Inutori: Hey minna-san! ...Sorry for the long wait...but what can I say other than I have big problems in my life that I couldn't help. The original reason I thought it was going to take a month was that I was going on a two and a half week trip to visit family cross-country. Then a girl at the apartment I practically lived at disappeared for a week, turning up dead at the end of it. That's a whole lot a time-consuming drama. So because of her, the other girls that actually DID live there had to frantically try and find new dwellings, as they couldn't afford, nor wanted to remain at, the apartment they had shared with their now-dead roommate. I helped out as best I could as one of their best friends, and have now moved so that I am sharing a place with one of them. We just set up internet a couple of days ago and so now I'm finally getting around to putting up this chapter.
Kagome: Inutori doesn't own Inuyasha or any of its affiliates, although she does claim rights to this story idea.
Inutori: And in this chapter is the long-awaited reunion of Kagome and Inuyasha. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 4
Divided Union

Sango sighed worriedly, changing the almost dry cloth on her charge's head for a cold, moist one. It had already been a week since Kagome had shown up on her hotel balcony, unconscious and nearly bleeding to death.

To avoid any unwanted questions from both her own husband, and the hotel staff, Sango had quickly moved her cousin back to her own cramped apartment where she and her daughter lived.

Sango looked down at her "niece," snuggled against Kagome's side, and let out a deep sigh. Kagome better pull through this or Sango would chase her down into the afterlife and beat her to a bloody pulp.

Kaoru stirred only moments before opening her bright blue eyes. She looked dazed for only a moment before sitting up and reaching for her previously discarded stuffed bear.

"Sango-nee-chan, mama better yet?"

The former fighter-for-higher felt a sad smile pull at her mouth as she ran a hand through the four-year-olds' thick black hair. "Not yet, Kaoru-chan." That said Sango looked down at Kagome again, drawing comfort from the constant rise and fall of her chest.

Kagome wasn't going to go down without a fight: that was for certain.

Sango leaned over and scooped Kaoru up, figuring that she'd best feed the child before she started complaining. Not that Kaoru really ever made much of a fuss.

In the kitchen, Sango sat Kaoru in one of the chairs surrounding the small dining table and proceeded to grab a bowl from the cupboard and fill it with Cheerios. After adding milk and grabbing a spoon, Sango set the bowl in front of Kaoru and quickly fetched a cup of milk to go along with the breakfast.

For herself, Sango slathered a bagel with strawberry cream cheese and a glass of orange juice. She sat down across from Kaoru, tearing a piece off her bagel and eating it.

As usual, Kaoru stayed quiet as she slowly scooped the cereal into her small, delicate mouth. The taijiya found it fascinating to watch the well-mannered child, and felt she would never get used to the lack of screaming, crying, and breaking objects that usually followed small children; especially small children with demon blood like Kaoru.

A painful groan from the bedroom grabbed Sango's attention and she immediately pulled out of her reverie to rush down the hall.

In the bed, Kagome was awake and attempting to sit up, one hand clutching her abdomen where the bullet had passed right through her. Sango jumped to her side, pushing the Asian girl back onto her pillow with a bit more force than necessary.

Kagome's response was a howl of pain, cut off halfway through when her throat suddenly closed. The noise attracted Kaoru, and the little girl stumbled into the room as quickly as her short legs could carry her.

"Mama!"

The cry of joy emitted by the child tugged at a corner of Sango's heart. Even though Kagome had finally regained consciousness, she still wasn't out of the water yet. It wouldn't be nearly so bothersome if they had been able to go to a hospital. But hospitals ask questions that one may not want to answer lest compromising one's record.

Sango watched as Kagome buried the pain on her face and turned her head to look at her daughter. "Hey kiddo."

Kaoru leapt onto the bed without a second thought, crushing her mother in a bear hug. The only sign of discomfort that Kagome showed was a brief flash in her deep blue eyes. Other than that one moment Kagome did very well to hide the excruciating pain she must have been in for this time with her daughter.

