Warning: Explicit sexual content. Message me if you want information on location to bypass it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story.

How to Kill Me

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Devil You Know

"When will I find strength to bring me release? And tell me where is the love in what your prophet has said? Man, it sounds to me just like a prison for the walking dead and I've got a message for you and your twisted Hell: you better turn around."

-Eternal Life, Our Lady Peace

My cell phone alarm woke me up.

It was annoying, high-pitched and way too cheerful for my current tastes. I had to have been sleeping for only a few hours. What time did I set my alarm again? Six, right.

Fuck.

I didn't want to open my eyes.

The shifting of weight on the bed had me instantly freezing, forcing me to remember what the hell happened last night. The forest, the wolf demons, the fighting and Inuyasha getting seriously hurt. Bandaging him, waiting for him to wake up, refusing to fall asleep, Inuyasha's brown eyes, his lips were moving against my own, slick warm heat...

Holy hell.

Now I definitely wasn't going to open my eyes.

"I know you're awake wench, turn off your fucking alarm," Inuyasha hissed, the movement on the bed jolting my eyes open.

I instantly reached out for my cell phone, having to stretch farther because it was on the other side – the side where my bed was. Oh my god, I was in Inuyasha's bed. I actually fell asleep here after we kissed and–

And I needed to stop acting like some teenage girl. Yes, we kissed. It was amazing, though short. We should do it again, test the waters more.

"About fucking time," Inuyasha mumbled, the sound muffled by his pillow.

Okay, so maybe not. Maybe I should just roll into my other bed and stay there buried. With all the crap I'd have to deal with – Miroku and Sango, a bleeding Inuyasha, the cops, the kiss – it just wasn't worth it. Not right now. Not at six in the morning.

There was a hard poke to my shoulder and I glared at Inuyasha through slotted eyes. "You're lucky you're in pain or I'd smack you."

Inuyasha huffed, his face still covered by the pillow until he looked up. There were a few things I noted: the ruffled black hair, the sleepy eyes, the gold– "Barely a scratch anymore," he mumbled, scrunching up his face before diving his head back into the pillow.

"You're normal again," I murmured, somewhat surprised despite the fact he told me last night. Rolling onto my side, I inched close and poked him, urging the half-demon to roll over. He was on his stomach, which had to be a good sign because if it was still bleeding and cut he wouldn't be able to do that.

"Leave m'alone," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Roll your ass over," I ordered, shoving him a bit harder. When he finally obliged, I practically gaped at what I saw.

At some point in the night he had obviously removed the bloodied bandages. His chest and stomach merely had some angry red lines, as if someone had just scratched him with their nails. There were a couple that looked more wounded – the stitches were still in but absolutely useless now. He was practically healed. "Son of a bitch," I whispered. "How lucky are you to heal so fast?"

"They weren't that bad," Inuyasha said roughly. "The fucking mangy wolf just wanted to sink his damn claws in me. Too bad I was human or I would've ripped him to shreds."

Ignoring the last part, I lightly traced my hands over the red lines. "How long until you fully heal?"

"Tonight probably," he answered, shrugging. "The worst of it by tomorrow morning for sure."

I continued my path along his torso, completely amazed by the transformation. Last night, Inuyasha had been bloody and broken. I was freaking because I wasn't sure if he was going to be alright. I had to use so many wash cloths and so many towels to make sure he didn't lose that much blood. And now there was practically no trace of it – of the fear, the desperation, the shake of my hand in the stitches.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha's voice was deep, more than just sleep-rough and I stopped, looking at him worried. We hadn't exactly talked about last night. What the hell was going to happen now? Dammit, I wasn't prepared enough for this. "We should get going, right?"

I pulled back my hand and nodded. Touching wasn't a good option. Did Inuyasha even remember last night? If being human for him was like me being drunk, did that mean he could black out? I just realized that I didn't know shit about this transformation bit, besides the new moon part. Standing off the bed, I quickly glanced at Inuyasha who was staring right back. His eyes were normal again, that searing gold that made me hesitate, wait.

Inuyasha frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I said, albeit a bit faintly. Now was not the time to drudge up last night. We had to get moving from Stillwater, as soon as possible. "I have your duffel in here, so grab a shirt while I go get Miroku and Sango."

I was already headed towards the door, hand outreached for the knob when Inuyasha's body pressed against mine, spinning me. With a jolt I tensed, reaction kicking in even as Inuyasha lowered his head down so his eyes were level with mine.

"Don't be stupid," he whispered, face inching closer, his nose brushing against my cheek.

I didn't move. Hell, I didn't dare move. Inuyasha didn't seem much inclined to do anything more than smirk, pulling away before grabbing his bag and going into the bathroom.

Don't be stupid. What the hell did that mean?

I waited for a minute to calm down, willing my heart beat to slow and breaths to even out. When I felt ready to face to world – or at least my friends – I opened the door and walked over to their room. The sun was tinting the horizon, pink and orange covering the sky. Staring at it, I absentmindedly knocked on their door. And then I knocked again. And again.

"Goddammit Kagome, I'm sleeping," Sango hissed, looking far less dangerous than she sounded with her eyes closed and her body tilting sleepily to the side.

"We need to get moving," I replied, gently pushing past her until I was by the king-sized bed where Miroku was busy drooling. Picking up a pillow, I smacked him in the face with it. "Rise and shine Miroku!"

The blue-eyed man woke with a start, glaring at me through unfocused eyes. "Is it time to go?"

"Time to go," I agreed, barely holding my laughter when I saw Sango practically sleeping against the wall. "Come on Sango."

"Fuck you," she whispered, letting it come out more like a yawn.

