Well, it's been like two years since I last updated and for that I'm sincerely sorry. I was going through a lot of personal issues after my last post and then school started and the story kinda just got pushed to the back of everything. But here's another chapter now! Thanks to everyone still following.

The trip to Totosai's volcano home took much less time than InuYasha had originally worked out in his plan of how the day would go. Nearly two hours later the demoness that was Kagome had ushered their steed into a descent at InuYasha's instruction.

"Whew, always forget how warm it is in there. Don't know how the old geezer handles it day in and day out." InuYasha stated as they landed at the entrance to a cave that was carved from the mountainside and lead to Totosai's workshop within. Kagome just shrugged in response as they both dismounted. She took Mizuki's reins and followed InuYasha past the cave entrance, leading the horse to where she Totosai's 3-eyed cow sleepily dozing off near the wall.

"Hey Mo-Mo." she greeted as she walked up. The cow seemed to snap out of its daze and let out a tired groan as she reached out with her free hand to give him a quick pat on the head. "Has he been working you too hard? Poor thing." The cow groaned again and Mizuki whinnied in response. Kagome turned to the pinto and placed her hand on her muzzle, rubbing soothingly as she looked into the horse's eyes. "I don't need to tie you up, right? You'll stay here on your own?" The horse snorted its response, nodding its head once before pressing its nose into Kagome's hand encouragingly. Kagome smiled and gave her steed another loving pat before turning to follow InuYasha. The horse whinnied again and moved to take a drink from the cow's water basin a few feet away.

By the time she caught up to her companion, the Hanyou was already greeting the old blacksmith.

"Oh, InuYasha!" he called in his wheezing voice before breathing a healthy spurt of fire over a sword he was working on.

"Hey old man." InuYasha responded, shoving his arms into his sleeves as he walked up to the elderly demon. He watched as the sword in Totosai's hands was plunged into a basin of cold water before the blacksmith himself turned to face his company, putting his hands on his hips.

"Ah, I see you brought a friend with you today." he wheezed as Kagome approached. As she stepped into the light from the fiery glow behind him, Totosai's eyes widened. "That can't be the dear lady Kagome, can it? My, my, step into the light m'dear, lemme have a look atcha." Kagome did as requested and let the old demon look her over. He reached forward after a moment and lightly tapped the shiny surface of the jewel protruding from her collar, even as InuYasha growled. "Oh relax pup, I'm not gonna hurt her. It chose you then?" Kagome nodded and removed her quiver from her shoulder.

"That's why we're here actually. I'm a lot stronger now and unfortunately my old bow can't handle the pressure of my new strength. It nearly snapped the other day. I know swords are your specialty but I was wondering if there was any way you could use these quills to fashion me a new bow?" She held up the quiver and Totosai took it from her, removing each quill individually and testing it in his hands with the occasional murmur. After a few minutes of this, InuYasha seemed to grow impatient.

"Oi, old man!" At the exclamation, the demon in question seemed to snap out of his reverie and by the startled look on his face he had quite forgotten that he had company.

"Oh! Right. Well I'm no expert on bows, but I'd say I know enough to use these to make one. Better than working with wood, it's so fragile. Burns right up in a snap!" As if to emphasize his point, the old man snapped his fingers then let out a boisterous chuckle. InuYasha rolled his eyes and let out a huff.

"Yeah, yeah, wood's fragile and all that. How long will it take you? I have to go train Kagome some more."

"Mmm, probably all day I guess…" The old demon started to drift off in his own world of mumblings again, scratching at his balding head before sighing about some other problem he needed to get over. Seeing where this was going, the impatient Hanyou cleared his throat to bring Totosai's mind back to the present. "What? Oh, right, the bow. Well I hope you can do your training while on errands, there are a couple things you'll need to get for me while I work."

Kagome was the one to roll her eyes as InuYasha made a loud noise of complaint. He was just about to yell at Totosai at the apparently ridiculous notion that they could just sit back so to speak when she cut him off.

"What do you need Totosai?" The old demon smiled at her and retreated further into the cave for something to write on. He came back a minute later with a short list of things they'd need for the new weapon.

"InuYasha should be able to figure out where to get the materials I need. It'd be to your benefit to learn these areas as well young lady."

