Chapter 5.

A/N: Hmm, I wonder if everyone is wondering what's going on with Kagome and InuYasha. And for just that reason, I'm going to delay the wait just a little bit longer, and open this chapter with Chimera 002.

Chimera 002 stared haughtily at Dr. Naomi as she walked around his room, lab coat missing a sleeve, her bare, slender arm bandaged up from his ferocious attack.

"What are you doing now, doctor?" He asked, watching her disconnect the machines that had been constantly monitoring him for the last few weeks. Dr. Naomi looked up at him, and flashed him a sad smile. "Your getting your wish, Chimera 002." She said. "We're setting you free."

Chimera 002 watched impassively as she carefully wrapped up electrodes, cords, and power boxes, placing them into a crate that sat on a dolly, just outside his lab.

"So, you're just going to ditch me in Tokyo, like you did to my predecessor?" He asked, staring at her. She stopped packing things up, and stretched, returning his stare.

"Something like that." She said. "We're actually looking for a place for you, but if we fail to place you, then you will ultimately be set free, and left to fend for yourself." She said. She picked up a heartrate monitor, and placed it on the tray, then looked around for any other pieces of equipment. Finding none, she took a deep breath, then sighed.

"Time for the moment of truth." She said, stepping toward him. Chimera 002 knew what she was talking about. It was time to release him, and he knew he had vowed several times to kill her once he had been released, so now she was stepping up to see if he would slay her. She reached out, and undid the lock on his left wrist, then undid the lock on his right wrist, her cool fingertips pressing against the heated skin of his arm as she steadied herself on him. Once that was done, she knelt down and undid his ankle shackles, freeing him. Chimera 002 lowered his arms, and his powerful chest muscles flexed as he rotated his arms and moved them about, working out the knots and kinks.

Chimera 002 inspected his body, keeping his eyes averted from Dr. Naomi as she stood in front of him, waiting to see him out. Finally he could stall no longer, and he straightened up, tall and regal, looking down at her with his bright, golden eyes. Dr. Naomi smiled, and Chimera 002 glared at her.

"What?" He asked. She shook her head. "Oh, I was just thinking." She said. "You look so manly, I think I did an excellent job on you." She said. Chimera 002 sniffed, and pretended that he hadn't heard her.

"Well, where ever we are going, we might as well get there, so lead the way." He said. Dr. Naomi raised a hand.

"Ah ah ah." She said. "We've got to get you clothes." She said. "They should be here any minute now." She pulled up a stool from against the wall, and sat down, motioning for Chimera 002 to sit down on a table beside her. He did, and she looked up at him.

"So, how do you feel about getting out?" She asked. Chimera 002 shrugged, a motion he picked up from a worker passing by his cage a few days ago.

"I'm not sure, it will be a relief to finally get out and see what this body is capable of, but..." He trailed off, and looked away.

"What, Chimera?" Dr. Naomi asked, placing her hand on his arm. Chimera 002 looked down at her, then down at his arm, where her hand rested on his.

"I'm going to miss you." He said softly, carrying out the surprising admission with a grace and nobility that made Dr. Naomi proud. She smiled, and moved her hand down from his arm to his hand, holding onto him.

"Don't worry, your more than likely to see me around the city." She said. "And any time you do, come by and say hi." She said. "I'll always take time out of my schedule for you." She said. Chimera 002 nodded, wondering if she was just being polite, or telling the truth. Although, it didn't smell like she was lying. Usually when humans lied, he could hear their heartbeat increase, and their scent wavered, became stronger as their body gave off more pheromones, even the smoothest liars did it. But Dr. Naomi gave no signs of lying, so he would have to believe her for now.

He looked at her arm, and nodded at it, drawing her attention from him to her arm. "Does it hurt?" He asked. She smiled, and shook her head. "Nope, not really." She said.

Chimera 002 nodded, but could tell she had just lied then. It was still hurting her. His eyes narrowed, and he reached out, gently dragging his fingertips along the bare skin of her shoulder, just above where the bandages started. Dr. Naomi giggled, and shied away from him, gently slapping at his hand.

"Ahh, that tickles!" She said, laughing. Chimera 002 smirked, but it slowly faded away as he was reminded that beneath the bandages, were horrible marks, proof of his violence, and she had taken them without hesitation. That made him wonder.