"How's Inuyasha?" Miroku asked quietly, sliding out of bed in just his boxers. I didn't particularly mind, although it wasn't something I enjoyed. It was better than him naked though, which was more or less what I expected from them. "Do you need help switching his bandages?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "He's back to being half-demon and almost completely healed. It's...amazing." It could still picture the red lines, not so much angry and bothered crossing over his chest. "I need to remove the stitches already."

Miroku was sliding on pants, pausing when he heard. His dark brows rose suspiciously. "Really?"

"Really, I saw it myself and checked them out."

"Checked who out?" Sango came out of nowhere, waddling to Miroku and resting against him.

"She's going to sleep on you," I pointed out.

Miroku sighed. "And given any other time, I really wouldn't mind. Normally I have to wake her up with promises of..." Noting my reaction, he paused and then grinned, "Sex – since we're all adults and clearly you know that we're fucking."

I groaned and turned away. "Get dressed and ready to go in five minutes. And don't you dare try for a quickie because dammit Miroku, have a bit of self-preservation."

I was almost out the door when I heard Sango mumble in her semi-conscious state. "Fuck self-preservation."

Who was worse: the half-demon or the lovebirds?

Taking a deep breath, I let it out in a curse and then headed back to my own motel room. Inuyasha was already out of the bathroom, seemingly packed and ready to go. He was reading a newspaper, head bowed down enough that I could see the distinct silver roots. I wasn't sure how I felt about him being half-demon rather than human. The half-demon side of him was the one I was attracted to but the human side was something to wonder about. Inuyasha was like a closed book, guarding and self-preserved with tiny glimpses if you looked into his eyes in those few seconds that he slipped.

"Take a picture," Inuyasha muttered, just loud enough so I could hear.

I rolled my eyes and headed to the bathroom. Clearly the whole whispering-in-my-ear-and-pressing-me-into-the-wall thing wasn't going to be discussed either. Or the kiss. Inuyasha was like a ticking time bomb of red and blue wires. Pull the red one and you get the witty remarks, pull the blue one and you get hot promises in your ear. Either way, something was going to explode sooner or later.

I got ready in seconds, finishing up in the bathroom and then packing my duffel. When I was finished, Inuyasha was flipping through the paper still, his clawed fingers tapping at the corners. "Anything interesting in there?"

"I'm looking for more hunts," Inuyasha replied easily, putting it down for a second before looking at me. "When did you get the paper, last night?"

I frowned. "While you were bleeding to death beside me? Yeah right, idiot. It was probably already in the room from the last person or whatever."

"With yesterday's date?" Inuyasha's sceptical voice had me suddenly paying attention, trying to piece together how we randomly got a newspaper in our room. We've had it booked for days.

"No one came in while I was with Sango and Miroku, right? There's blood everywhere," I said, coming up with the only explanation I could think of.

Inuyasha banged his head against the wall in his effort to look up, an exasperated expression crossing his face. "Yeah wench, that's why I asked you if you got the paper ten seconds ago."

He had a point.

"Give me that," I snapped, crossing between our beds and snatching the thick newspaper. It was called the Star Tribune and from what I could tell it was one of the main ones that were sold through a couple towns. I flipped through the pages, a feeling of urgency settling in. There was something...something... I couldn't explain it, other than it was like someone was pressuring me. It was like something was tightening around my chest, a big band that was making me move, making me hurry.

I will, however, leave you with something to help you along. Time is running out Kagome, you must hurry... The memory jarred me, my hands still from leafing through the pages. Midoriko the angel did this.

The imaginary band vanished, the sense of urgency gone. I was frozen to the spot, stuck on some black and grey page and unable to overcome the feeling that something was happening here. Suddenly hands were in front of my face, snapping to get my attention.

"Hey, hey, what the hell is going on?" Inuyasha asked softly, eyes narrowed in confusion.

Giving myself just a moment to breathe, I tilted my head up to look at him. "I'm not too sure," I replied honestly.

"I've been yelling at you for the past couple of minutes. You were hyperventilating while looking at a damn newspaper!" Inuyasha scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just..." Shaking my head, I looked over the page to see the classifieds. The page on the right held all of the obituaries. "Something is here, in the newspaper," I said quietly. I backed up until I was sitting on the bed, paper in my lap as I examined each and every death.

"What?" Inuyasha exclaimed. "You think something is in there? Like what?"

It was the second obit I saw, a remembrance piece with a picture of a young man with long dark hair and the coldest stare. Remembering Onigumo Yanaka, never forgotten.

"Inuyasha," I whispered, unable to believe it, unable to really think past the name. "Holy shit Inuyasha, look."

The half-demon stared worriedly at a moment, waiting until I practically rubbed it in his face before he took it. A look of concentration steadily bled into something I couldn't recognize, a blankness so still it seemed completely out of place. Practically the moment it came it was gone, covered by surprise and shock. "It's him, that's the guy right? That's who Astaroth wants you to find."

I nodded, reading the article with Inuyasha hovering over my shoulder. It was nothing more than a short few sentences about a man who enjoyed life, loved teaching and was always striving for more. He had been gone for five years. Love for always...

Glancing at Inuyasha, I could see that he was thinking the same thing. Onigumo had parents. We needed to find them.

An abrupt knock on the door had me putting the paper down. Sango and Miroku were ready on the other side, bags in hand and frowning. Miroku stepped inside first, dark blue eyes trained on the half-demon as he efficiently tugged up Inuyasha's shirt. "She really wasn't lying," he murmured, studying the plains of his chest.

I almost took offense to that. Why the hell would I lie about something so important? Then again, I kind of got distracted on the body in front of me.

