A/N: After a long, long absence (SORYY!!) I am BACK!! I hope you enjoy. This was written both tonight and some time ago, so I hope it holds up to your expectations...

Disc: Do not own him.

Chapter Review: (Family Names: Byakko is Shippo's family. Taishita is still up in the air. Tetsusaiga family are Kagome Higurashi and Inuyasha's supposed offspring. Keshikarans are the descendents of IY and Kagome's first daughter who married some other guy.) Mrs. Kira Higurashi was brought to meet adult Shippo by Kagome Keshikaran. She met Shinku, Shippo's youngest son. Also we will briefly meet Cher Byakko, Shippo's wife and mother of Shinku and Aka, Aka being Kagome Keshikaran and Kari Keshikaran's mother. Souta is out on a date with Kari Keshikaran. Myoga stopped in and scared IY with the news that Kagome isn't normal anymore with the link. She will share his lifespan and Myoga revealed the link connection in majorly established to turn a demon couple into parents. Naraku sent the demon lizard Eki out on some mission.)

Kouga 2

Kagome was stirring, back in the miner's camp. Inuyasha could feel her body rhythms picking up, her thoughts rousing sluggishly. Frantically, he pushed half-dreams at her, trying to induce a last-ditch set of REM sleep. Anything to keep her too groggy to know what he was up to.

The soil under his clawed fingers was rich smelling, nearly overwhelming his fine olfactory senses. It was a difficult task to discern any of the little, fragile plants—leaves, roots, stems, and seeds—from one another when all he could smell were the earth scents. Pill bugs squirmed and writhed away from his intruding claws, ants came forward bravely, pinching mandibles spread wide and ready to deal damage.

As a pup, newly orphaned, Inuyasha had nearly survived on such tiny, squirming delicacies for a week or so. Larger prey was harder for grief-stricken, clumsy young half demons to hunt. And, even worse, it required him to act competitively with larger youkai, the kind that thought of him as food. Now, in his prime with a massive reputation to boot, it seemed almost mocking to the hanyou that he was back, pawing at the dirt for something to eat.

But there was a major difference in the situation now: Inuyasha wasn't here eating to survive, he was here to drug himself.

A few small, round leaves with jagged edges stood out then, and Inuyasha paused, squinting his amber eyes down at them. Tiny orange berries clung to the undersides of the little plant. Inuyasha squished them between his fingers indelicately and brought them up close to his nose. After a few sniffs he wrinkled his face and flicked the pasty stuff away. He'd found what he was looking for.

Grunting, Inuyasha grabbed up the whole plant with one fist and forced it into his mouth. The bitter taste clammed up his mouth, the dirt was more appetizing even as it gritted between his molars. Another of the same type, with the orange berries, caught his eye, and Inuyasha grabbed it up too and shoved it in.

The plants were poisonous, berries as well as the full body of the plant. As a pup Inuyasha had discovered this fact by eating the berries. He'd spent the next few hours in agony. Whatever was toxic in them probably would have killed a human, but because of his dual heritage Inuyasha had survived the encounter with the poison. Now he was inducing that agony deliberately, and in greater amounts by eating not just the berries, but the whole plant.

Sunlight pierced through the trees at a low angle, glaring and intense. A few birds began squawking in loud, raucous voices. So much for songbirds greeting the morning. These were angry birds complaining to one another that there was a potential threat in their midst: Inuyasha. The hanyou, for his part, ignored them.

A third plant, and then a fourth, hurriedly. In the camp Kagome was stirring again, trying to rise with the growing noise of the others, Shippo, Sango, Miroku and Kilala, all around her. Inuyasha was running out of time.

Swallowing, Inuyasha almost gagged. The poisonous plants and their berries slid down his throat in a slimy, congealed mass. The taste, however, stayed thick inside his mouth, and his teeth continued to meet with grit when he mashed them together. He choked on it, nearly vomiting again. Sheer willpower kept his stomach from revolting.

Kagome called out to him, weakly. Inuyasha…?

