It was with a sense of trepidation that Miroku, Sango, Shippou and Kirara approached the Land of Fire. They remembered it from their last encounter with the place, and that had been during the escapade with Hosenki and the last shard of the Shikon-no-Tama; not exactly the greatest of memories for them. Sango fingered her Hiraikotsu nervously, while Miroku kept eyeing the landscape furtively, as though youkai were going to start pouring out from some unknown crevice. Shippou was keeping his head down in Kirara's fur, like he could hide from anything and everything that meant him harm. Kirara felt the nervousness as surely as the rest of them, but she would rather press on than turn back. Finding their friends took priority over any discomfort on their part. Onward they flew, feeling more and more apprehensive as time flew past.

Once or twice the houshi let out a cry of terror and Sango threw her Hiraikotsu at the threat, only for them to realize that it was a plume of smoke or flame, which, while terrifying, was hardly a threat to them while they were in the air. Still, they were on edge, and anything that disrupted the norm was likely to set them off. Something was wrong, and all of them knew it.

"There's something out here," Miroku muttered. "Something…but what?"

"You've said that ten times already!" Sango snapped. "If there's really something out here, it's hiding really damn well."

"It is…and that, dear Sango, is what is worrying me." When Sango shot the houshi an incredulous look, he elaborated. "Look around you, Sango. Where is there to hide in this land of ash and flame? If, indeed, there truly is something out there, it must be tremendously powerful to be hiding in plain sight like this."

Sango pondered this point for a minute or so before saying, "You've got a point there, houshi-sama." She eyed the burning land with some trepidation, one hand automatically straying to the tassel on her Hiraikotsu. "Do you really think there's something down there?"

"I'm certain of it." Miroku clutched his Shakujou so tightly the knuckles on his cursed hand turned white. "I don't know what it is, but-"

It happened at that moment; there was a sudden shriek and a flapping of wings, and then they were surrounded by at least a dozen youkai. Each soldier was outfitted in well worn armor, and the youkai they rode on looked like they'd all seen better days. Even so, they presented an intimidating force, as they were all armed, and their weapons didn't look too dilapidated.

The lead youkai urged his mount forward several feet, stopping only when his bird's beak was two feet away from Kirara's muzzle. "Humans," he boomed, "you are trespassing on the lands of the great and powerful Kasai Kokoro, lord of the South. Leave now or perish!" He brandished his katana as he spoke, and all his comrades proceeded to draw their weapons.

"We have business here," Miroku replied, in as peaceful a tone as he could manage given the situation. At the same time, he gripped Sango's arm tightly; her hand had been inching toward the tassel on her Hiraikotsu. "There are friends waiting for us in the Southern castle, and they are in urgent need of our assisstance."

"A likely tale!" one of the other soldiers snorted. "He's lying, Kazuki-san, he has to be! What would humans be doing in a youkai castle?"

"Silence!" Kazuki shot a red glare toward the youkai who had spoken out before turning back to the group before him. "How do I know you aren't lying?"

"Minami-sama sent us," Miroku said quickly. "She told us to come to the South because our friends sought Kokoro-sama's assistance in an urgent matter. It's the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not."

Kazuki deliberated for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied the head of his mount. The youkai around him were growing restless by the time he spoke. "This is not my decision to make. I'll take you to Kokoro-dono, but if he decides you aren't trustworthy, you will be slain."

"Fine," Sango stated rudely, ignoring Miroku's urgent squeeze of her hand. "We'll go along with you, but if it comes down to a fight, we won't go down so easily."

Kazuki gave a soft snort, and then urged his bird to turn around in midair and started flying away. "Follow me, humans," he called back as his grumbling followers made to pursue him. "I'll take you to the Southern castle."

"Are you sure about this?" Miroku whispered. "We don't want to get involved in a fight, particularly if this Kokoro-sama is a friend of Kagome-sama's and InuYasha's."

