Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Par Tout Autre Nom ❯ Leaps and Bounds ( Chapter 41 )

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

A/N: -gasp choke- The curse! -wheeeze- The curse of 41! -pant straggle cough- It's got me! It's-! -bursts into giggles- Okay, I just can't hold that any longer. (Sorry, Gravidy, hon, but you knew I wouldn't be able to resist once you said that. -sits down with a sigh- Now, I know this has taken a bit, but I took a mini snowboarding trip and ended up going down at a bad angle and doing interesting things to my arm. Sooo… typing has been slower, but at least I have all those secretarial years behind me of the "one hand on phone and other on keys."

That said… into love-love~! As ever, my lovely junkies, buddies, reviewers, readers… you guys are completely uber. (Hee hee… I even bugged poor Belle and had much fun doing it. XD) So much speculation again. -taps finger to lips- Well, well… granted I'm not going to tell any of you if you're right or not, but it's fabulous reading all the ideas. I love hearing what grabbed you and even just what you were thinking for the chapter while you were reading. -grins- It makes my day so much more enjoyable, and I really, truly adore you all. -blows kisses- But let's get on with it, shall we?

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By Any Other Name

~Leaps and Bounds~

"This isn't fair!" Koenma slapped his hands against his desk, ignoring the Botan's concerned attempts to settle the prince's tantrum in front of the unaffected gods standing between him and his former detectives. "You knew this was going to happen, that's why you made me bring them in when you did, and tricked me into not being able to ask them what happened down there!"

Miroku's expression was a perfect study of innocence as he regarded the shaking finger now pointing at his face, tilting his head to the side and holding up one hand in a calming motion, "Now, now Koenma-sama, you wouldn't possibly be suggesting that there was any way for my wife and I to know my detectives would be entering a volatile situation so soon after their employment was transferred to us, would you?"

`Have I mentioned how much I enjoy spending time in the presence of this particular god?' Youko drawled out in a decidedly calmer tone of voice than he'd been gracing Kurama with for the past two days, willing to settle down temporarily with the promise of viewing another showdown between Reikai's higher powers. `Especially when Koenma's humiliation and inconveniencing are involved.'

Kurama made a noncommittal sound, busy basking in the peace of relative silence in his own head and arms loosely folded over his chest with his eyes reflecting the warmth of their amusement the longer the monk played buffer against Koenma's railings. Inwardly frowning at the new pitch the demi-god's voice seemed to reach with his continued denial of the information he wanted.

Sighing at the unimaginative argument, he let his eyes slant over to Hiei's bored expression as he answered Youko's insistent poking, You have made it adequately clear that you find Houshi-sama to be an acceptable distraction. When you aren't whining and hissing at me about being an "undersexed prude" for not agreeing that it would be a good idea to make an attempt to sneak into Kagome's bedroom every time the sun goes down, of course.

`You know she had to be home,' Youko inserted just enough whine into his voice to make Kurama's eyebrow twitch, smirking in victory at the curses his other half sent his way at the irritating tone before giving the impression he was ignoring him again. `This two day thing is complete bullshit. I want to see her, Kurama; it's my right! I need to touch her and make sure she wasn't really hurt by what happened. Doesn't it feel like forever since we last held her? Tasted her?'

Kurama caught himself before he absently agreed, sending a dark scowl at the kitsune pretending to be innocently engrossed in the dramatic antics playing out in front of them the moment he had his counterpart's full attention, Nice try.

Youko let out a snort of disgust, settling back to pout, `Hell, I have to try something. With Hiei being all weird and quiet, and you refusing to do what we should be doing to take care of our lover, I'm bored to tears.'

Kurama almost shook his head in resignation when Youko made a few more crass remarks about Hiei and flopped back, Technically we did break the rules of our agreement with Sesshoumaru by trespassing on his lands the way we did. But if he is willing to overlook that I'm not going to tempt fate by making a move when he has told us he doesn't intend to punish us with anything more than a minor separation.

`Any separation is unacceptable.'

Two days in comparison to the entire life of her soul, Youko, Kurama scolded softly, clenching his hands where the others couldn't see his agitation. Besides, we aren't the only ones who are feeling this way. Kagome has been without us as well.

Youko blinked, his annoyed twitching stopping as though it had never been when he processed that particular thought. A slow, hungry grin started to spread across his lips, eyes gleaming as he blew out a deceptively lazy sigh and trailed a light caress down their spine, `Ah… I see where you are taking this line of thinking. We will see how much she has missed our presence in Sesshoumaru's hasty action.'

Kurama noticed the way Hiei's eyes slanted towards him, confused by the slight frown tugging at the hybrid's mouth, Sesshoumaru is not the type of creature to give commands in haste, Fox.

Youko's brows lifted in surprise at the uncharacteristic defense, sitting up more alertly and narrowing their own attention to Hiei in uncertainty when he seemed to dismiss them after giving that opinion, `That's not the first time he's defended that fucking dog to us, Kurama. Why hasn't this gone away? He still has that goddamn look.'

Which one would that be? he sighed and resisted the urge to massage his temples in case the hint of a throb turned into a full-blown headache.

`Don't be dense, you know it bothers me,' Youko huffed. `That look, like he just had amazing sex for the first time in his irritating life. Kick him.'

Hiei rolled his eyes.

`Preferably somewhere that will cause a great deal of pain and suffering,' he clarified when caught that.

I'm sure Kagome won't mind if I tell her you're indisposed and can't see her for another month, Hiei's face took on such an expression of sadistic delight for a split second that Kurama leaned back, his arms falling to his sides in shock even as the look returned to easy boredom.

`Don't even joke about that, you little bastard,' Youko growled low in his throat, eyes flashing at the very thought the hybrid would try something like that. `If you so much as open your mouth in her direction with the intention to say those words-'

Hiei snorted, shifting his weight just enough to open his stance to something more defensive, Are you really going to threaten me when you don't know where Shinju's temple is, Kurama?

