10.

"So what's happening?" Inuyasha asked, the moment Kagome and the fox family returned.

Kazuo glanced at Kagome hesitantly and replied, "The curse is fox magic. We will be travelling with you from here on, in the hope they we may be of assistance. I trust that is not against your wishes."

The half demon didn't look pleased, but his face softened when he saw Kagome's helpless expression. He turned away from Kazuo and muttered, "If it will help Kagome…I won't object."

Kazuo nodded, "Very well. Miwa?"

The male fox demon nodded stoically, and Kazuo bowed respectfully to the rest of the group.

"We must return for Akira. We shall return soon," and with two distinct popping sounds, the two fox demons disappeared in identical puffs of smoke.

Kagome stared gratefully at the half demon, 'Thankyou, Inuyasha.'

While waiting for the return of the fox family, the gang sat down together to discuss their next plan of action. Kagome repeated the antidote poem several times, Shippo translating, until Miroku and Sango had it entirely memorised. Inuyasha didn't seem bothered to remember the lines, though.

One particular line stuck in their heads, "A fragment of fang from a beast the great dog fought." Sango repeated the line and exchanged a glance with Miroku.

"The great dog," the monk mused, thoughtfully, "Could that mean…?"

Several gazes turned to Inuyasha, except for Ayumi, Eri and Yuka, who were as clueless as ever. Inuyasha scowled and stared at the ground.

"My old man," he muttered, "It has to be."

"Well," Sango folded her arms, "We know of one beast that your father fought."

"But I already destroyed Ryukotsusei!" Inuyasha argued, and Kagome's ears drooped in dismay.

"Maybe so," Miroku interrupted, always the thinker, "but the poem states we only need a fragment of its fang. Perhaps enough remains at the place where you destroyed it…"

Inuyasha remained sceptical, "I blew that bastard to bits. The chances of finding anything left of it are next to none."

Kagome uttered a worried whine, and the half-demon quickly added, "But…it can't hurt to try."

Sango smiled, "That's the spirit. Maybe we'll strike lucky."

Yuka interrupted curiously, "So what is this Ryu-whatever thing?"

Shippo waved a dismissive hand, "He was just a huge dragon that mortally wounded Inuyasha's father a few hundred years ago. Inuyasha blew him to bits a while ago with Tetsusaiga."

Eri gaped, "A-a dragon?"

"Sure," Shippo said innocently, "Dragons aren't that uncommon. Sesshomaru once stole an arm from a dragon and used it to attack Inuyasha."

Yuka turned very white, "Stole…an arm?"

"You sure get up to strange things," Ayumi pondered thoughtfully.

Shippo took that as an invitation. He was only too eager to tell a few stories to a new audience.

"Oh yeah, we do all sorts of stuff! Fighting demons, saving villages, hunting Naraku…" Shippo grinned, "And it's all connected to the sacred jewel. Did you know Kagome once got possessed by the sacred jewel?"

Kagome blanched, 'Shippo! Not a good idea!'

But it was too late. The faces of Kagome's modern friends had paled to white. Eri's mouth hung open.

"She was what!" she and Yuka yelped at the same time.

"Yeah. The jewel shards turned black and sort of…went inside her," Shippo gestured to his neck, "right here."

Yuka gagged, but Shippo seemed completely oblivious to his audience's discomfort. Kagome groaned and thudded her forehead into the ground. Her friends were never going to look at her the same again. If only Shippo could refrain from freaking them out too much…

"…and she was trying to kill Inuyasha and everything,' the fox demon was saying. Ayumi's face was chalk white and she looked like she was about to faint.

"Kagome would never kill anyone!" Eri shrieked, eyes wide.

"Well she was possessed at the time…"

"By what?" Yuka yelped.

Shippo answered matter-of-factly, "A priestess."

Kagome groaned. So much for that. A sudden popping sound alerted her to the return of Kazuo and her family. A little female fox demon came bounding past her and leapt at Shippo with arms outstretched.

"Shippo!" the little fox girl cried, almost flatting him.

Shippo fell over onto his tail, laughing, "Hi, Akira!"