"We don't have any other choice. It's this or we turn back." Sango's lips were set in a firm line and her eyes were as cold as ice. "We're going." Miroku knew that tone in her voice; the one that said argue and die. Despite his ill feelings on the situation, he clammed up and let her urge Kirara forwards.

"Come on, humans!" the same youkai cried again. "While we're still young!"

Resisting the urge to toss Hiraikotsu at the youkai, Sango bent low over Kirara's back and told her to fly faster. This was the best lead they'd gotten since the Eastern castle, and she would be damned if she let it slip through their fingers. Despite her less than good feelings toward the soldiers at the moment, she followed after them, preparing herself for a fight…just in case.

It was another quiet day in the Southern castle. Since there had been no headway made in the hunt for information, Kokoro had very kindly offered to house InuYasha and Kagome indefinitely, or rather until they were able to continue their quest. While Kagome was pleased about this turn of events, InuYasha seemed rather unhappy. Truth be told, he was tired of sitting around doing nothing all day every day. He would give anything for a bit of action, but he was still sequestered in the damn castle. Problem was, the hanyou was not fireproof, so unless somebody wanted to fly him out, he was stuck.

Another, more private reason for his foul mood was the fact that he was still unable to profess himself to Kagome. Every time they touched, every time they talked; hell, every time she was near him he felt the emotions well inside of him. Unfortunately, they seemed to have the ability to block off his throat, making it impossible for him to talk to her during these times. It pissed him off and depressed him at the same time. Even worse, Kagome was taking his silences as conformation that he only cared for her as a friend, and consequently was growing more and more distant. InuYasha would try to give her a physical sign of his affections: a kiss, a hug, even just a little nuzzle, but she would turn away from him before he could make contact. She wanted him to say the words. No amount of touching mattered until he said the words to her. He knew this, but still he couldn't say anything.

Kokoro realized the hanyou had a predicament, but he wisely refrained from saying anything. InuYasha's hair-trigger temper was not to be messed with; a lesson he sorely needed to teach his brother. When Sohei nearly got his head cut off for the third time that morning, Kokoro sent him out on a scouting trip, partially because his brother was one of the fastest flyers in the kingdom, but mostly because he wanted to get him out of InuYasha's hair. Sohei hadn't been too happy about it, but he had left without complaining. Kokoro was the lord, and his word was law.

Still, all was not quite well with the two guests. Since they weren't making any progress in any of their fronts, neither of them was at all happy with their current situation. Kokoro saw this and tried to figure out how he could help. Hikari told him (quite rudely) that the only thing he could do was try to find some clue as to the mysterious murderer's identity, while Akira's advice was simply to follow his heart. In the end, Kokoro decided to just give the hanyou a place to sit and think for a while.

Therefore, while they were at lunch, Kokoro turned toward InuYasha and mentioned as casually as possible, "InuYasha, have you been to our Arboretum?"

InuYasha, who had been picking at his food, glanced up at Kokoro. "Have I ever been to what?"

Kagome let out a soft gasp. "You have an arboretum? How?! I thought this castle was underground!"

The youkai lord let out a soft laugh. "I have the power to keep a wooden castle from catching on fire, and you're surprised I can have an Arboretum? Yes, I have an Arboretum; it's not quite like being in the forests of Nippon, but I hope it is comparable. If you need me to, I can even show you where it is." He stood up and bowed low. "Anything to begin to repay the debt I owe you."

As always when he received this sort of attention, InuYasha immediately wished Kokoro would stop. "Uh…yeah, that's, um…yeah." He squirmed in his seat and averted his eyes. Why was it so fucking weird to be respected so easily?

Kagome, however, beamed brightly at Kokoro and bobbed up to give a bow of her own. "Arigato, Kokoro-sama! We'd love to visit the Arboretum!" She glanced down at InuYasha and frowned slightly. "Right, InuYasha?" The inu-hanyou muttered something she couldn't catch. "What was that?" By this time, her voice had taken on that overly sweet quality that preceded an osuwari.