Youko's displeasure intensified and Kurama let out a sigh as he focused more energy on soothing the kitsune's emotions, Easy, Youko, he's just saying it to piss us off. He doesn't have any control over our contact with Kagome, and we're going straight to the temple as soon as Houshi-sama gives us our dismissal from this.

`I still don't see why we're here at all,' Youko shot one last threatening scowl at Hiei and ignored the two-word response. `Houshi-sama has this under control, and it's already the afternoon. I want to get to her before she has lunch.'

She may not have time to entertain your scheming today, Hiei cut in again, his voice taking on a vague note that had Kurama grinding his teeth together in frustration. Kagome has a prior engagement.

How would you know that, Hiei? Kurama's eyes narrowed fractionally, slanting to the almost distant expression on the hybrid's face. We haven't been allowed contact since I dragged your ass out of Makai.

I never said I had contacted them, Hiei shrugged. But Sesshoumaru insinuated she would be busy when we visited, so I'm warning you not to get your hopes up. I don't want to have to listen to you pouting all night.

`She'll have time for us,' Youko insisted, folding his arms and turning up his nose against the mere suggestion of another possibility.

"You know the rules, Koenma," Sango's short bark dragged them back into the conversation to see her grab his wrist and apply enough pressure to get him cutting off mid-rant with a yelp of discomfort. "You can make all the accusations you want, but under the current agreement, you have no rights to any information our detectives have collected. Dragging us away from our prior engagements for this kind of idiocy is not winning you any points from myself or my husband."

"But-!"

"Do you want to re-grow your form that badly after all?" Sango's voice lowered to a truly ominous pitch that had the temporary ruler blanching and cringing back away from her. "Just keep speaking, Koenma, I can make it happen."

Miroku smiled peacefully and slid his hand down over the curve of her backside, "Calm down, my lovely Sango, I'm quite certain that he does not mean to insult us in such a way, do you, Koenma-sama?"

Kurama couldn't help by smile faintly, wondering just what kind of look the god was giving their former boss to get such a look of stark fear filling his eyes as Sango released the captive wrist in favor of smacking her husband over the head for the blatant groping, They are very clever together, aren't they?

A relationship to be envied, Hiei dipped his chin ever-so-slightly in agreement, drawing their curious gaze yet again at the oddly pensive note to his voice.

Youko twined his arms around their soul, whispering softly to avoid detection from the seemingly hypersensitive youkai, `This is starting to become disturbing. Since when has Hiei ever shown the slightest hint of anything but indifference towards a romantic-type relationship? Even if it is between two gods who could probably teach us a few new ways to maim and decimate our opponents.'

Apparently since that day, Kurama ground his teeth together in frustration, soothing himself by carefully gliding his fingers over the dormant vine he'd been steadily feeding his youki into for the past two days. Whatever happened to him while we were stuck fighting Shippou and those human boys.

`He's always broken down and told us before long when he has secrets,' Youko ran his tongue over his teeth in a mildly nervous gesture, a show of turning his thoughts over a particularly stubborn puzzle. Snorting in irritation, he flopped back, determinedly putting it aside to mull over subconsciously while paying more attention to Koenma's growing discomfort, `He can't keep it from us forever, and I'll be ready when he slips up and shows us what changed in his pointy little head. In the meantime, help me think up a good trick to get him back for that threat about our lover.'

It was difficult to suppress his urge to sigh, but Kurama managed to bite it back before it became obvious, half-heartedly scolding Youko for his childish temper, Is that really necessary? We're going to see her shortly, and I'd rather not delay that by wasting energy for the sole purpose of pissing off Hiei.

`Coward.'

"This is ridiculous," Sango made an expansive gesture around the chamber with one hand, her already strained temper drawing sparks of dark energy up around her torso in sporadic bursts. "You know the rules, and you know that Houshi-sama and I are very busy, but you're still pulling us away from our important duties to behave in such a spoiled fashion? If you had wanted to keep your rights to these detectives, or to your precious investigation, Koenma, you should have paid more attention to the agreements you were signing. Now… are you quite finished? Or do I need to convince you a little more."

Koenma's indecision showed clearly on his face as he looked from the detectives to the impassive Houshi-sama and the more daunting threat in Sango's eyes, "I-I… But, I-?"

"Don't you have paperwork to do?" her knuckles cracked and Yuusuke lifted a hand to cover his snicker at her behavior, even more at the way the prince was trying to back away from her. "Or have you really caught up from that mess you tried to convince us to help you with?"

Four pairs of eyes turned on the squirming caretaker, varying from amused to openly suspicious, but none of them opened their mouth to offer any assistance as they waited patiently for more information. Koenma set his jaw, tilting it up as he shifted the pacifier from one side of his mouth to the other, "You're- you are known for having a way with files, Houshi-sama."

"I do try," he dipped his head to acknowledge the compliment. "Yet if you continue this disrespectful trend, I may fall behind in my own paperwork, and then I may have to seek out new methods of relieving my stress."

"The rules are simple, Koenma," Sango flicked a hand out behind her to open the door with a resounding bang. "We have no more time to waste on this matter when nothing you say will change our answer. Stop bothering our detectives or we will run out of patience and chastise you more seriously than I intend to do now."

Miroku turned around with a calm smile, gesturing for the four men staring at him inquiringly to precede him out of the office, "My beautiful wife will handle the rest of this meeting, if you would-?"

Youko grinned coldly from inside the safety of their head when those violet eyes lingered on him the longest, sparking with a myriad of carefully guarded emotions underneath the usual amusement, `Damn, just when it was about to get good.'

Hiei scoffed at that, turning on his heel and calmly exiting as the others seemed to snap out of their indecision at his move and follow suit, Make up your mind, Fox, just a moment ago you were complaining that we were having that meeting at all, and now you complain because it's over?

`You know whatever she's about to do is going to be good, and they all openly admit she was a taijiya in her lifetime. Those skills have to be even better now after so many centuries,' Youko defended in a lofty tone, slowing Kurama's footsteps as he exerted his influence to get their eyes flashing gold in silent displeasure under Miroku's "herding."

