"Three days! It lasts three days, woman!"

Jaken stamped his foot, angry enough to be discussing womanly things, ready to snap because he had to repeat himself.

"All right, I wasn't paying attention." Kagome waved him away. Truthfully, she only asked again to annoy him, and heard him perfectly the first time. Her heat would last three days, and then Sesshomaru would be able to stand being around her again.

The kids were eating lunch, just hours after Sesshomaru had left. Because Jaken was the only mature youkai, and therefore the only one Kagome assumed had the answers, she asked him how long a typical youkai heat lasted. He answered curtly, and for that he got asked again, to her amusement. It was clear Jaken didn't like talking about those things.

"Mama, I still don't get what this heat thing is." Shippo frowned, putting his cucumber, courtesy of Kagome's mother, onto the plastic plates Kagome provided. "It's not that hot out, is it?"

"It's an inu youkai thing, sweetie," Kagome said, glad that Shippo was, as of yet, oblivious to the adult ways of the youkai world. Kagome herself wasn't fully sure of how the heat worked, but if it would tempt Sesshomaru that way, she didn't want him around.

Only a week. A week since she'd been taken away from her old life. Kagome frowned, wondering if the tension with Sesshomaru would last forever. She was already tiring of it. And the legend of the Hana said that it paired those whose union would be for the greater good, but also those who would be truly happy with each other.

But Sesshomaru was the most asocial person she knew. He had to have some good to him, she knew, because he took in and cared for Rin. No one truly evil would do that. But his affection was reserved for certain individuals. Kagome wasn't one of them.

He probably likes Jaken more than me, Kagome thought, sighing. Was it too much to ask to at least have him tolerate her?

I think he will warm, in time.

Kagome's eyes widened, and she searched frantically for the source of the voice. But no scent came to her, and she sensed no auras in the area. There was only the group eating lunch.

"Are you all right, Miss Kagome?" Rin turned to her. "Is someone there?"

Kagome paused, and shook her head. "I just imagined it, I guess."

Guess again.

She was shocked by the voice again, but Kagome kept her cool this time. The voice didn't sound like it was coming from anywhere around her. Rather, it sounded from her own mind. Who's there? Kagome asked, wondering if she was going crazy. Perhaps the lack of anyone her own age to talk to had led to voices conjuring within her head.

I'm hurt, the voice said sarcastically. You should know who I am.

I should? It was more fun to talk to the crazy than ignore it.

I'm your inner youkai, the voice, which Kagome recognized as sounding like a more mature version of hers, said with sultry smugness. I am a part of you, only now manifested because you have become a youkai. I am the one who lays out the parts of your mind that you deny.

Kagome was having a hard time believing this, and was tempted to ask Jaken about it. But, on the risk that she actually was crazy and Jaken would berate her for stupid questions, she resigned to let the voice have its way.

Fine, then, Kagome thought. What do you want?

Getting to the point, huh? The voice laughed. Well, I was going to tell you that even a cold man like Sesshomaru eventually warms up to a female if she sticks around long enough, but maybe I should forget it, if you're going to act that way.

Yeah, right, Kagome thought. He's as stubborn as his brother, and the only difference between them is that Sesshomaru's more sophisticated.

His brother fell for you, didn't he?

Kagome frowned, and blushed at the implication. She didn't reply, not about to let a crazy voice tell her what to do or how something was going to happen.

Lunch was cleaned up, and the group set out, Shippo and Rin on Ah-Un, Kagome walking beside them, and Jaken walking ahead, claiming to know the most direct way to the castle.

"Hey, Jaken, about the heat-"

"No more questions about that! Figure out yourself, wench!" Jaken screeched. Kagome chuckled to herself. He was easy to mess with. She had to admit, Sesshomaru's tendency to beat Jaken must be as fun as this for him to do it constantly.

The day was quiet, and Kagome passed the time by singing songs in her head. She might have sung out loud, but it was a song that she did not know all of the lyrics to, because she had only heard it once on the radio. It was times like these that she wished she could use her music player from back home, but the battery only lasted about one day if used conservatively, and she didn't want to have to constantly go back to recharge it. I could get a CD player and a bunch of batteries, she thought, but that would require carrying the heavy batteries all the time.

"And that's how you play!" Shippo grinned at Rin. Rock, paper, scissors was his favorite game when there was nothing exciting going on. Rin mimicked the hand motions, giggling to herself.

"All right, then." She held her hand out. "Let's go!"

Kagome smiled. The kids were adorable, despite Rin being eleven and Shippo around ten. Kagome was never sure of his exact age, but he was slightly shorter than Rin, and a tad more childish. She loved him to death, no matter what, and wished he hadn't been pulled into this mess with her. A child needed stability and protection, and Shippo already had his life uprooted when his father was killed. At least Rin was here to keep him company.