I'm here. He knew his answer would be stiff, but perhaps she'd be too sleepy to notice any change…

Her concern reached him and cut off his last hopeful thought mid-sentence. What's wrong? Where are you?

If he told her the truth, that Myoga had come to visit him—and basically told him that the purpose of their link was to aid them while they raised pups—then Kagome would probably panic in some way or another. He knew that she thought of herself as too young for things like marriage or children, despite the fact that she was now living in the Feudal Era. He wasn't about to start worrying her with it—or himself for that matter. His offspring weren't something he wanted anyone burdened with. But because of the mating season and his new status as a mated inuhanyou, Inuyasha was well-aware that he couldn't stop the newly awakened primal urges of his demonic side.

There was only one sure way to deal with the problem of control: he'd make himself sick.

But he didn't want to tell Kagome any of this. It would only frighten her or hurt her, so the hanyou searched himself frantically for a lie that would convince Kagome.

Cabin fever. He lied, trying to shield the tension he felt away from Kagome's consciousness. Those two words were a nice little excuse he'd found within her "Modern Era" vocabulary.

I had to get out—he pushed his sensory information at her, the smell of trees, soil, the squawking birds and the piercing sunlight—check the territory.

She accepted that, although he sensed lingering doubt as well. A slow longing came from Kagome, fierce and full, as she pushed aside anything else but her desire to be near him. You don't feel bad about last night, do you?

The previous night Inuyasha had been unable to restrain himself. Kagome had actually purified him with her priestess's magic for a few hours to give him control again. Her question now, aimed at him with concern, stung sharply.

I'm fine, don't worry about it. I'll be back soon.

Kagome withdrew slightly, distracted as Sango knelt by her sleeping bag and began asking something. Inuyasha, grateful for the distraction, found himself still staring at the dirt, pill bugs, ants, and spiders crawling all over the open soil. Scowling, he trotted off with his nose to the wind, searching for water to wash himself off with. As soon as that was finished, the hanyou would head back to the miners' camp and rejoin Kagome.

Problem fixed, for now…

As I entered the circle of light on the stairs and the porch cast by the house, I could see that the woman before me was pale, so pale I felt sure she must've been an albino. Yet as she stepped aside, smiling the same crafty smile as Shinku, I caught the color of her eyes. They were inky black, and her gaze glittered with intelligence.

"Welcome." She grinned again at me, but her eyes were staring past me at Shippo. "My husband is always so full of stories about your daughter. And of the dog demon too."

Her words were twisted with an accent, and the more I heard her speak I was certain she was Russian. Even as I tried to bow to her and offer my thanks for her compliments, I was filled with confusion.

"Gramma," Kagome Keshikaran murmured, slipping past me to stand beside the pale skinned, dark eyed woman, "You forgot to introduce yourself!"

The woman snorted and I watched as her ears flicked about on her head. Her hair was thin but puffy, and naturally blonde. The strands seemed so delicate they might snap or float in the wind, like spider webs. I knew I was staring even before the woman, Kagome Keshikaran's grandmother I gathered, threw me a warning glare.

"I'm afraid my Japanese may be a bit coarse." The woman grumbled, looking between me and Shippo at my side. I noted that there was not a shred of apology in her tone. She apparently was unashamed of her inability, but I could understand her so there was nothing to complain about.

Shippo made a noise in his throat, startling me. It was a sound that made me think of a dog, like a bark, but it wasn't a bark exactly. Rather it was a snorting noise, deep in his throat. I doubted that I could imitate it with my human vocal cords. He stepped forward, slipping out of his shoes as he came, and I stumbled backwards fearfully. Kagome Keshikaran caught my arm, stabilizing me. Her eyes flashed when she looked between me and Shippo as he squeezed past.

She has the same eyes as they do. Again I was swamped by the feeling that this was a foreign place, not as in a different country or culture, but a whole other world. It was an immortal world, a world of kami. I didn't belong in their midst. Surely I was breaking some law of the natural world. Perhaps the blonde Russian woman knew this and was upset at Shippo for bringing me there.

