Chapter 51: Starter Plans

Sesshomaru let his energy take him up, transforming his body like it had been yearning to do for years. The release was almost euphoric.

x

As he rose to meet the other youkai's eye level, he was also plunged into the ocean until his paws met the bottom. He could feel a tingling, then a white-hot sensation at the stump of his shoulder and, quickly, bone,flesh, and silver fur began to grow until they too plunged into the depths, a complete, new limb. His jaws parted in a fangy sneer.

x

"You want to play it this way, dog lord?" the youkai jeered.

It rushed Sesshomaru, lowering its horned head as it charged. A simple, fluid sidestep had Sesshomaru out of the way, and he slapped his long tail into the other youkai's side casually as he moved. He heard ribs crack and felt a little satisfaction at that. It grunted and whirled on him again, rushing at him, throwing a huge clawed hand up, where the fingers elongated and stabbed downwards like spears.

x

Though it happened in seconds, Sesshomaru saw it as if it were in slow motion. He moved again, a simple motion, and rounded on the demon's other arm. He grabbed it in his jaws and ripped it clean off, turning his head to toss it into the raging swell farther out away from the shore. The youkai stared at him blankly for a few seconds too long as Sesshomaru watched him, amused.

"Do you submit?" he asked.

The youkai didn't reply in words, but instead let out a low, guttural roar and ran at him again. Sesshomaru was disappointed and slipped away again, and again, and again. He couldn't help feel that this demon, despite his size, was pathetically weak and stupid. In that sense, it certainly hadn't been worth the transformation, but he was enjoying himself nonetheless.

x

However, he had to cut their dance short. His eye pulled out a boat amongst the gloom, somewhat far-off, small, caught in the storm with lights and engine broken. His scuffle with this youkai certainly wasn't helping the condition of the waves. He puffed out a small sigh through his nose and, as the other youkai rushed him again in a thunderous rage, reached up, caught him by the throat in his teeth, and snapped his neck.

x

The youkai gurgled and collapsed, head toppling completely from his shoulders. The body withered, flesh dissolving like dark steam in the cold air. Sesshomaru supposed he'd have to return later for the bones.

x

On careful paws, he slipped through the waves to the boat and stared down at it for a moment. A couple, an older man, and a young girl on board, panicking and trying to manage the rudder, didn't seem to notice him at all. He reached down and gently grabbed the vessel in his teeth. The humans onboard screamed as he lifted them just above the water, though he ignored them and moved them towards shore. He placed them into the water just a few meters from land and then used his nose to push them ashore. They finally stopped screaming as they ran aground. They seemed more amazed than anything.

x

Sesshomaru watched them in silence for a little while as they stumbled onto solid ground, though he quickly realized they still had no way to find their way when the small child started to whine about how afraid of the dark she was. They were at the base of a steep incline that would only get them to the road at all if they scaled it and then traipsed through the woods as well. He tilted his head and then, hoping he wouldn't regret it, he lowered himself slowly into the water and changed his form, shrinking down to the size of a wolfhound.

x

He paddled ashore and shook his fur, then approached the family. He watched curiously as the father pulled a waterlogged bag from the boat and fished out what seemed to be a large flashlight. As soon as managed to the the light on, Sesshomaru strode into their line of view and forced his tail to wag. The humans were taken aback.

"Doggie!" the little girl yelled.

Though her mother shouted at her to wait, Sesshomaru stood still as the child hugged onto his chest.

"He's all wet!" she called.

"So is everything, sweetie," he mother called. "Come back here, now."

When the little girl didn't listen right away, Sesshomaru was certain he had a way to get them to safety.

x

He started to walk and the girl followed, and before her parents or grandfather could stop them, Sesshomaru gingerly hopped up a few footholds up the side of the rocky rise behind them. The tiny girl trailed him without much problems despite her size. Alarmed the adults rushed to follow, but Sesshomaru kept the daughter just out of reach, urging them up the slope. It was a little slippery, especially near the top, so Sesshomaru grabbed the small girl and ferried her up himself and waited for the others at the top with a bored expression of his face.

x

By the time they reached him, they seemed to have finally clued in. It took another twenty minutes, but he escorted them through the dense woods and out to the road. They seemed to know where they were at that point, so Sesshomaru took his leave.

x

It didn't take him long to find his car on the bridge again and, ducking behind one of the fallen trees, he reassumed his regular form in a rush of blue aura. He found his shirt and jacket torn at where the pinned sleeve normally was, and he took a moment to pause and look at his new arm. It felt surreal for a few seconds as he rubbed his fingers against each other. They felt oddly smooth. It was a pleasant change, though.

x

He moved the trees off the road and then got back in his car. He ran a hand through his bangs to brush the water away from his eyes, and then gingerly grasped the steering wheel with his new hand. It felt normal again very quickly.

oOoOoOoO

Inside his home, Sesshomaru instantly picked out the close sound of Rin's slow, drowsy breathing. He left to change out of his damp clothes —and to unpin the sleeve on the new shirt— and then, curious, he went to the living room and found the little girl sleeping, sitting up, on the sofa, a book held loosely in one hand falling into her lap. Tilting his head ever so slightly, he crouched before her and tapped her shoulder. Groggily, she opened her eyes a sliver.

"Rin, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"D…Dad…? Ooh. Sorry. I heard you go out," she said.

She stretched her arms and blinked her eyes to help her open them wider, but when she focussed on him, she looked surprised.

"Your hair's all wet!" she said. "Were you out in the storm?"

"Something like that," he said.

He ruffled her hair and she smiled and laughed. She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles and was about to say something when she took note of the change to his body. Her eyes widened.

"Wait," she said. "Wait a second! Am I still dreaming?"

"No, why?" he asked.

She gawked and reached for his hand, and then took it in both of hers.

"Your… Your arm's back!" she squealed.

She jumped him and grabbed around his shoulders in a tight hug. He was taken aback for a moment, but he gently embraced her in return and felt, rather suddenly, quite pleased to have his arm.

x

"What happened?" she asked.

"It grew back," he said simply.

Rinn pulled out of his arms, but held his hand again, turning it over in hers.

"It looks so normal," she said. "That's amazing. Can all demons do that?"

"Not necessarily."

She grinned up at him and hugged him again.

"I'm happy for you," she said.

x

He lifted her up and carried her to her room. She seemed happy when he put her down, and she snuggled back into her already disturbed bed.

"Does the thunder bother you?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Not really," she said, but he could tell she was fibbing.

He tucked her back in, and she grabbed his hand again.

"I almost forgot," she said, "but I wanted to tell you. Jaken helped me with my homework tonight."

"Did he?" Sesshomaru asked.

Rin frowned a little.

"Well… Not really, but he was trying really hard, and I let him think that he helped so he would feel better. He's been acting weird lately. Not bad weird, just like… friendlier weird."

"Does he bother you?"

She shook her head.

"No. He's doing better," she said; she moped. "He wasn't super happy when I moved in, huh?"

"That doesn't matter," Sesshomaru said.

"I know, I know, but it's just that, he lived here longer, and—"

"Rin," the youkai said sternly, cutting her off, "this is your home now. Nothing will change that."

The girl looked a little surprised, but she laughed a little and nodded.

"I know. Thanks, dad."

oOoOoOoO

To Kagome's surprise, Sango was over bright and early the next morning, before the sun had fully risen. She took her out into the yard to begin her training once again. At first, Kagome was reluctant, unsure exactly what she had signed up for, but as she slowly began to grasp the basic forms, she was surprised to find it somewhat relaxing.

x

At Sango's insistence, she began releasing short, soft bursts of energy whenever the form involved any sort of striking motion. Though as she was, Kagome couldn't conjure any sort of blast, she was starting to be able to feel her energy flowing more freely through her body.

"Well, look at you!" Sango said brightly. "Kid, you're gonna do just fine with this."

"You… You really think so?" Kagome asked; she was getting a little out of breath.

Sango nodded and broke her form to stretch her arms high above her head.

"Yup!" she said. "We'll just keep practicing. But tomorrow. Now, breakfast, I think."

"Breakfast?" Kagome repeated.

"Yup. Come with me," she said.

x

Puzzled, Kagome followed Sango back to her house through the hole in the outer wall. The other girl vanished behind the house for just a moment before she reappeared with a bike. She hopped on and patted the back rack with a grin.

"C'mon, get on," she said.

"What? Really? Are you sure that's okay?" Kagome asked.

Sango laughed.

"I'm sure! C'mon, Kagome, you're tiny, it'll be no problem," she assured her.

x

A little hesitant nonetheless, Kagome scooted onto the back of the bike. Sango grinned and took off much more quickly than she had been expecting. They raced down the driveway and made a wide turn onto the street, with Kagome hanging on for dear life.

"Where are we going?" she asked a bit shrilly.

"Breakfast!" Sango said brightly.

x

She sped down the road towards the larger streets, just starting to bustle, and Kagome tried desperately to keep her hair out of her eyes. Her ears popped as they sped down a hill, but before long, Sango stuck her legs out and slowly brought them to a stop. Frazzled, her mind racing, Kagome stumbled off the bike and Sango quickly put a lock on it against a bike rack nearby before beckoning the other girl towards a door.

x

Hurriedly trying to straighten her hair with her fingers, Kagome followed Sango inside of what appeared to be a small, but welcoming restaurant, serving noodles, soup and other fine smelling foods to mostly tired-looking businessmen. Sango took them to a cozy booth and hopped in enthusiastically. Kagome slid in across from her and Sango tossed her a menu.