A flash of intuition spiked in Kagome. She knew the feeling, honing in on it. Two jewel shards, traveling faster than physically possible for most youkai.

Except him.

It was obviously Koga, running around as usual. Kagome hadn't seen him since Inuyasha attacked him with the Wind Scar. She might have stopped him, but Inuyasha, at the time, had no issue with shoving Kagome aside to get to Koga and nearly killing him. The wolf barely escaped with his life. And when Kagome tried to lecture Inuyasha about it, he ran off to find Kikyo.

She missed the wolf. He didn't know about her change yet, and the last thing he'd said to her was that he wouldn't let an inconsiderate mutt keep her away. He was still pursuing her.

Kagome knew she should tell him about what happened. It was only a matter of time until he found out. Stepping up her pace, she turned to the group and said, "I can sense Koga in the area. I'm going to go talk about some things with him. You guys stay with Jaken and Ah-Un, all right?"

She didn't wait for an answer, turning away and breaking into a run. She relished in her youkai speed, the wind whipping her hair behind her, the sleeves of her shirt flapping noisily. Shippo would be able to explain about Koga, and she wasn't about to listen to Jaken's distant shouts.

The shards were swirling in an ever moving tornado. Kagome followed them with no hope of catching up, but shouted Koga's name into the forest to catch his attention. He would surely recognize her voice.

He did. The shards stopped moving, and backtracked. Kagome slowed and halted, ready to face the whirlwind of wolf. Something in the back of her mind itched, like she'd forgotten an important fact, but Kagome shrugged it off.

Koga was as handsome as ever, if a bit more rugged. Kagome had the sense that he was spending less time at home and more time out, which didn't surprise her. Food was scarce as of late. He probably had to hunt further and further out for his pack.

"Hi, Koga." Kagome smiled warmly, happy to be able to talk to him without interruptions.

Koga was breathless, from running or because of her new look, she couldn't tell. "Uh, hey, Kagome," he finally said, running a hand through his bangs. "I didn't expect to run into you. I didn't smell the mutt."

"I sensed your shards," she explained, "and chased after you a bit. My group is back there." She jerked her thumb behind her. "I still couldn't catch up," she said, laughing.

"Chased . . .?" Koga wrinkled his brow. But realization dawned a moment later. "You smell different," he said simply.

"Yeah." Kagome tried to laugh again, but it was forced. "I sorta, um, turned into a youkai."

Silence.

Koga leaned against a tree, surprise and disbelief crossing on his face. "What? H-how? I mean, you smell like it, yeah, and there's no way you could even get close to my speed, unless . . ." He tugged on his bangs. "You smell like an inu."

Kagome was hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way. She watched him tug his hair, reminding her of an important detail. She pulled her bangs away from her face, revealing the crescent moon that marked her under Sesshomaru's family. "I am an inu. I'm in a Mating Dance."

Koga frowned, and glared. "You mated that mutt?" His glare turned into a grimace. "Him? I thought he wanted that undead bitch! And why in the hell did it turn into a youkai!"

"Huh?" Kagome moved her hands up defensively. "No, that crescent mark is for someone else. Inuyasha left. He had his chance." She hesitated, putting her hands down. "I'm not with him anymore."

Koga stood straight. "I've seen Inuyasha's brother, and that mark is because he's a part of the royal family. I'm sure Inuyasha has the same mark under all that hair. That's his mark on your forehead." He crossed his arms. "You don't need to lie to me, Kagome."

Kagome frowned as well. "Inuyasha doesn't have this mark. At least, I don't think so. I've never seen under his bangs." She shook her head. "My point is, this mark is from his older brother. Sesshomaru is the one I'm in a Mating Dance with."

His eyes went wide. "His older . . .? You mean that stuck up Lord of the West, the one I've heard people complain about because he has advisers doing his job while he spends his time hunting Naraku? He was a nonchalant ass when I met him. I'd prefer the mutt because he has more emotion than that unfeeling prissy boy."

"Hey!" Kagome complained. "He cares for a little human girl, and he's tracking down the same guy that you are. Maybe he doesn't show emotion a lot of the time, and maybe he hates me, but don't bash him if you don't know him very well."

Koga scoffed. "I know him well enough. And why are you his mate if he hates you?"

She looked away. "It's the Hana no Shukumei, Koga. I'm not his mate by choice."

