A/N: Hey y'all. I'm back again with another chapter.

First off, a big thanks to 1Onyxcat, Alice Cullen Hale1, scarlet.g.13, Vampyre Frost, Saragosa, TheImpossibleGirl321, XxsatanicteddybearxX, Ereneviana, and GallagherGirlLover5197 for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam.

Next, a big thanks to moonlight1ify and Kagz419 for leaving a review; it feels good to be back and uploading this story again. I'm working hard on this fic.

Lastly, thanks to all of you for taking the time to read my story and to those of you who has this fic on their Alerts.

Warnings: Light cursing, and a little bit of gore.

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).

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Chapter 25 – An Unforeseen Pep-Talk

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When I finally found my way back to the village, the sun had almost already set. The sky was slowly turning darker with every step I took, turning from a warm orange to a bloodred orange color where the sun dipped down over the horizon, with violet and purple painting most of the sky. Only furthest to the east the sky had turned completely black, not yet showing the white sparkles of the stars.

I was carrying Kirara in my arms, slowly approaching the still destroyed entrance to the village. When I walked through the destroyed gate, I let my eyes sweep to the side and saw that the others had finished up burrowing the dead. A small bundle of yellow flowers lied on top of each grave. A sorrowful sigh left my lips while I turned my head away from the graves. Kirara made a soft cry where she was in my arms. I petted her gently for a short while before I continued further into the village. My eyes swept the darkening place, looking for where the rest of our gang were.

I spotted a small house – barely untouched by the havoc of less than twenty-four hours ago – where light shone from its uncovered window. Figuring that the others were probably there, my legs moved towards the building. When I was almost at the entrance to the hut, which was covered by a piece of curtain with light shining down from underneath it, I heard InuYasha holler.

"Hey, you promised me extra ninja food!"

It was shortly followed with a reply from Kagome, who sounded more than annoyed with InuYasha's antics: "That doesn't mean that you have to eat it all at once!"

"Here we go again," I heard the muffled voice of Miroku, and could clearly depict how he was sighing with that statement.

"And why the hell not?!" InuYasha yelled loudly, "I'm starved, and this stuff is great!"

Then I could hear some scuffling in the little hut, followed by Shippō wailing in distraught: "HEY! That's my food!"

"Not anymore," InuYasha said smugly, sounding quite satisfied with his statement.

"InuYasha," Kagome said in a berating manner, "You can't just take Shippō-bō's dinner!"

"I just did!" InuYasha responded aggressively to Kagome, "If you don't want me to eat his, then make me another!"

"That bowl is for Aiko-chan when she gets back! Are she supposed to starve just to satisfy your hunger?!" Kagome yelled at him, clearly upset with how selfish she thought InuYasha was.

Then the next words took my breath away: "It's not like she's gonna eat it anyways!" InuYasha said determinedly.

I didn't like his statement. Silence followed his spoken words, and I could almost hear Kagome think about what InuYasha had just said.

"W-what do you mean?" Kagome said in a low and confused voice.

This time, Miroku joined the debate: "What he's saying is that Aiko-san hasn't eaten a single bite while she has been traveling with us."

More silence followed Miroku's words, and once again I could clearly guess that Kagome was thinking about what had been said.

"B-but there's never been any leftovers from her…" Kagome began to state, still in a low and puzzling voice.

This time, InuYasha answered her: "That's because she's been giving her food to me!"

"What!" Kagome hollered, "And you just took it?!"

"Yeah, what do you expect? If she ain't gonna eat it, I'm not gonna let the food go to waste. Especially not when she's wavering it in front of me!"

I felt like a knife was being stabbed into my stomach. Each word made me realize how obvious it had been – me not eating. But I couldn't help it. Ever since … since I had entrapped myself inside my mind, I haven't had any appetite. I just couldn't get myself to eat when I didn't feel hungry.

"B-but she did eat when we were back home…" Kagome said uncertainly.

Once more, Miroku spoke up: "Did you actually see her eat anything there?"

There was a pause in the conversation, which made me think that Kagome was thinking back to when we were back at her place.

