Pure Anger 29.

InuYasha awoke, and winced as he sat up, grabbing at his neck. It was slightly sore, and as he ran his fingers over his neck, he could feel slight indents. He shrugged it off, and decided that Keiran must have bitten him harder than he thought while she was on his back. He looked around, and saw Keiran still sleeping, in a corner of the hut, while Sango was next to him, moving around softly, looking for his warmth. He sighed contentedly, and laid back down, slipping his arm around Sango's waist. He closed his eyes, and let himself drift back to sleep, glad that he was holding Sango.

Sango smiled to herself, and kept her eyes closed as InuYasha laid back down, and she suppressed a giggle as he slipped his arm around her waist, tickling her softly. She had shifted during the night, and was now facing away from him, so she was gently pulled up against his chest, and she let her hand fall down to rest over his, as his thumb gently rubbed her stomach. Right now she was the happiest girl in the world, and she realized now that she hadn't cuddled with InuYasha in a while, and it felt good to do so now. She decided that she would make the most of it, and she turned around, surprising her hanyou.

"I thought you were asleep." He whispered, and she shook her head, kissing him on the lips.

"Nope, I'm awake." She said.

InuYasha purred lightly.

"Well, let's make the most of it then." He said, and he kissed her back. Sango closed her eyes, and put her arms around his neck, pulling her body against his. Once again she wanted to take things further, but now that Keiran was travelling with them, and currently in the same room as them, she didn't know when she would get the chance.

InuYasha kissed her a couple more times, and hugged her tight, closing his eyes.

"It's nice like this." He mumbled, and Sango hummed in agreement.

"Too bad we don't get to do it very often anymore." She said. InuYasha nodded. "Yeah, it sucks." He said, and Sango giggled at the obvious sadness in his voice.

"Don't worry babe, maybe once we start travelling again, we can find a hot spring, just the two of us, and have some fun." She whispered in his ear, and it twitched in response.

"Sounds like a good idea." He said, and tightened his grip on her slightly. She smiled, and nuzzled him, then groaned as she happened to look over InuYasha's shoulder and see Keiran waking up.

"Keiran's waking up." She whispered, and pulled away from him, shivering slightly at the loss of contact. InuYasha sighed, and rolled onto his back, immediately missing her touch.

Keiran awoke slowly, as little whisperings reached her ears, but try as she might, she couldn't make out what they were saying. She yawned, then stretched, feeling energy flood through her body.

As she awoke, memories of last night filled her mind, and a blush filled her cheeks. She had never tasted blood so sweet before, yet so rich in it's unspent emotion. She licked her lips at the memory, and tried to recall just what emotion the blood was tainted with, but she couldn't remember. She sighed, and stood up, a blanket falling off her shoulders. Confused, she thought back to last night, and again replayed her experience with InuYasha, blushing slightly, then recalled immediately going to sleep, and InuYasha was already unconscious anyway, so that left...

Keiran turned around, and smiled at Sango, who was standing beside InuYasha, who was laying on his back. Sango smiled back at her, and Keiran indicated the blanket.

"From you?" She asked, and Sango nodded. "Yeah, you were shivering last night." She said. " So I gave you a blanket."

Keiran smiled again. "Thanks Sango." She said. "I appreciate it."

Sango nodded. "Anytime."

Keiran folded the blanket, and set it down on the floor in the corner of the hut. As she stood, she stretched, noticing her black hair falling about her shoulders. The band that she had used must have come out. She looked around, and found it on the floor where she had been sleeping, and she picked it up, replacing it in her hair, pulling her hair back tight against her skull. She straightened her clothes, then decided to go shopping for new ones. She yawned once more, and stretched her arms, neck, back and shoulders, moaning softly.

"Hey guys." She said softly, looking over her shoulder at them as she folded her blanket.

Both InuYasha and Sangos' heads came up as she spoke, to look at her.

"Yeah?" Sango asked.

"We should go buy more stuff." She grinned evilly, her ponytail swinging about her shoulders as she turned to face forward again, to fold the blanket. She set it down on the floor, then turned around.

"I need new clothes, and InuYasha looks like he could use something new." She said, "Whaddya say?" She asked.