"That's incredible," Sango agreed, voice pretty flat. Of course, her eyes were only half-open and she was leaning on Miroku heavily now that she had crossed the threshold into the room. "I need coffee."

"Everyone needs coffee," I agreed. "And there's been a change of plans, Inuyasha and I have another case."

Miroku looked at me incredulously. "Excuse me?"

I sighed, grabbing my duffel bag and standing by the door. We were going to need a lot of coffee before getting out of this one.

"You ready for this?"

Inuyasha's golden stare pierced mine. "You're really going to ask that? Hello, half-demon here."

"And last night you were just a pitiful human," I murmured, tsking lightly. "It was quite the shame." It wasn't, not at all. But things between us were...normal. Better than normal, but still normal. Despite the heated words back in the motel when I was going to wake up Miroku and Sango, nothing had happened.

Much.

Having breakfast with Miroku and Sango was a flurry of questions and analysis. I had told them part of the Onigumo story last time we met at Boomerang's but things had evolved since then. I had talked to Midoriko once more, who was the one – I was more than sure – that had sent the paper on its heavenly way towards me. Now questions came as to what we were going to do, what was going to work, and how we were going to approach this.

"Go in as feds," Miroku had stated, chewing grossly at some sort of pretend-meat concoction. "Get the story, get out."

"It's a remembrance article, there's no reason for it," I answered, shaking my head. "I need to check up on it more, figure out what went on when he died."

And I did. After Miroku and Sango left, heading back towards Maine, Inuyasha and I had driven the short thirty minute drive and stopped at some inn. It was clean enough and before settling in I booted up my laptop and waited for it to be ready.

Inuyasha had thrown his duffel somewhere, staring at it for a moment. He turned suddenly, looking at me with a tilt of the head. I could only look at him back. Nothing had been said and what was I going to do? I sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up. There was no telling what could happen, and I only wanted to approach something like this if I knew all of the options.

And then he smirked. The half-demon standing in front of me smirked and stared. "So what do you want to do?"

"Um, research?" I asked. It was definitely a question. No, no it couldn't be. "Research," I repeated, more sure.

"Interesting."

HOW WAS THAT INTERESTING? "It is?" No, bad Kagome. "It is."

"Have fun then, I'm just going to check what's around the area."

I nodded. "Alright, let me know if you notice anything." I waited, watching for him to leave but he didn't. He just smirked at me. "Is there something I'm missing?"

And then suddenly Inuyasha was there, beside me on the bed with that stupid look on his face. My hands touched his chest to push him back but instead they stayed, unmoving. Crap.

"I'll be back," he murmured softly. He bent down so that his lips were just millimetres from mine. I could feel the puff of breath splash across my lips and I sat there, frozen. I stared into his eyes, looking for any sort of clue as to what was going to happen, what was okay in this newfound, extremely strange thing we had going on.

All I saw was a wicked glint in his eye before his lips just barely touched my own and then he was out the door, demon-speed in full use. Dammit.

Right then everything had become clear. He was teasing me, but not in a mocking sort of way. He was drawing everything out, making the both of us burn. Eventually one of us was going to break. Inuyasha was probably counting on it to be me.

I groaned. There was a good chance I would too. That bastard.

The research I had turned up had been very interesting, if not a bit difficult to find at first. Onigumo Yanaka was a thirty-four year-old mythology professor working at a nearby university. Five years ago, there had been a strange phone call to the police that led officers to Onigumo's house. What they found wasn't promising. There had been enough blood in the house – his blood – to make the chances that he'd survived whatever had happened slim to none. The police never found out who did it, they didn't know how it happened or why it happened. There was just a big house full of buckets of blood and a missing person who had yet to return and was most likely dead.

Onigumo's parents had obviously stopped looking, if the way the article found in the obituary section said anything.

"So you know the plan," I murmured, looking at the half-demon pointedly. "You know what to look for? I told you very specifically earlier what I'm looking for. If I had more faith in your people-skills, I'd rather be doing your part."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at me. "I'm not five. I'm more than capable of this, wench."

"Bite me, asshole," I grumbled, opening the car door when there was a sudden pinch on my arm. I whipped my head around immediately, but when I looked Inuyasha was already pushing his way out the door and the pain was gone. I sat there in slight shock. "He actually bit me," I muttered, unbelieving.

"Are you coming or am I going to die of old age first?" Inuyasha yelled, glaring at me from outside.

I'm going to kill him, I thought to myself, unable to help it. The half-demon was unbelievable.

Climbing out of the Corvette, I fiddled with my light jacket and led the way up towards the porch. It was afternoon, the sun high in the sky but doing little to stop the chill of the air. Autumn had settled in hard and fast in St. Paul, Minnesota. I cringed at the thought that winter would soon be on its way. Knocking on the door, I looked over to Inuyasha, who had moved to the far side of the property. The half-demon nodded at me, smirking ever-so-slightly before vanishing into the backyard.

I was brought back when the door opened and a small woman with dark features and wrinkled skin stood there, a hesitant smile on her face. I did my best to look young and earnest. I had a job to do after all.

"Mrs. Yanaka?" I asked gently, putting my hand out there. "My name is Ruri Shima and I'm a journalist with Parker's Magazine. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few moments about your son's – Onigumo's – accomplishments in mythological study."

The woman seemed a bit dumbfounded, a frown marring her features for only a moment before her husband stepped in behind her. He welcomed me carefully, listening as his wife repeated the request. Finally he smiled and gestured for me to walk in, his hand flagging me towards the living room.

"Would you like something to drink?" Mrs. Yanaka asked.