"N-no, I didn't…" she answered Miroku's question, then she added: "This doesn't add up… Usually, Aiko-chan eats almost as much as InuYasha does… And she would definitely not pass by okonomiyaki and gyudon, which are her favorite dishes… kā-san made us that when we got back."

I could easily detect the worry in Kagome's voice, which made me fret about her worrying about me. I didn't want her to be worried about me; she had enough to be concerned about without me adding to it.

That's when I decided that I had listened enough to their conversation. I glanced down at Kirara who seemed to be able to feel my unease. She was looking up at me with concern. A timid cry came from her like she was trying to ease my nerves.

I nuzzled her closer to me to whisper into her ear: "Go get something to eat…"

Then I placed her down on the ground in front of the entrance. She quickly turned around to look at me with questioning eyes, like she was asking me if I wasn't gonna join them. I shook my head in a negative response, then I turned around and let my feet carry me away from them.

"Kew," I heard Kirara mewl at me, but I didn't turn around to look at her.

~oOo~

I found myself sitting on the roof of one of the still intact huts, staring longingly up at the night sky. The black sky was littered with small white stars, twinkling gently down at me. The moon was a soft crescent, on its way to become full. I sighed heavily, letting my eyes close for a few seconds before I opened them again to look up at the silvery crescent moon. I didn't know what was wrong with me. My world had turned completely upside down since I happened to fall into the well with Kagome that day about two months ago. I was no longer the same person as I was before. I wasn't human any longer. And my world was thrown off-axis ever since I'd traveled with Sesshōmaru. It didn't make anything better when I got reunited with Kagome. Ever since I split from Sesshōmaru, I couldn't eat nor sleep. I always felt a tug in my heart like I was missing someone important.

I had an inkling feeling of who that person was, yet I wouldn't accept it. I couldn't accept that I missed being with Sesshōmaru. All I wanted was to forget about him, but my heart wasn't in it. It kept pestering me with its stinging and tugging, always reminding me that he existed.

Why don't you admit it already? Gin asked me in my mind.

I sighed with her statement. If I admitted it, it would mean that I would admit that Sesshōmaru had taken a piece of my heart.

I can't, Gin… It isn't right for me to feel the way that I feel…

I could hear her sigh at me, which made me chuff at what her sigh meant.

You're gonna stay miserable until you accept it… You care about him!

This made me kind of angry. Letting my lower arms rest against my bend knees, I grabbed at my hair and tugged at the dark blond strands in annoyance. My head hang in between my slightly parted knees and I groaned out in frustration.

"For fuck's sake, I can't!" I growled out in a desperate manner.

"Can't what?"

I froze in my position for a few seconds. Then I let go of my hair and turned my head to the unexpected and unwelcomed arriver. At the edge of the roof stood InuYasha, his red suikan and hakama standing out in sharp contrast to the surrounding darkness of the night while his silvery hair gleamed with the gentle rays of the moon.

I let out a sigh and closed my eyes: "Nothing…"

I hoped that it would end the conversation before it began. But against my hopes, he came over to where I was sitting and sat down cross-legged next to my left. I could feel him look at me with inquiring eyes. Sighing hopelessly, I opened my eyes and looked at him, my arms crossing over each other on top of my knees. I then leaned my head against my crossed arms and stared into his shimmering golden eyes. It was silent in between us as we looked into each other's eyes, trying to figure the other out.

"Why are you here?" I asked him when I felt the silence was too annoying to let continue.

It didn't give me the result I thought it would.

"Why're you here?" he tossed back at me, his tone a bit more biting than mine was.

I huffed out in annoyance and glanced away from him. My head turned slightly away from him to let my gaze land on the graves against the palisade.

"Trying to think…" I replied in a whisper.

Silence filled the space between us once again, and at that moment, I hated the silence. I could feel the impatience rolling off of InuYasha like he expected me to do all the talking.

With annoyance, I groaned.

"Why do you care?" I asked him, hearing how my annoyance laced my tone.

"Tch, I don't," he said nonchalantly.