"What do you want? Anything. My treat," she said.

"What? But… But why? I mean, thank you! But—"

Sango laughed.

"Believe it or not, it's exciting for me to be training you," she said. "My culture is so obscure, right? It feels really good to share it with someone."

Kagome was taken aback, but she couldn't help but smile.

"Then I'm really grateful for that," Kagome said. "Okay. Fine. Just this once. I'll get you back some other time."

"Deal," Sango assured her.

x

Kagome chose some dumplings and a bibimbap, a Korean dish of rice, vegetables, meat and egg in a hot pot made of stone, while Sango ordered curry rice, some tempura, a bowl of kimchi ramen, and katsudon, a rice bowl topped with breaded pork. Kagome couldn't believe that one normal person could eat so much, but Sango didn't seem to have any problem at all.

x

As Kagome dug in, she was immediately happy with her choice.

"Ooh, this is great. I should bring the guys here," she said brightly.

"I know, right?" she said. "I'm coming here all the time now."

"What? Is this your first time here?" Kagome asked.

"Oh yeah! I just picked the first place I saw that was open."

Kagome couldn't help but laugh.

x

"So, tell me," Sango said around a mouthful of noodles, "you doing okay? With everything? I mean, I grew up with all this stuff, but you, you're new to it all, right?"

"Yup," Kagome agreed. "It's been a pretty steep learning curve, I guess. But honestly? Even though I'm scared out of my mind a lot of the time, I'm so happy to be a part of it, even after everything that's happened. I've met so many great friends."

Sango smiled.

"That's good to hear," she said. "I've always been worried to bring new people into this. I guess I was lucky that I started daring Miroku, because he knows basically the same stuff I do. How was… I mean, how was Inu-Yasha with that? I mean, if it's not too personal."

"Well," she said, "he was nervous at first. Super scared. I guess he kind of eased me into it. But I actually met… you know, I met some, before I knew that he was one. I think that softened the blow a bit."

"Did you really?" Sango said, surprised. "He held off telling you that long?"

"I know he didn't mean to. I don't think he'd ever really admit it," Kagome said, "but he was terrified. I… I don't know what happened for sure with that girl he dated before, but I know she hurt him and… and I guess he was just scared of anything like that every happening again. I'm just so happy he trusted me."

"I'm sure he's just as happy that you trusted him," Sango said with a grin.

Kagome all but glowed and her cheeks flushed. Sango smiled knowingly.

"Anyway!" Sango said. "Like I said, I had a good time training with you. You okay to do tomorrow, too?"

"Sure," Kagome said.

oOoOoOoO

Back home, the first thing Kagome did was have a shower. Despite the bruises and sweat, she was feeling pretty good about the morning.

x

After getting dressed, she peeked in on Koga, who was still asleep, having taken the form of a wolf again. Kemtau was slumped nearby, also rather canine in shape. Sota, in his own room, was still asleep as well.

x

Kagome went back downstairs. She had half a mind to start organizing some of the leftover boxes of their things, but she took one look at the daunting pile in the hallway and turned around.

x

Thinking maybe she'd watch some t.v. instead, she slipped into the living room, but found Inu-Yasha, asleep and half hanging off the couch, his sword, sheathed, in his hand resting somewhat on the floor. Her face lit up. She didn't want to wake him, but as she was about to leave, he shifted a bit and his eyes opened.

"Kagome? Oh, hi…" he said sleepily.

"Oh! You're up?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah," he said.

He sat up groggily, blinking hard and rubbing a hand through his hair. Kagome snickered.

"What'd you sleep there for?" she asked.

"Didn't want to wake you up," he mumbled.

Kagome hopped over the arm of the couch to join him and gave him a quick kiss. He smiled and rested his brow against hers tiredly.

"You know, I don't mind if you do," she assured him.

He nodded, then rubbed his eyes sleepily. She smiled.

"Guess you're still kind of out of it, huh?" she asked.

He nodded again and scratched his head. Kagome leaned around him to look at his hair for a moment and then slid off the couch. He looked at her with confusion.

"I'll be right back," she assured him.

x

She returned quickly with a comb, only to find Inu-Yasha sitting on the floor now, scratching behind his ear absently with his foot. She was taken aback for just a second, held in a laugh, and waited for him to readjust himself before joining him. He still looked half-asleep. She settled in behind him and began to comb his hair.

x

Inu-Yasha's ears twitched back, but he didn't say a word. He supposed he needed it, but nonetheless, the sensation was nice. Kagome started humming and he couldn't help but close his eyes again. He barely heard her when she paused and let out a ponderous hmm sound.

"It's a little rough here, maybe I can…"

She seemed distracted and stood up to leave the room, but she returned again quickly with a small pair of scissors. Inu-Yasha only snapped out of his drowsy state when he heard the sharp snip and felt the friction on some hair near his neck.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"It's just that they hacked your hair kinda roughly," she said. "And since you've been keeping it like this, I thought I'd just clean it up a little."

"Oh." He turned his head to shoot her a look over his shoulder. "Do you think I should keep it short?"

"I don't mind either way," she assured him.

She ran her fingers along the back of his head. He tried to suppress a ticklish shudder and she cooed to herself.

"Sorry, I just love how soft it is."

"It's not really so different, is it?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Feels like your fur. It's just a bit different."

She gently pulled the comb through his hair and his eyelids drooped.

"I guess," he said, quietly and lazily, "short isn't so bad. I'll change it if I need to, but right now I guess this is fine."

"Sounds good to me," Kagome said with a laugh.

x

She ran the comb through this hair a few more times, and then used her fingers to work around his ears. The way they flopped back a little— he seemed to be enjoying it. She took one of his ears carefully in between a finger and thumb and rubbed gently. He leaned into her hand sleepily. She smiled to herself and put the comb down to free her other hand to rub her boyfriend's other ear. She found it almost contradictory that someone like Inu-Yasha had a part of him that was so utterly sensitive.

x

She returned to the brush and smoothed his hair a little more, but when she finished, his head tilted back, neck limp, and she realized he had fallen asleep again. She tried not to laugh, but failed, and he blinked awake quickly.

"I'm up, I'm up," he said swiftly.

She laughed even harder.

"What?" he demanded.

"Nothing, nothing," she assured him. "Done for now."

She kissed his cheek and he was instantly blushing. She snickered and stood, heading for the kitchen.

x

She put the scissors on the counter and then turned the kettle on before hopping around the kitchen, checking the cupboards. She found a couple packets of spicy beef ramen, grinned to herself, and grabbed them. She set up a pot with boiling water and started the broth off from the packets, but before she could proceed any further, she was surprised to find Inu-Yasha up against her back as he peered over her shoulder curiously.

"That's a lot," he said; he sounded pleased.

"Yup, well, I gotta feed like four of you, so…" she said.

"You're not eating?"

"Nah, Sango took me out for breakfast."

"Oh!" Inu-Yasha sounded surprised. "Right. I was gonna ask why you smelled so good, but I thought it would sound creepy."

Kagome laughed and scooted away to get to the fridge.

"Sango's really nice," she said as she pulled out some eggs and some shallots. "We're going to do training in the mornings now, I guess. And she eats like… Well, like you do. I'm a little jealous."

x

She tossed the shallots at him, which he caught in one hand.

"Could you chop those for me?" she asked.

"Oh, Yeah, sure."

As Kagome stirred the broth in the pot, Inu-Yasha dug a cutting board out from one of the cupboards and put the shallots on top. However, when he went looking for a knife, he couldn't find one. He pouted for just a moment, but then his ears lifted. He raised his index and middle finger and set them aglow with golden energy and, quickly, sliced the shallots into small pieces. Much to his alarm, however, he soon realized that he had sliced up the cutting board as well. Biting his lip, he stashed it behind him as Kagome turned around to get the noodles. She raised her eyebrow.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"What? Nothing's with me. What do you mean?" he asked.

Kagome raised her eyebrow and leaned to the side. She seemed amused.

"You broke the board, didn't you?"

"No! Of course not, why would I—" He drooped as she gave him a knowing look "…Yes. Sorry."

She laughed.

"Less energy next time!" she joked.

"Yeah, I figured," he said, embarrassed.

He scooped up the shallots and handed them to her, and she smiled nonetheless and dropped them in the soup, then added the noodles. As Inu-Yasha leaned over to watch her stir and and add the eggs, he couldn't help a smile. He put his arms around her and revelled, for a moment, at how utterly normal it felt.

x

Kagome leaned into him, content, and then turned, standing a little taller to give him a quick, affectionate kiss. His ears pinned back and he grinned shyly.

"So uh… how was training, though?" he asked.

"Really good. I'm starting to really feel the flow of my energy," she said. "You were right. It's helping a lot. This is just my second time and I already feel like I'm making progress."

He nodded as he felt a tingle of pride.