"Long time no see, huh?" Akira replied, putting her hands on her hips. She gave Shippo a friendly punch that made him wince.

Kagome considered the young vixen. Akira was just as she remembered her to be – a raven-haired child with the lower half of a grey-furred fox and a large fluffy grey tail just like Shippo's. Her hair was arranged in pig tails, like always, and her grey ears poked straight up out of her hair.

"Akira. It's good to see you," Kagome said, and Akira turned in surprise.

"Kagome? So mamma and da were right!" the young vixen sounded almost thrilled, "You are a fox!"

"That's enough, Akira," Miwa said gruffly, folding his arms and glancing disapprovingly at his small daughter, "She cannot help what has been done to her. We are here to help."

"I know," Akira mumbled innocently, "I'm just saying."

Kazuo looked around the clearing, pausing briefly to notice that the three girls in strange clothing were looking a little stunned.

"Well, it seems we are all here," the motherly fox stated, with a glance at Inuyasha, "Shall we…?"

"Right," The half-demon swung Kagome's yellow backpack over his shoulder, "Let's get going."
When the group was finally ready to set out, the modern age girls, still confused and muttering to each other, clambered onto Kirara's back. Inuyasha offered to carry Kagome once again, as though the weight of her oversized backpack was hardly even a hindrance.

With Shippo translating she replied, "No thank you, I need to work on moving."

'Gosh, that sounds pathetic,' she thought, and said aloud, "What if Naraku attacks us? You can't carry me then, and I'd rather not get stung."
"Wait," Eri interjected, as Shippo translated those words, "Naraku can sting?"
"Nope," Shippo replied cheerily, "just his poison insects."
Kagome would have slapped her forehead if she could.
The girls stared at him. "Insects…?" they whispered shakily.
"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed, "They're just overgrown bees with issues!"
Miroku rubbed the back of his head, messing up the back of his black hair, "I wouldn't say that, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha scoffed again, "Just because you can't just suck them up don't mean they're hard to beat."
"Can we get going, now?" said Kagome quickly, eager not to have too much explained to her modern day friends. They were panicked enough as it was. Kirara was just standing there with the three modern girls on her back, looking a little irritable. Kagome felt slightly sorry for the demon cat.
Though Kagome's tone made it clear what she wanted, Shippo translated her words none the less and the group finally set off on a brisk pace. Kagome was still having an impossible time on all fours when Akira, with a loud sudden pop and a flash of blue foxfire, changed into her fox form.
She walked up beside Kagome, lifting her paws daintily with each step.

"It helps if you keep your tail up a bit," she said, in the common tongue rather than fox-tongue, "and try to keep your back legs a little farther apart."
Slightly surprised, but grateful none the less, Kagome complied and found that, though she often forgot to hold her tail up, it didn't catch in her back legs as much.
"Lift your paws up a bit more," the young vixen suggested as Kagome tripped over nothing, "If you don't, your claws will just get caught."
Kagome nodded gratefully and continued to trundle along, falling significantly less and eventually able to keep up with Inuyasha even when he was running. A few hours later they were travelling along a forest path when Kagome stopped. Akira, who had been walking beside Kagome in her human for and dropping occasional tips, stopped too. They stared into the bushes on the side of the path.
"I thought I smelled something," Kagome muttered, but shook her head when she saw nothing. But just then a furry face poked out of the bushes.
A small foxy face peered at them inquisitively, its bright violet eyes stopping to rest on Kagome. Two huge obsidian black ears pivoted to point at her, while its furry tan snout wrinkled slightly as though sniffing. Though it was an odd thing to notice, Kagome did notice that there was a streak of black fur on the tip of its muzzle. The strange foxish demon trotted confidently out in the path, completely ignoring Inuyasha's threatening glare and grip on Tetsusaiga. Kagome saw that its body was mottled with smooth tan and black fur.
The strange demon walked right up to Kagome and sniffed, as though trying to catch her scent. A confused Kagome backed away.

