As always, it must be stated that I own neither InuYasha: A Feudal Fairytale nor XxxHoLiC. They are property of Rumiko Takahashi and the ladies of CLAMP respectively.

Souta Higurashi could admit when he had a bit of a problem. No, really, he could. If he'd picked up nothing else from his sister's stories of the Sengoku Jidai, it was that not admitting that there was a problem was what always, without fail, got you into trouble you couldn't get out of instead of being embarrassed and mildly inconvenienced. He had taken the lesson to heart, and had gotten to be very good indeed at admitting when he had a problem. Such as right now, when trying to navigate the grounds of his sister's school to their archery courts. "Why couldn't they put them in an easily seeable location?" he muttered darkly, eyes flicking around in an attempt to pick out any sort of detail that could tip him off as to where he needed to go.

"You lost, kid?" A male voice asked from behind him.

Souta jumped, before whirling to see who was talking to him, his grip tightening on the handle of his bag. His upper body strength was pretty good, thanks to all of the soccer training, and he could probably do some damage with the bag if he swung it. The two dictionaries it contained would help with that. He relaxed slightly when he saw that it was a boy, probably about Kagome's age, wearing the school's uniform with what looked to Souta's trained eyes like an archery bag slung accross his back. "Kind of?" He offered with a shrug, "I mean, I know I'm at the right school, I just don't know how to get to the specific part of the school I need to get to."

The older boy nodded, studying him just as carefully as Souta had studied him. "Where do you want to get?" he asked abruptly.

"The archery courts," Souta answered promptly, "My sister's competing in the tournament, so I got permission to come watch."

"I see. I'm headed that way, so come on."

Souta heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he told the older boy, "I probably would have been wandering around so long that I missed the tournament."

The older boy chuckled. "Yeah, you wouldn't have been the first. Who are you looking for, anyway? I've been doing this long enough that I might be able to help you find your sister, even if she doesn't go to school here."

"Oh, she does," Souta said absently, looking around with wide eyes at the school around him, "She's a first year. Higurashi Kagome?"

The older boy stopped abruptly, his head whipping around to stare at him, "You're Kagome's brother? Souta, right?"

Souta blinked. "Yeah. How did you..." His voice trailed off, eyes narrowing. Kagome had talked about her friends at her new school, especially the one in archery with her. What was the name again? "Doumeki." He said finally, "Doumeki Shizuka-san?"

The older boy, Doumeki-san, nodded. "Yeah. That's me. Huh. Wasn't expecting to meet you. Kagome didn't mention anything about you coming."

Souta grinned, "It's a bit of a surprise. Mama didn't say that it would be ok for me to come until I got back my grade on my math test yesterday."

Doumeki nodded in understanding, "Gotcha. It's good you're here. Kagome'll be in one of the first groups, so you might not get to see her right away."

"Really?" Souta asked, excitement rising, "Does that mean anything? I don't really understand archery," he explained when Doumeki looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, "I play soccer, and the two aren't anything alike, as far as I can tell. I know Onee-chan's really good, though! I've only seen her a a few times, but she's always been good, especially since her last year of middle school-"

Doumeki chuckled. "Well, it's not a bad thing. Heat order doesn't really mean anything, since the number's randomly assigned. It's who's in the heat that matters. Kagome'll be going up against complete idiots with a bow, because the other teams know she's unbeatable. It'll be the second round when she actualy gets halfway decent opponents." He explained.

"Ohhhhh. Ok." Souta said, nodding.

Doumeki studied the middle schooler. He seemed like a good kid, and definitely seemed to have a, well, maybe not a case of hero worship, exactly, but he certainly admired her. He could tell by the tone of his voice when he spoke about her, and, even more telling, the fact that he was here at all, cutting classes so he could watch her archery tournament, when he probably wasn't very interested in archery itself. "Where are you planning on sitting?" he asked as they reached the archery courts.

"Oh," Souta shifted uncomfortably, "Um, I don't know. I guess I thought I'd just sit in the stands somewhere?"

Doumeki considered his options briefly, then made a snap decision. "Our friends, Himawari and Watanuki are watching the tournament, too. I'll leave you with them."

"Really?" the younger boy asked, looking relieved, "Thanks!"

"Not a problem, kid." Doumeki assured him as he lead him over to his friends.

