Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Par Tout Autre Nom ❯ Dichotomy ( Chapter 46 )

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

A/N: Soooo… I wanted very, very badly to be able to get this out before my next priority research project started. Mainly because when I get a project like this, I don't really know when I'll have enough free time to sit down and write out the next chapter. -unhappy face- Fortunately, my easily agitated muse has been helpful and forthcoming, and I somehow managed to sneak it out. (Which is good considering I have to have my first estimation done by tomorrow evening at the latest. -___-;;) Ah well, such is life. At least I have medicine to help the laryngitis go away.

To all you guys, thank you very much for always having so many encouraging and sweet things to say. I love hearing what you like, what you thought wasn't right… hell, it's just tons of fun to hear what you were thinking for the chapter! XD You really do brighten up my days and bring some much needed stress relief. To my junkies, my buddies new and old, my reviewers, and all my readers… you guys are all fabulous. Thank you very much.

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By Any Other Name

~Dichotomy~

Youko Kurama had been quite possibly the most notorious, ruthless, legendary kitsune thief to exist in thousands of years. Every last drop of blood, sweat, and tears he had spilled to earn his reputation was a source of enormous pride, counted amongst his most favorite trophies. Although granted, there was something even more delicious about the tears, bringing fond memories of the misery and pain he'd been able to so effectively and consistently cause for his chosen adversaries.

Over the decades upon decades of his life, he'd honed his skills with painstaking precision, growing more confident and powerful and becoming a true force to be reckoned with. He was the very epitome of everything his enemies could only wish to become: cold and elegant, beautiful and deadly, desired and feared. And he was-

--sulking.

So much so that Kurama had fully mimicked the kitsune's position in the safety of their soul. Slumped over until he was almost reclining in the wide seat with his elbow propped on the cushioned arm. Chin resting heavily in his palm as they alternated between longing looks at Kagome's sleeping face below them-

And baleful glares at Kouga.

`Headed this direction already my ass,' Youko growled out in irritation, narrowing his eyes as he plotted any number of nasty events that could befall the wolf clicking away on his laptop.

Kurama sighed, trying his damnedest not to echo the kitsune's sentiments, but it was much more difficult than he hoped it would be, It got us a ride in business class.

`Sesshoumaru would have sent Kagome business class anyhow,' Youko muttered, rolling over onto his stomach and glaring out more directly through their eyes. `He doesn't want his little miko to be crammed in amongst filthy humans for such an extended period of time any more than we would let her travel that way. You knew we were going to be riding in style when he passed her off to us asleep.'

That's another thing completely, Kurama frown lost some of its edge to concern. He reached out his hand to gently stroke her hair, scowling when the oversized, grey wolf currently playing her pillow growled at him menacingly. What could she possibly have been doing last night to be so tired that he had to carry her here? And why didn't he seem surprised that she was so unresponsive to him?

Youko turned that over his mind for a second as to the best way to get his answers, finally shrugging as he suggested, `Ask the wolf. He's too blunt to play games like the rest of them. We're most likely to get a straight response out of him.'

You hate him.

`That doesn't mean I won't pry him for every scrap of information I can get out of his thick head,' Youko scoffed and turned up his nose. `If he's helpful, we can be magnanimous and let him live out his natural lifespan in relative peace.'

Kurama rolled his eyes at that, but grudgingly admitted the wolf lord would be their best bet as corrected his posture to more properly strike up the potentially difficult conversation, "Kouga."

"Hm?" Kouga didn't look up from whatever held his attention on the computer screen, fingers still filling the quiet train car with the steady clicking.

Kurama snapped his mouth shut in a hurry when he felt Youko attempt to stealthily slip out an insulting inquiry about the youkai's ability to actually use human technology, Youko, you said-!

`All right, all right,' Youko waved one hand impatiently to show he would try the same trick twice. `But it's a legitimate question.'

Not the way you word it, it's not, Kurama sighed, clearing his throat as he tried again. "Why is Kagome so tired this morning? Was she injured?"

`Oh she'd damn well better not have been hurt without us being told!' Youko started to rear up at the possibility he'd previously deemed too unlikely to seriously consider.

"Dinner ran much later than we expected," Kouga finally glanced at him as his answer halted Youko's rising temper, his ice-blue eyes flashing with deep amusement at Kurama's expense. The wolf shifted his weight instinctively to a more balanced position, almost as though he'd read the unspoken threat from Youko in their green-gold eyes. "Kagome has a bigger part in keeping all our work running smoothly than she likes to admit to, and with her having to make this trip, there was a lot of setting up to get done to prepare for her absence. She doesn't want the business running into any problems from disorganization. Why?"

`If that was as true as he wants it to sound, she wouldn't have been completely absent for as long as they suggest,' Youko frowned suspiciously at the conflicting information.

And why would she be regularly teaching children's classes in Shinju's temple when Sesshoumaru is working? Kurama added to the inconsistencies. "Kagome does not seem much like a person who would sleep so deeply in unfamiliar settings," he answered Kouga easily, eyes intently watching for anything that would give the youkai away in a lie.

"My woman is safe with me," Kouga smirked, closing his laptop with a faint click and setting it beside him as he seemed to decide if the atmosphere was calm enough for him to lounge back in his chair. Without ever letting his challenging stare waver from Kurama's face, he nodded his head towards the slumbering miko. "She knows she can rest when I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to her."

`Oh we are putting a stop to this right here,' Youko shook his head in disapproval, sitting up more purposefully to a more aggressive stance. `This wolf is going to learn his place is not beside our lover if it kills him.'

"You're not presenting for Kagome's company," Kurama braced both elbows on the arms of his chair, lacing his fingers together to cradle his chin as the gold in his eyes swallowed up their more tranquil green.

"Don't have to," Kouga folded his arms back behind his head, not intimidated in the least to be meeting that hostile glare. "I announced a long time ago that I was staking a claim, kitsune. You're lucky I'm willing to allow you to pretend you have a chance with my woman."

Kurama bit down hard on the side of his tongue to stop Youko from vocalizing his rather malevolent threats beyond the safety of their soul. He took a slow deliberate breath to let the kitsune settle back into a more calculating level of calm before he repeated carefully, "Pretend I have a chance?"

Kouga lips curved up enough in a humorless smile to expose one fang, "She's too good for you."

`I'll be good for her,' Youko's hissed out, youki rising defensively at the blatant accusation that he wouldn't compliment her. `I can taste it when we touch her, she needs what I can give her! They don't have what it takes to help her enjoy living the way we do.'

