to be me. Both times. And that meant that someone had to be controlling or possessing me somehow. I ... I didn’t know what I should do.

I felt like the guilt would crush me. How could I be so weak as to let someone use me like that? I would have gladly turned myself over to one of the angry mobs that started gathering at the gates, if it wasn’t for Daitano and the child I was carrying. Just four days after Sesshoumaru was killed, Kouga showed up. He had heard of his death, and the rumors that I was the one who had killed him, and he came to make sure I was all right. I told him of my suspicions and fears, but he brushed them aside. Actually, he laughed at me when I told him I was afraid I may have killed Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. He said that my head injury must have made me hallucinate, and he pointed out that Sesshoumaru had many enemies. And he said that Inuyasha had been widely resented among the youkai population, -- many of whom simply couldn’t accept that a hanyou could rise to taiyoukai status. Then he told me that I was probably in danger, too, along with my children, since both the Eastern and Western palaces would be seen as vulnerable until the heirs passed their hundred-years. He promised he would secure the lands for my children and keep us all safe, -- all he wanted was for me to be his mate. He had loved me for a long time, and he believed I could come to love him, too.

At first, I refused, both because of my fears of what I might have done, and because I felt he deserved more than to be tied to a woman who didn’t love him the way he deserved to be loved. I had just lost my second mate, whom I had loved dearly with all my heart, and I just couldn’t imagine I could ever give Kouga what he wanted. But he insisted, and finally, I gave in. I was afraid for my children, and I just didn’t know what I should do. So, I ... I let him convince me that I hadn’t done what I thought I had. I didn’t want to believe it, and his theories sounded reasonable. I let him take us to the Northern lands, and I let him sweep away my fears, and after a while, most of the talk died down. If the Northern lord trusted me, and believed in me enough to take me as his mate, then most people were willing to follow his lead.

Still, it was very difficult for all of us. Daitano didn't like living in the Northern lands, and it took Kouga a long time and a lot of effort to win him over. He missed Sesshoumaru and his way of doing things. Kouga said he couldn't believe he was Inuyasha's son, because he was so reserved and in control of his emotions and actions most of the time. In contrast, Kouga was very open about all of his feelings, and he had a laid-back, devil-may-care attitude towards life in general. In spite of Daitano’s young age, I think it was because he could see that Kouga’s feelings for me were genuine, and how completely he accepted and cared for Eishu from the moment he was born, that he finally accepted him and came to care for him, too. He was a rough-and-tumble type of father, -- one who would get down and wrestle with the boys and encourage their mischievous sides. He loved to play pranks, especially on me, and Eishu just adored that. He gets his irreverent cockiness and sense of humor from him. I think I would have fallen in love with Kouga just for the way he made them laugh, if nothing else,” she mused, half to herself.

“There were a few attempts on my life during our first year in the Northern lands. We were never sure exactly what the motive was, though, as in each attempt, the attacker was killed. I thought it was probably due to continued suspicions that I had murdered Sesshoumaru, but Kouga was afraid that whoever had killed him was also after me. And, he also wondered if perhaps Ayame was trying to get me out of the way. Whatever the case, it prompted Kouga to bring Master Zhang to the palace when he encountered him. He wanted me to be able to defend myself and my sons better, for the times when he was away."

Hiei interrupted, “Was he away often?”

“More than he wanted to be. He took his promise to me very seriously, and so he spent at least a few days each month in the Eastern and Western lands, making sure they were being held for my sons. And he patrolled his own lands, too, of course.”

He nodded at her explanation. Then he steered her to the information he needed, “Did you have any guests, or problems with any of the food you had for dinner the night he was killed? Or did you have some food sent to your room later?”

She frowned as she thought about the question. “No, no guests. And no problems with the food at dinner. We had some jagaimo tonegi no miso-shiru later,” she said, her frowned deepening.

“What is it?”

“Kouga complained that the leeks didn’t taste as good as usual.” She stared at him. “The poison. It was in the soup. And you think Sesshoumaru was poisoned by the tempura or fruit, don’t you?”

“The kakiage,” he told her bluntly. “You said your craving was for the seafood tempura, but his preference was the kakiage.”

“But, ... I didn’t have anything to do with the preparation of those foods,” she said slowly. “You’re suggesting that I wasn’t the one who poisoned them, -- that the person who was controlling me might have also been controlling others in the palaces.”

He was suggesting far more than that, but he didn’t want to distract her from her recitation of events. “What happened after you ate the soup?”

Even in the early morning light, he could see the light tinge of color that bloomed across her cheeks, and he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitching. The onna was over a hundred and thirty years old and had had three mates and a lover, and she was still blushing at the thought of telling him she had been having sex. She was adorable. Damn it! Whoever had caused her so much pain deserved a slow, torturous death, and he just hoped he could control himself long enough to draw it out when he caught up to him. “What happened when you started to feel ill?”

Her eyes seemed to lose their focus, and she turned her head to look out into the room. “The horrible dizziness hit me all at once, and I immediately felt nauseated. There was a loud buzzing in my ears and my head started to hurt so bad that my vision blurred. It was much worse than the other two times, but I knew immediately what was happening. I pushed Kouga away and told him to get out of there, -- to get as far away from me as he could. I couldn’t really see him, but I could hear the concern in his voice when he told me there was no way he was leaving. Then he groaned, and when I asked him what had happened, he said he felt sick, and that he was getting both of us to a healer. I felt him drape a yukata around me and pick me up, and then I must have lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was in our bed and he was gone. That damned empty pain was throbbing in his mark. I just ... I couldn’t believe it had happened again. I started searching for him frantically, but he wasn’t in our rooms. I thought that maybe if I could find him, I could save him. I grabbed Sesshoumaru’s Tenseiga and ran out into the hall. I looked everywhere, -- in all of the meeting rooms, the dining rooms, the kitchens, the main entranceway, ... I finally found him in the smaller genkan at the back of the palace. There wasn’t a mark on him. He was just lying there, so still, with a surprised look on his face, -- like he couldn’t believe what had happened.”

She closed her eyes, and tears made glistening trails down her cheeks, but she kept talking. “The only thing I could think of, was that somehow, I had to bring him back. I tried to use the Tenseiga several times, but it just passed harmlessly through his body. I had known it wouldn’t work for me, but I guess I just thought that since Kouga didn’t deserve to die like that, that it would somehow work just that once. But, it didn’t. So, I did the only other thing I could, and I just kneeled down beside him and tried to heal him, as if that could bring him back. I don’t know how long I was there. Ginta told me that they had all felt the warmth of my healing powers and when they had looked for me to see what was happening, they had seen the light along almost all of the walls of the main floor. Someone touched my shoulders, and told me to stop, -- that he was gone, but I ... I just couldn’t. And I guess I lost consciousness again from the energy I expended. I was out for two days. They had held off on burning his body so I could be there.”

She turned to Hiei and stared at him silently for a moment. “So you see, it really would be best if you would go ahead and leave now. Or else, I suppose you could take me into the Reikai and have me locked up. I’m sure they would wait until the baby is born to execute me, and I would prefer that you be around to raise him.”

He looked at her like she had lost her mind. And he wasn’t too sure she hadn’t. “I’ve already told you that I’m not going anywhere. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to let anyone lock you up, let alone execute you. Even if you were used to kill your mates, you were not responsible for it. And I am not convinced yet that is what happened. I don't think you are completely convinced, either, or you would have turned yourself over to the Reikai, wouldn’t you?” he looked at her sharply. He needed more answers. “Kagome, why do you have so many different kinds of poison in that chest with the kaiken Sesshoumaru gave you?”

She blinked. His question seemed to come out of the blue, and all she could focus on for a minute was, “You searched through my things?” When he just continued to look at her intently, she pushed away from him a bit.. “How silly of me. Of course you searched through my things. That’s why you’re here in the first place, after all, isn’t it? And I gave you easy access and plenty of opportunities. But you could have just asked me what was in the chest,” she said a little bitterly.

“I am not the only one involved in this investigation,” he reminded her. “And you do recall saying at the very beginning that our relationship would have no bearing on my job, don’t you? To be perfectly honest, I have let it interfere and keep me from questioning you as I should have earlier. Due to the secrecy involved, I would have been unable to explain how I came by that information. And since I was sure you were innocent, I thought it must contain mementos that brought back bad memories.”

“But I’m not innocent, am I?” she whispered.

Enveloping her in a firm embrace, he closed his eyes. “Whatever happened, you’re not guilty, either. So tell me why you have all those poisons."

“After Sesshoumaru ... was killed, Myouga told me that he had the same poison in his system that Inuyasha had, only a lot more of it. But, he didn’t know exactly what it was. So, we gathered as many natural poisonous substances as we could find in the area near the palace to try to figure out what it was. Each time we found a new substance to test, I ... used the kaiken to cut my hand or arm for blood that we could mix the poison in for Myouga to sample. It seemed ... appropriate. By that time, with the foggy memory I had of being there with Sesshoumaru, I was afraid it was me, and I needed to know if I actually had access to the type of poison used.” She nodded at his unspoken question. “It was from a plant Kaede obaa-san had told me was called Witches’ Gloves, and it was easily obtainable at both the Eastern and Western palaces. It can produce a fatal heart attack. Aside from its deadly effect on the heart, it can cause nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting, headaches, dizziness, hallucinations, and even convulsions. The entire plant is poisonous, but especially the leaves of the upper stem.”

It was a reasonable explanation for having the poisons, though he wasn’t so sure about her state of mind when she decided to use the kaiken that had been used to kill Sesshoumaru to conduct her tests. But he could imagine she had probably felt the need to do it in such a personal way since she felt guilty. “Why did you keep the kaiken after that?”

“Because he gave it to me. I had treasured it as a symbol of our joining, -- it is the same kaiken his father gave his mother when she was presented as the Lady of the Western lands. But, because it had been used against him, I just couldn’t bear to put it back on display. So, I put it away in the chest ...” her voice trailed off.

Hiei hugged her gently. There were still some things that were nagging him about her story, though. “Were you the only one the old priest taught the snake style kung fu? Your mate didn’t learn from him?”

She knew what he was thinking, but he was wrong. “No, Kouga wasn’t interested in a ningen fighting style. He was quite confident in his own. But, no, I wasn’t the only one Master Zhang taught. At first, I was the only one, but after a while, he allowed a few others to join us. Three members of Kouga’s guard asked to train with us, -- Shinjiro, Hideo’s father, was the first, followed by Tadashi and Tomi. Kohaku, who had been sent by Sango to stay with us after Sesshoumaru’s death, and Shippou, both wanted to learn this new style, too. Daitano knows the basics as well, along with Jaken.”

Hiei’s eyebrows disappeared up under his fringe. “Did you say the imp practices the snake style?”

She looked into his disbelieving eyes and smiled. “Hai. He hasn’t exactly mastered it, but after Sesshoumaru was killed, he vowed he would do everything he could to protect his son. He’s not much of a fighter, though, preferring to rely upon his staff’s powers.”

He was sure she was being extremely generous and kind in her choice of words. The very thought of the little, green youkai attempting to perform some of the precise and intricate movements he had seen her use was enough to almost make him shudder. No, he did not want to ever witness that. Mentally shaking that image off, he said, “Tell me about the three ookami guards.”

“Shinjiro was a very kind, quiet man. I think I told you once before that he lost his mate in childbirth. He was very grateful that Kouga allowed Hideo to form such a close friendship with his adopted sons, and that we watched over him when he had to be out on patrol,” she looked up at him when she felt him tense, but he shook his head. He was just a bit unnerved by the coincidence that the father of the ookami who had tried to kill her had studied the same fighting style, -- one that was highly unusual among youkai. But he couldn't see what possible connection it could have to her other mates' deaths. If Kouga was the only one who had been killed, he would suspect a private clan grudge, but there was certainly nothing to suggest Shinjiro had anything to do with the others.

“And the other guards?”

“Tadashi is one of Ginta’s cousins. They’re a lot alike. He and Tomi came from another clan to follow Kouga when he became the new Northern lord.”

“Which clan?” he demanded.

Her brows knit together in confusion at the intensity in his voice. “I’m not sure, ... I think the Northwestern one.”

“Princess Ayame’s,” he said through gritted teeth. Could that be just a coincidence, too? He wasn't so sure.

"Well, ... hai. Now that you mention it, I believe so. But, Hiei, if you’re thinking that one of them might have killed Kouga, I just don’t think that’s possible. Tomi was rather standoffish and arrogant, and I didn’t think he really wanted to be a member of Kouga’s guard, having apparently come from a wealthy family, but he couldn’t have done it. Neither of them was anywhere near a match for him," she explained.

“Not even when he was sick from poison, and carrying his unconscious mate in his arms? Kagome, you said you felt dizzy and nauseated. What if those weren’t the effects of someone taking control of your mind? Have you considered the possibility that you were poisoned as well?”

She went very still, then she shook her head. “That’s not possible. If I was poisoned, too, then why wasn’t I killed?”

“The poison isn’t what killed them. I think it was meant to incapacitate them. And if the poison was put into the ramen like you think it was, you didn’t eat very much of it. Maybe you weren’t supposed to be poisoned at all, or maybe you were just supposed to have enough to make you sick to get you out of the way. Did any of the others display symptoms like yours the night Inuyasha was killed?” he asked.

She seemed to be dazed, and he could hear her whisper to herself, “If I was poisoned, I could have lost ...” and she covered her stomach with one of her hands. Then she concentrated on what he had asked. “No,” she seemed to think about it for a minute, then, “But, I did eat a few more bites than anyone else. I told you it was horribly salty, and we all decided after only 2 or 3 bites to have something else. But, when Inuyasha insisted on eating it because I had made it for him, I ate a little more.”

"Did you eat some of the kakiage with Sesshoumaru?"

"Just a few bites."

"You said you felt the effects much more strongly the night Kouga was killed," he prompted her.

"Hai," she nodded. "We each had a bowl of the soup."

He frowned deeply at that. Whoever had poisoned them did not attempt to limit the amount she would consume that time. She, or the baby she carried, could have been killed.

She turned to face him again and her brow furrowed. “You’re suggesting I didn’t do it at all, aren't you? But it had to be me. I ...”

“You asked me if I could use the Jagan to see peoples’ memories. You were planning to have me try to retrieve your memories of the night Sesshoumaru died,” he stared at her intently.

She nodded at him. “Hai. Since I do seem to have that one foggy memory, I think that I must have been more conscious that night than the others, and perhaps if I hadn’t hit my head, I would remember more. Hopefully, enough to know for sure one way or the other. But, I am afraid that I already know the truth. It had to be me. You know very well that I had the means and opportunity, if not the motive. The manner of each of their deaths points to me. The arrow and the kaiken point to me. The use of the poison points to me, ...” she hesitated. “At least, I thought it did. I had never considered the possibility that other people might have been manipulated into helping with the deaths.”

“Do you want me to see if I can retrieve those memories now?“ he asked quietly.

He wasn’t surprised when she shook her head, though. “I ... I would prefer to wait until after my sons are settled. I don’t know how they will feel about ... everything, and I don’t want them to be distracted. And even if I didn't tell them, they would know something was wrong. I wouldn't be able to keep something like that inside once I know for sure,” she bit her bottom lip and looked down at her lap a bit forlornly.

As frustrating as it was to have to wait, he knew that her certain guilt would be crippling to her. He pulled her to him and nuzzled in her hair at her temple. “They won’t blame you, even if you did play a part in their fathers’ deaths.”