"Why did you stop me from attacking that man?" He asked. Dr. Naomi shrugged. "I certainly feel no affection for that man, he's got a very bad attitude, but if you had harmed a member of the team, and they had filed a complaint, you would be marked as violent and uncontrollable, and you would be killed." She said. "I don't want you to be killed, Chimera." She said. Chimera 002 nodded. "Why, you put too much money and time into me to have me killed so soon?" He asked, jokingly.

She shook her head. "Nope, all the money came from the government, and creating you, and ones like you, are my job, so even if you got killed, that just leaves me more time to work on a better model." She said. She laughed as he growled lightly when she said 'better'. "But no, I care about you, and I didn't want you to be killed."

"Ahh, I see." He said softly.

"Dr. Nao-"

"The clothes are here." A technician said, unknowingly inturrupting Chimera 002 as he placed a box on the table next to Chimera 002. He grinned up at Chimera 002, and placed his hand on his knee. "How's it going?" He asked, and at the touch, Chimera 002 almost punched the man, but something in the man's voice and the way he smiled told Chimera 002 that the man was innocent of all ill intent, and that there would certainly be no gain in becoming violent toward such a docile human.

"Fine, thank you." Chimera 002 said, forcing himself to control his natural instinct of knocking the man's hand away.

The man nodded to Dr. Naomi, and removed his hand from Chimera 002, walking out, and down the hall.

"See, Chimera 002?" Dr. Naomi asked, picking up the clothes. "Not everyone is going to be a total dick to you." She said. Chimera smirked at her crude language, but said nothing. He put on the clothes Dr. Naomi handed him, a pair of low rise, straight leg American Eagle jeans, and a black Billibong T shirt that clung to his chest and showed off his muscles, the fabric bulging around his biceps.

Meanwhile, Dr. Naomi completed a phonecall, and placed her phone in her pocket. "Now, you look very attractive." She said, straightening his shirt a bit, and making sure that his pants were up high enough on his waist.

She looked at him, and Chimera 002 caught a bit of worry reflecting in her gaze.

"What is it, Dr. Naomi?" He asked.

She stepped a bit closer, and placed her hands on his chest, looking at her feet for a second before looking up at him.

"We were unable to find a place for you to stay." She said. Chimera 002 shrugged. "So?"

"So that means that we will have to turn you loose on the street." She said.

Chimera 002 smirked. "I fail to see the object of your worries." He said.

"Well, that means that you'll be sleeping in cold open places, it will be hard for you to find food, and you could get beaten up as you wander around late at night." She said. Chimera 002 shrugged. "Well, isn't that the perfect situation anyway for you to test out my ability to function without food, sleep or warmth?" He asked.

She nodded slowly, then rested her head on his chest.

"Ngh, I don't know what to do." She said softly. Chimera 002's eyes widened, and he tentatively put his arms around her, holding her as she rested her head on his chest.

He was silent for a few minutes, holding her, and when he felt the muscles in her back tense up, as she started to stand, he released her.

She smiled, and reached out, caressing his cheek. "Thank you Chimera 002." She said. He blinked. "I didn't even do anything." He said. She smiled. "Ahh, but you did." She said. "You made me feel a little bit better with your hug." She said. He nodded. "Okay."

"Well, I guess now that you know what you're up against, do you want to do it?" She asked.

Chimera 002 shrugged. "I wasn't aware that I had a choice." She said. Dr. Naomi shrugged. "Well, it's either the street, or this lab for a few days until we find you a place."

Chimera 002 thought about it for a second, and figured that he didn't want to be trapped any longer. He wanted his freedom.

"I'll take the street." He said. Dr. Naomi nodded, biting her bottom lip. "I should have guessed." She whispered.

"What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, I'll get you a tracer collar, and then I'll let you go." She said. She walked out, taking a left down the hall, toward her office.

"What did she mean?" He asked himself, looking around. "Hmm, she offered me the chance to stay here, but I'd have to be chained down again, but when I said I wanted to go on the streets, she got sad, which means..." His eyes widened as he realized what she had said and why.

"Shit! She wanted me to stay close to her..."

He trailed off as she came back in, carrying a purple beaded, fanged collar. It looked like something you would get in an anime novelty store, but he knew it was probably a highly expensive piece of technology. He leaned down, and she managed a smile.

"Oh, you want me to put it on?" She asked. Chimera 002 said nothing, but kept his head bent down near her chest, low enough for her to fasten it around his neck. She did, and as he straightened up, he leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

She looked at him blankly. "Tell you what?"