"Excuse me, miss," The fox-like demon said politely in perfect Japanese, "but can you please tell me - was it a large pig demon that cursed you?"
Kagome stared. Everyone else stared. Even Kirara stared. Shippo's and Akira's mouths were wide enough to catch flies.
"And who might you be?" Inuyasha growled threateningly, withdrawing Tetsusaiga from its sheath. The blade quickly flashed and was revealed in its full glory. Sango put one hand on Hiraikotsu warily and Kirara crouched, causing the modern trio to yelp and grab at her mane.
The new demon, clearly unimpressed, yawned and sat back on his haunches. He raised one heavily-clawed three-toed forepaw and gave it a cursory lick, causing the black hairs to stand on end.

"My name is Hayato," he said easily, as he raised his paw and drawing it over his large ear. His fan-like ear was pushed down over one eye for a moment before it popped back up.
The half-demon, clearly irritated by Hayato's dismissive behaviour, snarled, "How the hell do you know about Kagome?"
The jackal-like demon grinned, "Well, unless the idiot pig that stole my spell-scroll managed to lose it already, I don't really see how else there could be a cursed fox that smells just like that scroll standing right here in front of me. Do you?"

Inuyasha faltered, "I…what?"

Everyone else looked equally bemused, especially Kagome, who was wondering what he meant by 'spell-scroll'. Hayato looked around the group, taking note of their confusion, and heaved a resigned sigh.

"I've never seen a demon look so clueless," he muttered, scrutinising Inuyasha closely, "That is to say – half-demon. Seems I'll have to explain myself."

"Well be quick about it," Inuyasha snapped, a little sore about the half-demon remark. His grip on Tetsusaiga didn't waver, but Hayato payed the sword no attention.

"I come from a far away continent – a place known as Africa." the jackal demon began to explain, "I, you see, am a demon born between a jackal and a fox.

For many years it has been my duty to protect a special scroll – a scroll written and imbued with fox magic. However, recently, that scroll was stolen from me. The culprit? An imbecilic pig demon who called himself Chokyukai!"

'Guess that explains how Chokyukai was able to use fox magic,' Kagome thought wryly.

"I followed that disgusting pig here," Hayato continued, "and have been tracking the scent of the scroll ever since. Strangely enough, the scent led me instead to you. No doubt you have been a victim of this foolish pig's tampering with magic that is not his to wield. Tell me, am I correct?"

"Y-yes," Kagome stuttered, shying away from his bright, inquisitive violet eyes, "It was Chokyukai who cursed me. I'd be a human girl right now if it wasn't for him."

"I see, so I was right," Hayato looked her over for a moment and then returned his gaze to Inuyasha, "Tell me, half-demon, where is Chokyukai now?"

Inuyasha snorted, hefting Tetsusaiga dangerously, "He's dead. I blew him to bits. I don't suppose you want to join him?"

Hayato's ear twitched. His eyes narrowed.

"You what?" he snarled dangerously.

"I killed him," Inuyasha growled back, "Why? Didn't think he was a friend of yours."

"You idiot!" the hairs on Hayato's back stood on end, "Did you even stop to think about my scroll before you destroyed him?"

"Listen you, I didn't know about your scroll, so you can back off! What was I supposed to do? Let him get away? Hah, as if I'd let that idiot pig get away after doing this to Kagome!"

"Well if you'd let him go, at least my scroll would still be intact!" Hayato yelled.

"Not my problem!"

"Enough!" Kagome screamed suddenly, though it came out as more of a strangled yelp. Both Inuyasha and Hayato froze as though turned to stone.

Breathing heavily with anger, Kagome muttered, "That's enough! This isn't helping! Either of you! Hayato, is it? Well, Hayato, I'm sorry about your scroll, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Please try not to irritate Inuyasha. It'll only make things worse."

Hayato sat back, a look of shame crossing his face as he replied, "Forgive me, miss, I let my anger get out of hand."

Inuyasha, meanwhile, was wondering what Kagome had just told the fox-jackal demon. He looked to Shippo for answers, but the fox demon shook his head with a frown. Inuyasha took that to mean that her words, whatever they had been, were not directed towards him. He was wrong of course.

