Kagome sank down on the couch in relief. They were finally done with the cleaning, and not a moment to soon. Aunt Hina and Uncle Ryou would soon be arriving.

Mrs. Higurashi had insisted that Wednesday and Thursday be spent cleaning the house in preparation for their guests. And the house couldn't just be clean; it had to be company clean, which meant scrubbing everything till it shone. Or until Kagome collapsed in a heap, whichever came first.

She'd also taken the time to educate Inuyasha more on the current times. He now knew how to use the TV and the phone, and most of the kitchen appliances. He also knew how to use anything and everything they had that dealt with cleaning. Somehow or another, Mrs. Higurashi had roped him into doing housework with the rest of them.

As though her thoughts had summoned him, Inuyasha collapsed on the couch next to Kagome. "Your mom is a slave driver," he complained.

"Don't I know it," Kagome replied. "But at least you'll be able to rest now. I'm going to have to help entertain."

Inuyasha looked over at her. "You don't like your relatives?" he asked.

"No, I do like them," Kagome was quick to correct. "I don't see them often, so I like to spend what time I can with them. It's just I'm worn out right now, and I wish I could take a nap first."

Inuyasha looked like he was going to reply, but the sound of a car horn blaring in the driveway stopped him. "They're here! Get to Souta's room!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her panic, but hopped up the stairs quickly. It had been decided that Inuyasha would spend the week in Souta's room in order to avoid their guests.

Kagome rushed to the front door just as her mother opened it to let them in.

"Nariko!" Aunt Hina cried, hugging Mrs. Higurashi. Aunt Hina was a tiny woman, slightly shorter than Kagome even. She kept her hair cut in a short bob, which made her look younger than she actually was.

Uncle Ryou followed after her, carrying several suitcases. It never ceased to amuse Kagome to see Uncle Ryou stand beside Aunt Hina, because he was as tall as she was short.

At the very end of the procession was Kikyo. It was sort of funny how many times she'd been mistaken for Kagome's twin sister rather than her cousin. Kikyo and Kagome were the same height, had the same build and facial structure, and both had long black hair and brown eyes.

Still, Kagome didn't see how people could mistake them for each other. Kikyo was always elegant and poised; Kagome was rather…well, frumpy. At least in Kagome's opinion, that is.

"Souta, Kagome, help them carry up their suitcases," Mrs. Higurashi ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Kagome and Souta chimed.

Souta took some suitcases from Uncle Ryou, and Kagome took one of the two Kikyo was holding. The four marched up the stairs and went to their different rooms to deposit the bags. Kagome led Kikyo to her room.

"So Kikyo," Kagome said setting the bag down. "How's college life treating you?"

Kikyo smiled. "It's going well. I can't wait for next year though; the first two years of college are just getting my basic classes out of the way. Next year I'll actually be able to start working in the more specialized classes."

"When do you get to intern at a hospital?" Kagome asked.

"Maybe at the end of my third year, if I do well enough," Kikyo said.

Kagome grinned as she plopped down on her bed. "Well, of course you'll do well enough! You're a genius."

Kikyo laughed as she sat in Kagome's desk chair. "Well, I don't know about genius. But what about you? Have you decided what you want to do?"

Kagome made a face. "Not really. I can't make up my mind. All I know for sure is I want to do something where I'm helping people."

"You could try being a doctor, like me," Kikyo suggested.

"I've thought about it," Kagome said. "But I don't know. I feel like there's something else I'm supposed to do. I just don't know what."

"You'll figure something out, Kagome," Kikyo said. "You always do."

"Thanks, Kikyo," Kagome said. "I'm glad to know someone has confidence in me."

"Girls! It's time for dinner!"

"We'd better head down, then, or your dad and Souta will eat everything," Kagome said, standing.

The two girls walked out of Kagome's room, but at the top of the steps Kikyo paused and glanced over at Souta's room.

"What is it?" Kagome asked, managing to keep nervousness out of her voice.

"I thought I heard something," Kikyo said.

Kagome linked her arm through Kikyo's and tugged her down the stairs. "If it's in Souta's room, you don't want to know. A few weeks ago, Mom had to go in there for something, and she found out that Souta had been collecting tarantulas without telling us."

Kikyo shuddered in disgust, and Kagome applauded herself on the story. Kikyo hated spiders; she was terrified of them even. She'd probably avoid Souta's room like the plague now.