I could hear him shuffle behind me and swept my gaze back to him. He was lying on his back with his hands behind his head, staring up at the dark night sky.

Then, to my surprise, his eyes softened when he whispered: "But Kagome does…"

His words tore at my heartstring; I really didn't wish for Kagome to worry about me.

I let out a sorrowful sigh and closed my eyes: "I know," I whispered.

"Then do something, so that Kagome doesn't go around worrying about you!" he bit out in frustration.

My eyes opened and swept over to his resting form, seeing his eyes were closed.

"That's what I'm trying to do!" I hissed out in annoyance of my dilemma.

"Why do you think I'm out here, thinking?" I then asked him in the same tone of voice.

"You tell me," he said nonchalantly while he kept his posture.

"Argh!" I growled out in frustration and got up from my position.

I walked over to the other end of the roof, creating distance between me and InuYasha. There, I stood with my arms crossed over my chest while I looked down at the ground below me.

"It's not that easy, InuYasha!" I hissed out between my clenched teeth.

I opened my eyes and let my gaze turn to the crescent moon on the sky, trying to find some form of strength from its soft light. Silence spread in between us once more while I stared up at the soft glowing moon, reminiscing in its radiant light. I couldn't but think of Sesshōmaru while I looked at the moon; its crescent shape reminded me of the mark on his forehead.

My reminiscence was interrupted by InuYasha when he sighed and said: "Look, you need to figure it out sooner rather than later. Your mood is affecting the others, and we need to be at our best!"

His forwardness made my lips tug a bit at the corners; he was so blunt that I couldn't help it.

This time when I let out a sigh, it was lighter in it. Though it was still not that easy for me to just accept all that has happened around me.

"I'm trying," I said softly, looking back down at the ground.

Then I added in a thoughtful manner: "But for me to become … me again, I have to accept…"

I stopped up mid-sentence. I had almost said 'to accept my feelings for Sesshōmaru', which would have been disastrous to admit that I had feelings for said daiyōkai.

"… and I just can't," I whispered timidly.

I heard InuYasha get up from the roof and take a few steps towards me, but I didn't turn my eyes towards him.

Then he said: "You can't change the fact that you have yōkai blood in your veins!"

Those words reminded me that I wasn't who I thought I was. That was something that I needed to accept as well.

"You're right," I whispered and turned my torso towards him so that I could look at him.

He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. Then he gave me a resolute nod, like the problem had been solved. His stance relaxed as he turned around to face the hut where the others were sleeping. But before he walked towards it, he glanced over his shoulder at me once more.

"Let's head back and get some sleep."

With that he jumped off of the roof and walked towards the hut. My gaze swept up to the crescent moon one last time before I too jumped off of the roof and headed towards the hut. While I glanced at the moon, my thoughts drifted to Sesshōmaru. Did I really care about him in the way that Gin thought I did?

I wasn't sure. Though I was surer of that, I would be quicker about accepting my yōkai blood than I would be about accepting those impossible and improper feelings.

InuYasha was awaiting me at the entrance to the hut, holding the curtain back for me from inside the hut. When I stepped inside, he let go of it and softly dropped down right next to the opening. He grabbed a hold of the Tessaiga and hugged it into his chest while he leaned up against the wall, choosing to sleep in that position.

I glanced at Kagome's sleeping form. She was lying in her sleeping bag with Shippō resting at her head on top of her black hair. Kirara was sleeping near the small smoldering fire that burned in the middle of the room, while Miroku rested against the wall like InuYasha was. My eyes drifted over to the empty sleeping bag that lied right next to Kagome, ready for me to use it. It appeared that Kagome had made sure that I had a sleeping bag to lie in and had prepared it for me to use.

With silent steps, I walked over to the empty sleeping back. Disposing my waraji at the end of it, I lied down on top of it, not feeling like sleeping inside it. I lied on my back and stared at the ceiling, not feeling tired at all. My mind seemed filled with different thoughts, especially thoughts about what I should do about me and my feelings about Sesshōmaru.