"Cher." Shippo muttered, his voice very low. My own panic was still thick inside but Kagome Keshikaran, as if feeling that, squeezed my arm a few times, rhythmically. Slowly my alarm dissipated, replaced by fascination as I saw Shippo and the Russian kitsune arguing.

"Husband?" her voice was lowered now, as were her white ears, but the dark eyes were bright and fierce.

"Why are you being difficult?" Shippo growled.

The woman glanced swiftly at me and I felt, despite the black color of her irises, that she was a creature of cold and calculation. I could see a lot of Shinku in her, a playful but harsh nature—a duplicity that made her a survivor. There was something hard in her character that frightened me.

Her gaze didn't leave me when she answered Shippo. "We've had a call from Lord Taishita himself."

Shippo's ears fell backward. He and his blonde wife now looked alike suddenly. The woman was nearly the same height, and except for her fairer complexion and female form, they might've been siblings. After hundreds of years living with the other it didn't surprise me.

I didn't dare ask anything about whoever this Lord Taishita was, I could see easily that it was something negative by the way they were both so tense.

"He called?" Kagome asked, "Gramma, he called you?"

"He called looking for Shippo." She grumbled, throwing Shippo a scowl. When she spoke next it was not in Japanese, it must've been Russian. At first I thought she was cursing in her native tongue, but I quickly realized that she was actually speaking to Shippo.

And Shippo could understand her. Kagome Keshikaran and I couldn't.

I must have looked very distressed over this because Kagome squeezed my arm, drawing my attention to her instead. "It's okay Lady Higurashi. Gramma Cher is from Russia. It's just easier for her to speak it to Granpa."

"Who is Taishita?" I blurted.

Kagome bit her lip. "I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you."

Heat swept over my face and through my body. I looked down at my feet, noticing the floorboards, the surface by the door so smooth by the passage of feet over the long years. How long had the foxes inhabited this place? How old was this Russian Cher? How old was Shinku and Kagome Keshikaran's kitsune mother? Why were there so many secrets between these families? Why would the family with my own daughter's descendents not want to see me?

Had these scuffed floors seen my Kagome come and go over them?

"Damned old dog."

I looked up, startled by the Russian kitsune's abruptness. She'd spat the words out, harshly, but though she was talking about a dog she was looking at me. I stumbled a little, feeling the panic building within me again.

"Kira," Kagome Keshikaran called, softly this time, reassuring me, "It's alright."

"Who does she mean?" I stuttered, trying to stare at the Russian woman without seeming to. The last thing I wanted to do was offend one of them, these immortal spirits, creatures that I'd scarcely dared to believe in as a child myself…and now they were glaring at me and dragging me into their homes. I remembered the old tales of kitsunes, luring in unwary human beings to their deaths at the hands of some trickery…

"I think I should leave." I tried to push Kagome's grip from me but though her hands came free I felt another set, pale and cold, land on my other shoulder.

When I looked over I met the Russian's black-eyed gaze. "I answer your question." She frowned, "Taishita is a dog. Old angry dog."

Shippo sighed loudly from behind her. "Lady Higurashi. I'm sorry for all this trouble, I'm sorry for my wife's hostility. She…isn't fond of dog demon clans, of any nationality. And Taishita is—" he stopped for a moment, scowling and apparently looking for the right word to use, "—difficult. My wife has informed me that he has called and asked about you. He's heard word from the Tetsusaigas that you're searching for them. He may send a representative to see you in the morning."

"Oh no—is he going to send a human? Or is he going to send his toad?"

A shock passed through me. His toad. I looked between their faces, curious. I remembered my Kagome's stories about an old dog, an old, proud, stubborn and difficult dog. A very powerful dog that sometimes troubled her and Inuyasha while they hunted for the shards of the Shikon. And he was often accompanied by a small toad-like creature.

"Sesshomaru?"

Kagome Keshikaran, Shippo, and even the Russian woman stopped all talking and turned wide, shocked eyes on me.

Inuyasha? Are you sure you're okay?

