Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Par Tout Autre Nom ❯ Mirrors of the Soul ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimers: Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho belong respectively to Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi.

A/N: -starts digging a nice deep hole to hide from Kazusa- Good gods, I must be insane to be encouraging her to come after me, but… -shrugs and snickers- Sorry, can't help it. Although, I'm not in a big hurry to get sat on again, you evil evil wench. -flops over and sighs deeply- Ah, I adore you guys so much for being such sweethearts, you know? I've had so much fun getting emails and little IM buddies… LOL, so far it's been an absolute blast and I love hearing all the things you've enjoyed. Now I know that some of you have questions, and I'll try to answer what I can, but I've already said that I won't give away any spoilers. -winks and blows kisses- But enough of me rambling… I know you'd rather read the story after all. ^__~ -crosses fingers and prays she isn't about to be killed-

~*~*~*~

By Any Other Name

~Mirrors of the Soul ~

"But they're my pants!" Shippou whined out petulantly, stuffing his hands down in the pockets of his jeans and hunching his shoulders as he shortened his stride to match Kagome's down the sidewalk. He glanced over mournfully at what used to be his favorite pair of dark cargos, belted tightly to stop them from falling off and legs folded up to keep from tripping her up. "You're ruining them, Nee-san, it's not fair," he pouted and scuffed his foot on the sidewalk when she stopped to check the map again.

"Maybe if someone had checked and noticed that his name was under laundry, I would be wearing my own," Kagome didn't even bother looking up at him as she refolded the hand-written page and slipped it back in her pocket.

"They look terrible on you," he tried again.

"I'll survive being seen in public in your pants, Shippou," she reached back and grabbed his wrist, tugging him along when he balked again.

"They won't be expecting to see a miko show up dressed like a teenager," Shippou stuck out his tongue, grumbling under his breath before he sighed and gave up on the argument to try a different approach. "Appearances, Kagome. Shouldn't you try to be more impressive?"

"Not really," Kagome shrugged it off, and checked the street-signs to make sure she didn't take the wrong turn. "I'm not ever going to be able to be a miko the way I probably should be, so why should I fake it and be uncomfortable? It's not like a hakama is going to make a difference over what I'm capable of doing, and it's silly to pretend it will. For crying out loud, Shippou, I ran around Sengoku Jidai purifying the jewel and youkai, and taking Miroku's lessons just fine wearing a middle-school uniform for a long time."

"But you still stood apart," he pointed out.

"I wasn't trying to fit in, and I sure as hell didn't want everyone knowing instantly that I was a miko," she looked back at him over her shoulder with a faint spark in her eyes that he recognized from the past, the way she would smile at the well after she first decided to stop using it. "There were enough rumors with things the way they were, and it was just easier to do it that way after a while."

Shippou let out a sigh, shaking off her hold and using an awkward hop-skip to move to her side so he could wrap his arm comfortingly around her shoulders before she could really start getting into her quiet contemplation mode, "I just want them to treat you respectfully, Kagome. You make yourself too approachable to strangers."

Kagome rolled her eyes, but slid her arm around his waist and let him set the pace, "You've spent too much time with Sesshoumaru if you think that being approachable is a bad thing."

"Just to strangers," he emphasized with a grin, kissing her cheek and darting out ahead of her, glancing around to make sure they weren't being observed before forming his familiar roller-blades with a faint pop. He folded his arms behind his head and lazy pushed himself along backwards in front of her, "You can look as nice as you want with us. We just don't want someone else to get the idea that you're available."

She couldn't help but laugh at the way he turned up his nose, recalling Sesshoumaru's remarks from the night before about the kitsune's ideas where she was concerned, "You're over-reacting to a simple errand."

"You're just not as on guard as you should be," Shippou scolded. "You're always too mellow and easy after you've been neglecting yourself for that long and Sesshoumaru steps in to take care of you. I remember the lectures he used to give you."