Kurama frowned in confusion over the undercurrents of heavy emotion chasing through him with Youko's growling responses, turning his focus inward momentarily to try and soothe the kitsune before it got out of hand. Easy! Dammit, Youko, what's gotten into you? Why are you letting him get under your skin like that? Kagome invited us because she wants us to have time together; she's the only one we need to be concerned with pleasing.

`He's much too confident,' Youko scowled, but did rein in the uncharacteristic temper as he folded his arms over his chest and turned to his side in subtle insult even though the youkai had no way of seeing it. `Thinking he can say such things to us as though he compares at our level when he lost her to a fucking human.'

You don't know that- Kurama started.

`She wasn't married that long ago from everything we've been told and been able to piece together,' Youko interrupted, making a dismissive gesture with one hand to stop Kurama. `And a youkai saying "a long time ago" is much more substantial than if a human said it, so what he's suggesting is that he made his claim before this Miroku person came into the picture. He can't possibly think he'd be a better choice for our lover if he passed her off so easily once before.'

Kurama turned to look out the window for a moment, breaking eye-contact with the wolf when the enormity of Youko's offended feelings started to spill over into him, He didn't reject her, Youko.

`He didn't keep her either,' Youko reiterated with a snort. `He gave her up once and he doesn't deserve to have the chance to do it again. It would upset her unnecessarily.'

Upset-?

`Ask him why he thinks a wolf would be good enough for our lover,' Youko smoothed over the beginnings of Kurama's startled demand with his own, retracting his emotions just as his counterpart started to delve into them. `What grand difference could he possibly have for placing his worth above ours?'

Dammit, Youko-!

`Later, we're busy right now,' Youko jerked his head suggestively back towards Kouga, sending a tingle along Kurama's skin to warn that he would take over the conversation by force to get his way this time if he felt it necessary. `Ask.'

Kurama set his jaw, making sure Youko had a very clear impression of his determination to get a straight answer over the reason behind that little remark as he turned his attention back to the wolf youkai, "Then what makes you any different?"

The mocking edge melted from Kouga's expression as those pale eyes lowered to the girl sprawled out on the floor between them. Sighing, he leaned forward to give his wolf an affectionate pat before ghosting his fingertips over Kagome's hair, "Because I love her."

Kurama wasn't even aware he'd moved until his hand was around Kouga's wrist, squeezing just hard enough to prove he was serious about bringing a stop to that caress, but the surprise was gone as soon as it had come. Youko blended with him effortlessly to deepen the pitch of their voice, instructing in a deceptively bland tone, "Don't declare your feelings for my lover so openly. It is… inappropriate."

Kouga chuckled softly, flexing the muscles in his arm out of habit as his own youki responded to the threat he felt humming through the kitsune. Obstinately, he followed the stroke through despite the hold on his wrist to trace his fingertips down her cheek as proof he wouldn't be so easily deterred before returning the touch to his wolf's chin, "You're just as bad as Inukkoro, making such empty demands on her attention when you aren't going to offer her all of your affection in return."

Inukkoro? Kurama momentarily turned their focus inward to search for the memory of which youkai the wolf was comparing them with now.

`Not now.'

"She married someone else," Youko exerted himself enough to make that silky smooth reminder. "Obviously your love wasn't good enough for her to choose you in the past."

Kouga let out a bark of laughter that was readily echoed by the wolf as well, "Is that what you think? You think just because she was married to that damn bouzu, she rejected my feelings? Kagome has more love in her than that."

`Bouzu?' Youko pulled up short in surprise. `She married a monk in this life as well?'

"I supported her decision to marry," Kouga continued calmly once his laughter had subsided, scratching his wolf's ears one last time before he sat up and unflinchingly met the kitsune's suspicious glare. "Because it means more to me to see Kagome happy than it does to have her to myself, and she would die before she turned her back on her friends when they need her. It doesn't mean I love her any less, or that she doesn't love me in return."

Youko was strangely silent as Kurama looked from the wolf lord to Kagome, and back up again, gritting his teeth as he leaned forward and backtracked to another remark that had bothered him, "Why don't you think I would offer her everything I'm capable of?"

"I can see it in your eyes," Kouga grinned, tapping his forefinger against his own temple to gesticulate. "Sometimes it's almost there when you're looking at her and you think no one can see you, but other times it's too guarded. You can't expect to hold back with a person like Kagome if you want to truly become someone special with her. And I can tell you aren't giving her your whole self yet."

"You think you know me so well?" Kurama's spine stiffened, instincts bristling at having a wolf youkai give him something so close to a lecture regarding his own behavior towards Kagome.

That half-smirk was back on Kouga's face, habitually running a hand through his hair before he made a gesture to soothe the low growl coming from his wolf, "You'd be amazed how clear things become when Kagome accepts you into her heart."

Youko shifted inside their soul, unintentionally forcing Kurama to still under the wave of dark emotions spilling through them at that claim. Their entire demeanor underwent a subtle alteration, a fluidity coming to their movements that had been absent before as he crossed one leg over the other. Turning his palm down without taking his eyes off Kouga, Youko murmured with soft menace, "I have no reason to waste my energy proving my intentions to any of you."

Kouga shrugged, but the flash of his eyes showed clearly enough that he had caught the drastic spike in Kurama's youki and was prepared to answer it, "I never said you did, I just said you weren't good enough for her."

"Do any of you believe that any creatures besides yourselves are `good enough' for her?" Youko's eyes narrowed as he stirred the youki within his flower into wakefulness. He poured his influence into it to grow and boost Kagome off the wolf, lifting her high enough for him to slide his arms beneath her shoulders and knees. The vines retracted back to normal once he pulled her into his chest and readjusted his arms to enfold her more completely in his embrace as the wolf sat up with an angry snarl.

"Her husband was the only one who has come close in my opinion," Kouga arched an eyebrow at the possessive gesture, letting his gaze slowly sweep over the way the kitsune's aura seemed to relax as soon as she unconsciously turned into his touch. And if not for the lack of any echo suggesting she was drawing off Kurama, he might have worried over that. "However, in the end, we're still asking ourselves if it was worth it to let her make that decision when we knew it could end badly."

Kurama wrestled control back from a very reluctant Youko, arms tightening under the exchange as his chin came to rest on top of her head absently, "You knew Miroku would be killed?"

"We knew it was highly possible," Kouga nodded, patting one hand against his knee to bring the wolf up to his side when it started to rise with bared teeth. Resting a calming touch on top of the animal's head, they both turned their intense gazes at the youkai holding their miko close. "It was a dangerous time for all of us, and he was… not a popular human with our enemies."