My thoughts were then interrupted when something light walked on top of me. I looked down and saw that it was Kirara. She was standing on my stomach, looking at me with her enticing red eyes. I moved my right hand down to gently pet her soft head, which she responded to by closing her eyes and purring softly. She then lied down on top of my stomach, continuing her soft purring. Her purring seemed to calm my thoughts and I found myself grow tired. Slowly my eyes grew heavy and they began to close, and I found myself drift off into dreamland.

~oOo~

"Aiko-chaaa~n… it's time to get up…" Kagome said softly to me, gently shaking my shoulder to coax me awake.

But I wasn't ready to get up; I felt more than comfortable where I was.

"Ngh… Don't wanna~," I mock cried and shuffled into a tighter ball.

The movement made me shuffle Kagome's hand off of my shoulder, at the same time, I hugged the sleeping bag I was lying on closer to my chest.

"But breakfast is ready," Kagome said patiently.

I just grumbled unrecognizably, burrowing my nose into the sleeping bag. The sudden desire for the sleeping bag would smell like nature after rain with a hint of cinnamon filled up in me and made me disappointed that it didn't have that scent.

"Kew," came the gentle mewl of Kirara, yet that wasn't enough to make me get up.

Then I heard Miroku say in a soft voice: "Let me try, Kagome-sama."

I didn't pay any attentions to his words. But I got the wish that I had and just gotten up when Kagome first tried to awake me. Because suddenly I felt a masculine hand on my right buttock, groping at it in a tender manner. My eyes opened up immediately, his touch an unwelcomed gesture. Anger was flowing in my veins in a split-second. In the same instance I clenched my left fist and sat up. In the same fluid motion, I tore my fist through the air, aiming for where I thought his face was.

He was lucky though, because I stopped my defensive attack when my fist was a fragment of an inch away from his nose. I looked him in the eyes, my green ones narrowed in a furious manner and gleaming with anger at being awoken in such a manner. His indigo-colored eyes showed his shock of my abrupt movement, and his hands were up in front of his person in an innocent manner – he was showing me his palms.

"Next time," I growled at him, letting my fist hang in front of his nose, "I won't hesitate to break your nose, hōshi!"

Cold sweat formed on his forehead with the threat I made. Then he nodded vigorously like he understood the message. Then suddenly, InuYasha hollered with laughter, clearing the tension that had been created. His laughter was soon followed by Kagome giggling and Shippō snickering. It appeared that the others found the threat funny. I let my fist drop to my side and then gave Miroku a smirk. This seemed to make him feel relieved if the gentle sigh from him was an indication of such. He closed his eyes and rested his left hand over his heart.

"Now that you're awake, would you like some breakfast?" Kagome asked me hesitantly.

Her tone made me shift my gaze over to land on her. She was kneeling beside me, right next to Miroku's left. In her hands there was a bowl of instant ramen with steam rising from the bowl. She also had a pair of chopsticks in her hand. My eyes sought hers out, and I could see the worry she had in her normally friendly brown eyes.

I barely registered that Miroku left my side to sit somewhere else, but I did manage to catch the movement of his kesa and koromo. Yet my focus was on Kagome and her question. I had to admit though, I still didn't feel that hungry. But if me eating would lessen Kagome's worry, then I would force myself to eat the bowl she had for me.

I gave her a smile and righted my position so that I could eat.

"Yeah, thanks, Kagome-chan," I said cheerfully.

Her worry seemed to disappear in the same instance. She gave me a brilliant smile and gave me the bowl of instant ramen and the chopsticks. I accepted it and felt the warmth penetrate through the thick plastic bowl.

Then I stared deeply into the bowl, seeing the steam rise from the noodles and hot water within it. When the smell of the chicken flavored broth hit my nose, I felt my stomach gurgle with sudden hunger. The hunger made no room for patience, and I dug my chopsticks greedily into the bowl to satisfy my hunger. I stuffed the scorching hot noodles into my mouth and almost swallowed them without chewing on them. At least I didn't get burned by the hot noodles.

