A/N: redone to perfection!...I hope.
THE NEW INUYASHA
chapter one.
the wish.
"Oh Shippo! You alright?" Kagome asked with worried eyes, cradling the sniffling kit in her arms, rocking him as if he were a new born baby.
InuYasha gave a short snouted laugh. Kagome shot a glare at the sound. Being the sometimes childish guy that he was, flapped his tongue rudely at her, spit and all. Her face puffed up with anger matching even ones of a blowfish.
A strange sight to see.
Miroku and Sango holding flavored waffles from Kagome's time to snack on, who were idly sitting back on the picnic blanket, watched the show take place.
"Yeah I'm…ok." The kit replied in between sobs bringing Kagome back to the situation at hand... literally. He made a diverted gaze to add sympathy to her heart. And why not add a little pinch to her art by just a small motion as puckering out his lips. Like a customer suckered in from thoseSave the poor children fromAfrica commercials, shegave in to his charm. Shippo glanced back at InuYasha with a knowing look. He returned his look with a threatening fist, which Shippo simply ignored.
Kagome gasped. "No you're not!" Kagome said, gently grabbing his burnt hand. "Oh no! I knew u shouldn't have got the hot water. I could've have done it myself shippo." Guilthinting in the back of her voice.
"No. Its fine Kagome."
He tried to gently slide his tiny paw-like hand away from hers. "Really," He reassured her. "I wanted to help!"
"Oh Shippo!" Kagome cuddled her face against his."You always find a way to cheer me up!" Giggling purposely, he stretched his small arms out and hugged the girl, wrapping his small arms around her neck.
A faint gagging sound could be heard. Both knowing it was InuYasha only tightened the hold on each other, as if lovers making an ex-boyfriend jealous, both Miroku and Sango, laughed to themselves of the silly idea that first popped into their mind.
Closing his eyes,and breathing to release some of the tension he was feeling in his tight muscles he was feeling all of a sudden, he hollered at the two cuddle buddies,"Is somebody gonna boil me some hot water for my ramen or what!" The hanyou hollered out frustrated.
Suddenly, feeling a fire ignited within her, she loosened her grip on shippo. Shippo scurried behind a rock lest he felt the wrath of Kagome. When Kagome's mad, you gotta stand clear! She stomped over to the hanyou, addition with fiery background and all.
"INUYASHAAAAAAAA!"
With shippo restraining himself from laughing outloud too much, he watched with an anxiousness building in him. Revenge truly was sweet. Meet your doom, InuYasha.
He felt himself being lifted up. Uh oh. Miroku and Sango's big faces peered at him through their dissapointed gaze. He fed them a dose of Shippo sweetness smiles, but, to no effect.
InuYasha gulped, cowering with fear under the giant Kagome (with fiery background and all...). He bracedhimself for another round of 10 sittings in a row.
…………………………
…………….
…….
…..
it never came.
Just imagine that shock he felt when he peered one eye to find Kagome's sweet and fair face smiling sweetly back at him. Did he just suddenly been sent back to his dreamland. Only moments like this was when he pondered about the girl when she went back to her time.
InuYasha blushed a deep crimson, now realizing, the sudden closeness between them. He was afraid if he had even moved one inch of his knee it would brush against hers. His urges were gonna take over..!
"Oh InuYasha…." Kagome drawled out slowly, at the same time, electrifying every nerve of his body.
"y-yes." He stuttered.
Kagome laid the palm of her hand against the already hot flesh of his cheek.
InuYasha blushed madly, his whole face feeling as hot as the sun.Inside him screamed, to jump back. But the other part of him, pressured him to stay and see what happens.He eventually, with some (not much; guys) decision making between the two, chose the later. He started to relax into her hand, closing his eyes in blissful peace. Might as well take advantage of the situation of the dream.
Then a stuck of lightning hit him. If it was a dream, another Kagome would have served him with ramen fresh from the pot, all dressed in a short pink apron...like in his other Kagome 'n ramen dreams. He gulped the sudden realization sinking in. Let him be damned if he had to force his eyes open.
"OSUuuu..."
Why was everything slow? InuYasha slightly slitted his eyes open. He found Kagome's angry face mere milimeters from his. What's this? This wasn't the time to be blushing. Kami-sama was finally giving him a chance in life!