She took a shaky breath and whispered, “I know. At least, I know that eventually they won’t, but at first, ... How could they not? I blame me. I shouldn’t have been so weak. Even if I didn't poison them, it was still my hands that ended their lives,” she looked down at her hands and they clenched into fists.

“You are not weak. If someone was able to control you, then their strength is not a sign of your weakness,” he assured her.

“And that is just further reason why you will need to get away from me. If my enemy is that strong, ..."

He interrupted her, "If you did not poison your mates, you may not be the one who killed them, either. If the poison caused your feelings of dizziness and nausea, then maybe you weren't being controlled at all," he pointed out.

“But Hiei, who else could have done it, if not me? Who else could have gotten close enough to them? Hai, Inuyasha and Kouga could have been distracted somehow, -- Inuyasha was human the night he was killed and would not have had his youkai senses to alert him, and Kouga may have been hindered by carrying me, but Sesshoumaru ... No, if I was poisoned, too, it must have been to weaken me enough so I could be possessed. Tell me the truth: their souls didn't pass through the Reikai, did they?" When he just continued to look at her, she knew she was right. "Damn it. I ... I knew it. It just felt so wrong, so completely empty around their bodies."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Who else could have purified their souls? No one. I was the only one at all three palaces with that ability. You can’t deny that. And even if you believe someone else may have been controlled to shoot Inuyasha with that arrow, and one of those three guards may have been controlled to use the Death Touch on Kouga, the fact remains that I do have that memory of myself standing there with Sesshoumaru, and we must have fought, at least a little, since I had his skin and blood under my nails and he obviously had struck me with his claws, although ...” she frowned in confusion as she turned to face him.

“What is it?”

“I am just surprised that he actually struck me, -- that’s the only thing that doesn’t make sense,” she confessed.

Hiei raised a brow at her assertion. “You find it strange that he struck you when you were trying to kill him, if that's what actually happened?”

Now she turned to face him fully. “Hiei, I think that is the reason whoever it was chose such specific times to have me attack, -- because they knew none of my mates would fight against me while I was heavily pregnant. I was 6 months along when Inuyasha and Kouga were killed, 7 months when Sesshoumaru was. You cannot tell me that you would strike back at me even now, knowing that I am pregnant. That is why you should leave.”

(Well, fuck! She’s right. It makes sense. If that is what happened, whoever her enemy is, he or she was fiendishly clever.) As he saw the deep sorrow and guilt written on her face, he thought to himself that it was an unnecessary precaution on her enemy's part, -- he knew he would never have been able to truly fight against her with all of his strength and power whether she was pregnant or not, and he suspected the same was true of her mates. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her that. No, that was the last thing she needed to hear. So, instead, he pushed her off of his lap.

“I don’t have to strike back at you to keep you from killing me,” he told her, transforming into his Majin state. As the eyes opened all over his body, the Jagan eye in his forehead glowed with the increased power, and threads of crackling energy wound around Kagome, forcing her arms down at her sides. She was pulled up to stand, but held completely immobile.

“What ...? What is this?” her eyes widened as she struggled against the bands that held her so tightly.

“It’s a binding curse, cast by the Jagan and powered by all of the evil eyes of this form. You cannot escape it,” he assured her. He knew that the energy bindings were tight and uncomfortable, and if she struggled a lot, she might receive a shock or two, but they wouldn’t really hurt her or the babies she carried.

She struggled a bit more, just to test them, then she focused her purifying powers into her hands and tried to grasp hold of the glowing strands around her. Seeing her intention, Hiei used the Jagan to manipulate them out of her reach. (If she did manage to grab hold of one, she could break the curse, damn it. It’s taking all of my concentration and a great deal of my strength just to contain her, -- her body is full of reiki. I don’t know how long I could hold her like this.) But again, there was no way he was going to tell her that.

After a couple of minutes, she stilled, and a huge smile lit up her face. When he released her and transformed back, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Oh, Hiei! I’m so glad.”

Sitting back down with her, he chuckled. “I would never have guessed a little bondage would make you so happy, -- I’ll keep that in mind. I suppose I should be doubly grateful that the fox was interrupted.”

Rubbing her nose into the side of his neck, she kissed him. “Laugh all you want. You don’t know what a relief it is to know you wouldn’t just be a sitting duck for me.” Then her tone sobered, “But, you do realize this still doesn’t mean you are safe, either. If you are determined to stay, ...” at his look, she went on, “then you will have to be very vigilant. It only took you a minute or two to transform and cast the curse, but if I am right beside you and trying to get to you, ...”

He wrapped his arms around her snugly. “Then I would use my speed to get far enough away to have the time I need. Kagome, I am still not convinced you actually killed them,” he shushed her before she could protest, and continued, “I’m not saying that’s not a possibility, because it is. If someone wanted to hurt you so badly that they would go to the trouble to kill three Taiyoukai you loved, then it would undoubtedly please them even more to have you be a part of it. And as you pointed out, you were the only one at all three castles when the murders took place, that you know of, who had the ability to purify their souls.

But there were others with that kind of power, -- the dead kuromiko, for one. And she was skilled with the bow. You say she would never have killed Inuyasha in his human form, but you never would have killed him in any of his forms, if you weren’t being controlled. Perhaps she was possessed.” Hearing her startled intake of breath, he plunged on with his possibilities, “Maybe you put the poison in the ramen, but if you didn’t poison the others, then maybe you didn’t. There were three guards at the Northern palace who knew how to use the Death Touch. If one of the cooks could be controlled to poison the soup, then one of the guards could have been used to kill Kouga. The same thing goes for Sesshoumaru. Anyone could have been possessed to stab him, ...”

“No. That’s where you’re wrong. Sesshoumaru would never allow ‘just anyone’ to get that close to him,” she said adamantly.

“You said that in the hazy memory you had, he was struggling with something. Perhaps someone set a trap of some sort that kept him occupied while they got close enough to stab him. I take it that the kaiken did injure his heart, though it obviously didn’t kill him right away. I am still surprised that is what killed him,” he looked at her questioningly.

“The kaiken was poisoned. That’s why I was surprised when you suggested the kakiage was, too. But I think you may be right. It would take a great deal of poison to bring him down, and I don’t think he could have ingested enough to do it without noticing the flavor, even if it was deep-fried in batter with a mixture of vegetables. I always assumed the wound to his heart wasn’t enough to kill him on its own. The kaiken actually barely punctured it at all, it was driven in a little too low, -- he was much taller than me, -- but coupled with the poison directly injected into his system like that, I guess even he ...”

Hiei nodded and filed that away with the rest of the information. “The fact remains that someone else could have done it. If you were possessed, perhaps only your purifying powers were used to do away with their souls after they were killed. Sesshoumaru already had the kaiken sticking out of his chest in that vision you remember.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any less guilty. Purifying their souls was the most heinous part of it, -- it denied them the opportunity to ever be reincarnated. Being so conscious of my own existence as a reincarnated being, I try to hold back my purification powers enough so that even when I purify a body in battle, the soul can escape. I am not always able to do that, but I try. And the thought that not only were the lives of three of the greatest men I have ever known taken from them, but that I am responsible for the complete loss of their essence is so hard to live with. I didn’t know what was going on when Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were killed, but Kouga, ... I should not have let him brush away my fears.” She looked into his eyes, letting her misery well up again, “Hiei, I can’t let it happen again.

I guess I was being foolish to think we could go on the way we had been, but I thought that if I could just get those lands back for my sons, then I could face whatever was to come next. I won’t lie to you, I was planning to turn myself in to the Reikai and ask you to search my memories. And if you found what I thought you would find, I would have accepted my punishment. But, Master Zhang told me I was giving up hope too soon, and that you and your friends might find out something else. I decided that maybe there was time, for us, -- that maybe we could have something together, for a while, at least, while your investigation continued. But this,” she took his hand and placed it on her stomach, “changes everything. The danger to you is so much more immediate. And if others have been used before to help bring down my mates, then others may be used to strike at you, too. You will have to guard yourself against not only me, but every youkai in this house. My sons, your friends, -- everyone.” She touched his face and said pleadingly, “Hiei, you should reconsider. Or else I should go ahead and turn myself in. If whoever-it-is knows that I am locked up, maybe he won’t feel he has to kill you.”

Grasping her chin firmly, he glared at her. “Onna, if you mention me leaving, or you going to the Reikai, one more time, I am going to turn you over my knee. I made my decision and I won’t have you questioning me. I listened to your story and I understand your fears and am taking them quite seriously, but now I want you to listen to me,” he paused and slid his hand along her jaw and into her hair. Looking at her right now, he couldn’t believe she had kept so much hidden away inside for so long. All of her thoughts and feelings were displayed so openly on her face and in her eyes. They were gray now, but he could see tiny specks of a lighter blue in them. And he wanted to see that blue overtake the gray. He was going to have to thank the old priest for telling her to have faith in him.

“Your mates were not attacked until you were 6 or 7 months pregnant, and your sons will be ready to make their challenges in another month or two. We have time. And we are making progress, -- we have been looking into all of your enemies’ whereabouts and activities or confirming their deaths. You have just given me a few more names to check out. We will find out who is responsible for their deaths, I promise you that. And I am not trying to ‘brush aside’ your fears, I am paying close attention to them so I can deal with the situations that give rise to them. I will be more vigilant from now on, from all sides. You know how you felt each of those three nights, and at the first sign, I will be prepared for whatever may occur,” he assured her. “I will not leave you. Not now or ever,” he added quietly.

He watched as her eyes searched his anxiously, as if she was trying to determine if she dared take the chance and trust him to keep himself safe. Her fingers dug into his sides. She wanted to believe in him. If only ... “We can’t count on having time. You know as well as I do that our presence here is known by some, both in the Reikai and the Makai. As soon as it becomes known that I have taken a new mate and am pregnant, you will be a target. I hid for 400 years, -- my enemy may not be in the mood to wait 6 or 7 months this time. My focus was already divided, and if someone was able to control me before, I am afraid he will have no trouble doing it now. I promised myself I would never be in such a vulnerable state again. I never imagined ...”

Pulling her to him, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I know. You weren’t prepared for this. Neither was I, but don’t expect me to apologize for it. I never wanted a mate, and I certainly never even thought about having children, but fortunately for me, the kami screwed up somewhere and now I have everything I never wanted, but couldn’t live without. And I’m not a bit sorry. In fact, I'm glad that you will be having my children. It makes me feel ... happy. That's not an emotion I am familiar with, and I don't believe I've ever used the word in connection with myself before, until I met you. And I want you to be happy, too. Ai shitemasu, Kagome."

He leaned his head against hers and took in a deep breath. He couldn’t believe he was going to say this, “But, if it will give you more peace of mind, I will wait to mark you as my mate until after your sons’ challenges, and we will not reveal our relationship or your pregnancy until then. I do not want you to worry so much, and I know you are concerned for your sons, and will probably be more so now that you will not be following through with your plans to make the challenges yourself,” he narrowed his eyes at her when she stiffened momentarily. That was not even up for discussion. He waited until she gave a slow nod, then continued, “Hopefully, we will discover who the real killer is before then. Another thing I want you to realize, though, is that he or she may be dead now. It’s been 500 years. You cannot let your fears run your life, or you are letting that person continue to control you. And I will not let him, or you, or anyone else keep you from me,” he told her fiercely.

It was quiet for a moment, then she hugged him tightly. "You are right. I have let my fears guide my actions. But there has always been so much at stake, -- my sons' lives, their heritage, and their futures, and those of our family and friends. Truthfully, it has always been easier to be so cautious, and to avoid any other personal entanglements, and until I met you, I really had no desire to test my self-imposed limits. But, I do want this, -- no, I need this, -- to be with you. To be able to love you. And, even though it scares me because of what might happen to you, I am happy to be pregnant with your child. Ai shitemasu, Hiei." She kissed him softly and then gently pulled him down with her so they were lying down wrapped in each other's arms.

"You have carried too much on your shoulders for too long, -- caring for so many people. I have spent my life caring for no one but myself, and even when I found Yukina, I kept my distance, only offering my protection. But I want to share your burden, and I want to take care of you and the babies. Will you trust me to do that?" he asked.

She knew what he was asking. Even though he would wait to mark her as his mate, he wanted her to look at him that way. She had been on her own for so long, making all of the decisions and doing things her own way. It wouldn't be easy to give away part of that control, but it would be worth it to have someone to share those responsibilities with, -- someone whose opinion she respected, someone she could trust to do what was right for those she loved, someone who loved her. "Hai, I trust you," she told him solemnly. Then, grinning mischievously, she added, "But you don't know what you're letting yourself in for. I've been told I need a lot of looking after."

He rolled her to her back and covered her body with his. Looking down at her, he told her, "You think I don't know that? That was obvious the moment the spell was broken in that cave and you collapsed from having maintained it for 400 years with your own ki. You are the most headstrong, reckless, stubborn, infuriating onna I've ever met. I have no doubt you will keep me busy. I will just have to do my best to keep you busy, too.” And with a slightly predatory smile, he leaned down and captured her lips.
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Not wanting to wake her, Hiei tried to quietly slip from the bed, but she immediately reached out for him. "Hiei? Do you have to go already?" she asked with a yawn.

"Hai," he said, with just a hint of irritation, as he pulled on his pants and looked around for his shirt. He didn't want to leave. "The others will be returning soon. You should get some more sleep, though. I'll bring you a tray and I'll tell them to leave you be until this evening." He suddenly turned to her and asked, “Do you have some of that oil that you used to mask your aura when you were in the cave? Will it mask the auras of the babies inside you if you use it?”

She propped herself up on one elbow and looked at him. “Babies? As in more than one? You said that earlier, didn't you?”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Hai. Twins. The old priest said a boy and a girl. Couldn’t you tell?”

“Twins? Really? A boy and a girl?” The room brightened, and he stared in fascination as the glow from her skin intensified and her eyes sparkled such an impossibly warm and bright shade of sapphire that he thought they would put the gemstones to shame. He could feel her delight and happiness wash over him and he felt even more relieved at the further proof that she truly was happy about the pregnancy. The shadows of his past and his own secret fears and worries disappeared. Not only did she love him, but she could, and would, love his children, despite the uncertain properties of their blood.

“I couldn’t tell there is more than one, -- just that I am pregnant, due to the changes already going on in my body to prepare for what is to come. The Jagan showed you their auras?” she asked.

“Hai. Though all I could see seemed to be one aura, changing from heartbeat to heartbeat,” he told her.

She nodded. “Their auras will become distinguishable from each other soon, but I don’t think they will be detectable without the aid of the Jagan, or the kami, in Master Zhang’s case, for at least a couple of weeks. And even then, only youkai like kitsune, who are so in tune with those kinds of energy, and those with high spiritual awareness, like Kazuma, will be able to see more than an enhanced aura radiance from me. The oil should be able to mask them for the first three months, I think. After that, their auras will be too strong for the oil to work without being applied directly to their skin. Of course, it will be a moot point then anyway, since my condition will begin to show, but hopefully that will give the boys time to ..." She suddenly sat up and looked at him with alarm in her eyes. “Genkai-sama will be able to detect them. There’s no way around it, -- she will be delving deep into my aura. And I can’t use the oil or it will interfere with her examination.”

“Hn. She already knows about us. She won’t say anything.”

“She does? I guess I should have expected that, since she is the one Jii-chan was ... visiting,” she blushed. "I do have a little of that oil left, but I will need to mix some more."