"Damn right you did," the half-demon snapped, believing Kagome was on his side, "How was I supposed to know about your stupid scroll?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome hissed dangerously, and the half-demon went rigid at her tone of voice.

"What?" he whimpered, "It's not my fault this guy lost his stupid scroll. If you ask me, it's his fault you were cursed in the first place!"

"Sit boy!"

Inuyasha didn't need a translation for those words. His sudden meeting with the ground was enough explanation. Mumbling curse words under his breath, the half-demon raised his face out of the dirt. Hayato looked on, bemused.

"It wasn't his fault!" Kagome snapped at Inuyasha, but before Shippo could translate, Hayato cut in.

"No. I am afraid the half-demon is right in this instance," Hayato sighed morosely, guilt in his eyes, "If I had not let my guard down, Chokyukai would not have stolen my scroll and you would not be cursed like this. Forgive me, miss. I have done you an injustice."

"Kagome," she said suddenly, "my name is Kagome. And I don't blame you for what happened. It was Chokyukai who used the spell on me, not you."

"And yet it was my scroll that gave him the ability to use such a spell," Hayato cut in gently, "Please, Kagome, do not try to convince me of my innocence. I have done wrong and I wish to make it right again. Will you allow me to do that?"

"Don't…listen to him," Inuyasha grumbled, his face smeared with dirt. Kagome shot him a glare.

"What would you do?" she asked Hayato hopefully, "Can you…fix the curse?"

"Alas," Hayato shook his head, "That I can not do. However, this particular curse must have an antidote. I remember myself – the antidote was part of the curse itself. Chokyukai must have spoken it when he cursed you!"

"Y-yes, we're on our way to collect the ingredients for the antidote," Kagome stuttered, surprised.

"Then allow me to accompany you!" Hayato insisted, "It is the least I can do!"

Kagome hesitated, "I…well…"

She glanced behind her, meeting the eyes of all of her friends. Shippo shrugged, but Kazuo and Miwa nodded slowly as though they thought it was a good idea. The trio of modern schoolgirls were just staring at Hayato. Unlike the other demons they had met so far, Hayato looked just like a regular wild dog. And, somehow, that made the fact that he could speak perfect Japanese a whole lot weirder.

"Well," Kagome mulled over it for a few moments, "Alright, then. I guess I have to accept all the help I can get."

"What's she saying?" Inuyasha hissed to Shippo, dusting dirt off his robes.

"She's saying she's going to accept his help," the young fox demon replied. Inuyasha stiffened.

"Kagome, do you really think this is a good idea?" he asked, but she ignored him.

Hayato gave a short, shallow bow, "thankyou, Kagome. I will do all in my power to assist you in lifting this curse."

Inuyasha snorted, but Kagome quickly thanked the jackal-like demon.

With introductions made, the group finally started again along the forest path. Hayato walked next to Kagome, listening to her recount of what happened to her and her request for him not to tell the others of the full extent of the curse. Inuyasha never took his glare off the jackal-fox, pointedly and quite obviously showing his opinion of the new member of their group.

The others ambled along in silence, the fox demons silently listening to Hayato and Kagome, the others simply doing their best not to fall under Inuyasha's steel-eyed glare.

The rest of the day passed in that same awkward discomfort. It wore them all down until, finally, a tired and exasperated Kagome suggested stopping for the afternoon in a large clearing with several towering, spike-like rocks.

Besides Inuyasha, the others agreed hurriedly. Hayato immediately jumped onto a smooth ledge on one of the towering rocks and lay down, folding his two forepaws under him and letting his tail fall down over the edge where it slowly waved backwards and forwards.

Kagome sighed and went to sit by her modern age friends, who had been uncharacteristically quiet for most of the day. Shippo was playing a game of stone marbles with Akira, while Miwa and Kazuo were helping set up camp. With the foxes busy, Kagome had no way of communicating with her modern day friends.

They seemed a little confused of what to make of her as well.

"So…uh…" Ayumi mumbled weakly, but her feeble attempt at conversation was cut off as an angry Sango challenged Miroku to a sparring match.

