CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE:
Chapter Twenty Six

Inu Yasha paused outside the condo with his hand on the doorknob. Something felt strange. What was it? He let go of the knob, then gripped it again and flung open the door with enough force to make it slam into the back wall and almost swing back into his face. He sniffed, listened. His shoulders sagged. Oh. That was it. No one was home. The place was empty. He spied a note with his name written on it in big, red characters propped up against a glass on the counter top, pushed the door shut and went to read the rest of the note.

"We went shopping in town," read the note, "back in a few hours." At the bottom were the names Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, Sango, Yuki, Shunusuke and Myouga. Inu Yasha threw the note back onto the counter with a derisive snort. What in the world could a flea want with fancy dress up clothes? It wasn't as if he actually had anyone he could dance with tomorrow night. He was a flea! Probably just didn't want to be left out.

Inu Yasha headed for the bathroom, stripping off his shirt as he went. He dumped it and the rest of his clothes into the hamper, then went into the next room to fill the tub and start washing himself before having a well-earned soak. After sniffing several bars of soap, he decided upon a woody scented one, then got to work on his gritty skin. As he washed, he found himself wondering what kind of outfit Kagome would buy for the ball, only to realize his imagination had no raw material to work with when he tried to picture what passed for formal wear in this time. Judging from the rest of the clothes he'd seen, it would probably be nothing like what he knew back home. And just what in the hell was a tuxedo? Men's formal dress, obviously, but what did it look like? And why did it need to be fitted? He hoped it wasn't supposed to be tight. One night in tight pants had been quite enough for him, thank you (though Kagome had seemed to like it).

He turned on the shower hose and rinsed himself off, then slipped into the bath, unable to wait until it had finished filling, and closed his eyes with a sigh. He imagined Kagome in layer upon layer of silk kimono, each as bright as a jewel. The topmost one was misty pink with big, white chrysanthemums on it. Her hair was done up with gold and mother of pearl combs and ornaments, and she wore the Jewel of Four Souls about her neck—a larger pearl on a string of smaller ones. He was in formal kimono, his father's crest on the breast and back of the shirt, the Tetsusaiga at his waist. His hair was in a ponytail, like a samurai.

"Mmm…that's how it should be…" he thought with smile.

Kagome looked at him shyly, her pretty, painted mouth hidden behind her fan. As he took her hand, music began—not that loud stuff Shunusuke played, but the sort of music his mother had played for him, the kind that was heard in a royal court. Around them, he saw their friends, all in formal kimono. Even Miroku's robes looked rich and well-made. Inu Yasha forced himself not to imagine anyone else there, especially not his brother or Hisui or those infernal kitsune. There was a light fragrance of flowers in the air all around Kagome, and soon she was all he could see: Just her dewy eyes, perfect face and heart-stopping smile. They danced as they had at the shindig, something people in his time would have found appalling, but the incongruity didn't bother him at all. He could almost feel the silk of her kimono beneath his hands and beneath that, her warm, soft curves.

The water level felt high enough, but rather than break out of his fantasy, Inu Yasha switched off the faucets with his toes (and felt pretty proud of his own dexterity). Suddenly, he groaned and thought miserably: "Why does that stupid dance have to be tomorrow night? Why can't it be tonight? Or the next night? It's not fair!" He knew he had to go home, it was the only way to escape detection and prying questions. It occurred to him again that this was information Sesshomaru would probably want to have sooner or later so he could plan his brother's assignments around it. Maybe he could hide it from Sesshomaru until they finished gathering the Jewel shards, and he became human full-time.

GASP! Inu Yasha realized what he'd just thought and sunk into the water up to his eyeballs in shock. There'd been no indecisiveness in that thought, no wondering if going human was what he really wanted. Just a definite "when he became human full-time. " He blew bubbles as the princely Inu Yasha in his daydream went from demon to human in a blink.

"I'm still handsome like that," he thought, trying to bolster his spirits as he came up for air. "But does Kagome think so? She's seen me human…she never said anything, though." He sunk and blew bubbles again. What if Kagome liked him better this way? After all, it was a half-demon she'd fallen for, not a human! Ok, what if he went for full-demon? As he surfaced, he imagined himself with his father's distinctive face markings (which Sesshomaru had gotten) and Sesshomaru's smugly disinterested expression.