I doubt this will be our last chance to view Sango-sama's skills, Kurama regained control with a warning to behave to his antsy other half, smoothing a hand down the front of his shirt to cover the internal struggle. If you stop dragging your feet we might be able to catch the end of classes.

Youko immediately redirected and perked up at the suggestion, `Ooh! Yes, hurry up then! Let's go watch our lover teaching youkai children how to fight, it'll give us a good idea of how difficult it will be to convince her she wants to have ours.'

Hiei snorted and shook his head, tossing a particularly dry look over his shoulder at him, It's almost disturbing how obsessed you are with Kagome and making sure she's the one crazy enough to breed with you.

`You said yourself that she was the one human female who could possibly be a mother to my children effectively,' Youko snapped back.

I said she would retain her sanity and control your inherent psychosis, Hiei corrected with a subtle flick of his hand. If you are going to throw my words back at me, have the sense to quote me properly or I may begin to think you are becoming senile in your advanced years.

`Oh, I'll show his ass senile,' Youko drawled out in a low growl, gathering his ki to take over and advance on the amused hybrid when a restraining hand came down on his shoulder and sucked the energy away.

"A moment of your time, Youko Kurama?" Miroku's voice really left no room for a denial despite the wording, but the upraised hand bringing Hiei and the two uncharacteristically quiet detectives to a halt effectively stopped his forming protest at the delay.

Still, he couldn't resist heaving a mock sigh and murmuring, "I don't suppose you would accept my apologies for poor timing and let me leave without seeing you privately?"

Miroku's smile never changed, but the look in his eyes shifted to something Kurama knew very well as the deity leaned forward and whispered, "I leave the choice as to whether you would like to retain an illusion of control in front of your colleagues to you. Besides… I'm sure that clever brain of yours already has an idea of what topic I wish to discuss with you."

"My Kagome," Kurama was already turning as he whispered back, not even needing Youko's promptings to do so under the sudden wash of possessiveness filling their soul.

Amusement lit in those violet eyes as he turned his back and started to walk away, lifting his hand in an imperious summons to show he wanted to be followed. Miroku waited until they were an acceptable distance from the others, hidden by more of those strange "walls" before coming to a stop and sliding his hands into the sleeves of his robes, "You have already decided?"

Youko was instantly wary of the tone, eyes narrowed as Kurama absently brought his hand across his chest to cup his shoulder, a habit whenever danger could present itself at any second, "Are you going to try and stop me?"

Miroku slanted him a grave look over his shoulder, chuckling softly when he saw the confusion chase across those green-gold eyes, "Calm yourself, if I was intending to interfere, I had a million chances to do so before now. You would never have seen her standing in the doorway, or across the street from you with her brother."

Kurama sucked in a slight breath, stiffening under the subtle implications coloring those words, Is he-? Is he suggesting-?

`He guided us to her?' Youko breathed out in awe, sitting back inside their body as one brow kicked up in suspicion. `Dammit all, I can't tell if he's fucking with us or if he really is telling the truth.'

"But… then I would have had to wait so much longer to see that smile," Miroku's gaze turned introspective, resting two fingers on his lips as they curved upwards in tender remembrance. "And I do so love to see her smiling face, Youko Kurama, never doubt that. I would lay a thousand kitsune at her doorstep if I knew it would make her happy without me."

`He admitted it!' Youko crowed out in victory, very nearly springing forward to tackle the monk before Kurama caught him and held him in check. `You heard it! We were right, she's the reincarnated second wife, and he- Oh HELL no, tell him he's not doing any more "guiding" involving our lover! She's mine now, I saw her first-!'

Miroku started to chuckle, surprising him out of his rant as he turned around to stare at Kurama directly, "Your eyes are turning red the longer you speak to yourself, but then… I knew you would take offense to hearing I was capable and willing to offer her others."

"She has me now, she won't be seeing anyone else," Kurama's eyes narrowed, mingling with Youko as their consciousness merged under their agreement regarding this particular topic. "And if you send others to try and take her away from me, I'll kill them."

"Ah, then you have decided to stake your claim seriously," his brows lifted, forming his expression into curious surprise, if one ignored the knowing arrogance lighting those eyes. "How very troublesome."

"If you did what you're hinting you did, then you practically gave her to me," Kurama resisted the urge to look over his shoulder, not wanting to clue Hiei in to the conversation's severity. "You don't have any right to complain about my behavior after all this time. You're a deity, you obviously knew I would want her and be good to her, or you wouldn't have led me her direction."

"Is that what you think?" Miroku's lips curved again, teeth flashing in an oddly chilling way as he took a step closer to Kurama. "I may have turned your eyes to show her to you, but you think… that she is yours to take? To win?"

`What the hell?' Youko's brows furrowed slightly. `Shippou… Shippou said something to us similar to this right after the meeting with Sesshoumaru, remember?'

I remember, Kurama tilted his head, forcing himself to remain perfectly still under the monk's searching look. There's something here we're missing. Something important-

Miroku chuckled and leaned back, eyes narrowed and flashing brightly for a split second before his face settled back into his perfectly stoic expression, "I see. Even after all this you are still denying it to yourself? Perhaps you were not the right choice after all."

Kurama nearly saw red, lashing out before he'd realized he'd moved to slam his palm flat against the wall beside Miroku's head and hold those unperturbed eyes within his own deadly serious glare, "I will not give her away to another, not even at the whim of a god."

"Is that so?" Miroku's brows lifted in polite curiosity, inwardly snickering when he saw the muscle in the kitsune's jaw twitch and spasm. "And would you fight me for it? Knowing you would possibly lose your soul?"

`He's testing us.'

"I would fight you and survive," Kurama assured him in a low growl, not bothering to acknowledge Youko's observation before they blended together again. "Stop posturing at me, Houshi, I get enough of it from the youkai surrounding her."