"Wow," muttered Eri as she noticed the spark of anger in the demon-slayer's eyes, "I wonder what he did."

Kagome laughed and shook her head, rolling her eyes. Miroku was a hopeless lecher. Her laugh came out as several shrill barks.

Her friends stared at her, "What's funny?"

Meanwhile, Miroku was rubbing the back of his head, saying, "Now, now, Sango, let's be reasonable. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Wrong thing to say," Kagome sighed to herself, even as Sango's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I think I'll survive," she muttered dryly.

"She'll cream you!" Shippo yelled to Miroku.

Ignoring both of them, Sango wordlessly place one hand on her boomerang-esk weapon, raising one thin eyebrow. Miroku sighed and shouldered his staff, widening his stance slightly. Even Inuyasha stopped and leant against a tree to watch, looking slightly amused.

Sango struck first, swinging Hiraikotsu at Miroku's head, only for it to be blocked by his staff. Sparks leapt as metal met bone in a heated clash. Sango jumped, put one foot against Miroku's staff, and somersaulted backwards with the grace of a demon. She landed a few feet away, Hiraikotsu poised above her head ready to be hurled again.

Kagome's modern age friends stared, open-mouthed, but Kagome only smiled at their shocked expressions.

Sango hurled Hiraikotsu again, to which Miroku retaliated with a sutra. The great weapon went spiralling off course, arcing with blue sparks, right towards one of the large rocks. Yuka, Eri and Ayumi stared as its momentum buried it a good foot in the strong granite.

Not bothering to try reclaiming her weapon, Sango revealed her concealed knife and lunged at Miroku, only to be blocked once again by his golden staff.

They proceeded with what seemed almost like a dance, weapons meeting every few moments. Sango would duck and swerve around the flash of gold that was Miroku's staff, while Miroku depended more upon his weapon to block Sango's advances. The monk was barely keeping his stance. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, his teeth gritted in concentration.

Inuyasha was now sitting next to Kagome, cross-legged and with his hands folded in his wide red sleeves.

"Who's winning?" Eri asked him in awe.

"Feh," he scoffed, "Can't you tell?"

Eri blushed slightly, "N-no."

"She," he withdrew one hand and gestured to Sango, "had him on the defensive before they even began."

Inuyasha brought back his hand and watched the play of light against his skin, as though the battle was hardly worth his notice. He already knew who was going to win.

Shippo appeared suddenly beside Kagome, "Miroku will never win, especially without his wind tunnel."

"I dunno about that," said Inuyasha, not taking his eyes off the couple, "I don't thi-." But whatever he was going to say was cut off as the motion stilled to show Sango with her blade against Miroku's throat.

"Dead," she said, before leaning forward and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. She backed away from her shocked opponent.

Kagome grinned at her friend's surprised expressions.

"They are engaged," she reminded them dryly, and Shippo translated.

"Hey Half-demon," Hayato called from his perch on the pointed rock, "it has been a while since I last practiced. Would you like to have a little match?"

"Damn well I would," Inuyasha growled, standing up.

Hayato rolled his eyes before jumping down from his perch on the great spire-like rock. He moved to sit at one end of the clearing, waiting for Inuyasha to make the first move.

Kagome felt a little apprehensive as Inuyasha moved to face the jackal-fox. Hayato was about twice the size of Kirara's kitten form at the most and he looked so weak next to the silver-haired half-demon.

She was about to object when Inuyasha, springing at the jackal, slammed Tetsusaiga down towards him. Kagome flinched, but then saw that Inuyasha had missed by barely an inch. He repeated the move several times, but Hayato was always an inch away from the tip of the blade every time.

Inuyasha growled in frustration as he brought his sword down again on nothing. The dog-like fox was suddenly an inch to the left of where he had been previously – Tetsusaiga had struck only dirt.
The fox grinned and nonchalantly licked one forepaw, "Are you even trying?"
The infuriated Inuyasha gave a horizontal slash and Hayato somehow ended up sitting on the flat of the blade, keeping his balance even as it continued its motion. He then took a flying leap, momentarily landing on Inuyasha's head before jumping down behind him. But just as the half-demon was turning to face him, Hayato darted through his legs. The jackal-fox slammed his body weight against one of Inuyasha's legs, knocking the half-demon off balance.