"No thank you," I answered. "I don't want to waste much of your precious time." Of course, I think your son is involved in a war between Heaven and Hell, so it's the least you could do… Right, like I should say that. "I want to write a piece about your son Onigumo, and how his work in both study and lecturing has impacted mythological research. He was quite brilliant."

Mr. Yanaka grinned, sitting down on a love seat with his hands on his knees. "Onigumo loved it since he was a kid," the father boasted. "I remember coming home some days after work, and he'd be sitting in the living room here reading encyclopaedias about gods and goddesses – every piece of mythology he could find."

"I used to bring him to the bookstore all the time," Mrs. Yanaka added quietly. "He was so very fascinated by it all."

I nodded, gently smiling. "I'm curious, what did he study the most of? I know when he taught, the courses were based on all sorts of lore. Did he have a sort of private specialty?"

"Oh yes," Mrs. Yanaka replied. "Well, only as he grew older. I think the common myths about the gods started to bore him. The stories were so very complex but typically involving the same themes." She hummed to herself. "In the end, I remember he started to focus on more present lore."

Mr. Yanaka leaned forward a bit. "What kind of information did you want again?" he asked, tilting his head.

"I just wanted to get a perspective of his passion for it," I explained, trying to be as sincere as possible. "I realized that if there was someone who knew how much he enjoyed something, it would be his parents. So…what kind of present lore? Are you talking about modern day stories?"

Mrs. Yanaka shook her head. "No dear," she said softly. "He started to focus on more biblical references, the idea of Heaven in different cultures. Angels."

While her words bothered me, I tried to focus on the task. I had to give Inuyasha more time, but I didn't know how much he would need. We only got one shot at this. It needed to be perfect. "What intrigued him so much about them?"

"Oh I don't remember," she answered, shrugging. "He used to comment all the time about how they touched people. It used to go over my head."

Mr. Yanaka grinned again. "You try to keep up but there gets to be a point where their knowledge is so far beyond yours. Getting old doesn't help."

I laughed, making sure to ask a few more questions. Inuyasha had to be done by now. It took another twenty minutes of conversation, gentle probing and vague questions, but eventually I was able to leave without being suspicious. The older couple looked almost sad as I stood up, and I couldn't imagine the grief that they had gone through – were going through.

When I sat back down in my yellow Corvette at the side of the road, I started it and waited. Long black locks suddenly crowded the passenger side and before I could comment Inuyasha was smirking at me. "Jackpot," he announced, raising a brow.

Pulling away from the street, I started to head back to the motel with no regard to the speed limit. "You found something?"

"I took me forever, but I did," Inuyasha explained, holding up a well-used black book. "I don't know those people but they obviously never got any closure. They have a whole room dedicated to his crap."

I glared at him, rolling my eyes when it was obviously having no impact. "They never found his body Inuyasha. Hope like that…it doesn't just go away."

"He's been gone for five years," Inuyasha said, leaning back in the seat and huffing. "With the blood they found, they'd be stupid to think he was alive."

I bit my lower lip, trying to ignore his words. It's not like I could blame him for what he was thinking – hell, I agreed. It just…struck a nerve. People could have hope like that. Just because the odds were really high, it didn't mean that loved ones were gone forever. There could always be hope. Always.

And when the coppery taste of blood splashed on my tongue, I cursed. That was not ignoring at its finest.

"Wench, what the hell did you just do?" Inuyasha snapped, turning around in the seat to glare at me. His amber eyes were dissecting me, I could tell. I pointedly kept my gaze out the window, tonguing the cut in hopes that the blood would cease. "Why are you bleeding?" the half-demon pressed.

"Nothing." I didn't mean for it to sound so sharp, but it did.

Inuyasha raised a brow. "Really, nothing. How come I don't believe you? You on your cycle or something? You look rather mad right now and I swear I didn't do anything that wasn't awesome as of recent."

Don't say it. Don't say it. "I'm fine," I stated, mentally praising myself. "And no, I am not on my cycle, you douche."

"So what, it's me talking that irritates you?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" I snapped, sparing him a brief glance and then looking back out the windshield. Don't look at him, I told myself. His eyes were so intent on me.

"All I was saying is that his parents are idiots to believe that the guy is coming back." Inuyasha kept talking, his voice steady. I grit my teeth, knowing he was doing this on purpose. He was trying to find out what he did, the bastard. If he kept going on, he soon would. "I mean, they found bucket-loads of blood on the floor that all belonged to him. He's been gone for five years. The guy is as dead as dead can be."

I took a deep breath. I counted to ten.

Inuyasha opened his mouth again. "I don't get humans and their silly little fantasies–"

"Fuck you," I yelled, stomping on the gas and speeding even closer to our motel. Why weren't we there yet? Why did it seem so much longer getting back?

"Excuse me?" Inuyasha demanded, growling.

"I said fuck you and I'm going to say it again!" I heaved a breath, trying to calm down, trying to remember that while I mentioned it before he surely wouldn't piece the two together.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Pleasant, wench."

"It's me, okay?" I snapped, clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles. "That person that's missing for years, with the odds against their survival? That's me."

I couldn't see the half-demon's expression, I was staring at the road ahead of me so hard it hurt my eyes. He quieted down though, listening. Waiting.

"I told you, that when I was eighteen I was suddenly gifted," I spat. "My father died trying to protect me. The demons killed him because he wouldn't tell them where I was. Hell, he didn't even know what he was up against!" The last words, I knew, were beyond screeching levels. I couldn't help it. "So my father died, with his last words on the phone with me telling me to run away. And you know, I still have a family Inuyasha. I have a mother and a brother. I had a mother and a brother. They think I'm dead. I helped them to believe I'm dead. For weeks they looked out the damn window for me. So you can say all the shit you want about his parents being too stupid to believe, but that's my life. The only difference is that I'm actually alive and breathing, not dead like they think."