Sango looked at InuYasha, then back at Keiran. "We're out of money." She said bluntly.

Keiran smiled. "But I'm not." She said.

Sango raised an eyebrow, wondering how much money she really did have, but said nothing, accepting her offer.

"Okay, let's go buy some stuff." She agreed, and InuYasha barely contained his sigh. He jumped up, and had to lean on Sango for a second as blood rushed to his head, making him dizzy. He winced as stars exploded in front of his eyes, and it felt like he was going to pass out. He grimaced, and kept holding on to Sango, not hearing her asking if he was alright. He waited until the dizzy spell wore off, then looked to Sango, who was staring at him worriedly.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "What happened?"

InuYasha shook his head, and let go of her shoulder. "I just stood up too fast." He said. "Happens all the time."

Sango continued to watch him for a few seonds, and for that reason, she didn't see Keiran's worried glance at InuYasha, before heading out the door.

InuYasha groaned, and grabbed his head, still suffering from the rush of blood to his head. He was telling the truth, it had happened to him before, especially right after waking up, but never had it been that strong before. He shook it off, and walked out, tucking his hands inside his haori sleeves.

They walked toward the more high-end clothing shops, and as they approached the more classy ones, InuYasha got more nervous. There was no way he could afford these types of clothing, much less walk into one of these shops wearing his fire rat kimono. He snorted, and decided that he didn't care, that he would do it anyway. He followed Sango and Keiran into one of the shops, and gaped around as he saw expensive kimonos everywhere. He watched as Sango and Keiran started sorting through the ones that they liked, ones they didn't like, and ones that were most likely to be useful in battle, all that stuff.

InuYasha decided to look around a bit, and no sooner had he started, then one piece caught his eye. He stared at it, and wished that he had more money. It was a samurais outfit, complete with red chest armor, gauntlets, and black hakama. Then over that, was a haori of pure white, with black flame patterns coming off the sleeves, up to the shoulders. He reached out and felt the fabric gently, then shook his head. It was nice, sure, but there was no way that he could fight in it. It was a samurais outfit, made exclusively for sword-fighting, it would never last as long as his haori when it came to how he fought. He continued walking around, until he eventually came back to the girls, who were giggling over something.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He asked cautiously, walking over to them.

Sango turned, and hid something behind her back, smiling at InuYasha.

"Nothing!" She said. "Um, uh, nothing, why?" She asked. InuYasha stared at her.

"Just wondering..." He said. "You find anything that you like yet?" He asked.

Sango shrugged. "Not yet." She said. "Keiran has though."
"I think." She declared. "I'm not through looking yet." She said.

InuYasha nodded. "Okay." He said. He shrugged, and was about to turn away, when Sango giggled again.

"Say, InuYasha..." She said, and InuYasha's ear twitched at the tone of her voice. "Yeah?" He asked, turning around.

"WIll you try some stuff on for us?" She asked.

InuYasha shrugged. "Sure, I guess." He said.

Sango smiled happily. "Thanks, InuYasha!" She said. She pulled him toward a sectioned off area, and went in with him, handing him the clothes that she had been hiding behind her back.

"Put these on for me, okay babe?" She asked.

InuYasha nodded, and waited until she had left the area, before sliding the screen across. He swiftly took off his clothes, then stared in confusion at the clothes Sango was trying to get him to wear.

He sighed, and reminded himself that he had already agreed, so he slipped the clothes on, making a mental note to check the clothes out next time before agreeing to anything.

He walked out, and Sango tapped Keiran on the shoulder, making her turn around. When she saw InuYasha, her face flushed bright red, and she whistled softly at him.

InuYasha blushed lightly, hoping that it was unnoticeable, and shifted his weight to his left leg, pretending to be bored.

Keiran continued to stare at him, and she leaned over, resting her head on Sango's shoulder.

"He's so hot." She whispered, and Sango agreed. "Yeah, he is." She said, smiling.

InuYasha was clad in a tight form-fitting black shirt, that hugged the contours of his body, and were completely sleeveless. It only came down to an inch below his ribs, leaving his lower stomach visible. The shirt accented his chest muscles, and left his stomach muscles open for viewing. The sleeveless shirt also accented his shoulders and biceps, which Sango and Keiran loved. He had on a pair of black shorts, knee length, that very closely resembled Keiran's, with the exception that his had an inch wide ivory border around the bottom of the short leggings.