"How about you, how was last night?" she asked.

"Fine. No big deal," he said, "I think my brother just wanted to feel my energy after we did the thing."

"Fair enough," Kagome said, nodding.

She turned back to the soup, stirred it gently, then seemed pleased and turned off the heat. Only then did it occur to Inu-Yasha that he could be making tea for them, so he did so, quickly. By the time he was done, he was surprised to see that Kagome had prepared a large bowl of soup and noodles for him. He accepted it gratefully.

x

They lazed together on the sofa for a while, sipping tea and watching snippets of shows and the news. There was nothing much of note.

x

As the morning trundled into a more respectable hour, Kagome couldn't help but perk to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Grinning, she got up and slid into the hallway to greet Koga.

"Hey, come with me, we made breakfast," she said.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the kitchen where she had left the soup covered on the burner, then quickly doled out a large bowl to him. He seemed a little baffled.

"Oh! Thanks," he said. "How long have you been up?"

"Since before sunrise, I think," she said. "Sleep well? You okay? I saw you went full wolf."

"Oh. Yeah. Don't worry about it, sometimes I just find it easier to sleep like that," he said. "Sometimes it's just a temperature thing."

"That's good," Kagome said. "Kemtau okay?"

"Yeah. Kid likes to snuggle," Koga said.

He frowned slightly, looking a little worried.

"I guess he must be lonely sometimes," he said.

"I think we all know that feeling," Kagome said.

x

As Koga left to join Inu-Yasha in the living room, Kagome left the kitchen with two more bowls of soup. Out in the hall, though, her toe caught on something in one of the piles of their unpacked belongings and she yelped, her stomach dropping. Inu-Yasha was there before she could even blink, though, holding her back upright.

"You okay?" he asked with a laugh.

"Just glad I didn't drop hot soup!" she said. "Thanks!"

x

She hurried upstairs and slunk into Sota's room, knocking on the doorframe with her foot until she saw him stir.

"Kagome? Whaaat? Why? It's too early," the boy grumbled.

"It's almost 10," she retorted. "C'mon. I made food."

"I hope you didn't bake it," he said tiredly.

"Shut up," she said, "it's ramen, you nerd."

Groggily, Sota sat up and she offered him the bowl. He took it, looked in it suspiciously for a moment and then smiled a bit.

"Alright. Looks pretty good. Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," Kagome said with a hint of sass.

Sota stuck his tongue out at her and she replied in kind.

x

In Koga's room, she joined Kemtau. She was surprised to find that he wasn't asleep in the dimly lit room, but instead he was thumbing through one of the books Koga had been reading earlier.

"You picking it up?" Kagome asked.

Kemtau's ear twitched towards her and he smiled a little.

"Sort of," he said. "It's a little hard though."

"Well, that's a teen book and you're still a little kid," she said, "and Japanese isn't even your first language! Don't worry about it, you'll get it the more you practice."

"I guess that makes sense," Kemtau agreed.

"Anyway, I brought you some food," she said.

She traded him the bowl for the book and he smiled gratefully.

"When I'm older, I'll make you guys some food," he said with a grin, and then he pointed at the book. "Um, Kagome? Do you think you can read it to me for a little? I want to see if I'm getting it right."

The girl was taken aback, but she nodded and sat on the bed with him and opened the book from where he was. He shook his head.

"From the start?" he asked.

Kagome laughed.

"Okay."

Kemtau's tail wagged and he scooted in close to look over the pages as Kagome began to read out loud.

oOoOoOoO

Downstairs, Inu-Yasha started moving a couple things out of the way in the main hallway. He found Buyo asleep on a pile of clothes in one of the boxes, but mostly they seemed full of miscellaneous junk. One, however, clearly reeked of a demon's aura, one that he had become so accustomed to he barely noticed it. There was a small box that contained the teeth Tsuyomaru had left for Kagome underneath some books, and so he fished it out and put it aside in case she came looking for it later.

x

As he moved things around again, he came across what Kagome had stumbled over: Koga's guitar case. It looked a little banged up. He lifted it away from the rest of the stuff and then brought it into the living room, where the wolf was just finishing breakfast.

x

"Thought you might want this," Inu-Yasha said.

Koga turned and his eyes lit up. He took it gratefully and looked it over.

"Oof. Looks even worse than before," he grumbled.

He put the case down on the sofa and opened it up. He pulled out his guitar and held it up. He seemed relieved and then placed it down again before he rummaged through the case a little more. Inu-Yasha couldn't help but lean over curiously. Inside was a small section to support the neck of the guitar that flipped open, like a little box. Koga had removed what seemed to be a photograph.

"Everything in there?" Inu-Yasha asked.

"Yeah. It's all fine," Koga replied.

He turned around, but looked somewhat bashful.

"Can I, uh… Can I show you something?" he asked.

Puzzled, Inu-Yasha nodded, and Koga handed him the photograph.

x

It was a sort of touristy photo in front of the white, elegant form of Himeji Castle. Koga, young, maybe six or seven, stood grinning as a woman in a sundress with long, light brown hair held his shoulders and smiled brightly behind him. To their side was a studious-looking older woman, grey, wavy hair, cracking a smile on what seemed to be a usually serious face.

"That's my mom," Koga said, "and my grandma."

x

Inu-Yasha's voice caught in his throat for a moment.

"You guys look happy," he said.

"We were," Koga said; he was smiling despite his voice carrying a hint of sadness. "Thanks for pulling this out for me. I was starting to worry that it got wrecked or something."

Inu-Yasha passed the photo back and Koga gingerly put it in its place inside his guitar case. He then picked up the guitar and strummed it. He and Inu-Yasha both cringed.

"Out of tune as shit," the hanyou commented.

Koga laughed and turned the pegs on the head until the guitar was in tune, then strummed again.

"Better," he said, and then looked at Inu-Yasha. "You play anything?"

"Me? Oh. Nothing seriously," he said. "Why?"

"We could play together sometime, then, maybe," he suggested.

"What? Oh, no, I'm not— No, get Kagome, she plays," Inu-Yasha said.

Koga's face lit up.

"All three of us should some time!" he said. "What do you play?"

"Um… I dunno, just a lot of whatever. I know guitar the most, but I just do basic stuff by ear. I'm really not that great."

"That's okay," Koga said, undeterred. "Oh! After this is all over, we could start a band!"

Inu-Yasha didn't know if he was being serious. He hoped not.

"A band?" he repeated. "Some band. Three guitars and nothing else?"

"I'm sure we could figure something out," Koga said with a laugh. "Can you sing? I can howl. That's about it. It's not great unless you fake being into some weird indie junk."

"Not… Not really," Inu-Yasha said, flustered. "No way I'd sing."

"I bet Kagome can sing," he said. "I bet she has a great voice."

Inu-Yasha was about to protest, but he stopped, not realizing why he would.

"I… I actually don't know, I've never heard her sing," he said.

"I bet she would if you ask her," Koga said.

"I wouldn't wanna put her on the spot like that," he admitted.

"That's fair," Koga said.

x

He strummed a few chords on his guitar and he seemed to brighten even more. Inu-Yasha tilted his head.

"When you said, 'after this is over', you sounded kinda like you thought it would be soon," he said.

"I do." Koga gently plucked the strings in some chord formations. "I figure, once you do your thing with the auras, we all go wreck their place that it comes from, and suddenly they don't really have a leg to stand on, right?"

"You think so?" he wondered.

Koga nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, you saw what we did to them when they ambushed us, right? When they had the upper hand. I broke in, you and Kagome broke out, and you smashed, like, half a building. Imagine what we can do if we actually plan something."

Inu-Yasha hadn't thought of it like that. He hadn't even considered it, and was surprised that Koga's words gave him a bit of extra confidence. He nodded.

"I guess you might be on to something there," he admitted

"I think so, at least." Koga tapped his nails gently on his guitar. "I guess it's weird to think about, but the more time goes on, the more I think that if we want them stopped, we're going to have to be the ones to do it."

"Yeah," Inu-Yasha agreed with a sigh.

He grimaced; Koga tilted his head.

"Is it freaking you out? It makes me pretty nervous just thinking about it."

"I'm fine," the hanyou said. "We'll figure this out."

oOoOoOoO

As Koga started to play guitar, Inu-Yasha was lost in thought over what their next step could be. His brother's words from the night before tumbled around in his head. He wanted more than anything to just be able to live normally, but at the same time, knowing Youki was out there was like a constant gnawing at the back of his mind. He knew there must have been hundreds of others out there like him, and like Koga. He hoped there wasn't many more like Kemtau, but he supposed that there must be.

x

He was jerked from his thoughts when Kagome hopped onto the arm of the sofa beside him and grabbed him around the shoulders. Kemtau was over the back in a jump, climbing into the hanyou's lap before he could say a word.

"Koga, you're really good at that" Kagome said brightly.

"I should be, it's how I made money before moving in," he laughed.

He stopped and rested his guitar against his leg, and in a blur, Kemtau was checking it over cautiously. He looked up at Koga hesitantly, and when the wolf nodded, the little demon carefully plucked one of the strings. The sound made him laugh.

x

"So, I was thinking," Kagome said, "we're just a few blocks from the shrine me and Sota grew up at. I was kind of curious to go see it. Sango mentioned she liked old stuff like that, so…"

"You want to invite her?" Inu-Yasha asked.