He looked down, then back at her face. "Uh, I don't know, it just seemed that you wanted me to stay here a while longer until you found a place for me." He said.

She smiled, and reached up, to place her hand on the side of his face. "I do, but that isn't important." She said. "I know you waited a long time to get out, and for me to let you out, then expect you to go back into the lab just for me is beyond selfish." She said. "I wouldn't do that to you."

She stared into his eyes for a second, before leaning in a bit, closing her eyes slightly. An instant before their lips would have touched, she caught herself and wondered at what she almost did. "Be-besides, like I said, I'll see you around the city." She said. Chimera 002 stared at her.

"You wanted to kiss me, didn't you?"

She smiled weakly. "Would you believe me if I said no?"

He shook his head. "No."

She grinned. "I thought so." Then she nodded. "Yeah, I did." She said.

"Why didn't you?" He asked. She shrugged. "I've got a husband, it wouldn't be right." She said. He grinned dangerously, reaching up and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Well, I don't have a wife, so this can be my fault." He said, before leaning in and kissing her on the lips. Dr. Naomi closed her eyes, and let Chimera 002 kiss her, knowing it wouldn't be the last sin she commited inside this building. She slid her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck, holding him while he kissed her.

When Chimera 002 finally pulled away, she sighed, resting her head on his chest again. This time, Chimera 002 didn't hesitate to pull her into his embrace, and she straightened up, turning it into a proper hug, her head resting on his shoulder. He held her for a few minutes, and wondered why he couldn't help but like this woman.

"Chimera..." She whispered, pulling back, but still in his arms, looking up at him. "Please don't ever forget about me, once you leave." She said. "I put a lot of time into creating you, and although at first I didn't think it could happen, I see now that I've fallen in love not only with my first project, but also with you." She said.

"The love I felt for Chimera 001 was that of a mother, for the boy was so cute, and helpless, it was impossible for me not to love him." She said. "But with you, I felt an attraction to you despite your attitude, and even now it seems that you no longer have the biting tongue you had only days ago." She said. Chimera 002 smirked. "Oh yeah?" He asked. "Better kiss me again like you did last time, just to make sure it doesn't bite." He said. She blushed. "Oh, seems you still do have a bit of your wit." She said.

Chimera 002 grinned, but the tender mood was lost by their jesting. She sighed, and let go of him, straightening her hair. "All I'm saying is, I love you dearly, and it would make me very happy if you were to be kind enough to stop me on the street, and say hi every once in a while." She said. Chimera 002 was silent for a minute, but in the end, his own emotions broke his silence.

"I'll be sure to find you." He said. She nodded. "You should, seeing as I gave you the sharpest nose yet."

He shrugged. "And right now, this nose is telling me that a certain woman is giving off a scent that tells me she wants to mate with me." He said bluntly.

She blushed again, and gently pounded on his chest.

"Nyah, touche." She said, unable to think of a comeback. He smiled, then stood. "Don't worry, I think it won't be too long until you see me again."

She frowned. "That sentence could have been a little more gramatically correct." She said.

He glared at her. "Does it really matter?" He asked. She nodded. "Of course, I made you to be almost perfect, and you could have formed that sentence a bit better." She said. Chimera 002 stepped slowly toward her, making her back up until she was against the wall. He growled lightly, before trapping her against the wall with his body.

"Being perfect gets boring after a while." He whispered. "What if I want to be imperfect, and maybe just a little sinful?" He asked. She smiled, and shook her head, seemingly impervious to his close proximity with her.

"If it's one thing we've learned so far, it's that you, nor your older brother, will ever be a sinner." She said. "I just don't see how it is possible."

He looked her in the eye. "We were created in a way that could be considered the most sinful thing humans have ever done to each other, short of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." He said. She nodded. "It's true." She said. "And because of that, I think it will only push you to free yourself from your sinful beginnings." She said. "It will push you to do the things that your heart tells you is right."

"Sad thing is, your creations will never ever escape the sins of their birth, no matter how hard they try." He said. She looked at him. "What do you mean?" She asked.