"Turn around." Keiran ordered, and InuYasha did. Keiran gaped at the muscles in his shoulders and back, and had to grab on to Sango for support.

"Wow." She said, and Sango nodded. "Yeah, wow." She said. "It's too bad that he wears that damn fire-rat haori so much." She said. Keiran nodded. "Yeah, I like him better without it." She grinned. She stood behind Sango, and stared at InuYasha, resting her head on Sango's right shoulder, with her arms around Sango's waist.

"He's a hottie." She murmured, and Sango shivered when she felt Keiran's warm breath on her neck. InuYasha turned back around, and flicked his long silver hair back over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at Keiran, who was hugging Sango.

"Um, is something wrong?" He asked. Keiran broke out of her trance, and blushed again.

"G-gomen!" She said, and let go of Sango. Still, she couldn't take her eyes off InuYasha.

"Do you want those clothes, InuYasha?" She asked. InuYasha shrugged. "I don't know..."

Sango walked over to him and hugged him, looking up at him.

"Aww, come on InuYasha, you look so hot in them, you gotta, please?" She asked.

InuYasha hesitated for a second. "But I look rediculous in these clothes." He said.

Sango laughed. "No you don't babe, you look great, or else we wouldn't have dressed you in them." She said.

InuYasha remained skeptical, but accepted the clothing, folding up his fire-rat clothes, and holding on to them tight.

Keiran picked an outfit out, but kept it hidden in a folded cloth, saying it was for later. They all brought their stuff up to the man who was selling, Sango opting not to buy anything, since she had borrowed money of Keiran last night. InuYasha accepted Keiran's gift, and they left, walking back toward the hut they were staying in. InuYasha opened the door, and Sango and Keiran walked in, InuYasha whispering his thanks as she walked by. She nodded, and took his hand, leading him into the cabin. She sat down with him on the floor, sitting right across from him, their knees touching. She took his hand and placed it on her leg, and he looked at her confused.

"There's just one more thing needed to complete your outfit." She said.

"What's that?" He asked. She grinned, and produced a roll of pure white bandage.

"Some fight tape." She said. She started at his wrist, wrapping it tightly, and wounding the bandage halfway up to his elbow. Once that was done, she started on the other arm, and InuYasha couldn't help but notice that she placed his second hand a lot further up on her thigh than she had his first hand. He started sweating a bit, and he couldn't wait for her to be done. She took her time, and once she was done, she placed her hand on top of his, keeping his hand there.

"Some people do their ankles too, but that's up to you." She said. "I do my ankles, it provides good stabilty and support in the ankles when running and jumping." She said.

InuYasha nodded, and stood up, as did Keiran. As he came to his feet, he was hit by another dizzy spell, and he had to grab on to Keiran's shoulder to keep himself balanced. He squeezed his eyes closed in pain, as his head throbbed, and he felt blood pulsing harshly in his neck, as it rushed to his head.

Keiran inhaled through her nose, and she scented InuYasha's sweet blood throbbing through the vein in his neck, calling out to her. She gasped as she felt the familiar pangs of transformation, and she wondered why she was changing now. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sango looking at her, and her mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear any of the words. She couldn't see any reason to transform, she wasn't needing blood, she shouldn't be changing. She clamped her jaws closed in an attempt to limit her fangs growing, but had to open her mouth in pain when her fangs grew right through her bottom gums. She winced in pain, and then it struck her. She knew why she was transforming.

Sango rushed to InuYasha's side, glancing at Keiran as she did so.

"What did you do to him!?" She shouted. Keiran winced, and clamped her mouth closed, squeezing her eyes shut. Sango looked back to InuYasha, who was panting heavily, still feeling dizzy.

Sango looked back to Keiran as she felt something warm splash on her hand, and what she saw startled her. Keiran's eyes had taken on a reddish tint to their normally black shade, and her fangs were like InuYasha's when he transformed into a demon. Her fangs had peirced her bottom lip, and some blood had splashed onto her arm. She took a step back from her involuntarily, still clutching InuYasha's arm. InuYasha was straightening up now, moaning softly and holding onto his head. That's when Keiran struck.