The half-fox demon then skirted around and leapt towards Inuyasha's chest, where his shoulder collided forcefully with the half-demon's breast bone. Already off balance, Inuyasha went down like a felled tree, trapping Tetsusaiga beneath him. Hayato extended a claw to the half-demon's throat.

"Dead," the jackal-fox grinned, before jumping of and allowing his sparing partner to stand.
Inuyasha stood up and, through gritted teeth, muttered, "Again!"

After several repeats of the battle in which the half-demon continued to lose, Inuyasha's temper soon got the best of him. Unfortunately, this only made him an easier opponent.

Finally, even Inuyasha was forced to admit defeat and the gang turned in. Kagome, now the wiser, slept between two tree roots with a blanket beneath her. She had also taken Kazuo's potion for the first time. It had been embarrassing, because she had had to drink it like a dog. It took a while to figure out how to lap the stuff up with her tongue. Several of her attempts looked so ridiculous that Miroku almost died of laughing, until Sango hit him over the head and left him nursing a throbbing bump. Luckily the potion was clear, so it was undistinguishable from water. This meant the others had no idea she was drinking a special potion that would stop her mind from turning into a fox's at night. It tasted a little sweeter and reminded Kagome of mint. It was also a relief, as she had barely been able to drink anything since she had been cursed – only the bare minimum.

It took her about an hour to get it all down and she was embarrassed as she went to sleep, but grateful to be closer to Inuyasha.

Kagome was awoken from a nightmare sometime during the night as a paw nudged her shoulder. Her head shot up with a start.

"Miss," murmured Hayato, gazing down at her as his fur glowed silver in the moonlight, "I am sorry to wake you, but I heard you whimpering from on the rocks. I…thought it kinder to wake you, than leave you to suffer the nightmare. I am sorry."

"No," Kagome said gratefully, "Thank you. I don't…enjoy these nightmares. I wonder…do you think it might be part of the curse? The dreams, I mean."

The jackal-fox tilted his head, "Quite possibly. It may be that your soul is battling the curse for control over your body."

"Will it stop?" she asked tiredly, laying her head on her forepaws in exhaustion.

"Most likely not," Hayato shook his head, "That scroll was extremely potent. If you had been an average human and not a priestess, your soul would already have been transformed."

Kagome sighed, "I might as well stay up for a while, then. Doesn't look like I'm going to get much sleep. Wait… when did I tell you I was a priestess?"

The half-fox grinned, slightly smug, "You didn't."

"Fine," Kagome sighed, "How did you know I was a priestess?"

"For one, for scent gives it away. I can smell the spiritual energy in your body…far too much for you to be a normal human. And two…this." he reached a paw up to his throat and a golden collar shimmered into being around his neck.

Kagome considered it with interest. It was a plain gold band with a single pink gem in the centre that seemed to glow like the stars.

"It's my Geesnadeur," Hayato said, the strange word rolling off his tongue with ease, "Or, in your language, Door to the Soul."

Kagome stared at the thing, "Why is it called that?"

"Because it is just that," the jackal demon told her, "With it I can sense a demon's main powers in attacks and I can also travel to the realm of souls."

Kagome was confused, "You mean like where the dead are?"

"No," Hayato sighed, closing his eyes, "It is a realm that exists on a different plain of this world, where the souls of all creatures are visible to the naked eye."

The jackal-fox hesitated, "I'm not making sense am I? I wish my onderwys were here. She was always good at explaining things."

Kagome cocked her head at the unfamiliar word, "Onderwys?"

"Er…teacher?" Hayato searched for a word that would match its meaning,"Sensei?"

"You had a teacher?"

The jackal-fox nodded, "She was a lioness demon. She taught me at the request of my mother, Najja."

"If you're African, why do you have a Japanese name?" Kagome raised a furry eyebrow.

"My father, Amali, was rather prone to travelling. He was a friend to a demon here and, after that demon died, he named me after him."

