What have I done?
They were the only words that played in Inuyasha's mind. The only ones that he allowed to play in his mind. Because when he smelled the metallic blood and listened to the screams of innocent people, he knew that they were all his fault.

The baby, the dead-eyed girl, and even the faceless man had been novelties: proof that his machines were working and the portals had reached across dimensions to his home. Each time, Onigumo told him everything was fine, that the demons on the other side were just random happenstance. But that demon, whomever he was, was out to murder. And, from the looks of it, had probably succeeded. For that demon, Inuyasha had caught Onigumo grinning; it was a smile that Inuyasha would never forget.

Every day—every moment—with Onigumo made Inuyasha more on edge, more terrified, more doubtful. At that fucking school, they'd almost been caught. But even there, the portal had closed back up before the thing that was inside had finished climbing out. And they'd managed to run before the police officer had found them. Inuyasha wanted to lay low, to wait until it was safe again to continue, but Onigumo had pushed, had reminded him of why they were opening the portals in the way that they were: so that a portal would be stable enough to open and close at will. That didn't change the fact that—that things were trying to make their way out.

"It's completely normal, Inuyasha," Onigumo had reassured, "those were probably from the borderlands looking for a way to leave. We're just getting unlucky."

It was finally time to admit that Inuyasha didn't believe that. The things that were crawling out were never like the world he remembered. Demons considered the use of resources in their world to be sacred. Demons built their homes by slowly and deliberately bending the growth of trees to their will. They killed for food only after saying a prayer and promising to return that sustenance back into the land through good deeds and service. Because demons ultimately understood that they were tied to the earth.

Inuyasha's mother had told him about how different the human and demon worlds were: mortality was a human world concept, and led to much less care for natural things. It was something Inuyasha had not understood until he was on the other side, seeing how frivolous humans' use of resources was. For a while, he hadn't given two shits about the people on the human side, seeing them waste all the things their world had given them.

But watching bodies writhing on the ground, watching the man with the limp destroy his own body in an attempt to get away from the thing that Inuyasha had brought into the human world—his mother's world—settled heavily into his soul.

Before today, getting home felt like it was worth everything.
Not anymore.

The bits and pieces of the demon were still splattered across 2nd Ave, along with the blood of injured humans. As much as Inuyasha knew he should run away from the scene, he couldn't. He needed to stay, to witness, to hope that the humans on that street were going to be okay. And the concealment charm was probably enough to keep the woman who saw him, and chased him, from recognizing him.

He'd gone up to the roof to investigate the commotion he heard up there. He'd planned to just peek out, then sneak back down to the boiler room. But he couldn't look away. Not when he saw her: the woman from the book cover. Not when the delicate aroma of cherry blossoms and vanilla infused and imprinted itself on his soul, because something about it was familiar.

What had she been doing there?
How had she known to be there?
Where did she get the reiki power from?
And why did he want to get to know her so desperately after a single glance and a single whiff?

"Hey!"
Inuyasha's momentary distraction had been interrupted by another woman, a brunette he didn't recognize, who launched after him with such speed and athleticism that she'd nearly caught him. He'd had to clear the entire stairwell in a single jump just to have enough time to scream at Onigumo to run. And even then, they'd had to abandon the still-humming machine.

All because the woman on the book cover had come to life and paralyzed him.

Outside, he could only watch as the two women on the roof grabbed their machines and shot a jet of blinding pink reiki at the rampaging demon, blowing it to bits before it could kill anyone else. Without them, the demon that Inuyasha invited into that fucking world would still be free, and still be killing.

What have I done?
Inuyasha had added the silicon insulators to the machine, created a dampening layer to reduce vibration, and added a jump gap so that when he injected his yōki into the device, it no longer counter-blasted him. And the fucking thing, for the first time, hummed like a goddamned dream. It was stable.

But it released a demon intent on killing.

Inuyasha was terrified to go back and try to collect it. The damn woman who chased him almost certainly got there first. And… he could make another one.

If…

He was not sure that he wanted to. Not if the next thing that crawled out of the portal was going to be like the last thing. Or… maybe any of the things.

But he really wanted to get home too.