"Will you be able to find what you need around here?"

She thought for a minute, then shook her head. "No, I have only seen a couple of the plants I will need here. But I should be able to get the rest in Tokyo. I can go to visit my mother and gather them. Some of them grow right on the shrine grounds."

"We'll make plans to go after the aura examinations are done," he paused and walked back over to the bed. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he cupped her chin with his other one. "You realize that the wind-witch and her son are here, don't you?" he asked her gently.

Her blinking eyes let him know she hadn’t realized that yet. "They insisted that the examinations take place immediately, so the old onna will finish with them before she examines you and Eishumaru."

Straightening her shoulders, her eyes sparked with resolve and she nodded her appreciation for his warning. "Well then," she patted his hand before throwing off the sheet and moving to stand, "I need to get up. I would be a poor hostess if I didn't greet my guests. Don't forget the oil to cover my scent. Arigatou, Hiei." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, released the barrier around the room, and then padded off into the bathroom.

Hiei sighed quietly as he returned to his room to shower and change. He would have preferred it if she had stayed in bed to rest, but he supposed he couldn't fault her. He wouldn't let an enemy run loose in his house, either. And he was willing to bet she was going to set the other female back on her heels when she saw the new radiance about her. The witch had been awfully smug yesterday, and it had as much to do with her renewed acquaintance with the fox as it did with her hopes for the outcome of the examinations. As far as he was concerned, she was welcome to him, and he to her, though he couldn't figure out how Kurama hoped to keep his trysts with her a secret from Kagome. Perhaps the fox had finally come to his senses about pursuing her. He hoped so, because as irritating as he had been during this mission, he really didn't want to have to cut him into little pieces to feed to the fishes. He needed the fox' brain to help him find whoever was behind the murders. Not to mention the fact that he really didn't have the time to find a new partner to shove all of his assignments off on, since he planned to be spending his time with his family. He was glad the ocean was so near, though, just in case.




As everyone gathered in the dining room for lunch, they were surprised to see Kagome waiting there. The detectives and her family were even more surprised by what she was wearing: the soft pink iromuji tomesode she had worn for the first cha-no-yu she had hosted at the other house. When she had begun to dress, she had decided she still wanted to wear something that would give her that extra boost of courage and air of civility she would need to deal with Kagura. But as she had fingered the white tomesodes and the formal black tomesodes, she frowned. She felt ... lighter than she could remember feeling in so long. She was carrying new life, and she had the love and support of the man she loved. There was still trouble ahead, she knew, and she doubted she would ever be rid of the guilt that plagued her, but she actually felt hopeful about the future, -- not just for her sons, but for herself, too. She reached to the back of her wardrobe where the two iromuji were hanging. The brilliant sapphire blue suited her well, she knew, but she wanted something lighter to fit her mood. The pink. It wasn't red, but she knew Hiei would understand what she was saying.

When Kagura entered the dining room, Kagome stepped forward and bowed in greeting, and when she straightened, it was hard to say which one of the women looked more shocked. Kagome had frozen at the sight of the youkai standing beside Kagura. He was taller than Kuwabara, and his long, silver hair flowed freely down to his knees. He inclined his head just slightly in elegant and arrogant acknowledgment of her greeting. He did resemble Sesshoumaru, -- not as precisely as Eishu, but there was no denying it. His build was slimmer than Eishumaru's and his face was broader, but they looked enough alike to be brothers. Regaining her composure first, Kagome apologized for being unable to welcome them when they arrived.

Kagura just continued to stare at her for a minute, unable to revel in her rival's obvious shock at her son's appearance because of her own disbelief in the sight before her. The woman was glowing. She had always thought Kagome was rather pretty, even when she was just a silly little chit running around after that hanyou, but she was absolutely stunning now. Damn it, it was all she could do to resist the urge to reach out and touch her smooth cheek and see just how soft her skin really was. And her hair looked as silky as ... Sesshoumaru's. The woman standing before her now really was a fitting mate for the great lord, and Kagura felt something inside of her break at the thought. She had told herself that he would have given the girl up, -- that she wasn't worthy of him with her human origins and frailties and her longtime loyalty to his half-brother at his expense. But this woman ... But, he hadn't seen this woman, had he? Reminding herself that the vision before her was something new, she jerked herself out of her wayward thoughts and let a sly smile play about her lips.

"You are certainly looking well. It's a shame Sesshoumaru was denied the opportunity to see you in full possession of your soul. With his appreciation for beauty, he would surely have been proud to have such a stunning mate to present, -- you would have done him credit. Of course, I suppose facing Kikyou was out of the question when you were mated to Inuyasha, considering his feelings for her, and there was never any need to go to that trouble for Kouga, either, since he was already panting after you. Still, I'm sure those poor girls in the Makai wish you had."

Silence fell over the room for a couple of heartbeats until Shizuru breathed out a distinct “bitch” as she exhaled a ring of smoke from her cigarette before extinguishing it in the ashtray on the small table beside her. As if snapping out of a shocked trance, all three of Kagome's sons swiftly made their way to her side. "She was a credit to Sesshoumaru otou-san, and he was very proud to have her as his mate," Daitano said coldly, though his eyes flashed with blue fire. "And your insinuation that she is to blame for the things that bitch Kikyou did is ludicrous."

Eishumaru stepped toward her and said in a low, menacing tone, "And you should know better than to denigrate any of our otou-sans' feelings for her. What they had together is the stuff your dreams are made of."

“Eishu,” Kagome said quietly, laying a hand on his arm, “I think you boys have misinterpreted Kagura’s words. I am sure she would not insult me in my own house. We should take our seats.”

Responding to her gentle urging, he turned to escort her to the table, but not before raising a brow in disgust at Ginjiro. Even though she was in the wrong, that smug bastard hadn’t made a move to defend his mother when they had confronted her, -- he was no brother of his, and he damn well wasn’t his otou-san’s son. Turning his attention to his own mother, he was surprised to see how rigid her shoulders were. He had noticed that she didn’t seem to be able to mask her emotions as well as she used to, and he wondered at the cause. It wasn’t just the additional piece of her soul, because it had been going on for some time now. He would have to remember to mention it to Daitano and Sassouta and see if they had noticed it as well.

The incident passed without further comment as everyone followed Kagome’s lead. Eishumaru couldn’t quite keep the smirk off of his face when she beckoned Shizuru over right before they sat down on the pretense of asking how all of the guests had been doing while she was indisposed. It effectively placed Shizuru on his other side. His eyes twinkled and he nodded at his mother in amusement at her maneuvering. The object of his affections and desire had been trying to avoid him, but he could tell that he was breaking through her barriers. With his mother on his side, he would soon overcome her silly hesitancy about his youthful looks. It was true that he could always have Shippou cast an illusion to age him somewhat, like they did that one evening during their trip, but he wanted his woman to accept him the way he was. And she would. He winked at her, then grinned when her brows drew together in a slight frown.

“Look kid, your mother’s awake now, so you can stop following me around like an eager puppy,” she admonished him.

He leaned over and whispered, “If you think I’ve been looking at you as a substitute for my kaa-chan, then you’ve got an even nastier mind than I thought.” He chuckled as her frown deepened and winked again at the very faint blush that rose in her cheeks.
“Damn, Kuwabara! I didn’t know Shizuru could blush until he came along,” Yusuke joked loudly, causing Kuwabara to mutter to himself about sisters with wild lifestyles.

“Yusuke,” Keiko warned him, but she was surprised to see the usually unflappable older girl in such a state, too.

Daitano, sitting at the end of the table, glanced at his brother and Shizuru out of the corner of his eye, but the main object of his attention was still Kagura. And Kurama. She had taken a seat next to the avatar and they were engaged in polite conversation. He was less than impressed by his mother’s lover. Granted, they were still keeping their relationship quiet, and Kurama was very conscious of the social niceties, but he would feel better about the redhead if he had shown a little ire on his mother’s behalf.

He caught Sassouta’s eye and his younger brother inclined his head toward another member of the strange group that was seated around the dining room table. (Very interesting. It appears that Sassouta had the right of it.) While the avatar was all politeness, a certain hiyoukai was making no attempt to hide his disdain for the wind-user sitting across the table from him. Even though he was highly sensible of the need to be diplomatic at times, and he tried very hard to live up to Sesshoumaru’s example, Daitano much preferred it when people were upfront and honest about their anger and dislike. He’d rather be slapped in the face than stabbed in the back. He liked that about the small demon.

He saw Hiei’s attention turn to his mother just briefly. It was barely perceptible, but he thought he could detect a spark of admiration in his eyes. When he looked at Sassouta again, he saw that his brother was also gazing at their mother thoughtfully. Actually, as he looked around the table, he saw that everyone was trying hard to look like they weren’t staring at her. And why not? He had never seen her look so beautiful, even when his otou-sans were alive. (Damn it!) He clenched his fists under the table. They should have killed that bitch for her years ago. Seeing her now, it was obvious just how much she had missed that piece of her soul all this time. It wasn’t just the way her beauty was enhanced, either. Her presence seemed so much stronger. And he had never noticed before, but looking at her now he could see that there had been a tension about her eyes that was gone now. He recognized it for what it had been: pain. How could he have been so blind all this time? He wouldn’t be ever again. And he wouldn’t let anything or anyone hurt her ever again.

Sassouta, who was sitting directly across from Kagome, simply watched his mother in amazement. Who knew that small piece of her soul could make so much difference? It wasn’t necessarily the piece itself that made the difference, -- it was being whole. And look at her! She was gorgeous! And she was wearing that beautiful pink iromuji tomesode. She was whole, and she was also happy in a way that he couldn’t remember seeing her before. Oh, she had been happy with him and his brothers, she wasn’t the kind of person to let life get her down, though goodness knows she had had more than her fair share of tragedy. But this had a different look to it, -- a different feel. Was it possible to say that someone who had barely aged at all in over a hundred years looked younger? He tried to figure out what it was exactly about her that gave him that impression. That look in her eyes was new, but it was so familiar. Where had he seen it before? Then it hit him and he almost laughed out loud, -- he saw it all the time in his mirror, -- her eyes were shining with the same light that his did. Daitano called it youthful over-enthusiasm, but it was really just a zeal for life. Had she been missing that because her soul was incomplete? Or because her heart was broken?

He kept watching her. She was good, but he could see the way she surreptitiously looked down the length of the table from under her eyelashes when she looked down at her bowl. And she wasn’t looking at Kurama. The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. He knew he had been right. Hiei was just what his mother needed, and it looked like she was finally realizing that. Of course, things could be sticky for a while when she ended her affair with Kurama, but he was sure the avatar would take it in stride. In spite of his attentions, his affections didn’t seem to be engaged. No, the problem wouldn’t be her ending things with him, it would be her starting things with his friend. Because somehow, he just couldn’t quite imagine the little fire demon waiting a respectable amount of time before moving in.

Who knew his mother’s lovelife could be so intriguing? And truthfully, it was kind of nice to be able to focus on her for once. All of his life, she had always been completely focused on him and his brothers, and their extended family and friends. It was no wonder she had tangled up her own affairs a bit, -- she was out of practice when it came to taking care of herself. And with any luck, she wouldn’t have to for long. Catching Eishumaru’s eye, he grinned when he saw him frown. From the look on his face, Shu knew which way the wind was blowing, too. He should have known his brother would have picked up on the subtle hints of interest from their mother. He may not have a particular liking for Hiei, but he would just have to get used to it. Lifting his cup, he raised it slightly in salute, causing his brother’s eyes to narrow.

Further down the table, Kuwabara’s eyes widened and he started to choke on his food. As Yukina rubbed his back gently and Yusuke laughed about him shoveling it in like a horse, he just continued to stare blankly at the table in front of him. There was no way he was going to turn his head to the right again and have to face Hiei. His mind was boggling over what he had just seen. As Kagome, seated two people to the left of him, and Hiei, sitting across the table and two people down to the right of him, had both reached out for their cups, an unmistakable thick, red string had suddenly appeared, stretched down the length of the table in between them. There was no mistaking whose pinky it was attached to on the right, -- the string was dancing with flames. Barely restraining himself from throwing his drink on it to extinguish the fire, he had glanced left and saw that it was attached to Kagome’s pinky. He had choked on his food when he had quickly looked to the right to confirm that the other end was indeed attached to Hiei. He hadn’t been imagining things the day Kagome had fought with Kikyou. But he sure as hell didn’t know what to make of it.

He had fallen in love with his darling Yukina the moment he had seen her on that video Koenma had sent to Yusuke telling him that she needed to be rescued. He had known she was the one for him immediately, and he had followed the red string of destiny attached to his own pinky through the woods to the place she was being held prisoner. He didn’t normally see the string between other couples, though he had seen the one between Yusuke and Keiko when Yusuke had finally admitted to himself that he loved her. He assumed he had seen it because he had become so used to Yusuke’s aura that he noticed the change. So, did this mean that Hiei was in love with Kagome? And if he was, did he know he was? He wasn’t even sure if Hiei believed in love. Should he tell him what he had seen? The shrimp would probably slit his throat for daring to suggest such a thing. But, if they were destined for each other, maybe he should warn him. Hell, maybe he should warn her. Poor girl. She may have known and loved youkai before, but Hiei was ... well, Hiei! Mean little bastard.

When everyone was finished, Genkai and Ginjiro returned to the dojo, where she was conducting the aura examinations. Kagura excused herself, saying she was going to rest in her room. Even though her sons wanted to spend some time with her, Kagome shooed them back to their work, saying she wanted to speak with Jaken and Myouga. They were the only two absent from the dining table, both of them having refused to be in the same room with Kagura and Ginjiro since they arrived. Hiei didn’t say a word when Master Zhang turned to him to suggest that he should still stand guard inside the house today even though Kagome was up and about.

“Well, of course one of us will still be standing guard,” Yusuke rolled his eyes at the old man. “Give us some credit, -- you didn’t think we’d leave Kagome and the girls here alone with Kagura and her son, did you?” he snorted.

The old priest just smiled and replied, “Good,” as Hiei followed Kagome out of the room.

As soon as they were out of sight of the others, Hiei reached out and snagged a shiny, wavy strand of hair that was dancing down her back. Rubbing it gently between his fingers for a second, he reluctantly let it drop when she opened the door to the library. He touched her arm and looked at her questioningly when she glanced back over her shoulder at him. She nodded for him to follow her on in.

When they saw her, both retainers immediately got to their feet and bowed low. “Lady Kagome,” Myouga began, “it’s so good to see you are feeling well now.” Hopping over to land on her shoulder, he continued, “And you look radiant! May I?” Smiling indulgently, she nodded.

Hiei smacked the little flea across the room when he bit her and then zipped after him with every intention of skewering him on the end of his katana.

“Hiei, no!” Kagome cried. “He was just checking to see if having my whole soul changed the taste or properties of my blood as well as my appearance.”

“Onna, ...” he narrowed his eyes at her in warning. No one was going to be tasting her blood, or her skin, or any part of her, and they certainly were not going to be biting her anywhere around her neck.

“It’s ... it’s all right,” Myouga wheezed, quickly hopping away from the angry hiyoukai. “It’s good to know you have such an alert, and quick, bodyguard. I must say that your blood is even more divine than before, though one of the elements seems just the tiniest bit elevated.. It seems like it is familiar, though, and not something new, but I can’t quite place it. I’ll have to think about it.”