With a wave of thanks, Kagome grabbed InuYasha's had and pulled his reluctant form from the cave.

"C'mon InuYasha, like he said, we can train on the way! We'll leave Mizuki here and run to wherever we can find everything. Have a look at this list and let's figure out where to go first."

With his standard 'keh' he grabbed the list from her hand and had a look over it. After making a face that could only be described as a combination of annoyance, consideration and reluctant resolution, he stuffed the list into his sleeve.

"All of these items are relatively close, it shouldn't be too hard to get them I guess. First one we should go for is the bark from the Ko-Do tree. There's an outcrop of these trees a little to the west of here. Should only take about an hour if we run full out. You need to perfect control while you're running anyway, especially with distractions."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at his last words but shrugged them off. Little did she know "with distractions" translated in InuYasha's mind to "you're gonna run while I talk to you, randomly change directions and even occasionally throw a weak attack your way and you have to not fall on your face or run into a tree." It seemed as though for his training, the stubborn Hanyou really was trying to get Kagome to make a fool of herself, often pulling his tricks out when the result would be the most comical. They arrived at their destination about a half hour later than speculated, a panting Kagome trailing after a perfectly calm InuYasha.

"This is why we need to practice Ka-Go-Me." He threw a smirk her way as she glared. "If we were in a real battle you can't afford to not know where you're stepping. You're just lucky I was nice enough to save you from running face-first into that tree." Kagome's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as her Hanyou companion continued on his proud tirade; geez, she could practically see his ego rapidly growing as he acted like the high and mighty teacher he thought he was. Said Hanyou soon found himself reacquainted with the ground while Kagome walked past with her nose in the air.

"Gee InuYasha, that's why we need to practice your manners. Next time maybe I'll be nice enough to keep you from falling face-first into that dirt." By the time the submission spell wore off, Kagome had already reached the group of trees they had been looking for and began running her hands over the smooth bark. Ignoring InuYasha's growl from behind her, she reached up and started peeling away a strip of the smooth tree skin, which separated with relative ease. Crossing his arms, InuYasha watched as she peeled a few more strips, draping them over her arms.

"That should be enough." he finally said, a hint of his irritation still evident in his voice. She nodded and after perusing the list again, they set off in a new direction for the next required item.

Several hours later, the two tired Youkai made their way back to the cave where Totosai was waiting for them.

"We got all your stuff old man."

"Ah InuYasha! Great, bring it here." They dumped an armful of materials onto the stone that was used as a worktable and Totosai began to look them over. "Hmm, tree bark, yes good length... Wax from the demon bees to the east… And yes, the binding agent…" He continued going over the materials before giving them a final nod and bringing over the prepared quills. Through his forging mastery he managed to bend them to mimic the curve of traditional wooden bows and had the centre of the two quills clamped together. The two InuYoukai soon sat themselves against the wall and watched the old demon work. Another hour later found the old demon walking towards them, a placid smile on his face.

"Is it done?" Kagome's voice held no attempt to hide her excitement as her hazel eyes. The old demon nodded and held out his worn and withered hand for Kagome to take. She accepted his help up and happily skipped to where the finished weapon sat upon the worktable. The demoness' squeal of delight resounded throughout the cave, causing InuYasha to flatten his ears against his head.

"Oi Wench, it's just a bow, relax!" But Kagome wasn't listening. She picked the bow up and seemed to be unable to take her eyes off of it. The quills were exquisite, and as her eyes trailed to the centre of the bow, a small sigh of awe escaped her. The bark she herself had peeled was wrapped around the quills to create the grip. The wax they had collected created better traction for a stronger hold on the bow and a smoother release as the arrow slid past. As a minute touch, Totosai had burned the kanji for Kagome's name on the side, and even used one of Mizuki's tail hairs to fabricate the bowstring.

"There can be no doubt that this bow is made just for you Lady Kagome." Totosai wheezed, smiling in his elderly way. "Though your horse wasn't too happy with me for a while…"

"It's beautiful Totosai, thank you. Can I try it out?"

"O' course! I think I have some arrows around here somewhere…" After some rummaging, the old demon returned with a couple of arrows in hand. They were a little worse for the wear, but Kagome eagerly took one and ran to the entrance of the cave. Her companions followed at their own pace to see her testing the tautness of the string before knocking her arrow.