Kagome lifted her arms and wrapped them around the raven-haired child, a smile finding its way forcefully to her face.

It took all of Sango's resolve to pry Kaoru off of Kagome, and it pulled her heartstrings to have to ask the little female demon to go play in her room down the hall.

Once Kaoru was gone though, Sango turned on Kagome.

"Kagome, what is all of this?" Sango pointedly looked up and down Kagome's beaten form, her jaw clenching and her hands curling into tight fists. She had managed to keep a cool head as she tended to Kagome and her daughter for the last week, but with Kagome finally awake, there were some questions that needed answering.

As she waited for an answer, Sango watched Kagome's eyes; if Kagome was lying, she would know.

"I…" Kagome took a deep breath, closing her eyes as a pained looked came over her expression. "How did you find me?"

All of the questions swarming around Sango's brain came to an abrupt standstill at Kagome's query. Of all the things to ask… "You were on the balcony of my hotel suite, Kags. You weren't that hard to miss."

Kagome's brow furrowed and she opened her eyes to look once again at Sango. "Sango, do I look like I was in any condition to get to your 9th story balcony?"

A cold shiver ran down Sango's spine. She hadn't really thought about that before; it had just made sense that Kagome would come to her, wherever she was, if Kagome was injured. "Not really, no."

The sigh that Kagome let out was followed by her closing her eyes and relaxing almost entirely, allowing her body to become limp.

Sango tentatively brushed her bangs away from her eyes and looked quietly out the window. How HAD Kagome managed to find her way to Sango's hotel balcony? It just didn't add up.

"Hey, wait a minute. You dodged my question." Sango looked back down on Kagome, who had added a pained grin to her otherwise peaceful expression.

Kagome didn't say anything and Sango felt her frustration build with her younger cousin. There was only so much Sango could take, and this was really pushing her envelope.

"Kagome." Sango growled out the wounded girl's name, letting her eyes narrow as she watched Kagome's face.

The grin widened and Kagome coughed slightly. "I had a run-in with some unscrupulous characters."

Sango raised an eyebrow. "Ya think?" After the incident with Naraku's crime ring, Sango had decided it would be prudent to perhaps build a bridge over the language barriers she had been so crippled by before. So over the last two years, Sango's English had not only improved, but she had been quickly picking up the slang of the Americans in her studies.

Though Sango waited, Kagome didn't elaborate on her ordeal as she should have. The Japanese agent ground her teeth together and began to quietly growl in her anger and frustration.

"Kagome."

Kagome met her eyes, magenta clashing with blue with such force that buildings would have crumbled had they interfered with that look. "I can't tell you Sango. I'm sorry, but I can't."

A rock formed in Sango's chest and she shot to her feet. "I take care of your ailing body, save you from the brink of death, and you can't tell me?! Kagome!"

The former thief's gaze did not waver as she continued to look at her cousin. "And I'm thankful; more so than you could probably understand. It's just not something I can tell you. I'm sorry."

Sango straightened, looking down on Kagome while trying to keep her tear glands from overflowing. "Then I guess you don't need me anymore, huh?" She was about ready to turn away when the silence dragged on between them.

Kagome licked her lips before responding. "I do need your help, Sango. But you're going to have to trust me. Can you do that for me?"

It took Sango a few moments to respond, as she thought about what this could possibly entail. "I think…I guess I'm going to have to try, aren't I?"

A smile spread across Kagome's face. "Good. Now can we get me something to eat? I'm wasting away over here."

FRAGRANCE OF SKUNK

Inuyasha scowled at the paperwork in front of him, opting instead to get on the computer and look up some international news to get his mind off of the intra-national crisis. Not many articles were popping out at him, and the ones that were really weren't that interesting after he started to read them.

Hunt stirred in her chair, her head slowly rising from where it had hidden behind her arms on the desk in front of her. "What's going on, Jidai?"