The pink of her lips spread across her face now forming the next part of her line.
"WARrrr..."
With pure instinct, he chose to slap his hand harshly (not purposely) over her mouth that was still forming the last part of the subduing spell. He breathed a sigh of relief only taking in to mind that he was saved. . . for the moment.
"mmnnumaha!"
Looking up with caution, he found himself staring into twoorbs that held what could be best described as the worst storms a weathermen ever did say, and the revolution of hurricane Katrina into one, yet each in one eye.
Gulp. Brilliant was he to do in this situation. A simple sorry would have done the trick. But InuYasha just had to be...
InuYasha.
Slowly, withdrawling his hand from her mouth, he involuntarily shut his eyes, praying to mercy she could spare him a death trip to Hell. Recieving nothing, he felt his heart pummel to a pit deeper than he imagined his sitting hole/grave would be.
Tears were forming and her bottom lip was quivering.
Cute look. . . if he wasn't the cause of it.
Looking stressed out of his mind as he always did when it came to Kagome's tears, he opened his mouth to somewhat say something to make her stop. No, not apologize. His pride wouldn't allow it. But... he looked again at her. Her face was no longer visible now, but hidden under the veil of her obsidian bangs.
"Ka-
"Jerk."He heard her mumble.
His ear perked up, and his face scrunched up with confused anger.
"Kagome, look, I didn't mean to-
Turning sharply on him to cut him off, his golden eye suddenly widened when he caught of glimspe of his tainted pinkclaw mark by the side of her mouth. He winced. Painfully.
"Wait." He grabbed her arm. He could feel her tug against him, but he tightened his hold.
"Let me go." she commanded quite coldly still tugging away. He tightened away.
"Just go ahead and 'sit' me." His ears lowered.
"Nevermind. I don't care." his ears picked up hersmall mutter.
"Kagome!" He yelled out. Without realizing, he had tightened his grip that was still on her small wrist.
She winced and dashed her head sharply around.
"You didn't have to be so harsh!"
He instinctly let go of his hand that had circled around her small wrist taking in a full viewof her face. Her eyes held a small storm now. Like the sad, gloomy outcome look after a mass storm. He could still make out the vivid claw marks he had left around her mouth. He flinched. Had he really been that harsh for just the depseration for being spared a'sit.' He felt so pathetic. The hurt look she gave him pierced through him more painfully and harder than any other battle he faced against with countless youkais.
He cascaded his eyes from her to the ground, not able tobear that look from her. "I'm sorry." He muttered.
Looking up, he already found her retreating form stomping huffily with her bike by her side.
"How about going after her?" The hair of his ear bristled up making him jump 3 feet in the air.
"YOU SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH, DAMN MONK!" his voice sounding out high-pitched.
Unfazed by the hanyou's crude remark to him, he brushed it off as nothing as always. Always use to it, supposedly.
"Why don't you go after her. Kagome-sama is just a bit angry. We know she's stronger than leaving after just a simple injury. He couldn't have done it that harshly." He sang out melodically in a cheery tone knowing all to well of the protectiveness of the hanyou over the future girl. InuYasha wouldn't dare harm a single hair on Kagome's head. He nodded his head to himself. That's for sure.
"I hurt her." he lowered his gaze. "Enough to leave a mark." he continued, his voice weaker than before.
"huh?" he felt his theory smashed on. Watching from afar really did have its disadvantages. He didn't see anything as much as a mole on that girl's face when he was observing. And, he was a good observer. A shame to his good name. Why, just as bad as being called lecher, hentai, and pervert when he was a holy, sanitized, committed monk to Kami!
"Did you see anything Sango dear?" Sparkles detectable in his mischievious violet orbs.
Sparkles that were now twirling above his head.
"Touch me again, and I'll SEE to it that you won't be able to bear children ever again." Sango seethed out.
"Sango's scary when she's mad..." Shippo shivered against Kirara.
'I don't know who's scarier...Sango or...' InuYasha turned his head to the spot where Kagome had left, with her retreating form stomping madly with her bike to her side. 'Kagome.'
"That evil, egotistical, rude, mean, jerk!" Keeping a straight eye on the dirt road in from of her, she mutterred cenile curses and such.
But how could you keep a straight eye on the road ahead if you're too busy cursing that 'evil, egotistical, rude, mean, jerk'? And that's how she fell on the ground.