"That's great," he grumbled obediently.

"Well, if you're done eating, we can head down there now." Kokoro rose from his seat and gestured to his servants; they immediately started clearing his dishes away. Kagome seemed eager to follow him, but InuYasha looked just as lethargic as ever. Well, Kokoro thought, perhaps if Kagome followed him, InuYasha would be convinced to follow. Sure enough, as he made his way through the dining hall, he heard two sets of feet following him, not just one.

As he tramped down the familiar path to the Arboretum, Kokoro's thoughts strayed elsewhere. His thoughts were mostly concerned with InuYasha and the past he had tried so hard to bury. Two hundred years he had obediently swallowed the lie Sesshoumaru had got them all believing; two hundred years he'd spent trying to be the lord his father was while turning a blind eye to the plights of the other three kingdoms; and two hundred years spent decaying in the Archives while time spun on around him. 'A truly great leader,' he thought, 'does not merely read about great things and store them within his brain; he uses them as a basis upon which he might act. Instead of doing that, I have wasted years of my life and of the Southern kingdom's by sitting by and letting the world wash over me. Father surely would not have acted so; he must see me as the greatest mistake he ever made.' He sighed and shook his head. 'No, I mustn't think badly of myself. The only way to start mending this is to help InuYasha now, and hope that I can be forgiven.'

Another problem rose to the forefront of Kokoro's mind: if he truly wanted to be forgiven, would he have to tell InuYasha the truth? Back in his bedroom, Kokoro had not told InuYasha the full truth about the past; he had left out a crucial, life changing and frankly horrible part of the story. Even thinking of it made Kokoro's insides twist themselves into knots. 'I can't, not yet. He will distrust me, perhaps even hate me if I told him about that. No, I must wait until the time is right.'

Kokoro was so wrapped up in his thoughts he almost missed the entrance to the Arboretum. Thankfully, he managed to escape the prison of his mind before he made a fool of himself. Unlike most of his castle, the Arboretum had no door; its entrance was marked by a stone arch with 'Arboretum' inscribed upon it. The scent of pine needles, oak and grass was so strong that even the phoenix's weak nose was nearly overwhelmed by it. Making sure he had an adequate smile upon his face, Kokoro turned to face his two followers. "We have arrived, my friends. Would you like me to give you a tour?"

"I think we'll be all right, Kokoro-sama," Kagome replied. "Part of the fun'll be discovering everything, right, InuYasha?" InuYasha mumbled something she couldn't catch, so she continued on. "Thanks again, Kokoro-sama. It was really nice of you to bring us here."

He smiled again, a little more genuinely this time. "The pleasure is all mine. Would you like a tour, or would you rather I leave you be?" He saw the answer form in Kagome's head before she could voice it, and decided to reply. "All right, I'll see you later. If you need anything, just clap or whistle, and one of my servants will attend to you." He bowed once and started walking away from the Arboretum. Kagome was right; they'd spent enough time with their Southern patrons.

Silence descended as Kokoro's footsteps faded into the distance. The scent of pine needles and grass grew stronger and much more tempting. Kagome could tell InuYasha was perking up; his youki was stirring and his ears looked much less droopy. She had to admit, the smell of the outdoors was working its wonders on her too. It was like being let out from a cage into the open world. Well, it wasn't quite the open world, but it was still not the inside either. With a smile gradually spreading across her face, Kagome sauntered across the threshold of the Arboretum, InuYasha tagging along behind her. The stone beneath their feet soon became dirt, which made a rather delightful crunching sound. There was grass on either side of the path, more and more of it appearing as they walked farther and farther. Soon it looked as if they were in a wide meadow that was steadily growing bigger and bigger. Trees were growing here and there, and there were more of them straight ahead. There was no sunlight, but the ceiling overhead seemed to be made of glass; flowing orange, yellow and red lava swirled overhead like a lazy river, illuminating the place in lieu of the sun. Somehow a breeze whispered through the trees and through their hair, even though it was impossible for there to be wind so far underground.