Kagome stayed close by him as they walked, staring up at the hanyou with a worried, almost motherly gaze. She spoke aloud as well as just within his mind, practically begging a response from him. But the only answers she got were stiff and usually consisted of a grunt and a gruff, "Stop being a pest about everything Kagome! I'm not a baby like Shippo!"

The kitsune took offence to that. He hovered on either Miroku or Sango's shoulders, muttering to himself irritably or staring after the couple walking ahead with his own concerned gaze. He understood something strange was going on, but he didn't dare ask the hanyou himself. Miroku and Sango walked side by side, also quietly watching the interacting couple ahead of them.

For respect of the couple's privacy, the other members of the group had taken to walking further away from them, trailing. The pace Inuyasha had set for that day, only an hour or so after they'd awoken and set out from the night spent at the miners' camp, was slow and gradual. It was almost too slow, a pace that Inuyasha rarely accepted while they were traveling. Miroku, Sango, and Kagome normally had to move swiftly on their legs to keep up a steady walking pace with the hanyou. Today they moved so slowly it was almost possible to pass by the disgruntled hanyou.

It seemed that most often, if the pace was this slow, someone was either injured, or direly distracted with other matters. It seemed, from the quiet grumping coming from Inuyasha, that it was the latter of those two possibilities.

"Things were going so well for them," Sango murmured shaking her head.

Miroku sighed loudly, glancing between Shippo on his shoulder and Sango wearily. "Maybe it's better if they…"

Sango was nodding before the monk had finished his sentence. "Naraku, yes." Her lips were smashed firmly together into a thin white line of unhappiness. "There won't be any living with them then."

Shippo squirmed down nervously into Miroku's shoulder and whispered, "Inuyasha's sick."

That got looks from all of the travelers around him, Sango, Miroku and Kilala. There was a silence before Miroku asked, "Are you sure?"

Shippo nodded. His green eyes were locked very carefully on the hanyou's backsides up ahead.

"Is Kagome—"

"Kagome's fine." Shippo answered Sango's question even before she'd voiced all of it. "It's just Inuyasha. He's been poisoned."

The alarmed expressions passed over both Miroku and Sango's faces like thick thunderclouds blotting out the sunlight. On the ground, voicing her own opinion to agree with Shippo's, Kilala mewed mournfully and leapt onto Sango's shoulder.

Ahead of them one of Inuyasha's white dog ears twisted backward, hearing his name one too many times. Shippo tensed and froze on Miroku's shoulder, fearfully.

Unaware of Inuyasha's attention on their conversation, Miroku asked, "Will he be alright?"

There was an irritated growling from inside the hanyou's throat that immediately caught everyone's ears. "I'd be fine if you idiots would stop asking stupid questions!"

"Inuyasha—" Kagome reached for his long red sleeve, clearly scolding, but he made a sound that was something like "Feh" and pulled away. Stiffly, and with clear effort, the hanyou sped up somewhat, leaping once to gain distance. Normally, after a little spat he would have jumped several times, until he was nearly out of sight further along the road. But, confirming Shippo's diagnosis, this day the hanyou didn't bother exerting the extra effort to make his point.

For a short time the group walked on, silently, contemplating the events that had just unfolded. The sunlight was growing hazy as the day wore on, oddly enough. There were a few wispy clouds in the sky, and the temperature was climbing higher, as was the humidity. The days of high, hot summer were still lingering. There was no sign of rain clouds anywhere in the sky. Breaking the monotony of walking in such weather, the Shard-hunters were thankful for the occasional breeze that floated through, refreshing and gentle.

Then, as the humans and the small demons of the group topped one particularly large hill, they saw that Inuyasha had vanished from in front of them. Kagome, having reached the top first, stood still, staring out at the road ahead of them. Her brown eyes narrowed, not with emotion at the disappearance, but with concentration as she reached out and prodded the link she shared with their leader.

Inuyasha?