"GAH! That's awful!" He splashed the far wall as if to wash away that unpleasant fantasy. Ugh. If he did become a full-demon, he'd never make that Sesshomaru face! What did Hisui see in that guy, anyway? Furthermore, what did Sesshomaru see in a childish bitch like her? Hisui whined more than a baby with soiled swaddling (and Sesshomaru's face always looked like he was smelling it). Inu Yasha giggled at that and returned to happier thoughts.

What if he did decide to become fully human after they had the Jewel and had destroyed Naraku (there was no doubt in his mind that they'd do that)? Would Kagome agree to marry him, or would she make him wait? If what Sesshomaru had said was true, she wouldn't make him wait—but how old were they when Sesshomaru allegedly saw Kagome pregnant? "Feh! That's just bullshit he made up to scare her! Pregnant! Ha!" Yeah, right. Kagome wasn't like that. She'd wait till she married, he was sure of it. So…were they married when Sesshomaru—ACK! He had to stop thinking about that!

Too late. The Kagome in his daydream now had a big belly pushing out the silks under her obi. She still looked cute, though, he thought with a smirk. Ok, thought Inu Yasha, if Kagome was a mother, then maybe… "Heh. Perfect." Now Yuki and Sango were "out to there", too, and married to Miroku and Shunusuke, respectively. One big, happy family. Except Shippo, who was too young to take a mate, of course. "Oh, what the hell!" Inu Yasha threw in a very pregnant Hisui and married her to Sesshomaru, then knocked up Gin and paired her with Shinnai (so what if he couldn't stand her). Mikoto and his wife—the woman in Yuki's picture—showed up, but she wasn't pregnant, since she'd looked too old for that to him. Mikoto was furious that Yuki had married beneath her station, and Shunusuke had married a demon hunter—but he was happy about grandchildren.

Up on the roof, Gin wondered what was so damn funny in there.

Jaken hid behind a tree and watched the kitsune woman sit on the roof of Asano's house and get more and more vexed. What was she doing up there? And what had her so frustrated? She certainly couldn't be stuck up there. As soon as she tapped her ear, he had his answer: She was spying on his master's brother. This was not good. How long had she been doing that? He squinted at her, trying to remember if he'd ever seen her in Lady Hisui's company. No, never. One of Mikoto Asano's, then. Well, Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't be pleased if he knew about this. Jaken reached into his coat for his cell phone, then hesitated. A memory had just resurfaced, a memory of Inu Yasha's woman grinding her foot into his face. She'd done that far too many times, in fact. He took his hand out of his coat and started to walk away and leave the kitsune to her spying, then stopped. Lord Sesshomaru would want to know Asano was poking his nose into his business.

"Fine!" Jaken muttered under his breath and made the call. He decided revenge would have to wait until he could be sure it wouldn't anger his master. "You owe me, Inu Yasha!"

Inu Yasha answered the door with a towel wrapped around his waist, thinking it must be his friends returned home early until he got a whiff of what lay beyond as he opened the door. He started to slam it in Jaken's face, then remembered the two of them were working for the same jerk and stopped himself. "It hasn't been two hours yet," he began as Jaken walked between his legs and went to perch himself on one of the living room chairs. He held a finger to his lips to silence Inu Yasha, then jabbed a thumb at the ceiling. He handed Inu Yasha a note, then held the finger to his lips again with a meaningful glare.

Inu Yasha read it. He snarled up at the ceiling, then returned the note to Jaken. "Get off my roof, Gin, you nosy bitch, or I'll have Kagome put a collar on you again!"

Jaken buried his face in his hands. "You moron—Wait. Did you just say Kagome put a collar on her?"

Inu Yasha grinned from ear to ear.

"I told you," Gin growled as she appeared behind Inu Yasha, "I'm a vixen, not a bitch."

"Yip!"

Inu Yasha spun around and swatted her groping hand away from his butt, but not fast enough to prevent her from getting a claw into the towel. When her hand went, so did the towel. Inu Yasha's hands flew south to cover himself, and his face turned bright red as both Jaken and Gin had a good laugh at his expense.

"Nice ass, kit!" Gin giggled and teased him by waving the towel just within his reach, forcing him to make a choice between exposing himself long enough to grab the towel or just ignoring her.

He chose to grab the towel, then ignore her. She wouldn't let him do either. "Ooh! Not bad, not bad! And to think I'd always heard half-bloods were inferior. My, oh, my was I wrong!"

"SHUT UP!" Inu Yasha tried to get past her and into his bedroom to find something to wear, but she just disappeared and reappeared in his path.
"I think she was complimenting you," Jaken snorted.

