KC: Hey, everyone! This is going to be short and sweet! I would like to thank everyone for being so patient for this update! We hope you enjoy it! We hope to have more updates soon!

Disclaimer: We own none of the characters of Inuyasha! We however enjoy torturing them and destroying their lives!

CH 7

Sota laughed loudly as he walked down the sidewalk with his friend Kohaku, in the sunshine towards the grade school to pick up his younger foster siblings after school. Despite his seeming carefree attitude, he always dreaded this part of the day. School was a place of refuge where he could really be himself; unlike that hell he was forced to live in.

"I can't believe you actually corrected the teacher like that today!" Kohaku exclaimed, elbowing Sota playfully in the side. "You must have a death wish or something!" he laughed.

Sota flinched slightly at his friend's words before smiling, "Well, if our teacher could actually do math properly," he grinned before shrugging. "I mean how could he come up with negative two every time when the answer was so clearly twelve!"

Kohaku shook his head, "Man, you're too smart for your own good, Sota," he stated as they stopped in front of the gates to the grade school just as the bell rang, signaling school was out.

The boys didn't have to wait long before a high pitched, "Sota!" sounded as a young fox demon came running and hid instantly behind Sota.

"Come on you pansy!" a boy called, chasing after the fox demon before stopping when they saw Sota. "Can't even fight your own battles, you pussy!" Sota looked the boy over, it was clear he was also a young demon with deep red eyes and pointed ears. The young demon looked Sota over and smirked. "Hiding behind a human on top of that, Shippo?"

Kohaku stepped beside Sota, making the young demon take a step back, "You should watch your language kid," Kohaku stated, while a young girl with pure white hair and skin as fine as porcelain walked through the gates.

"Sota, Shippo," she greeted softly, making the bully demon jump.

"Tch, hiding behind others is a disgrace to demons everywhere, Shippo. Learn to be a man." he huffed before turning and walking away.

Sota and Kohaku heaved a long sigh as the boy left; while Shippo heaved a sigh of relief as he moved out from behind Sota. "Th-that's right! You better run!" Shippo yelled after the boy, flinching when the boy glared at him over his shoulder.

"Shippo, what are you doing starting trouble…?" Sota sighed, looking down at the small fox demon.

Shippo huffed at this, "I didn't start anything!" he whined. "That boy is always picking on me…"

Kohaku couldn't help but scoff at this, "Sure he doesn't have a crush on you or something?"

Shippo blushed at this before sticking up his nose, "No way that's it."

Ruffling Shippo's hair, Sota smiled softly, "We should hurry home," Batting away the older boy's hand, Shippo nodded in agreement, a look of forlorn on his face. "We'll see you tomorrow, Kohaku."

"You don't want company on your way home?" Kohaku asked, looking concerned.

Sota grinned at his friend, "Nah, besides, aren't you going to meet with your sister today?"

Kohaku smiled and laughed, "Oh right, thanks for reminding me. I'm sure she's waiting patiently." waving goodbye Kohaku turned on his heel to head to his sister's workplace. Heaving a long sigh, Sota started leading the way home.

As Sota and the others made their way into the small house they lived in, finding their foster father speaking with someone in the living room. "We're back, Orochimaru…" Sota sighed, as they took their shoes off.

Red eyes glowered at them from the darkened room. "Go to your room, all of you." While Sota herded Shippo and Kana to the room they shared, he could hear his name being whispered. A shiver ran up his spine as he shut the door to their room.

!

Kagome couldn't sleep. She was so nervous about meeting her little brother. Despite being up early and finishing laundry and changing the bedding on the extra beds in the house, Mr. Izayoi had yet to contact her. It was nearly noon and she was starting to wonder if something had gone completely wrong or if maybe she'd missed some paperwork.

Chewing on her nails she watched out the window in the kitchen and took a deep breath. She needed to do something to keep from going nuts. Looking out the window she saw the path she'd wanted to wander along and check out. Picking up her cell she walked out the backdoor and started down the long winding path.

She still couldn't believe how much land her grandmother had owned. As she walked down the path, she glanced up at the canopy of trees that surrounded her and took a deep breath. The air smelt so fresh and clean. Much different than back home where the constant smell of car exhaust was everywhere. The wind rustled the leaves overhead and she was suddenly overcome with a wave of peace. For the first time in her life Kagome felt as if she was exactly where she needed to be.

As she wandered further down the path, Kagome felt a strange pull. It was as if a string was wrapped around her chest and it tugged her forward and off the dirt road and into the woods. The deeper she went into the woods, the stronger the pull seemed to be, until she came across an old looking well.

She stopped a few feet away from it and stared in wonder. Licking her lips, she stepped closer to the well until she could rest her hands on it. Something about the well felt strange, like it shouldn't exist, yet here it was. Peering into the well she grimaced. At the bottom she saw the remains of some creature. Half a rib cage poked out of the dirt. Was it a crime scene?