Kagome nodded and he couldn't help but feel pleased that she liked Sango so much already.

"So you're from a shrine?" Koga repeated. "How long have you been away?"

"Ooh, jeez, almost a year now, I think," she said.

Though Koga nodded, Inu-Yasha was taken aback.

"Your mom's been gone that long?" he asked.

Kagome nodded, and he frowned deeply.

"Where is she, anyway?"

"Wish I knew," she said. "She said she's coming back really soon, though, so…"

"Oh. Is she gonna be okay with all of us staying?" Koga asked worriedly.

Kagome laughed.

"I'm sure," she said. "She knows you guys have been staying with me. She seemed kinda happy about it, actually."

"Guess she's worried about you," Koga said.

"So we can go to your other house, Kagome?" Kemtau asked. "I'd like to go. Can we go now?"

Kagome looked at the others. Inu-Yasha shrugged.

"I'm not doing anything," he said.

x

The teens got dressed and ready for the chilly weather, and Kemtau changed his form so that he appeared relatively human. Sota didn't want to go home— something about it not feeling right if Mom wasn't there, but Kagome had trouble hearing him through the sounds of the computer game he was playing.

x

They went next-door and Kagome knocked; Sango greeted her quickly.

"We're heading to the shrine," Kagome said. "You and Miroku want to come?"

Sango's face lit up.

"Absolutely!"

x

Miroku was still confined to a wheelchair, but he looked much healthier than he had even just the day prior. Sango pushed him without complaint.

"So how long are you down, anyway?" Inu-Yasha asked as they walked.

"I'm not sure," Miroku admitted. "I don't think it'll be too long. Whatever your brother's people did to me, I'm not healing at a human rate, so that's nice at least."

"And I don't mind carrying you around," Sango assured him.

His face pinked and Kagome cast her a curious look.

"You actually have to lift him? Can you do that?"

"Sure, no problem!" Sango said.

She flexed the muscles on one arm.

"She's ah… she's very strong," Miroku commented.

x

Inu-Yasha snorted out a laugh. Miroku rolled his eyes, but then looked at Kagome and Koga curiously.

"So you're from the shrine, right? How is it with demons, anyway?"

"What? Oh. I've actually never been there," Koga said quickly. "I'm adopted. Kinda recently. But that is actually a good question."

"I don't know, actually," Kagome said bashfully. "I guess we'll see when we get there."

"Eh, you'll figure it out," Inu-Yasha said with a shrug.

Kagome smiled and reached out to take his hand, knitting her fingers with his. He hoped his face hadn't turned red.

x

They didn't know, but Sango took special note of the gesture and smiled to herself. She took a look down at Kemtau.

"Hey, little guy, do you know anything about shrines like this?" she asked.

"Nope, never even seen one!" he said brightly.

"He doesn't even have an accent," Miroku commented quietly before leaning forward in the chair to look at him. "You seem like you're adjusting well."

"I have good friends," Kemtau said.

He latched onto Koga's hand with a grin.

x

Before long, the group arrived at a very steep set of stairs up a hill, cutting through a surprisingly dense section of trees and heralded by a torii gate. They would have missed it completely if Kagome hadn't stopped them.

"Easiest way is up here," she said. "Um… I mean, if someone can carry Miroku."

"Won't be an issue," Sango assured her.

Curiously, Inu-Yasha eyed the gate up and down and then turned to look at Koga. He seemed a little nervous. Kemtau, excited, broke away from him, though, and raced for the stairs, only to smack into something invisible and topple onto his bum.

"Ow," he grumbled.

Quickly, Koga helped him up.

"You okay?" Kagome asked.

The little demon nodded and, hesitantly, raised his hand in the air towards the gate. Right at the edge of the wood, his hand hit resistance and stopped, causing a shimmering in the air a bit like a soap bubble. He frowned.

"There's a barrier," he said, "but it's weird, I can't sense it."

"Oh, so it's not just me because I'm under the weather," Miroku said. "It must be a concealer."

"What's that?" Kagome asked.

"It's a barrier that's meant to suppress what's inside," he explained. "This one is… well, it's perfect. I can't feel it at all. Who put it here?"

Kagome shrugged, but, cautiously, she tried to step up the stairs and through the gate. She passed through without issue.

"Oh! Hey, I got through."

"You live here," Inu-Yasha said dryly.

She laughed shyly and then doubled back.

"Maybe I can convince it to let you through. Inu-Yasha, can you keep your hand on it?"

He nodded and put his hand against the shell of energy. Kagome hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to approach it, but then put her hand on top of his. It was strange to feel the resistance he was experiencing, like there was a solid wall before him. She closed her eyes and tried to focus her energy.

x

Um… Hi, shrine? It's Kagome. Higurashi. Um… These demons are my best friends, will you please let them in? I promise we won't cause any trouble.

She felt kind of foolish talking to a building, let alone thinking at it, but within a few seconds, Inu-Yasha's hand dropped as if it was simply passing through air.

"Oh! Shit, I guess you did it," he said.

"Good job," Sango said.

"So it's safe?" Kemtau asked.

Kagome nodded and, grinning and laughing, Kemtau grabbed Koga and dragged him up the stairs in a rush. The girl snickered to herself and turned to see Sango lifting Miroku out of the chair and holding him in her arms with little effort, almost as if he were a demure princess.

"Can you grab the chair, Inu-Yasha?" she asked.

He nodded and picked it up, and Sango continued up the stairs as if the extra weight was nothing. Kagome watched with wide eyes until she noticed that Inu-Yasha staring at her. He nodded at the stairs and she scampered up.

x

At the top, through a second torii gate, they got Miroku back into his wheelchair. Kemtau was already speeding around the grounds, Koga keeping close to watch over him. Kagome was hit with a sudden sense of nostalgia.

x

Just beyond them was a small set of stairs leading up to a plateau rimmed with with a stone railing and dotted with carved lanterns. The pathway there lead up to green-topped wall and gate that guided the way into the ancient Shinto shrine itself. Just to the right was another building, more modern by just a fraction, which had white walls and a peaked, dark roof. Beyond that was shielded by the buildings, but Kagome's house and a few more, small, old buildings were located there, surrounded by trees.

x

Inu-Yasha stood with Kagome, taking the area in curiously as the others rushed around to inspect the place.

"So," he said, "this is home for you, huh?"

"Yeah," she said.

"You miss it?"

She nodded.

"It's nice," he said.

"Does it make you nervous to be here?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"I was a little worried at first," he admitted, "but now… I don't know. I feel like I've been here before."

"Maybe you have," Kagome said. "When my mom and grandpa were running this place properly, people would come from all over to visit the shrine. It wouldn't be weird if that's what happened."

"Would it have let me in?" he wondered.

Kagome shrugged, but then pushed back his hood to rub his ears affectionately. His eyes widened.

"There's so many trees no one can see you, don't worry," she said.

She kissed his cheek reassuringly, but turned when she heard her name being called. Sango was waving her over.

"Hey! You got a minute? Miroku'd like a tour!"

"Sure!" Kagome called back, and then turned to the hanyou beside her. "Coming?"

Inu-Yasha paused to think and then shook his head.

"I'd like to check around out here, if that's okay."

"Sure. You can sniff us out if you have to," she said with a smile.

x

She walked back across the yard and and Inu-Yasha saw Sango point her towards the side of the shrine, but then was surprised to see the girl heading towards him.

"You're not going with them?" he asked as she got close.

Sango shook her head.

"Want to walk around?" she asked.

Inu-Yasha shrugged and nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. Sango shot him a smile.

"So, you two are really serious about each other, huh?" she asked.

"Who? Me and Kagome?" he asked. "Yeah."

"I'm happy for you," she said. "Don't mean to be a creep, but I've been watching and—"

"Watching? Why?" Inu-Yasha asked.

"Because! I was worried about you!" she said. "She's sweet. I like her. I'm glad you found her."

"Me too," he laughed.

Sango grinned. She paused to look at a huge tree that was sectioned off to their left, apart from many of the others.

"This place is really nice," she commented. "You excited to move in?"

"Oh. Shit. I didn't really think about it," he admitted.

Sango rolled her eyes, but after a moment, she seemed to catch onto something as they began to move on.

"You're thinking about other stuff, I guess," she said. "Things have been bad since you got taken, huh?"

"Yeah. Not great," he said.

"Want to fill me in?" she asked. "I mean… if you don't want to, then—"

"No. It's fine. They came for you, too, right?" he asked; she nodded. "Here's what happened."

oOoOoOoO

Kagome found Miroku just outside the large shrine building beyond the wall and gate. He was wheeling himself slowly around the perimeter as he looked around.

"Hey," Kagome said, "Sango said you wanted me to show you around?"

"Just a bit," he said. "I don't want to tear up any old floors with this chair, though."

"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry," Kagome said.

"It's the two legs out that's the kicker," Miroku said with a laugh. "Once this sprain heals, though…"

"Right, right," Kagome said.