Miroku nodded in agreement to that, making a sound of contemplation as he tapped a finger to his lips and murmured, "Indeed, indeed… for a time I wondered if perhaps her new partner could be found among them. But that was before I found your soul. Very clever, by the way, escaping and creating your avatar aspect."

"I won't be talked in a circle or turned by pretty words, Houshi," his eyes narrowed as the touch of that disorienting aura started to tug across his senses. "You told us once that you were a jealous man, but I can promise you that your worst memory of what you wished you could do to anyone who touched your wives inappropriately will look like the most gentle of affection compared to what I will do to anyone you send after my Kagome."

Miroku stared silently into his eyes for a long moment, unaware of how similar their expressions became the longer they clashed wills until he sighed and turned to look off at something only he could see, "It will remain a mystery to me as to how Kagome manages to stand prolonged exposure to the intensity you kitsune seem to exude without damaging her mental state."

Kurama snorted, but he could feel his lips twitch upwards slightly at the roundabout acquiescence to his claims on the miko, "I was good enough for you to select."

"You were good enough for me to bring into her life, Youko Kurama," Miroku glanced back to correct him softly. "Everything beyond that is left to her decision and your actions. But I like you, and so far you have proven that my judge of character has not degenerated over these many centuries."

Kurama blinked, his hand falling back down to his side in surprise as he stared at the smirking deity in rather dumbfounded fascination, He likes us?

"Trust a kitsune to know when a woman is in need of someone to play with, someone who can erase the shadows of sorrow from her lovely eyes," he winked, sidestepping around Kurama to start walking back the way they had come. "Kagome has not had an easy life, not in the past and not now, but I have the power to help her the way I could not before. And if you make her happy, I will count you among my allies."

`Sonofabitch-' Youko's eyes widened, opening his mouth to speak in response to the incredible distinction when Miroku turned a decidedly evil look at them over his shoulder.

"However… if you ever hurt my beautiful wife, Youko Kurama, you can be most certain that you will wish you had never escaped Death the first time," Miroku lifted his hand, letting the black energy crackle and curl up into his palm ominously. "Am I understood?"

Oh yes, Houshi-sama, I understand you now, Kurama's eyes flashed, a smile slowly turning up his lips as he nodded in satisfaction, "Perfectly."

Miroku closed his eyes and returned the gesture, making a casual motion with his hand to dissolve the gathered energy and indicate Kurama was being dismissed, "You will protect her, and you will come to understand that her love for her family does not diminish her capacity to love a husband with her entire soul."

Kurama nodded slowly to show he understood, clenching his jaw when Youko cocked his head to one side and started to grin, `He's telling us not to make her choose between them and us, the way to make her ours body and soul. He wants us to know what we need to win her for ourselves.'

"And a note of advice-"

Kurama could feel his eyebrows lift in absolute shock at the offering, subconsciously leaning forward in his eagerness to hear what he had to say after everything the deity had already revealed, "Yes?"

"If you ever see Kagome with a sword in her hand," Miroku trailed off, his lips quirking up at some private entertainment before he shook it off and pinned the kitsune with a serious look, "get her out of the fight."

`What?'

"I'm sorry?" Kurama vocalized their instant confusion.

Miroku chuckled, folding his hands back up into the sleeves of his robes as he turned to face away from him again, "You heard me. Kagome has never had the- the heart of a swordsman. Her skills in that aspect of her training have remained a running joke within the family since our first gloriously failed attempts to teach her how to use one."

Youko snickered to himself, an odd curl of affection escaping him to wind through Kurama at the thought of such a flaw even as he felt the kitsune murmur through him, "No one is perfect."

That's a new stand coming from you, Kurama accused him.

`What? I happen to think it's cute that she has such obvious power with her arrows but can't use a sword,' Youko turned up his nose. `Besides, no one can be a master in all things, and that only means she knows that she needs to keep us close to protect her.'

They could hear the smile in Miroku's voice as he nodded and replied to Youko's vocalization, "Her strength in close battles lies in her defense. If you wish to see her openly assist you in a dangerous situation, give her room to use her arrows."

Kurama nodded, his eyes taking on a more calculating gleam as he regarded the deity in front of him and finally asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

Miroku sighed and shook his head, "Because there is always a possibility that one will have to fight to protect and keep the woman they truly care about, and I want you, Youko Kurama, to be prepared when that time comes."

He wants us to be prepared to defend her…He wants us to succeed with making her ours, Kurama's chin kicked up at a haughty angle, smirking at having such direct approval from the ascended form of the monk who'd won her in their former lives. No matter what the youkai around her said to him now, this god, the one who'd had her before any of them was giving him his blessing. A god's blessing-

`Well don't just stand there like a twit then, let's get moving,' Youko chuckled richly in his delight and gave Kurama a hard shove. `You're wasting time standing here like a schoolboy soaking in his praise when we could be convincing our lover to adore us. Besides, I don't trust what Shippou and those boys will try and say to her about us if we are tardy.'

Kurama rolled his eyes, but started back towards his companions, shaking his head at their questioning looks to show them that he was intending to be secretive as Miroku leaned back in the shadows and watched them open the portal back to the Ningenkai. He folded his arms over his chest and grinned widely, not at all surprised to feel the sudden smack against the back of his head that nearly sprawled him out, "Ow."

"You're a terrible man, Houshi-sama," Sango set her hands on her hips and frowned at him. "Now he thinks he's holding some great secret over Kagome about meeting with you and hearing all of these things. And you're only encouraging him to believe it's true."

"It's entertaining to me," Miroku protested in a whine, rubbing the back of his head. "You have to admit that it's fun to watch them muddle through our history while we keep rearranging the pieces. It's like we left a mystery novel and they're reading it, but we're outsmarting them whenever they think they're close to solving the puzzle."

"Kagome would beat you if she knew how you were behaving," she muttered a few words under her breath about the intelligence of certain gods, turning her frown at the beautiful man casting one back look to where Miroku had last stood before passing through after his friends. "And are you sure about this kitsune? He's not evil? He seems a little too selfish to be right for her to me."