"Relax, Shippou," Kagome reached up and fluffed his illusion-shortened bangs out of his eyes, giggling when he nipped at her hand with a soft mock-growl. "I'm not going to be careless just because I feel better, but I'm also not going to let your paranoia rule where I go and who I talk to. If you all had your way, I would sit in Sesshoumaru's office all day and never see anyone outside the family."

"That's not true!" Shippou protested, but a faint hint of pink was splashed across his cheeks. "You'd go out with us."

It earned him a flick on the nose, "And no one else. Don't think I don't remember how much you all hover if I gave you half a chance."

"You never minded when Miroku hovered," Shippou rubbed his nose and made his voice sound particularly hurt. "He didn't like it when you smiled at every pretty youkai we wandered across either." He leaned in close and whispered quietly, "Especially not when you were round." Bastard humans and their weird obsession with flirting with breeding females…

Kagome burst out laughing and swatted him on the chest, well aware that he was good enough with the skates to barely move under the extra pressure, "Baka, he had a reason to hover, and `especially' then."

"Well so do we," Shippou defended and skated a lazy circle around her when they paused again to wait out more traffic signals, feet positioned out like a dancer to keep him facing her through the entire move. "You need us, and we love you! Doesn't that mean we have the right to keep you to ourselves?"

She slanted him another amused look, shaking her head and sighing as the blink of green indicated it was safe to cross the street out towards the quieter residential areas, "I don't intend to be hoarded away like a dirty little secret, no matter how much safer it would be."

Shippou wrinkled his nose and kicked off lightly to follow her, "Dragons hoard, Nee-san. I'm a kitsune, and we collect. It's much more respectable."

"My mistake," Kagome managed just barely to hold a straight face at the pride that filled his voice and the unconscious lifting of his shoulders that she remembered so well from his much younger days when he was in the mood to preen for her admiration. "At any rate, Shippou, I'm not going to be `collected' away into the house and only leave when Sesshoumaru can clear up his schedule. Can't you imagine how boring that would be?"

"But I'd be there to keep you company," he promised her enthusiastically, pressing his hand to his chest. "I'm not boring!"

"You're not going to win this argument, you know," she informed him through her helpless laughter. "Sesshoumaru and I have had this discussion already, and he knows that I won't settle for that."

"Then can I have my pants back before they crease like that permanently?" he slid around in front of her when they reached the other side of the street, making his eyes as big and liquid as possible and pointing down to the cuffed legs.

"Keep that up and I won't give them back at all," Kagome promised with a sly look that had his shoulders slumping in reluctant submission. She chuckled when he mumbled in assent and folded his hands behind his back, skating in a wider circle until the mild pout passed. He absently hopped up to slide along rails and bounce over the various items littering the walkway to earn a word of praise here and there from his ever-watchful sibling.

Kagome could see how much easier it was for him to relax the farther they got from the more heavily populated areas, the edginess of being surrounded by so many unknown auras and the nearly oppressive feel of the unnatural creations distorting and corrupting even the air. If it was enough to make Kagome feel like she was continuously walking through a haze of filth, she could only imagine what it was like to the much more sensitive youkai. The noise alone-

So harsh you've become to your own kind, miko…

Kagome snapped around in an instant, alert and poised with both hands in a ready position to summon up her energy, eyes flashing as they darted over the oddly empty street to search for the source of that low, chilling whisper still echoing in her ears… in her soul.

That worried her more that she was willing to admit, and with Shippou humming cheerfully as he skated abstract patterns along the sidewalk and street, she wasn't about to let any of her anxiety show on her face. He'd turn her right around and haul her off to Sesshoumaru, just like he'd done when that kitsune had appeared.

Or perhaps not so harsh with what you've now become.

She wasn't aware of her hands moving up into her hair, automatically collecting the heavy mass into a high ponytail and securing it with the simple band that never left her wrist for just such an occurrence. After Sango's repeated lectures on decreasing the ease of someone being able to catch hold of her, it had become second nature to tie it up at the first hint that there may be a battle. And with a voice speaking straight into her mind as though they had every right to be there, as though they knew her intimately…

They cannot possibly satisfy your desires.