Keiran knew why she was transforming. If it wasn't bacause lack of blood, and it wasn't for defense purposes, then the only other reason she was transforming was because she was in heat. It was starting.

She opened her eyes, and saw Sango take a step back, a look of fear on her face. She blinked, and focused her gaze on InuYasha, who was just standing up. She leapt forward, and surprised him, catching him off guard. She tackled him to the floor, and pinned his arms down, glaring at him. She heard Sango yelling at her, and she knew that she had to get it finished quickly. She obviously couldn't do what her body wanted her to do, there wasn't enough time, and besides, InuYasha was already taken by Sango, but she could do the next best thing. She swiftly sunk her fangs into his neck, making him gasp. She felt his hands come down on her shoulders, and attempt to push her away, but he couldn't. She continued sucking, and he became weaker and weaker until his hands fell off her shoulders, and he fell into unconsciousness. Sango grabbed Keiran by the shoulders from behind, and hauled her off InuYasha. Keiran let herself be pulled off, having temporarily sated her body's cravings. For now.

"What the hell was that!?" Sango yelled, and slapped the light-headed Keiran across the face.

Keiran yelped in pain, and being extremely vulnerable after just having bitten InuYasha, she hit the ground, and hit her head on the floor, knocking her out. Sango stared at the unconscious girl, and when she realized that she wasn't going to get up, Sango's breathing slowed. She moved to InuYasha's side, and checked him over, gasping when she laid eyes on the four bite marks that now adorned his skin. Two from the last time, which she had no knowledge about, and these two. She shook her head, and wiped the blood off his neck, wondering when he would wake up, and if he would be okay. She looked back to Keiran, and knew that the girl would have some explaining to do when she woke up.

InuYasha awoke with a groan, immediately grabbing at his neck again.

"Fuck, what the hell happened?" He asked Sango, who handed him a glass of water.

"You got raped, that's what." She said.

InuYasha's eyes widened. "WHAT!?!" He yelled.

Sango allowed herself a small smile, then it quickly dissappeared when she thought of what she had to tell InuYasha.

"The girl Keiran bit you on the neck, and you passed out." She said. InuYasha glanced over to where Keiran lay on the floor, unmoved.

"She bit me?" He asked, the confusion evident in his voice.

Sango nodded.

"Yeah, she jumped at you while you were unsteady from a dizzy spell, and sunk her fangs into your neck. You tried to fight her off, but you were unconscious seconds after she bit you." She said.

InuYasha groaned. "What the hell..." He said.

"I do--" Another moan cut through the air, cutting Sango off.

They both looked over to see Keiran struggling to her feet, holding the back of her head.

"What the hell happened?" She asked, looking at Sango.

Sango glared at her, and tried to stand, but InuYasha held her hand, holding her back.

"You went psycho and bit InuYasha, that's what!" Sango said.

Keiran felt her stomach twist as she remembered everything.

"I-I'm sorry." She said, hanging her head in shame. "Please let me explain!"

Sango glared. "Yeah, explain, and hurry up, so I can kill you!" She said.

InuYasha rubbed her back, and she calmed down.

"What happened, Keiran?" InuYasha asked.

Keiran slowly got up, and moved closer, within striking distance of Sango. There she sat, and cast a sorrowful look at InuYasha.

"I'm really sorry InuYasha." She said.

InuYasha nodded. "Just get to explaining." He said.

Keiran nodded, and patted his knee, making Sango raise a fist threateningly.

She winced, even though she wasn't hit, then started talking.

"Well, I'm mostly human." She started, then stopped, wondering how to continue.

"A part of me is a demon, part of the pact that I held with that wolf demon for a few years." She said. "The longer that I stayed with that demon, the more of me would take on the appearance of a wolf, until I was converted to a demon, just like my master." She said. Sango raised her eyebrow at that, but said nothing, letting the girl continue.