Kagome paled just a bit at that. He couldn’t possibly be able to tell that she was pregnant yet. Could he?

“Lady Kagome,” Jaken approached her, “must we go through this ... this farce of an examination? It’s an insult to my lord’s name and reputation. You know as well as we do that Lord Sesshoumaru would never have done anything so dishonorable as to so much as look at another female while he was mated to you. You must know that.”

“Arigatou, Jaken. I do know that. If you would prefer, you don’t have to stay while they are here.”

The small youkai fixed her with a horrified stare. “What?!!? And leave you and my lord’s son here to face their lies? Never!” He stamped his foot in indignation. “I will not allow some pretender to worm his way into the Western palace with slanderous claims.”

Kagome smiled at his fervor and hastened to assure him, “Neither will I.”

After sitting and talking with them a while about the continuing recruitment of allies in the Makai, Kagome excused herself to spend some time with their guests. This time, as she stood behind Hiei while he opened the door for them to leave, she reached out to briefly run a hand down his back, causing him to close his eyes for a few seconds.

The rest of the day continued in much the same fashion for them. They measured the passing time in hidden glances and stolen touches. Kagome was still marveling over how heightened her senses seemed and how much more free her spirit felt, while Hiei was secretly a bit stunned by how much more intense his need to be near her and to touch her was. He could tell that everyone was feeling the effects of her enhanced physical appeal, even the females, but that wasn’t what was affecting him so strongly. Well, that wasn’t all that was affecting him so strongly.

He was absolutely in awe of the fact that she was his. He had thought of her that way for a long time now, but she had finally acknowledged her acceptance of it when she had talked about her fears for when people found out she had taken a new mate. Of course, he’d feel a lot better when he could actually place his mark where everyone could see it, but now he knew that she accepted the bond between them, not just for now, but forever. And she was carrying his children. He wasn’t sure how it was possible for him to feel more possessive than he had already been feeling, but he did. The darker, more primitive side of him wanted to wrap her up and take her away from everyone and everything, -- somewhere where he wouldn’t have to share her with anyone else. Fortunately for her, he was a civil, rational being. Most of the time, anyway. It was fortunate for the other males in this house, too, -- especially the fox. Actually, both kitsune were treading thin ice after that evening.

After dinner that evening, everyone except Ginjiro went out to walk along the beach. For the most part, Ginjiro ignored everyone around him, as if they were all beneath his notice, except for Eishumaru. He insisted on calling him ‘onii-san,’ and the sarcastic tone of his voice when he said it was the only indication that there was something other than ice water running through his veins. Kagome told Hiei later that he made her very uncomfortable because he did remind her of Sesshoumaru when she had first met him. He didn’t bother to tell her that her son had almost come to blows with him twice already. It was obvious that he was unnerved by the other youkai’s similar appearance and superior, condescending attitude. In many ways, they were alike, and Hiei was starting to wonder what Genkai would find out.

Kagome made a real effort to be nice to Kagura, much to the fire demon’s disgust. She asked about her other son and his father, neither of whom Kagura seemed to care much about, and they spoke just a bit about the dark times they had shared when Naraku was alive. The wind-witch seemed taken aback by her politeness, but a bit grateful. And Hiei didn’t miss the lustful gleam in her eyes whenever she looked at Kagome. Apparently, Kurama had his work cut out for him with that one. But with Kagome now up and about, all of the fox’ attention was focused on her as he walked alongside her and offered his hand to steady her over any rough terrain. He wondered if that hand would make a nice lamp base.

Then Shippou had come up on Kagome’s other side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he asked her how it felt to have her soul complete again after all these years. He expressed his remorse for not having retrieved that piece for her sooner, but she shushed him and told him it wasn’t anyone’s responsibility but her own. Then the kitsune had asked if she wanted to work with him the next day with her jian. Hiei nearly blew a gasket when she replied, “Oh, hai! That would be ... great,” before her voice faltered as she caught a glimpse of the thunderous expression on his face. She had tried to mollify him then by adding “But, perhaps I should wait until after the aura examinations are complete. I think that it would be nice if all of us ladies went into Toba City for lunch tomorrow.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, kaa-chan,” Eishumaru spoke up from his position walking beside Shizuru, “but you can’t go out in the Ningenkai looking like that.”

She stopped for a second and thought about what he’d said. “I’ll have to see if I can tone down my aura, won’t I?”

“Don’t worry, Kagome. I’ll help you, if you need it,” Shippou assured her.

“I could use a break, so I’ll be happy to accompany all of you lovely ladies,” Eishumaru said, eyeing his companion intently.

The others declared that they were ready for a change of pace, too, and Kagome had quickly agreed that they shouldn’t spend all of their time in training. So, it had turned into a major outing. Genkai needed to examine both Kagura and Ginjiro side-by-side tomorrow, so they would not be going, much to everyone’s relief. That was when Kurama had shown his claws. The fox had turned to him with a smile that didn’t quite reach his golden eyes and suggested that since he had spent the day guarding the house, he could stay and look after it again, and that since Shippou knew Kagura better than anyone else there, that he should stay behind as well, -- to act as host, of course.

He had known that Kurama was well aware of his interest in Kagome, but he hadn’t moved to eliminate him from the field before, and he hadn’t realized he was taking Shippou seriously as a rival. Apparently, he had tired of his pretense of simply helping her out and was going to start pursuing her openly again. He wondered if it was the strength of her aura that was bringing out the aggressor in the fox. For a being who could feed off of the energies of others, it had to increase her attraction for him. And in spite of the fact that he knew she would turn him down flat, it still made him want to singe the fur on Youko’s tails. But for the time being, he settled for glaring at Kurama and watching as Shippou narrowed his eyes at the other redhead, too.

As he clutched her to him that night, he couldn’t quite contain the growl that rose in his throat at the thought of the fox’ maneuverings. Shippou had attached himself to her side for the rest of the evening and had escorted her to her room for the night. After she had joined him in his room, Kagome confided that Shippou had warned her about Kurama and that he had told her that the avatar was enjoying Kagura’s company at night. That didn’t bother her at all, but she hoped her sons didn’t find out since they thought he was her lover. They wouldn’t take too kindly to the thought that he was being unfaithful to her. She giggled at that. The inward delight he felt at the thought of her friend thwarting his partner was tempered by the remembrance of her intention to continue training with the jian.

He had thought that subject was settled and he told her as much. The flash of blue fire in her eyes told him he was wrong. The damn onna insisted that just because she wasn’t going to be issuing the personal challenges herself like she had planned was no reason to discontinue her training. Then she was foolish enough to tell him that even though she wouldn’t be in the thick of it, she was still planning to stand with her sons when the fighting began. It was a good thing she put up a barrier to contain sound in the room. While he didn’t shout while he was telling her how things would be, she had certainly yelled and stamped her foot. He hadn’t seen her really angry before, and damn if she wasn’t a sight to behold. To be honest, he started tuning out what she was saying about being pregnant not meaning she was going to sit around and knit booties all the time and about how those were her sons and nothing was going to stop her from helping them, until finally, he just tackled her to the bed and set about taking her breath away. Looking at her peaceful, sleeping form and the slight smile that curved her lips, he smirked to himself. He had found a way to win an argument with her. Then his brow furrowed just a bit. He had won that argument, hadn’t he?



The trip into Toba City went well for those who went. Hiei was chomping at the bit by the time the others returned. Shippou hadn’t bothered to hide his annoyance at being left behind, either, so the two of them had avoided each other all day by mutual, unspoken agreement since neither of them was fit for company. When they got back, Kurama looked pleased with himself, having taken advantage of the outing to act as escort for Kagome and ply his charm some more. Contrary to Hiei’s expectations, he hadn’t been blatant in his intentions towards her, but he was insinuating himself further into her circle of “friends.”

He had helped her select some new clothes, and while he might admire the fox’ taste and be glad to finally see her wearing a variety of colors, he didn’t like the idea of Kurama doing something so intimate, -- like he was her lover or her mate. He had actually bought her some items, including a couple of sheer nightgowns, without her knowing it until she was unpacking her bags. She said she was going to tell Kurama she couldn’t accept them, so Hiei didn’t bother to tell her he had already sent them up in flames when she had stepped out of her room to ask Genkai a question about what she should bring with her to the dojo in the morning.

To top it all off, the fox had further ingratiated himself to her by helping Eishumaru pick out a strand of pearls for Shizuru, which she had still been trying to refuse when most of the others started heading upstairs for bed that night. Kagome said she could see confusion on the other woman’s face underneath her bluster and she felt a little sorry for her, but she seemed confident that her son would win her over. Hiei told her Shizuru wouldn’t be able to overcome her ningen upbringing to look at him seriously until his appearance had aged about 10 years. And they both knew that his aging would stop again in around 7 years, when he would look approximately 21. Of course, by then, Shizuru would look older as well. Now they had a bet riding on it.

Kagome slept restlessly that night. Though she didn’t want to admit it, she was a little nervous about the aura examination. She wasn’t sure she was ready to have someone else know she was pregnant. Of course, if Hiei trusted Genkai, then she knew she could, too. But the stakes were so high, -- Hiei’s life could be hanging in the balance if the wrong person was to find out, and for all she knew, that person might have the ability to monitor thoughts. Again, she knew that Genkai had to have strong mental barriers, but ...

And then there were Kagura and Ginjiro. They seemed so confident. She trusted and believed in Sesshoumaru completely. He would never have been unfaithful to her. But the similarities in Ginjiro’s looks and outward attitude and Sesshoumaru’s simply couldn’t be denied. It was unnerving, to say the least. With a whispered, “Arigatou,” she got up to get ready.

Hiei smirked to himself as he pulled on his pants and called after her, “Onna, if you continue to thank me every time we are together, I may have to start charging you by the hour.” He chuckled as a pillow smacked him in the face. When she released the barrier so he could go, he couldn’t resist adding, “Or perhaps I should charge by how many times you call my name.” The door hit him in the ass, but not before he caught a glimpse of her beet-red face.

(Much better.) He didn’t like the nervousness he had seen in her eyes. This was going to be a very trying day. He knew Genkai would be seeking him out either at lunch or later that evening to confront him about the pregnancy. For some reason, he got the impression that Kuwabara was wanting to talk to him, too. The big oaf kept casting him nervous glances every time they were in the same room together. And he still had to tell his teammates about the three ookami guards who had trained with the Chinese priest, -- the sooner, the better. Her priority might be her sons and their personal quests to regain their fathers’ lands, but finding the person responsible for her mates’ deaths was his.
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Kagome slowly stepped into the darkened dojo. Genkai was there ahead of her, already seated on a tatami mat in the classic lotus position, wearing a plain white tunic over a white kosode with black hakamas. No words were exchanged as the old psychic was already meditating deeply. She had told Kagome last night what she should do when she arrived. There was one lit candle in the room, about two feet behind an empty tatami mat that had been placed about 10 feet in front of Genkai’s. There were three more candles situated around the empty mat, one two feet in front of it, and one on each side, also about two feet away. They weren’t lit yet, though. Kagome disrobed and took her place on the empty mat. Genkai had told her she could wear a plain white yukata if she would be too uncomfortable or feel too vulnerable meditating in the nude, but she thought she would feel safe enough. Master Zhang was sitting just outside the dojo, and Shippou and Kuwabara were staying in the house today to keep an eye on Kagura and her son. Closing her eyes and breathing in deeply, Kagome began to clear her mind so she could meditate.

After a while, Genkai shifted her focus from her own core outward. The light from Kagome’s aura penetrated her consciousness and she let it wash over her for a few minutes before slowly opening her eyes. While the normal oval-shaped field of energies surrounding a person usually extends out around the body approximately 2-3 feet, the priestess who sat before her was emitting a field at least 5 feet out. Her first impression was of blinding whiteness. She had sensed the purity of her spirit before, but looking directly at her aura without the muting quality of her physical form to serve as a distraction was almost overwhelming. There was no question that she was incredibly spiritually aware and vital.

Genkai directed her focus past this outer layer to see what else lay within her energy field. She knew Kagome had healing powers, and she had seen others who utilized reiki to heal exhibit a green glow around their hands. When she had focused on one in the act of healing, she had seen the green turn into rainbow stripes, but this woman’s hands had the stripes even though she was not currently using those powers. And the stripes didn’t just flow from her wrists outward, but ran all the way up her arms and seemed to flow from her heart. So, it was true that she used her own life force to fortify those she healed. (Amazing. That’s not how the Reikai healers’ powers work. Her powers really flow from her soul throughout her whole body.)

The psychic wasn’t surprised to see the small, red balls that circled her head. It was obvious to everyone that she was very driven and determined on a course of action to attain a goal. She was very forthright about her need to help her sons regain the three palaces in the Makai. Nor was she surprised by the green glow around her torso on the layer closest to her body. She had already noted her great healing powers and she had witnessed the woman’s deep love and affection for those around her. It seemed that her actions and goal resulted from a loving heart. What did surprise her enough to make her blink twice were the silver sparkles she saw flashing all around Kagome permeating all of the layers surrounding her. She was pregnant.

Knowing that a great deal of time had already passed, Genkai allowed her vision to expand and then contract until she was looking at the backlit outline of Kagome’s physical form. There, on her right hip and left inner thigh, were two small, contained areas of youki. She barely managed to stifle a snort. Oh, she recognized that youki all right. It didn’t really surprise her all that much that he had marked his lover, -- he was nothing if not possessive, -- though two times seemed a bit extreme. (Well, that’s what she gets for striking that match in his pants.) The question was what were they going to do now? It looked like they had both been caught in their own web.

Reaching behind her for the blank chart she had brought, she began filling in all that she had seen so far, minus the indication of the pregnancy. That had no bearing on what she was looking for. When she was done, she talked Kagome up from her meditation. As the younger woman got dressed so they could join everyone for lunch, Genkai cocked a brow at her and said dryly, “Congratulations. You two have made the biggest mess out of one of their investigations that I’ve been privileged to witness.”

Kagome’s shoulders tensed and she was quiet for a moment, then, “Arigatou gozaimasu. I seem to have a special talent for that.” When the old woman burst into laughter, Kagome relaxed and allowed a rueful smile to curve her lips. Then she grew serious. “I love him, and I will do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to him. But in order to do that, we can’t let anyone else find out about us, -- especially now.”

“I’m here to try to determine if two youkai share the same father.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, Kagome opened the door and the two of them left the dojo.
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After the meal was over, Kagome and Genkai headed back down to the dojo. Hiei nodded to his teammates and they gathered in the library to meet. He had decided to keep Kagome’s confession to himself for now. As far as he was concerned, her possible involvement was beside the point and telling them would only serve to turn the focus away from finding the real killer.

Without preamble, he told them bluntly, “There are three ookami that need to be located. Kagome was not the only one the Chinese priest taught. In addition to her, he also trained Daitano, Shippou, the young demon slayer, Jaken, and three of her third mate’s guards. One of them, Shinjiro, was the father of the ookami who attacked her at the other house, and the other two, Tadashi and Tomi, were originally from Ayame’s clan.”

“Did you say Jaken?!!?” Yusuke asked in disbelief. He burst into laughter at Hiei’s nod. “Now that is a sight I hope I never see: a toad doing snake style kung fu.”

“Why didn’t Zhang tell me that earlier?” Kurama sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. This case was nothing but one big headache.

“You asked him if he had taught anyone else?” Kuwabara asked in surprise.