Inuyasha was hesitant a moment longer. "Kagome, I–"

"Save it," I interrupted, gently. He didn't deserve all the yelling. He didn't know, probably didn't remember from that one drunken time at Boomerang's over a month ago. "I know."

INUYASHA

Inuyasha sometimes wished that he could tape his mouth shut. It didn't happen often, but there were definitely moments where he wanted to take something back. This was one of those times.

Actually, he was pretty sure that the whole wanting-to-take-it-back thing only started after he met the demon slayer named Kagome Higurashi. Inuyasha tried really hard not to think about that.

The problem was that he had to. He didn't have a choice. He kissed her. Not only that, but since the previous night, it had been him who initiated what little taunts occurred. He pushed her against the door that morning because he knew of the uncertainty that was flying in her mind. He told her 'don't be stupid' because she was probably talking herself out of it all.

Inuyasha didn't want her to. That was mistake number one.

Then right before he wanted to check out St. Paul, he nearly had his way with her on the bed. Hell, he wished he had his way with her. She had been looking so frazzled from lack of sleep but her eyes were still intent on her laptop, trying to find a solution to the Onigumo puzzle piece. She looked amazing despite everything.

Inuyasha wanted to show her how amazing she was. That was mistake number two.

Now, as the Corvette slowed into the parking lot, he waited for Kagome to shut off the engine so they could remove their duffels from the trunk. He watched as she got out, body stiff and tense like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. It had been because he opened his damn mouth and didn't shut it. Inuyasha sighed and followed behind her.

The motel room was just like all the others: peeling wallpaper, mysterious stains and rough but clean enough bed sheets. He took the bed that she didn't, flopping down and clutching the black book that was still in his hands. It had been what he removed from the Onigumo shrine at the Yanaka household. Out of all the books on the shelves and all the journals, this one was by far the worst for wear. There were so many lines in the spine it was nearly falling apart, and after closer inspection he found black-inked scribble all over some of the margins. It was Onigumo's handwriting, he was sure of it.

"So what's the book about?" Kagome asked. Her face was still a bit too tight, eyes a little sharper than normal, but Inuyasha would accept being talked to.

"Some Latin crap," he mumbled. "Ater Atra Atrum."

Kagome frowned for a moment before sighing deeply. "The Yanaka's were totally wrong."

"What?" Inuyasha handed over the black book when she reached out for it, letting his fingers brush against hers. He ignored the way the touch almost sparked something in him, like need. He couldn't feel like that. Not when he was so close.

"Dark," Kagome answered, flipping through the pages. "I know this book – or I've heard of it. When I was talking to Onigumo's parents earlier, they mentioned how he was studying lore on angels. I don't think that's the case. I think he was looking on the other side of the coin."

"Demonology?" Inuyasha asked, smirking. "So what, you have this mythology professor who's kind of started to fall off the right track. What does this have to do with the jewel though?"

"I don't know," Kagome replied. "He's written inside this, almost every single page. Let me try and sort some of it out. There has to be something in here."

So Inuyasha let her. He lied back on his own bed and stared at the ceiling while Kagome silently read. All he could hear was her soft, gentle breathing and the occasional ruffle of paper when she flipped the page. He wanted to stop her – right here, right now – and just stop. He wanted to get her attention, get her to do something else.

With him.

Inuyasha winced. No. It couldn't be. He couldn't have fallen for Kagome Higurashi. The kiss earlier? It was his pathetic and horribly human state ruining everything for him, as per usual.

"This is what I shouldn't be feeling. This shouldn't be there… If only it would bury itself when I was half-demon, then there'd be less problems…"

He was a fucking idiot. There was no way he had feelings for her, not at all. He had a plan for fuck's sake and he had to follow the plan. It had failed once before and it was not going to fail again.

He'd make sure of it.

Inuyasha pushed with that thought, went along with it. He started to imagine it happening, how everything would go down. He'd get what he needed, thanks to Kagome, and then finally his years of problems would be solved. And when Kagome was at her weakest, when she was confused and betrayed, he would kill her.

Inuyasha would kill Kagome without a second thought.

No. Why was he suddenly nauseous? Why did the thought of doing this suddenly bother him? He had been waiting for this forever. He deserved it. This was why he started the entire scheme in the first place. He didn't just barge in on her life for no reason. He planned. He waited. He found the perfect candidate in Kagome, made all the more sweet by Heaven's little gift.

And that's when it hit him.

The reason he was feeling this way wasn't because he suddenly didn't want what he'd been working on for years. No. The reason he was feeling so uptight, so strangely unsettled? It was because he couldn't do this to Kagome. He couldn't kill her.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

It was obvious. He couldn't deny it, Inuyasha wasn't that stupid. Along the way, along the twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for over a month now, Inuyasha had fallen for Kagome. Not love. Just something that could turn into it, if he let it grow.

But he wouldn't.

Inuyasha opened his eyes and glared at the ceiling. He reminded himself of everything he had gone through. He thought about all the times he had been torn down, only to force himself to rebuild again. He told himself how he had dedicated everything to this plan. This was his key.

This was going to be his life.

With a strong swallow and the overwhelming urge to run, Inuyasha forced himself to face the truth of the situation.

No matter what, Inuyasha had to kill Kagome Higurashi.

Or she would kill him first.

I had several opinions about Onigumo.

The first was that his handwriting? Absolute garbage. Two year-olds could scribble better than that and still make sense. It boggled my mind. How was this guy a teacher?