"Trust me, my lovely Sango, he will be just what she needs in her life," Miroku reached over and patted her hands reassuringly. "Look at how quickly he figured out that she needed someone who would temper the seriousness she gained, and that she liked sunrises! I didn't even have to help him with that."

Sango sighed heavily, pursing her lips as she stared at the closing portal, "I suppose."

He chuckled and slid his arms around her waist, gently pulling her up against his chest and whispering in her ear, "We are the ones who are being too selfish, Sango, in thinking no other could be good enough for her. She is alive when we are not… it isn't fair of us to try and hold all of her soul to our marriage vows when our bodies are dust and our souls ascended beyond her reach. Trust me in this, I am thinking of Kagome's heart."

"But he doesn't love her," Sango protested stubbornly, yet her body was already softening against him, gratefully leaning into him for the comfort he could offer her.

"Perhaps not the way we do, and not the way he should yet," Miroku nodded, a faint, secretive smile curving his lips. "But he is very much an ancient, and a kitsune, my dear. What he feels is far deeper than what he will admit he feels, you know how much they hate to think they could be the ones with the unrequited fascination rather than the one it is directed towards. I looked into his soul, after all, and he cannot hide his intentions towards her from me."

"You're sure of that?" she leaned away to search his eyes, frowning suspiciously at the innocent look on his face. "Don't make me kill you, Miroku, tell me the truth."

Miroku chuckled and shook his head, burying his face in her hair as he swallowed against the pang of heartache that went through him, making sure his voice would obey him before he murmured, "He will see the truth soon enough." He will see that my Kagome is not the only one who will find her perfect lover from my actions…

<::………::>

One minute Kagome was guiding her intent little students through a round of simple kata-

The next she was almost completely bent over backwards, barely registering the flash of green to gold and the familiar, beautiful face framed by inhumanly perfect crimson hair before she was practically being devoured by the hungriest kiss she had ever, ever experienced in her life. Her eyes closed on reflex to the assault, fingers twitching and finally giving into the need to sink into that hair she knew would feel like cool silk spilling through her fingers as she pulled him even closer. Her entire consciousness seemed to flip upside down, disoriented and lost in a flood of heat making it's way through her veins the longer that mouth continued to slant insistently across her own.

Kagome felt more than heard his groan, registering the arm he'd wrapped around her back when she felt his thumb brush across her spine through the thick gi with his fingers splayed out wide to hold her just how he wanted her. Her mouth opened wider on an instinctive gasp when the touch of his ki sent a jolt straight to her soul, the sound lost when his tongue took advantage of that to slide deeper inside her mouth.

She wasn't entirely sure how long they stood like that, overwhelmed by the feeling of his body against hers, his youki teasing her soul, the sinful smell that was his alone, and especially the way his mouth moved over hers… But it was the distant register of a badly muffled snicker that had her mind reluctantly coming down from its euphoric high to reconnect with exactly where she was and what she was doing.

Kagome twisted her face to the side, her wide, glazed eyes meeting the shocked and amused eyes of her students and then up to see Hiei standing at the entrance to the training hall with his hand up in front of his mouth, Hiei… snickered?

That sound coupled with her movement triggered a sort of wave effect amongst the juvenile youkai and the parents who had arrived early to pick up their offspring. Laughter and whispering spreading like wildfire amongst them until the Urameshi boys let out a gleeful squeal and announced loudly enough to be heard over the din, "Sensei's marrying Uncle Kurama!"

Oh he's definitely laughing now, Kagome's eyes cleared a little when she turned a glare on the openly amused hybrid, gritting her teeth and trying to push down her temper when she felt Kurama smile against her throat. "I'm going to kill you," she took in a calming breath, barely resisting the urge to drop the kitsune on his head for interrupting and embarrassing her in front of her students.

"I missed you too," Youko chuckled, sliding the tip of his tongue up the side of her neck before Kurama pulled him back and reasserted his control. `Killjoy.'

You're going to get us- Kurama started to hiss, only to break off in surprise when the air was punched from his lungs and he was suddenly staring up at Kagome's blushing face- thrown, damn.

Even expecting it after that first experience with her gift for this maneuver, he still jerked slightly when the sound of Hiei's laughter shattered the renewed stillness around them. Scowling at the youkai leaning back against the doorframe to support himself under the force of his amusement, he let out a faint sound of impatience and snapped his hand up to catch her wrist before she could move out of his reach.

Kagome let out a startled squeak when she felt his other hand tangle in the front of her gi, throwing off her attempt to counter his tug and sending her to her knees. Kurama had released her the instant she hit the floor, hands moving to grab the back of her head and pull her down until he could steal another slightly upside-down kiss.

I am going to get along very well with Kagome, Fox, Hiei's amused thought entered his head when the miko managed to remember herself enough to break free of his hands a second time, swatting him upside the head half-heartedly and sitting back on her heels to catch her breath.

"I did warn you I would bring you down with me the next time you did that," he murmured to her when she turned a disgruntled frown on him at the continued giggling around them. "And you aren't so skilled yet that you can expect to out-trick a kitsune like me every time."

Keep talking, maybe she'll kick you too, Hiei urged.

Quiet, you, Kurama huffed back at him, starting to roll to his side when she shocked him back into stillness by leaning down and brushing a fleeting kiss over his cheek.

"Distract me again before class is over, Kurama, and I really will kill you," Kagome whispered in his ear before standing and turning to her class as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

`Oh she loves us,' Youko slid his tongue over his lower lip in a decidedly satisfied motion, sighing as he folded his arms behind his head and let all the frustration of the past two days seep out of him.

You're a sick bastard, Youko, Hiei was still chuckling, shoulders shaking and eyes softer than the kitsune could remember seeing from him as Kurama rolled gracefully to his feet as well. And I am never, ever going to forget the look on your face as that little miko tossed you on your ass for kissing her. Good gods, I would kill anyone in this room to have had a camera.

Covered.