“Of course I asked him,” the avatar stared at the taller man with just a hint of annoyance. “You may think I am prejudiced against Kagome, but please don’t think I would deliberately ignore a possible source of information. Not that it did me any good, -- he merely brushed my inquiries aside by saying ‘We all learn from the others who cross our path.’ I wonder why he decided to tell Hiei now?” he narrowed his eyes at the hiyoukai questioningly.

Not willing to tell them that Zhang wasn’t the one who had told him about the others, Hiei merely met his gaze in silence.

“So this means Kagome didn’t do it, right?” Kuwabara insisted, ignoring the tension between the other two.

Still staring at Hiei, Kurama replied, “It means there were others who could have actually killed Kouga. But, those guards would not have had access to her first two mates, or a motive to kill them. So, if we think one, or more, of them was involved, then we have to consider the possibility that there may have been others involved at the other palaces.” (Damn it. We’re not answering any of the questions, -- we’re just adding to them.)

Green eyes bored into red ones as he continued, “Obviously, Kagome would not have needed help if she was the murderer. She had the power and ability to have killed each of them in the manner they were killed, and to have disposed of their souls.” Without even glancing in Kuwabara's direction, he held up a hand to stave off his objection and went on, “You think Kikyou, Kagura, and Ayame may have recruited help, if they were the ones responsible? If Ayame had one or more of the guards kill Kouga, where does Yemon fit into the scenario? Or does he fit into it at all? Or do you have yet another theory, Hiei?” He had known the fire demon long enough to know that he wasn’t telling them everything. What had Zhang told him?

“We have discussed the possibility that it was someone out to hurt Kagome that killed all three of her mates. Now that we know someone else had the ability to kill Kouga by using the Death Touch, it seems even more likely. I think we both agree that the three females could not have done it by themselves or even working together. I believe there is someone else behind the killings, and that he or she manipulated others into helping. The three females may be involved, but perhaps not. We know that Ayame and Yemon are connected, but it’s possible that their plan is exactly what her sons’ suspected, -- a spiteful woman out to strike back at her by having her lover break her heart. Or it could just be a coincidence that they are lovers,” Hiei paused a moment. He had to be careful here. He wanted to steer them to continuing the search for the person responsible without them getting bogged down with the ones who may have also been manipulated. He wasn’t ready to let them know that the people who may have helped may have been possessed or otherwise controlled. That would immediately turn the fox back to Kagome. But they needed to follow the lead she had given him. If one of the guards was used, he probably did not even know it, but it was important to find him, because in order to control or possess someone, the killer would have had to have contact with them at some point. They needed to find the common link.

"Ayame had no reason to kill off Kagome's first two mates because that freed her up to mate with Kouga. The same goes for Kagura having Inuyasha killed. That leaves Kikyou, but ...”

“But Kagome says she wouldn’t have killed Inuyasha when he was human,” Yusuke broke in on Hiei’s explanation.

“Correct,” the hiyoukai agreed, raising his brow at the detective for his interruption. “So, she wouldn’t be the mastermind behind his death, either. We need to find these three guards and see if any of them had any connection to Byakuya or Moryomaru, -- they are the only ones left on the lists we had of Kagome's known enemies who are still unaccounted for."

"Well, all right!" Yusuke slapped his hands on his knees as he stood up. "So we are getting close then. Damn, I just wish we were the ones doing the tracking. Now that we don't have to worry about Kikyou hurting the girls, I'm ready for a little action."

Kurama smiled at his eagerness. "Be careful what you wish for, Yusuke. And on that note, since Kagome will be busy the rest of the day, I think I will go into the Reikai to check on what progress is being made there. I'll see if Shishi Wakamaru is free to start looking for the ookami. Care to join me, Hiei?"

"Hn." He definitely did not want to join him, but it would only serve to raise the avatar's suspicions even more if he refused. So, he followed him out of the room.

As they stepped through the portal into the Reikai, Kurama watched him out of the corner of his eye. "Why did Master Zhang decide to share that information with you?"

Keeping his eyes forward, Hiei merely hmphed, "How should I know what motivates a ningen, -- especially one the kami speak to directly?"

Still watching his partner carefully, Kurama conceded, "He is a rather enigmatic individual, isn't he? But since knowing that he taught others sheds doubt on our suspicions of Kagome, I am surprised he didn't tell us sooner."

Hiei paused just a minute and frowned. (It does send us in a different direction. So, why didn't he tell us?) That bothered him. He would have thought the old priest would do everything he could to help her. Was it possible that this was the wrong path to pursue? But he couldn't think of any other way to go about it. It was too great a coincidence that there were others who had been taught the snake style kung fu. They had to follow it. Giving himself a mental shake, he continued down the hallway.

As Kurama opened the door to Koenma's office, they heard George pleading with him, "But, boss, she's demanding to speak with you personally. She says it's important."

"I really don't have time to listen to an angry, hysterical soul rant about how unfair it was that she was killed and absorbed by a kuromiko. Just assure her that we will put her at the head of the line for reincarnation. Ah! Kurama! Hiei! Come in, come in," the demi-god waved them over to the desk. "That will be all, George."

"But, boss ..."

Koenma made a shooing motion, "When you return, you may bring me some tea." Turning his attention to his visitors, he asked, "Well, have you managed to prove she's innocent yet?"
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This time, when Genkai opened her eyes, she was prepared for the blinding whiteness that proclaimed the power and purity of the soul of the young woman seated in front of her. The candles had been moved so they were only a foot away on every side of her, and they were all lit. The old psychic honed her focus to penetrate the outer layers of her energy fields. For this part of the examination, she would be studying the 7 aural bodies that resided within her. These would give her the true basis for comparison between mother and son, and if they matched up at the same points that Kagura and Ginjiro's did, then she could extrapolate which points should match up with their fathers. If those were the same, ...

She began by examining the base, or root, which relates to physical sensations. The clear, deep red she saw indicated Kagome's strong will and her passionate nature. For someone so spiritually in-tune, she was also very solidly tied to the earth. Physical touch as an expression of her love was very important to her. The clarity of the color showed she was directing her energies toward her goals.

Next, she looked at the etheric aural body which reveals the emotions about self, including physical well-being. The bright orange body here spoke of health and vitality, as well as great stores of stamina. Kagome's self-confidence translated to her warm, outgoing personality. It also demonstrated an abundance of courage and an ability to take joy in her life.

The vital body, located in the solar plexus, shows the state of the rational mind. Genkai was intrigued by the metallic gold she found there. Obviously, the priestess spent time in meditation and reflection for her spiritual power and energy to be awakened in her consciousness and integrated so completely with her concentration and thinking and learning abilities. Her rational outlook on life was colored by an underlying optimism. It was a very powerful, positive combination.

Moving on to her heart, where the astral body reflects how one relates with others, it was no surprise to the older woman when she found a brilliant, emerald green residing there. She had already seen abundant evidence in her outer aural fields of her nurturing, healing abilities. The brightness of the color told of her balancing and calming effect on others. Again, it was obvious that her life and actions were love-centered, strong, and protective. There was a pink ring around the green, symbolizing great compassion and a strong sense of and need for companionship. Since the pink was so pronounced, she could only assume that she felt fulfilled in that area. There was definitely more to the bond between her and Hiei than simple physical passion, which was a damn good thing, considering the current circumstances.

At Kagome's throat, the grayish-blue orb there caused Genkai to frown. This was the center of the divine will within, -- where one's perceptions of the truth and commitment to speak and follow it make up the lower mental body. The grayness indicated Kagome was suffering from blocked perception and worry. In short, for some reason, in some vital area of her life, she didn't know what the truth was, and that seemed so at odds with the rest of her reading so far that Genkai was puzzled. For someone so in tune with her physical and spiritual selves, who actively sought and practiced enlightened behavior, she should be clear on what her truths were. She focused more intently and the orb became more clear. The gray was marbled throughout the blue, bleeding out from one small, completely gray spot. The absence of clarity in that one area was leaking into other areas and making her doubt herself. Not wanting to speculate too much on it, Genkai moved on.

The higher mental body, located at the brow, or 3rd eye, is where divine love and spiritual ecstacy dwell. The deep indigo color of Kagome's was testament to her ability to channel her energies. Quite simply, it showed spiritual knowledge put into action. The rich, dark hue was due to the way she had honed that ability over the years. It showed the depth and maturity of the way she viewed and used her powers.

Finally, at the crown of her head, Genkai focused on the orb that represented her spiritual/intuitive body. This was where she connected to the universe. Here the color went from a bright violet at the bottom, ascended into lavender, and finally reached that blinding whiteness that made up the majority of her outer aura fields: spiritual purity.

Submersing herself in her meditative state for just a bit longer and then bringing herself up, the psychic again began to chart all that she had seen. Tomorrow, she would examine and chart Eishumaru. Then, she would examine mother and son side by side. After she brought Kagome back up, she asked her to meet her again after the evening meal. She had drawn up a chart for Sesshoumaru, -- actually, she had drawn up several charts for him, based upon the perceptions of the others who had known him. Naturally, none of them could be held up as an accurate examination, but she was getting some overlapping agreement in certain areas. She believed Kagome's insight would probably be the closest to the truth, since as his mate, she had the closest relationship with him, and she was curious to see how it compared to Kagura's perceptions of him.
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That night, as Hiei enjoyed the lingering caresses the drowsy woman beside him was so affectionately bestowing on his pleasantly-tired body, he thought back over the events of the day. He was surprised he was able to relax and feel so content after so much irritation.

Koenma had brought them up to speed on what was going on in the Reikai and the Makai. Kurama was puzzled by the report that traces of Kagome’s blood had been found on the kaiken, but Hiei was inclined to let him figure that out on his own. Big trouble was brewing in the West. Not only had Lord Torao closed their borders, but there were reports that he had been sending out scouts to the other lands, and messengers were traveling back and forth between the West and the North. Hiei was positive that bastard wolf had told him of Kagome's sons' return and was already negotiating with the neko to fight against them. At the moment, though, Lord Yemon and most of the clans in the North were in mourning for Lady Kukiko, Ayame's cousin who was killed by Kikyou. At least it was keeping the ookami away from Kagome.

But Princess Ayame was still missing. Koenma believed she may have also fallen victim to Kikyou. The problem with confirming that was Kikyou had completely used up the energies of several of the souls she had absorbed, -- there was no trace of them left. Out of the 21 victims they were aware of, only 15 souls had made it to the Reikai, and 4 of them were so incomplete that they could not be reincarnated. In addition to those, 22 other souls had been released from her body. They believed most of them had died naturally and been collected by her shinidamachu. But, again, 7 of them were incomplete. Botan had been in tears when she reported the numbers to them. The incomplete souls were being kept in a special holding area in the Reikai, but nothing could be done for them. Koenma asked them to ask Kagome if she would purify them, -- it was the only form of peace they would ever find.

Chuu and Rinku had spotted Moryomaru, but he had disappeared into the Northern mountains. They were still trying to track him down. It seemed there was an awful lot of suspicious activity by suspicious characters going on in the North. Jin and Touya weren’t having any luck trying to find Byakuya yet, either. Koenma was able to tell them that one of the former guards, Shinjiro, was dead. He hadn’t been reincarnated yet, but he was due to be soon, so the demi-god said he would question him himself. And Wakamaru was dispatched to find Tadashi and Tomi. Ginta had told them where Tadashi was living these days, so at least he would be easy to find. If they were lucky, he would tell them where Tomi was, too.

When they returned to the house, Kurama began prowling after Kagome. He made sure he was at her side for dinner and he waited outside the dojo for her until she was done answering Genkai’s questions about Sesshoumaru. He was the one who told her about the souls that Kikyou had partially destroyed that needed to be purified, and he was the one who sat down beside her and patted her hand in reassurance. And Hiei did not miss the way his eyes gleamed gold and flashed with anticipation and excitement as he leaned in close to her. His whole posture spoke of predatory intentions. There was no question the fox was affected by the enhancement of her aura as well as her physical appeal, and he was determined to have her. They had known each other for a long time, and he knew that nothing short of him making his claim on her public would make the other male back down. Only a true bond with someone his equal would make him give up a prize like the one he had his eyes set on. Damn. He hoped the fish were hungry.

While Kurama had asserted he could keep Kagura under control so she wouldn’t say anything to Kagome about their “meetings,” Hiei smirked to himself when the wind-witch flounced off to her rooms in a huff. It wasn’t difficult to see that she was agitated by the fox’ attentions to Kagome, and he wasn’t the only one who noticed, -- Yusuke had to turn away to hide his smile, and Shippou cocked a brow in Kurama’s direction. Through it all, Ginjiro simply sat in a corner by himself, sipping sake. Hiei saw that Eishumaru had watched Kagura’s exit with a frown on his face before leaning down to speak quietly with Shizuru. If any of the females present had picked up on what was going on between her and Kurama, it would have been Shizuru. And Genkai, of course.

One of the small mercies of the day had been the old onna’s lack of sarcasm, teasing, or advice. He had expected all three. But all she had said to him was “you got lucky.” He hadn’t been so lucky in avoiding Kuwabara. Obviously, that idiot’s spiritual sight had shown him that ridiculous ‘red string of destiny’ between him and Kagome. He had called Hiei aside after he and Kurama returned from the Reikai and started stuttering about how there was someone for everyone, and how you can’t fight fate, and other crap like that. When he had asked the big oaf if he had lost his mind, Kuwabara had shut up. But as Hiei had turned to walk off, he had asked, “What do you think about Kagome?” And for the life of him, he had been unable to say something cutting in response. So, instead, he had merely said, “She’s ... interesting,” and left. That was going to come back and bite him in the ass, he was sure.

Sighing heavily, he turned on his side and buried his face in her hair. This onna had certainly brought a lot of problems and irritation into his life. Yet, he couldn’t help but think that Genkai was right: he did get lucky.
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The next morning, all four of the Spirit Detectives, Kagome, her three sons, Shippou, Master Zhang, and Genkai gathered on the beach at dawn at a spot about 5 miles from the house. Since Koenma knew better than to ask the priestess to come into the Reikai, Botan had escorted the partial souls there to be purified. It had been extremely difficult for her and she had wept openly as she did it, asking Botan the name of each woman before gently touching the flickering balls of light. When she was done, she knelt down and touched the sand. As her celestial powers flowed through her hands, the sand rose in a great mound and bands of brilliant white energy encircled it. Forms began to take shape, and when the light faded away, there stood an ivory statue of 5 wolves, 2 nekos, 3 kitsune, and a bear. The youkai women would not be forgotten.

Botan was so touched by Kagome’s thoughtfulness that she hugged her. She hadn’t been very friendly towards her, having believed her to be guilty until recently, and she felt a little ashamed. Kagome asked her to stay to visit with the other ladies and join them all for lunch. She agreed and said she would return after she reported to Koenma.

Still dressed in her priestess robes, Kagome had stunned Hiei by turning to Shippou and asking him to spar with her with her jian when Eishumaru went to the dojo with Genkai and the others got ready to begin their normal routine. He had been hard-pressed not to snatch her right up and take her back to the house to find a closet to lock her in. But as much as he would prefer that she leave the swordsmanship alone altogether, especially now, he knew she needed an outlet for her pent-up emotions. Not that he could make a fuss over it in front of everyone anyway. In private was another matter, though, and his eyes narrowed as he thought about the talk he would be having with her later.