He smiled and then began to move slowly around the edge of the shrine. Kagome followed. His fingers were confident on the wheels already, and he kept up a walking pace with ease.

x

"The energy here is really strong," he commented. "Do you ever meditate here?"

"You know, my grandpa tried to get me to as a kid," she said, "but I wasn't ever interested."

"Really?" Miroku looked surprised. "I don't mean to pry, but you… I mean, you do have very strong spiritual powers, from what I can sense."

"As far as I know, they only recently kinda turned on," Kagome explained. "How about you?"

"Me? I'm not sure," he said. "I've had them as long as long as I can remember. I don't think ours are quite the same though."

"They aren't?" Kagome asked. "There are different kinds?"

Miroku nodded.

"I'm not positive how different, exactly," he said, "but I know they feel different."

He paused and eyed the shrine up and down.

"This place is powerful," he said. "Once I'm better, would you be alright if I meditate in here?"

"Of course," Kagome said. "Is that helpful? Should I be doing that, too?"

"Whatever works for you," Miroku assured her, "but I'd be glad to show you what I do if you think that'd help you."

"Thanks," Kagome said; she smiled bashfully. "If you couldn't tell, I don't really know what I'm doing."

"That's alright. You seem to be able to improvise," Miroku laughed.

His eyes locked onto the shrine and his gaze suddenly seemed as if he was gazing upon a distant mountain peak. Kagome watched him curiously. He closed his eyes and raised one hand as if in prayer, and then bowed his head respectfully. When he regained himself, he was smiling slightly. He turned and waved, and Kagome followed his eyeliner to see Kemtau rushing up to them, Koga trailing just a little behind.

x

"Kagome!" the little demon called brightly, and within a blink, he was in front of her. "This place is great! We're going to be living here?"

"A little later, yup," she said. "Koga, how are you doing? The spiritual stuff isn't bothering you, is it?"

"No, actually," he said as he joined them. "It feels kind of like you do. It doesn't bother me at all."

Kagome grinned and Miroku shot Koga a curious look.

"So… she doesn't bother you, and you and the others don't bother her," he concluded. "It's uncommon for demons and humans to have relationships like that. I'm glad to hear it."

"I didn't realize that it was so weird," Koga laughed.

Miroku shrugged, but he smiled, only to be taken off-guard as Kemtau jumped onto his knees.

"Hey, new friend, your aura's all wonky though. Mine was weird too, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," the boy assured him. "I was at a place for healing, and they must've attached something to me to help me heal a bit faster for now."

"Ooh," Kemtau said. "Like Kagome's? Kagome has a monster that lives in hers, but he's nice though."

Kagome's eyes widened and she felt her stomach drop. Koga shot her a worried look, brows raised. To their surprise, Miroku laughed.

"Not quite like hers," he said. "Mine's temporary."

"Um, sorry, Kemtau?" Kagome asked quietly. "What do you mean by a monster?"

"Oh. It's big beast with a face sort of like a crocodile, kind of, but with big horns," he said. "He's kind of like a shadow sometimes. You don't see him? You feel him though, don't you?"

Kagome nodded and Kemtau seemed satisfied and settled in Miroku's lap. Miroku didn't seem to mind.

"Does, uh… Does that sound familiar to you at all?" Koga asked.

"Well, I know it's possible, obviously, but I guess that's not what you meant," Miroku replied. "Why?"

"Well, uh, Kagome did a thing, and…" The wolf looked at Kagome for help, at a loss to explain it. "It seemed like kind of a big deal at the time."

"Well, apparently at some point, I can do healing things," Kagome explained, "but right now, I can't. Not on my own, anyway. I had a friend who was a demon, and he, um…"

She felt herself choke despite trying hard not to. Koga's brow furrowed and he held her arm gently. She took a deep breath.

"He died," she said. "He was killed. He left a piece of his aura in mine to help me before he… You know. The healing I can do comes from him."

She had to wipe her eyes quickly.

"You probably don't remember, but I used it on you after the train crash, and you freaked right out."

Miroku snorted out a laugh.

"I bet that was pretty funny," he said.

"You didn't seem to think so," Kagome laughed.

x

She turned towards the shrine and bit her lip.

"Koga?" she asked. "Can you lift Miroku up into the shrine?"

"What? No, but what about the floors?" Miroku yelped.

"This place is like, a thousand years old, I'm sure the floors have seen worse than wheelchair wheels," Kagome said.

Before the boy could protest, Koga had hoisted the chair up onto the elevated shrine floor and placed him down gently. Miroku froze.

"I'm almost afraid to move," he joked.

"Naw, don't be scared!" Kemtau said brightly, the point seeming to fly high above his head. "Let's look around!"

Kagome nodded and, though seeming somewhat reluctant, Miroku set off into the shrine carefully.

x

Kagome took a moment to take a deep breath. Koga reached out and took her hand.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, it just… I'm fine."

Koga grimaced.

"I… I didn't know that's how you got that power." He grabbed her around the shoulders and hugged her close. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. But, thanks."

He nodded. Kagome was more than aware that he knew how she felt.

"It's nice sometimes," he said, "to have mementos like that, though, right?"

"I wouldn't be here without it," she said with a quiet laugh.

Koga smiled a little and gave her a quick, affectionate kiss on the forehead before pulling back and brushing his hair from his eyes. He tilted his head towards the sounds of Kemtau laughing and Miroku still worrying aloud about ruining the wood floors. She smiled and nodded, and followed him inside.

oOoOoOoO

Near the edge of the property, surrounded by a thick wall of trees, sat an old, small, creaky shrine-house made of dark wood and sealed with enough spell-scrolls to make Inu-Yasha's fur bristle. The shrine had already accepted him, though, so it made no more effort than the simple cautionary prickle when he and Sango sat on the steps before it to talk.

x

"That facility they brought you to sounds awful." Sango was grimacing, hands clasped, knuckles white. "You really got hurt, huh?"

"It was shit, yeah," Inu-Yasha said with an absent nod. "But as much as I hate to say it, it ended up being kind of good. We broke a bunch of stuff, Sesshomaru stole their information, and we saved a lot of people. We wouldn't have Kemtau with us if we hadn't been in there."

"That's true," Sango said; she took a deep breath. "You remember when…? I mean, after the first time, and you came back looking like a skeleton? You remember you didn't say a word for two months and then you vanished again?"

Inu-Yasha grimaced and nodded. Sango put her hand on one of his reassuringly.

"You're so different now," she said, "and I mean that in the best possible way. I'm really happy to see you like this."

Inu-Yasha's ears perked.

"Well, I… I mean… Things changed," he said. "And I've been thinking… I mean, I've talked about it with Kagome and Koga, and they want to but, we're thinking we might go back. To other places, and just wreck everything."

"Really?" Sango's eyes went wide and she squished her arms in close to her chest, frowning as she rested her chin on a fist. "That's so dangerous though."

"I know Kagome wants to help everyone ever," Inu-Yasha said. "Koga's not bloodthirsty, but I know he wants revenge for what they did to his mom. They're into it. It's just… I know what these people do to the people they catch. And for what they did to Kemtau, they can't ever catch me again."

"You're scared," Sango said gently.

Inu-Yasha's ears pressed back against his head and his frown deepened.

"I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone I care about," he said, "but I need to stop these people and I'm starting to feel like I'm the only one who can."

He sighed and folded his arms, pouting a little despite himself. Sango was quiet for a little, watching him. He looked like he wanted to say more, but couldn't find the words.

"You want my advice?" Sango asked.

He nodded. She took a deep breath.

"Well," she said, "I understand. Both sides. Me, personally? I want these people gone. For good. I think you could do it, Inu-Yasha. You're powerful. And, like you said, you are the only person who can deal with anyone else like Kemtau, as far as we know. If it were me, I'd wreck 'em."

Inu-Yasha nodded again, but he still looked troubled. Sango smiled sympathetically.

"I'm gonna hug you, okay? That alright?" she said.

"Uh…" Inu-Yasha didn't get a chance to answer properly; she wrapped him in a strong-armed embrace anyway. "I'm okay. Really."

"Yeah, yeah, you say that, but you look like you're all torn up," she said. "We got you, okay?"

She thumped his shoulder and released him before standing up and stretching her arms high above her head.

x

"I'm gonna go check on the others. Want to come?"

"I think I might look around over here a little more," he said. "They're inside the shrine, by the way."

"Okay. Cool. Thanks."

She shot him a smile and then wandered off leisurely. She let her hair down from its ponytail and brushed it back over her shoulders. He supposed the chill must have been getting to her ears.

x

After a few moments of stillness, listening to nothing more than sparse birdcalls, the whistle of cold, autumn wind, and his friends quietly chattering distantly within dense, wood walls, Inu-Yasha got up and inspected the shrine-house he sat in front of. He felt an odd energy from it. It seemed to warn him off.

x

He walked the perimeter with curious eyes wandering, hopped a wall, and soon came upon a two-storey, white house with a green-grey roof and a set of stairs coming down from the second floor, situated in the rear corner of the property. It was behind a fence and torii gate, and was surrounded by gardens that were now overgrown. It was a bit of a melancholy sight. He felt a little awkward being there alone, so he went back the way he had come.

x

Walking along the edge like he had done before, he came upon the huge old tree again and paused to take note. Something about it seemed very familiar, and somewhat welcoming. The tree itself felt very spiritual. He supposed that's why it seemed to be held in such regard. He moved a bit closer, tilting his head back to look into the thick, huge branches. Though autumn was solidly in season, its leaves were still vibrantly green.

x

"You like it?"

