Chapter Eleven

Inuyasha was strict about keeping Yuki indoors. And, as a result, he also kept a very irritated miko inside with Yuki "just in case she tries to escape".

There was an army of demons waiting miles away. Everyone except- guess who?- Kagome and Yuki stayed behind. Kagome tried for the millionth time to purify the barrier Yasu and Harumi put up, but to no avail. And she was down to her last arrow.

"Damn you, Inuyasha, what if you got hurt?" Kagome screeched, throwing her bow down and pacing around the room. Yuki was sitting quietly by the fire square, watching the water turn from lukewarm to freezing and back to lukewarm.

"He won't get hurt," Yuki whispered. "I would feel it if he did."

Kagome finally sat down and stared at the water's surface. Yuki continued to freeze and unfreeze the water. Then she stopped, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin down.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked.

"I wonder if Sesshomaru is still traveling around, or if he's fighting demons elsewhere. I last saw him a month ago, at my river. We were supposed to meet yesterday."

Yuki could talk to Sesshomaru from beyond the dead? So, she wasn't completely gone? Kagome wondered to herself. Instead of bringing up such a mournful topic, however, she asked a different question.

"I'm guessing you and Sesshomaru were close, then?"

"I am the only one who has ever seen Sesshomaru smile."

Kagome tried to imagine Sesshomaru smiling. It scared her and she stopped.

"Why is that?"

Yuki smiled and looked Kagome fully in the eye.

"When he laid eyes on me after I was born, he caught a connection. It is rare for demons, but common in humans. Love, humans call it. But youkai, especially inu-youkai, call it 'Litter Guardian'. Sesshomaru is my litter guardian. He always cared for me. If I tripped and cut myself in his presence, he would come to my side and heal my wounds. Sesshomaru has a compassionate side, of course, but the problem for him is showing it."

"That's amazing! I never knew that... Do connections happen from outside the litter?"

"Sure, there are mate connections- again, a rare one, because it's usually the demon's choice who to mate- guardian connections, enemy connections- that is often confused with dislike. If there is a descendant that meets another descendant of sworn enemies, they will both feel a hatred toward each other and not know why- and even spirit connections. If there is a spirit that is close to a living youkai, that youkai will be able to converse with them. I tried with Inuyasha, but he is more human than demon, and it was a pain to try to get his attention. Sesshomaru, being my guardian and all, could sense me easily."

"You watched over Inuyasha?"

"Yes, I did. I was with him almost all the time, for sixty-eight years."

"Sixty-eight?"

"I was sealed to the tree, too. The arrow Kikyo struck my brother with was full of hatred. It was in no state to be a sealing arrow. Inuyasha would have died, had I not given him spiritual energy."

Kagome was rendered speechless. She thought it was only the sealing arrow that contained the two of them; to imagine Kikyo with so much fury centered around Inuyasha frightened her. It was a good, lucky chance Yuki was there to be sealed, too, or disaster would have stricken.

"Kagome, do you like my brother?" Yuki asked randomly.

"I..."

"I mean, like a friend," Yuki encouraged.

Kagome blushed. Friend didn't cover it. She nodded. Yuki smiled.

Little did they know, the group was finished exterminating youkai and Yasu had gone ahead to unseal the hut. She was sitting on the roof with a smile on her face. She knew everything.

The potion she made Kagome and Inuyasha drink the first day they met didn't randomly make them fall in love. The point of the potion was to bring forth their emotions to each other, be it hate, love, lust, or heartbreak. And although Inuyasha and Kagome were good actors, they couldn't hide the truth from a half-demon sorceress.

Yuki was the first to sense the barrier lifting. She stood up.

"Inuyasha's coming back. They've got company," she whispered to Kagome. Yasu, still on the roof, frowned.

Company? She didn't remember anybody fighting alongside them... Inuyasha must've picked them up after Yasu went ahead.

"I sense a jewel shard coming by fast," Kagome gasped. "It's small, but it's still a shard."

Inuyasha was there before the rest were. He seemed to be in a great hurry.

"Yuki, you need to hide," he said frantically. He picked her up and jumped onto the roof.

"Wait, Inuyasha, who's coming that you need to hide her so badly-?" Kagome wondered, rushing outside to look at the three on the roof.

"Yasu, I need you to take her to the skies. Teach her to fly- something! Anything, just keep her far from here until I find you."

"Um, okay..." Yasu took Yuki into the air and flew away until they were mere specks in the distance. Inuyasha jumped down and ran inside the hut, searching.

"What are you doing now?" Kagome demanded, coming in to find him digging through the yellow pack.

"That floral mist, where is it?" Inuyasha demanded.

"My perfume? It's right here," Kagome pulled it out from the front flap. Inuyasha snatched it and sprayed it all over the place. "Hey! That cost a lot of money! Besides, you said you hated the smell."

"It'll mask Yuki's scent," he explained.

"Who's coming?" Kagome demanded.

"Sesshomaru."

AN: Muahaha, yes, the Killing Perfection is coming... Why is Inuyasha hiding Yuki from her Guardian? Will Sesshomaru discover what Inuyasha was hiding?