Did you get out? Text me as soon as you get this.
Inuyasha scowled at the number that appeared on the screen. Of-fucking-course Onigumo would be texting him minutes after they both released a demon into New York City, almost got caught, and got saved by the women from the book they were using in the first place.

I'm fine.
Inuyasha almost typed out "maybe we should stop," but thought better of it. Stalling rather than confronting Onigumo was always the better option.

Good. Meet me at the regular place in an hour.
Inuyasha growled at Onigumo's text.

He wanted a fucking break to just… think. He didn't want to experiment; he didn't want to be around the man who poisoned his soul. But he didn't know how to break away from Onigumo, because if he tried, Onigumo would get more demanding, more insistent, more frightening.

Fine. See you in an hour.
Inuyasha replied, then slammed his phone shut and took off for their "regular place".

Everything was so fucked. He'd succeeded in making the device that didn't break apart or fry him! He'd succeeded in keeping the portal open long enough to make it through, to make it home. He'd succeeded in evading the people who nearly caught him.

But he had not felt so alone since the day the portal grabbed him and deposited him on the human side.

Wait.

A memory nagged at him, unbidden. Cherry blossoms and vanilla. The first scent of the human world. The same scent as the woman on the roof. The scent of one of the women with reiki powerful enough to destroy a demon.

Could it be that one of them was also there the day he came to New York? It seemed impossible, but… his mind would not let the possibility go. He needed to understand. He needed to get closer. He needed to investigate Kagome Higurashi and Kikyō Sekimuro, not just because the aroma of cherry blossoms and vanilla were calling him, but also because maybe they could help him understand how he got there, and help him truly get home. Without some murderous fucking demon jumping through the goddamned portal first.

But first he needed to get through the meeting with fucking Onigumo. And he only had an hour to figure out what to do, what to say, how to start getting away from the dead-eyed man who haunted him, and how to maybe—maybe figure out a new way—a different way—of finding the portal home.

"Reconnaissance," Inuyasha whispered to himself. "That's how I'll do it."

He would tell Onigumo that he needed to 'keep an eye on things,' for now, to 'wait for the heat to die down.' Yeah. That should buy him some time. Time, he hoped, he could use to get closer to Kikyō and Kagome. And if Onigumo demanded to know what he planned on doing, he'd just tell him that he was going to keep an eye on them. That his disguise made it perfect, because even if they'd seen him, his charm would protect him. That Onigumo shouldn't join him. Because, Onigumo had likely been seen, but more, because Inuyasha did not want Onigumo anywhere near the woman who smelled like cherry blossoms and vanilla.

Inuyasha took as much time as he could walking to the 24-hour diner that the two met in. He'd thought about doubling back to the boiler room where they'd set up the device, but that was futile. The brunette probably had already found it, of that he was certain, and… without it, Inuyasha could stall. He would need to construct a new device, which would take time. And with that time, maybe he could figure out how to get away from Onigumo once and for all.

Inuyasha pushed the images of writhing bodies out of his head, and concentrated again on home. On the woven wood of the family's manor, still wholly a part of the tree they decided to settle under. He remembered the fragrance and vibrance of the wildflower garden that surrounded their property, and the way that the paths between the Inu land and the other lands wove effortlessly through wisteria-planted trails. Demon lands were the epitome of the harmony between beings and nature. Inuyasha had heard of the "borderlands" but had never ventured there himself. The great demons kept their borders safe from whatever it was that lurked there, and so all Inuyasha had ever known was the serenity of his home. The jokes of his father. The scoffs of his half-brother. And the tranquil love of his mother.

You said you would give everything up to go home, Inuyasha reminded himself. But that was not true anymore. He would give everything of himself up, but he was not sure that he was willing to sacrifice others. And somehow, it had taken him until that day to really understand, and commit to, the difference.

Where are you?
Onigumo's text caused Inuyasha to bare his (concealed) fangs.

1 block away
Inuyasha replied, and picked up his pace.

His mother's smile.
His father's laugh.
Sesshomaru's scowl.
Cherry blossoms and vanilla.
Inuyasha breathed and let the memories relax him as he braced for the next meeting. He didn't want to talk to Onigumo, but he had no choice.