Kagome's voice startled him and he turned to see her slide up beside him.

"It's a nice tree," he said.

She nodded and started to smile.

"It's my favourite one," she said. "I used to climb it when I was little. Got in trouble, too!"

"So it's a special one, I guess?" he asked.

"It's called Goshinboku. Supposed to be sacred," she said. "There's a bunch of old stories about it, too. Legends and stuff."

"What kind?" he asked.

Kagome shrugged.

"Mostly variations of one story about a hawk and a dog," she said. "The story goes that there was a wild dog that saw this beautiful dark bird and felt she was his soul mate. He tracked her down and found she was this big, black hawk that protected a village. He joined her and they fell in love. But, there was this big, mean spider who was really jealous of the dog, so one day he dressed up as him and poisoned the hawk. Thinking she'd been betrayed, the hawk sealed the dog to this tree in a state pretty close to death."

She patted the old truck gently.

"The tree knew the dog's heart was good, though, and protected him inside its trunk forever."

"Well, that's a downer," Inu-Yasha said, frowning. "What kind of stupid ending is that?"

"A lot of old stories are like that," Kagome laughed. "But there's the ending I like better. In that one, one day a crow comes to the tree and the dog wakes up. He realizes the crow was who he saw at the start of the story, and they get married."

"How would a dog and a crow even get married? Who officiates that?" Inu-Yasha wondered.

Kagome laughed and smacked his arm.

"It's just a story!" she said. "I dunno, some other magic animals, I guess. Don't take it too literally."

"Okay, but… wait, so was it a village of humans, or a village of other birds?" he asked.

"It never came up," Kagome said. "I dunno, birds, maybe? Nevermind! It's not important."

"So birds make a village but then a dog comes and they're perfectly comfortable with that?"

Kagome let out an exasperated sigh and elbowed Inu-Yasha in the ribs. He laughed.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop."

Kagome snickered and grabbed his hand.

"C'mon, come see the shrine," she insisted. "I think you'll like it."

x

Kagome took his hand and he let her drag him away to the inside of the shrine. He was surprised to find the air about it to be very relaxing. His friends seemed to think so too. Kemtau was napping and Sango seemed to have pulled Miroku from his wheelchair: he sat, limp legs dangling over the edge of raised wood floor over the grass as he leaned against the girl. Koga was at the back, in front of a stair-like set of shelves— now vacant— that sat between the statues of two stylized, stone dogs across from each other. One was labeled "Ah", and the other, "Un"— a guardian statue pair that were Ah-Un's namesakes.

x

As Kagome snuck over to check on Kemtau, Inu-Yasha approached Koga.

"I've never been inside a shrine before," Koga commented. "Kinda nice, right?"

Inu-Yasha nodded. Koga's face was thoughtful, but the hanyou noticed his tail was wagging. Kagome bounced up behind them and squished between them.

"We usually have incense and some candles here," she said. "I don't know if it does anything, but I know it was always kind of relaxing for me as a kid."

"I can smell it," Koga said. "It's in the wood."

x

"Uh-oh, Kagome?"

Kagome turned and Sango waved her over and pointed towards the steps, where two police officers had just finished clambering up the hill. Kagome felt a sting of panic before she realized why they must've been there. She rolled her eyes.

"We have nosey neighbours," she sighed.

x

While the others waited nearby, Kagome had to go talk to the officers, but explaining that she, in fact, lived in the shrine. The issue was easily and politely settled, but nonetheless, the teens decided that it was their cue to head home.

oOoOoOoO

As the week went on, on the third day of early morning training, Inu-Yasha woke despite Kagome's best efforts to keep quiet slipping out of bed. He spied from the back door, watching with curiosity as Sango walked Kagome through increasingly different forms. Sango was working in slow motion, but Inu-Yasha was surprised to find, as he pieced her moves together, they truly were meant to combat demons. It seemed like the moves were meant to help counter attacks that one couldn't see, or from opponents that were very large.

x

He couldn't help but feel proud of Kagome. He didn't know if she's ever be physically strong enough to do any real fighting, but even just tracking her energy, he could sense that she was becoming more sturdy and sure of herself.

x

He was snapped from his thoughts when he noticed that Kagome was waving at him. A little embarrassed, he stepped outside.

"Inu-Yasha!" Sango chided. "C'mon, I'm sure Kagome doesn't want you to see her all sweaty and stuff."

"I've seen worse," he said, but he shot Kagome a cautious look.

She smiled at him, to his relief, and she snickered a little.

"It's true," she said. "Remember all that mud? Wah, so gross! And the blood! And the mutant arm. Inu-Yasha's put up with a lot."

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "How's it going?"

"She's doing well," Sango said with a grin. "We're almost done. Maybe you can help, actually."

"So I'm allowed to stay?" he joked.

"Maybe," Sango said, smiling from the side of her mouth. "Let's get Kagome shooting."

"What? Really?" Kagome yelped. "But—!"

"Maybe not here," Sango continued. "I think I know a place. C'mon, bike time!"

"But I don't have a—!"

"Borrow my brother's!" Sango said. "Don't worry, he won't mind. Let's go."

x

Sango grinned and slid through the hole in the wall. Kagome sighed and shot Inu-Yasha an apologetic look.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she said.

"It's no problem," he said. "Just gimme a second."

x

A little awkwardly, Kagome scrambled through the wall. Inu-Yasha followed after a moment, changed into jeans and a sweatshirt with the hood up to cover his ears, and they soon saw Sango dragging two bikes from around back.

"Just follow me," she said.

She got on one and cast a glance over her shoulder. Inu-Yasha hesitated, and Kagome got on the other bike.

"You can sit on the back, right?" she said. "I think I can handle that."

"Well, I, uh—"

"I mean, I figured you don't know how to ride since you didn't offer right away."

He looked a bit embarrassed, but he nodded and Kagome smiled. He hopped onto the back over the tire and they took off down the driveway. Any worries Kagome had were quickly dissuaded— somehow, Inu-Yasha was light as a feather.

x

The trip was actually somewhat substantial; Sango took them to the edge of what was a large forest and underused walking trail almost forty minutes away. The place all but glowed with spiritual energy. Inu-Yasha felt a bit of nerves coming on as they went in, but he was surprised that the energy didn't effect him very much. They ditched their bikes off the edge of the trail in some bushes and Sango brought them deep into the woods to a spot where large stones seemed to have been arranged in a half-circle once upon a time.

x

"Here we go!" Sango said. "You feel it? Miroku said this place is really spiritual. He likes to meditate here."

"Yeah, I definitely feel it," Kagome said. "It's almost tingly, right? Inu-Yasha?"

He shrugged.

"I think it should be bugging me more than it is," he said. "It's a nice place, though. You think here is best?"

"It's so out of the way," Sango said with a nod, "so Kagome can blast stuff and no one will notice!"

Kagome nodded and, when the other girl looked at her expectantly, she let her energy flare visibly in her palm. The crackling glow was bright pink this time.

"Oh! That's much easier," she said.

"Wasn't that blue before?" Sango asked. "Well, whatever. Forms, and then shoot on a strike. Just don't hit Inu-Yasha, he might faint."

When they turned to look at him, he was already sitting casually on the low branches of a tree just a few feet away. Kagome smiled gratefully.

"I'd rather not hit him with it again," she said.

"You've hit him before?" Sango asked with surprise.

"It was…" Kagome sighed. "I mean, I didn't mean—"

"It was fine," Inu-Yasha said with a laugh. "It was like an experiment."

"A garbage experiment," Kagome grumbled, pouting.

Inu-Yasha couldn't help but laugh again.

x

Kagome took a deep breath and took her stance again. She felt different here— a little more confident. She could feel Inu-Yasha's aura interacting with hers somehow. She couldn't really explain why, but it was like something had snapped into place. With each punch she did, slow as it was, she was able to conjure bright energy from her fists, where it flared out like fire. It took her off guard at first, but soon felt as normal as breathing.

x

"Hey, looking good," Sango said brightly.

Kagome turned to shoot her a smile, but instead shot a heavy pulse straight into the ground in front of her. She yelped and toppled over onto her bottom, eyes wide. After a moment of stunned silence, she began to laugh. Sango snorted and Inu-Yasha slipped down from the tree to offer her his hand. Snickering, she let him pull her to her feet.

"Maybe it'd be okay to stop for now," she admitted.

"Breakfast?" Sango said, eyes lighting up.

"But I'm filthy," Kagome whined.

"We'll go back home and get the other guys," Sango assured her.