"AH! I hate this day!" She yelled out to no one as she caressed her injured leg.
She got up, limping, grabbing the handles from her bike. Well, there was no way she could ride on her bike with her injured leg, she ignored the bleeding on her knee as she walked along with her bike to…where ever her legs took her, supposedly.
She chided scornfully at her bad luck and only sighed in the end. It was no use being depressed and angry at oneself like this. She limped over to the near by river, walking down the bridge.
'At least the marks seem to be fading quickly.' She lowered her eyes. 'InuYasha would never hurt me, I know that. Maybe I was a bit too harsh storming out like that with just a few scars. I face these kinda things everyday. Heck! Probably to the edge of my death. But...' InuYasha's angry face popped up suddenly. 'That jerk face!' She wrenched the wet rag, flinging at it madly.
She looked again at her reflection. Claw marks gone. She sighed. 'He did try to apologize, though.'
Her eyes suddenly widened catching a small glimpse of a ill-fallen body near the edge of the bridge in the pond.
She gasped, rag in hand, clumsily running up the small hill almost slipping to the old woman's aid.
"There's no use in acting out as the sad sap here. Try getting off that tree and go apologize to her." Miroku calmly stated like it was praticed everyday for him. He leaned against the hard bark of the tree, looking up to expect a rude remark back.
"Wait. What was that?" He perked his ear up for more access.
"SHE'S PROBABLY SCARED A'ME!" Came the loud, strained voice. Miroku couldn't miss the red he saw lurking its way to his cheeks. InuYasha huffed and turned back to star out into the spotted sky that hid behind the masses of green leaves. "Things would just get worse if I go." He said faintly, even Miroku was hard on hearing of that. But he heard, nontheless. Nobody could miss the shine that reflected from his smile.
"Then try being nice for a change."
"FAT CHANCE." was the reply.
"But all the nice guys get the girls..." he mused.
"yeah yeah, not that nice." he retorted from above.
"Why, whatever do you mean?" came the innocent reply from below.
SLAP
"Sango! That was you!"
"Who'd ya think, pea brain?"
"That." InuYasha didn't even bother to look down at the scene. His ear twitched. The sounds were already too much eveidence that the scene was not all to pretty. He sighed for the umpteeth time since he'd sat in his tree and drew his clawed hands in front of his face to look at with honey coated eyes. 'It was an accident.'
"O-baa-chan! Are you alright?" She nudged the old woman, who was now regaining consciousness. Fluttering her small weak eyes to open, she suddenly cringed making her wrinkles to form more creaks into her aged skin, to clutch her head in pain.
Kagome immediately helped her up with careful caution.
"T-thank you dearie." She smile a small, thin-lipped smile at the young school girl.
Kagome smiled back. "No problem! I'm just glad that you're okay now."
The old woman sat there, studying the girl as she continued to smile and usher her up. Could she be the one? The one with the pure heart?
All three sighed along with the rustling of leaves above them.
"Will you stop fidgeting? You're killing the tree." Sango broke in through the card game. "Aha! Take that!" Slamming the card down. "Full hut!"
"Full House." Shippo corrected.
Sango was too busy stealing the other cards to listen.
"Aren't you guys the least bit worried about her?" Sango, Miroku and Shippo stopped to listen to the talking brush of leaves.
'Probably too embarrassed to show his face while saying that.' Shippo chided in his mind, giving the brush of leaves a dead pan look.
"That block head is probably lost some where in the woods crying or something!" His voice quieted to a mumble. Then he went back to his loud sneer. "Ha! Some friends you are."
"Some boyfriend you are, then." Shippo spoke out straightly.
"Boyfriends...they're like temporary mates or something like that right?" Miroku looked up in thought.
"It's NOT temporary!" InuYasha blurted out, a blush staining his cheeks.
All three held in their smiles.
"Ah...temporary. But is it right for one to switch to another 'girlfriend' at the same time." Sango spoke conversively in a carefree manner to the others, holding cards in hand.
"No. Only the bad ones do." Shippo spoke with Kirara mewing in agreement next to the little kit.
Clawing the ruffles of green by both his side, revealed a an angry snarl plastered smack dab on a flushed face of an equally angry hanyou.