The second thing was that Onigumo was definitely into some dark shit. Ater Atra Atrum was all about the power of demons, the way that demons functioned (according to the author, who I thought rather smugly, was usually wrong).

The third thing, and the biggest thing, was that there were some rituals that were legitimate and extremely powerful. More powerful than I had ever really seen before. What made it horrible was that the pages with the spells had the most writing on it, with detailed accounts about certain events I couldn't quite understand.

By the time I skimmed through most of it an hour later, I figured out what was going on. It hit me the moment I saw the words Shikon no Tama.

Holy fucking shit.

"Inuyasha?" I tried to keep my voice normal, but it was rather difficult. This explained the sudden disappearance, the extreme amounts of blood. This right here…

This was the key.

"What?" His voice was strained, ragged almost, and I would've frowned at him and asked about it had I not just figured out everything.

"I know what happened to Onigumo," I explained, pushing to the edge of the bed. I flattened the black book, pushing at one of the pages that threatened to fall out. "Do you see this? It's a ritual about embodiment. It's dark and extremely powerful."

Inuyasha tilted his head up, groaning before slowly sitting his body up and beside me. His head was right over my shoulder and I could feel his warm breath on my neck. I shivered, and fought to keep on track. "I kind of recognize it," he murmured, a clawed finger tracing the faded print. "It's a calling to demons where a human sacrifices themselves so that a demon can control them."

"But it's worse," I added, flipping the page and pointing at a rather childish picture. It was of a man being torn apart by vague black figures. "In this case, there isn't just one demon that invades the human body. This ritual is meant for a complete takeover. The human sacrifices their soul to Hell, but in return gains the power of all the demons that inhibits the body. For it to work fully, a thousand demons must be consumed, and then the human will become a demon of sorts, only extremely powerful. The thing is that the demons who inhibit the body become part of the transformation, so the human needs to lure them with something powerful. Something that makes destruction of their own self worth it."

Inuyasha turned his head to look at me, dead in the eye. "The Shikon no Tama."

"Bingo," I answered. "See his scribbles?" I pointed to a particularly dark spot of blotched ink. "It's hard to read but I'm positive this is what he did. He labelled it Naraku."

The half-demon groaned. "Otherwise translated to Hell or complete evil."

I shut the book, standing up. My feet walked along the short, worn carpet. "Okay, so this mythology professor gets into weird shit, like you said. He's started to study demonology, is intrigued by it and then finds this book."

"Ater Atra Atrum," Inuyasha added.

I nodded. "He finds it and then finds this ritual that promises power and evil and destruction, everything that he's found enchanting since he was a kid when he learned about the twisted and all mighty ways of gods and goddesses."

"He performs that ritual and a few demons inhibit his body, tearing him up until he physically reforms," Inuyasha continued. "His blood pools all over his apartment."

"He realizes that he needs one thousand demons to complete the ritual," I went on. "So for five years he's been trying to accomplish this. He finds the Shikon no Tama, a jewel so powerful that it can disrupt the balance between Heaven and Hell. He uses it to his own advantages, and when he becomes fully demon, he'll go about breaking down the good."

"And then Heaven intervenes, there's war. The demons are part of him, Hell has to fight too. It's a war that no one wants–"

"Jus the lackeys," I finished. I grinned hard at Inuyasha, whose golden eyes were watching me. "We make an amazing team."

A small half-smile formed on his lips. I could've sworn it looked almost bitter. "Yeah, we do."

Suddenly, there was a rather loud clapping noise that didn't belong. I swung around, the demon radar in my head blaring at unbearable levels. There was Astaroth, grinning at me with big white teeth and slicked back midnight hair. His skin was still that dark olive tone, eyes red and piercing. He was a demon, looked like a demon, annoyed like a demon.

"Hello my darling star!" Astaroth cheered, the accented lilt in his voice sounding almost like a melody. "I've been watching you and I must say, well done."

"What have I said about calling me your star?" I hissed, legs bent, tensed and ready to fight.

Inuyasha already had the right idea. He was in the air, leaping with his hands outstretched towards the duke of Hell before he went flying back into the bed, body struggling. "You fucker!"

"Inuyasha, you always astound me. Still around I see, I guess it's only a matter of time." Astaroth hummed, stepping closer to me. "So you have news about finding the jewel? Onigumo?"

"I know what's going on," I corrected, tilting my chin up stubbornly. In my head I calculated all the possibilities for attack. No matter how I looked at it, I would never get close enough to have the jump on him. He'd catch me in a moment and use his demonic powers to bind to me to the floor. "Onigumo was a human and he performed a ritual. He's using the Shikon no Tama to lure demons, and once he reaches a thousand of them, he'll become full."

Astaroth nodded, looking thoughtful. "Luring demons…interesting idea, I guess. So he's not using the jewel to gather an army."

"He's the army," I explained, shaking my head. "Once this ritual is complete, he'll be strong. He'll be impossible to beat. There would need to be heavy divine intervention."

"And we don't want that now, do we?" Astaroth asked, sounding rather cheerful. "The winged bastards take away all the fun."

"If it comes down to it, you might need their help."

The duke of Hell scoffed, shaking his head at me pitifully. "My star, you have so much to learn about politics. However, your information is useful. I've been searching this time to find large groupings of demons under Onigumo's control. Now I see it's the opposite."

"Kagome," Inuyasha hissed from the bed, "can you please kill him?"

"Now, now," Astaroth soothed, flicking his wrist. Inuyasha was suddenly sitting up, chest heaving and growls spilling out of his throat. "We're on the same team, remember? And star, you know you can come our way. I can promise you that Hell will keep their promises about protection and safety. I know Heaven still has yet to free you."

I shook my head fiercely. "We've been over this and the answer is no."