Kagome felt her palms warm, forcefully hiding the magic that so badly wanted to offer a more visual warning to the creature that dared to enter into her thoughts without permission. It wasn't enough to prevent the way the air around her went perfectly still, mentally apologizing to Sesshoumaru for breaking her promise as she filtered out everything she could feel surrounding her to find the source.

But… there was nothing.

A low chuckled filled her thoughts, and Kagome's eyes narrowed sharply to cover her shock, What are you?

I'm hurt, Kagome, you don't remember me? the purr came at her ear, snapping her around to stare at the empty road and Shippou up ahead with his back to her. And here we were nearly lovers.

Kagome felt a chill run down her spine, swearing darkly at the perfectly normal feeling around her when there was so very obviously something unnatural trying to find a way into her head, A ghost…

Maybe… but then, are you sure, my beautiful Tama?

The flush of purifying energy swept out against her will at the sound of that sickening nickname, invisible to human eyes, but enough that Shippou turned back in concern and called out in rapid demand, "Kagome?"

Dream of me until we can be together again.

"I'm all right, Shippou," Kagome insisted, clenching her jaw as that whispering presence vanished completely, leaving her skin cold and hypersensitive even as her soul slowly purified it off her skin. "I just had a bad memory is all." That wasn't Naraku… but how did he know-?

"Maybe we should go home," he stopped and skated back to her side, reaching out to press his hand flat against her sternum. "You look too white."

Kagome shook it off and flashed him a smile, "Really, I'm okay. It was only for a moment, and look, back to normal." She held up her hands for inspection, letting his eyes roam over the almost undetectable images ingrained in her skin, "I promise I'm all right to do this, and it's just what I need to get my mind off the past." I am not going to hide just because I heard a voice saying such things, I'm stronger than that now. I just have to find out what I felt…

Shippou continued to look at her suspiciously for a moment, but finally sighed and nodded, holding out his hand, "Which house are we going to?"

Kagome let out a breath she hadn't really been aware of holding, digging in her pocket to pass him the address she'd written down earlier, waiting for him to take it before she started walking and nodded up ahead, "The end of this block. She said it's the house back away from the others and in the trees."

Shippou read the address and froze, eyes widening in alarm, Oh fuck me running…

~*~*~*~

"You ain't old."

Kagome blinked down at the boy who'd opened the door to her knock, bursting out laughing at the way he eyed her with open mistrust after making that confused announcement, "I have to be old?"

"Well yeah!" he shrugged with all the authoritative confidence of a boy his age, folding his arms over his chest and mimicking the stance he'd seen his father take time and time again. "Tou-san said mikos were old and creepy looking, like Genkai-babaa… And why do you have a kid on skates attached to your ass?"

"Kagome, we should go," Shippou tugged more insistently on her belt, ignoring the dry look she sent him over his shoulder at the rather accurate description the child had just given. Pausing to stick out his tongue at the boy he knew was the Urameshis' oldest for his remark, and ignoring the way he puffed up and shook his fist as Shippou tried dragging her backwards off the porch unsuccessfully, "Really, really… we should go before-"

"Ryou!" Keiko's startled voice pulled them away from their staring match and back around to the woman hurrying to the doorway to scoop up the child. "How many times have I told you not to answer the door by yourself?"

"No one was answering when she knocked! They were too busy," Ryou defended, pointing outside at Kagome almost accusingly at being scolded for answering her knock. "You wanted the fake miko to stand out here alone? You tell Tou-san it's bad manners when he does it."

"Fake miko?" Keiko repeated in confusion, looking up at the bright amusement making Kagome's eyes really sparkle.

"I am not old and creepy looking," she recited with perfect seriousness, biting back a giggle when Ryou nodded in sage agreement with her, obviously delighted that this grown-up understood.

"And you have a weird kid hanging onto your ass."

"Urameshi Yuusuke!!" Keiko turned to yell back into the house, her tone heavy with the type of maternal disapproval that even had Shippou cringing back instinctively.