Hiei's attention snapped to the other side of the training hall, brows lifting when he saw Shippou holding up his camera with a cocky smirk, winking and shaking his head to indicate Kurama hadn't been privy to that last remark. Amused now, he set his hand comfortably on the hilt of his katana and couldn't resist asking, How long have you been waiting for that?

Since she told me about the first time she did it, Shippou admitted with a wide grin, tucking the camera back down safely into his gi in a way that suggested more of his enchanted pouches were either sewn in or hidden on his person out of sheer habit. I was hopeful, with her temper and his mouth. But then again, I am an investigator… and I never go anywhere without my camera.

Kurama shrugged to himself as he saw Hiei turn his attention across the room, habitually scolding Youko for being childish enough to start making his innuendos when it seemed that Shippou was the focus of the hybrid's gaze, Do you mind leaving him to muck about in his own dubious sex-life alone for a while until we straighten out ours? The thought of those two in any sort of compromising position disturbs me on a level I wasn't even aware I had.

`You can be such a baby,' Youko snorted, but obediently settled back to watch Kagome quiet down her class with the threat of more disciplinary kata if they lost focus. Unaware of the way his eyes gleamed as Kurama folded his arms over his chest and leaned them back against the wall to observe the way she meticulously corrected each child until she was satisfied before encouraging them to start again. `She is very patient with them, and she adjusts from one to the other. At least her knowledge of forms and basics is good even if Houshi-sama is right about her lack of working skill.'

Perhaps that's the reason she is in charge of the children, Kurama suggested, never taking his eyes from her as she continued to walk through the youkai children, crouching down now and then to help control a spark of errant ki or adjust a swing before anyone caught the bad end of a shinai. Or Sesshoumaru can see how good she is with them.

`This may be easier than we anticipated,' Youko touched the tip of his tongue to one fang, letting out an appreciative rumble. `Good nothing, our lover is perfect around them. Hell, even Yuusuke's boys are behaving for her, and that's nothing short of a damn miracle after the trouble we had with their attitudes. Look at her, you can tell by her eyes that she's eating it up. She wants babies of her own as badly as we want to give them to her.'

We'll give her as many as she wants, Kurama assured him, wondering if he should be concerned with the way Youko had so easily said something so very serious. He sighed and inwardly shook the thought away for a later time, reaching down to pat the vine at his wrist when he felt it stir and begin to wake.

He wasn't in the least bit surprised when it let out a whine, recognizing its surroundings and casting about rather pitifully for the aura of the miko it had grown so attached to. Kurama lifted his amused gaze to find Kagome staring back at him, holding out his hand to show her the rose as it shook off the forced dormancy and split its vine into two sections to reach out for her, "You are missing something very important, lover."

A cough from somewhere behind her warned Kagome that the adults were beginning to find this entire fiasco just as amusing as their children, and she rushed across the space separating them to clap her hand over his mouth before anything more suggestive made it's way out. Leaning up on her toes to hiss in his ear, "These are my young students, you ass! They're mature, but not that mature."

She could feel him smile just before he nipped her hand to free himself, reaching up to catch her wrist before she could pull farther away. He waited until she had looked up at him before allowing his expression to shift away from the teasing smile to a much more serious intensity, "I was not able to give this to you in person the first time, but you still understood that it offers you my protection. It calls to me when you're in danger, and helps to keep you safe until I can reach you."

Kagome blinked, her thoughts scattering momentarily at the concern she could see in his eyes and hear threading subtly through his lecturing until her soul couldn't help but start to warm, Without the rose, he can't connect to me even that little bit anymore. Was he really that worried without it to help him be sure I was all right?

The sudden squeal of delight drew broke her musings and pulled her eyes down to the familiar vine reaching out to cross the space from Kurama's wrist to hers so quickly it nearly blurred to her eyes. The moment it touched her skin it split even more until its ends fanned out wide and started winding and rewinding itself up her forearm as tightly as it could without effecting her circulation. All while making its little chattering noises that definitely held an odd impression of scolding and happiness all at once.

Kurama smiled at the annoyed look that crossed her face, her fingers flexing unconsciously as he felt the rose expand its youki over hers with just as much possessiveness as his own, "You really should feel flattered, Kagome. It missed you very much."

"We talked about the understanding your plants thing," she gave him a pointed look, but he wondered if she even noticed the way her other hand had moved to stroke soothingly across the vines spiraling up her arm in its effort to lock itself in place as though half afraid it would be taken away again.

"That's why I translated for you," he lowered his voice, curling his fingers up to touch the rose and send a potent streak of his own youki into the vines to reinforce its hold on her. Kurama leaned forward, making sure she raised her eyes to his as they flashed gold and his voice dropped further to a private whisper, "No matter what situation you find yourself in, don't take it off again. Or I may fuse it into your soul to be certain I will have a way to know when you are in need."

Kagome's eyebrow arched, trying desperately not to let her eyes glow or show how greedily her soul siphoned off the power he was trailing over her skin while keeping her words steady, "I'm not a child, Kurama, I can handle myself."

`That is so tempting.'

Kurama hurriedly stopped him from turning it into an innuendo just yet, strangely encountering less resistance than he thought he would until he realized Youko wanted to impress the severity of that instruction on her just as badly, "I have no doubts of that, little lover, but I would not forgive myself if something happened to you that I could have prevented."

And he goes from regular domineering youkai to romantic domineering youkai in less than sixty seconds, Kagome bit the inside of her cheek before she did something silly. Like kick him… or kiss him… she wasn't sure which sounded more appealing, "Kurama-"

"Humor me?" he pressed his fingers to her lips to stop her protests, turning his head to purr into her ear. "Since I have been able to use this to feel your soul at night, when I reach out my senses and can't find you, something in me aches. Like an emptiness that won't be filled."

Goddammit.

"Please, Kagome?"

Fuck.

"I might even be able to be persuaded to let you throw me again without repercussions," Kurama's voice took on a decidedly playful edge, sensing the way she was struggling with her desire to give in like a true predator and giving her that little push to make her efforts completely unsuccessful. "Provided you negotiate with another kiss."