`He's been coached,' Youko frowned, but the displeasure smoothed almost immediately from his expression when Kagome's arm clumsily lifted to wrap around their neck. Sighing, he closed his eyes and blended their arms to more directly enjoy the feel of her in their lap, her warmth pushing away his agitation with almost disturbing ease, `He's still not as crafty as the others, but he's not slipping anywhere near as much as that first day.'

He was tired that first day, Kurama reminded him, lifting Kagome higher until her cheek rested on his shoulder, freeing one hand to stroke lazily through her hair. Not to mention off balance. Shippou had taken him by surprise, remember? We can't forget that he's ancient too, and he's a lord. He can't be stupid and have such a high position under Sesshoumaru's organization.

"A time we don't intend to allow to repeat," the pitch of Kouga's voice lowered as he continued, sending a flicker of warning chasing across Kurama's senses. "Just so you're aware, if you ever give us reason to suspect you may bring her any harm, it's not likely you'll live long enough to regret it."

Annoyance flickered across Kurama's face, "You aren't nearly as intelligent as I gave you credit for if you think I'm a danger to Kagome."

`Or that I would allow such creatures as these to destroy me.'

"Maybe not purposefully," Kouga shrugged again, leaning back in his seat with all the arrogance of a king. "But in our experience, the ones who have hurt Kagome the most are the ones who've claimed to love her more than anyone else."

"Doesn't that mean she should be wary of you more than me after your declaration?" Kurama arched an eyebrow, subconsciously rubbing his cheek against her forehead when she made a sound of discomfort and pulled herself closer to him.

Kouga's smile changed, softening as his gaze lingered over Kagome's profile, "The difference, kitsune, is that I love her enough to let her go when I have to."

The smile that crossed Kurama's face was purely Youko, "I've always been taught to hold the things I come to admire close and protect them from interlopers who may think to harm or steal them."

"Thinking that way in regards to Kagome will only get you pushed away," the wolf casually turned to glance out the window, a flash of longing flickering in his eyes betraying his desire to run. He shook it off almost as quickly as it had appeared, taking in the passing ocean and landscape to gauge how much longer before they reached their destination. "If you can't trust her just as much when she's away from you than when she's at your side, I have nothing to worry about. Of course, it helps that you're a kitsune."

Kurama frowned at the way Kouga had said that, "What would my being a kitsune have to do with anything?"

"Casual sex partner," Kouga grinned wickedly at the startled look that crossed that pretty face, chuckling in open appreciation as he pointed at Kagome. "You think I'd be so cruel as to deny my woman a good time now and then? Hell, she understands what we're like when we're unattached, and I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't give her the same respect she's given me."

I… I don't believe this, Kurama stared in disbelief at the youkai grinning at him, unable to name the variety of emotions vying for precedence at that declaration. He thinks just because we're kitsune that there's no possibility we could be taking our pursuit seriously?

"You're taking a big risk staking your approval on the chance that I'm just a `kitsune looking for a fling,'" Youko arched an eyebrow, blanking their expression to prevent the wolf from seeing just how irritated he'd just become.

Kouga shook his head, "Statistics."

"Statistics?" Kurama echoed flatly.

"Kitsune are too self-absorbed to make a good long-term match," he nodded, ticking off the points on his fingers as he said them. "It's all about instant gratification, passing interests, and feeding. Besides that, you're old and set in your ways. You'd probably sooner gnaw off your own foot than willingly settle down into the kind of relationship Kagome wants to have again."

Youko and Kurama bristled in silent, unified indignation as the wolf blithely continued to prattle off reasons why they would never go above being a sex-friend, Are you the one making me imagine him sectioned off and strung up in our garden?

`Sorry, I'm entertaining a disembowelment fantasy at the moment,' Youko shook his head. `That one's all you.'

"It's the human in her," Kouga was saying, blissfully unaware of the murderous imaginations running wild in the dual minds not three feet in front of him. "Only so much of it can come out of her when she's in our hands, you know? She wouldn't be satisfied with a roving partner like you would be."

"Don't presume to know how I `would be' in my relationship with my lover," Youko cut him off coldly before he could say anything more. "No matter how much you think you know of kitsune from your relationship with Shippou, I am not a kitsune you can classify in the same way. I am an ancient, and I'm most assuredly out of your league."

"You're not my type," Kouga retorted with a taunting smile.

Youko twisted their expression into a patronizing smile of his own, "Were I not so disgusted by you, I would prove you wrong."

Kouga was right back to chuckling, turning to the side to reach into his bag for a water bottle, "You see? Roving."

Kurama let out a weary sigh as he hurriedly blocked Youko's rising youki before it could manifest in a public attack on the bothersome youkai, "You don't actually believe that, do you?"

"From my part in raising Shippou, I know better than to think a kitsune plays by anyone's rules but their own," Kouga's mood returned to serious as he took a drink and held out the bottle for his wolf, tipping it just enough to pour a little into its mouth. "You're a bizarre breed, I'll admit to that, but then Kagome knows your kind better than I do. So regardless, if she's willing to let you close to her, all I can do is keep an eye on you and make sure you don't cause her pain."

`I'm done speaking with this creature,' Youko retreated back within their soul, folding his arms over his chest and turning his back on the youkai completely. `I do not require anyone "keeping an eye" on me. Kagome is the only reason he's not bleeding, but if he continues in such an insulting manner then I will not be held responsible for my response.'

"Hand her to me, we'll be arriving soon," Kouga screwed the cap back on the bottle and stowed it away before holding out his arms for Kagome.

Kurama responded with an arched eyebrow, "You're joking."

`Not a chance in Hell.'

Kouga actually rolled his eyes at them as though they were no more than one of his recalcitrant pups, sitting up straighter in his seat with a faint, but blatantly authoritative growl, "I have to wake her up, kitsune, or do you want to spend your entire vacation tending to a comatose miko?"

"Why would she be comatose?" Kurama continued to glare at the wolf suspiciously, everything in him dying to answer that challenge, but logically he was aware this was neither the time nor the place to get into a dominance match.

"Her miko energy exposed to the jyaki that comes off a taiyoukai like Sesshoumaru? You figure it out," Kouga snorted, gripping Kurama's wrist and giving it a suggestive pull to indicate he would be much more forceful if he wanted to be difficult.

"And what makes you think you can wake her up if her condition involves her powers?" Kurama pressed, eyeing the offending hand as the vine at Kagome's throat began to stir in answer. "Wake a miko sleeping off a jyaki overdose with more jyaki?"

"Practice," Kouga's smile was just a showing of teeth, a wolf's threat that the situation would rapidly degenerate unless Kurama cooperated with his "request."