"Pity." Astaroth sighed dramatically and took a step back. "Well I shall return when I get a location. Be good you two, and Inuyasha? Don't be stupid."

I realized that he was about to disappear so I lunged forward, catching the barest hint of fabric from his clothing before it deteriorated in my hands. I cursed, running a hand through my dark hair. "I really hate him."

"At least he doesn't shove you against solid fucking objects," Inuyasha spat, still looking rather pissed.

Shaking my head, I stifled the giggle I wanted to let out and returned to the bed opposite from him. "So this is what we do now, we keep looking for Onigumo?"

The half-demon on the bed didn't look at me, eyes trained on the wallpaper in front of him. He nodded, a slight tilt that was barely noticeable. "Yes, we go and find Onigumo. You get the jewel and restore whatever order there is to be restored. Then, we make sure that Heaven lets you go."

I smiled. "Sounds like a good plan." When Inuyasha only made a noise that could be interpreted as bitter, I frowned. "What's going on with you? You look like someone kicked your puppy."

"I'm a dog demon Kagome. Must you make references to puppies?" Inuyasha growled.

That wasn't an answer. "Inuyasha–"

And damn him, he used it again. His demon speed had him suddenly right in front of me, nose inches away from mine. His cheeks were flushed, golden eyes intent.

"Inuyasha," I tried again.

His lips, warm and soothing, slid against mine. This wasn't the kiss from last night. This was strong and forceful, not the slightest bit hesitant. His hands were on my shoulders, pushing me backwards so I could crawl to the centre before lying down. Everything instantly felt hot, my pulse picking up and hammering double time.

But he was hiding something. Something was wrong with him. "Wait, Inu–"

"Kagome," the half-demon interrupted, pulling away only the tiniest bit. I could feel his warm breath splash across my lips, his hot hands trailing down my sides over my top. "We are soon going to be fighting this human-demon fuck-up that wants to end the world. Can we not just have this, right now?" Inuyasha was panting gently, cheeks reddened. His hand suddenly cupped my face, sliding down to my chin to hold me in place. "Can we not just have this?"

And there was nothing I could say to him that wouldn't be a lie. Everything inside of me was screaming to arch up, kiss him, so I did. Inuyasha growled in the back of his throat, his whole chest vibrating with it as he slowly lowered down on top of me, fitting between my legs. His mouth was a slick heat against mine, tongue sliding against my lips, begging entrance

We weren't teenagers. This wasn't some fumble in the back of a car where neither of us knew what we were doing or what we wanted. There wasn't anything stopping us now, except the fact that this was new, fresh.

It didn't stop my hips from rocking, feeling the pressure of his hardened length on my lower stomach. I moaned, hands circling around him, teasing his long black strands as I pulled him impossibly closer.

"Fuck, Kagome," Inuyasha panted, breathing before kissing my jaw, nibbling with his sharp teeth along my neck. He was rocking down into me, hands fumbling to remove my sweater.

"What's taking so long?" I whispered out, trying not to sound as desperate as I really felt. There wasn't one thing that didn't feel amazing – not the rough, hot hands gliding along my bare stomach or the wet kisses along my neck.

"Shut up," Inuyasha shot back, biting down on my collarbone, leaving marks that he soothed away with licks.

"You would be a biter."

"You would be a talker."

I smiled, arching my back and helping him to finally get rid of the top and bra I was wearing. Inuyasha growled deeply, my hands feeling the sounds as they wound their way down his chest. "Off," I murmured, tugging on his t-shirt.

"Bossy." Inuyasha still removed it, coming down moments later and reclaiming my lips in even slicker heat. I gasped into the kiss, finding air and making noises I'd deny later as he licked his way inside my mouth. My hands felt along every bit of exposed skin I could touch – his back, ribs, stomach. I found the waistband of his jeans, going lower until I could feel him hard and heavy against my palm. I bit back the sound I wanted to make, the desperate, horrible sound that would only give away absolutely everything I wanted.

He rocked, steadily into my hand before groaning and pulling away, lips leaving mine to kiss down the valley of my breasts. He nosed at my bellybutton, licking just above the button of my jeans before all but ripping the offensive material off.

"Slow down there," I murmured, sounding absolutely wrecked. Everything about him, about this, felt undeniably perfect.

"Nuh uh," Inuyasha mumbled, shaking his head and letting the strands of hair tickle my bare skin. His teeth nibbled at my hipbone, fingers skirting up and down my thighs. If it didn't feel so good I'd hit him and tell him to be on with it already. "Wasted enough time," he added, almost like an afterthought.

He looked up at me then, amber eyes searching for mere moments before he dipped back down and stared kissing every inch of exposed skin. He danced around my thong, paying extra attention to the very edges of it. I wanted to hit him, urge him on but could only tangle my fingers in his hair and ride out what little pleasure he dished out.

"Impatient as hell," Inuyasha whispered across my skin, and I could feel the grin on his lips.

"Annoying as–" Whatever else I was going to say was lost in a moan, the feeling of his finger pushing aside my thong and teasing me almost unbearable. "I should purify you," I gasped.

Inuyasha looked up, face intense and I stared at him, let him watch the play of emotions across my face as he finally did what I was practically begging him for. One finger slide in, and it had been so long since any of this happened that I was already sounding wrecked beyond belief. He pumped, slowly and tauntingly, making me shift around restlessly, desperate to feel more.

"Shit Kagome," Inuyasha murmured, his voice so deep and low I barely heard it, barely acknowledged it. He sounded almost awed, and when he added another finger, starting to pump faster, crook harder, I nearly arched off the bed when he hit that spot. Every single nerve in my body was alight, unable to stop moving, not wanting the feeling of pleasure to end.