Kagome couldn't stop herself from laughing any more than she could stop the blood from going to her cheeks in a light blush at the way his earlier seductive words had sent such amazing heat through her body and soul. Stepping back out of self-preservation instincts, she shook her head and pressed her hand to his chest to stop him from following, "All right! All right, I'll keep your plant thing with me. Just- just stop being sexy for five minutes while I teach, hm?"

Kurama blinked at the strange request, looking down at himself and then back at her in a way that clearly indicated the impossibility of that request, "I'm not trying to be sexy."

Youko was smirking widely, his tail flicking from side to side at the way his ego swelled to hear her openly- publicly admit that she found them sexy, `Damn right. This is all natural, but it is very, very nice to hear our lover finds us as desirable as we find her.'

Kagome made a face, opening her mouth to suggest he stand in the hall or somewhere she wouldn't see him when a thought had her falling silent with a sudden, devilish gleam in her eyes, Even better.

`Oooh, she can't possibly think she can look at us with such a delicious expression and not give us a taste,' Youko let out a low, admiring growl, starting to pour his influence through Kurama with every intention of taking another kiss.

"How much do you know about basic kata, Kurama?" her question jolted through them, surprise and curiosity stopping them short as they both frowned and regarded her.

"Kendo?" he glanced at the students watching them just as intently as the observing adults and even the furtive glances of the older students in the other half of the hall, lifting a hand to hide a chuckle when he admitted they were causing something of a scene in her classes.

Kagome shook her head, making a simple motion that had the children running to put away their shinai, "Judo."

Defensive focus, we should have guessed, Kurama folded his arms over his chest and dipped his head once to acknowledge that he was familiar.

"Enough to teach them to a class of children?" that sly look was in full force as she slanted her eyes to his, openly challenging while she mimicked his pose and offered him a smile.

`Teach-? I've never taught a child anything,' Youko protested.

You taught me, Kurama pointed out, cocking his head to one side as he regarded Kagome's expression for a hint of what she might be thinking.

`That was different, I'm on the inside of you,' Youko shook his head.

Are you telling me that you think we'll fail?

"I can teach a class of children," Kurama's eyes flashed gold again after a moment of silence, barely keeping the offended note out of Youko's tone when he knew Kagome wouldn't understand it was directed at him for successfully baiting his moodier side with that insulting suggestion. "By why would I do such a thing when it's obvious they already have an excellent instructor?"

Kagome pivoted until her back was facing the class, carefully shielding her next words from everyone but the man at her side, "Because I need to speak with Hiei."

`Fuck that-'

"Don't say no yet," Kagome giggled at the way his brows had drawn low, waving her hand to dismiss what was likely about to be a prime example of youkai stubbornness mixed in with the kitsune gift for eloquence and persuasion. "I know you hate the idea that there are things he's hearing that you don't know, Kurama, but what if you and I make a deal?"

`I'm listening,' Youko drawled out reluctantly after a beat of silence, unable to deny a certain interest and suspicion over what she could possibly propose.

"What kind of deal?" Kurama sent a few dry remarks inward, trying not to laugh at Youko's short, highly suggestive responses. Calm down, Hiei would no sooner become competition for Kagome than Sesshoumaru would renounce his holdings. And this is a chance to show her we can fit with her family, you want to blow that when she's showing us this much trust?

`I don't want her to be alone with him,' Youko pouted.

It might be worth it, Kurama shrugged and mentally prodded him. C'mon, she'll be happier with us if we let her win the little battles.

`There isn't anythi-!'

"If you stay here without interrupting the meeting I need to have with Hiei, and Shinju tells me that you do a good job with instructing the children-" Kagome started, swallowing hard as she sent a quick prayer heavenward that she wasn't about to make a huge mistake. Gathering her resolve, she turned her head to meet his calculating stare and finished, "I'll ask you to come to Yoshimi-cho with me."

Kurama's eyes widened, "Yoshimi-cho?"

`You're kidding me,' Youko shot up in disbelief.

"For two weeks."

"Just you and I?"

`Tell her yes before she changes her mind!' Youko snapped out, shoving at Kurama forcefully in his enthusiasm to agree. `Shit, I hope she needs to have private meetings with that little bastard regularly if that's our trade. I can give him an hour for two whole weeks!'

An hour, my ass, Hiei can spend the fucking night in the house for all I care, she wants us to go with her to Shikoku for two weeks to look at gardens? Rose gardens? Kurama could feel the smile starting to spread across his lips, thoughts racing like mad over the slew of possibilities that kind of alone time with her opened up. Two weeks out of town with only Kagome and none of her over-protective guard dogs?

"Hiei can come too if you'd like," Kagome offered, clasping her hands together and nervously taking her lower lip between her teeth as she tried to settle her heart. Is this right? Miroku wants me to move on, but I need to be alone with him to see if we get along for more than an hour or two… Sesshoumaru will probably want to kill me. "I know it's kind of a tourist trap, but I've always liked it there, and it's close to a few temples I need to visit and-"

Kurama's hand cupping her chin to draw her face back snapped her out of her troubled thoughts and rambling as the uncertainty abruptly left her expression for amazement under the blinding smile making him that much more attractive, "I will be the best temporary instructor you will ever employ, my beautiful Kagome."

<>

"How are you feeling?" Shinju murmured softly as he came up beside the attentive hybrid, smiling as he watched his mother's temper manifest into quite a show for the amused audience.

"Better now that I can feel all of you coming and going, and see inside your heads as much as anyone who's had the training to resist assaults of that nature," Hiei snorted and responded candidly, not bothering to look at the boy as he too watched Kagome put the kitsune in his place and take control of the class again. He couldn't prevent the slight frown at the calm that seemed to radiate out from her and settle in his soul the longer he followed her with his eyes, but knowing he would get real answers when he asked those questions today made it more tolerable.