Youko's eyes narrowed dangerously, half-twisting back around to let their eyes flash scarlet in proof of how very much he didn't care for the wolf's words. Kurama tried to ignore the pressing influence, glancing down at Kagome's still form for another tense moment before came to a decision and nodded stiffly, "Very well, but Sesshoumaru was the one who gave her to me. You will return her."

Kouga said nothing at first, releasing Kurama to instead slide his arm beneath Kagome's back and pull her towards him. Looping his other arm over her waist when the kitsune begrudgingly loosened his hold and let her be lifted out of his lap, he informed him nonchalantly, "I'm here to make certain things get off to a good start. I want Kagome to have a chance to rest and to get you out of her system."

Kurama's brows rose, a spark of amusement rising in the face of his anger, "Is that what you think will happen when you leave her to me?"

"Two weeks is a long time to a kitsune as far as human bed-partners are concerned," Kouga looked at him squarely, bringing a frown to Kurama's face when he realized there wasn't a shred of maliciousness behind the youkai's words. He was merely stating the facts as he interpreted them, "You'll probably be more than ready to move on by the time you return."

Youko distractedly ran his claws through his hair, chalking up more reasons to dislike Kouga as he let out an exaggerated sigh of distaste, `Did everyone of those assholes neglect to mention to him that I've picked Kagome for the mother of my children?'

Kurama gave in to the need to lift their hand and rub at the bridge of their nose in an effort to dispel the growing ache, At this point, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they conveniently "forgot" to bring it up. Then again, he's probably still going to claim she's his woman when she's enormously pregnant with our third baby.

Youko chuckled, oddly taking enjoyment out of that mental image until he justified it by murmuring, `Talk is cheap. Under those circumstances, I wouldn't give a damn what he was saying, she'd have obviously given her soul to me.'

Kouga ignored the gaze he could feel boring into him, concentrating instead on slipping one hand up under the back of her shirt discreetly until his palm hit the center of the mark between her shoulder blades. Her aura warmed, softening and rousing under the prod of his own youki as he patiently worked her back up from Sesshoumaru's style of massive infusion. Kagome let out a sound of protest, shifting her weight and instinctively trying to arch up away from his hand when she came back into her head enough to register the amount of jyaki in her soul.

"It's time to wake up, Kagome," Kouga lowered his voice respectfully when she tried to twist away from the light, all too familiar with the hypersensitive state she was in. Sneaking a quick look at Kurama to be sure he was still unaware of what exactly he was doing with his hand, Kouga pressed upwards until he felt the skin ripple and give to let him sink in just enough to make a faint connection. Don't pull… we have the wrong kind of eyes on us at the moment, love. But we're nearing the stop you need to take for the shrine.

What time is it? Kagome's groggy voice slid into his mind much more strongly than it had in the past, making Kouga start before he shook his head in an effort to banish Kurama's deepening curiosity.

Mid-morning, right on schedule, he lifted his head, eyes glazing over slightly as he let her expand the connection to view through the buffer of his senses. Wanting to give her something to distract her and help ground her soul more quickly, Kouga decided to voice his opinion on his most recent conversation. Your kitsune is an asshole.

"Kurama?" Kagome cracked one eye open, unable to stop the lazy giggle bubbling out of her at the emotion in the wolf's voice. Kouga-kun, you're trying to make him lose his temper, aren't you?

I can be worse, Kouga defended, blinking to disconnect their senses and start easing his youki out of her as soon as he felt her get a proper hold on her surroundings.

Mm, which means you can be better, the clarity was slowly returning to her thoughts, as she lifted one hand loosely to cover a yawn. Don't think you're fooling me, I know you better than anyone.

I'm only having a bit of fun with him, Kouga slid his fingers through her hair despite the wave of discontent that gesture earned from their audience. And it doesn't make him any less of an ass.

Seems to be a pattern, doesn't it? Kagome forced her other eye to open, blinking uncomfortably as she gathered her ki more carefully into itself in order to regain complete control of her body. Turning her head to the side, she squinted until Kurama came into focus and smiled, "Hey."

"Welcome back," Kurama immediately put Kouga firmly from his mind, relaxing under the glassy warmth all directed on him as he sat forward to reach for her. "I was beginning to worry, you know. You shouldn't do such things to the lover you adore."

Kagome chuckled when he winked at her to show he was teasing, shaking her head at his antics, "I'm all right, just tired from trying to keep up with a houseful of youkai last night. It's my fault for trying when I know they can kick my ass any day of the week on the endurance thing."

Kouga smirked over her head and mouthed silently "I told you."

Kagome brought her elbow back into his stomach lightly, "Knock it off, Kouga-kun, I can still see you."

Youko's smile widened at that, reaching the rest of the distance to cup her cheek in his palm, stroking his thumb along the bone just to feel the way she subconsciously leaned into his touch. "I don't like seeing you so exhausted for no reason, little lover."

"Oh trust me, Shippou with a pound of chocolate in his system is on hell of a reason to be exhausted," Kagome muttered dryly, yawning again and shifting to try and sit up on her own.

Kouga had started to assist her, carefully slipping his hand back out of her shirt and starting to lift her when Kurama held out his hands with a pointed look to remind him of his earlier demand. When the wolf rolled his eyes, but did indeed pass her off into those waiting hands, Kurama turned his disapproving frown up on her to scold, "You need to eat when we get off the train, honey. You slept through breakfast."

Kouga's brows rose fractionally at the remark, tilting his head as his eyes took on a more speculative gleam, "You aren't going to insist on going to the hotel first?"

Kurama let out an impatient growl, tucking her up against his chest again, "Are you suggesting I would neglect my lover's health?"

"After," Kagome lifted a hand, cutting off the budding argument before it could really start. "Kouga-kun, Kurama is going to walk me to the shrine while you handle the arrangements Sesshoumaru wanted you to make at the hotel. We'll have breakfast before you have to leave to meet your dealers so you can report back to him that I'm in good condition and good hands, all right?"

`She is so unbelievably sexy when she's being bossy,' Youko pressed on Kurama until they were nuzzling the side of her throat, flicking a soft lick over the steady pulse and smiling when she jumped. `Wait, she said-?'

"What shrine?" Kurama leaned away from her enough to see her face when he asked.

"One of our family's personal shrines," Kouga answered for her as he turned to start repacking his shoulder bag as soon as the intercom announced their stop was coming up. "It's a very old, very powerful holy place, one that no creature with youki can enter. Private property so nothing can disturb the gravesites."

Graves, Kurama looked down at Kagome again when she sighed and sat up carefully, reaching up to rub the stiffness out of her neck.