"Fuck," I murmured, letting out another moan, panting as he continued to tease, to rub that one spot that nearly made sparks flash behind my eyelids.

Inuyasha growled, his body suddenly leaning over. Before I could open my eyes and figure out what he was doing, wet heat encased my breast, tongue lapping and teeth nibbling. His fingers below slid out, hovering just around the entrance, making me almost sob with need. I'd call him out on it, say some names, but then he was pressing over my clit, a constant rubbing that had me arching my back, whispering profanities that probably didn't make sense.

Everything was hot, suddenly becoming too much and Inuyasha's name spilled across my lips. I could feel myself so close, so ready, so desperate–

In one quick motion his fingers pumped back in, thumb sliding over and over relentless on my clit, lips biting at my neck. All I could hear was my ragged breathing, the string of sounds that were attempted and forgotten words. It hit me like a shock, my whole body curling and going stiff with the pleasure. The shout of Inuyasha's name was lost, buried in the slick heat of his mouth as he claimed my lips and swallowed down the noise.

I tried to breathe, tried to refocus on the here and now. Inuyasha was leaning over me, forehead pressed against mine, golden eyes nearly hidden between heavy lids. I took deep shuddering breaths, relishing in the feel of orgasmic waves, letting everything relax. "Inuyasha," I whispered, staring into his golden orbs.

"You should see yourself," Inuyasha whispered, kissing me, silencing anything I could say to that.

I moaned, pushing against him to pull away. The expression on his face was confused, shuttered, until I nipped his bottom lip and started to flip him over. "You should get something for that."

The growl that vibrated up from his chest was more than inviting, and my hand slid down his muscular body and the rough fabric of denim. He was hard, straining against the zipper, and I undid the button and fly as I kissed my way down his body, learning every dip and curve along smooth skin. His boxers did nothing to hide him, dick pressing urgently along the band. I leaned back on my heels, watching Inuyasha's flushed face as I tugged at the side of his jeans, bringing his boxers down along with as I slid them nearly off his legs. I straddled him around the knees, licking at his hips, bellybutton, anywhere and everywhere that wasn't exactly where he wanted it.

Inuyasha's groans were nothing but encouraging and I grinned, kissing lower and lower, licking a long stripe along the side of his cock. No, we weren't teenagers. We were adults and we sure as hell knew what we were doing.

"You fucking tease," Inuyasha complained, voice breathy and deep.

I laughed slightly, sitting up and letting my fingers dance across the hot skin. "I'm sorry, and what was it you were doing to me earlier?"

Inuyasha groaned again, golden eyes hiding behind closed eyelids. I took the chance while he wasn't looking, bending down and licking him from base to tip, listening to the fucked out noises the half-demon made. Wrapping my hand around him, I stripped him once, twice, and then sank my lips down over him, feeling the heavy weight on my tongue.

"Fucking fuck, fuck," Inuyasha spat, hands suddenly coming to my head and grabbing my hair. His grip was tight, wild and I swirled my tongue around the tip before taking him, as much as I could little by little. I hollowed my cheeks and slid up and down, the hot heat in my mouth getting wetter, easier.

Inuyasha thrust his hips up and I swallowed around him, feeling him press against the back of my throat, pulling back slightly and then going back down again. Over and over, Inuyasha mumbling such profanity the neighbours were probably scarred from that alone. His hand pushed at my head, grip on my hair almost painfully tight as he got closer and closer, more wild and unabashed.

"Kagome, Kagome," he whispered, over and over like a mantra. I licked along his length, swirling around, catching the small drops of release before hollowing out and going down, taking all of him, listening to the catch of breath, feeling the clench of muscle underneath me. I pulled back slightly, just as Inuyasha's orgasm hit him and he growled, hips weakly thrusting upwards as he rode out his release.

Deep, shuddering breaths later and I was pulling off, licking my lips and crawling back up his body slowly.

"Fuck," Inuyasha mumbled, sounding more asleep than conscious. His hands cupped my face, smoothed down my sides and then wrapped around me until I was flush against his body.

"I take it you feel okay," I said teasingly, shivering at the feel of his lips against my forehead, in my hair.

"Mhmm. We should crawl in the other, not so destroyed bed."

Groaning at the effort I didn't want to make, I slid off and pulled the sleepy half-demon with me, until we were both under clean sheets and the lights were off.

"Kagome," Inuyasha whispered quietly. "Stay."

I didn't know where he thought I was going, especially after all that, but I promised him anyways and wrapped myself around him.

It was the best sleep I had gotten in years.

It wasn't until a week and a half later, in the middle of a fight that Astaroth finally made his unwanted appearance.

"Now Kagome! NOW!" Inuyasha yelled.

I raced over to the half-demon, barely able to see in the dark, following only the sound of his voice. The dark figures in front of me suddenly became a bit clearer and the strange, multi-headed demon with big bug eyes was screeching at me.

"Enjoy," I snarled, slapping my hand on his chest. My powers were getting stronger; I could feel it every time I pulled. It was like I didn't even have to touch the demon's chest to connect to their black heart. I felt the connection, heard the demon's screeches become more from pain than aggravation, and then clenched my fist, destroying all ties and purifying it. Another one back in Hell.

I didn't even realize that anything was up until Inuyasha was growling, his body stepping protectively in front of me and bent in a lunge.

"Oh, come now Inuyasha, don't be like that." The accent was pretty hard to forget. Astaroth's blinding grin was difficult to miss as well.

"What the fuck do you want?" my half-demon growled and I stepped out from behind him, waiting, watching. There was only one reason that he'd come back.

"I've found him."

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