Souta spent the rest of the archery competition studying his sister's new surroundings, especially the people, and most especially Doumeki. Maybe Kagome didn't realize it but Souta had known ever since she brought home the stuffed fox on White Day that she was interested in Doumeki, in a way she hadn't been interested in anyone since InuYasha. He shouldn't dwell on that, he reminded himself, as he joined Himawari in trying very hard not to demonstrate just how entertaining he found Watanuki's present foray into what he thought was the legendary "Watanuki-senpai's Psychotic Rant Mode", it only made him mad at how truly duped he'd been by the hanyou. But he wasn't an elementary school student blinded by the fact that this was a really cool guy with a sword anymore. He was in middle school, and he understood that sometimes, being really cool was just a cover up for being a bastard who hurt people who didn't deserve it. People like Kagome, he thought, as his sister approached with Doumeki. He grinned at her. "Hi, Onee-chan!"

"Souta-kun!" Kagome answered, her eyes widening, "What are you doing here? Don't you have class?"

"Mama gave me permission to skip, because I got a 97 on my math test yesterday," he explained, "So, I'm here to watch you! You were really good in that heat."

Kagome laughed and gave him a hug. Souta felt his eyes go to half mast. Kagome hugs were the best, he decided once again. They made him feel safe and loved, and he could feel the spark of holy power that Kagome swore he had burn just a little bit brighter because of her own. "Well, thank you for coming! Now, have you gotten to meet everyone?"

Souta nodded. "Doumeki-san introduced us, before he left to go to his own heat." he explained.

Kagome turned to smile up at Doumeki. "Thank you, Shizuka-senpai."

Doumeki shrugged, "Not an issue. He seems like a good kid."

Souta watched the interaction with interest. Yes, he decided, Doumeki was the person who bore the most watching.

Fortunately, Kagome didn't have work that evening, so she and Souta could go home together. Doumeki walked them both to the subway entrance before heading back to his shrine. As soon as Souta was sure Doumeki was gone and the pair were headed down the subway steps, he spoke up. "I really like your friends. Especially Doumeki. They seem really nice. Not like Inu-baka." he added darkly.

"Souta!"

"Well, it's true," Souta defended, "He was a baka, and not a very nice one at that! At least," he scowled, "Not to you, he wasn't."

"Souta-" Kagome tried to protest, but Souta cut her off.

"No, Onee-chan," he asserted abruptly, "He wasn't. I mean, we just talked about abusive relationships in my health class, especially emotionally abusive ones. They gave us a check list of the signs, well, ok, I think that was more for the girls than the guys, but I took it down anyway. Onee-chan, InuYasha did all of these things to you, well, maybe there was one that he didn't do, but the rest..."

Kagome stared at him, before wrapping her arms around her torso, the way that Souta knew meant that she was trying to shielf herself from the outside words. "Souta-kun, he wasn't abusive. I just wasn't as strong as we needed me to be..."

""If you weren't so powerless, he wouldn't have needed to be mean to you," you mean?" Souta asked, his voice flat.

Kagome nodded as they swiped their subway passes. "Yes. It wasn't that he was abusive, I just wasn't good enough."

"Sign number 10," Souta recited from memory, "If you try to fight back, your partner blames you for the abuse. Example: "If you weren't so dumb, I wouldn't need to yell at you." Sign number 14: You feel as though you deserve to be treated poorly. You think things like "If I was a better person, I wouldn't make him so mad." Sign number 15: You find yourself rushing to his defense any time he is brought up in conversation. You constantly make excuses for his behavior." Souta paused to look up at his sister, his eyes just a bit hard, "Do any of those sound familiar, Onee-chan?"

Kagome was silent for a long moment, then closed her eyes as they reached the platform. "What were the others, Souta-kun?" she finally asked, in weary tones.

"Sign one is that you're afraid to tell your partner about normal things happening that could affect him. The example they gave us was things like having to stay late at work or school, but I think that for you, it was telling him you had to go home for a test." he glanced at Kagome, who noddd wearily, "Second sign is that when you talk to him, he puts you down and makes you feel stupid. Third sign is that you always make yourself available to your counterpart, no matter what. Four, you don't want to bring him home because you're afraid he'll berate you in front of your friends and family- and don't tell me that's not why you stopped bringing InuYasha home with you. I know it is." Souta snapped out as Kagome opened her mouth, then continued, "Sign five: You've begun to believe that you're the one with the problem. Sixth is that whenever you talk about an accomplishment- successfully using your power, for example- he sneers at you and mocks you, putting it down instead of celebrating your accomplishment. Sign seven is that you feel helpless and trapped in the relationship. Eight, your partner treats you like you're an object or possession, not like a person with feelings."

"He didn't-" Kagome started.