`Her husband?' Youko rubbed his chin thoughtfully until an idea struck him, bringing a faint smile to his lips. `Do you think she may be asking his soul permission to release her into our care?'

"You won't be able to step beyond the outer wall, Kurama," Kagome was warning softly, her fingers lightly touching his wrist in a suggestion to let her up so they could take their place at the doors. "But I didn't think that you'd want to go ahead to the hotel with Kouga while I paid my respects alone."

"I'll be happy to wait for you outside," Kurama cut her off, taking the cue to stand but keeping his arm around her waist to encourage her to lean into him until her legs would support her properly after such prolonged non-activity. "Sesshoumaru was very specific in his instructions to protect you in his absence."

`And very specific about what he'd do to us if we failed in that endeavor,' Youko drawled out in remembered amusement, tail flicking back and forth in rising excitement to start their vacation.

Kouga had snapped his fingers as he stood to draw the attention of the other two youkai riding as passengers, jerking his head towards the bags as Kurama led Kagome over to stand out of the way. As the wolf started giving orders to the pair he'd come to find out had been his commanders since the feudal age, Kurama reached out to hold the support bar while using the other to tug Kagome against his chest.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat first?" Kurama asked softly, resting his chin on her shoulder as she let her head roll back until her cheek rested on his. "You look pale."

"You're getting as bad as Sesshoumaru, Kurama," Kagome turned to press her lips to his temple in a light kiss. "I'll be fine, really. It won't take long, and I won't spontaneously combust just because I missed breakfast. You wouldn't believe how many times I ran out of the house with toast when I was in school."

`Tell her we won't be happy if she isn't thinking of her health seriously,' Youko prodded at him. `My lover is going to have the best of care at all times.'

I don't want to sound like I'm hovering just because she wants to wait on breakfast, Kurama mentally shook his head, just enjoying the peace of staring out the windows with Kagome resting comfortably against his body. Good gods, Youko, what's gotten into you?

`Nothing has gotten into me, I'm just looking out for her welfare,' he snorted and turned up his nose. `I want to show her that we'll give her the best care out of anyone she's ever trusted herself to in the past.'

You let Kouga get to you, didn't you? Kurama's hand turned, resting on Kagome's stomach in a strangely natural gesture of affection as his thumb brushed a gentle caress back and forth down the line of her ribcage.

`That's ridiculous.'

Is it? Kurama prodded sternly. Don't act like I couldn't feel what you were feeling, Youko. You didn't like what he had to say, but… are you worried? Is that what's wrong with you?

`That's even more ridiculous,' Youko growled at him, warning him away from that line of questioning.

We're going to talk about this later, Youko, you can't get out of it, Kurama gritted his teeth against the old wish to have his alter-ego in a separate body so he could pick him up and shake the answers out of him. We're supposed to be working together. We feel the same way, don't we? Or are you going to keep trying to pretend you don't feel anything when we think about-?

`I said not now,' Youko's lip curled up off his fangs as the train eased to a stop. `This is not the time to speak of these things, we need to be alert to learn the feel of unfamiliar surroundings.'

Don't lecture me, I know what we need to do, Kurama shot back as Kagome laced her fingers with his and squeezed, bringing him back to the present to exit onto the platform. Stop trying to pick a fight because you're feeling unsettled, I'm not going to play stress relief for you right now.'

`But you do it so well,' Youko couldn't resist altering the tone of his voice just to feel the way it made Kurama's eye twitch. `Now focus. If I allow you to distract us and cause difficulty for Kagome, I'll never forgive you.'

"Do you always visit this shrine first when you come here?" Kurama tuned Youko out, tightening his hold on Kagome's hand to be sure they weren't separated in the crowd.

Kagome smiled at him, starting to answer when Kouga stepped out of the train and drew her attention back to him with a rather imperious hand gesture. She stroked her thumb over Kurama's in a silent show that she wasn't ignoring him, and intended to answer even as she leaned up to whisper something in the wolf lord's ear that Kurama couldn't catch.

Kouga nodded, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead despite the low growl of warning Youko managed to slip past Kurama, "I'll see you at the hotel, Kagome. Be safe."

"I will," she murmured before pasting a bright smile on her face for the harassed looking wolves dragging bags out behind them. "Bye Ginta, Hakkaku! Thank you for helping with everything."

"Ah, of course, Nee-san!" Hakkaku puffed up his chest proudly, the long-suffering look quickly banished from his face under her attention. "You can count on us."

"Be careful!" Ginta added hurriedly when she laughed and pulled Kurama along behind her towards the stairs. "We'll be waiting, Nee-san!"

Kagome waved back at them one more time before threading into the crowd, bending and moving without ever coming in contact with any of the distracted travelers, dragging the kitsune along behind her with ease.

Kouga finally let out a heavy sigh as she disappeared from sight, folding his arms over his chest as he looked at both Ginta and Hakkaku before moving his questioning gaze down to the wolf, "What do you think? Should we let him live to try and take her from me?"

The wolf whined and pushed his head against Kouga's hip while the latter frowned back in the direction Kagome had gone, openly showing his concern as he murmured more to himself than the others, "A kitsune."

"He seems a little different," Ginta offered hesitantly, not entirely sure how far he should take his opinion in front of Kouga where the delicate topic was concerned. "He was… well, he was thinking of her health, and he seemed serious about it?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama said he passed up hearing about the jewel just to see her," Hakkaku added hastily when Ginta shot him a pleading look. "He might not be like the others?"

Kouga was silent, standing in that same position as the train moved on and the crowd on the platform thinned out. Finally shaking his head, he raked a hand through his hair impatiently, swearing under his breath as he shook off his disturbing thoughts and motioned for them to follow, "We'll see."

<………>

Kurama let his own instincts prevent any embarrassing collisions in their strangely energetic escape from the station. At first he'd admittedly been worried to see her exerting herself so quickly, but after a moment or two had passed without incident and Kagome seemed even more awake, he let it go. The decision leaving him free to more closely observe the way his little miko moved around so many humans. Her eyes were alert, sweeping her surroundings continuously in a search for potential dangers or filing away the details of their current environment. And she was walking lightly, not the relaxed stride of the other humans he'd been around by a long shot… it was more like-?

`She's walking like a hunter,' Youko supplied. `Or someone who's used to sneaking around creatures with hypersensitive hearing.'

Like an inu.

`That would do it,' Youko smirked and nodded his agreement of the observation. `Shiori-kun was right about the way she looks at humans though. Her eyes are sad, and you can feel how tense she is.'