He shook his head. "God bestowed upon almost every man and woman on this planet the tools they needed to make more humans, and it doesn't take hundreds of thousands of dollars of government money and the best technology we have to do it." He said. "I wasn't created in God's image, and I wasn't created through any love." He said. "No matter how you look at it, I'm an experiment, to see if you humans can break the boundaries, push yourselves higher and further than anyone before you." He said. "And where does this desire come from?" He asked. He didn't wait for an answer. "Perhaps a lot of things. Money, cars, respect, women even, but most of all, people want to be remembered." He said. He narrowed his eyes at her. "And for their name to be forever imbued in a paragraph of a history book, to be passed down from generation to generation as the only person or team of persons to do this or that, you're willing to create another human in the most unholy ways possible, and when that human doesn't have a family, or friends, the shame and sin can only land on the heads of the creators."

Dr. Naomi nodded. "Yeah, and it's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life." She said. "Especially what I have coming up next." She said. Chimera 002 nodded. "Yeah, I've heard of that." He said. "I wonder if you humans can do it." He said. She shook her head. "Only time will tell."

They were silent for a minute, before Chimera 002 spoke up again. "So you're saying that technically, I was only able to kiss you because, somehow, there was a pure reason for it?" He asked.

She shook her head, smiling.

"Not really a reason, but your method, or motives, they were pure." She said. "It's not that you can't commit a sin, it's just that I don't think you'd be the type to do that." She said. "No, I believe that all that happened was we shared a pure, innocent kiss."

Chimera 002 smirked. "Yeah, if you call you shoving your tongue into my mouth innocent."

She giggled. "Shut up!"

He let his smirk fade, then looked up as another technician walked by. The man waved at him as he went by, and Chimera 002 copied the gesture.

Dr. Naomi's watch beeped, and she looked at it. She sighed, and gently pushed Chimera 002 away from her. "Time to set you free, Chimera 002." She said. She took his hand, and led him out of his lab, and down the hall. She had also given him shoes that were in the bottom of the box of clothes, and now he was walking swiftly down the hall, shoes barely making a sound as he stepped lightly on the floor.

She led him to the front of the facility, and stopped just inside the door, holding his hand. He looked longingly at the clear blue morning sky, the sign of freedom, just outside the door, before looking back at Dr. Naomi.

She smiled up at him, and longed to kiss him one more time, but there was a security guard manning the entrance, and he knew her husband, and if he saw it, it would probably find it's way to his ear.

"Goodbye, Chimera 002." She said, squeezing his hand. He smiled back at her, and leaned down. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her, but he merely stopped a few inches away, and inhaled through his nose, breathing in her scent.

"Don't worry Dr. Naomi, I'll find you, wherever you are." It would have sounded mushy, but the sweetness of it was killed by the brightness in his eyes, and the mocking grin on his face. She smiled, and patted his shoulder, letting go of his hand.

"I'm sure you will, babe. I'm sure you will." She said. With that, Chimera 002 left, looking back only once, as if he couldn't believe he was actually free. She smiled, and nodded at him, and he stepped outside the gate, standing on the sidewalk that passed by the front of the compound. Dr. Naomi saw him pause, then turn, and start walking away, down the sidewalk. She craned her neck around the door to watch him until he was out of sight, then sighed. She was definitely going to miss his attitude, and the way his critical thinking always made her rethink her ideas, refining and perfecting them.

She smiled, and remembered that once she found his knack for picking apart the flaws in her ideas, she would often just talk about her ideas to him while she gave him a check up, and let him pick it apart, revealing hidden flaws in her ideas and plans. She had become so dependant on him, now she didn't know what...

"Oh, jeez." She said to herself softly. "He's barely gone and already I'm remininscing." She looked at her watch, and saw that she should be in her conference soon. She yawned, suddenly tired from her emotional ordeal with Chimera 002, and wiped some unshed tears from her eyes. Now wasn't the time to be crying or feeling sad, she told herself. Not when she had her most important project coming up.

---

"InuYasha?" Kagome asked, staring at the boy. He stared back at her, then yawned, ears flicking back, eyes squeezed back, and fangs revealed, making Kagome giggle and totally killing the tension. He finished yawning, and blinked away some tears from his yawn. "Did you know that it's so damn annoying listening to someone tell you over and over what your own fucking name is?" He asked converationally.

She was taken aback by his language and attitude, and realized that maybe this wasn't her baby after all. "Yeah?" She asked. "Well I'm sorry, you bastard, but yesterday, you were just a kid who couldn't even feed himself, and couldn't talk when most kids your age would be able to read and recite the whole fucking dictionary!"