"The demon side of me always wants blood, but it's up to me to find someone and bite them, and I've been doing it for a couple years now." She said. "Over those years, I've taken on a blood preference, because blood has many special qualities." She said. "Blood can make you rich, can make you poor, label you as an outcast, or disguise you from your enemies." She said, looking at InuYasha as she spoke. "Blood also has a very distinct taste linked directly to an indvidual and his experiences, emotions, thoughts and feelings." She said ."The demon inside me requires blood about once a month, and sometimes it coincides with..." She trailed off. "You know, my day of the month, so I only have to find blood once, but sometimes, the day the demon wants blood is differant then my time, so I have to find blood twice a month, to keep myself and the demon sated." She said.

InuYasha, blushing, kept on listening, never taking his eyes off the girl in front of him.

"At first, I thought that the demon in me only wanted blood once a month, and that was fine, an equal exchange for what the demon does for me, but then I started craving it." She said. "Not the demon, but myself." She said. She was quiet for a minute. "I was disgusted with myself, but I couldn't stop myself. I eventually came to like a certain taste of blood, and now need for the blood pops up everywhere." She said. "The demon wants blood, I go find blood." She said. "My time of the month, I gotta find blood." She said. "But this recent one..."

She stopped, and Sango stared at her. "What?" She asked.

Keiran shook her head, and mumbled something.

InuYasha's ears flicked forward, and he caught the mumbled words. He felt his face heat up at what he had just heard, and was surprised that someone he had only known for a day or two would admit to something like that.

"What did you say?" Sango asked.

Keiran looked at her. "Whenever I get aroused, I feel an insatiable need for blood also." She said, then looked away.

Everyone was silent for a few moments, trying to make sense of what they had heard.

"So basically," Sango said, "The demon inside you requires blood, in exchange for some service, then you need blood on your time of the month, now you feel the need for blood when you get aroused?" She asked.

Keiran nodded. "It's like there's no end to it." She said sadly.

Sango nodded sympathetically.

"So what made you attack InuYasha then?" She asked.

Keiran shook her head and said nothing.

Sango thought she had an idea of why she did it, but kept it to herself.

"Come on Keiran, if you want to keep travelling with us, then we gotta know when to expect this and why." She said.

Keiran was silent for a few more minutes, then she raised her head.

"Well, at first, I was bound by my oath to kill InuYasha," She said, "As you know, then when he saved me, I really liked him for it." She said. "I thought he was a nice guy. But as I started travelling with you, I started to feel attracted to him, and today, seeing him in those clothes pushed me past my limit, and when we got here, I wrapped his wrists and arms, and his hands were on my thighs, and it felt so good, and I wanted more, and then I got aroused, and I turned demon, and bit him." She said, rushing a bit toward the end. Sango stared.

"Um, okay." She said.

Keiran nodded. "I'm really sorry, I wish it was something I could control, but it's not." She said.

Sango touched her shoulder. "It's okay." She said.

"Does it do any damage to InuYasha?" She asked.

"No, it shouldn't." She said. "Unless I keep biting him over and over again, then there will be...certain side-effects." She said.

Sango's eyes narrowed. "Like what?" She asked warily.

"Well, remember how I said that blood carries emotions?" She asked. Sango nodded.

"Well, over time, if I keep biting him, then everytime I bite him, it will give whatever current emotion he has an extreme boost, for a short period of time." She said.

Sango's eyebrow twitched. "That, I don't get." She said.

Keiran sighed. "Yeah, it's pretty strange." She said.

InuYasha, who was silent for the whole conversation, spoke up.

"So it won't actually hurt me?" He asked. Keiran shook her head.

"No, the first couple times, maybe you felt a little dizzy afterwards, but that usually dissappears after you get bitten a third time. Eventually you'll even be able to stay conscious throughout the whole thing." She said.

InuYasha nodded. "Okay..." He said.

Keiran nodded. "I'm sorry, it may seem as if I'm using you, but I promise you, it's not something I can control, and it's not something that I benefit from." She said.

Sango nodded. "It's okay." She said. Then she remembered something.

"What exactly does the demon do for you?" She asked.

Keiran looked at her. "The demon keeps me alive." She said.

InuYasha shook his head. "Wow, this is confusing." He said. Sango remembered something else.

"And you being in heat?" She asked.

Keiran nodded. "Being part wolf demon, it's expected." She said. "It should only last about a week and a half, two weeks tops, then it will be over for a while." She said.