She probably doesn't feel that she belongs with them anymore, Kurama's gaze invariably started to trail down the line of her back when he noticed the way her shirt was trying to ride up with each step. Finding out you have powers in a society that no longer believes you exist can be difficult, his hand practically itched to slip under that miniscule barrier to play across the bare skin he'd only had a chance to enjoy infrequently.

"No."

"Excuse me?" Kurama was snapped from his reverie with a jolt, snatching his free hand back to Youko's loud disapproval.

"No, I don't always visit the Shrine first when I come here," there was a sparkle in her eyes that made him suspicious, something that impossibly suggested she had known exactly what his hand had been reaching for. "I haven't been in much too long, actually, that's why it's first."

"Are you still tired?" he let himself relax more when they broke away from the main street, following as she led him down the less traveled alleys and towards the forests he could feel around them with the ease of someone who was absolutely certain of their destination.

"Not anymore," Kagome shook her head, absently reaching up to push her hair out of her face when the breeze kicked up and chuckling softly to herself with the rose around her throat took it as a cue to pull the entire mass back in a low ponytail. "Sorry to have been passed out on you like that for such a long time. Not exactly the most flattering thing to do to a guy, hm?"

"It's more flattering that you trust me so much to sleep that deeply with me," Kurama assured smoothly, a faint smile of triumph chasing across his lips when he saw the color rise in her cheeks. Pulling her to a stop before she could exit the private space between buildings, he tugged her back enough to wrap his other arm around her waist and rub his cheek against hers, "You are beautiful when you're sleeping in my arms."

The tension practically melted out of her when the feel of his youki curled so intimately and possessively around her body, forcing Kagome to close her eyes as the urge to sink into him filled her, Damn. My balance is all wrong for this…I can't do this now.

Kurama lightly nipped the corner of her jaw before leaning back enough press another kiss just behind her ear as he explained the reasons behind the agitation she had obviously picked up on, "I was frustrated, listening to that wolf speaking of you so familiarly when you and I haven't had the time to become as close as we should."

Kagome slowly crossed her arms to cover his, tilting her head back to rub under her chin before his youki could reach a level she'd be unable to resist drawing in under her current state, "Kouga's changed a lot over the years… but not that much. Don't take that `my woman' thing too seriously."

`He intends for us to take it seriously, and that means we need to be alert for his interference,' Youko contradicted that even as he was blending together to really feel the way she shivered when he traced her earlobe with the tip of his tongue. `But if Kagome is the one reassuring us that we have no reason for concern regarding his claim, we don't have to be as cautious of their relationship when forming our own.'

"I must admit, that is good to hear," Kurama released her wrist in favor of holding her even closer, fitting her back to his body with an ease that had Youko nearly purring in approval. "Hearing such an open declaration of love towards you was somewhat… disconcerting."

Kagome couldn't help but chuckle, easily able to picture what the conversation had been like between the two given Kouga's track record and Kurama's personality, "It used to piss Inuyasha off like you wouldn't believe that Kouga could yell out that he loved me no matter who was there to hear it. It made him more insecure, and Kouga can smell weakness."

"What did you yell back?" Kurama couldn't help but relax at the light sound of her laughter despite the irritating subject matter.

"To watch his head before it got taken off by the Gokurakuchou," she shifted her weight to turn her cheeky smile on him, ducking out of his arms when he let out a huff at her answer. "C'mon. I don't want to make them wait too long for us when they really do have business to see to."

`The Gokurakuchou are only in Makai now, and have never crossed the barrier,' Youko frowned at the insinuation that she knew exactly what those youkai were. `They've kept to themselves ever since-'

Ever since the wolves nearly obliterated them, Kurama made a sound of understanding even as he caught hold of Kagome's hand again, forcing her to remain in the alley a moment longer. Why would they take her so deeply into Makai that she faced those creatures?

`Kouga's doing, no doubt about it,' Youko didn't sound the least bit pleased by that. `But how are they getting her back and forth without that idiot in Reikai being alerted to a human crossing into Makai? Not to mention, how are they crossing the barriers.'

"It's this way, Kurama," Kagome tugged at his hand, trying to pull him out of the alley again as she pointed to the trees on the opposite side of the side street.

Shaking off the rising questions for a later time, he refocused on the more important issue Youko was whispering him to clarify before they gave in and let her lead the way towards this shrine. "Do you think he truly loves you?"

"Of course," Kagome shrugged, sighing in resignation when she recognized the determined glint in his eyes. Suddenly, I'm glad I spent so much time with Shippou, she could help but admit to herself as she brushed his hair out of his eyes in a gesture of casual affection to settle his instincts away from what he was perceiving as a threat. "Comfortable love, Kurama, and he is a very dear friend to me. There's never been any question in his devotion, even though we've never been that way."

"Then why allow him to call you his?" Youko tilted his head, genuinely curious as to her reasoning even as he relaxed at hearing she'd never been intimate with the wolf.

"Because I might not be in love with him, but he still has a piece of me that I would never take back," Kagome smiled softly, stretching up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "Now can we talk about this later, Kurama? Please?"

`Say yes,' Youko urged despite his own frustration at the vague justification. `Don't push her.'

I know that, Kurama very nearly rolled his eyes, resisting the urge as he drew Kagome forward into the circle of his arms yet again to feel her slide her hand up his back and pull him closer with a smile he could feel through his shirt. "I would like to be honest about this, about what I want between you and me," he explained his need to question her quietly in her ear. "That's the only reason I ask."

"Shippou would have a heart-attack and disown you for your kind if he knew you were having jealous pangs over a wolf," Kagome whispered right back, bursting out in laughter when he mock growled and hoisted her up high against his chest.

"Jealous pangs?" green eyes flashed gold, and the unease completely vanished from his expression under an amused smirk when he took in the devilish gleam making her eyes sparkle an even more vivid blue. `Oh she's starting early to tease us so soon.'

Kagome pasted on a thoughtful look, "Well you know-"

Kurama snorted, giving her a firm squeeze before dropping her back to her feet and linking their hands as he finally led them out across the street towards the woods, "I'll make sure you pay for that while we're here, smartass."

She bit down hard on her lip, attempting in vain to stave off the wide smile, "Oh?"

He shot her a look full of promise over his shoulder, "You're a rather small person, you know. You should consider how easily I could restrain you."

"I should have pegged you for the bondage sort when I woke up from that dream wrapped up in your present," Kagome let out an exaggerated sigh, snickering behind her hand when his fluid stride jarred slightly. "That wasn't funny, you know. I'm still mad at you for it."

Youko's smile turned wicked where she couldn't see it, `Ah, I knew she would be perfect. Silly lover… does she really think we believe her?'