He leaned back, eyes widened a bit, then he lowered them to the floor. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." He said softly. "I just meant that I am conscious of what happened yesterday, and it got to be a bit boring, that's all." He said. Kagome calmed down, and moved over to the side of the bed. She sat down beside him, and stared at him.

"S-so, your really my baby, from yesterday?" She asked. He nodded, and stared at the floor. She reached up, and gently rubbed his head, itching to touch his ears and see if they were real. He either didn't notice her touching his head, or didn't mind it, so she decided to rub up against one of his ears. She casually let her finger graze the base of it, and he growled lightly, shaking his head, silver hair flying around. He opened his eyes, and snapped out of his trance, glaring at her.

"Please don't do that, it feels really weird." He said. She blushed. "I-Im sorry." She said. He shrugged, and sat down again, yawning.

"So, what else do you remember from yesterday?" She asked. He looked at her, then grinned. "Your mom feeding me chocolate chip cookies." He said. "I loved them, but I think I ate a few too many and got a stomach ache." He said. "Aww!" Kagome laughed, and rubbed his stomach, not thinking that this wasn't her little boy anymore.

He jerked away from her touch, and she was reminded of that fact by his sharp reprimand.

"Jeez, stop feeling me up!" He said. Kagome nodded meekly, and realized that she had to be careful around him now. He probably had the mind and body of a boy a few years into puberty, meaning she had to watch out for radical ideas, and harsh mood swings.

"Well," She sighed. "Look's like I've got the ultimate child simulation." She said. "A kid one day, a teenager the next, hell, I guess tomorrow I'll be kicking you out so you can live on your own." She said. The kid in question looked her. "Hmm?" He asked. "You say something?"

She shook her head. "I was just thinking about how all the clothes I bought you aren't going to fit." She said. "Which sucks."

He looked at her oddly. "You went out and bought me clothes?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, but you can't wear them now, I bought them for you yesterday." She said. "You know, when you were still only about four feet tall."

He continued to stare at her. "You bought me clothes?"

"A-and shoes." She said softly, not knowing what was going on.

He shook his head. "Why would you spend money on me?" He asked, falling onto the bed and staring at the ceiling. Kagome smiled. "Because you're my child, no matter if you're big or small, and I'm going to buy you what you need to be comfortable." She said. She looked him up and down, and decided that he was probably taller than she was. "Except this time you can pick out your own clothes." She said.

"Huh? You're going to go buy me more?" He asked. Kagome knew where he was coming from now. Having been a ghetto child, she guessed, he was conscientious about how much money was spent on him. She laughed, and laid down beside him.

"Don't worry about it InuYasha." She said. "It won't cost me that much." She said. "Plus, even if it does, I have a lot of extra money saved up, so it doesn't matter."

InuYasha was silent, trying to accumulate all of what he remembered. Yesterday was crystal clear to him, but the day before that was a pure blur. Little snatches kept coming through though, and there was a recurring image of a woman's smiling face. For some reason, he wanted to remember her.

"Come on, let's get breakfast." She said, grabbing his hand. InuYasha allowed himself to be pulled up, then he clued in that he was moving.

He was snapped out of his thoughts, and he looked at her.

"What are we doing?" He asked. She giggled. "Going to get food, you must be starving." She said. InuYasha realized he was indeed hungry, and for now, all thoughts of remembering the woman from a couple days ago were forgotten. Deep down, InuYasha had felt a pit of emptiness since his creation, which no amount of food or sleep had managed to fill, but now, following this girl down the stairs to the ktichen, he wondered if she could help him feel complete. Not knowing what he was missing, only knowing that he couldn't make the feeling go away, he wondered if this girl could help.

"Say, what's your name again?" He asked, jokingly.

She didn't catch the joke, and looked back at him.

"Kagome." She said. "My name's Kagome."

"Kagome..." He said softly, trying out the name. "Well, Kagome, I'm hungry, and I'm still technically your kid, so hurry and make with the food."

Kagome looked back, and saw the grin on the kid's face, and she smiled back.

"Don't worry InuYasha, I'll make you something." She said, stepping onto the landing. "Now you go watch television, while I cook us up some food."

InuYasha stepped into the room, and as Kagome disappeared from sight, he felt a sharp jab of pain over his heart. His vision blurred, and his breathing sped up, becoming ragged and heavy. His throat became clogged and felt like it was being squeezed, and breathing became much harder. His vision grayed, and he felt his whole body starting to sweat. His eyes felt like they were going to be squeezed out of his head, and his head felt like it was about to bust open.