Kagome grinned.

oOoOoOoO

At the same time as the teens were finally taking a break, Sesshomaru was on his way to meet Matsuko at their research building, a place hidden in plain sight in the city of Saitama. Ah-Un was off doing god knows what with Jaken, and the only other regular sitter was coming up on some college exams and couldn't make it, so Rin sat, napping, in the passenger's seat for the rather lengthy drive.

x

Something big had happened with the data, it seemed. Matsuko had been uncharacteristically high-pitched and energized over the phone when she brought it up.

x

Upon arriving, Sesshomaru gently woke the sleeping girl and together, with her latched onto his hand, they went inside. Matsuko was there to greet them at the door almost instantly. Her hair was back in a messy bun and she looked like she hadn't slept in days, but there was a grin on her face up until the moment she noticed Sesshomaru had an arm she hadn't expected.

x

"Sesshomaru-san, how did you—?! Your arm!"

"Dad grew it back," Rin said brightly.

The woman was taken aback. Sesshomaru nodded his head at her.

"This is Rin, my daughter," he said. "Rin, this is Matsuko, she's one of our aura experts here. She finished what I was working on."

"It's good to finally meet you, Rin," Matsuko said, smiling, but then instantly turned her attention back on Sesshomaru. "You absolutely must tell me more about the arm regrowth later. For now, I have something you're going to be very, very interested in."

"I don't doubt it," he said.

x

She lead them upstairs with barely contained excitement fuelling her steps. Sesshomaru could see that Rin was trying her best not to snicker.

x

Matsuko took them to a room— a small office— where desks, out of place in the room, layered with printouts were scattered about a large, powerful computer. She rushed around to the back desk and monitor, leaned over to type something quickly, and then clicked. An unseen printer screeched to life.

"Sorry, just a moment," she said quickly. "Sorry, I would have printed it sooner, but the results only arrived literally a minute before I called you and—"

"I don't need excuses," Sesshomaru said, slightly amused. "What are we looking at?"

Matsuko took a deep breath.

"Perfect fusion," she said.

Sesshomaru raised and eyebrow and Rin looked up at him, puzzled.

"What's that mean? Can I know that?" she asked.

"If I'm understanding correctly, it means my brother's aura is exactly balanced in terms of youki and spiritual energy," he explained.

When Matsuko nodded, Rin grinned.

"Oh, okay! Just like you thought, right dad?"

He nodded and Matsuko squatted down anxiously to check the printer. She let out a relieved sigh and stood holding five sheets in her hand.

"It's more than that," she said. "With our readings on what happened when your brother reversed the changes on the boy we had at… Well… Look. There's more coming, but…"

She handed Sesshomaru the sheets and his eyes skimmed the top quickly. For a moment, he looked honestly and truly surprised. Rin frowned with concern and held his hand.

"Dad?" she asked.

"Perfect fusion," he repeated. "I have to admit, I didn't expect it to be quite like this."

"Like what?" Rin pressed.

"I had always assumed that Inu-Yasha's demon side suppressed all else," he explained. "Physically, he's like a demon, obviously, and his power in that regard surpasses almost anyone else's. But the spiritual components inherited from his mother are impossible to ignore here."

He put a hand on her head and gently ruffled her hair; she beamed.

"Looks like you were right." He turned his attention to Matsuko. "This changes things, I believe."

She nodded, but she started to smile.

"I'm sure it'll be nice for him," she said; Sesshomaru gave her a questioning look and she elaborated. "You know, I've only met your brother a few times, but every time, it always seemed like he was somehow worried about doing his best to help people. Like he was afraid he couldn't do enough, you know? I feel like it'll be nice for him to know he really is the key to this. Whatever abuse Youki afflicted on him, it's going to come back to bite them right on the… well, you know."

"Bum," Rin finished for her helpfully.

Matsuko laughed.

x

She walked back to the printer and pulled out a few more sheets and handed them to Sesshomaru.

"Sorry," she said again. "It's… The report is over a hundred pages and—"

"I am fine to wait," he replied.

He shot Rin a questioning look. She smiled.

"I brought my DS. Can I sit in the hall?"

Sesshomaru nodded and the girl skipped out the door. Matsuko looked curious.

"What's a DS?"

"Small, handheld device that one plays games on," Sesshomaru said. "The children seem quite fond of them."

"Oh, you mean like a Nintendo thing? Are you sure that's good for her?" she asked.

"It develops hand-eye coordination fairly well, actually," he said. "Strange little device. Harmless, though. The things you humans come up with."

"May I ask?" she wondered. "Do things still feel out of place to you?"

"Occasionally," he said. "If you recall, I'm over nine hundred years old, with most of that time being spent before the Kakamura period. I feel I've done reasonably well to adapt for the past fourteen or so years, though."

"I'd say so," Matsuko agreed with a laugh. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry into your personal life, Sesshomaru-san."

He shrugged ever so slightly. The woman stared at him silently for a few moments.

"Sesshomaru-san," she said hesitantly, "while we're waiting… About that arm?"

oOoOoOoO

Michi had been counting down the days, preparing herself despite running on too little sleep and a little too much beer. She hadn't been involved in the planning of the assault on the "bear in the woods", relegated to grunt as she was. She supposed it didn't matter. All she had to do was follow orders for the duration of the mission and then it would all be over.

x

Sitting in the back of a van in full tactical gear in the wee hours of the morning, she braced herself and tried to regulate her breathing. She didn't know how nervous the others were— couldn't see their faces through their helmets— but everyone seemed much calmer than she thought they should. They also seemed under equipped. There were three van-loads of seven soldiers, which seemed atypical for a large youkai. She supposed she didn't know how powerful Tetsuya really was, but he seemed clever— clever enough to make him seem weaker than he was, maybe?

x

She couldn't stop her mind whirring, even when she tried to focus on the sound of tires bouncing through uneven pits in the old road. It was starting to make her nauseous.

"ETA three minutes," said a voice through an intercom.

Michi took a deep breath.

x

It still felt like forever before the van's doors burst open and she and her compatriots jumped out, readying their weapons. The eye visor on the helmet immediately lit up internally, giving her vision almost accurate to daylight, shaded in black and white, even in the black of the sunless, overcast sky.

x

As they moved out under directions from a man giving hand signals in front, they made very little noise. The material of their body armour was cushioned and padded, making them much more silent than any human had a right to be. Michi hoped it wouldn't be enough to keep them hidden from whatever Tetsuya was planning.

x

It wasn't long before they came upon a bump in the forest— a mound where there shouldn't have been one. Michi gulped, but raised her gun along with the others when the signal was given. Four seconds later, the signal was to shoot. Others started first and Michi's stomach dropped, but she pulled the trigger, trying to aim just slightly off. The mound rose up and turned.

x

A bear, dark and massive, stood, seeming impervious to the shots. Its face was old and haggard, but its snout was extra long and filled with huge teeth. Its fur was flecked with lighter streaks, forming was looked like the symbol of a third eye on its brow. It roared, but as suddenly as if it the wind had taken it, its form vanished into strands of shadow and left nothing behind as if it had been a shadow all along. The signal to stop shooting came. Michi felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest, but her posture relaxed.

x

In an instant, however, her body was struck with pain and her vision was scrambled as she rolled through leaf-litter and bushed until she thunked back into a tree. Trying to straighten up, she saw giant paws on arms that seemed nightmarishly long, with claws like curved swords, reaching through the group of soldiers and ripping them apart. Gunfire boomed out sharply, but was drowned out by a bear's thunderous roar.

x

He barrelled from the trees, knocking them down in the process— a bear what must've been the size of at least three elephants. Maybe he was bigger, but Michi could barely see straight. She struggled to her feet as her heart beat up into her throat. Just a few steps in, though, and she was caught up again, this time in the bear's massive jaws. She screamed, but her own voice seemed drowned out by the other sounds around her. She was shaken— felt her ribs and a leg break, and her vision went grey. The shock of betrayal caught her, she felt like she was going to throw up, but then the world went dark and all she could hear was a ringing in her ears.

oOoOoOoO

On Sunday, Sango let Kagome sleep in, and she did with much gusto. Her muscles were achey and bruised, and she eagerly squished herself back into the blankets after the sunlight woke her.

x

Her brother, however, was jarred upright as soon as dawn hit by an insistent pulling on his tail.

"What, what?" Koga asked, hopping upright on his paws.

Kemtau hopped in front of him and pointed him towards the window, grinning. Koga squinted into the light.

"What, is something out there?" he asked.

"Sun's rising!" Kemtau said with a grin.

Koga's ears pinned back and he tried to shove his head under his pillow, but Kemtau shook his shoulder until he looked up again.

"Nobody prayed for it, right? Nobody prayed to Ra for it?" he asked.

Frowning, a little confused, Koga shook his head. Kemtau's face lit up and he hugged the huge wolf around the neck quickly before bounding up to the window again.

"I stopped praying, as an experiment," he said. "I guess the sun really does move on its own!"

Koga laughed, his voice a little strained from tiredness, and he settled back into bed.

"You got it, kid," he said.

x

He had almost slipped back into slumber when he heard the phone ringing. He tried to ignore it for a while, but when it seemed like no one else was going to answer, he heaved himself out of bed. He hurried down the stairs and made to grab the phone, but only knocked it as he realized a second too late that he didn't actually have hands. Sighing at himself, he quickly took his regular form and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Who is this?" he heard Sesshomaru say.