"I know one thing's for sure. Boyfriends never hurt their girlfriends, even if accidental and leave it at that. He has to A-POLO-GIZzzee." Miroku stretched the last word for emphasize to the bundle of green above him.
"He's gone." Shippo spoke plainly.
"Wow. He fell for it faster than I thought." Miroku muttered to himself.
"Awright! another win!" Sango cheered.
"Whaa--!" Jaw dropped to the ground, Miroku composed himself. "How about another round?" He laughed nervously, his hands itching as Sango grabbed what was left in his money sack.
There goes his sake money and one night on cloud nine at the pleasure house.
"What is this strange contraption?" The old woman asked amazed, looking down at where she was sitting. The small black cushion surely wouldn't have fit her fat bum and still ride on efficiently, but it had proven her wrong to her amazement. She waited for a reply, watching the raven locks of the girl danced in front of her.
Kagome, winced slightly at the feeling her over stretched knee. She never did get to aid herself like she did other times. It could be getting worse. She'll just do it later, she had reassured herself. The old woman caught a small glimpse of trailing red that caught her attention.
"It's called a bike." She said over her shoulder, a smile lighting her features, her voice as sweet as honey itself. The old woman stared at her, studying her. Kagome turned her head back to the road.
How can this girl smile so?
"So…"
The old woman was brought back to reality, from her thoughts.
"How are you? Your head I mean." Worry slightly in her shaky voice.
Yes. She must be the one. The one with the pure heart, now I'm positive. She thought staring at the back of her head, her gentle scent swaying in the breeze along with her locks of hair. How else could she still care about a dying old woman whom is only but a stranger to her? She thought back to the other young woman and/or men whom she had encountered that were nothing at all like the woman in front of her. She had found the right one.
"Are you alright? You're not saying anything." Kagome asked, feeling uneasy that no one was answering her back.
She looked over her shoulder to see the old woman smile back at her. "Oh yes, I'm fine dear. Needn't worry about me."
Relief flowing back to her face, she rode ahead to the directions the old woman had pointed her to. Wait, she never did get directions. How stupid was she to ride in circles for the past 20 minutes without even asking where the old woman where she lived! She mentally cursed herself. InuYasha was going to have another fit with her for coming to camp so late. She smiled. Who cares. She was doing some good. How can something bad come out of it.
"Excuse me." Kagome spoke up."Yes?" She mumbled tired from behind. Kagome felt guilt stabbing her again. She looked up for a quick glance. The stars were coming out earlier than before. Dammit.
"Would you mind telling me where you live?" She asked with a slight sweatdrop. I wonder if I can just drop her off here. She shook her head wildly. No, that's too inhumane, an elderly woman out in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere is just too dangerous.
As if reading her mind, the elderly answered: "It's alright, dear, you can drop me off here."
"Wha-?" Surprised at the couincidence. She did say it was alright but something was just nawing inside of her. Being too kind-hearted was something a pain in the ass. "Are you sure? I mean it's getting pretty late and I don't want that same incident to happen to you again." Kagome spoke as if a mother to a child, sounding all the more uneasy as she watched the old woman struggle to get off the contraption. She lended a hand to help the elderly off earning a thanks in return.
Laughing out warmly, much too Kagome's surprise of the suddeness, the old woman bowed a "Thank you." and walked off, hands in the long sleeves of her top kimono outfit.
"H-hey! O-baa-CHAN! Wait!." Kagome smiled in relief when she turned around a smiled a reassuring smile to calm her nerves. "Just take care of yourself better next time. Don't forget to nurse that injury of yours."
"I should say the same for you." It wasn't the elderly's voice that answered her, but a young woman. But, the voice came from none other than the old woman in front of her. Soon everything came black to her.
"Huh?"
The old woman pointed to her knee. The blood had already hardened and dried making a scab. Kagome laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." She laughed out heartily. It couldn't be. Her imagination must have gone on overdrive.
The old woman observed her, thinking, 'She must be really kind for her to ignore her own injuries and care for someone else's'
"Well, I'll be seeing you." Kagome said getting ready to ride off.
"Wait!"
Screeching to a halt, and then sighing in relief to herself, thankful that it was only her imagination playing tricks on her mind, she turned around, eyes in question.
"How can I ever repay you for taking care of me?"