InuYasha raised an eyebrow, as part of his mind related her to Ayame, to help him understand better. She was a wolf demon, and she occaisionally went into heat, the scent change was obvious, but Ayame didn't have this kinky biting thing going on.

"Confusing..." InuYasha murmured.

Keiran sighed. "I know." She said sadly. "I'll explain it again as well as some other stuff later if you'd like." She said.

InuYasha sighed. "Do you want to stay with us?" He asked.

Keiran was taken back by his question.

"I was thinking that I'd probably have to leave once I was found out." She said. "You saying you want to keep me around?"

InuYasha nodded. "I like you." He said simply. "You might not have been totally honest with us from the start, but that's fine." He said. "With a secret like that, I know I wouldn't have been honest either." He said.

Keiran nodded. "Thank you for understanding." She said. "And thank you for letting me travel with you."

Sango nodded.

Keiran was silent for a second, then looked up.

"What do I do when I get the need to bite again?" She asked.

InuYasha smirked, and tilted his head to the side a bit, exposing the tooth marks.

"Bite me." He said, grinning.

Keiran looked at him. "Are you sure?" She asked. InuYasha nodded. "Yeah, it doesn't hurt me, and if that's all it takes to help out a friend, then I'll do it." He said.

Keiran smiled. "Thank you InuYasha." She said. InuYasha nodded."No worries." He said. "It's sort of strange, but I'm sure that I'll get used to it." He said.

Keiran smiled happily. "I'm glad your so understanding InuYasha." She said.

"I'll explain more about it later, I promise." She said. "But for now, I still feel bad, I just wanna lie down."

InuYasha ran his fingers over the tooth marks that were already fading from his neck, and he wondered just what kind of friendship he would have with Keiran if he let this continue. It what she said was true, and he had no reason to doubt her yet, then it really wasn't something that she was doing willingly, and it seemed that just recently she was getting some kind of enjoyment out of it, if you could call having a specific flavour of blood an enjoyment.

InuYasha laid down, and sighed, wondering just what else could possibly happen before he found the jewel shards and Naraku.

Keiran laid down also, and turned onto her side, so she was facing away from them. She still felt bad about what had happened, but so far, everything was going more or less according to plan. She giggled quietly to herself. Too bad she had 'forgotten' to mention to them that if she had feelings for someone and happened to make a habit of biting them, then they would become her mate. Everything was falling into place, and going according to her newly laid plans. Once again she wondered how she had gone from wanting to kill InuYasha for slaying Himura, to wanting to mate with him. She shook her head, and closed her eyes, feigning sleep.

Little did InuYasha know, as he laid down beside Sango, that he wasn't finished with Keiran's blood-sucking. Not by a long shot.

There was much much more to come, and he wouldn't like a lot of it that came by.

InuYasha awoke, feeling a bit better, and stood up slowly this time, not wanting to risk another dizzy spell. When he was on his feet, he looked around the room, noticing that Sango was gone. He felt a pang of worry, but it passed when he reminded himself that she was a full grown woman who was strong and smart, and that she had survived this long without a half demon looking over her shoulder, she could continue to do so. Besides, if she went out without telling him or waking him, then obviously she didn't want to be bothered. He sat back down, and tapped Keiran on the arm.

"Hey Keiran, wake up." He said.

She rolled over, having just been sleeping lightly, and blinked at him, yawning.

"Whaddya want?" She asked.

InuYasha shrugged.

"I don't know, I just wanted to wake you up, it was boring here by myself." He said.

Keiran looked around, her black hair falling into her eyes.

"Sango isn't here?" She asked.

InuYasha shook his head.

"Nope." He said. "I don't know where she went either, but she took her weapons, so she should be fine. If she's not back in a little while, then we'll go out and look for her." He said.

Keiran smirked. "Wow, you care a lot about your girlfriends safety, don't you?" She asked. "We'll go out and look for her if she ain't back in a couple hours." She imitated, changing his words around to make him look uncaring.

InuYasha looked away from her, embarrassed. "Hey, she ain't my girlfriend, she's just a really good friend that I haven't yet gotten around to doing anything with yet." He said. "And I said a little while, not a couple hours." He corrected.

Keiran sat up, and crossed her legs, leaning close to him.