Inuyasha let out an annoyed sigh, slouching down further into his chair. "Nothing; just the same as the last four weeks. Absolutely, freaking nothing."

That seemed to get Hunt off his case as he continued scrolling through international headline news. He became so absorbed in his skimming of the screen that it didn't even register that Hunt was standing behind him until she reached over his shoulder and pointed at a link on the webpage. "That one looks interesting."

Pulled out of his "skimming-mode," Inuyasha took a closer look at the article Hunt had pointed out. The headline was "Japanese Theft on the Rise—Police Baffled."

Something gripped at is insides as he clicked on the link and the article popped up. Quickly, he began to read.

" TOKYO —While there had once been a decrease in burglary during the last two years throughout the city, the numbers of thefts has dramatically skyrocketed in the last month. Rumors have been spreading that the Japanese Snake, a once notorious thief that mysteriously vanished two years ago, is the one behind the heists.

Police Chief Hirigazawa continues to deny this rumor, saying that the Snake was arrested two years ago in April—the reason for the plummet in area crime—and that the thief is still safely behind bars. Despite this assurance, there is no court record that indicates that any individual was ever prosecuted for the crimes allegedly committed by the Snake."

Inuyasha sat back, unable to read any further with his mind turned topsy-turvy as it was.

"Kagome." He breathed out her name without even realizing it.

Hunt turned and gave him a strange look, glancing back at the article quickly before shrugging and returning to her own workspace. After a moment, Inuyasha clicked the print button and listen absent-mindedly to the printer warming up and then spitting out the article.

It took another good ten minutes before Inuyasha was able to return to his senses long enough to realize Hunt had stepped out and Sutruss had let herself in. With a grumble, Inuyasha found a headache forming and he leaned forward to give Kaede Sutruss a solid glare.

HOT HEADS IN SCUBA GEAR

Ayame rechecked her clip, confirming that her gun was fully loaded before pulling her visor down and quietly crouching down just out of sight. It was well past sunset on All Hollow's Eve and the warehouse was coming alive with activity just 50 yards away.

She looked to her partner Jidai, crouched just feet away from her and gave a nod, indicating that she was ready. Jidai returned the gesture and waved to another pair of agents just behind them. The wolf demon knew that this would continue down the line quickly, and soon the raid would begin.

Waving toward Inuyasha, they dashed for a shaded area between two shipping crates that had once sailed across the ocean as well as ridden on a semi truck trailer. Once there, Ayame froze.

The smell of blood coated the area and made her hackles rise. Though the scent was a couple of weeks old, the strength of the stench suggested someone had probably died, or come very close to dying, here. Beside her, Jidai was stiff as a board.

Ayame's glare hardened as she took in Inuyasha Jidai's pale expression. His eyes flashed red a couple of times before settling back to their usual golden color. He was sweating profusely, indicating the strain controlling his demon blood had been.

A grip of fear tightened in Ayame's chest. Jidai was in no condition to participate in the raid now; doing so would jeopardize all of the agents there.

Before Ayame could call off the foray, Inuyasha disappeared from right in front of her eyes. She blinked a few times before cursing vehemently. Kaede was NOT going to like this.

DIGGING UP GRAVEYARDS FOR KICKS

Inuyasha looked up the never-ending flight of steps, remembering the last time he had been here over two years previously. It was her home.

The fear and rage coursing through him hadn't diminished since he had stood by that warehouse and smelt her blood smothering the area. He knew that his demon side wouldn't rest until he knew she was unharmed, and that meant coming to Japan, where reports of the Japanese Snake's return were flying in by the armload.

He began climbing the stairs, wondering what exactly he was going to say to that wench once he saw her again. Scenarios ran through his head and he began muttering to himself as he climbed, working out the kinks of his speech.

It had been too long since he had last laid eyes on her, and once he had a hold of her, he didn't really have any intention of letting go whether she liked it or not.