"Souta did get rid of them, didn't he?" she asked hesitantly.

"Mom told him to, but with Souta, who knows," Kagome said.

Kikyo paled slightly, and Kagome felt a sense of triumph. Keeping Inuyasha a secret was going to work.


Inuyasha lay on Souta's bed, for lack of anything better to do. They had figured out how to keep him hidden from their relatives, had even gone so far as to stock the room with food that didn't need to be refrigerated or cooked, but no one had thought about giving him something to do to amuse himself while he was stuck in this one room.

So, with nothing to keep him busy, all he could do was think. And, when given the time to think, all he could think about was Kagome, and what she had told Sesshomaru and his lackeys.

Never before in his life had Inuyasha met someone who didn't care that he was a half breed, as it was so commonly put.

Granted his parents probably wouldn't have cared, but Inuyasha hadn't met either of them, at least, not that he could remember. His mother had died only a few short weeks after Inuyasha's birth due to illness. Lord Inutaisho, Inuyasha's father, hadn't been able to bring her back to life with the Tenseiga, for it could only bring back those who had died a violent death.

A few months later their lands had been attacked by Ryukotsusei. Inutaisho had fought and killed him; however, he'd still been so drowned in grief over his wife's death that he hadn't fought with enough strength to survive himself. So though he killed Ryukotsusei, he died as well.

The end result had been that Inuyasha was raised by Sesshomaru, one of the many that despised hanyou. That had led to more nightmares in Inuyasha's childhood than he cared to recall.

So after growing up in an environment that told Inuyasha he was worthless because of his blood, to hear Kagome say she didn't care was shocking, to say the least. What was even more shocking was that she really meant it.

But when Inuyasha really stopped to think, it wasn't just Kagome that had accepted him, half breed and all. It hadn't bothered anyone that Kagome had introduced to him. Miroku, Sango, Kagome's family; none of them seemed to understand that hanyou were looked down upon. Why was that?

Finally Inuyasha had to chalk it up to ignorance. If they knew about yokai, they would understand. Perhaps one day Kagome would even change her opinion of Inuyasha.

But she won't, Inuyasha thought, if I can make her fall in love with me.

Kagome had quite plainly said that if she fell in love with Inuyasha, she'd marry him. All he had to do was win her heart.

But I don't know how. I need help.

Inuyasha hated to ask for help, but there was no way he was going to succeed in this on his own. He was also very limited in who he could ask for assistance.

The door opened, and Souta walked in. He quickly shut the door and looked around the room. "Inuyasha?" he whispered.

Inuyasha stared at him. What the heck. He was desperate.

Inuyasha got Souta's attention by throwing the pillow at him. Souta caught it and grinned at the bed. "Oh, there you are. Have you been okay in here?"

Inuyasha picked up a pad of paper and a pencil from Souta's dresser. He'd been using it to communicate with Kagome's family when she wasn't around.

'Fine. I need a favor.'

Souta read what Inuyasha wrote. "What favor do you need?"

'How can I make Kagome fall in love with me?'

Souta stared at the words, and then looked up at Inuyasha. Well, he was actually looking a little to the left of Inuyasha, but Inuyasha knew what he was trying to do.

"Inuyasha," he said very seriously. "Are you in love with Kagome?"

Well, no, he wasn't in love with her exactly, though he certainly liked her. And he did think she was pretty. But it might be easier to get Souta's help if he thought Inuyasha was in love with Kagome.

'Yes.'

Souta ginned. "That's so cool! If you and Kagome get married, that would make us brothers!"

Well, at least Inuyasha had Souta on his side.

'So, can you help me?'

Souta nodded. "I will do all I can to help. Have a seat," he said, pointing to the bed. Inuyasha obeyed, and Souta stood imperiously in front of him.

"Now then, girls are really confusing creatures, but they all have certain things in common. They like gifts for one; you can't go wrong with flowers, chocolate, or jewelry. And they love you to complement them. You have to complement them all the time. They also like really romantic dates."

Inuyasha frowned. He didn't know that word.

'What's a date?'

"A date is when a guy and girl go out somewhere by themselves. They usually go to dinner, or the movies or something like that."

That required going out in public, something Inuyasha couldn't do right now. He also had no way of getting her a gift at the moment, unless he wanted to become a thief.