At least the dynamics of their sparring were different from her training sessions with Zhang, -- they removed their tassels, and neither of them was sporting any injuries when they were done. If she had to spar, he'd prefer it to be with someone like Shippou, who was obviously reluctant to actually hit her. Of course, the fact that Zhang must have refused to spar with her at all said a lot for him, too. He was still going to lock her up, though.

After lunch, Shippou asked Kagome if she wanted to spar some more, but she had the good sense to decline. Then the old priest told Hiei he would like to work with Daitano and Sassouta for the rest of the day, if he didn’t mind. He didn’t. That way he could stick around the house with the others. At least Kurama hadn’t been able to drape himself all over Kagome when she was sparring with Shippou, but he was sure those were his plans for the afternoon. He would enjoy putting a spike in them.

The girls were delighted to have Botan there and the talk quickly turned to Yukina and Kuwabara’s wedding. Hiei was only listening with half an ear, concentrating instead on Kurama’s movements, until the subject of the uchikake came up. Apparently, this was a rather costly garment in the Ningenkai and a lot of ningen girls had to rent one because they could not afford to buy one. Others wore the same one their mother had worn when she married. Yukina had a faraway look in her eyes when she said that was a lovely tradition. Kuwabara went up a notch in the apparition’s estimation when he immediately responded to the wistfulness in her voice by going over to sit down next to her and picking up her hands and declaring he would see to it that she had the most beautiful uchikake ever made and that their daughters would wear it when they married. He didn’t miss the way his sister’s eyes shined when she smiled up at him. Maybe the baka wasn’t such a bad choice for her after all.

But he knew the man didn’t have the kind of money it would take to back that up. His brows furrowed as he tried to think of a way to get the money to them anonymously. Then Kagome spoke up, “If you don’t mind, I’d love to make that part of your payment for your services to us, Kazuma. My mother has a friend in Yokohama who does beautiful stitching and embroidery. She did some mending on kaa-chan’s uchikake, which had belonged to her mother, so I would be able to wear it someday. She didn’t know I was going to fall in love with youkai and get stuck 500 years in the past.” And even though she laughed, her voice held that same wistful note that Yukina’s had a moment ago. It made Hiei study her carefully.

“I can’t let you do that, Kagome,” Kuwabara protested. “You don’t owe us anything, -- the Reikai assigned us to watch over you.”

Kurama would have protested her assertion of paying them, too, but he easily discerned her intent to help out his teammate. While he and Hiei had stores of riches of their own in the Makai, Kuwabara and Yusuke relied upon the wages the Reikai paid them. It would take Kuwabara a very long time to save enough for a nice reception, not to mention the cost of his own wedding clothing, even if he rented them, let alone buying an uchikake for Yukina. And even if wedding gifts would cover part of those costs, there was the matter of finding their own place to live. He doubted they would want to stay at Genkai’s temple, and the apartment Kuwabara shared with his sister was out of the question. Kagome was certainly wealthy enough to start the two out and he didn’t see any reason to dissuade her from it.

“Well, maybe I didn’t hire you to protect us, but you have been working for me to assist in my sons’ training, ne?” she grinned. Then she fixed him with a serious stare. “Or are you saying that you are too embarrassed to admit you have been associating with the ‘Black Widow Miko’ on both a professional and personal level? Really, Kazuma, I am quite insulted.”

“No! That’s not ... that’s not what I meant! I ... I just ...” the tall redhead ran his hand through his hair self-consciously as he stuttered and stammered. “You know that doesn’t bother me.”

“Good!” Kagome clapped her hands and smiled broadly as she proclaimed, “It’s settled then.”

Hiei almost smiled himself at her manipulation. Of course, Kuwabara was an easy one to manipulate, but still ... He bowed his head slightly in her direction and caught the answering sparkle in her eyes. He would pay for his sister’s uchikake, and other wedding expenses, through her.

Having thought a minute about what Kagome had said, Keiko turned to Yukina, “I hadn’t really thought about it before, but I’m glad you will be going through the human wedding ceremony. I mean, it would be all right if you just mated in the youkai way, but weddings are very special to us humans,” she glared at Yusuke as he coughed out ‘human women, maybe’ and after elbowing him in the ribs, she continued, “and I’m very happy we will get to celebrate with you.”

“For me, the idea of bonding with someone is not something I grew up thinking about,” Yukina replied. “Although there are several Koorime who do bond in the youkai way to each other, it isn’t something we feel is necessary. But until I began living in the Ningenkai, it was the only kind of bond I knew about -- until Kazuma began courting me. Now I know that, as a human, the wedding ceremony holds special significance for him, and that it is a bond he believes in strongly and wishes to share with me. That gives it a special significance for me.” She smiled and squeezed her fiancé’s hands. “And I have to confess that from what Kazuma and all of you have said, the idea of the ceremony really appeals to me, too. Unions between youkai and humans are extremely rare in this day and time, and as a Koorime, my joining with a male is considered forbidden by my people, so the idea of having our union blessed by the kami gives me a sense of peace. And I will be happy to celebrate with all of you, too.”

The conversation then turned to possible locations for the reception and went on in that vein until Botan’s communicator went off. Excusing herself, she left for the Reikai. Just moments later, Kagura swept into the room where they were gathered. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Kurama sitting next to Kagome with his arm draped across the back of the couch behind her. She was going to have to work harder to pull him away from her again, -- he had turned her away the past two nights since Kagome had woken up. The thought of him enjoying the feel of her beautiful, glowing skin made her eyes darken with jealousy, but for the life of her, she couldn’t say which of them she was more jealous of. The avatar was a superb lover, and in his Youko form, ... She shuddered at the memory of that long, silvery hair brushing down the length of her body and the predatory golden eyes watching her. If she ignored the ears and tails, sexy though they were, she could almost pretend he was her beloved Sesshoumaru.

“Is the Reikai Reaper gone?” she asked.

“Hai, Botan was called back to the Reikai,” Kagome answered her.

“Good. She gives me the creeps, spending most of her time with the dead,” she shivered visibly.

“Ha! That’s a good one, Kagura. Considering the way you were created from a creature who came into being from a human who gave himself up to be devoured by hundreds of low-level demons, I’d say you are creepier, by far,” Shippou sneered at her.

“Shippou,” Kagome frowned at him. “You know she had no more control over the circumstances of her birth than you did.”

Just then, Botan returned carrying several packages. “Kagome, Koenma asked me to bring these to you. They’re from Lord Yemon,” she explained, walking over and handing them to her.

“Arigatou gozaimasu,” she nodded back.

“Well, go ahead and open them,” Yusuke urged her. “Don’t you want to see what lover boy sent you?”

She hesitated, then opened them. He had sent her expensive chocolates, 5 fine silk kimonos in various colors, and a necklace to match the ruby ring he had given her earlier. The note that he had enclosed sent his apologies for being unable to visit her at the present time and his promise to do so as soon as possible. He also said he hoped she had been doing some serious thinking about what he had said, and that he would be expecting her answer in one month’s time.

Kagura eyed the gifts enviously as Kagome excused herself to take them to her room. And as if Hiei wasn’t annoyed enough by them, Kurama stood up and took the kimonos to help her. The slight worry he saw on her face made the apparition even angrier. If he made it through the day without cooking up a pot of fox stew, the first thing he was going to do after he beat her for sparring with the kitsune, was find out what the ookami had written in his note.



... Okay, the second thing. Hiei had put his foot down the minute they were alone, and demanded that she give up the jian until after the babies were born. He also made it absolutely clear what her limits were regarding her training. She started to argue with him again, but had suddenly stopped and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling into his chest and kissing his neck.

Much later, she told him she appreciated his concern for her and the babies. Even though she knew her sons worried about her safety at times, she was the parent and so she was used to simply trying to soothe their fears, but doing what she felt she needed to anyway. She admitted that in this instance, he was right, and she would rather be safe than sorry. And she apologized for sparring with Shippou. She had just felt overwhelmed by guilt and sorrow for what had happened to those youkai women and needed to exert and test herself somehow. Her lover offered himself up for the next time she felt the need to exert herself. After rolling her eyes at him, she laid her head on his chest and drew lazy designs on his stomach with her fingertips.

It was quiet for a while, but Hiei could tell she was wanting to talk about something else. “What’s on your mind? Is it something the ookami said in his note?”

“No, ... he gave me a deadline, though. A month. So, that is how much time my sons have to finish their preparations and make sure their plans are in place,” she said softly.

“They will be ready,” he assured her. “But, if that’s not what you are thinking so hard about, what is?”

“Hiei, you need to tell Yukina you are her brother.”

He stiffened and stared up at the ceiling. Of all the things she might have wanted to talk about, he hadn’t been expecting this. “I’ve already told you I will not do that.”

“It would make her very happy, -- she would ...”

“Onna, are you deaf? I said no.” He turned and faced her, allowing her to see the irritation plainly written across his face.

She poked him in the chest and frowned right back at him. “You’re being stubborn and unreasonable.”

“Hn. Those are your departments.”

Her cheeks grew red and her eyes lit up with blue fire and he prepared for the explosion he knew was coming. But it didn’t. Instead, the fires died down and the blue turned dark violet. He was unprepared for the soft caress of her hand on his cheek and the sadness in her voice, “It would mean a lot to her to have her family there for her when she marries Kazuma.”

Damn it. “She would not be happy to discover I am her brother. She wants a hero, -- someone who will dote on her and return her love and affection.”

“And you don’t?” she said incredulously. “As for being a hero, well, she already sees you that way.”

“Kagome, just respect my decision and leave it alone,” he said firmly.

“It goes both ways, you know. I will listen to your words and consider your opinion when we disagree, but you have to do the same.” She continued to stare right at him and hold his gaze until he grudgingly nodded. “She already cares for you, and it would give her peace to know that not only is her brother alive and well, but that he is nearby.” She held up a hand when he started to scowl again, “That’s all I’ll say. For now. But don’t expect me to leave it forever.”

He nodded again and wrapped her up tight in his arms. After a few minutes, he heard her breathing slow and even out, but it would be a long time before he would seek his own sleep. He didn’t see anything to be gained by telling Yukina. She had accepted that she would not find her brother and she was perfectly content with her life as it was. But as he thought about what Kagome had said about it being important to have her family with her for her wedding, he couldn’t help but think about what Yukina had said about marrying Kuwabara. Really, he hadn’t given the ceremony a thought at all, but what she had said about it being a significant bond for him, and therefore a significant bond for her made sense. It was the standard that ningen went by to show their devotion and union to each other. And for some, like Kuwabara, it meant forever.

Again, it struck him how unusual Kagome’s life had been. She had been born and raised ningen, with ningen beliefs and standards, and yet she had lived her adult life by youkai standards. She had accepted youkai mating for her unions, even though she must have been ostracized for it by many ningen. He had rolled his eyes when Keiko had said that every girl dreams of the day she will get married, and Shizuru had cut in with “Either that or the day she will find a man who knows what his tongue is for,” which he doubted she would have said if Eishumaru had been there. But then Botan had agreed with Keiko. She said she may not be ningen, but she was certainly privy to the desires of women’s spirits.

Kagome had said that her mother had her uchikake mended so she could wear it someday, but that she hadn’t known she would fall in love with youkai or be stuck in the past. If she hadn’t fallen down that well, she would have eventually married some ningen boy, completely unworthy of her. Or if she hadn’t been stuck in the past, her first mate was half ningen, and in all likelihood, they would have married as well as mated. He didn’t have to ask her why they didn’t, -- the answer was clear from the other things she had said: it was important to have her family there with her, particularly her mother. She had given up ‘every girl’s dream’ not just once, but three times. Make that four. This train of thought was making him uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, that left the matters of the ookami and Kurama for him to muse over. He was positive Yemon was already amassing forces and allies for a war. Even if Kagome were to accept him as her mate, he was sure he had no intention of giving Sassouta a shot at taking his place. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to do that. But another month of having him court her was going to be intolerable. He wasn’t even here and he was getting on his nerves. He had sent those kimonos up in smoke and hadn’t even bothered to wait for Kagome to leave the room to do it. The damn onna had laughed when he threw away the chocolates, too. And she had put the necklace into a box in her wardrobe that also held the ring he had given her.

He hadn’t forgotten that Kurama and Shippou had both given her gifts, too. She wore the sapphire pendant every now and then, and even though he knew she considered Shippou almost a brother, he couldn’t help the slight twinge of jealousy and anger that ran through him upon seeing her wear another male’s gift. He was happy to note that she hadn’t worn the onyx-and-pearl bracelet. He attributed that to her being happier and not feeling the need for the grounding energies of the onyx stones. But, damn it, -- he hadn’t given her anything but a gown and robe. And if he was going to be truthful about it, he got those for his benefit. He had wanted to see her in red and he had wanted her to acknowledge that she was happy with him.

Well, now he wanted something else for his benefit. He wanted to see her wearing his mark where everyone could see it and know that she was his. Damn it, damn it, damn it. The onna was carrying his children and he still hadn’t managed to bind her to him. He had known she would be his, and she had even agreed to be his, and she was his, but they weren’t bonded to each other. And he needed that. Somewhere, in a tiny corner in the back of his mind, he was still afraid she was going to slip through his fingers because he didn’t deserve her. And there were other males who wanted to take her.

Kurama didn’t know it, but he was playing a dangerous game. They had been partners ... friends, as Kagome said, for many years now, and he was uncomfortable with his urges to stuff the fox in one of his own plants and bury him in a remote area of the Makai. But the more he stalked Kagome, the harder it was to keep his Majin form under control. Kurama had kept him from coming to her for over an hour tonight by lounging around in the hall outside her room after slinking up the stairs after her. He’d probably still be there, or else in her room if he could have found a way in, if Shippou hadn’t snarked off at him. The avatar had actually bared his fangs at the other kitsune before leaving.

Twice before, Kurama had stood against him, -- when he left their partnership with Gouki, and again when he sided with Yusuke against him. He had accepted his actions and even understood them because he knew it was his nature to always act in his own interests. He was the same way to an extent, though he felt his loyalties more strongly. But that was the kind of friendship they had, they understood each other and respected each other. In this instance, he understood Kurama all too well. The Youko in him was hunting Kagome with a determination he rarely displayed so openly, and eventually, it was going to lead him too far into Hiei's territory. The question was how ugly was it going to get? Hiei didn't sleep that night.
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The next day was tense as everyone waited for Genkai's findings from the aura examinations. But after examining Kagome and Eishumaru side-by-side that morning, she asked to examine Eishumaru and Ginjiro together. So, they waited some more. Daitano and Sassouta decided to forgo their training that afternoon in favor of staying in with their mother.

Hiei could detect a bit of nervousness in Kagura’s demeanor today that hadn’t been there previously, but it was there in Kagome’s as well. The wind-witch still seemed more confident than he would like He noticed Daitano and Sassouta were both watching Kagome closely. Her youngest son seemed a bit worried by how fidgety she was, and while the older one’s passive expression didn’t reveal his thoughts, his sharp gaze spoke volumes about his concern.

For her part, Kagome tried to be a gracious hostess and to see to that everyone was comfortable and entertained as they waited, but no one seemed to feel like playing cards or watching t.v. It was just as well, because she was feeling rather distracted herself. If the examination proved that Ginjiro was not Sesshoumaru’s son, then he would have no claim on the Western lands, and Kagome wondered what Kagura would do. She had spoken with her sons, and Eishumaru said he was willing to offer Ginjiro a position if he fought alongside them if a battle was necessary, and if Kagura’s other son still accepted Daitano’s petition for challenge for the Eastern lands. He didn’t expect them to agree, though. And if the examination showed that he was Sesshoumaru’s, ... well, she couldn’t even think about that.