"Let's see what this baby can do!" With those words, she pulled her arm back until the arrowhead rested on the index finger of her opposite hand. "Go!" A moment later the twang of the bowstring rang out and a burst of pink light shot through the air in front of her in an elegant arc, the light fading slowly with each mile that was put between the shooter and her projectile. She squealed again and jumped around in circles before running up to Totosai and throwing her arms around him. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed and even planted a loud kiss on the old man's cheek.

A light blush could still be found on his cheeks as Totosai bid the two demons goodbye, waving with a kind smile from the entrance to the cave as they flew off into the darkening sky.

"Thanks for taking me out here today, InuYasha."

"Keh, whatever. You needed a new bow, who knows when you'll be in trouble next." Kagome smiled a little to herself as she looked ahead. She knew he was just putting up his 'I don't care' persona. She chuckled to herself a little before looking at him over her shoulder.

"And I'm sorry for saying the 'S' word earlier, even if you did deserve it…" She laughed out loud at his grumble behind her. "You know you did dog-boy."

"Keh. Let's just get home already." Kagome nodded in agreement and encouraged her steed to fly even faster. They returned to the castle just before the last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon. Mizuki landed with a soft thump on the hard ground and trotted to the stables.

"Not a bad ride," InuYasha stated as he dismounted and held out a helping hand to Kagome, who took it with a smile, "I think I still prefer running myself though." He leaned against the wall and watched as Kagome lifted the heavy saddle off Mizuki's back. The horse made a grunt of thanks and shook her head. Kagome smiled and murmured softly to the horse before turning and setting the saddle onto a stand next to the horse's stall.

"Hey, InuYasha, I was thinking… I want to go home soon. I still need to explain this all to my family." The Hanyou considered this for a moment before sighing softly.

"If you want to go home, I suggest we get rid of your 'guests' first. It probably wouldn't be smart to leave them here to their own devices, no matter what pledge they made when they got here."

"You don't trust them?"

"I don't trust anyone, period." he responded without thinking, shoving his arms in his sleeves and throwing his nose in the air. At the silence after his statement, InuYasha looked over at his companion and at her crestfallen appearance immediately realized his mistake. "Oh, c'mon Kagome, you know I don't-"

"It's fine InuYasha. Really, you don't have to explain. I get it." He tried to get in a word to fix his blunder but Kagome simply turned from him every time and before he knew it he was standing alone in the main hall watching her shadow disappear down a side hallway. He guessed that she would probably seek out Sango and the two would berate him in their feminine ways. He sighed and decided to go and seek company of his own in the form of Sango's counterpart, the oh-so perverted Miroku.

"What did you do this time?" was the monk's immediate question when the Hanyou came into view.

"What makes you think I'm the one who did something?" InuYasha asked indignantly. At this Miroku raised an eyebrow at him. InuYasha sighed again and sat down to tell the monk what had happened.

"Oh Kagome, you know InuYasha probably didn't mean it that way…" Sango said to a frustrated demoness.

"But he still said it Sango! I thought we got over that hill ages ago, but he's still stuck on not trusting anyone! After all the times he's asked me to trust him…" She sighed as her companion put a comforting hand on her back.

"I think if he trusts anyone in this world, it would be you. You know how he is, he's just still not used to even having the chance to trust someone. Hell, I don't think he ever will be fully used to it with everything he's been through in his life. You have to remember, he's been around for a lot longer than all of us. It's ingrained in him; you can't blame him for that. Here, why don't we talk about something else? Show me your new bow!"

An hour later, Kagome was walking back towards her room, her new bow slung over her shoulder.

"Quite the weapon you have there, milady." At the unexpected voice, Kagome whipped around to see a casual Katsuo stepping out from a connecting hallway.

"Oh, Katsuo… Yeah, it's great. Totosai did an awesome job." She tried to put on her regular smile but even the Jackal could tell that there was something lacking.

"Something wrong?"

"It's nothing, just… No, it's nothing. Don't worry yourself over it."

"Are you sure? Is there something I can do?"

"No, but thank you for asking." Kagome was going to turn from him then when she felt a rough hand gently take her own.