"What? I didn't do anything!" the voice she remembered from the phone preceded the appearance of its owner, his dark brows drawn together in what seemed to be a natural scowl as he leaned out of another doorway inside the house and lounged back on the frame. "What happened?"

"What did I say about cursing around the boys?" she set one hand on her hip, perching Ryou expertly on the other and drumming her fingers as she awaited his response.

Yuusuke blinked and glanced down at his son and back up to Keiko with a sinking sense of realization, "Shi- ah!" he cut himself off in a rush when her eyes narrowed sharply, holding up his hands in self-defense against her temper and looking for a convenient way to redirect her attention.

"Really, Urameshi-san, there are a lot of teenage boys in my family, and I'm used to hearing things like that," Kagome cut in. And much worse, she lifted her hand to hide her smile at the grateful look that came her way from the panicking man, but she couldn't stop it when he pulled back in surprise and blinked.

"You ain't old," Yuusuke unwittingly repeated his son's first observation, more than a little shocked at just how young this girl standing in his doorway appeared. She had just… looked so regal in those robes, like a woman that would make anyone bow down in front of her without a second thought or exertion if that was what she wanted. And here she was on his step in what he would have sworn were boys pants that looked like they would have long ago fallen off without the aid of her belt, hair pulled up high, and one hand stuffed in the front pouch of a plain, hooded sweatshirt. She looked more like a grad student than some sort of shine priestess-

"So I was told," Kagome elbowed Shippou in the stomach when she felt the vibration of a growl start in his chest, smiling when her remark seemed to jolt him out of his silent regard and head off Keiko's vocalization of disapproval.

Keiko glanced back at her, more than a little surprised that a miko was so nonchalant about her husband and son being so disrespectful towards her, but she was genuinely smiling at them. Even more when Ryou snorted and squared his shoulders, "See?"

Yuusuke reached up to rub the back of his neck, cheeks slightly pink at having voicing something that sounded so stupid in front of the girl both Kurama and Hiei had been threatening him to impress not five minutes ago, "I meant… ah…"

"Ignore him please," Keiko insisted, stepping back from the door and backing up to invite Kagome inside. She opened her mouth to speak again when her eyes finally moved past her to the boy half-hunched behind her, watching them with a bit of a dazed expression when where she'd seen his face before, "Oh!"

Yuusuke's eyes narrowed, straightening as he stepped forward to see who had caused that reaction from his wife, "Holy- you!"

"You?" Kagome glanced over her shoulder at Shippou, arching an eyebrow when she noted just how tense the kitsune looked under the attention of the Urameshis. "Shippou, do you know-?"

"Takashima!" Yuusuke pointed at him, forcefully restraining the urge to pounce on him and shake out the answers he wanted. It didn't hurt his efforts that Keiko shot him a furious, quelling look and shifted her weight to stand in between their line of sight, but it didn't stop him from grinding his teeth together hard and internally hissing, Hiei is going to have a fucking fit.

Shippou had instinctively bared his teeth at the way he felt Yuusuke's ki spike, breath punching out if a "whoomph" of surprise when Kagome's elbow came back into his belly in distinct warning to calm down, "I'm sorry, Urameshi-san, I hadn't realized you knew my little brother. He insisted on coming with me to meet with you."

Her brother? What the hell? Kurama said he was a kitsune and she's supposed to be a miko, Yuusuke looked back and forth between the two of them, setting his jaw hard against the urge to demand what was going on for two such natural enemies to be so close to each other.

"I took a picture for them," Shippou murmured softly to Kagome in explanation when he realized he was still getting a look from the miko.

Kagome rolled her eyes and looked back at Keiko's curious expression, subtly feeling out the man watching them with an intensity that set off all sorts of bells and whistles in her mind, A fighter… this man is a person who knows how to hunt the way we do. "I had no idea, but I'm sorry I forgot to mention I was bringing a guest. We can come back-"

"No, no, it's all right!" Yuusuke interrupted before Keiko could respond, walking towards them to grip the shoji and pull it open wider. "Please come in, Higurashi, we've been looking forward to your visit."