Inu Yasha didn't hear him. He was too busy trying to shred Gin's hide and cover himself at the same time. She waved the towel between them and said: "Toro! Toro!" as she blocked his path—darting right to cover one bedroom, then left to cover the bathroom, then the other bedroom, then back again.

At last, Inu Yasha could take it no more. With a mighty roar, he let go of himself, grabbed her by the hair and smashed his forehead into hers with enough force to make both their heads spin. Gin went down with a little trickle of blood on her forehead and a mumbled: "…can't take a joke…" Triumphant, Inu Yasha reclaimed his towel, stepped over her into the bedroom, and closed the door to get dressed.

Outside, Jaken checked to make sure Gin was still alive and wasn't entirely sure it pleased him to know she was. He looked at the bedroom door and shook his head. What had Lord Sesshomaru been thinking when he'd hired that loose canon? Oh the humiliation of it all, having to work with the disgusting whelp who'd embarrassed and abused him time and again centuries ago. And being the master's brother, Inu Yasha would probably enjoy a nice, high status—the sort of status he, Jaken, had worked for, and Inu Yasha had not! Hmph. Maybe Lord Sesshomaru would remember his old hatred for his brother and force Inu Yasha to start at the very bottom, just like everyone else. Perhaps, Lord Sesshomaru would even put his faithful Jaken in charge of the little bastard! Jaken positively trembled with glee at the very idea of being able to give orders to Inu Yasha and punish him when he disobeyed. Ooh! Or he could use the boy's ignorance of this modern world to make a fool out of him! Sweet.

The ringing of his cellular phone popped his wet dream like a bubble. "It's me."

"Jaken," Sesshomaru asked, "did you get rid of the kitsune?"

Jaken looked down at Gin's unconscious form. From the other side of the door, Inu Yasha giggled smugly. "Not as such, My Lord, but she's not listening to us anymore."

"Explain."

"Inu Yasha head-butted her, and she's currently lying unconscious at my feet," Jaken replied with a weary little sigh. "My Lord, are you sure hiring him was a good idea? He seems a bit, um, irrational."

Sesshomaru chuckled darkly. "You're questioning my judgment, Jaken."

"N-n-no, My Lord!" Jaken hastened to apologize. "I was just saying that Lord Inu Yasha might have certain…personality flaws—YIKE!"

Inu Yasha threw open the door and grabbed Jaken around the neck with one hand and the cell phone with the other. "I don't have personality flaws!" He shouted at Jaken and into the phone at the same time. He shook his brother's servant until Jaken started turning colors. "And even if I do, Sesshomaru's got 'em, too, since we come from the same stock! Are you saying Sesshomaru's got personality flaws, toad?"

Jaken coughed. "I rest…my case…"

"AND WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Inu Yasha shook Jaken so hard the little demon passed out. "Oops." He threw Jaken across the room where he landed in a chair.

On the phone, Sesshomaru was almost frantic (almost, that is). "Inu Yasha, answer me! 'Oops' what? What did you just do?! Jaken!"

Inu Yasha cleared his throat and composed himself before holding the phone near his face and telling his brother very calmly: "Jaken had a little accident, but he'll be just fine in a few hours…days…maybe—"

Sesshomaru growled. "'Maybe'…?"

Inu Yasha coughed. "Probably." Pause. "Hang on." He walked over to the chair and examined Jaken for signs of life and/or a broken neck. "He's alive, and his neck's not broken. Damn the luck."

"Damn you if he was dead," Sesshomaru warned in a terrifying tone that put a chill down Inu Yasha's spine, "or had a broken neck. I pulled your ass out of the fire today, brother, and Jaken just pulled it out again. The least you could do is not kill him for it."

Rat smelly bastard, Inu Yasha thought. What he said was: "I said he'll recover."

"Say you're sorry," Sesshomaru hissed, "and I might overlook this."

"Like hell I'll—"

"How much do you think Gin heard?" Sesshomaru asked coolly, cutting off Inu Yasha's retort abruptly. Silence greeted his question. Good, Inu Yasha was thinking about it. "What have you people been discussing in there that might be useful to Asano? He was a little too accepting of our arrangement, didn't you think?" More thoughtful silence. "Don't imagine his relationship with Hisui is as distant as he makes it appear, brother."

"You think he's actually working with Hisui against me?" Inu Yasha countered skeptically. "Why? The Jewel? I thought he'd given up on it, and you were talking Hisui out of it."