When it was time for dinner, and Genkai, Eishumaru, and Ginjiro rejoined everyone else, Genkai announced that she needed to examine Sassouta and Daitano as well. “What the hell, granny?!? I thought you were going to be done this morning,” Yusuke said in irritation.

“Don’t be impertinent, dimwit. No one has ever tried to determine paternity this way before, and I refuse to do a half-assed job of it. I will know what I need to know after I examine all four of them together,” she declared.

The meal was quickly finished and all 3 of Kagome’s sons and Ginjiro followed Genkai down to the dojo. Shippou suggested a stroll on the beach for the rest of them. Placing Kagome’s hand on his arm, he walked slowly so they lagged a bit behind the others, much to the annoyance of one hiyoukai and one avatar. When he thought they could speak freely, he turned to her and asked in a low tone of voice, “That isn’t a good sign, is it? -- That the old woman wanted to examine Daitano and Sassouta, too.”

“I don’t know, Shippou,” she said quietly. “I won’t speculate on it. You know as well as I do what kind of man Sesshoumaru was. I believe in him.” But when she looked up at him, he could see the growing anxiety in her eyes.

“Whatever happens, you know I will always be here for you, -- and the boys, too,” he assured her with a quick hug.

“I know,” she smiled. “Arigatou.”



The hour was growing late when Genaki and the others walked into the living room. Everyone was still up. The psychic waited until everyone either took a seat or settled against a wall. She explained to them about the outer energy fields and the 7 aural bodies which shape each person’s individual aura. She told them that when she had examined Kagome and Kagura and then their sons, she had found that there were certain spots at certain levels that were identical in mother and son and a few others where she could see that the mother’s aura had obviously influenced the son’s. The theory she was operating under was that the other spots were the ones which should either match or at least be heavily influenced by the father’s aura.

“Upon examining Eishumaru and Ginjiro side by side, I did find some matches in those spots.” Ignoring the various gasps and exclamations around the room, she continued, “However, I did not find as many as I did between mother and son.” She paused this time as another round of noises and comments circulated, then signaled for quiet. “But perhaps that can be explained by the fact that the mother’s aura surrounds the child’s while he is in the womb. That is why I examined Daitano and Sassouta. As I expected, Sassouta shared no markers with Eishumaru on their fathers’ side. But Daitano, whose father was Sesshoumaru’s half brother, does. The number of spots that match and spots where it is obvious what the father’s influence was are the same between Eishumaru and Daitano and Eishumaru and Ginjiro. Added to that, we must keep in mind that Daitano is full inu like Eishumaru, thanks to the filtering properties of Kagome’s blood, while Ginjiro is half elemental. Taking all of those factors into consideration, there is no doubt that they are related.”

“What?!!?” Eishumaru jumped up from the chair he had been sitting in. “You are mistaken, old woman,” he snarled through gritted teeth.

“I told you he was Sesshoumaru’s son,” Kagura said smugly, looking directly at Kagome’s face, which had lost all color.

She just sat there, slowly shaking her head. (It’s not true. Sesshoumaru would not ... he loved me. It’s not true.) She was pulled from her daze by the sound of the front door slamming. Eishumaru had left. Getting shakily to her feet, her gaze darted around the room until she met Hiei’s eyes. “Eishu ... I ... I need to go after him.”

(Well, fuck!) Now what? She needed him, and he wanted to help her, and he didn’t dare, -- not with Kagura and Ginjiro there. If it were just the others, he would say fuck it all and damn the consequences. But the two outside factors made it too dangerous a risk to take. “You cannot catch up to him. I will go,” he told her firmly. And in a flash, he was out the door.

“Come, Kagome,” Kurama said quietly, “It will be best if you leave any further discussion until tomorrow. I’ll take you up.” And he led her out of the room.

Kagura’s triumph turned to ashes in her mouth as she watched them walk off together. She still hadn’t won. “Well, Ginjiro, we may as well call it a night, too. We will have a lot of details to discuss tomorrow, concerning your inheritance.”

Daitano narrowed his eyes as he watched them leave. He was feeling very torn at the moment. He wanted to comfort his mother, but her lover had stepped in. He wanted to go after Eishumaru, but he wouldn’t be able to catch up to him until Shu let him. And he wanted to storm outside and knock down every fucking tree in the fucking forest. (Sesshoumaru otou-san ... ) The man he loved, trusted, and admired above all others, -- as much as his own, true otou-san. How could he do this to his okaa-san? He just couldn’t believe it.

Sassouta knew that this had hit Daitano as hard as it had Eishumaru. He glanced towards the stairs. He felt the need to go to his mother, yet, for something like this, perhaps the reassurance of a lover would mean more than that of a son. He couldn’t help but wish that Hiei was the one up there with her now, though. He was sure that whatever he might say would carry more weight with her than anything the avatar said. He sighed and looked at his brother again. “Come on, Daitano. Let’s wait for Shu outside.”

Daitano hesitated, then nodded. And slowly, the rest of the people began to get up to go to their rooms. Shizuru remained sitting and lit up another cigarette. “Aren’t you going to bed, sis?” Kuwabara asked her.

“Nah. I think I’ll wait here a while,” she said, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

Her brother blinked at her, but she shooed him on. When the kid came back, he might need to talk to someone he wasn’t related to. Goodness knows, it wouldn’t be Hiei.
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When Hiei got back to the house, he barely raised a brow at the sight of Shizuru alone in the living room. He was too anxious to see Kagome to acknowledge that she might just be right about the idiot’s sister and her son. When he had finally caught up with him, he had ripped him a new one. Eishumaru had taken a swing at him and yelled at him to back off. So Hiei had given it to him straight, “You’re a damned spoiled brat and it’s about time you grew up and started acting like a man.”

That had earned him another swing, which he barely dodged. “This is nice. Now your mother has to worry about you on top of everything else.” That stopped the inu dead in his tracks. “That’s right. Damnit boy, your first thought should have been for her and how it affected her.”

“You think you know me? You don’t know shit. I was thinking of her, you little bastard. I look just like him. Do you understand? Do you think she needed to look at me right now?”

Hiei paused a minute and looked him straight in the eyes. “Hai, I do. And you may think you were sparing her by leaving, but you were really trying to spare yourself. She’s not going to reject you, you know. None of this is a reflection on you. And you know she’s not going to look at you any differently, regardless of what your father may or may not have done. Neither will your brothers. You want to be angry about what happened, be angry. You want to go off and work off some rage, you do that. But you should have reassured her first. And if you want to wallow in guilt over something that is completely beyond your control, well, you don’t need an aura examination to prove you’re her son.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!!?” Eishumaru demanded, glaring down at Hiei, who just stood there with his arms crossed in front of him.

“It means you’ve got your mother’s weaknesses and none of her strengths. But then again, from all I’ve heard, you’ve got your father’s strength and none of his wisdom, so I guess it’s a matched set.”

The boy stared at him in disbelief for a minute, then he started laughing. “It’s a wonder you can fit those balls in your pants,” he said finally. “You really are a complete ass.”

“Then we do have something in common,” Hiei replied, before turning and heading back in the direction of the house. Eishumaru stood there for few minutes after he left before heading back, too.

When he got back, he saw his brothers, -- his true brothers, -- waiting outside for him. They talked about what their options were now and what they would say to Ginjiro and Kagura tomorrow. They didn’t want to disturb Kagome if she was asleep or with Kurama, so they decided to meet with her first thing in the morning, and then with Jaken, Myouga, Ginta, and Hakkaku. It was time to speed things up. When they walked in, they saw Shizuru asleep on the couch. Eishumaru smiled and waved them on. His world may have tilted a little tonight, but if it was up to him to straighten it out, he was going to do it with his woman beside him.
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As he slipped silently into her room after picking the lock, he saw her standing over by the window, looking out into the darkness. She was clutching something in her hands, and as soon as he caught the faint scent of the avatar, it clicked what it was, -- the bracelet he had given her with the onyx stones. It annoyed him that the fox had been in her room, but he was more concerned that she felt the need to grieve over the news they had received. He was not entirely convinced that Ginjiro was Sesshoumaru’s and he thought Genkai had left a little wiggle room in her report. Something she had said made him want to ask a few more questions, but they would have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, Kagome needed him.

He walked over to her and without a word, opened the window. Picking her up in his arms he stepped through it. “Barricade the room so anyone who comes looking for you will think you’re in there,” he told her. And then he took off. She buried her face in his shoulder as he sped through the night. He ran down the coast until they were far, far away from the house.

When he set her down, he took the bracelet from her hands and tossed it aside, then quickly followed it with her nightgown. Ignoring the startled look on her face, he stripped off his own clothes and crushed her to him, kissing her passionately. He wasn’t going to tell her that Genkai was wrong, or that even if her mate did father Kagura’s son, he might have been controlled somehow, or that there just might be some other explanation for the matches in their auras. Hai, if Ginjiro was Sesshoumaru’s son, it would affect their plans and their lives, especially Eishumaru’s. But he didn’t want her grieving over feelings of betrayal or doubting herself because of something that happened so long ago. She needed to know that she was desired and loved and valued now. By him. He was her present and her future. So he set about making her forget everything else.

Laying her back, he savored the way her own passion quickly ignited as much as he did as the sweet taste of strawberries that clung to her lips. But as badly as he wanted her, he didn’t want this to be like the way they were together after she had killed the ookami. He didn’t want to just distract her from her unpleasant thoughts so she could escape in a haze of sensations, -- he wanted all of her thoughts, all of her focus on them. So even though she was clutching him to her and already lifting her hips against his, he moved so he could concentrate on that enticing spot at the base of her throat where her pulse throbbed. Licking it roughly, he raked his teeth over the delicate skin. He knew he had her full attention then and he was tempted to see if she would stop him if he pushed to make her his, but that wasn’t his purpose tonight.

He ran a hand along her side and cupped her right hip where one of his claiming marks lay. He pulled on the youki there and heard her sharp intake of breath. Smirking to himself, he forced her arms to release him as he moved down a little further. It was getting hard to remember that this was for her. Her mesmerizing scent wrapped around him and he marveled again at the incredible feel of her silky smooth skin. He nuzzled into her collarbone, then nipped it lightly before pulling away enough to look into her eyes. Her lids were heavy with desire and pleasure and her irises were a dark, inky blue. Not breaking eye contact with her, he lowered his head to capture a dusky, tightly-budded nipple. Drawing it into his mouth slowly, he began to suckle. Her eyes closed and her back arched, and he let his eyes close, too, for a moment. It would be so easy to get lost in her.

Sliding his hand from her hip to her inner thigh, he found the nub of flesh he was looking for and rubbed it with the pad of his thumb while releasing her nipple. He stared at the way the dampness from his mouth brought out distinct sparkles in her skin. Shifting his gaze to her face again, he saw that she was looking directly at him. Wetting her lips with her tongue, she reached up to touch his face. “Please, Hiei.”

Her irises were completely black, and he leaned down to brush his lips across hers. “Not yet,” he whispered gruffly. And he sat up, straddling her hips to keep her in place. Slowly, he let his hands slide down her neck and out over her shoulders. From there, he trailed them down her arms before moving them to her waist. He could feel her eyes on his face as he watched his fingers caress the curves and contours of her waist, abdomen, and breasts.

Her breathing was quickening and she wet her lips again. The expression on his face as he looked at her made her feel ...wanted. Cherished. He was so intense and passionate. Even though he projected an uncaring attitude to the world, underneath the surface, he was a smoldering flame, ready to blaze into an inferno at the merest spark, -- be it from anger, loyalty, protectiveness, or ... love. (He loves me.) She slid her hands up his legs. “Hiei ...”

He met her eyes and he was captivated by the colors swirling in them. He wasn’t sure what her thoughts were, but her lips were curved in a smile. Wrapping a hand around his hard length, she asked, “Now?”

“Now,” he agreed, covering her body with his once more. He let her guide him into her heat, then he took her hands and laced his fingers with hers. Then he stayed there, motionless for a minute, waiting. It wasn’t until Kagome rubbed against him insistently that he moved. He definitely wasn’t going to let her lead this dance, but he had wanted her to pull him onto the dance floor. With two hard thrusts, he was buried inside her depths. Leaning down to kiss her again, he squeezed her hands. Holding her gaze as their bodies melded into each other, he drove them on fast and furiously until he saw her eyes start to glaze over and her upward thrusts give way to his motion, then he slowed his pace.

Twice more he took her up and then backed off until she joined him again. It was the sweetest form of self-torture. The way she held him so snugly inside her made him feel like his whole body was pulsing in time with his cock. And she was loving him with her whole body. Her thighs gripped him and her legs brushed his buttocks and the backs of his own thighs. She rotated her pelvis against him and rubbed her soft, full breasts into his chest. He was acutely aware of the exact spots where her nipples pressed against him and dragged along his skin. He was barely hanging on and he was going to take them both over this time.

Kagome was completely caught up in the piercing red eyes that anchored her so solidly to the earth and to the man above her. The pleasure that kept sweeping her body kept threatening to overwhelm her, but Hiei was keeping her with him. It was as if he was trying to bind them together by bringing them in total synch with each other. Thrust for thrust, breath for breath, heartbeat for heartbeat.

When he quickened his pace and shortened his strokes, she felt the tension in her body rapidly build to an almost unbearably exquisite point. She would have cried out if she could, but the only sounds she was capable of were sharp gasps. She squeezed his hands as her inner muscles squeezed his cock and he groaned as his hips jerked involuntarily. After he watched the sparks of color flashing in her eyes as they returned to a warm, brilliant sapphire, he slumped down and buried his face in her neck. Letting go of her hands, he closed his arms against her sides and rested his hands on her shoulders. Kagome crossed her ankles behind him and continued to hold him close with her thighs. She rested one hand on his shoulder blade and the other one on the nape of his neck where her fingers could rustle through his hair.

For several long minutes they lay there, perfectly content with each other. But Hiei’s mind was racing. He had already decided. She loved him, she wanted him, she needed him. And it felt good. He wouldn’t let her down. And he was never, ever letting her go. He hadn’t expected this recent turn of events that threatened to steal her happiness by making her doubt herself and possibly feel insecure in their relationship because of something that may have happened in one of her past relationships. But he wasn’t going to let that happen. He wanted her to look forward to their future together instead of dwelling on her past. For just a second, he wished Yukina knew the truth so he could thank her. She had given him a solution to his problems, and a way he could show Kagome just how important she was to him. And he would have a bond with her that no one else had, -- one that would hold up in her world, with her family and friends, -- one that he knew would be significant for her, and so it would be significant for him.

He whispered against her skin, “Marry me.”

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Oh. Thank. GOODNESS! I feel like this chapter chewed me up and spit me out. Twice. I really do apologize for the long wait for this, but nothing has been rolling my way. I absolutely, positively planned to have this up on Valentine’s Day, (after absolutely, positively planning to have it done and up every weekend for the last 5 weeks), but ... *sigh* Please forgive me if you’re one of the people who wrote me and I wrote back saying, “It’ll be done and up in a few days.” You’re invited to add your big red “L” to my forehead.