Then, as suddenly as it was gone, the massive panic that had gripped him was gone, leaving him kneeling on the floor, gasping for breath and wiping sweat off his forehead.

"What the hell was that?" He asked himself softly, pulling himself up onto the couch.

He flicked on the T.V., and tried to put it out of his mind, but he couldn't and the more he thought about it, the more he wondered what had caused it.

"Damn, I don't know what just happened, but I sure hope it doesn't happen again..." He stared at the T.V., and got lost in it's colorful displays, shows, and audio.

"I wonder what that was..."

Kagome came in some while later, carrying a plate of food. She sat down on the couch, next to him, and handed him the plate. He said nothing, and started eating, staring at the T.V. She waited to see if he would say thank you, but he didn't, and she didn't push the issue, not wanting to make it a big deal.

She sighed, and leaned back against the couch, relaxing. InuYasha had the television on low, and it was barely audible, so she closed her eyes, wondering if she could find a few more minutes of sleep. Before she knew it, she was passing out, the faint audio from the television becoming even more faint. No longer able to keep herself upright, she didn't notice when she slowly slid sideways, until she was leaning on InuYasha. InuYasha looked at her, and then set his plate aside, wondering what to do.

Not knowing what to do, he merely put his arm around her, and hugged her, still staring at the television. Barely ten minutes later, and Kagome awoke, realizing that InuYasha had his arm around her. She blushed lightly, especially when InuYasha turned, and looked at her, glaring slightly. She stared into his bright golden eyes, and noticed that he was looking pretty cute, although he was ruining it a bit by pouting. She pulled away from him, and stuttered out an apology for falling asleep on him.

InuYasha said nothing, and knew he couldn't tell her that he wasn't mad at her for falling asleep on him, he was mad at her for waking up so soon. He got up when she did, and followed her back upstairs, the plate forgotten on the coffee table downstairs. Kagome glanced over her shoulder at InuYasha, then grinned, and entered her room, stopping in the doorway and turning around to face him.

"You can't come in." She stated. InuYasha raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "And why the hell not?"

"Because I'm getting changed, and you're not allowed to see me naked!" She said, backing up and slamming the door in his face. InuYasha stood there for a second, then shrugged. He leaned against the door, and yawned.

"Lot's have girls have seen me naked." He said. From inside the room he heard a short, barking laugh.

"I'm sure." Was the reply. "Maybe when you were three or four, they did, but you turned sixteen overnight, no one has gotten a chance to see you naked since then." She said.

InuYasha thought about it. "Well, whatever my age, I'm still me, so why's it matter that girls can only see me naked when I'm little?"

Kagome stopped pulling her shirt on, and glared at the closed door, behind from which his voice was coming from.

"You honestly don't know?"

InuYasha held up his hands in a gesture of innocence.

"Hey, like you said, I was four years old before today, so you got all the answers in life, babe." He said casually. "And you're still my mom, so you gotta answer all the difficult questions I throw at you, and now you really can't throw back the old, "I'll tell you when you're older" shit." He said.

"You know, by the way you talk, it makes me think you already know the answer, and you just want to embarrass me by making me talk." She said.

InuYasha shook his head.

"Nope."

"Well, you know, as you get older, you grow, obviously, you're not the size of a four year old anymore, but other things grow too, and it becomes less cute and innocent to be seen naked, and a lot more...intimate." She said.

InuYasha's ear twitched, and he wondered what she was talking about.

"I don't get it, but whatever." He grumbled. "I'll just find a new mom who can actually tell me something I can understand." He said.

Kagome whipped open the door, ready to tell him off, but she was staring at open air as InuYasha fell backward onto the floor, unprepared for the door to be opened that quick without warning.

She looked down, and saw InuYasha flat on his back, groaning. She sighed, and knelt down, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Well, I take it you learned something today?" She asked.

He opened one eye to glare at her. "And what would that be?"

"To not lean against doors." She said.

InuYasha nodded. "Ahh, see, I thought it would have been, "Find a mom who can teach me not to lean against doors in time to prevent something like this from happening.""

Kagome frowned, and gently slapped his chest. "Don't be mean!"

She pulled her hand away, and tried not to think about how his chest had felt well muscled beneath her hand, and especially tried not to think about how nice it would be to touch his chest a lot more.