Koga couldn't help it— the demon gave him a bit of chill.

"Uh… It's Koga. You know. The wolf?" he said a bit awkwardly.

"Ah. Yes. My brother's there?"

"He's sleeping, but—"

"Fine. I'll be over in a bit over an hour."

"Wait, but—!" The line went dead. "Oh… Okay…"

Koga hung up the phone and rubbed his hand through his hair.

x

He went upstairs again and knocked on the other bedroom door. When he heard no reply, despite an overwhelming feeling of awkwardness, he carefully peeked inside. Though Inu-Yasha seemed to sleep relatively normally, Kagome was draped over his side, somewhat catlike. In fact, Buyo was on her feet in almost exactly the same position.

"Guys?" he asked quietly; none of them answered. "Guys?"

Buyo was the only one who stirred at all; he rolled off Kagome, but shoved his head under her leg. Koga grimaced and snuck over to the side of the bed. Hesitating for a good few seconds beforehand, he poked Inu-Yasha hard in the shoulder a few times. Finally, the boy's ears twitched forward and he opened his eyes with a confused frown on his face.

"Koga?" He sat up, rubbing his head and Kagome fell back off him, letting out a bit of a squeak. "Oh, shit, sorry."

They were both surprised to see she hadn't actually woken. Inu-Yasha turned a questioning look back on the other demon.

"Your brother called.

"Oh, shit." Inu-Yasha couldn't keep the surprise from his face. "When?"

"Just now," Koga said. "He said he'd be here in an hour. For some reason."

"What?" Inu-Yasha repeated blankly; he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood up. "What the fuck? He didn't say?"

"Nope."

The hanyou groaned. Koga shrugged.

"Shit," Inu-Yasha said again. "Okay. Thanks."

He pushed Kagome's shoulder gently and she whined and put the blankets over her head. He rolled his eyes and laughed tiredly.

"Kags, get up," he said.

"Nooo, I'm bruised, I'm tired," she whined.

The hanyou rubbed his head and Koga snickered quietly.

"Gimme a minute."

x

Koga nodded and slipped out of the room. Kemtau stood before him, ears flattened, pouting.

"What?" he asked.

"Did something go wrong? Is everything okay?"

Koga laughed and ruffled the boy's fur.

"Don't worry about it."

"But—!"

"Seriously." Koga stretched, "We're just gonna have to talk to Inu-Yasha's brother. No big deal."

Kemtau's expression lightened. He nodded and slid away quickly, into Sota's room where, after a few seconds, Koga heard the other boy yelp with surprise— he rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

oOoOoOoO

Sesshomaru strode into the house almost exactly an hour later, Rin drowsing sleepily in his arms. The sight took Inu-Yasha off guard when he met him. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes.

"Yes, my arm has regrown."

"Holy shit," Inu-Yasha said.

He poked it uncertainly and his brother cut his eyes at him. Inu-Yasha drew back quickly with an apologetic look on his face and gestured for him to come farther in. The youkai placed Rin down gently on an armchair, where the girl began to stir a little.

"Where are the others?" his brother asked.

"Kagome's getting cleaned up," Inu-Yasha said. "Koga's just upstairs. What's this about, anyway?"

Sesshomaru took the opportunity to remain quiet as Rin woke up, stretching, and blinked around. She grinned.

"Oh! Uncle! Hi!"

She scooted out of the chair and gave him a hug. Inu-Yasha bent to return the favour.

"Hey, kid, how's it going?" he asked.

"Ah-Un went on vacation with Jaken, so I get to go to work with dad," she said, sounding rather proud. "I don't really get all of it yet, but it's pretty interesting!"

"I bet," Inu-Yasha said.

He straightened up and ruffled the girl's hair, then turned to see Kagome hurrying down the stairs, rubbing her hair with a towel.

x

"Sorry, sorry!" she said quickly. "I hope you haven't been waiting long, I—! Oh my god! Sesshomaru!"

She was gawking. Inu-Yasha waved her over. She froze for just a moment and then turned back to the stairs.

"Koga, c'mon, we're starting!"

x

As Rin scurried upstairs to play with Kemtau and Sota, Koga slipped downstairs to join the group as Sesshomaru paced the room.

"So are you gonna tell us what this is about, or what?" Inu-Yasha asked.

"Is it about your new arm?" Koga asked a little shrilly.

"No."

Koga pouted. Sesshomaru actually seemed somewhat amused.

"We've been trying to find out what exactly happened to your small demon friend, and to that other boy," he said. "Inu-Yasha, we know your aura had something to do with it, but up until now we didn't know how."

"So…" Inu-Yasha frowned. "So you found out?"

He felt his heart sink and a chill in his gut.

"We have something." Sesshomaru nodded. "Little brother, the reason your aura is special is because it combines spiritual and youkai energy perfectly."

"Spiritual energy?" he repeated. "What? But I don't have—"

"You do. All hanyous have at least a little," Sesshomaru explained. "but you're different than others in that that energy and your youki max out the reader and mesh perfectly with each other. When your aura is pushed into another's, under the manipulation like what we saw in Kemtau, it simultaneously negates it and possesses it. Our people are calling those effected tsukimono."

Inu-Yasha stared blankly. Kagome held his hand tightly, frowning with puzzlement.

"So, like…" Kagome muttered. "The spiritual energy attacks the demon and weakens it, and then—"

"Yes. This is what I said," Sesshomaru said.

"Yeah. I know. Sorry, it's just…" She bit her lip and looked at Inu-Yasha worriedly as his ears drooped low and his face paled. "It's not your fault, okay?"

"His fault? Why would he think it's his fault?" Koga asked.

"See?" Kagome said quickly."See? It doesn't even occur to him that it would be your fault."

"Is… Is that supposed to occur to me?" the wolf asked.

"No! Of course not. It makes no sense," Kagome said.

Inu-Yasha looked a little uncertain, but was taken aback when Sesshomaru agreed.

"She's right. Little brother, hold no guilt for this. I understand your feeling of responsibility, but this is not something that happened because of you. This happened to you."

Kagome looked at him as if to say, "See?!" and he wilted.

"Thanks." he said. "But, then it's true that I'm the only one who can fix it?"

"Unless we find another tsukimono, with someone else's aura inside theirs, yes," Sesshomaru said.

x

Inu-Yasha's ears lifted and he took a deep breath whilst his friends turned their eyes on him with curiosity and concern.

"Right," he said, "so, we need to find these tsukimono so I can fix them. That's just as important as taking these people down."

Kagome grinned and Koga nodded, and his older brother wore an expression close to pride. He nodded and his brow furrowed for a moment before he took a deep breath and got to his feet to look his brother in the eye. Sesshomaru seemed to know what he wanted even before he said it. He gave him a nod. Inu-Yasha clenched his fist.

"And… Kagome. Koga. You meant it when you said you wanted to stop them, right?"

"Of course," Kagome said.

"But I mean, really. For sure?"

Kagome bit her lip, but she nodded and he looked to Koga as well.

"I'm… I'm scared as shit of them," Koga said, "but yes."

Inu-Yasha nodded and turned to look at them.

"Good. Because I think it's time to stop running. It's time to take the fight to them. If they have more people they've turned into these tsukimono things, we need to find them and turn them back."

Kagome's eyes widened; he could tell she was scared, but he was surprised when she almost immediately answered, "That's terrifying but you're completely right."

"I'm in," Koga said. "I… I want… I want to fight them."

Inu-Yasha felt a smile creeping in, but they were all distracted by a hurried knock on the door that was immediately followed Sango rushing into the room, followed by Miroku hobbling on crushes.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, we were at the door and we heard everything," Sango said bluntly. "We're in."

"You are?!" Kagome asked.

"You'll need us," Miroku said. "Maybe we don't look it, but we're both pretty proficient at what we do."

"Don't look it? Speak for yourself!" Sango scoffed, but she grinned. "I feel like you need minimum four people to be a good super hero team, so you have to at least take me."

"Hey!" Miroku protested; Inu-Yasha grinned.

"Thanks, guys," he said, "but you realize it's gonna be fucking awful right?"

"Oh, absolutely," Miroku replied. "What kind of friends would we be if we just left you to this alone."

"Smart ones," Inu-Yasha said.

x

Before he knew it, Kagome had hopped up to hold his hand.

"Then I'm okay being the dumb friend," she said; she smiled. "You and me, we're stuck together. If you're gonna fight them, I'm going to be right beside you."

"Yeah, I'm stupid enough to come along, too," Koga assured him.

He patted him on the shoulder. Inu-Yasha laughed tiredly and nodded, and Sango whooped and gave him a tight hug.

"This is gonna be a total mess," he said.

"Of course, what kind of war would be be fighting if it wasn't?" Miroku said. "Now we just need to get organized and—"

"Some protection," Sesshomaru mused, startling all of them. "Some equipment, perhaps? Inu-Yasha, did you have a plan?"

"No. Not… I mean, not specific," he said. "I just know we have to track down another base and trash it. Without them seeing us coming."

Sesshomaru nodded.

"I can help with that." The youkai seemed to have an energy brimming about him— it was almost as if he were actually excited. "Yes. I think I know where to start."