Kagome smiled shaking her hands back and forth, sweat-dropping comically at how this woman wanted to reward her for such a small task she did. It was somehow like a scene played in those harem movies. 'My hero!' type of things.
"Oh no, really, I don't need anything. Just get better soon, that's all. Ja-ne!" She said waving a good bye to leave. 'Man! It's already getting late.' The number of stars seemed to racing with her as she dashed forward.
The old woman stared after her retrieving form. I shall grant her wish, which she surely will wish tonight. That I'm sure of.' The thin wrinlked of a lip of hers slowly formed 40 years younger into small, firm pink shaded lips. 'After all, I am the maiden who grants wishes.' The crooked, slight yellowness of her smile turned to pearly whites, playing a bright star in the dark sky.
She put a hand over her body, the form of the old lady disappearing and a young maiden's body appearing as she spread her hand fully around to reveal a beautiful maiden. Her true form.
She opened her dazzling green eyes, with her pink lips curled up into a small smile, as she put her hands into her gold kimono sleeves.
The wind blowing against her dark grey hair only to extend further endless into a green river of shean and fall down her long curved back to look as if a waterfall against her back. 'Be careful what you wish for, young girl.'
"KAGOME! KAGOME!" Birds of any species rushed out of their nests with alarm from the loud yell. "DAMN IT! Anything happened to you, I'll never forgive myself." He said to himself, not caring himself if Kagome or the others were there to hear him right now or not. The only important matter at the moment was Kagome's safety.
Lifting his head up to the sky, the thoughts of Kagome's safety was wearing thin in his head. The sky was quick to become dark now. Kagome said something about daylights savings or whatever shit. He never did understand.
Please be safe.
His ears twitched hearing a familiar sound. He knew that sound from anywhere it was the sound of that weird contraption of hers. He sniffed the air to make sure. He learned twice not to take things to a complete conflusion after the metal clangings of the newly invented contraption in this era called fire guns or what not. That would be a bad sign. He sniffed the air. A big whiff and he was like a cat indused with cat nip, a bright red staining across his face. That's Kagome, alright.
Soon, she entered from the bushes, riding on that strange 'bike.' His face brightened and without thinking, ran towards her to capture her in death hug, enough to lift her up from her seat.
Squealing by instinct when her legs felt no surface, she was shocked and embarrassed to find InuYasha the one lifting her up. A giant, three-mouthed, octopus wouldn't even take her by surprise as much as he did.
He pulled away from her. "I thought something happened to you!" He hugged her tighter. She gasped. What's with him? To say she didn't like it, would be a lie. A smile crawled its way to her lips, her eyes fluttering to the star filtered sky. 'Oh well.' She laughed inside, reaching to hug him back.
He sniffed. The smell of blood entered his nose. It was faint. But it was still blood. He looked down at her knee catching sight of the ugly scab. He gave it a look like it was a spot on a delicate piece of valuable silk.
"Where'd you get this?" He pointed to her knee.
She looked down at where he pointed. "Oh that? I just fell on my bike." She stated calmly. To her it was nothing to scrounge and cry but being the over-protective one in this, InuYasha blew gasget, ready to point fingers.
"YOU SEE! I TOLD YOU TO GET RID OF THAT BIKE ALONG TIME AGO! YOU DON'T NEED THIS SHIT!" He suddenly yelled pointing at the bike as if it were some dangerous killing machine on a rampage.
She arched an eyebrow at him. This guy is just too weird for words…
"It's my fault. I was the one who fell. Besides I'm fine now." She said, irritation quirking at her sides. A hug and then turn around, just to turn out to be a pointless lecture/yell. Leave it to InuYasha to make a girl feel special. She was getting tired. "I'm tired. I'm going back to camp to get some sleep. I suggest you do the sam--INUYASHA!" She realized the whole time she was talking she was just walking in one place with InuYasha's strong grip on the bar handle and all.
"I'm getting rid of this bike once and for all! It's just a piece of shit anyway!" He yelled, then taking it over his shoulder, he threw it in the air with no remorse in a single bone of his. Kagome stood gawking after the thing in the sky.
"IRON REVER S-"
"SIT!"
His necklace glowed a bright rosy pink, then pummeled into the ground along with the person it held.