"Walk with me?" he asked as she looked up in confusion. "We can just walk or you can tell me what's wrong if you decide you want to. You look like right now you shouldn't be alone…" Kagome hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly.

Their walk ended up leading them to sitting on the grass in the front of the castle, staring up at the stars.

"Do you have family who live in the village you came from? The one bordering InuYasha's forest?" Katsuo asked out of the blue.

"Sort of. They live a little ways away from it. I think I have to go see them soon. They still don't know about…"

"Your new appearance?" Katsuo offered. Kagome smiled a little and nodded.

"Yeah… I wonder what they'll say."

"I'm sure they'd be proud. I mean I presume that they aren't against Youkai since you've been traveling with them for years to put the jewel together. Unless, of course, you have done so without their permission for whatever rebellious reason. I don't see you as such a character though, if I may say so. If they're fine with that, I don't see why you becoming a Youkai through divine providence should be that much of a difference. You're still the same person right?" Katsuo threw a smile in Kagome's direction and was happy to see an answering one on her lips.

"I'm sure you're probably right. My grandfather may take it badly at first, but he has always said that he supports what I've needed to do with InuYasha and everyone. I think my mom will be ecstatic, she's always loved InuYasha's ears and now I have a pair of my own." Kagome chuckled softly, imagining her mother's squeal about having dog-eared grandchildren for sure now. Shaking the image away, Kagome threw another smile at her content companion. "Thanks."

"Anytime, milady. If such truths make you happy, I will oblige in saying them as often as I can. You've got a lovely smile, it'd be a shame to lock it away." He winked at her now and seemed quite pleased with the healthy blush spreading quickly over her cheeks. "Heh, that blush is pretty cute too." He laughed out loud at her sputtered attempt at a response. "You're not used to getting compliments are you?"

"N-no… Not really… I mean Kouga says nice things and then there's Hojo who seems to like me, even though he's always shy about what he wants to say, but I mean that's just…" Her voice drifted off as Katsuo caught her eyes and her sentence died in her throat. She was mesmerized to say the least. The way the stars were reflected in his dark eyes was astounding. Their light seemed to catch on the undertones in his irises, making them glow in a faintly ethereal way; bright copper now shone at her in harmony with his dark skin that took a lighter sheen from the moonlight from above.

"And that InuYasha? He does not compliment you?" Katsuo asked in a soft voice. Seemingly without his notice, his hand raised to brush a stray lock of hair away from her face, tucking it with the rest of the mane that draped over her shoulders. Kagome's hazel eyes finally fell from their connected gaze as she returned to her prior sadness. Katsuo's eyebrows knitted together in a frown as he tried to amend his previous statement. "I just thought that since it seemed like you two were close, that maybe that was something he would do for you. Surely he's not so oblivious as to not notice what others clearly have…?"

"He said I smelled nice once… Back when we first met and I was still human. But he was injured at the time, almost dying. Neither one of us were sure he'd last the night in all honesty. I'm sure anyone would say stuff like that if they were in that situation. Death will make you say all kinds of things that you normally wouldn't…" Kagome mumbled to herself, raising a hand to run a finger over the smooth surface of the jewel in her chest. In her mind she heard echoes from that night; the scrabbling of the spiderheads outside the door held shut by InuYasha's sword, the labored breathing from the human who had asked to put his head on her lap…

"That's it? Really? I can only imagine what you smelled like as a human, since I've only known you like this. But really, it couldn't be that far off from what it is now." Kagome shrugged softly. The echoes faded and she closed her eyes for a brief moment to collect herself before responding.

"Maybe a few times here and there he's said something nice, but he has no reason to compliment me. For the longest time I was just his shard detector, and he could never look past that to see what else there was to me. He loved Kikyou more than you can imagine, and when I came in the picture as her reincarnation it caused… Complications between us; especially since the last thing he saw before her spell took effect was her and the first thing he saw upon waking up was me. When he looked at me, he could only see how I resembled her. For the first ten minutes he was convinced I was her and that somehow I was trying to trick him."

"Does he love her still?"

"He says he doesn't, but I think a part of him always will. You can't go through what they did and ever completely get over it; you just can't, no matter who else enters the picture." The disappointment in her voice was evidence and Katsuo's gaze was concerned as an evening breeze lifted Kagome's hair off her back. She leaned back with the gentle flow, trying to let her feelings flow away with the wind, but without much success. Katsuo leaned back as well, his eyes returning to the stars as he contemplated his next words.