"Two words," Souta interrupted, "Shard Detector." Kagome fell silent, and Souta continued, "Nine, he keeps a tight control on everything; money and who you see and what you do. We already covered number ten- it's the if you fight back, he blames you. Eleven is you've begun to see yourself as worthless, just like your partner does." Souta glanced at Kagome, hesitaitng at how white she'd gotten, and how tightly her arms were wrapped around her her middle, almost as if she was trying to hold herself together, "Twelfth, you'll go out of your way to please your significant other, just to avoid confrontation. Thirteen, you're in complete isolation, he doesn't let friends or family near you, and has convinced you that they're the ones who are abusive," he paused, "That's the one that I'm not sure you had, but we've already talked about fourteen and fifteen, and those, you do have."

Kagome was saved from having to respond by the arrival of their train. The two siblings got on in silence, with Souta watching his sister carefully. He had known that this wasn't going to be a pleasant revelation for Kagome, but... It was one that she needed. Even if their relationship wasn't romanic, InuYasha had definitely been abusive. Souta wasn't sure if that was because the hanyou was just like that, or if it had to do with the fact that he had never had a normal, healthy relationship modeled for him. Either way, Souta decided, it didn't really matter. No one, and his health teacher had stressed that, had the right to make anyone feel that way. And it always did more damage than anyone could see. Looking over at his sister as she held onto a subway handle above her head made that more apparent than anything his teacher could ever have said.

As soon as they got to the shrine, Kagome had pleaded homework and darted off to her room. Souta, meanwhile stopped and saluted his mother. "Reconnaisance mission completed, Mama!"

Mrs. Higurashi perked up immediately. "Go wake up Ji-chan," she ordered, "He fell asleep in his chair in the living room. We want to know everything!"

"On it!" Souta said cheerfully, before going to the living room to retrieve, "Ji-chan!" he called, "Ready for the mission report?"

Ji-chan was awake in a flash, and hurrying into the kitchen, where Mrs. Higurashi was waiting with a bottle of C.C. Lemon and three glasses. She began pouring everyone a glass as Souta and Ji-chan sat down. "So," she said as she slid him a glass, "Souta-kun. Tell us about Kagome-chan's friends."

"They all seem pretty nice," Souta began, "They didn't mind having a middle schooler dumped in their lap, and they were genuinely there to support the two who were competing, albeit in a rather strange way in the case of Watanuki-san." he shivered slightly, "Also, I definitely agree with Onee-chan's assessment of Kunogi-san's aura, it's definitely warped. I'm not very good with my spiritual powers, but even I could tell that. Watanuki-san is moderately crazed, but in a harmless, entertaining sort of way. His power is all over the place. Doumeki-san..." He trailed off, deliberately taking a long drink of his lemon soda as he watched his audience.

"Damn it, boy!" Ji-chan snapped, "Spit it out already! Don't keep us waiting!"

"Ji-chan!" Mrs. Higurashi scolded, "Language! Although, Souta-kun, really, it isn't nice to keep us waiting."

Souta grinned. "I know, Mama! But it's fun!" he set his glass down and continued, "I liked Doumeki-san. He's the exact opposite of InuBaka-"

"Souta-kun," his mother warned, "Don't make me go after you for language."

"Yes, Mama." He agreed before continuing, "He's the exact opposite of InuYasha. You can tell he really cares about Onee-chan just by watching the way he looks at her. And I think Onee-chan reciprocates, at least a little." He grinned, "He's much more serious than Watanuki-san is, and I get the feeling that he looks after the others a bit. Well, along with Onee-chan. They split off a bit from the others a lot as well." He shared a smirk with his conspirators, "I think, I really do, that given enough time and some subtle encouragement on our part, it could work out."

It was Ji-chan who answered. "He is a good boy from a good family. I took the liberty of looking into the history of the boy's shrine-"

"Ji-chan, did you really?" Mrs. Higurashi groaned.

"It's my precious granddaughter! Besides, do any of us want a repeat of what happened last time?" When Mrs. Higurashi and Souta shuddered at the thought, Ji-chan smiled and continued with a smug voice, "I thought not. The boy's grandfather was a friend, at any rate. Not a close one, mind you, but still. He had great spiritual power. His son didn't inherit them- probably didn't care to, from what I heard- but it appears that his grandson did, to a greater or lesser extent. A good lad from a strong line like that is just what our Kagome-chan needs."

"Now," Mrs. Higurashi said with a nod of agreement, "All we have to do is ensure that it happens."

"I don't know," Souta said meditatively, "They might be able to take care of it themselves. But then again, it is Onee-chan we're talking about, so anything is possible."

And with that, the trio of meddlers began to plot.

The next day, Kagome paid a visit to Yuuko's shop before her shift started. "Yuuko-san?" She called, "I... Have a favor to ask."

Yuuko's eyebrows rose. "Oh? You tend to avoid those Kagome-chan. What is it?"

Kagome took a deep breath, "I need you to cut the ties that bind me."