He knew his time would come. As soon as he felt the spell wearing off, he shot his head out from the dirt "YOU WENCH! WHY THE HELL DID YOU--OAUGH!" Karma had a twisted way of taking back at people. Sputterring at nonsense words, his eyes turned to dented swirls as he followed the pattern of the wheel of the contraption on his head turn.
"Jerk." She muttered under her breath, grabbing her bike from on top of his head. She gave a relieved sigh, looking over her bike her mother gave her.
Well, at least it's not totally ruined. I can still ride it...
"Ough..." a sound that escaped her lips as the front wheel wheeled out and landed in a heap pathetically.
...if I have the agility of a unicycling circus performer!' Comical veins popping up, her grip tightening against the bars of the bike.
An irritated Kagome along with a complaining hanyou emerged from the bushes just in time for their friends to greet them at the camp fire.
"Oh! Back so soon, Kag-" Sango stopped in mid-sentence, catching the look on both of their faces. Something she didn't expect. She turned to exchange knowing but dissapointed looks with shippo and Miroku.
They were sure that their plan would work.
Trick InuYasha into getting Kagome back.
He would tell her how worried he's been about her.
Kagome's happy along with a happy Inuyasha.
They frowned looking at InuYasha and Kagome glaring daggers at one another.
The same thought hitting them: Not again.
All three groaned. If only. For only. One day. JUST ONE DAY. For them not to bicker like children, peace would all be well upon them. Honestly sometimes it seemed they were an old married couple.
Kagome sighed with frustration still flowing within her. She turned over with a grump in her sleeping bag. This time, she was just too mad to sleep. She was feeling a bit homesick too. Her eyes watered just thinking about her mother's home made oden. Not the ready made packed ones int he market where they sold it at a ridiculously shamless price. No. It was fresh with the greatest feeling in you. You could eat it to your heart's content without feeling shameful about that oden being a string of yen your're chugging down your throat.
"Wipe that drool off. You're more of a dog than me."
Taken by surprise, she tossed her head behind her only to find InuYasha sleeping soundly. She rubbed her eyes. Imagination again! I wonder how o-baa-chan is doing anyway...She placed a slnder finger to the tip of her chin while looking up in thought. Catching a snort coming from the hanyou, she snorted quietly in return to mock him. Honestly, how can he sleep so soundly. No morals whatsoever. She rolled her eyes at him sitting up so cautiously as to not cause any loud sound to wake the others (InuYasha) in the process. There's no way he's going to let me go home. She sighed knowing it was impossible.
She had a life too! She had a family. He could at least let her stay there for more than 3 days, even that was too long for him. On the second day, he would come and take her back to the feudal era again. "Jewel jewel jewl!" She mouthed, fists at her sides, tossing her head as she continued to silently shout to mock at the temperamental hanyou she came to...
"Eh?" Looking up, she tested if her eyes had decieved her earlier. She could of sworn she saw a small flicker of light pass by the corner of her eye. With all its shimmering glory and brightness, the comet striked across the sky like a quick brush stroke a proffesional calligrapher makes. Containg most of her amazement for the others, she only looked on with her bright orbs of blue to gaze at in joy. Caught up in the moment, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as she always would when she was a child with her parents, both still living, she prepared to make a wish.
I wish...
A quick glance at the hanyou behind her, and she continued.
I wish InuYasha would show compassion for others…and for me. Be the opposite of himself! She screamed the last one in her mind in the spur of the moment, of course, maybe it was the anger talking. She turned her view to the sky, now, only a dark sky, stars littering amongst the rest to blend in once again. She didn't expect the wish to come true anyway. It was probably out of pure habit. The last time she saw a comet was, when she was still just a little child, wishing for her family to stay together in happiness. But her father had passed away.
Wishes were childish. Hanging on to them, thinking it will make your life an easier convience was just plain stupid and selfish. Maybe she was stupid and selfish, but everyone had a wish they would like to make once in awhile. Before she knew it, consciousness was slipping away from her, and she found the comfort of her pillow nursing her headache from today. She sighed into the pillow and gave in to a more comfortable position.
The dark night sky formed lids almost that of a humans, bright green orbs hiding under the veil of the sky was now revealed to look down at the yound sleeping maiden. "Your wish is my command…" She said with almost a laugh.
A/N: Reviews are very helpful at this point! No flames, please. Suggestions, are, although, accepted!