In no time at all, I had literally inhaled the ramen and drunk the hot chicken flavored water. While I ate, I could feel their eyes on me, but I ignored them completely, too much in a hurry to appease my empty stomach. When I was done with the ramen, which I consumed in record time, I sighed with contentment. But I still felt hungry, so I looked up from my empty bowl and over at Kagome. She had stopped eating and looked like she had been caught by surprise by me devouring my ramen.

"Is there more?" I asked nervously.

She blinked a few times seemingly trying to figure out what I had said. Then she closed her eyes and gave me one of her gentle smiles.

"Of course," she said happily.

Then she opened her eyes and they shone in a tender gleam, "Just give me a minute to prepare another one…"

"That's not fair!" InuYasha hollered with discontent, "How come she gets seconds?"

Kagome had just unwrapped another bowl of instant ramen when she shifted her gaze over to InuYasha, her eyes narrowing with annoyance.

"Oh, suck it up, InuYasha!" she deadpanned.

She quickly shifted her gaze away from InuYasha and poured hot water into my second portion of instant ramen. My gaze was fixed on the bowl of ramen while I hungrily awaited my ramen to be ready.

"Can I have seconds?" InuYasha asked in a curious manner.

"You're not even done with your first!" Kagome yelled in response to his inquiry.

I became curious with how InuYasha would react to Kagome's statement, so I shifted my gaze up to look at him. His golden eyes shifted from Kagome to the bowl he had in hand. Then, to my sheer surprise, he moved the bowl of ramen to his mouth and swallowed the rest of its contents in one go.

With his bowl now empty, his mouth was filled to the brim with noodle and soup making his cheeks pouch with the content. I really wanted to laugh at the face he made, but I held it in.

He swallowed what he had in his mouth with a big and loudly gulp.

Then he looked at Kagome with an inquiring gaze and said: "Now?"

Kagome sighed heavily with his question but seemed to comply to his wish.

"Alright…" she said defeatedly and began to ready another bowl of ramen to the hungry hanyō.

"Can I get seconds as well?" came Shippō's childish voice, quickly followed by Miroku saying: "I wouldn't mind another as well, Kagome-sama."

Another resigned sigh came from her, but then a gentle smile spread over her lips while she readied two more bowls of instant ramen. When they were all ready, she handed me my bowl of ramen, and I thanked her.

While I ate, this time at a more deliberate tempo, I couldn't help but appreciate the atmosphere that surrounded us. It was pleasant and nice, and I finally felt like I belonged with the group.

~oOo~

After breakfast, we all walked around the area of the taijiya fort while Myōga explained the purpose of the fort.

"This fort also served as a workshop…" Myōga said.

He was on InuYasha's left shoulder and spoke loudly so that we all could hear him. On InuYasha's left were Kagome with Shippō on her right shoulder. Both their attentions were on the little flea yōkai. Miroku was walking on InuYasha's right, and I was walking on Kagome's left. Kirara was in my arms, purring gently.

The others shifted their gaze, following the same view of line, so I turned my gaze in the same direction. It was the hut, which's roof I had been on top of last night that they were looking at. I could see that it functioned like a blacksmith, with an open wall to let out the heat from working inside one. If I squinted my eyes, I could see bones and carapaces, as well as odd-looking hides on a leatherworking bench.

"The bones and shells of exterminated yōkai were made into weapons and armors," Myōga said in his old man's voice.

I couldn't help but think how that was possible. Didn't every mononoke who were slain turn to dust?

"Myōga-jīji?" I asked, still looking at the workshop with questioning eyes.

We all stopped up and I shifted my attention over to look at the little black speck I knew were Myōga: "How is it possible to harvest bones and carapaces, when a mononoke turns to dust when they've been slain?"

I could feel the others' eyes on me, like they hadn't thought about it.

"Ah, an excellent question, Aiko-chan," came Myōga's satisfied comment, "You see… No one really knows… But, what I've heard and been thinking, it has something to do with the touch of humans…"

It sounded confusing: "What do you mean?"