"I assume you mean the ties that bind you to the hanyou?" Yuuko asked silkily, bringing her pipe to her lips, "With most people, generalities are sufficient, but in your case, specificity could only be to your benefit."

"Yes," she agreed, "The ties that bind me to... InuYasha." She looked down and away, "I think... I think I've allowed them to get in the way for far too long."

"Well, I certainly won't disagree with that," Yuuko said, voice dry, "You do understand, of course, that you'll have to pay the price, don't you?"

"Of course." Kagome said with a nod, "And I assume that, for me, it's going to be a lot bigger than simply cutting my hair?"

"That's right," Yuuko agreed, "It's all very simple. To cut ties to a person, I'm going to need what bound them to you in return."

"The subjugation necklace?" Kagome asked, eyes wide.

Yuuko nodded regally. "That's right, Kagome-chan. Bring it with you tomorrow, and we'll snip those bonds of yours. Have we a deal?"

Kagome hesitated for a moment, then pursed her lips determinedly. "Yes. It's a deal!"

Welcome to your semi-annual installment of The Price of Hitsuzen! It's even coming out earlier than expected! In return, I ask that you be kind to the formatting- I'm writing this on a tablet, and I don't know if fanfiction (or Archive of Our Own if I ever get caught up there, for that matter) will like my word processor and format it correctly. I know my laptop doesn't.

At any rate, the usual apologies, although many fewer of them, for the time delay between updates, but that elusive thing known as 'The Real World' does tend to make that difficult for me. To put things in perspective, since the last post I have successfully: taken the GRE, applied for grad school, taken midterms for my last semester of undergrad, gotten unofficially accepted into grad school, doing my job as an RA, started applying for summer jobs, oh, and written a 64 page senior thesis. As the last was finished on Friday, be very happy that this got posted when it did.

On to the much more interesting notes!

1) 'Baka' as a not dreadfully polite word- As usual, my knowledge is imperfect, but as I understand it, despite its frequent use in anime, the term 'baka', which translates to 'idiot' or 'fool', is not necessarily a very nice term. It can be used in a way similar to an English speaker saying 'you silly goose' or it can be used the effect of 'retard'. Either way, 'InuBaka', Souta's new nickname for InuYasha is neither polite, nor is is particularly nice. Thus, people scold him for using it.

2) The 15 signs of an emotionally abusive relationship- while these vary from source to source, these fifteen are generally pretty good indicators. Are more than a few popping up in your relationship? I reccomend running like hell. Now, as for applying this to InuYasha and Kagome's relationship, let me get out of the way that I do not mean to offend anyone. If I did, then I'm sorry. Nevertheless, despite the fact that their relationship is not romantic, InuYasha and Kagome hit something like 12 out of 15 of the characteristics of an emotionally abusive relationship. I'm sorry, but to me, that is unacceptable, and probably a very good indicator that their relationship is most definitely not healthy. In this particular AU, that number is edged closer to 14. Again, not acceptable, even if their relationship didn't have the romantic aspect tangled up in it. Let's look at the fact that he calls Kagome 'wench', for example. Now, my reaction to being called such a term would be to slap the name caller across the face and ditch him. That's rude and derogatory. From what a Japanese speaking friend tells me, 'wench' is the way that English publishers have translated the most derogatory means of saying 'you' in Japanese. The lack of respect is not a sign of affection. It's a sign that he doesn't see Kagome as worthwhile. Please note, that other than perhaps Sesshoumaru, InuYasha doesn't call anyone else by that term, certainly not his other friends. That? That is not ok. That is also one of the reasons why I conclude that InuYasha is emotionally abusive. Now, before you try to tell me that he's not abusive, he's just Tsundere, consider this: Kyo from Fruits Basket is an example of male tsundere. He is well executed, usually a bit careless with people's feelings, including Tohru's. But he always, always feels guilty about it afterwards. Kyo is an example of a well written Tsundere male. InuYasha is an attempt at that goal that fails to meet the grade, instead leaving you wanting to pound on the guy for being an abusive jerk. This... May have something to do with the fact that in more recent years, I have taken an intense dislike to the character and the notion of InuYasha and Kagome just makes me mad. It may also have caused me to despise the InuYasha/ Kagome romances that keep popping up like daisies. I don't approve, and it annoys me when people keep shoving them together.

And now the rant has been completed and I will stop holding you hostages.

3) C.C. Lemon- this is a type of Japanese lemon soda. Never tried it, but I'm wagering it's a bit like Sprite. Do let me know.

That's about it, and I'm falling asleep over my keyboard. Time to stop. Send me any remaining questions on to me. Hope you enjoyed it!