"You came early," he sighed, glancing around to be certain Shippou was busy as well before he reached out and set his hand on Hiei's shoulder to pull him backwards. "Kagome-sama wishes to meet with you in the house rather than the dojo. I'll point you in the right direction before I get back to helping her make enough of a distraction that you have privacy when you ask her your questions."

Hiei was silent, almost docile as he followed the boy away from the sounds of training and young voices. Silent until he reached up and lightly touched the symbol resting below his throat, that is. There was something different… something in this little monk's aura that felt new, but familiar and ancient at the same time, "You have one too."

Shinju glanced back at him with a wry smile at the almost accusing statement, shaking his head slightly and tapping his fingers against his arm, "Not to the degree that you do, but yes, I have the mark."

"The miko will tell me what it is?" he set his jaw when he felt the disjointed pulse run through his soul, nearly stumbling at its reappearance before he forced himself to straighten and continue walking. "She knows what is happening to me."

"Kagome-sama knows the answers to what you want to know better than any of us," Shinju admitted with a quiet laugh, turning a knowing look back on the frowning hybrid. "Sesshoumaru will be glad to hear that you're coherent and you don't look like you've lost your mind, but with youkai it can be difficult to tell right away."

"Why the hell would I have lost my-?"

"The house is across the courtyard," Shinju cut him off, reaching out to slide open the shoji in front of him and point to the obvious structure. "Kaze had to work and Shippou has dragged Souta into his class, so it's empty right now, but make yourself at home. Kagome-sama will join you as soon as she can."

Hiei blinked and frowned at him in annoyance, "You bear a striking resemblance to a deity that has recently been introduced to us."

To his amazement, Shinju grinned and dipped his head in acknowledgement before he stepped back into the temple to retrace his steps, "Thank you, Hiei-san, I hear that more often that you likely suspect, but it never fails to give me more than a passing moment of pride."

The shoji slid closed with a snap before Hiei could open his mouth to question exactly how Shinju knew what he was talking about, leaving him with one more to put to Kagome as soon as she made her escape from the watchful eyes of her over-possessive kitsune.

Annoyed now, he made a faint sound of disgust and darted across the courtyard to the side of the house facing away from the temple, scanning the exterior until his eyes found an open window. Even being told to "make himself at home," there was still something discomforting about strolling in the front door to a structure he'd never entered. Not that he felt they would go through all this for a trap at this stage of their games, but still… Hiei hadn't lived as long as he had by being careless.

Silently entering the kitchen, he fanned out his senses to verify that he really was alone in the house before he let his curiosity get the better of him and began to explore the strange mix of ancient and modern aspects to the interior. It's all like this, everything they own, he frowned slightly, poking at a wind-chime that seemed to hum with power. All these charms and ofuda, I should be feeling weak. Maybe even paralyzed with how strong their magic I, but I don't feel-

Reaching up to lightly rub his head in an effort to stave off the beginnings of an ache, he left the kitchen and followed the hallway back towards the front of the house, stuffing his hands down in his pockets as he memorized the path. All in all it wasn't much different from Yuusuke or Kurama's houses, the only difference being the obvious youkai ties to the family in a few of their displayed "gifts" and art. To say nothing of the ancient weapons hung along the walls or resting in stands that looked as well maintained as any fighter's most prized collection.

Hiei glanced into the den as he passed by, coming to a stop just as he passed the doorway when his own instincts kicked in, That's strange. There's something in that room-?

A brief mental battle with himself later, Hiei was turning to slip into the large room, eyes narrowed as he scanned the bookshelves and cabinets for whatever had caused the thief in his soul to awaken so strongly and precisely. He was scowling a moment later when his search brought him to the entertainment center against the far wall, shaking his head over the oddities of human ideas of fun while he reached out and opened the cabinet beside the silent equipment.

Videos, he swore under his breath, reaching in to slide a few of the unmarked cases out before pushing them back in when they failed to satisfy the gnawing vibration inside him. What the hell could possibly be interesting in a bunch of videos and DV-?

Hiei's mental conversation with himself unraveled when he slid the first few thin cases of disks aside and found himself staring down at an innocent looking computer disk with "Shippou's copy" written in marker across the reflective surface. Arching an eyebrow he pulled it out of the stack and held it up, tilting his head as he tried to puzzle out just why this human thing would be setting him off.

It's not even valuable, Hiei snorted in disgust, starting to put it back when indecision and curiosity gripped him. But… it has that kitsune's name on it. Fuck it, why the hell not? he glared angrily at the disk as though it was the source of all his troubles, sliding it discreetly into his clothes until he could look at it in private and figure out if it was anything useful.

He had just shut the cabinet when he heard the sound of the front door open and close, just before the unmistakable sound of the inner shoji followed less than a minute after that. Stepping to the side until he was in front of the picture window facing the trees protecting the rear of the temple, Hiei folded his arms over his chest and waited patiently for the oddly faded aura he'd learned to associate with Kagome to reach the doorway, Now why does she still feel so faint? I can feel the others, and didn't she feel different before? Stronger? Was I just caught up in the fighting?

"Miko," Hiei acknowledged the moment she came into the room, one hand in her hair pulling out the ribbon holding it in it's high ponytail and her shakujou in the other. She looked up when she saw him and smiled warmly, chuckling at the confused look on his face as she propped her staff up against the naginata display at her side and dipped her head to the "greeting."

When Kagome straightened, the blue in her eyes flashed once and settled on a deep glow that held him strangely transfixed as she silently crossed the space between them. He felt detached, almost as though he was watching a dream as the more regal her bearing became, the more her aura drained away until there was practically nothing left. Yet he could taste the ki filling the air, practically see it dance lightning quick across the pale hand that she raised to press the tip of her forefinger against his throat.

The jolt that ran through Hiei in that instant nearly buckled his knees, reflexively snapping his hand up to grip her wrist when the warmth he remembered so clearly flooded him inside and out, every bit of tension in him smoothing away. He felt his chest expand on a deep, startled breath, locking gazes as her lips pulled back in a warm smile before Kagome murmured the last two words he had ever expected to hear.

"Okaeri… Hiei."