Sesshomaru gave a short, disgusted chuckle. "Hisui was too easily convinced. I changed her mind in a matter of minutes. She acted as if she'd never seriously intended to make a play for the Jewel." He growled. "I know her well enough to know how suspicious that is."

Inu Yasha smirked and joked humorlessly: "Must suck not to be able trust your own girlfriend."

Another dry chuckle. "And I suppose you trust yours unquestioningly? What does she think of you always chasing after her rival whenever Kikyou appears?"

Inu Yasha bit his lip and snarled: "That's none of your business!"

"She's jealous, I imagine," Sesshomaru went on, twisting the knife a little more. "I have no rivals in Hisui's mind. This is a wonderful turn of events for me, since for centuries I had an endless stream of rivals for her affections—human rivals, Inu Yasha. Have you any idea how humiliating that is?"

"Don't know, don't care," Inu Yasha muttered. Then suddenly he changed his tune and asked: "What became of Kikyou in the end? Will you tell me that?"

Pause. "Not 'what became of Kagome in the end'?"

Ka-thump! Did something bad happen to Kagome? That possibility had never occurred to him. That Kagome wouldn't be with him till the end of their quest, that both of them wouldn't survive to marry and live happily ever after (albeit with him working for Sesshomaru)—that had never once entered his mind. Not even when she was in the gravest danger. Somehow, some way, he'd always known she'd be ok. "What happens to Kagome, Sesshomaru? And don't give me any of your lying bullshit, either! I want the truth!"

"Pick one," his brother replied, obviously enjoying the aggravation he was causing, "Kikyou or Kagome. Whose fate means the most to you?"

"Whose fate do you know?"

There was a brief pause, then Sesshomaru laughed. "Well said, little brother. The truth is…"

Inu Yasha sucked in his breath and waited impatiently for his brother to finish his sentence.

"The truth is, I can't tell you what happened in the past, lest it affect your actions when you return to it."

"Bastard." Inu Yasha grouched.

To which Sesshomaru replied: "And which of us is the Great Demon of the Western Lands: The legitimately born son, or the bastard? In the end, birthright doesn't mean much, does it? Have you had your bath?"

"What?" Inu Yasha was thoroughly taken aback by Sesshomaru's sudden shifting of gears. "Y-yeah. I'm not letting you cut my hair, if that's what you want me to do now."

"Again with the hair fetish…" Sesshomaru sighed irritably. "I said a small trim, nothing more. Get over it."

"No. I've changed my mind: No trim." Inu Yasha grinned. "Get over it."

Sesshomaru muttered a stream of colorful invectives before ending with: "Dammit, Inu Yasha, if I say you're getting a haircut, you're getting a fucking haircut! Now dump the kitsune someplace and get over here! And bring Jaken with you."

Their wills battled across the airwaves for several more minutes until Sesshomaru threatened to cut him loose and make him fair game for Hisui and Mikoto again. Finally, Inu Yasha gave in and followed orders, feeling the agony of it all the while.

Sesshomaru's comments about humans and bloodlines made up Inu Yasha's mind: He'd hide his secret from his brother for as long as he possibly could. Meanwhile, he'd invent a suitably urgent reason to go home, which would hopefully get him out of the haircut as well as being seen as a human by his enemies. He wouldn't need a trim to go back in time, right? Maybe if he argued enough, Sesshomaru would decide forcing him to cut his hair was more trouble than it was worth and just give up on the idea. And maybe grass would grow out of the sky, and Yuki Asano would hate men.

He left Gin on the beach and headed for the Green Mermaid on foot, carrying Jaken under one arm like a melon. He chose to walk instead of fly because that way he'd have more time to think up a plan for getting out of going to the ball without making Sesshomaru suspicious or having to take Kagome with him. She at least should be allowed to have fun, even if it meant dancing with Shunusuke or Miroku, or someone like that. He had to laugh at himself: Just five days ago he couldn't stand the idea of Kagome having fun without him, especially not in the company of another male. She'd insist on going with him, of course, to make his departure more believable, but that would mean taking the others home, too. He didn't want to spoil their good time, either. It was good to see Sango so happy (and flattered by Shunusuke's attention, though she wouldn't admit it), and Miroku, as well. The monk was positively delirious with joy at having found a woman who'd sleep with him, even if she wouldn't agree to bear his child. Inu Yasha had a feeling Miroku hoped an accident would happen, and Yuki would get pregnant. What would Miroku do when it was time to leave? He couldn't very well take Yuki with him and he couldn't stay here because of his need to avenge his family on Naraku. Would Yuki wait for him? Hmph! Inu Yasha didn't think that girl was the type to carry a torch for any man. Well, if she hurt his friend's feelings, that slutty bitch would have to deal with him! Unless Miroku stopped him again.