'That's right, Hayato means swift falcon. A fox named falcon,' Kagome thought. Remember his match with Inuyasha she couldn't say the name was inappropriate.

The half-fox demon grimaced, "It was the first Hayato who asked my father to look after that scroll. When my father passed away a few hundred years ago, his last request was that I be the one to look after it." Hayato hung his head, his shoulders drooping in shame, "I failed."

Kagome wanted to comfort the jackal-fox, but she was unsure how to do so. Instead, she merely asked, "Is there anything else your collar can do?"
"Well, I can use it to store things within my soul."
This garnered a stare from Kagome, "what?"
He sighed, "Like this."

Hayato closed his eyes for a moment and a small beam of light shimmered from the collar. It seemed to materialize into a small bottle, before it changed once more back into light that filtered back through the collar. Kagome stared, trying to think of something to say. She wanted to ask more about it, but the jackal-fox seemed to have other ideas.
"Now, sleep," He said, "I will try to think of a way to fix your dreams."

He turned and paced back to the rock, where he jumped up and settled down upon it. Kagome sighed and curled up, but was surprised as Hayato started to howl quietly. It sounded like the lonely howl of a wolf, but she understood every word.

The sky stretches above

The brown sand below
That this is our home

Is the one thing we know
Trees reaching out

Sun shining strong
Desert tells you that

Here's where you belong
When all seems lost

And the day isn't near
It'll tell you where

To go from here
Remember when

Simple sunlight
Made you smile

Just because it's bright
Remember when little things

Made you cry
Just because they're sweet,

No reason why
Do you miss the little things

When they touch your heart?
Just promise me this,

Don't let those memories part
So remember to smile

When you see the sun
Remember to hold

In your heart everyone
who you think you've lost
Cause your heart's a host

Hold on to them

Strength they will lend

May your heart mend

Kagome looked up at the jackal-fox in wonder as he ended his song, only to start another. Perhaps he couldn't sleep or simply didn't want to. But this new song seemed more like a chant.

The silent songbird's final song
The heart of one who's lived too long
The weary wanderer's final sleep
With final breath his spirit leaps
With his last breath he sees the dawn
The tired one, now just so drawn
With last breath, close your eyes
In my heart I now know why
what you meant when you said
That passed all of the saddened red
Blue still remains, the sky's still there
I send to you, silver wanderer, my prayer
Just keep on smiling
Because Androa willing
However long there's dark before dawn
Know that the day will come

The demon sighed and laid his head on his forepaws, before finally closing his eyes.
Kagome copied the gesture, draping her tail over her nose and drifted to sleep. But she was awoken many times during the night by the same nightmare.
Inuyasha woke to whimpering below him. It was still dark. His first thought was that Shippo was having nightmares, but then he remembered that it was Kagome, not Shippo, who was sleeping under him. He looked down to see the gold fox asleep, tail lashing and biting her own forepaw hard enough to draw blood. It must have been some nightmare.
Inuyasha jumped down and nudged her, "Kagome?"
The fox woke with a start. "Oh, Inuyasha," she sighed, "You startled me." Her eyes strayed to the half-moon, which was still high in the sky.
"Bad dreams, huh?" the half-demon asked.
She sighed and nodded.
They fell into an awkward silence. After looking around discreetly, Inuyasha put one hand on her shoulder and, to her shock, began to sing. His voice was so soft, she could barely hear it. Maybe he was afraid that someone else would hear him. He sat besides her, leaning against the trunk, and sang her a quiet song that his mother used to sing.

The river flows through the valley deep
Flowers grow even when you sleep
River runs nearer to the sea at night
Shining silver in the moonlight
Peppering the river shore
Flowers growing evermore
Birds are flying overhead
Far higher then your sleeping head
The green frogs sing a harmony
That always cou-

Inuyasha stopped when he realised that Kagome was asleep, her golden head rested on his leg. He smiled and chuckled slightly, before putting his hands behind his head and leaning against the tree. In the silence that followed, he placed his hand protectively around her and watched her sleep. Within moments, he too had drifted into the realm of dreams.