"Wow," Kagome managed to whisper, "This place is…wow, it's so…beautiful."

"Feh." InuYasha looked around, his ears twitching slightly as he took in the surroundings. He didn't seem too impressed, but Kagome knew better. She had seen that spark in his eyes.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" she asked, her voice still quiet, but for a whole different reason.

"Who said I wanted you to go?" He gave her an annoyed look as his ears rotated out to the side.

"I just thought you'd want some time alone, that's all." She held up her hands in a defensive way and gave InuYasha a hurt look, complete with pout. "I know you haven't been happy lately, and I thought-"

"I don't want you to go!" His retort was a mite too harsh, as he quickly found out when Kagome jumped. "Sorry," he muttered, "but it's true. I don't want you to go. It's just…fuck, Kagome, we're getting nowhere with this fucking investigation thing!" He glared around at the surrounding beauty as if all the trees had somehow offended him. "I have no fucking idea how long it's been since we've been here, but I know that fucking birdbrain hasn't found anything in those dusty ass files of his!" He clenched his fist tightly, dearly wishing he could just punch something. "Every day we spend fucking around is a day the fucker who stole Mother's ashes gets farther away! Fuck, if he could see us right now, I'd bet he'd be laughing his fucking ass off!"

"InuYasha, stop it!" Kagome cried. "Kokoro-sama's been trying really hard to help us, and he has a lot of parchments to go through. You can't expect answers to come to you on a silver platter, InuYasha; the world just doesn't work like that." She managed to lower her voice a little bit so she could sound more soothing as she said, "InuYasha, it's likely we won't be able to find them at all. A week had already passed when Myouga-ji-chan asked me to help him find the urn, so it's possible the person who commissioned the Sugureta guy to steal it is long gone. Even so, we won't stop trying until we know for sure." She reached out and touched the hanyou's tense shoulder, a sad smile spreading slowly over her face. "We're all trying our best to help, InuYasha."

He slumped a little bit at this. "I know," he mumbled, squirming a tiny bit. "I just…I'm tired of just sitting around doing nothing all fucking day."

"Can't really help you there, but we could explore the Arboretum a little bit." Kagome looked toward the thicket of trees directly in front of them. "If nothing else, we get to see someplace new."

He let out a snort, but it was with a pinch more liveliness that he started walking toward the copse. Kagome followed after him, shaking her head slightly. He would never change, that InuYasha.

Soon they were surrounded by trees and cool shadows and the murmur of leaves in the wind. There was less grass here, as the trees got all the water, so they were walking upon a layer of dead leaves that crunched as they moved over them. Sometimes there was a small scuttling sound, as if a small animal was scurrying through the forest, but every time they looked, there was nothing there.

They soon reached a clearing in the exact center of the Arboretum. A tiny pond glimmered brightly beneath the flaming ceiling; it was the only body of water in the entire forest. Kagome walked over to it and flopped down on the ground, stripping off her shoes and socks as she did so. She let her toes slip beneath the water's surface and gave a small sigh.

"What are you doing?"

Kagome glanced over at InuYasha. "My feet were getting tired. This feels so good," she practically purred. The water ripped slightly as she let her feet sink until the water lapped at her ankles. She leaned back on her elbows, her face tipping up toward the 'sky' as she relaxed in the cool embrace of the green grass. There was a rustling sound, and then she felt InuYasha's hakama brush her face as he sat down right next to her.

"Puny wench," he snorted. "We didn't even walk that far."

"It's still nice," she retorted.

InuYasha was quiet for a moment, prompting Kagome to peek over at him. He was staring into the depths of the pond as if it held the secrets of the universe, and seemed about as aware of her as an elephant was of a flea. She decided to leave him to it and continued basking in the 'sun' light. If InuYasha wanted to talk, he would talk.