Ahead, he could see that he was approaching the top of the steps, and unconsciously he put a hand in his pocket to finger the contents and clear his mind.

Time didn't seem to matter to him, and it shouldn't matter to her either. She would be the one he held at night as he drifted to sleep, the one he stuck around to watch grow old even as he lived on given his demon blood.

When he reached the top of the steps, time must have stopped moving, for there, bathed in sunlight, stood Kagome Higurashi. She was wearing traditional shrine maiden clothes and sweeping the stony ground calmly.

A lump formed in his throat and the hand still in his coat pocket clenched tightly. After this, it was all or nothing.

Inuyasha made to go forward, freezing once again as he watched a small, black-haired child clumsily rush to Kagome's side, clutching something in its hands and presenting it to his angel in red and white.

His ear twitched as he strained to listen in.

"What have you got there, sweetie?" The American FBI agent watched Kagome crouch down to be more on level with the child and put out the hand not holding onto the broom towards the child.

"It's a bug, mama!" Something inside Inuyasha collapsed at that one single word.

Mama. She was supposed to be the mother of his pups. Not someone else's.

He felt like running. He wanted to run. She was safe; that much was obvious. She also belonged to someone else; another blatant fact.

Before he managed to escape, though, Kagome looked up and met his gaze. Her eyes widened in surprise and she shot to her feet in a split second. A flash of something akin to pain crossed her features, but it was overshadowed by shock.

There was no running away now; he had been caught in that piercing blue gaze.

Minutes passed and neither moved, just staring at the other in silence. The moment was broken when the Japanese agent Inuyasha had met two years before stepped out of the house to the left of where Kagome stood.

The new arrival spoke quickly in Japanese, dying off mid-sentence as she caught sight of Inuyasha. Two years ago his Japanese had been rusty: now it was just plain shameful.

It was awkward, standing there looking between the two Japanese women in front of him. With a swallow he snagged his courage and stepped toward Kagome, meeting her eyes purposefully.

She didn't move from her spot until Inuyasha was almost standing on her toes.

JUST CHECKING TO MAKE SURE THE DOOR IS FLUSHED

Kagome eyed the FBI agent warily. Before she had managed to send him off, her mother had spotted the silver haired man and invited him in for tea.

Those golden eyes of his were fixed on her, and Kagome had a little trouble remembering how to breathe because of it. Sango sat to her side, perfectly still, and completely on guard. They were both wary of the American agent and his business at the Higurashi shrine.

She watched Inuyasha's eyes trail to Kaoru, playing across the room, and then shift back to look at her. His gaze seemed to tear at her every fiber, leaving her feeling naked and exposed before his scrutiny.

Despite that, Kagome couldn't help but admire his masculine features that she had tried for two years to forget. Something clenched at her chest and she ground her teeth to keep from letting the emotions play across her face. The pain in her abdomen form her bullet wound was excruciating; at least, that's what she told herself it was, since it couldn't have anything to do with Inuyasha.

"Your daughter." Inuyasha finally broke the silence, once again looking at Kaoru and away from her. It was more a statement rather than a question, and Kagome just nodded mutely, letting her gaze rest on the four-year-old girl.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw the muscles in Inuyasha's neck tense and relax a few times as the silence drew on.

Needing something to do, Kagome reached forward with both hands and picked up her cup of tea. She hadn't had touched the drink since sitting down several minutes ago, but the warmth seeped through the ceramic cup and into her cold fingers like it was freshly brewed.

The silence dragged on, and Kagome didn't want to be the one to break it. She still wanted to know why Inuyasha was here, but if he was going to be stubbornly silent, so would she.

Sango seemed to loose patience as she slammed her cup on the table, cracking the ceramic with her force. Kagome flinched at the loud noise it made, and jerked her attention to her elder cousin.

"This is stupid, and we all know it. What is it you want, Jidai?" Sango spoke in English, having already discovered that the American's handle on the Japanese language had slipped.