"Well, I think he's foolish to not compliment you. He's right about your scent though. It's a very beautiful scent, it suits you." Kagome opened her mouth to respond when a hyperactive, red ball of fluff interrupted their conversation.

"Kagomeeeeeee!" came Shippou's cry as he bounded out the front doors and looked down the lawn towards the pair.

"Here Shippou!" She called. The kitsune ran to the sitting demons, jumping into Kagome's arms and snuggling against her collar in an affectionate way.

"Kagome, I can't sleep. Can I get my colours from your bag?"

"Sure Honey. I guess I'm going to have to get you some more when I go home huh? You must be almost out by now." She gave the small form in her arms a loving squeeze, her heart warming in his presence.

"Yeah. Does that mean you're going home soon then?"

"Maybe. I'll let you know as soon as I decide. For now, help yourself to what you want from what's left in my bag. Only one sweet tonight though, ok? It's late and I don't want you up until dawn." Shippou nodded and scampered away, waving enthusiastically as he reached the doors he had emerged from minutes before.

"You act like his mother." Katsuo observed with a small chuckle.

"Heh, sometimes I think of him as my son. I've been taking care of him for so long that I can't imagine not being there for him. He lost his family when he was very young, and I just couldn't help the bond that formed. I wanted to protect him from the very first day." This statement seemed to please Katsuo. The demoness noticed his pleasure and blushed, clearing her throat softly and running a nervous hand through her simmering hair that was now a bit messier than before. "Well, uh, I guess I'm gonna try to go get some sleep. I don't want to be awake until dawn either." They both stood and Kagome patted her clothing down to rid it of dirt. "Thanks for talking with me tonight. I feel a little better."

"Like I said milady, anytime." He grasped her hand gently in his, bowing until his forehead brushed her knuckles before placing a kiss over them and straightened. "May you have a peaceful sleep, devoid of nightmares and filled with only happy dreams." She threw him a smile and turned to walk back towards the castle. The jackal sighed to the night and walked to his caravan, thinking over all the things he had learned about the woman now closing the front door above the stairs.

"Have a nice chat did you?" Shinobu asked from his spot at a small drafting table as his son entered. He shot him a knowing smile over the papers he was reading and patted him on the back as he passed. "She's beautiful."

"She's more than that. Beautiful, insightful and already has a mother's instincts with that kitsune." His father's smile widened. "She will make a great mother."

"She will make a great mate." Both jackals sighed happily within their confines and Katsuo passed his curtain to get ready for bed.

Outside, however, much turmoil was found in the mind of another presence who had watched the pair sit and talk companionably. Amber eyes glinted in the starlight, a soft growl issuing from the viewer's throat. Damnit. I thought I'd have more time before he actually started courting her! This bastard moves fast! With this thought, the flash of red disappeared back into the castle.

Inside the front door, Kagome felt like an awkward teenager again, the blush still painting her cheeks as she thought about her time with the Jackal. Really, she knew she shouldn't be so pleased with his words; she was a new matriarch and his interest in her was probably more political than genuinely romantic. Sesshomaru had warned her early on that multiple demons would in all likelihood attempt to court her to gain status; to mate with her would make the demon in question extremely powerful politically. Still, she couldn't help half skipping to her bedroom, a girlish grin painted across her face as she giggled to herself. Without so much as a backward glance, she entered her room and shut the door, getting ready for bed and feeling lighter than she had in a while.

By not sparing a look behind her, Kagome missed the shadowed form that followed her, too caught up in her giddiness. InuYasha passed Kagome's door on the way to his room and let his ear hover close to the thin wall that separated them. Inside, he heard a soft humming among the rustling of clothing. The sound made his heart sink lower; she only hummed like that when something made her buzz with happiness. He could almost imagine the bounce in her step as she danced around the room to her tune, trying to keep the smile from her face. Ears lowering, he shuffled to his room and closed his door with a snap. He would just have to hope that when they went to visit her family, he could squeeze in some time to fix some of the distance that had been placed between them. He didn't want to admit however, that the damage was caused by his own actions.

Well there you go. Hope you like it.