No, he had to go alone. The only other person he'd consider taking with him was Myouga but he doubted the flea would go if it seemed Inu Yasha was heading into great danger. So what excuse could he make that wouldn't make his friends feel they had to come along to help him? SIGH!

Or should he just fess up to Sesshomaru and let big brother handle inventing an alibi for him? Presumably, Sesshomaru had more experience dealing with Hisui's Jedi mind tricks and would be able to fool her. Even if he couldn't, Inu Yasha would already be in the past where the Great Demon of the North couldn't get to him.

Inu Yasha paused. She could still get to whoever was left behind, couldn't she? Kagome, her family, their friends. How far would Hisui go to get the Jewel? Inu Yasha agreed with Sesshomaru: Hisui hadn't given up on taking the Jewel, not by any stretch of the imagination.

"BOO!"

"SHIT!" Inu Yasha spun about, ready for a fight, then saw who it was and relaxed with a disgusted snarl. "Go away!" He snapped and turned his back on Shinai to carry on toward the hotel.

Naturally, Shinai didn't go away. "I saw Gin back there," he said companionably as he trotted next to Inu Yasha. "Your work, I assume? Nice job."

"Bugger off."

Shinai grinned. "I hear you're working for Sesshomaru now. Sucks to be you."

Inu Yasha stopped to glare at the kitsune, who ignored him in favor of Jaken. Tapping Jaken's head with one claw, he giggled: "Did you do him, too? Bet Sesshomaru was pissed!"

"Get lost!"

Shinai's grin broadened. "I have information you might want—"

"I doubt it," Inu Yasha growled and started walking again, Shinai still pacing him.

"Tachimora's back."

Inu Yasha stopped in his tracks. "You're lying."

"Nope. Saw him talking to Mikoto a few minutes ago." Shinai hopped in front of Inu Yasha to get a good look at his reaction and was a bit disappointed to see the demon wasn't buying his story.

"The hell you say." Inu Yasha walked around Shinai with a dangerous glare. Then he thought about it: Mikoto supposedly made Tachimora "disappear", so presumably he could make him "reappear". If what Shinai said was true, this was a very alarming development, indeed. He stopped walking again. "Mikoto brought him back?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

Shinai shrugged. "From the conversation I overheard, I think he's here to mess with your girlfriend so you'll give Mikoto those Jewel shards you have."

So Mikoto wasn't giving up, either. What an idiot. All that bullshit about not wanting the Jewel because he'd have to fight Naraku… This was getting pretty old. "What does Hisui that?"

Shinai had to get in front of Inu Yasha again to make the other demon look at him. "I haven't told her yet. I thought you'd find the information more useful, and anyway, Hisui's on my shit list."

"I'm sure she's heartbroken." Inu Yasha shifted Jaken to his other arm and regarded Shinai for a few moments. "You know what I think's gonna happen next?"
Shinai raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten me, O wise Buddha."

"Your stupid brother's gonna show up and tell me how he saw Tachimora talking to Hisui and that he didn't tell Mikoto because he thought I'd find the information more useful."
Shinai scratched behind one ear as he considered that, then suddenly looked up with a happy grin and a shrug. "Maybe, but he'd be lying. I'm not."

Inu Yasha rolled his eyes. "Sure you're not. Did he have any of his useless friends with him, or was it just him and Mikoto having a little chat?"

The kitsune shook his head. "I only saw Tachi and Mikoto, no friends." He grinned again. "That doesn't mean they're not around."

"They're nothing," Inu Yasha walked around Shinai and resumed his trek to the hotel. This time, Shinai didn't follow him.

"Just thought you'd like to know!" He called.

In spite of himself, Inu Yasha stopped and turned around. "What do you care, huh? Why are you telling me this? What's the catch?"

Shinai shrugged. "I haven't thought of one yet, but if you really want one, I'll think about it and get back to you, ok?"

"Don't trouble yourself."

As Inu Yasha started walking again, Shinai added more quietly: "Mikoto told him Kagome could be found in Tokyo with Yuki and Shunusuke."