"Hmm, so now I'm your friend, if I hang around you enough, will I become a really good friend of yours that you can do stuff with too?" She asked.

InuYasha blushed, and shook his head.

"No way!" He said, leaning back away from her a bit. Keiran pouted "Aww, but I wanna do stuff with you, InuYasha." She whispered, moving closer to him. She felt her stomach twinge, and the demon inside her stirring gently, and she knew that this time it was her fault, she had no one else to blame except herself for her actions, and it looked like InuYasha was going to take the consequences for her. In other words, she was turning herself on with what she was implying with InuYasha, and InuYasha was going to take the consequences by being bitten again.

She shook her head, and knew that she couldn't do that to InuYasha. She backed away from him, and turned around, staring at the empty cabin.

InuYasha, not knowing better, leaned closer. "Hey, you okay?" He asked.

She nodded, but said nothing.

InuYasha, still not convinced, scooted closer, and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her backwards.

Keiran yelped as she felt herself fall backwards, but an arm grabbed her securely around the waist, while the hand that had grabbed her shoulder found its way to the back of her head, tilting her face in the direction of InuYasha.

InuYasha leaned over Keiran, now in his arms, and he glared down at her playfully.

"Now, you gonna tell me what that was about, or do I gotta force it out of you?" He asked, his voice low so as to not hurt her ears.

Many forbidden images flashed through her mind as she thought of many ways that he could force it out of her, and she shivered, trying vainly to conceal a low moan. She blushed, and InuYasha leaned closer, his confused eyes searching hers.

"Eh?" He asked. Keiran shook her head.

"I'm fine, InuYasha." She managed, hoping that her voice didn't shake too much. InuYasha shook his head, and didn't let go of her.

I don't think so." He said. "Nobody whose fine has a shaky voice and a beet red face."

Keiran covered her mouth, suppressing a yelp, and she shook her head.

"I-I'm fine InuYasha, honest!!" She said.

InuYasha smirked.

"Prove it." He said.

Keiran was silent for a minute, and she looked at his cute face, trying to search him for clues, a smirk or a look that would suggest he was joking. How was she supposed to prove that she was fine?

Her gaze travelled from his long fine silver hair, to his bright golden eyes, and cute nose, down to his teasing lips, set in a smirk. She looked him in the eye for a second, but found that her gaze was inevitably drawn downward, and she was very conscious of his hands on her waist and neck.

Her mouth parted slightly, and InuYasha's left puppy ear flicked forward, but there was no sound to catch. He continued to look at her, and finally, she couldn't resist.

She reached up, and put her warm hands on either side of his cool face, letting the heat from her hands sink into his skin. His eyes half closed at the warmth, and she took her chance, leaning up, closing the distance between them. She closed her eyes as her lips touched his, and she kissed him tentatively for a second, to see if he would push her away. When he didn't immediately shove her away, she tilted her head to the side a bit, and kissed him harder, moaning softly and slipping her arms around his neck.

Keiran's guilty conscience got the best of her raging hormones, and she thought of Sango. She pulled away, and stared at InuYasha, to gauge his reaction. He stared back at her, expression blank, and Keiran did nothing, afraid to even breathe, lest he kill her on the spot for doing something that was obviously only accepted from Sango.

The silence seemed to continue on forever, and just when Keiran was about to speak, InuYasha nodded slowly.

"Told you there was something wrong." He said matter-of-factly. "Your kiss sucked."

Sango drew her sword, and figured that InuYasha and Keiran would be waking up soon. She faced the demon, and again her thoughts turned to InuYasha. He was constantly saving her and slaying the demons that she couldn't, but the last straw had been when he had showed the world his human form just to save her. She loved him, and she wasn't going to put that responsibility on him. She was a damn demon slayer, she had best start acting like one.

The demon growled, and Sango knew that this one carried a jewel shard. No porcupine grew the size of a horse without some kind of magic help. She kept her hiraikotsu ready, and shifted her weight to her back leg, getting ready for any move that it might make. The demon pawed at the ground, and Sango eyed the thousands of needles on it's back that were longer than she was and as thick as her wrist. She knew her sword wouldn't stand a chance against it, and that hiraikotsu would probably do moderate damage, so she just had to make it expose a weak spot so she could stun it, then slay it with her bone boomerang.