The pull went from a slight tug to an intense jerk and before she could stop herself, Kagome found herself jumping down the well. She landed at the bottom, just missing the bones. Seeing a light glowing beneath the dirt, Kagome began to dig. After a few seconds she came across a round object wrapped in dirty fabric, with small symbols barely peeking through the dirt. Was this the thing that was calling to her? Feeling uncomfortable she got up and put the thing in her pocket. She just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Just as she was about to climb out, she saw something out the corner of her eye that caused her heart to stop. A human Skull.

Inhaling sharply, Kagome found some thick vines and climbed out of the well as fast as she could. Once out of the well she hugged herself, before looking down at the skull again. Shaking her head, she turned and began walking towards the house once more. She couldn't get the sight she'd seen out of her head no matter how much she wished it gone. Even so, she also knew that, that wasn't something normal. Bones at the bottom of a dried up well... Licking her lips, she wondered if it truly were a crime scene? If it was, had her grandmother known and just never told the cops about it? What was she supposed to do now that she knew about it?

This was too much for her right now… Kagome needed a second opinion. Yes, that's it! Plucking her phone from her back pocket she scrolled through her contacts until she landed on Inuyasha. Furrowing her brows, she hesitated a moment. She'd only met him over drinks and lunch… Not to mention she hadn't quite made an observative opinion of him… Yet, she found herself pushing the call button before she could stop herself.

To her surprise he answered on the second ring, "Kagome! Hey!" he greeted her instantly.

"H-hey Inuyasha," she greeted in turn, feeling suddenly nervous. "Sorry to call you out of the blue like this…" she rambled, twisting her hair around her finger.

There was a slight pause before Inuyasha said, "It's fine, Kagome. What's wrong? You sound scared or something!" Inuyasha laughed a little at this, but Kagome didn't join in. "Oh, shit. Is everything okay, Kagome?"

Finally, Kagome broke and told him everything. Again, she had no idea why she trusted this strange man so much. They barely knew each other, yet he was able to pick up on her fear almost instantly. By the time she finished, she'd found herself leaning against a tree, trying to keep herself grounded.

"Take a deep breath Kagome, I can come over and take a look at things if you like?" Inuyasha offered as soon as she finished.

Shifting, Kagome looked back in the direction of the well. "Should I call the cops or something? I mean, I don't want you to get involved if it was some kind of murder or something…"

Inuyasha scoffed at that, "Kagome, I'm a half demon. I can smell things out that humans can't. What's your address, I'll leave now."

Tugging her hair in frustration, she babbled out the address before hanging up. Why the hell did she just invite a strange man to her grandmother's property? First, she lets him buy her lunch, then take her on his motorcycle and to top it off with a nice giant glop of icing let him and his friend take her out for drinks… Yup, she made great decisions as an adult…

Inuyasha arrived shortly after Kagome made it back to the house from the well. Inuyasha whistled as he looked over the place. "You really live it up, don't you Kagome?"

Kagome shook her head at this, "It was my grandmother's…" she admitted, as she let him inside. "It's a long story…"

As Inuyasha walked in he, whistled again as he looked around, "The inside is even more impressive," he stated with a smirk.

Kagome couldn't help the blush that tinted her cheeks as she cleared her throat. "The well is this way…" she stated, leading him through the sliding door from the kitchen.

Inuyasha couldn't help the smirk on his face when Kagome blushed at the complement of the house. Her words rang in his ears, 'it was my grandmother's'. He cocked his head a little to the side as he followed the girl along a long path before deviating and going through the woods. He wanted to ask so many questions, but they all seemed too personal, considering they barely knew each other.

He noticed Kagome glance over her shoulder at him, "I really am sorry for calling you out here... It's probably nothing, but I can't get things out of my head..."

Inuyasha shook head at this, "Don't apologize," he stated with a shrug. "are you out here alone?" Kagome paused at this, shaking ever so slightly before she took a deep breath and composed herself. "You don't have to answer that, Kagome." he muttered, shaking his head.

"No, it's okay," Kagome stated, pausing long enough so they could walk side by side. "I don't know why, but I feel like I can tell you what's going on…" she stated, staring at the ground a little too intensely. "But I think it's a conversation for when we return to the house…" she stated with a determined nod.

When Kagome stopped suddenly, Inuyasha finally paid attention to his surroundings. They were in a small clearing, and sure enough just as Kagome had stated over the phone, an old well stood in the middle of it. Without hesitation, Inuyasha walked right up to it and jumped down. Scrunching his nose at the smell of old dirt and slight molding. Bending down he found the skull Kagome had seen, and frowned deeply as he turned it over. The back of the skull was shattered in. Placing it back face up, Inuyasha took a look at a couple of the rib bones, noticing deep lacerations from obvious claw marks. The wounds obviously hadn't been able to heal before the person died.