The link was thick with the hanyou's misery. Kagome hadn't needed a demon's nose to understand that he was sick. She could feel ripples of his pain stirring in her own guts, sympathy pains brought on by the link. As she'd walked beside him Kagome had easily noticed that the half demon was pale, with heavy gray encircling his eyes, a mark of suffering. Topping it all off was the fact that she could see the sweat beading on his brow. He'd told her that he'd eaten something that hadn't agreed with him—but she knew there was more to it than that, so she'd pestered him. And, as could be predicted, Inuyasha stormed off.

"Where'd he go?" Sango stood beside Kagome, shielding her eyes with one hand from the afternoon sunlight overhead and holding a dozing Kilala with the other.

"He's sick." Kagome answered, frowning. She could feel her mate's stomach convulsing through the link, and her own fluttered sickeningly in response. Yes, he was certainly sick all right. Inuyasha's retreat made more sense to her now: he was somewhere out of earshot, vomiting.

"Is he…" Sango stared at Kagome with a nervous, worried look, as if they were talking about cancer rather than stomach ailments. With the half demon maybe they were. Inuyasha wasn't prone to illness…

Kagome tucked away that little nugget of worry with a frown. She tugged on the link again, and still found only physical misery. Inuyasha? Please, is there anything I can do to—

She stopped, her attention suddenly absorbed by a dust cloud that had appeared in the distance. Miroku and Sango had stepped ahead and were pointing it out to one another. Shippo and Kilala, both on the ground now, had toddled up behind the humans curiously.

As a little waft of breeze floated through their area, brought from the little whirl of dust down the road, Kagome noticed it came with a scent. The smell was thick and musty, or it would have been if she'd smelled it more directly rather than on a breeze. Even so the scent left her feeling uncomfortable. She shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly looking around for Inuyasha with an urgency she didn't understand.

The smell—it meant something to her. It brought a meaning, a feeling.

She saw Kilala snort and back away, sheltering behind Sango's green skirted legs. Shippo, meanwhile, leapt onto Miroku's shoulder, slipping a little to bump into the monk's staff, making it jangle. Shippo too was sniffing at the wind. Kagome couldn't see the kit's face, but she did see his little ears fold backwards. When he spoke his findings they didn't surprise Kagome, even though they should have.

"It's Kouga."

There was a second of silence as Miroku and Sango took in the dust cloud and Shippo's announcement. Then they moaned and turned in unison to shelter Kagome from the coming disaster. In previous visits by the wolf youkai the Shard-hunters—with the ever present exception of Inuyasha, would have tolerated Kouga's arrival with more acceptance. If they had to choose a youkai to meet on the road it was certainly preferable to run into Kouga rather than some very hungry, bloodthirsty spider demon. But now Kouga was regarded differently, since he had tried to forcibly take Kagome away from them the last time.

Now that they knew she had "consummated" her link with Inuyasha, the question remained, how would Kouga react?

Sango was squeezing Kagome's forearm reassuringly, shaking her slightly for emphasis. "Kagome, we won't let anything happen to you, whether Inuyasha is here or not."

The slayer's brown eyes were fierce even through the warmth she clearly felt for Kagome. She stared past the schoolgirl, looking to Miroku and Shippo. In front of them Kilala had taken up a defensive position, ready to transform into her larger form if the need arose. Looking at them Kagome was filled with comfort and a strength of her own at how well the group functioned. They were like a family all on their own, each with his or her own purpose, and each united to take a stand for one of its members.

All but Inuyasha.

The dust cloud drew closer, bringing with it an increase in the wind. Shippo coughed and spluttered on Miroku's shoulder, but the monk moved his staff, letting Shippo use it as a sort of rail to support himself and keep his balance while he choked. Kilala's fur bristled and she shook, dislodging the dust before it could accumulate. The humans squinted their eyes, frowning.

And then, abruptly, the wind and the dust vanished. The air was clear, though the sun was still hazy at its zenith. The day might've been normal and almost perfect again, if not for what the wind and the dust had left behind in their wake.

The arrogant Kouga, with his smug grin and bright blue eyes, was left in front of them. His first expression was one of confidence as he regarded the Shard-hunters, though his stance was stiff—he likely expected Inuyasha to attack him immediately. But when he gave the group a once-over and saw nothing of his enemy, the dreaded hanyou, Kouga's arrogant smirk was shaken slightly. The blue eyes roved not over the group then, but over the countryside around them.