Inu Yasha forced himself to keep walking. "Tokyo's a big city, and Kagome's with friends. Dangerous friends."

"Shopping," Shinai said cheerfully. "Big groups often split up to shop."

"Very dangerous friends," Inu Yasha shot back, "experienced fighters. Nice try."

"So you'll let someone other than you protect Kagome?" Shinai called after him.

Five days ago, no he wouldn't have. Today was different. Today he was confident of Kagome's feelings for him. He knew Kagome could defend herself (though not as well as, say, Sango could), and that their mutual friends would protect each other. Inu Yasha smiled and just kept right on walking. "You worry too much, fox."

That obviously was not the answer Shinai had expected. He stood in the sand and pouted for a few seconds, watching Inu Yasha walk away from him with Jaken under his arm. If he wasn't so frustrated, he'd find that image pretty funny. "So, you're just going to let her get attacked, then?"

"Are you still following me?!" Inu Yasha retorted without turning. Inwardly, he was feeling pretty pleased with himself for not rising to the kitsune's attempts to bait him. Probably there was no Tachi hanging about, but just in case, Inu Yasha decided he'd stay sharp. He also thought it might not be a bad idea to tell his new employer about his adventures with Tachimora. Keep Sesshomaru in the loop, so Hisui and Mikoto couldn't make him look clueless. "Oh, gods, listen to me!" He moaned inwardly. "I'm actually trying to give him an edge."

After a few minutes of hearing nothing from Shinai, Inu Yasha looked behind him to find to his satisfaction that the kitsune was gone.

"Hisui told me about your run-in with Tachimora," Sesshomaru explained as he stood back to look at Inu Yasha in his tuxedo, "but she was more interested in Yuki's display of power than your part in it. I didn't think much of him, since you seemed to have him well under control." He adjusted the shoulders of the jacket, then buttoned it to see how much extra room was left over. "I wondered if Mikoto had merely banished the kid, or if he was holding him in reserve to make him an offer later." He stepped back to look at the effect. "This isn't as bad a fit as I'd thought it would be. I don't think we'll have to take it in at all. Have you put on weight, Brother?"

"Very funny," Inu Yasha grumbled. "Do you think Shinai was lying?"

Sesshomaru shrugged. "Whether he is or not isn't as important as why he thought he should come to you with the information instead of going straight to Hisui."

"How do you know he didn't?" Inu Yasha countered. "Maybe he was acting on her orders."

Sesshomaru thought about it. "Perhaps, but Hisui isn't speaking to Shinai. In fact, the last time he tried to approach her, she almost clawed his eyes out—"

"Hmph! A display for your benefit, maybe," Inu Yasha snorted as he turned before the full-length mirror and checked himself out in a tuxedo. What a silly garment, he thought. "I look ridiculous."

"You look fabulous," Sesshomaru argued. "Women love a man in a tuxedo, trust me. And getting back to the issue at hand, I wasn't there when she clawed him. I heard the hotel staff talking about it. But you have a valid point."

Inu Yasha held his hair in a ponytail to see what it looked like that way, then let it loose again. "Like I said, it must suck not to be able to trust your girlfriend. Are you sure she's in love with you?"

Sesshomaru smiled. "Positive. We're demons, Inu Yasha, we don't have tame human blood to temper our personalities."
Inu Yasha suspected that was supposed to be an insult but he was on a roll with rising above cretins who tried to bait him, so he let it slide. Besides, he still hadn't come up with a good excuse not to be around for the Mermaid Ball. This thing with Tachi would certainly complicate matters if it was true, since there was no way he'd leave Kagome here with that scumbag running around. He could wing it, pretend he planned to go to the ball, then skip out when an opportunity presented itself—no, there'd be too many questions, and someone would surely try to stop him, someone who might see him start to change. He looked at his brother in the mirror and found Sesshomaru was watching him, as well.

"You're worried," Sesshomaru said simply. "You can't possibly be afraid of that human."

Inu Yasha growled and shook his head. "Of course not! I can handle him, no problem. It's the other bastards I'm worried about: Hisui, Mikoto and the fools they've got working for them." He turned to face Sesshomaru with a sigh. "I can't go to the ball tomorrow night, Brother. There's just no way I can do it."

"Because it's your time of the month?"