The demon eyed her, and walked toward her, it's feet throwing up dirt as they scraped across the ground, blunt claws scarring the earth.

Sango took a step backward, then called upon her training, dashing to her right, heading toward the demon as she did so. The demon raised it's left paw to counter her, and she dashed to the left, sword raised over her head.

As the demon raised it's right paw off the ground, with it's left still in the air, it's underbelly was exposed, and Sango dropped to her knees, skidding under the demon's right arm, slashing deeply into it as she skidded to a stop. The dark red blood soaked her blade, and spattered onto the ground, making the demon growl. Sango swiftly stood up, and threw her sword into the demon's exposed stomach, the blade sinking about halfway in. The demon fell down, and Sango jumped backward to avoid the demon's fangs and claws. The demon, now injured and bleeding, slowly curled up into a ball, the spikes extending and sticking out. Sango pulled hiraikotsu off her shoulder, and threw it, smirking in satisfaction as it sliced through the air, cutting deep into the porcupine. Sango sheilded her eyes as broken bits of needles the size of her arm went shooting off in all directions, one slicing by her, cutting her leg. She winced, but she knew that she couldn't drop down, for her hiraikotsu was returning. She grabbed it, spun it around a few more times, keeping it's speed up. She took aim, and threw it one more time, cutting the dying animal in half. As hiraikotsu came back to her, she caught it and dropped it over one shoulder, walking over to retrieve the shard and her sword. She grimaced as she reached into the bloody mess to get her sword, then wondered where the shard was.

She looked around, pawing through the mess and breathing through her gas mask, and was about to give up after about ten minutes of searching, when a black pulpy mass of flesh caught her eye. She looked again, and knew that no animals heart was black and lumpy like that. She drew her sword and sliced open the heart, a shard sliding out of the mess. Sango picked it up and pocketed it, glad that she had gotten the first shard of the hunt. With that shard, she was that much closer to getting Kohaku.

She grinned to herself as she headed back to the village.

Now that she had actually killed something, her confidence was back in force, and it felt like they had finally taken a step toward killing Naraku. Sango knew that it wasn't actually a step toward killing Naraku, but she knew that the more demons she killed, the stronger she would get, and the more shards they got, the less shards Naraku had to manipulate others with. She smiled, and picked up the pace, eager to clean her weapons and show InuYasha her find.

As she walked, she reviewed what had happened, just like she had been taught.

She had gotten a tip that a particularly strong demon was in the area, and she had kept it from Keiran and InuYasha for the sole purpose of killing the thing herself and restoring her confidence. Now that that was done, the next battle would focus on exploring Keiran's battle skills, as well as weapon use and her compatibility with fighting alongside both her and InuYasha. As her mind reflected on the demon she had just slain, it became clear to her that it was much like any other mediocre demon she had slain in her past, just earning her keep. But the fact that it had a jewel shard was important. This time though, the shard's focus wasn't on evil intent, probably because a porcupine was incapable of evil thought, and it wasn't for world domination, for the porcupine was frighteningly weak. No, it just seemed that there was an abundance of jewel shards, and that the unlucky animal had stumbled upon it after the jewel shard had exploded, and digested it accidentally. The only thing the shard had done was increase it's size. Harmless.

Sango knew that they would face those types of enemies for a while, until the shards became less common. As both Naraku and InuYasha gathered shards, there would be less and less out in the world for random animals and people to find, so even if an animal did happen to find one, it would be quickly slain by others seeking the jewels power. When they got the shard almost complete, the remaining three or four shards still unfound in the world would have rapidly changed owners, each one stronger than the last, each seeking the power of the few rare shards left. That's where the battles would be most difficult, but for now, they had it easy. Sango realized that she had walked right into the village, and she continued a few steps, stopping in front of her cabin. She took a deep breath, and knew that she would have some explaining to do to InuYasha about why she was hunting shards by herself, and why she didn't tell them or warn them, but in the end she was sure they would understand.

She smiled to herself, and walked in.

"Hey guys, guess what I found?"

A/N: HA, does she walk in on the aftermath of the kiss, or something more intimate? Next chapter will tell...Please read and review.