Kagome landed beside Nihon as he stood on one of the only buildings in the area still intact. His features were hard as he surveyed the devastation and one hand was clenched around the hilt of his katana. Studying him closely, she decided he wasn't in the mood to talk just yet, and so she held her peace. He'd changed greatly since she'd first met him. His clothes, too, were ever-evolving. At the present, he was dressed in a more western-style military uniform of dark blue. Despite the somber reason for the change, Kagome couldn't help but admire the figure he cut with it. Especially when his normally calm eyes flared with a fire that scorched all in its path.

Turning her attention back to the devastation below, Kagome sighed. The Bakumatsu was a terrible time and it had hardened Nihon in a way even the Warring States Era hadn't.

"It's finished," he finally told her, his words low and serious.

Hearing the pain he tried to hide, Kagome slid closer and offered her hand to him. Without looking, he accepted it, his longer fingers curling around hers firmly. She could feel the barely leashed power swirling under his skin. It tempted her to spark hers against it, just to feel that sensual high that only occurred when their powers mingled. It had happened only a handful of times over the years; disappointingly, usually in situations where they were up to their ears in blood.

"Millennia of life and I still don't know how to prevent war."

"You can't," she replied. "All you can do is survive it."

His amber eyes dropped to hers as he released his grip on his katana. "You're still so young, Lady Kagome, and yet you often see things that even I do not."

Arching a brow, she shrugged. "Youth is relative, as you well know. By all rights, you should look like a shriveled old geezer, not a hot guy."

A deep blush painted his nose and cheeks then, amusing her to no end. Nihon was a juxtaposition of innocence and worldliness. He could go from fighting with a ferocity that surpassed even Inuyasha to stammering like an idiot at a compliment. Kagome wasn't completely sure how to take that, even after all these years. She knew for a fact he kept some pretty racy woodcuts in his room. Hidden, of course.

"I-I have no control over that," he managed to get out.

Grinning, Kagome squeezed his hand. "Good, because you'd probably pick some wizened look with a white beard and wild eyebrows."

As she tugged him away, she didn't see his gaze drop to her backside. "I wouldn't bet on it," he mumbled.

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AN: Extra two chapters tonight because I failed to get up chapter 2 last night. Thank all of you who have taken a chance on this and especially those who reviewed. With odd-ball crossovers, I don't expect that many reviews, so every one I do get is doubly special.