It was while he was still looking about for his rival that Kouga at last addressed Kagome and the group. "Hey Kagome, I came back for you—just like I said I would. I'm loyal like that, unlike a lot of other stinking dogs I know…"

The wolf prince turned back to Kagome when he'd finished speaking and grinned a little too wide, a little too cocky. His tail flicked back and forth behind him. "I don't see mutt-face anywhere…?"

The Shard-hunters were silent, meeting Kouga's every word with stiffness. The moment stretched out uncomfortably, until Kagome lost her patience and finally broke it by stepping outside of Miroku and Sango's protective line, facing Kouga more directly.

"I'm sorry Kouga," she started, carefully but with conviction, "I know you're thinking you've come to take me away but—I'm staying here. With my friends." She changed her tone minutely, giving the next two words deeper meaning. "With Inuyasha."

The gentler gleam in Kouga's eyes flashed, instantly changing from friendly to deadly. Though he might've been sweet to Kagome in the past, there was no denying that he wasn't human, at his core he was the wolf youkai, and among wolves disputes were settled with violence and blood. The strongest male was the victor, always. And the female had no say in the matter.

"I don't see dog shit anywhere to stand up for you." Kouga took a step forward, stiff and menacing. He had eyes only for Kagome, the other Shard-hunters were as good as invisible to him. "I can smell his stink here, but he sure as hell ain't here to defend you."

The wolf demon's blue eyes narrowed, dark and intense, "Why would you try to stay with mutt-face?"

He was coming closer, and Kagome could see his nostrils flaring, seeking her scent. A flutter of fear made her stumble backwards, like a clumsy puppy. But it was too late; Kouga had gotten what he wanted to know. He stopped a few short yards from her, tense and focused and unblinking.

And then his handsome face twisted into a thick, hateful sneer. "So dog shit claimed you, did he?" Kouga withdrew slightly and spat, disgustedly, "And now the coward is off hiding from it, eh?"

"No, Inuyasha is sick—he hasn't left any of us." Miroku stepped forward to stand more directly at Kagome's side. Kilala and Sango followed suit, the tiny fire cat growled warningly at the slayer's feet, ready for battle.

"He's sick?" Kouga echoed, suddenly appearing a little too interested in the hanyou's welfare. A slow look of cunning entered his eyes.

"Hey! You leave Inuyasha alone! You—you big stinky wolf!"

Kouga turned an almost startled expression on the kit that had spoken, and then grinned leeringly, showing teeth that appeared unusually sharp to the Shard-hunters. "What was that?"

Shippo squirmed and whimpered on Miroku's shoulder, trying to hide behind the monk's rather narrow neck. He might've started taking back his words in the interest of self-preservation, but at that moment Kagome stepped up, her face twisted in anger.

"Kouga," she half-growled, sounding not unlike some female version of Inuyasha, "I want you to leave!"

The wolf prince snorted and turned his nose to the wind, sniffing and snorting. "You don't have a say in this, Kagome. You're human and he's a mongrel, neither of you understand real youkai—but you will." The smile he offered was entirely feral, wild in a way that made Kagome's intestines coil in on themselves, like snakes.

Mere weeks ago, in fact only days ago, Kagome would've felt helplessness close over her, like water sucking her into its depths for drowning. Yet now, rather than panic or fear or helplessness, she felt her muscles stiffening and the tiny hairs all over her body stood on end. She didn't back away from the wolf prince; in fact she started to step forward.

Moving protectively, Sango, Miroku, Kilala and Shippo all stepped forward as well, but Kagome pushed them back firmly. Strained, almost panicked expressions covered the faces of the humans, but the demons obeyed unquestioningly.

"I'm not going with you." Kagome muttered in a surprisingly quiet but strong tone.

Kouga shifted on his heel, turning to face her. One of his thick, black eyebrows was raised curiously. "Kagome?" he grunted.