Shaking his head, he put the bones down again. Digging around a little more, hoping to possibly find a wallet or something, he found what were once a pair of pants; now tattered and worn down. As he gently pulled something from the front pocket he sighed. It wasn't a wallet, but a small piece of cloth, barely showing its original pink color. Cocking his head to the side he raised it up to his nose and sniffed. The scent was subtle and old but he was positive, it was Kagome's scent. Inuyasha jumped out of the well and landed on its rim with the pink cloth tucked deep into his pocket.

"Well?" Kagome asked impatiently while wringing her hands. He didn't know what to tell her. Clearly the body had been down there for years and the injuries looked demon inflicted. But what did it have to do with Kagome? How did Kagome's childhood cloth end up right beside it?

"Well," he began slowly. "From my guess the body has been down there for quite some time."

"How long? Like 500 years long or 15 years long?" She squeaked.

"Do I look like a forensic expert? How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Well you don't have to be rude about it!" Kagome snapped, her hands turning into fists.

"Well, ask a stupid question…" he muttered stepping down while pretending he didn't see Kagome's glare.

They walked down the path towards the house. The sun was now high in the sky as the time steadily approached noon. Inuyasha vaguely wondered what excuse his boss would buy when he texted him in ten minutes. He could tell him that Kikyo is in surgery getting a humongous stick removed from her ass.

"Hey, Inuyasha would you like to come in for some tea?" Kagome asked when they reached the house. "It's the least I can do for all the trouble I've caused…"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. It'd be better to not have this conversation in the open. People tend to get the wrong idea when they overhear people talking about dead bodies."

Biting her bottom lip Kagome nodded, grumbling under her breath as she opened the sliding door and walked inside. He wasn't nearly this annoying when he was drunk. Hearing him snap the door close behind them, she moved to the kitchen to put the kettle on. "Have you eaten yet? Are you hungry?"

"Huh?" he looked up from rapidly typing on his phone. "Yeah sure, thanks."

Kagome sighed and pulled down two Styrofoam containers. She still hadn't had a chance to run to the store to buy some real groceries. "I hope Ramen is okay…" she sighed, putting them on the counter before pulling out two cups for the tea.

Putting away his phone Inuyasha sat at the small table in the kitchen, "That's fine," he answered, resting his elbows on the table. Kagome sat down across from him.

"So now what?" She asked. "Do we call the cops?"

Inuyasha rubbed his forehead, "We talked about that like five minutes ago…" he sighed, wincing when the kettle began whistling.

Kagome got up and pulled the kettle off the burner, "Then what do we do!?" she growled, glaring at him as she slammed the kettle onto the stove.

"We leave it the hell alone!" Inuyasha snapped back. "It has nothing to do with you."

"Nothing to do with me? There is a body in my backyard!"

"So? It's not like you killed 'em!"

"That's not the point!"

"Fine call the cops then. They will open an investigation. You and your family will be questioned. Your inheritance will probably be put on hold while the investigation is ongoing, then anything else that is on the back burner will be put to a complete stop."

Oh god Sota. They wouldn't let me have custody of Sota when the whole family is involved in this mess. "I didn't think of that." She muttered biting her lip. "I'll wait until everything is in order then I will report it."

"That's what I would do personally. Besides, that body has been down there for a long time. The bones are dry and brittle. It's not going to hurt anyone, putting off reporting it for a few months."

Kagome gave a nod in agreement, staring at Inuyasha for a moment before finally continuing making tea and ramen. Setting a cup of tea then a thing of ramen in front of Inuyasha, Kagome set things up for herself across from him before sitting again. Licking her lips, she stared into her tea for a long moment. "This all feels too surreal…" she sighed, before sipping her tea.

"How so?" Inuyasha prompted, gaining Kagome's attention.

She looked up at him, finding that he was staring straight at her. Shifting a little under his clear golden eyes, Kagome glanced away for a moment. Finally finding her courage she met his gaze and began explaining her entire situation; all the major life changing stuff, starting on the day they met at the ramen shop.

"So, now I'm just waiting to hear back from my little brother's parole officer…" she finished off, shrugging her shoulders, trying to make it seem like no big deal.

Inuyasha picked up his chopsticks and began mixing up his ramen a bit before taking a large bite, "So, basically you knew nothing of this little brother?" he asked, with a mouth full of noodles.

"Pretty much," She nodded. Looking down at her lap she shifted, "Now that I think about it, I wonder what's taking so long… It's already well passed noon and he should have contacted me by now." she huffed, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. "Maybe I should give him a call, make sure everything's okay."

"Well I think I'll be heading out!" Inuyasha said suddenly leaping from his seat. "Good luck with the corpse and long-lost sibling!"

"H-hey wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm like five hours late for work so I should get going before they fire me."

"Oh right of course!" she exclaimed slapping her forehead. "Yeah you better hurry, I don't want to be the reason you get in trouble."

Inuyasha turned incredibly pale. "You have no idea," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Call you later!" And with that he ran out the door.