That shut him up. Koga stared at her, disbelieving. "I . . . I've heard of that." He turned to the ground in shame. "I know what it does. Ayame claims to have one. She says that flower I gave her when she was a kid never wilted, because it's one of the Hana no Shukumei. I've never seen it. She says she keeps it at home where it's safe." He turned to her, apologetic. "I didn't know you were forced into this."

"It's okay," Kagome said. "I just told you ten seconds ago. Anyone would question why I chose Sesshomaru. I guess a lot of people have a poor opinion of him as a person."

Koga snorted. "That's an understatement. My clan is one of the last wolf tribes, and I get called to a lot of these hoity-toity nobles meetings about land and hunting territory and crap." He held up two fingers. "I've met Sesshomaru twice, once at a meeting and once while traveling, and both times he acted like I was dirt. That guy thinks he's the most important person in the world, and everyone hates him for it."

Kagome turned away, ashamed. He made her feel like mating Sesshomaru was the worst decision of her life, even if she hadn't been the one to make the choice. "That's my future mate, Koga. That doesn't make me feel better about this situation."

"Oh." His face fell. "Yeah, of course, you're right. Sorry. I was just saying, he's not very friendly. And idea why the Hana chose him for you? And why are you a youkai, again? The Hana didn't do that, did it?" He was full of questions, but Kagome knew she owed him answers, after all he had done for her. He was a loyal friend, a noble ally, and one of the people to comfort her when she was in the worst stages of heartbreak.

She shifted her stance, less confident and more apologetic. "It did. I guess a miko and a youkai aren't compatible because the miko's powers will hurt the youkai if they get too close. The Hana transformed me into a youkai to prevent that. My youkai powers tame the miko side of me enough to get close to Sesshomaru without harming him."

"And you've accepted this?" He raised an eyebrow. "What does the mutt think? What do your friends think?"

"Inuyasha's all right with it." Kagome didn't want to mention the last stance he'd delivered to try and win her heart back. "My friends seem okay, too. I'm not traveling with them anymore, though." She sighed, once again reminded of how she missed them. "Sesshomaru insists on keeping an eye on me, and my friends certainly don't want to be around him."

"What!" Koga growled. "That guy can't boss you around like that. If you want to stay with your friend, stay with them. The Hana made the promise that you'd be his mate, but you never said anything about it. Tell him that you don't want to be with him."

She frowned, stepping closer to Koga. "But the Hana is a powerful force. I can't ignore it. We weren't paired because we're compatible, though I'm told that we should be. It paired us together because our union will bring about something great. Inuyasha's parents were brought together so Inuyasha could be born, or so Myoga says. And he thinks my mating Sesshomaru could lead to something good."

"And that's an excuse to let him bully you?" His eyes narrowed. "It sounds like you're just letting him do what you want because of the Hana."

"I am not!" Kagome poked him in the chest. "I have stood up to him plenty of times. I'm still looking for the shards, and I get to visit my family, despite Sesshomaru not approving."

"And yet you let him take you away from your friends."

Kagome was about to say something, but closed her mouth. Had she ever asked if she could stay with her friends?

No, she had assumed Sesshomaru wouldn't let her. He'd said he wanted to keep an eye on her, and that obviously involved staying with him and not her own group. She never stood up for herself.

"I guess I did," she said slowly, realizing how she'd let Sesshomaru walk on her. She had accepted everything because of the Hana. But just because she was connected to him didn't mean she had to drop everything and do whatever Sesshomaru felt he needed her to do to keep his honor. "Damn it," she said, frowning. "I've let him boss me around. He thinks he can get away with making me do what he wants just because we're in a Mating Dance."

"That's my girl," Koga chuckled. "Show that pompous jerk what for. In the mean time, I have to go back to my pack. Some hanyou girl was trying to steal our food, and with the lack of food in the area, I can't have that. See you later." He grinned and saluted her. "Good luck taking charge with him."

"Thanks, Koga." Kagome smiled back. "It's nice to talk with you."

He nodded. "Yep." He turned to leave, but stopped, facing her again. "And, Kagome? Next time you're in heat, it would be a good idea not to walk up to any male youkai. Even a friend like me can have a hard time controlling himself around a breed-able female." He turned away, vanishing in a tornado of speed.

Kagome stared, and giggled. Koga was right, she had been careless about the heat. But he gave her advice that she would always appreciate.

She wouldn't let Sesshomaru, or the Hana, control her life anymore.

()

Hi, everyone! Thanks for reading! This chapter focused on Kagome, and as you can see, she's having doubts about her situation. The story is starting to shift from the previous incarnation, and it's hard to tell where I'm going to take it. But I'll have fun working it out :)

Thanks again, and please review! I love reviews! I'll be sure to update next week, so stay tuned. Ja ne!