Kagome smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, stepping inside as she bent down to untie her shoes and step out of them with her mind already racing, Sesshoumaru already knows of this family, but why didn't he tell me about them? Shippou's attempts to redirect her away from the house were making sense now, and she sent him another look over her shoulder promising a very long talk once they got home to sort out this unexpected mess.

Shippou nodded tensely, alert and wary as he fanned out his senses to search for the two youkai he knew were hanging around the Urameshi family, even though Kagome would have a better feel for any watchful eyes. If her focus had been narrowed inward on specifically reading auras, she wouldn't think twice about a few youkai tweaking at the back of her mind unless they were threatening. A few silent watchers could easily skate under the "radar" as it were.

Inwardly he was kicking himself for failing to ask for the names of the children she intended to read, but at the same time wondering how Sesshoumaru could have possibly failed to get that information himself, He must be a lot more worried about that news he got from Inuyasha than he's letting on if he missed this. He looked down at her again and winced, Then again… he's still going to take this out on me.

Yuusuke noticed the unease passing across the kitsune's face as he stepped out of his own shoes, hovering over the miko protectively and looking around as he obviously started to search for something, Probably looking for Kurama and Hiei.

"I can't tell you how glad I am that you offered to come and meet our sons, Kagome-sama," Keiko smiled warmly as she set Ryou on his feet when Kagome stood and took the step up onto the main floor of the house.

"Oh please, don't be so formal," Kagome made a motion with her hand, already looking around and letting her soul sweep out to feel for the pulse of their home, the auras and signatures that blended together into their own unique mix. "I told you, Urameshi-san, I'm not a very good miko, but I'll do what I can to tell you what kind of energy your boys have inside them."

"Oi, you some kinda doctor?" Ryou piped up, pressing into his mother's legs in distaste at the idea of this girl giving him some weird examination. Even if she wasn't old and creepy looking, it wasn't any reason to be willingly poked at, "I ain't sick."

Kagome crouched down in front of him slowly, balancing lightly on the balls of her feet with the ease of long practice as she got eye to eye with the curious boy, "Don't worry, I'm not a doctor. But I bet you've had enough of those, haven't you?" She tilted her head and reached out to run her fingers through his hair the same way she'd done to her own children in the past, eyes filled with understanding when a faint hum of youki sparked along her senses, They aren't completely human, and taking them to regular doctors if they have youkai blood inside them wouldn't be productive… Damn, why haven't they been re-directed to the right people?

Ryou rolled his eyes and nodded, standing uncommonly passive under her touch, but something about it relaxed him, "Too much! Maybe you'll be okay since you know what I mean."

"I imagine your father does too," Kagome glanced up at Yuusuke when she made that cryptic remark, rising to her feet and ignoring the surprised looks on their faces. "You said you have another son?"

Keiko shared a look with her husband, suddenly not too certain this miko wasn't as bad as she claimed to be if she could tell so quickly that it was his influence that made their boys different, "My youngest, Toushi."

"Don't bother, he's just a baby," Ryou scoffed. "I'm a lot more interesting."

"Ryou, don't be rude to your brother," Keiko automatically scolded, clearing her throat as she shook off the odd feelings to lead Kagome back towards the kitchen with her son's help. Taking advantage of that, she grabbed onto Yuusuke's arm and hauling him with her to hiss out, "Yuusuke, you want to tell me what's going on?"

"If I knew I would tell you," he assured her in a quick whisper, glancing back to see the kitsune dip down to put his lips at Kagome's ear to have a few private words. Shit… I got a bad feeling about this all of a sudden. Something big is gonna happen.

"I'm guessing Sesshoumaru already knows of the Urameshi family then?" Kagome folded her arms and muttered back to him, keeping her eyes trained forward as they followed slowly enough not to be overheard.

Shippou nodded rapidly, "It's not safe here, Kagome. Really, we should get out of here. Those youkai-"

"The only thing I'm feeling is trace bits from these boys and more from Yuusuke, Shippou, and it's hardly enough to be concerned with," she cut him off impatiently, frowning in irritation as her thoughts went back to the potential threat of curious doctors. "Why is he allowing them to be seen by someone outside the family who could draw the wrong attention to their blood?"