Myōga was ever patient in his explanation: "What I mean is, upon the death of a yōkai, before it dissolves into dust, if a human touches it, it will not become dust and stay in the mortal realm within its original form…"

I understood what he was saying, but I couldn't grasp around the concept. How come the touch of a human made the yōkai stay in the mortal realm?

I asked: "I do get what you're saying, but how does the touch of a human affect the process?"

"No one knows, Aiko-chan…" Myōga said gently, "… and it isn't clear if it has anything to do with the touch of a human… but evidence points towards it…"

I nodded solemnly to his response. It didn't seem that the answer would get much clearer than that. When we had come to an agreement, so to speak, we continued onwards on our journey out of the village. Yet when I thought about the concept that humans had something to do with a yōkai not turning to dust, I couldn't help but wonder if human blood would have the same concept.

"Myōga-jīji," I said once more.

Everyone stopped up again and looked at me, while I looked at Myōga, quickly formulating my question in my mind.

"So, what if the mononoke has human blood in it? Like it isn't a full-blooded yōkai… would it work the same as a human's touch?"

The air around us all became heavy and poignant. This was obviously an emotional question to ask. But I had to know; would I disappear into dust when I died?

Myōga sighed heavily, signaling that he was thinking about a response to my laden question.

Then he responded: "There aren't any evidence for or against it. Not many yōkai mate with humans. I personally only know of InuYasha-sama, who isn't a full-blooded yōkai. And InuYasha-sama is very much alive and not about to die anytime soon."

I nodded to his response, indicating that I was done with the subject. Though I hadn't gotten a concrete answer to my pondering, I felt somewhat satisfied with what I had gotten.

I could feel InuYasha's eyes on me and shifted my gaze up to meet his. His golden eyes showed me that he knew the last question I asked wasn't exactly minded on him, but on me. Even though the question consequently also included him. Without meaning to, I had made him think about what would happen to him when he would meet his end.

With my eyes, I gave him my apologies for making him think about it. He gave me a small nod and led us all out of the village, though I didn't follow after them immediately.

Kirara mewled at me, and I glanced down at her. Her head was turned up towards me with her red eyes gleaming with encouragement. I gave her a tender smile and petted her head, making her purr louder in my arms. Pushing my thoughts out of my arms, I ran to catch up with the others, then followed them while Myōga verbally guided us to our destination.

The heavy air that had once been around our group dissolved when Myōga continued his storytelling.

"The leftovers of their remains were then taken to the edge of the village…" he said.

Then we reached the mouth of a cave, where we all stopped up just when Myōga said: "… and left inside this limestone cave…"

The cave looked dark and ominous, and it felt like the cave had seen many an encounters with yōkai and mononoke alike. I could almost feel yōki reside from inside the cave, like a remnant of old times.

I was standing beside Kagome when she whispered: "This is… where the Shikon no Tama was born…?"

I looked at her and could easily see how uncomfortable she was about being here. Trying to comfort her, I placed my left hand on her right shoulder, giving her a friendly reminder that I was here for her.

"Are you alright, Kagome-chan?" I asked her softly with Kirara giving her one of her famous small "Kew."

Kagome shifted her gaze over to me and said in a tentative voice: "It doesn't feel right…"

Then she shifted her gaze away from me and looked inside the cave.

I was just about to say something when she hollered annoyedly: "Wait a sec!"

Looking inside the cave, I could see Miroku – with Shippō on his left shoulder – and InuYasha had already headed inside.

InuYasha glanced over his shoulder at us: "Come on Kagome! Aiko, too!"

Kagome ran in first, hurrying up to where the boys were. I only waited a second or two before heading inside as well, though I didn't run.

"You want to go in!" Kagome yelled at them, clearly not happy with going inside.

Miroku glanced at Kagome when he said: "If you're scared, Kagome-sama, then cuddle up to me…"

"Bastard, you're thinking dirty stuff again, aren't you?" InuYasha barked at Miroku with his head slightly turned towards the monk.

While they had their little discussion of sorts, I glanced around the dark cave while I walked. Inside the mouth of the cave lied discarded bones, skulls, and intestines, all coming from yōkai. I lifted my arm up in front of my face, using the sleeve of my black osode to cover my nose and mouth. Yet, to my surprise, there wasn't any smell. Though the sight of all those bones were horrifying to say the least.