If it makes her feel better, we can afford to let her think we do, Kurama absently held out a hand to encourage the brush to pull away when they reached the edge of the faint path. "This way?"

"Yes," Kagome brushed past him to take the lead again. "Don't worry, it's not far. Sesshoumaru's family has always been big on hiding things in plain sight."

Kurama shook his head and couldn't help but chuckle, "It's a good strategy. Has he ever thought of becoming a thief?"

"Sesshoumaru?" her voice readily displayed the non-existent chance of that. "Hardly. If he sees something he wants, he takes it, and he's powerful enough that he can do it. If he really wants to, that is."

"What do you mean?" he couldn't help but look around them into the trees, expanding his youki when he noticed the feel of humanity starting to filter out of their surroundings the deeper she guided him along the path. Here too… the empty feeling over purification…

"Sesshoumaru has always had his own agenda," Kagome explained distractedly, slowing as she reached out and brushed her fingertips over one of the trees. The audible crackle brought his gaze around in time to see the jump of pale violet energy from her hand to the bark, watching it trace the shape of a holy spell just before the air in front of them shimmered and pulled open to show the barrier he couldn't feel or see. "Sometimes what he says he means isn't what he really means. That might not make sense, but he plans farther ahead than any creature I've ever known. Everything he says, everything he does is all to get the end he wants, even if it means one or two small `failures' along the way."

"He's a tactician," Youko answered, following her description with ease as they expanded their own youki to feel the barrier more directly as they passed through it. `Holy fuck,' he shivered and pulled back deep into their soul in reflex so rapidly that Kurama stumbled for a split second. `That's-'

"This is the strongest holy barrier I've ever felt," Kurama finished the thought in awe, reaching out his free hand curiously to watch the ki wind around it, sparking and warming the skin searchingly as it read into him. This should be eating us.

"That's why I can't bring you any farther than the gates," Kagome gave him a squeeze as she tossed an apologetic smile over her shoulder when she felt the intrusion into the energy around them, carefully guiding it to accept the kitsune's presence. "I can pull this into myself and make sure it doesn't hurt you here on the path, but it's even stronger from the inside. I don't want you to be purified by accident."

"Is it difficult to draw in power this intense?" Kurama frowned at the thought that she might be exhausting herself unnecessarily with his presence.

Kagome winked at him, "Hence, my napping."

He nearly stopped in surprise, only a light pull from her keeping him moving as he stared down at her, "Then it was for me?"

`Do something to show her how much that means to us, Kurama,' Youko ordered in one of the sternest tones he'd heard from the kitsune in a long time. `Something special, and soon, while this is fresh in her mind.'

"You wanted to come with me," she nodded, coming to a stop and reaching out to move several low hanging branches aside to the right of the path when Kurama's hand lightly touched her shoulder. She glanced back at him, thinking he was calling her on being untruthful before and defending, "I'm being honest about being up late and handling Shippou on a chocolate buzz, but I wouldn't have slept so late if you weren't coming too. I didn't want to make a mistake because I was tired."

"Let me," Kurama shook his head to deny her idea as to why he'd stopped her. Seeing his chance to impress their gratitude on her, he took a step forward and pressed his chest lightly against her back again, stretching to press his palm over her hand. Saying a quick prayer that he wasn't making a mistake to do this around so much holy magic, he let their youki flow out through her hand before meticulously controlling it to let her feel how they guided their energy to direct the trees into moving aside for her.

Kagome sucked in a sharp breath, eyes flashing and hand reflexively closing in a fist to try and hold that sensation in when it snaked straight to the center of her soul, O-oh. Oh gods, it… why does he feel like this to me?

`Yes,' Youko's chest expanded in pride, pouring more of himself carefully into the mix when he felt her pulse leap. `Ah, Kurama, you do so make me proud to keep you around sometimes.'

Kurama felt safe enough to roll his eyes at the kitsune's arrogance this time, easing the flow of his youki down at an even place to protect against shocking her purification powers. Dragging his fingertips up her skin in a ghosting caress once he had finished, he waited for her to react even as he purposely increased the seduction in his voice to whisper softly in her ear, "There is no plant that won't bow to you when you're with me, Kagome. Allow me to show you that when we are in situations such as this for everything you do thinking of my comfort."

It was so very hard to take that first step away from him, nearly impossible to hold her aura calm with the excess of youki inside her hungrily reaching for the intoxicating feel of Kurama's power so close and so open to her. Her soul was whispering to her, the potential in absorbing even a little of him… there was no telling how much of the taint she could push from the nature around her, how much she could restore to the condition she had loved in the past.

Kurama could feel a stirring of dark satisfaction that had nothing to do with Youko's own significant level of pleasure filling him at the shaky breath she drew in, hungrily soaking in the way she swayed a moment on her feet before taking control of herself again and steadying. I think we may have underestimated how sensitive she is to the way our youki feel to her.

`Not a mistake we will repeat,' Youko nudged him gently to extend their hand and rest it on the small of her back in a gesture of both support and possession. `I want her, Kurama. I want her soul to ache for me.'

Us.

"It's… up ahead," Kagome didn't look at him, swallowing hard and pressing one hand to her stomach to settle the clamor inside her down to a more docile state. "You can see the wall from here. Through the trees."

Kurama followed along behind her docilely, openly preening to himself over seeing such a blatant, favorable reaction to the use of his youki, She is perfect for us, isn't she?

`And to think you would have missed her without me,' Youko chuckled, unaware of the particular gleam in their eyes as they watched the way she moved so naturally through their favorite element. Still, he perked up from his serious mood when a thought struck him, and he poked at Kurama in excitement, `You know… I bet she'd be willing to have sex in the woods with us. Can you imagine the kind of energy we'd pull in off that?'

Kurama bit down unintentionally on his tongue at the sudden wash of images being supplied by Youko's overactive imagination, fisting his hands so tightly he was almost surprised the skin across his knuckles didn't split, Do you have to think about this now?!

Youko flashed him a look that was disturbingly innocent under the wicked amusement Kurama could easily feel coming from him, `What?'

Kurama sighed in exasperation, shaking off the erotic fantasies with effort as the trees abruptly stopped at the wall Kagome had indicated, frowning when he noted that it looked more like something one would find at an ancient fort than a temple. Confused, he glanced at Kagome, waiting for her to look at him before putting the question into his expression.

"It was the outer wall back when this was still a working home," Kagome smiled and explained, walking up the wall easily and reaching out to rest her hand on the blessings carved into the wood. "The shrine was built after it was destroyed in a fire, and the property has belonged to our family since that for centuries. Sesshoumaru and the others kept it safe, and now… now it protects something very important to me."