"I'm not going with you." Kagome repeated, sternly. "Go away and leave us alone."

Kouga's blue eyes flashed dangerously. His body language changed, stiffening once more. He turned so that Kagome could see the full expanse of his strong, muscular chest. It was a stance he'd often used when he was posturing with Inuyasha, but never before had he used it on Kagome. Now he regarded the human female as he might an enemy.

"You don't have a choice, little bitch."

Kagome nearly winced at the term he'd used, but instincts she hadn't known she possessed forced her to react like stone. If she flinched and showed him weakness now she'd be taken away from the others, from Inuyasha. Inuyasha would never let her go, she knew that was true, but the next meeting between these rivals would be to the death and Kagome wasn't truly interested in risking that.

She tugged on her link again, probing Inuyasha and felt a surge of strength and relief as she realized that he was coming, rushing with everything he had to aid her.

Kouga took a step closer, stiff and fierce. Words were a human tool; posture and energy were the tools of canine demons. Kouga understood Kagome's challenge of his dominance, and he refused to let her get away with it. One small movement of weakness would undermine everything and allow him to scoop her up and take her away for good.

The others waited tensely, uncertain of what was happening. They were all ready to spring in defense of Kagome, should she need it.

With a snarl, Kouga moved forward, almost as if he'd attack Kagome. The lighter, more agile young woman twisted away from him with more speed than he'd anticipated. With his first lunge ending in failure, Kouga pulled out all the stops. Whirling around to face her again, he raced toward her again, prepared to pick her up and simply cart her away this time—hopefully before the demon slayer, the monk, and the small demons tried to stop him.

But when he took hold of her—with his speed it wasn't hard to do—a shock of energy like electricity passed through him. It set every pain receptor in his arms and up into his shoulders, neck, and head, alive with fiery pain. He cried out and let go of her, stumbling some distance backward. Kagome, meanwhile, stayed standing, though her arms were shaking and her knees wobbled away underneath her. Along her skin every tiny hair was raised, flickering with waves of her hidden priestesses' magic. In the dark she might've glowed like some bioluminescent fish from a deep sea rift. In the hazy afternoon sunlight the pulsing energy was unseen, though Kagome could feel it coursing through her body more acutely than ever before.

Sango and Shippo immediately ran towards Kagome, taking up defensive positions even as they inundated her with worried questions. Miroku kept his silence for the moment and instead stood between Kagome and the wolf prince, ready to take the prayer beads away from his hands to use the powerful winds of his cursed hand. Kilala growled and transformed in a ball of flame, taking a position next to the monk.

Kouga was recovering with unusual slowness. He shook his head and tripped over his own furred feet as he tried to get up. The posturing rage of moments before had dissipated. He had yet to even register the world outside his own pain.

Circumstances refused to give him the time he needed to recover. Luck it seemed was not on his side that day.

"Kouga!" a shout from the trees to the group's right made everyone stare as Inuyasha appeared. The hanyou was wasting no time in rescuing Kagome now that he was here. There was no pause for the exchange of insults. There was no outbreak of posturing. Instead there was just the roar of the Tetsusaiga as it unleashed Inuyasha's fury on the wolf prince.

Kouga had time enough only to drop down and roll, avoiding the main brunt of the blast. Kagome's purifying energy had as good as drugged him, sapping his own demonic energy. The effect made him horribly slow and weak. Though Inuyasha wasn't in top form either, the chances were still against the wolf. Inuyasha as a half demon shouldn't have been able to match Kouga ever, and yet Inuyasha was as fierce an opponent as any full blooded youkai.

Those basic calculations passed through his mind at about the same time as the Tetsusaiga's blow hit him. The windscar tore at his flesh, at his clothes. The wounds were painful, but not serious. Yet the first blood shed in this battle was already his own, and he was too weak to face an enraged mate. Inuyasha was no longer just a stinky half dog-demon, he was now a creature with a mate to care for, and that mate had been threatened. Among canines the worst crimes another could commit was to threaten a member of the family or the pack.