I could feel the weak residue of old yōki residing in the remains that lied scattered at the entrance to the cave.

The others were walking slowly, so I easily caught up to them. Kirara had moved up to sit on my right shoulder looking intently into the depths of the cave. And I could understand why she was looking so intent. Because in heart of the cave, there was something really disturbing to look at. It looked like a horrendous fusion between the upper part of a human female and a disfigured alien-like yōkai. The yōkai looked like it had mutated from many different kinds of mononoke, with carapaces, disfigured skulls, and other weird and nearly indescribable appendages. What looked like thorny tentacles were wrapped around the lower torso of the human woman, who had a gaping hole in her chest where her heart should have been. The hole tore right through her body; you could see right through her and she the back of the cave. Again, I could feel the old residue of the yōkai's yōki, though the woman didn't have any yōki. She was human!

We all stopped up at the foot of the monstrosity, looking aghast by the monstrous view in front of us. Kagome gasped and Shippō yelped in fear, while InuYasha and Miroku both came rigid in their postures. Kirara's fur bristled and I could hear her growl at the mummified mononoke in front of us.

"Wha… What is this…?" InuYasha asked in an appalled manner.

Then he asked Myōga in a hard tone: "Tell me, Myōga-jīji, this is…"

But before InuYasha could finish his question, Myōga interrupted him: "…just what it appears to be."

I could see InuYasha become annoyed at the flea yōkai. His attention shifted down to his left shoulder where he looked at the small black speck that was Myōga with a harsh glare.

"I'm asking because I can't figure it out!" InuYasha bit out with frustration at Myōga.

Then Shippō butted in: "You don't know, do you?" in a deadpanned manner.

My attention shifted away from them and over to Kagome when she said: "A yōkai mummy…?" with uncertainty.

"You think… it's a yōkai?" Miroku asked Kagome, though his attention stayed on the abomination in front of us.

Then I replied Miroku's question for Kagome: "It's definitely a mononoke…"

I let my gaze shift up to the woman.

"But her…" I said and lifted my left index finger to point up in her direction while I kept my arms crossed over my chest, "She's a human!"

I could feel Kagome's attention turn to me when she hollered: "Human?" in askance.

Knowing that she was looking at me, I nodded and hummed in acknowledgement to her question.

"How can you tell?" I heard Shippō ask me nervously, his tone pitching up in shock.

My head turned to Shippō, who was clinging himself to Miroku's left shoulder, and let my eyes rest on the small form of the kitsune.

"I can feel the traces of the yōkai's yōki…"

Then I glanced back at the woman with the gaping hole in her chest: "…but she doesn't have a yōki…"

"I believe that Aiko-san is correct," Miroku said in a thoughtful manner, "And I bet this is not something the taijiya would talk about."

A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seemed to be more of a filler, but I think it suits quite well here. I've just realized that I tend to make small typos in my A/N's. Apologies for the end-A/N from last chapter. It was meant to be 'doesn't get affected' and not 'gets affected'. I've corrected it now. So, I'm really sorry if I've offended anyone; it wasn't my intention.

But any who's, I would love hearing your thoughts on this chapter. Did you like it?

Stay safe and I'll be back next Sunday with another chapter. I can promise you all that it's gonna be action-packed and it may leave many of you surprised at the turn of events.

A/N – a few glossaries:

Okonomiyaki – A Japanese version of a pancake made with flour, yam, and egg, where you can add anything that you like. Usually it's with green onion, shrimp, beef, vegetables, squid, mochi, and/or cheese. It's cooked on both sides. (I've tried it and really love this stuff!)

Gyudon – A Japanese dish which consists of rice, topped with beef and onion cooked in a lightly sweet sauce (which is made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin). It can also include shirataki and tofu. It's usually served with beni-shoga (tanned ginger), and you can add raw egg and/or shichimi (mixture of peppers) and accompany by a missoshiru. (It's okay.)