Blink. Blink. "Wha—"

"I was hoping you'd confide in me on your own," Sesshomaru drawled as he went to sit at the little table by the window. He offered one of the other chairs to Inu Yasha, who hesitated, then sat down in a daze. "I caught you once, a long time ago, just as you were changing. I would have taken advantage of my good fortune, but your friends interfered, and I was forced to retreat." He smiled and rested his chin on his palm. "I've been trying to recall what the circumstances were ever since we met again the other day. Then last night, I looked up into the night sky and remembered: There'd been no moon that long ago night." He tapped his temple with one, long, clawed finger. "Of course, my reasons until this evening were quite different than they are now. Now I'm your employer who needs that information for scheduling purposes, then I wanted it in case I had to fight you again."

Inu Yasha growled deep in his chest. His eyes blazed as he glared into his brother's face. "Hisui stays with you in this room, right? How do I know she can't listen to us, like Mikoto's kitsune did at the condo?"

Sesshomaru sat back in his chair and frowned. "Counter intelligence, of course. She bugged the room, I installed blocking devices, then she ripped out my devices, so I ripped out hers. At last check—which was just after she left this evening—my devices were in place and operational. She can't hear us."

Inu Yasha looked around, trying to see some sign of these devices Sesshomaru was talking about but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then again, he hadn't noticed anything strange in the condo, either (unless one counted Gin and Jaken).

"You won't find them," his brother told him, "that's the whole point: They're supposed to be undetectable."

Well, no shit. Inu Yasha felt his cheeks getting warmer and was furious that he was blushing in front of Sesshomaru. But his brother was apparently feeling gracious that evening (that or being his employee entitled one to better treatment than being his brother did).

"I didn't expect you to know that," Sesshomaru said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Then he smiled. "But you will in time. For now, we need to think about tomorrow night."

Inu Yasha wasn't looking at him. "I'm open to suggestions."

"Go home," Sesshomaru replied without hesitation. "It's the one place none of them can spy you out. Do it in the middle of the day, in case someone tries to interfere with your escape. I'll do my part to keep the competition amused while you make your getaway."

Inu Yasha absently scratched the tabletop with his claws as he replied: "I don't want to leave Kagome here if Tachimora really has come back, but I don't want her to miss the ball." He looked up suddenly, startling Sesshomaru with the intensity of the emotion in his eyes. "She came here to have a relaxing holiday away from danger and adventure, and I've already ruined it for her ten times over. Ever since I got here, she's either been in danger or totally embarrassed because of me. I just want something to go right for her this week, and if she has to go back home with me, it'll be one more thing she couldn't do with her friends because of me."

His brother regarded him thoughtfully. "You seemed to be having a good time last night…"

"I screwed it up later."

Somehow, Sesshomaru wasn't in the least bit surprised by that confession. "How do you plan to keep her from following you?"

"Huh?" Inu Yasha blinked at him. Why would Kagome follow him into the past when she was on vacation and had a formal dance to go to? Surely she'd understand why he had to leave and would stay behind if he insisted she have fun with her friends, like she'd wanted to from the start. "Um…I'll explain it to her. She'll understand."

Sesshomaru gave him an incredulous look. "Inu Yasha, what would you do in her place? You'd follow her no matter how vehemently she insisted you stay behind. Can you honestly expect her to just let you go?"

"It's not like I'm leaving forever!"

The Great Demon sighed and rubbed his temples, fighting down that little twinge of a headache that dealing with his brother always gave him. Sometimes the boy could be absolutely clueless. "Let me put this plainly: She probably doesn't want to go to the ball if she can't dance with you all night. There. Does that make sense to you?"

Inu Yasha bit his lip. He didn't have to make him feel so stupid about it. Of course Kagome didn't want to go to the ball with anybody else, but Inu Yasha was sure she'd regret it if she didn't go anyway. And then who'd get blamed for it? He would, and he'd never hear the end of it, if not from Kagome, then from the others. Miroku would definitely tell him how unromantic he was and how he'd spoiled Kagome's plans.

"Do your friends know about your time of the month?"

Inu Yasha nodded.

"Would you rather go to the ball with Kagome?"

Another nod. "But there's no way. I can't let anyone else see me like that!" All of a sudden he remembered the story of Cinderella that the Asanos had told him when they were nursing Keiichi and Karami at the condo. Cinderella had a fairy godmother, who used her magic to transform Cinderella from a scullery maid into a princess. He had a very amusing mental image of Sesshomaru weaving a magic spell about him like a fairy godbrother and making him look like his normal self, instead of like a human.

He narrowed his eyes at Sesshomaru and decided: What the hell. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. "I don't suppose you have any magic that can disguise me for the night, do you?"

