9.

"Do to you?" Kaede's old voice brought him back from dark musings about his near future and relief that the only person accepting him was still alive, as well as their friends. "For what?"

"For what? For the park incident!" Inuyasha stared at the old woman. "I killed people! I went..."

"It was a gas pipe," Kaede cut in, staring at him significantly. "I heard it was old and the latest earthquake probably weakened it. Accidents like this happen."

Inuyasha was only able to stare at the head of Higurashi family.

"But..."

"We will find a way to seal your blood so it won't boil over the brim again," Kaede waved her hand. "But that will come later. Now let's focus on my granddaughter. We can't reach her, we can't wake her up. A few members of the family have a theory that maybe you could reach her since you were tied to her power.

"Me? Reach her?" Inuyasha blinked at the old miko. He didn't have a clue about reiki bonds and barriers and stuff like that. "You want me...?"

"Since it was your concern for her well-being and safety that made you... Snap... I'm inclined to let you try. From what I've gathered, you two have grown quite close, and your bond didn't depend only upon the beads." "

The hanyou looked down at the sad little bead he was still clutching in his hand, his ears drooping as he searched his mind for clues of what to do. He stole a glance at the old miko, who gestured for him to approach the barrier. He slowly got to his feet and walked around Kaede and Sango, silently approaching his mistress. He knelt beside her head and rested his hand against the barrier. It appeared to be solid like rock. His inner youkai stretched inside his mind like a lazy cat (a dog, a lazy dog!) after a long nap in the sunlight. The beast growled in pleasure as he looked down at Kagome.

He became suddenly aware of the rumbling noise in the back of his throat, and he realized it wasn't his inner beast growling in contentment as he gazed upon the pretty face of his sleeping mistress. It was him. The low sound filled the eerily silent room. No one dared snicker that a dog youkai was creating a sound dangerously similar to cat's purr.

To his amazement and surprise, as soon as the sound reverberated in the air the barrier flickered and disappeared, causing his hand to fall on Kagome's stomach. He dared to move closer to the girl and lean over her. What was he going to do now? Why did the barrier disappear? It wasn't like he did something spiritual. He wasn't a healer, he had no mind powers to reach for her consciousness... He was painfully aware of people watching his every move, some probably waiting for him to make a mistake... So he did the first thing that came to his mind. He patted her shoulder.

"Oi, Kagome," he called quietly. "You overslept again."

With a cry of dread, Kagome, sat bolt upright. Her head collided with Inuyasha's, both of them reeling back with surprised grunts of pain. Allowing her suddenly throbbing skull to fall back against the floor, Kagome squinted up at Inuyasha, who was rubbing his forehead and staring down at her. Her face cracked into a wide grin, and she gave a dry sob of relief.

"You're back..."

"Keh," he tried to sound carefree, as if nothing had happened. He wanted her to smile at him again - especially because he wasn't sure she would smile after hearing about him going feral. What was he going to do if she rejected him? "So what of it? Did you want me to pack your breakfast or something?"

Kagome shook her head lightly, cringing in mild pain as she did that.

"No, just… Please kiss me, Inuyasha?" she asked with a soft, tired smile, the shadow of her usual radiant one. Inuyasha complied without hesitation, smiling as his lips brushed against hers. At least he'd have a memory of a kiss...

His ears flattened against his skull and they both jumped in surprise when they heard the sudden roar of the laughing and cheering people behind them. Inuyasha didn't dare to look back at the merry crowd or at the madly blushing girl.

"I guess he doesn't need beads to follow her wishes." Even Kaede's old voice wasn't free of amusement.

A/N: I'll let you on a little secret now. When I started this story it was going to be a dark-ish AU where Inu was going to be an innocent hanyou dragged by his mistress in world of killing, blood and lust.

...What went wrong...?
~cackles~
As many of my wonderful readers pointed out this fic isn't really a Gang AU. I guess I got sidetracked and let myself follow another path. Hope it was enjoyable to read. I plan to write a sequel some time in the future - afteer all there are some loose ends and I'm pretty sure at least some of you would like to see more of the adorable Shippou being a badass run-aways hunter.