"You're late," the slimy voice of his 'friend' whispered to his half-demon ears when he arrived. Inuyasha turned and joined the sunken-eyed man at their usual corner table.

"I had a lot on my fucking mind," Inuyasha snarled, throwing himself into the booth.

"There is a lot to talk about!" Onigumo replied, and a manic spark came into his black eyes. "There is no time to waste! We're almost there!"

"Bullshit." Inuyasha deepened his snarl. "That thing was killing people, Onigumo… And you're sitting here pretending like everything is fucking sunshine and daisies?"

"I've told you, Inuyasha." Onigumo rolled his eyes, but when he glared back into Inuyasha's, his expression was a warning. "We can't yet control where the portal opens on the other side. We just got… unlucky this time with what tried to come through."

Onigumo's words had never sounded so rehearsed. Almost like, every location Onigumo had given him… someone in the demon world knew about too. Did… did Inuyasha dare?

"Why is it that you always tell me where we're gonna open these things and boom, surprise, there is always something on the other side tryin' to get through?" Inuyasha finally demanded; he was done tiptoeing around it.

"You've not been paying attention," Onigumo whispered, lower and more ominous than before. "We open them where we open them because it takes a lot of power to open something stable enough to let you through without swallowing you up in the wrong place, demon."

Onigumo's face turned darker, which caused Inuyasha to shrink smaller into the booth.

"...Something that we haven't opened yet," Onigumo continued. "Something we've been building up to."

Inuyasha had a suspicion that Onigumo had been keeping this from him, waiting for the right moment. He felt handled, and he felt disgusted that he was letting it happen.

"You better fucking tell me what we're building up to then, Onigumo." Inuyasha's snarl became a growl. "Because if there are things waiting on the other side, I want to be… more prepared."

"I don't know what is on the other side, demon." Onigumo's voice was truly dangerous now. "I'm human. There is no way for me to know what is beyond the portal."

Onigumo was right, but somehow Inuyasha still sensed he was lying. Inuyasha also knew it was time to drop it, because whatever secret Onigumo was guarding, it was big enough that he was coiled up and ready to lash out if Inuyasha kept pushing.

"Well… it's gonna take time to build a new one," Inuyasha murmured. "So if we are building up to something, it's gonna take a while."

"I would suggest that you hurry," Onigumo answered, his voice lighter, but still serious. "Because they're onto us."

The hair on the back of Inuyasha's neck stood up at the mention of the women. Of-fucking-course the women were onto them, but he didn't like hearing Onigumo say it, because it meant that Onigumo had noticed the women. And Inuyasha was not going to let Onigumo anywhere near Kagome Higurashi and Kikyō Sekimuro.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed; he had to broach this carefully. "I look different enough under this thing that they're not gonna know it's me. I can watch 'em." If he could say the next thing just so, he could pull it off. "Might make sense if you laid low, though. Because it's real likely one of them has seen you." When Onigumo nodded, Inuyasha inwardly relaxed. "I'll start pickin' up the things that we need to build a new device."

"Are you sure?" Onigumo raised an eyebrow. "You're a demon after all, and you saw what they do to demons…"

The vision of glaring pink light and exploding sinew crossed his mind again. The two women on the cover of Demons Among Us! had obliterated a demon. It made Inuyasha's stomach drop.

What if they found out that he was a demon (well part-demon) too? Would they do the same to him? Would the woman who smelled like cherry blossoms and vanilla end his life the way they ended the demon who crawled out of the portal?

"I'm not gonna go around New York killing innocent people," Inuyasha growled—answering his own inner doubts out loud."I'll be fine."

Kagome Higurashi and Kikyō Sekimuro had enough power to explode that human-killing monster into bits. But he was the one who let the human-killing monster into New York City in the first place. And maybe that meant that Inuyasha would have to someday answer for his actions, maybe at the hands of two women who could surely kill him.

For some reason, the idea of being at the mercy of the women on the cover of Demons Among Us! didn't scare him. Because one of them smelled like cherry blossoms and vanilla.