It has to be her husband's grave, Kurama started to step forward, only to jerk back when his senses screamed in warning to pull away or risk something extremely painful. Shit, that's as far as we can go?

`She wasn't kidding,' Youko tilted his head to one side, fantasizing pushed to the back of his mind as he regarded the barrier in front of them critically. `I don't think I could break this. I've never felt this kind of energy concentration except in the most extreme shrines and hold grounds. But still, there's a level to this that tastes different.'

"Are you sure you'll be all right alone?" Kurama couldn't help but ask, not liking the certainty in Youko's voice that this was a barrier they wouldn't be able to get through if anything should happen.

Kagome smiled back at him, coming back out of the barrier and motioning him to bend down so she could kiss his forehead in the same gesture he recognized she used for other youkai in her family, "Trust me, this isn't the first time I've been here and it won't be the last. But it's sweet that you're worried."

"Last time we were separated by a barrier, you were hurt," he reminded her, unable to stop the way their soul warmed under so obvious a sign of acceptance deeper into her affections.

"Anything trying to open a portal from Makai to this temple would rip their soul out backwards the instant it formed," she assured him and stepped back to the carving, pushing against it until the heavy clack of a latch deep inside the wood had Kurama flinching back from the volume of the grating sound. The wall let out a groaning creak, seams appearing on the logs as a door formed and swung open just wide enough for her to squeeze through, "I'll be right back, Kurama. I promise."

Kurama shoved his hands down in his pockets, taking a step back until he could lean against a tree to wait as she disappeared through the narrow opening, frowning when the door closed immediately, seamlessly behind her, I'm not sure I like her being alone where I can't reach her, even if it is a shrine.

`I fucking hate it, but that barrier won't let anything else in either,' Youko sighed, flopping back as he resigned himself to waiting as well. `All we can do is trust her right now. She deserves it from us if we want her to give us the same.'

Kurama sighed, looking up at the sky, I do trust her, but it doesn't change that I don't feel right when she's not where I know she's safe.

<………>

Kagome paused as soon as the wall closed behind her, wincing at the echoing sound of the wood falling back into place as it bounced repeatedly off the empty courtyard spread out in front of her. The silence that settled around her was nearly oppressive, pushing in on her aura and feeding off her agitation to amplify it back at her as she lifted her hand to let the protective spells seep into her. Splaying her fingers, Kagome released her hold on the excessive youki to let it wind around and around her soul just as possessively as the taiyoukai she'd pulled it from, openly revealing just who had entered the shrine.

You feel it, don't you? The need returns to you when your soul touches this holy place, doesn't it, miko?

Kagome opened her eyes, not bothering to hide the way they steadily cleared into the intense, wholly inhuman blue. Whispers rose from the spirits she could feel left behind all around her, filling her mind as she straightened her spine and started across the courtyard towards the single building set in the center of the property.

What are you hoping to gain in coming here? What is it that you think you can find?

Her aura expanded as she brought her hands down into her pockets with a casualness she was far from feeling. She closed her eyes when the first tracing of fingers brushed across her soul, spiraling around her in time with the whispers until the feeling began to split into even more, tugging and dragging at her in their curiosity to feel her.

Do you think this will work?

The whispers gained clarity, murmuring comfort, promises, praise… things she had heard so many times from so many just like them as she reached the shoji separating the actual shrine from the rest of the property. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she reached out and pressed her fingertips to the wood, silently sliding it open to let her step inside.

The voices instantly disappeared when the shoji closed behind her, encasing her with dim silence in the empty antechamber, and Kagome let her head drop back against the wood as she took a moment to collect her thoughts. The feel of the discouragement had seemed different, impersonal for some reason… probably an echo placed on the grounds long before she had returned. Briefly she wondered if Sesshoumaru had orchestrated some sort of spell to anyone who made it to the inner grounds, but quickly moved that to the back of her mind for a later time.

As soon as her eyes opened, Kagome started to find herself staring at a simple, black kimono now hanging on the inner shoji and frowned at the blatant suggestion. But even so, she was already habitually stepping out of her shoes and reaching for the hem of her shirt to pull it off, the tradition and habits ingrained to deeply to ignore now. She shook her head but quickly, respectfully changed her attire, not in the least surprised to find both layers of the kimono the same shade of unrelenting black.

The rose letting out a faint purr and gathering her hair up on top of her head in a careful bun brought a smile to her face in the face of her disquiet. Stroking her fingers over the vine in gratitude as it threaded to its favorite place in holding that style and settled back down obediently at her urging. The light-hearted moment was gone as quickly as it had come, however, and she straightened her spine as soon as she'd tied the obi into place. Silently reaching out to pull open the shoji to the expansive main hall, Kagome stepped into the room and carefully eased the sliding screen closed as her eyes searched the interior for any changes.

It was still mostly bare. Unnatural blue fire lit a symmetrical path from the door to the altar on its dais at the far end, while it cast the folding, painted shoji flanking either side into deeper shadows. They were the only decoration the room had to offer, simple and unchanged as she turned her gaze from side to side to see the ofuda still marking thicker beams at each dark corners in the room.

Miroku's ofuda.

Kagome stood perfectly still, only tilting her head as she waited until the energy in the room had stirred, seeming to sigh and gather back in on itself in recognition. Satisfied when the flames making the path to the altar had brightened in invitation and the thick ki reached out to tug at her hands in an effort to draw her closer, Kagome stepped down to the floor and walked toward the raised dais.

The closer she came, the more she could feel the air thicken, the sense of awareness and recognition growing stronger with every step she took. The lights leading towards the exit of the room began to dim as she passed, obviously wanting her to continue as she approached the grave marker imbedded in the side of the altar.

She paused in front of the dais, staring at the intricate lines of carving that hadn't worn in the slightest despite the length of time that had passed with a sort of serene nostalgia until her senses hummed with the awareness of another soul watching her in silence. Kagome felt the spark of ki chase across the ground in front of her, dropping her gaze only to let out a short, humorless laugh when she saw the kneeling pillow that had appeared in place. Still, she gracefully lowered herself to it, tucking her feet beneath her and lifting one hand in a prayer pose as her eyes closed.

The rustle of silk behind her was the first audible indication her silent companion had moved, sensing the approaching steps as that gathering ki finally collected enough to solidify as it came to a stop directly behind her. A sense of calm washed over her as her hand lowered to her lap, opening her eyes to stare at the name engraved so carefully on the bone marker on the altar as she addressed her silent watcher.

"Hello, Naraku."