They sat there for fifteen minutes, neither of them saying anything. The Arboretum filled the silence for them; there was more rustling from all around them as the invisible creatures went about their daily business, and when they weren't moving, the trees whispered in the near intangible breeze. Kagome started to doze, lulled by the warmth of the fiery sky, the coolness of the water and the soothing sounds of the forest.

InuYasha glanced over at the dozing miko, his mind whirling faster than he thought possible. It was the same argument as always: 'Just tell her, you baka!'

'She'll laugh.'

'She's already admitted that she loves you!'

'She might not mean it.'

'You've kissed her, dammit!'

He didn't have an answer to that, as always. Even in his limited experience, friends did not kiss each other. At least, not like he and Kagome had. The memory of it was strong enough to make him feel very warm, and he quickly stopped thinking about it.

That still left the problem of how the hell he was going to muster the moxy to confess his feelings to her. Feelings were not his strong point, after all. He knew what he was feeling; he just didn't know how he was going to put it into words.

"InuYasha?" Kagome's soft voice promptly derailed his train of thought. Feeling more than a little annoyed at this, he turned toward her, his ears swiveling out to the sides. She was sitting up now and looking at him, a hint of concern marring her lovely features.

"What?"

"I was just wondering something." Her voice carried a hint of reluctance, as if the words coming out of her mouth were not ones she wanted said.

"What?" he repeated, feeling more than a little pressured now.

"InuYasha, do you think we're going to find your mother's urn?" She blurted the question so quickly InuYasha might have missed it. Kagome flushed guiltily and looked away when he shot her an incredulous look. "It…It's starting to seem like a wild goose chase, and, to be honest, we have better things to do than sit around a castle all day. I mean, Naraku's still out there and all that…do you really think your mother's urn is worth it?"

Anger suddenly flooded through him, white hot and terrible. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he snarled. "You going to write Mother's urn off when we're so fucking close? Pathetic wench."

"I didn't say that!" She sat up, her eyes blazing brightly. "I'm trying to be realistic, InuYasha! It's been over a month since that urn went missing; whoever stole it could be anywhere by now!"

"Just because you're useless at finding things doesn't mean you can give up on Mother!" he bellowed back. His mind instantly screamed at him to stop, but it was too late; the dreaded word useless had left his lips and smacked her right in the face. As quickly as it had come, the fire in her eyes was quenched, leaving them dark and empty. Her shoulders slumped, her spine sagged and her lip started trembling. InuYasha felt his anger drain away, like someone had pulled a plug within his gut. 'Great job, asshole.'

"Kagome…I…I didn't…" His voice was hoarse and empty-sounding, drastically different from his animalistic bellows. "You know I didn't mean it, Kagome."

She looked away, her bangs falling over her eyes and shading them from view. Her brokenhearted pose tore at his insides like icy daggers. Why, oh why did he have to be such a dick to her?! "I…I should go," she whispered. She was on her feet faster than he thought possible, and he caught a faint whiff of salt as she leaned down to pick up her shoes.

She was crying.

InuYasha went numb. He had made her cry. He absolutely hated making her cry; if he loved her, surely he wouldn't make her cry! Before he could think, before he could consider the outcome, he strode forward and caught her arm. She whirled around to look at him, a mixture of rage and sorrow swirling in her irises like miniature typhoons. "Let me go!" she snarled.

Surprisingly, he did release her. This was enough to stay her flight, though she bounced on the balls of her feet, ready to spring away at the first opportunity. She eyed him balefully, tears still glimmering in her great brown eyes. "This better be good."

"Just hear me out," he pleaded. A hint of shock flashed through her eyes when she heard his pathetically whimpering voice, so unlike his usual brusque growl. "Please," he added. His ears were drooping and his eyes were brighter than she was used to seeing them. Since he seemed sincere, she let him sit her down and fixed him with what she fervently hoped was an impassionate gaze.