"You'd have to ask him," Shippou chewed on his lip, wracking his brain for the best way to convince her to cut this short. "Kagome, you've felt them, can we go?"

"I looked at Ryou, Shippou, and I promised to read their auras," she frowned at him. "I'm not going to go back on that just because you're fidgety and didn't tell me about them. Did you know about that kitsune too?"

"I only took a couple pictures-" he started to protest, but Kagome shook her head and cut him off.

"We'll talk when we get home, Shippou," Kagome promised him. "I don't like the idea of you two talking about this behind my back when I'm involved, but I'm not going to talk about this somewhere public."

"We were trying to keep you uninvolved," he pouted, but fell silent and trailed along behind her, keeping himself alert in case the absent youkai decided to make an appearance. He might not be able to get Kagome out of the house until she decided she was finished, but maybe he could distract them and keep them away from her if they tried to come back before they were done.

Kagome shook her head, muttering a few choice remarks under her breath at the arrogance of certain men, and making a mental note to give Sesshoumaru a piece of her mind to tell her to steer clear of a kitsune he claimed to know nothing about, Well…that's not exactly right, he didn't say "nothing." He did just say he didn't know him through introduction. Dammit, he takes way too much leeway with twisting his words around.

The moment she set foot in the kitchen, however, that train of thought went out the window and Kagome found herself looking around in mild surprise at the drop-cloths taped up on the walls and the plaster dust stubbornly clinging to the tile floor, "Are you remodeling, Urameshi-san?"

"Keiko is fine, Kagome-sama," Keiko hurried to assure her, determined now to get into a more casual relationship with this miko. "And… I suppose you could say that. Yuusuke and his… friends decided they didn't like the way the walls looked in the kitchen."

Yuusuke had the grace to look abashed at that, stuffing his hands down in his pockets and hunching up his shoulders in a way that had a hint of nostalgia going through Kagome, "I said I was sorry, Keiko."

"Next time ask me or take it outside," she turned up her nose, coming around to the other side of the table where another boy was looking up Kagome and Shippou curiously. "And this is Toushi."

"Your skin looks funny."

Shippou's spine went rigid, Keiko rushing to scold him in absolute mortification when Kagome waved her hands quickly to stop her, reaching back to give Shippou a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry, please, Keiko-san, I'm not going to get offended so easily for him just being honest."

Toushi blinked and tilted his head, glancing around at the adults and dropping his eyes back down to the empty plate in front of him uncomfortably when he realized he was the one who'd caused the discomfort. He picked up his chopsticks again, drawing mindless patterns on the plate and muttering defiantly, "Well it does."

These children are definitely seeing more than they know they can see. "Ah, Keiko-san, Urameshi-san," Kagome glanced up at both of them, unaware of the way she widened her stance and clasped her hands behind her in what Shippou had deemed her "instructor" pose. "Maybe it would be best if I did this alone."

"Alone?" Yuusuke frowned.

"It's easier if we don't have distractions," Shippou stepped in to offer that explanation.

"You too, Shippou," Kagome tossed over her shoulder when she sensed the smirk on his face. "I don't need your distractions either."

His face fell, "But-!"

"You're going to argue with me in public?" she dropped her voice to a whisper and turned back to the couple, not doubting in the slightest that those words alone would be enough to get Shippou's obedience to appeal to his pride. "If we could go outside, and you can watch from in here if you'd like, but… your auras overlap and make it harder to separate."

"Liar," Shippou muttered under his breath.

She discreetly stepped on his foot, her smile never wavering, "It's nothing invasive, I promise, and children don't have the same inhibitions as adults so it's much easier to get a feel for how sensitive they are."