'I can't take her on a date, or get her any gifts.'

Souta looked surprised, and then thoughtful. "Oh yeah, I guess you can't. That makes things harder." Souta paced for a minute, and then snapped his fingers. "I know! You can write her poetry!"

'Poetry?'

Souta nodded, grinning like a maniac. "That's right, poetry! Girls love poetry! Especially love poems."

'I don't know how to write poetry.'

"Oh that's easy," Souta said breezily. "All you have to do is write about how pretty you think she is or something, and make sure it rhymes."

'And Kagome likes poems?'

Souta nodded. "Sure she does. All girls like poetry."

'I guess I can try.'

Souta patted Inuyasha's arm, though Inuyasha had a feeling he'd been going for his shoulder. "That's the spirit. Now I've got to go to bed, or Mom will get on to me for staying up to late. Goodnight, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha moved off of Souta's bed and sat on the floor with his paper and pencil. He didn't feel tired yet, and if he was going to write a poem for Kagome, he had a feeling that he'd need all the time he could get.


Kagome unrolled her sleeping bag on her bedroom floor, as she was giving her bed to Kikyo. "Hey, Kikyo, will you toss me one of the pillows, please?"

Kikyo gave her one of the pillows off of the bed. "There you go, Kagome. You know, I can remember a time when we'd both easily fit on your bed."

Kagome grinned. "I remember those days too. But even though we both fit on the bed, I would keep waking up on the floor for some reason."

Both girls laughed, and then Kagome caught sight of a locket that she hadn't noticed before. "Hey, Kikyo, where did you get that necklace? It's really pretty."

Kikyo's hand flew to her throat, and she blushed. "It was a gift," she said vaguely.

Kagome ginned. "Oh, a gift? From who, may I ask?"

Kikyo sighed good naturedly. "I suppose I might as well tell you. You won't leave me alone until I do."

"Nope," Kagome cheerfully agreed.

Kikyo lay back in the bed. "His name is Onigumo. I met him a year ago now."

"Is he a college student?" Kagome asked.

Kikyo shook her head. "No, he isn't. He lives near the campus though."

"How old is he?" Kagome asked.

"Not that old. He's only twenty-six, and I'm twenty."

"What does he look like?" Kagome asked.

Kikyo took the locket off and handed it to Kagome. "His picture is in there."

Kagome opened it and curiously studied the picture she saw. The man was handsome, Kagome decided, with long curly black hair, deep brown eyes, and an aristocratic face. Still, something seemed a little off. Kagome couldn't quit put her finger on it, but something about this guy seemed wrong, almost sinister.

I'm being silly. It's just a picture after all. I can't judge someone I've never met. I'm sure Onigumo is a perfectly nice guy.

Kagome handed the locket back to Kikyo. "He's handsome," Kagome said.

Kikyo smiled dreamily as she put the locket back on. "Yes, he is. And he's got more than just looks. He has a brilliant mind."

Kagome yawned sleepily. "Well, I'm glad you're happy, Kikyo. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kagome."


Kikyo toyed with the locket while she listened as Kagome's breath settled into the deep pattern of sleep. She wished she could tell Kagome everything about her relationship with Onigumo. There were things about him she hadn't even told her parents.

I might have to tell her yet, Kikyo thought, remembering the presence she had sensed earlier.

Unlike the majority of the world's population, Kikyo was well aware of the existence of yokai. She'd found out not long after she'd started college. She'd been out late one night by herself when she'd been attacked by one of the vile creatures. Quite possibly she would have died that night, but Onigumo had been there.

Onigumo had rescued her, using powers that she wouldn't have thought any human would have. That had been the beginning of their relationship.

As it had turned out, Onigumo was the leader of a small group of humans who were dedicated to eradicating the threat of yokai; they called themselves the Society of Light. Each member had powers that allowed them to fight these monsters. Onigumo helped Kikyo discover her own special abilities. Once her powers were known, Kikyo had wasted no time in joining the Society of Light herself.

And now to find that a filthy yokai has taken up residence with my own family.

Kikyo felt anger burn inside her at the mere thought of the harm that the yokai was no doubt planning. Kikyo refused to allow anything to happen to her family. She would protect them. Before the week was out, that yokai would be destroyed, whatever it may take.