"Something wrong?" InuYasha asked.

Kagome realized she had been staring into space for a second, and looked down to see InuYasha looking up at her with his cute puppy eyes, and his cute little twitching puppy ears, and his sweet, handsome face, and his lips that looked so soft...

She glared at him, and promptly slapped him across the face.

"Stop that!" She yelled, and InuYasha scrambled up, yelling and clutching his face. "Ow! Bitch! What the shit did I do!?!" Kagome blushed, and realized that InuYasha really hadn't done anything.

"Whatever, get in here." She said, waving him into her room.

InuYasha warily walked into her room, clutching his right cheek, and Kagome started to feel a bit of guilt creeping into her. She reached out, and InuYasha winced, expecting another hit.

"I'm sorry InuYasha, but you'll understand what just happened when you're a little older." She said, taking his hand off and kissing his cheek.

"Oh I understand just perfectly." He said. She froze. "Y-you do?" She wondered how embarrassing it would be to have her son tell her that he knew she had felt him up, then harbored dirty thoughts about kissing him, then slapped him to cover it up. Well, she was about to find out...

"Yeah, you blanked out, and your split personality went psycho, and you went crazy on me, slapped me up, cursed me out, then your normal side came back, and you're all innocent and shit now." He said, grinning.

Kagome breathed a silent sigh of relief, then realized that he had just called her crazy.

"You know what!?!" She yelled. "You can go suck a c-" She was cut off as InuYasha stepped forward, putting his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. She struggled against his grip for a second, before she realized she would never be able to force her way out of his arms.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She asked, trying to stay calm, even as his body was pressed against hers, and her head was on his sexually sexy chest, and her hands were inches from his hips.

InuYasha sighed, and she felt his cheek press against hers.

"I don't know, I felt a bit bad about getting you so riled up, and apparently you had a pretty calm life before I came along." He said. "I just wonder if you really want me here, or if you just need me to complete some damn school assignment, and you don't really care about me." He said.

Kagome was silent for a second, and suddenly, this wasn't about her body against the body of this attractive male, it was about the boy's heart, and feelings, and those were something she couldn't take responsibility for hurting.

"InuYasha, trust me, I don't know how you found out about this being a school assignment, but I just want you to know, it isn't mandatory." She said. "We don't have to do it, I'm doing it because I want to." She said. "Aaaand, even though I was expecting a girl, a girl that didn't grow seven or eight years in a single night, a girl that didn't have cute little doggy ears atop their head, I still think you're just fine." She said. "And sure, things were a lot calmer before, but sacrificing peace and quiet for the chance to raise a child and give him a home worth coming home to, it's an acceptable loss to us." She said. She blushed lightly as she realized that during the whole time he was talking and she was replying, she had started stroking his hair, something her mother always did to her to get her to calm down.

InuYasha pulled back a bit, and stared at Kagome.

"So what are you going to do?" He asked.

She looked at him. "Do about what?"

"Well, you can either keep me on as your son, which would be weird but fine for me, or you can nullify that claim, seeing as I'm almost eighteen anyway, and I can live here with you, get a job and stuff, and...yeah."

"Is there any particular reason that you don't want to continue being my son?" She asked. InuYasha shrugged. "No reason." He said. "Just figured it would be less awkward that way for you when I come home some night with a pretty blonde on my arm." He said.

Kagome didn't know what to say to that, and wondered if that's what his mind was really on already. Is he really already thinking about girls?

She then realized that the position he was holding her in wasn't quite right for a mother and son, and she pushed away, sitting down on the bed.

This has gotten wayyyyy to complicated.

She knew her main problem was to decide if she wanted to keep him on as her son, and thus ruin any chance that she would have with him, or to just let him live with her as a guy, and see if she couldn't get somewhere with him.

InuYasha sat down next to her, and sighed, falling back onto the bed.

Well, my school says I have to take care of a child, and since he's not eighteen, he's still technically a child, so I got that covered if I decide to nullify the adoption, but just to make sure, I'll check with my friends.

She got up, and went to her computer, waking it up by slapping the mouse around.

A few seconds and a keyboard shortcut later, she was signed onto MSN, and talking to one of her friends that had adopted three children, one at a time, and raised them until they were teenagers, then could be placed in better homes.

'Hey' She typed.

'Hey, how's the kid coming along?' Was the reply.