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and sighed. "Like Cinderella—I guess you don't know that one, sorry."

"She was a drudge with a fairy godmother, who turned her into a princess so she could go to the ball," Inu Yasha recited smugly, "but at midnight she turned back into a drudge and had to run away before anybody saw her."

"Oh," Sesshomaru blinked. "Right. Well, I'm not your fairy godmother, and even if we could disguise your appearance, nothing can hide how you feel to other demons. You'll still feel like a human, no matter what you look like."

Inu Yasha's ears drooped. He'd forgotten about that. Even his scent changed on that day—oh shit. That was another problem: The change actually started in the late afternoon. Any demon with a decent sense of smell would realize he didn't smell like a youkai anymore. Well, there was nothing for it: He had to go back in time. All that remained was to break it to Kagome and talk her out of going with him.

"I guess I'm going home, then," he declared grimly. "Now all I have to do is convince Kagome to stay behind."

"I still say you're missing the point," Sesshomaru sighed. "Kagome wants to be with you, be it at a ball or on the other side of the well."

Inu Yasha looked away, out the window at the darkening sky and wondered if Kagome had returned with her new outfit. It had probably cost her a lot of money. No, she'd probably brought a dress with her and had only tagged along to help Sango pick something out. After all, she'd known about the ball when she came here. Well, Sango had to stay, then, and Miroku, so he could dance with Yuki.

"Don't stop her if she wants to go with you, Brother."

Inu Yasha shook his head. "If Kagome goes, the others will go, too." He ran his fingers through his hair (which still hadn't gotten that trim) and scratched himself behind one ear. "They all went shopping this evening to get Sango a pretty dress for tomorrow night. She doesn't have anybody, since Naraku destroyed her village. She just has us, and we're always dragging her into fights, so she never gets to just be a girl. Now she's got this guy who wants her, a fancy party where she can dance with him, and a nice outfit to do it in. But if Kagome and I go home, she'll go with us, since she can't get through the well without the Jewel, and she doesn't have a piece of it." He sighed. "And Miroku's finally found a girl who'll sleep with him. This is his big chance to show her she means more to him than sex—or at least, make her believe that. Practically all they've done since they met was have sex."

Sesshomaru couldn't believe what he was hearing. Inu Yasha seemed more concerned about his friends' happiness than his own safety. Wonders really never ceased.

"But I definitely can't stay."

Sesshomaru nodded. "Agreed." He pushed himself out of his chair with a grin for his brother. "Since I'm feeling generous, I won't make you get a hair cut tonight. Now go break the news to Kagome—but make sure you do it with this switched on." He took a small, silver disc out of his pocket and pressed it into Inu Yasha's palm. "Lift this by pressing on it," he demonstrated by pressing down on the top of the disc, causing a tiny lid to pop up on a hinge. Under it were two buttons, a green one and a red one. "Green means 'on', red means 'off'. When you're ready to talk to Kagome, press the green button. When you've finished your conversation, press the red one. Got that?"

Inu Yasha looked from the device to his brother. "This is one of those blocking things you use against Hisui, isn't it?"

Sesshomaru nodded.

Inu Yasha grinned broadly. He closed the lid, stood up and slipped the disc into his pocket. "Cool."

"Don't leave it on too long, or Mikoto will get suspicious and compensate," Sesshomaru warned. "It's very important that you remember that, Inu Yasha. And don't let anyone know you have that. Don't talk about it to anyone unless the device is switched on." Satisfied that Inu Yasha understood, Sesshomaru directed him to the door. "I want that back next time we meet, so take good care of it. It's expensive and extremely delicate."

Inu Yasha left his brother's presence, still not sure how he was going to get home without arousing suspicion and without his friends tagging along. Then there was the matter of Tachi weighing heavily on his mind. The memory of that bastard kissing Kagome was still fresh in his mind and made his blood boil even as he galloped down the stairs to the hotel lobby. If Tachimora really had returned, Kagome needed to know, so she could decide if she felt safer staying here or going home with him. Maybe Sesshomaru was right, and Kagome really wouldn't want to go to the ball unless he would be there, too. That made him smile all the way through the lobby and out the doors to the beach.

Right past Tachimora, who was just checking in and had his back to the lobby, so he didn't see Inu Yasha, either. His companion felt Inu Yasha pass but didn't turn around. Mikoto Asano smirked and plunked down his credit card to pay for his new employee's stay.