InuYasha took a deep breath before starting. "I'm sorry I called you useless. I…I was fucking upset, all right? I know things ain't looking too good right now." He ran a hand through his silvery bangs and let out a great gusty sigh. "I never meant to hurt you, not once in all the years I've known you. It's been so fucking hard to stop, though. It's…it's like there's some part of me that can't stop being a fucking dick." He made a face. "That's really fucking weak."

"Yeah, it is." There was a hint of a smile playing around Kagome's lips. "Is that it?"

"Give me a fucking break, Kagome. You know I ain't much for talking." He managed a wobbly smirk that slid off his face like rainwater. "If…if you really want to leave, that's…that's fine with me." The words left him unwillingly, dragged out of his mouth like cloth from brambles. "This was never your quest to begin with. It was mine; it should have been mine right from the get-go. All this," he gestured vaguely with his left hand, "this is all my fault. If I hadn't been so fucking stupid, the thief never would have gotten so far. I could have stopped him if I hadn't been such a fucking baby." The self-hatred in his voice was painfully evident, and Kagome found herself reaching for him.

"Please don't blame yourself," she told him. "That's not going to help anything."

He gave her an incredulous look. "And telling me off is?"

She let out a weak giggle. "I suppose not. It's just…well, we're not going to get anywhere if we keep blaming ourselves." She took a deep breath before saying, "I don't want to leave, InuYasha. I was just trying to be realistic. When I took this quest on, I had no idea what I was getting into. I'll…I'll try to be a little more optimistic from now on." She began to turn away again. "I'll go see if Kokoro-sama has found anything out."

"Wait, dammit! I ain't done yet!" He hadn't meant to yell again, but it was the only way to get her attention. She had just starting turning back toward him when he found himself bellowing, "I FUCKING LOVE YOU!"

Time seemed to halt in its tracks as his unexpected confession rang through the Arboretum. InuYasha felt his cheeks going redder and redder as the silence dragged on and on. He hadn't meant to blurt his feelings into the open air like that; he had been about to apologize again for his asshole behavior. Fervently hoping the ground would open up and save him from this humiliation, the hanyou stood there, shuffling his feet awkwardly. 'Stupid fucking Kami-damned subconscious!'

Kagome was staring at him like he was a stranger; her mouth was gaping slightly and her eyes were round as coins. For several seconds, he thought she would run from him, and keep running this time. As it turned out, he was half right in this assumption – Kagome did start running, but not away from him. She charged toward him, her arms opening wide as a smile bright as the morning sun dawned on her face. Before he could even register this, she was upon him, her arms wrapping about his shoulders as her lips rammed against his.

Instinctively, unthinkingly, he kissed her back, his own arms encompassing her waist in a massive hug. Her scent swirled about him, so beautiful and tantalizing in her newfound happiness. It wasn't the most elegant of kisses; in fact, it probably ranked amongst the five sloppiest, but they couldn't make themselves care. His fangs nipped at her lips while his claws tickled her shoulderblades. He felt her fingers caress his hair with the utmost delicacy, more than he remembered feeling in a long time.

"You baka," she rasped as soon as they had parted for air, "you absolute baka."

"Shut up," he growled back, though not in a rude way. He quickly made sure she couldn't reply, and she complied easily.

"Um…excuse me?" The voice broke into their intimate moment, shattering it like a glass window. The young couple goggled at the intruders, still wrapped in their embrace. One of Kokoro's youkai soldiers was standing there, an incredulous look clearly stamped across his face. Behind him was none other than Miroku, Sango, Shippou and Kirara. Kirara seemed about as happy as a cat could look, while Shippou just looked confused. Sango had an expression similar to that of a fish drowning on land, and Miroku's smug and perverted gaze made them feel quite self-conscious.

"Well, well, well," the houshi drawled, "what have you two been up to?"

'Fucking hell,' InuYasha groaned. 'Just kill me now.'