'Kinda weird. He was eleven, now he's sixteen, and there's a chance that there might be something more here, and I don't know what to do.' She swiftly typed, looking over her shoulder to make sure InuYasha wasn't peeking on their conversation.

'Weelllll, I won't pretend to understand what you just said, but my lover's sense is tingling, and it's telling me to tell you to ditch the adoption thing. Lover's love is way better than mother/son love anyday.' She replyed.

Kagome laughed, and quickly typed back a 'thank you', before signing off.

"I think I'll go for it." She said. "I ain't got nothing to lose."

"Go for what?" InuYasha asked, laying on her bed, staring at her. She noticed he was petting her cat, and she smiled.

"Oh, nothing, I just decided you're right." She said. "It would be too much of a shock to me to see my son coming home with a trampy whore, so soon, you won't be my son anymore, so it won't bug me if you come home with another girl." She said.

InuYasha sat up, looking worried. "You're getting rid of me?" He asked softly. Kagome's eyes widened at the hurt in his voice, and she shook her head.

"No babe, no, I wouldn't do that, I'm just getting rid of the adoption, it's too weird to have a sixteen year old son that was only eleven a day ago, but I want you to still live with me for as long as you want, 'cause I really want to get to know you more." She said.

InuYasha nodded. "Okay, I can handle that." He said. "When you going to nullify the adoption?" He asked.

She pointed to the computer behind her. "I'll do it tonight online." She said.

InuYasha grinned. "Perfect."

Kagome winced at his tone. "What do you mean, 'Perfect'?"

He grinned at her. "Well, I still got most of the day to get everything I want from you...Mom."

She laughed, and took his hand. "Come on babe, let's go." She said. "I still gotta get you some clothes that actually fit." She said. As InuYasha got up off her bed, he suddenly smiled at her.

"Sayyy, you still didn't answer my question." He said.

"What question?"

"Why can't a girl see me naked now that I'm sixteen?"

She growled, and slapped his bum, pointing toward the stairs.

"Tonight, me and you are going to sit down and have a really long talk about what you know and what you don't, InuYasha!"

A/N: Well, there it is. Tell me what you think, because from here, it's going to appear to go uphill, while really, it's going to go all downhill. It will be revealed why in the chapter after next, or so. Please read and review. Oh, and below is a little info blurb thing about Chimera 003, who is going to be really interesting.

Dr, Naomi walked into the room, and sat down, for once, the last one to be in attendance. As she sat, a file was handed to her, and she looked it over.

"Hmm, they're really pushing the envelope with this one, aren't they?" She asked. There were murmurs of agreement from around the table, as they had all reviewed the file.

"Well, let's see what we got here." She said, looking over it again. "Code named Ayame, the experiment will be a female, with the objective of making her immortal." She almost laughed at that, but then realized that everyone, while they thought the idea was impossible, were ready to take it seriously.

"The problems we're going to be dealing with are specialized cells that don't regenerate, and even ones that do don't after a hundred years or so." She said. "We'll have to seriously increase the performance of all the major organs, without increasing the nutrient and mineral demand for the body. Also, the brain will be the main focus of our study, there will be a few problems with the function of it."

She looked over the file again, trying to pick out any more problems that she could see just off the top of her head, then noted again that the body was to be female.

"Well, through perversion, or just a change of pace, they picked a female, which happens to suit our needs." She said. "Physically smaller, they demand less oxygen, nutrients, stuff like that to survive, so it will make things a bit easier to work with."

"Ahh, it says here that her biological time clock should be frozen at 19 years old." She said. "Well, looks like the money makers up there know something after all." She said. "As a nineteen year old, she is past puberty, giving her a mentally stable body and mind, while still keeping her young enough to readily recover from any wounds she may recieve."

"Well, I'll go lay out the groundwork for this one, then when we're ready, you will each get your individual assignments, and go from there." She said, picking up the file. She carried it with her to her lab, before dropping it on her desk. She tapped a button on her keyboard, and her screensaver disappeared, displaying her background. It was a Ying-Yang symbol with the faces of Chimera 001 as an inncocent child, and a screenshot taken of Chimera 002 after he had cut her arm open, with Chimera 001 on the mostly white side, and Chimera 002 on the mostly black side. It was pretty neat, she thought, and it had only taken her twenty minutes to Photoshop together.

"I wonder how they both are doing...?"