Shippou suddenly glared outside when he caught a shuffling sound from the woods outside, eyes narrowed through the window to search for anything out of the ordinary while Kagome was looking over the two boys carefully. He reached forward and pressed his hand to the small of her back to open a connection, Kagome-

Just woods, Shippou, animals do still live in them, you know. There's no more youki out there than there is in here, she assured him quickly.

That's not really settling my mind, he informed her with a frown, vaguely hearing the boys assure their parents that playing with the fake miko in the backyard wouldn't be anything to worry about. There's plenty of youki distorting the air here to need to be more careful.

I'll be done soon, you twitchy brat, her "voice" was full of exasperation, but he still felt the curl of warmth pour through him as she used her focus to sooth him on a deeper level. Calm down, Shippou, I promised Sesshoumaru I wouldn't put myself in danger and I won't, all right? Just because you took some pictures and they recognize you, it doesn't mean they're going to hit me over the head and hold me captive or anything. Okay?

He shifted from foot to foot, sighing and giving her a single nod before breaking contact and stepping back to show he was willing to let her go out, "I guess I can entertain myself."

"C'mon, fake miko lady," Ryou caught his father's own nod of assent and darted forward to grab onto her hand, bored to death at just standing around with the tense vibes being tossed back and forth and guessing from the way she kept frowning at the boy she'd brought with her, that she was too. "Toushi and I can show you where Takeharuka-sama comes by to wave to us."

Kagome's brows lifted, but she let herself be dragged back the surprised Urameshis and out the back door with Toushi rushing along behind them, calling out to wait, Sesshoumaru… waves…?

Shippou winced slightly at that, knowing that now he was going to hear it even worse, but covered it up with a sigh and moved to lean against the window, "My sister will not take up your time for long, I promise. We'll be gone before you know it."

No doubt, Yuusuke eyed the tense line of his jaw, moving down to where his hands were opening and closing in silent frustration. She must not have told him she was coming here… And he wants to get her out of here before Kurama and Hiei "come back," he smirked at the realization, shaking his head as he realized just how good the plan his friends had come up with was. Glancing past the kitsune and out to the yard where his sons had all but tackled the miko, laughing slightly at the ease she displayed rough-housing with his boys, "She's good with his kids. My boys don't usually warm up so fast."

"Kagome has a gift for making the most difficult people behave affectionately," Shippou raked a hand through his hair, speaking absently as his eyes stayed ever-alert over the foliage for signs that the other kitsune was close by. "She's a very comforting person to be close with."

Yuusuke's eyebrow kicked up at the warmth in his tone, more confused than ever but stubbornly holding it back as he watched the way the boy would twitch and shift whenever anything outside moved in the slightest. For a moment he debated calling him on the obvious edginess, but he let it slide in hopes of getting him preoccupied enough to make another mistake, "Your sister doesn't look old enough to be the miko of a temple."

"She's a lot older than she looks," Shippou grinned absently when he saw them snap to attention in front of her like little soldiers before they both began to nod and formed their hands to mimic a gun. "But she's never liked to be up where no one can reach her. She likes to play with us, and I think it keeps her young."

Yuusuke looked out over his shoulder and nearly fell over when he saw what his sons were doing, eyes wide and making a choked sound of alarm, Ah, shit! I forgot to tell them to tone it down for the miko!

But before he could do anything, Shippou suddenly pushed away from the window, twisting around to scowl over his shoulder back towards the front of the house when he felt the glimmer of an out-of-place youki slip around the edge of his own range. The corner of his lip curled up in reflex, casting one more quick look at Kagome to take in her closed eyes and the taut line of her back that indicated she wasn't likely to be bothering with the intrusion.

"I'm terribly sorry, Urameshi, but something has come up unexpectedly," Shippou slanted him a look, letting his eyes flash in warning to show he was everything Yuusuke suspected. "When my sister is finished, tell her to go straight home. She'll know why."

Yuusuke opened his mouth, expression tense when Shippou stalked out of the kitchen rapidly, the sound of the door being slammed indicating just how quickly the kitsune had left. Keiko turned to stare questioningly at him in the following silence, just starting to ask the question when he muttered out in a frustrated tone, "Hiei."