I’m just hoping and praying that everything comes across the way I intended. Please let me know how it hits you! According to my current outline, there’s only 4 more chapters to go, and I want to be sure I’ve laid it all out there for the big round-up. There’s a LOT of stuff in Kagome’s story, and it wasn’t easy to write. I had to keep going back through the whole story to make sure I was getting all the details right. I had to be sure I was keeping all of my ducks in a row. ^_^

*And just in case anyone’s interested, I actually charted out Kagome, Eishumaru, Kagura, Ginjiro, Sesshoumaru, Daitano, and Sassouta’s auras. I had to have them in front of me for reference, even though I only told about Kagome’s in the actual writing. LOL!! I did a good little bit of research into aura examination, but please note that I did add in my own take on them to make it fit what I wanted it to. ^_~ I used the Kundalini System to chart the 7 aural bodies.

I have been so honored to be the recipient of several pieces of giftart and fics in the last few months. I want to invite all of you to check out some fantabulously superific pictures on Deviant Art. I’ve got all of these in my faves on my page there, but you should check out their galleries. Pumpkinpeaches1 gifted me with a “cover” for my one-shot “Koishii the Manga Series.” Youkobutt drew a naked Hiei for me: “Hiei-sama.” MikaRabidKitsune drew “Eishumaru.” There’s a great “Hiei and Kagome” by Fuyu-no-Gekkou. And CrazyMishka did a cool one called “Caught.” Also over the holidays, I had Lady Shieru draw 5 Hiei/Kagome pics for me, including one spoiler. ^_~ On DA, N-M-S-15 wrote two fics for me: “Troublesome,” which is a Shikamaru/Kag, and “Otou-san.” SadBrokenWings has a fabuloso collection of Hiei/Kag drabbles going, called “Sure.” Taiyoukai Taika-sama wrote “Christmas Cookies.” And Kagome Yuki Niwa wrote “Not So Alone.” Thanks so much everyone!!! You should check them all out. ^_^ If I forgot to list someone, it’s not that I didn’t appreciate your gift, -- it’s just that I’ve been up for about 42 of the last 51 hours, grabbing a couple hours of sleep here and there. So, I’m operating on nothing but short-term memory right now, and it‘s faulty at best. ^_^ Please email me and remind me so I can list your wonderful work next time.

I would also like to thank the following people for nominating or seconding 4 of my fics for the IYFG 4th Quarter 2007 Awards: kingmasonite, audacious_pen, KibaSin, Ryukotsusei, youkaiRus, Shaunamom, landofthekwt, and FarAwayEyes. I am very, very, very flattered that “Black Widow Miko” was awarded 2nd Place for Best Crossover for the IYFG 3rd Quarter 2007 Awards. *blushes* I am also very, very, very flattered that “First Meeting of the MYAMP” won 2nd Place for Best Comedy for the 3rd Quarter 2007 awards at both the IYFG and the Feudal Association. *blushes even more* Thanks so very much for the votes of confidence!

As for my fantastic and much-appreciated reviewers, all I can say is:
“It’s been awhile, Since I could hold my head up high, And it’s been awhile, Since I first saw you ... It’s been awhile, Since I could hold my head up high, And it’s been awhile, Since I said I’m sorry ...” (Staind)

Silvermisttaleweaver - More 'red string' crap in this one. ^_^ No bondage, though, so your keyboard should be safe with your tea. Hiei and Kurama are building to a confrontation soon. Lots of backstory and details here, but don't go thinking I've shown my hand yet. Heh heh!

SadBrokenWings - Thanks so much for all of your kind words! I hope this chapter didn't diappoint.

AngelWings21 - So, did her story sound the way you thought it would? Did it answer all your questions? I hope not. Heh heh! Because there's more to come!

Seiteki_Tenshi - I was evil last time, but this time I was nice, right? (I wanted to be evil again, but it would have taken me two more weeks to get to the point I wanted to leave the cliffy at. Heh heh!) What did you think about Kag's confession?

Sardave - Babies last time, wedding next time. ^_^

Latch - I'll be interested to see if your theory was correct, too. Please let me know! (Of course, this story ain't over until it's over. Heh heh!)

selenitypotter - How're mama and baby doing? Still snuggling? Wow! She has to be close to 6 months old by now, huh? Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. No one, in my non-fictional life OR my fictional one, was cooperating with me. LOL!!

Kawaii-KeKe-Chan - Ah, the twists and turns. I do so love to veer off in unexpected directions every now and then. (Well, I do love to keep Hiei off-balance a lot, but I don't usually throw him around so much. Heh heh!) Hope this chappy met expectations. I've lost all perspective about it because I've been tearing my hair out over it so long now. LOL!! I saw you have a new chapter up. I'm going to go reward myself now with a good read. ^_^

darkjewel - I'm glad you fell for the switcheroo in the last chapter, -- it means I was doing something right then. I have no clue how this one will come across, though. Got some answers now? Heh heh! I laughed when I read your comment about my soundtrack, -- I really felt like I had one for the beginning of this chapter. LOL!!

PureMiko_Kagome69ner - Well, Ayame's gone, but they don't know it. Kikyou's gone. But Kagura is alive and making mischief. And so are some other people. Heh heh!

BrokenSouledPoetess - See? No horrible cliffy here. ^_^ (I wanted to get to one, but it was just taking way too long. Heh heh!) Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

DYquem - Nope. No evil cliffy this time. We are building to a nice little confrontation between Hiei and Kurama, though. ^_^ I agree with you, -- when it comes to losing out on Kagome, it's all about the ego with Kurama. Heh heh! I love the way you put it, -- that I've been "outting" Hiei and Kag person by person. Yep. And the secret goes on. ^_^ I'm so glad you liked the way I had Kagome give it one more try when it came to saving Kikyou, before taking her out. It just seemed like what I would expect Kagome to do. I hope this chapter gives you lots to chew on. ^_^

alissa - I hope you have some hair left! It took me a long time to get this chapter written. Sorry!

inu_fan001 - Glad you liked the last chapter! I hope you enjoy this one, too.

HeartStar - Well, now you know more about what happened, and what Kagome thinks happened. ^_^

Angie..who? - Nope. Still not dead. As a matter of fact, my life is too lively sometimes. ^_^ I'm still leaving some things open, but I laid a lot out in this chapter. Hope you liked it!

Shadeless Night - Heh heh! If you were thinking I'd died last time, you must really have given up on me this time. But, I'm still here. Just moving slowly. I thank you so much for all the kind words. ^_^ I'm glad I've been able to keep you guessing for this long. With about 4 chappies left to go, let's see if I can still pull a rabbit out of the hat. ^_^

DYquem - I love it that pick up on the silly statements I make. ^_^ I really DID mean for it to be ironic that Hiei was telling her sons they should be able to control her when HE has been having so much trouble in that department. (And continues to. LOL!) Yeah, Daitano is actually full youkai. When Kagome was telling her Mom and souta and Jii-chan about what happened in the past, she told them that as a celestial being, her blood seemed to act like a filter and her sons were all born full youkai. Heh heh! I love your idea for his challenge, -- just having him transform and sit on his opponent. LOL!! The only problem is, he's only transformed the one time, -- he can't control it. Yet. I'm so glad to hear someone else say that Hiei in his Majin form would give you pause, because I agree. LOL!! Every time I write a lemon with him in that form, I giggle to myself because I keep thinking, "What if she poked him in one of those eyes accidentally? Would it kill the mood?" I mean, they're EVERYWHERE! You'd have to be careful where you put your hands. LOL!! Ding ding ding ding ding! Yep. She thinks she killed them. I know what you mean about it being easier to read a story that's already finished. don't worry, though, -- we're almost there. ^_^

MichiruAOZ - Thank you so very, very much for all the kind words. It makes me feel like I've been successful in my attempts to entertain. ^_^ I know what you mean about finding time to read (or do ANYTHING) when you have little ones. I doubt I'd be able to write if 3 of mine weren't older. (My youngest is 4.) I hope this chapter gave you some answers. And maybe a few more questions. Heh heh!

SKnFS - I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I hope you will find things to like in this one, too. It was a real ball-buster for me. (Luckily, I don't HAVE any, -- though I've told I must a few times. LOL!!) Hmmm. A class for cliffhangers? What a tantalizing idea! Instead of "How to Win Friends and Influence People," it would be more like "How to Piss Off Friends and Irritate People." LOL!!

Anonymous0 - Well, Kurama is keeping Kagura quiet so far, but you know what they say about a woman scorned. Heh heh! I'm so glad you asked about the ogre in Koenma's office. She will be mentioned again. ^_^

jen9 - Well, ... yes, Youko IS that conceited that he thinks he will still get Kagome. LOL! And Kikyou really is dead now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

VB - I will never abandon this fic. this baby is all planned out, -- it's just a matter of getting it on paper. Er, -- monitor. ^_^ I am glad you didn't smite me, even though it took so long to get this chapter done.

Yue no Rei - I hope this one was worth the wait, too. Heh heh! I'm glad to know someone actually reads my not-so-little footnotes. Just another example of my rampant case of motormouthism. ^_^ Well, Hiei definitely got a shock, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. His mind was made up and nothing will change it. Now he just has even more reason to try to solve the case quickly. ^_^

Raeko - Heh heh! I am really flattered and pleased that I was able to set up the scene with Kagura going to Kurama so it looked like it was Kagome. It was a dirty trick, I know, but I couldn't resist. ^_^ You'll have to tell me if Kagome's story about what happened is close to what you were thinking. Thanks so much for saying my chapter was right last time! I try to make them fit the action. You're right, -- leaving nasty cliffhangers IS how I roll. But I didn't so it this time. I wanted to, and I guess i could have left off with Genkai's announcement, but ... I thought I'd end it on an upbeat note this time. (It would have been so timely if I could have gotten this up yesterday for Valentine's Day. *sigh* See the big "L" on my forehead?) I love it that you got the warm fuzzies from Hiei's attempt to comfort her in the hallway last time. I really liked that scene, too. ^_^ Thanks for mentioning it! I'll be very interested to see what, if anything, catches your eye this time. This chapter has a different vibe to it. (At least, I hope it does!)

Drachegirl14 - I hope I explained Kagome's reasoning for her bizarre actions sufficiently to keep you from killing her, -- or me. LOL!! She really wasn't trying to hurt Hiei, -- she was trying to save him ... from her. Heh heh!

Sango Tajiya - No nasty cliffy this time. Their relationship is still complicated, but it's getting pretty solid now. Her story is out, at least to Hiei, but it still leaves some questions to be answered. I know there are only about 4 chapters left, but I'm still not ready to show my hand. ^_^ I haven't had my fun with Kurama yet. Heh heh!

halfblackwolfdemon - I loved your advice to Kagome, your bribe for Hiei, and your latest round of "No-no" spankings for Kurama! ^_^ I'm so glad you enjoyed the bits of humor I tried to put in. This chapter is heavy on the drama, too, but there are some positive things happening for Hiei and Kag. The thought of little Hiei demons running around yelling "Death to the humans!" may bring a tear to your eye because it's so touching, but your comments bring a smile to my face. ^_^ I think you'll probably like the ending of this chapter a lot better. ^_^

ebi-chan - Well, I hope this chapter is a "shot in the arm" for you. Heh heh! And I hope you enjoyed the way I laid out Kagome's story. Does it answer some questions for you? Or give you some new ones? Heh heh!

Sabriel8 - Ha! I don't think anyone will complain about another evil cliffy now. (At least, ... not until my NEXT chapter. Heh heh!) What do you think about Kagome's confession? Sorry for the extra-long wait. I'll try to do better next time.

TAJE - I owe you a thousand apologies! I got the alert for your last two chapters, but I told myself I wasn't going to read them until I finished mine. (I almost died when you posted a SECOND one while I was still plowing away on this one.) I thought I could bribe myself, but it didn't work. *sigh* I'm not going to fool myself again, and you deserved to get some feedback on your wonderful story. Well, at least I can FINALLY do that this weekend. But I know as well as anyone that reviews help writers in thousands of ways, not the least of which is encouragement. So, I owe you one. No, TWO!!

Kibble - I'm glad I haven't had a lot of spelling/grammatical errors pop out at you. I would be extremely embarrassed if I did. (I'm a history professor, so I grade research papers for a living. LOL!!) Yet, I know my chapters always have a few boo-boos in them somewhere. I am a unwitting devotee of the dropped word. I proofread my chapters dozens of times before I post, but quite often, I see what I know should be there. I'm so glad that you are enjoying the story, -- especially when you weren't a Hiei/Kag fan. ^_^ I know what you mean about Kagome being powerful, too. I tend to shy away from her being all-powerful, but I do like to see her have control of her powers. In this particular case, I just had to believe she would be significantly more powerful after living for so long. And don't worry: I couldn't kill Hiei! I am a complete diehard fan of the happy ending. ^_^ (And more booty, too. LOL!!)

bloodbunny - Well, no split personality for Kagome. How did you like her confession to Hiei? Does it answer your questions? Tell me what you think. ^_^

beckyducky - Thank you! I like the sound of "master of twists," -- even if I don't deserve it. ^_^ I'm so glad you like this story so much. I just hope I don't ruin it for you.

inuyasha1234 - Aw, I'm sorry you didn't like the negative cliffy at the end of the last chapter. You're right, -- Hiei has been through a lot. Bless his little black heart, -- I do so love to torment him. Heh heh! But, he always ends up with Kagome in my fics. ^_^

Nour-san - I'm so happy to hear from you! Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review! And thanks for all of your kind words. It's really encouraging to hear things like that. ^_^ (The noogies stop now, don't they? Pretty please? I wrote a nice ending for this chapter. ^_^)

BoxingKing - You're right: everything was falling apart for Kagome last time, and this time we find out why. But things are looking up for her now, in spite of the whole Ginjiro issue. I hope this chapter came across all right.

lijakaca - Thanks so very much for taking the time to review! I'm glad you enjoyed "Hentai Bets," -- that was my first attempt at fanfiction, and even though there are a lot of problems with it, I still like it. ^_^ Thanks so much for your kind words. Heh heh! You know, Kagome just HAS to say "Hai!" sometimes during the sex scenes, -- who in their right mind would yell "Iya!" when having sex with Hiei? (That's a definite cultural idiom. ^_^) I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.

Methos - Thanks so much for reviewing! Wow! Two reviews in a row that mention "Hentai Bets." I'm so glad people still read that one, -- I had so much fun writing it! ^_^ And I'm sorry for leaving Hiei crumpled against the wall for so long. Here, I'll dust him off for you and send him out to play with Kagome some more. 'Kay? ^_^

VB - I'll confess, I am looking forward to the coming confrontation between Hiei and Kurama, too. ^_^

SadBrokenWings - Pitiful, aren't I? Well, finally, here it is. ^_^

kokoronagomu - Hey! I know you aren't going to see this, and I've already sent you a reply, but I appreciate you wanting to check this one out anyway. ^_^

Miyoangel13 - I hope your mind is intact. and I hope what I wrote this time didn't drive you crazy, either. ^_^

gg - Sorry for the long wait! Updated! (Oh, crap. Now I need to update again.) ^_^

Youkai Goddess - Nope. I never get sick of hearing from you. ^_^ I know I said it was coming out today, which is now yesterday, I guess, judging by the treacherous little numbers on my clock, but you would not BELIEVE what happened after I emailed you. I don't believe it. *sigh* Nothing bad, -- just irritating and completely time-consuming. good luck with your report!

loopy911 - Yes! I AM going to continue with this story. I won't abandon it, -- it's all planned out, and just 4 chapters to go. ^_^