Inuyasha's eyes seemed to dart everywhere, and look at everything but the two women in front of him. "I...I...I just wanted to..." His eyes finally found a point of focus when Kagome set her cup of tea back down: he stared at her hands without bothering to blink.

Without warning, Inuyasha lunged across the short table and had Kagome pinned to the floor. Sango was too slow to react and Inuyasha ripped the ring off of Kagome's left ring finger in an instant. He was across the room and seething before either of the girls could do anything.

"You're engaged?!" Inuyasha looked up at Kagome, an accusatory glint in his eye.

"It's been two years, Inuyasha. What did you expect me to do, become an old maid?" Kagome felt tears welling up in her eyes, and this time she knew it wasn't from the pain in her torso.

"You ran away! When I came after you, you were already gone again! You were supposed to be with ME! Not some idiot who can't take care of you!"

She felt her heart stop for a brief second. "Kouga-kun takes very good care of me!"

Sango stepped in, staring down at Inuyasha and pulling a small dagger out of the back of her shirt. She flashed it at him before letting her arm drop to her side. "I think it's about time you left, Jidai."

Her menacing tone sent chills up Kagome's spine, and she hated to know what it did to Inuyasha, at whom it was directed.

Inuyasha's golden eyes sparked a dark violet momentarily before he let out a 'keh' and moved toward the exit. As he passed the table beside the door, he slammed down Kagome's ring, leaving it half imbedded in the wood.

A few seconds after the door closed behind the silver-haired half-demon, Kagome cautiously approached the table where he had left her ring.

Only thing was, it wasn't her engagement ring from Kouga. This ring, once she pulled it out of the table, had several small diamonds, in lieu of one large diamond, spread out across the top half of the ring with sapphire and ivory vines twisting through to make a spectacularly beautiful design.

Sango came over to look at what was keeping Kagome riveted to the spot and gasped.

"K-Kagome! That's..."

Licking her lips, Kagome nodded softly. She swallowed and slipped the ring onto the fourth digit on her left hand. It was a perfect, unobtrusive fit, and she absolutely loved it. A feeling welled inside her, but she couldn't place what that feeling was exactly.

Tears that had been building since Inuyasha had looked at her with accusation in his eyes finally spilled over and Kagome slid to the floor, grasping at her chest with both hands.

WHOEVER SAID HAPPINESS IS BLISS WAS DEAD WRONG

Inuyasha looked back up at the long expanse of stairs leading to Kagome. He then looked down at the ring in his hand. Upon looking at the ring, Inuyasha's eyes widened and his gaze went up to the top of the steps again with dread.

Though he hadn't meant to, he had kept Kagome's engagement ring from her "Kouga" and had instead given her the one that he had picked up two years before just prior to going to Japan to fetch Kagome the second time.

Dread coursed through his veins, but as the minutes ticked on and no crazed women came out to beat him with a stick, his pulse steadied and the fear seeped out of him.

With a little nod to himself, Inuyasha left the base of the stairs and continued down the street. He resolved that if he were to finally catch Kagome, he would first have to take out the competition that this 'Kouga' presented.

I
Do
Not
Sleep

Inutori: ::sighs:: I unfortunately cannot tell you when the next chapter will be posted. I've been working on several original stories lately, and between that, settling in, drawing, and work, I have not found much time for writing fanfics. Please bear with me.
Sango: Why hasn't my husband been in this fic yet?
Miroku: Yeah, why haven't I made my appearance? You keep mentioning me, but where am I? I wouldn't let Sango just up and leave for Japan without me going as well.
Inutori: Hold on, let me check my outline...you show up in chapter...NEVER! Muwahahaha!
Kagome: ::grabs outline out of Inutori's hand:: No worries, Miroku. You're here in the outline...then again, according to this, you should have had a part in chapter one...Inutori?
Inutori: ::scratches back of head and laughs nervously::