As the blow passed Kouga gritted his teeth, facing the inevitable. He had to relinquish the battle, surrender, or run away. All outcomes were dishonorable, but they were preferable to dying at the hands of half-demon scum.

In the dust left swirling by the windscar, Inuyasha raced forward, screeching with rage. "Kouga! Wolf shit! Where the hell—"

Kouga's scent was around in the dust, the faint odor of blood. That coaxed Inuyasha on, frenziedly. "Come out coward! Wolf shit!" he spat at the ground, panting and cringed at the taste of vomit in his mouth, still stuck in a few places in his mouth.

The dust slowly diffused out into the already hazy air, taking Kouga's scent with it. Inuyasha trotted around the area, Tetsusaiga still drawn and at the ready. The Shard-hunters waited in the distance, silent and waiting for Inuyasha to realize that Kouga had gone, vanishing as suddenly as he'd appeared.

At long last the hanyou stopped with his back to the others, stiffening. His shoulders heaved as he breathed heavily. His fingers, where they clasped Tetsusaiga, were unusually pale. His guts still writhed and clenched with the remnants of the poison he'd self-medicated himself with earlier.

And yet, in the back of his mind, he could feel Kagome again, worried and shaken. He could sense the magic about her, stirred by her need to defend herself, by her need to stay with him…

He wanted Kouga back so that he could fight the wolf, tear him to shreds, rip him apart with his bloodthirsty claws. It would be for revenge, in defense of Kagome who was so completely his—and it would be a release, a way to avoid the longing that was swarming over him with every second that passed bringing them closer to nightfall again.

He needed control, but the poison hadn't worked. His body had rejected the stuff and was swiftly recovering. What would Kagome think, if she'd glimpsed the animal side of him, uncontrolled and ever-hungry? She'd be terrified, just as he himself was terrified of it.

She tickled the edges of his mind. Inuyasha? Are you okay? He's gone. I wouldn't let him take me…

There were no words that came to his mind in response, but he allowed his mind to latch onto hers, curling around it like a mother dog around her nursing puppies. For now his fatigue controlled his desire, the remaining pain in his stomach kept his body unresponsive. But later he would be unable to resist the invisible call that Kagome had on him. He would be out of control, no better than his wild, blood-craving full demon form.

That knowledge shamed him.

Slowly, with sagging shoulders and drooping ears, he grunted to the others, "Let's go."

The Shard-hunters began walking again, but this time Inuyasha lead them by a great distance, alone with his troubled thoughts, and shielding them from a very confused and worried Kagome.

Slithering along in the underbrush of the forest alongside the road, a small ugly brown lizard traveled parallel to the Shard-hunters. He had a keen sense of miko's energy emanating from the group. It was imbedded strongly in one of the two beings he was supposed to watch most carefully over. The human female who carried the Shikon jewel around her neck.

It was a careful game of cat and mouse that the miko didn't know was being played. The lizard demon—Eki—knew he had to stay just outside of the miko's senses. As a tiny demon, with a body only about the size of a man's index finger, he exerted such a tiny amount of energy that he could approach the Shard-hunters much closer than other, larger demons. Also he because he was seemingly too small to be a threat, the miko might mistaken him for one of the smaller demons traveling with them—the kitsune or the fire cat.

His sharp, multiple senses were really what set him apart—that and his link to his master, Naraku.

They are on the move, Master. They move slowly. The hanyou is ill, but beyond his illness he is consumed by lust, besot by instinct. The miko is stressed and distracted. The others are confused, Master. An attack now would make them easy fodder…

As the sun climbed higher Eki got his response swiftly.

Stay quiet. It is not yet time. Continue as you are.

The lizard did not question his master. He didn't have enough intelligence really to do so. He continued to slither and slip through the weeds and leaf litter.

Yes, Master.

Eki, Naraku called through the tiny demon's thoughts, making him freeze, awaiting the latest updated command. You must always remain submissive. Do not ever pose them a threat. And Eki…

The lizard cocked his head, straining to hear and understand the order that was coming through the psychic airwaves.

Watch the miko carefully. When her scent or her energies change let me know.