"...What did you mean when you said..? I mean about... later?" Inuyasha asked his passenger once they were out of earshot of the others, running a fair distance ahead of them.

In response, a hand reached up and gently stroked along the edge of his right ear. The contact startled the half-demon but not enough to make him trip or drop his burden. Her fingers trailed from the base of his ear all the way to the very tip and then back again. It definitely wasn't the way Kagome usually touched his ears either. But... It didn't feel bad...

A shiver trailed down his spine and he gulped, desperately focusing on the road ahead of him.

"What do you want me to mean by later?" she asked, stroking him torturously. "I don't think I could really go the whole way," she mused. "Can you imagine if Kagome woke up only half a virgin?"

The girl chuckled, Inuyasha blushed.

"I- I was just... I don't expect you to..." he stuttered out before cutting himself off in mortification.

She ignored his embarrassed mumbling and kept her fingers on the sensitive appendage.

"It would probably mess Kagome up if we got too carried away while she was split apart like this, so I can't realistically do much more with you than kiss and maybe get into some heavy petting."

"Petting?" he asked, suddenly feeling aggravated.

She giggled and to his deep surprise leaned forward and subtly kissed the side of his neck. At the feel of her warm mouth against his skin Inuyasha stumbled, nearly launching the two of them face first into the dirt. His heart raced as he floundered but somehow found his footing.

"W-What the hell-?!" he started.

"Heavy petting is a future phrase," she interrupted in a sultry voice against his neck. "It means touching under each other's clothes."

Any trace of anger or annoyance fled quickly. In its place came the resounding return of embarrassment, and to his surprise, desire.

If he didn't have the entire group right behind them he knew for a FACT that he would have made an L turn three seconds ago and bolted into the forest to test her willingness for himself. But that only made him feel even MORE embarrassed.

"Is that okay Inuyasha?" she asked.

"Why the hell would you want to do something like that with me?" Inuyasha asked gruffly. "You're not just messing around with me, are you? Cuz if you are..."

She gave a soft laugh. "Well, I didn't actually expect you to go for it since you've always said you thought Kagome was ugly."

Her nose brushed against his neck almost teasingly and he decided to slow his pace before she really did make him trip over himself like an idiot.

"But you certainly don't seem to be against it now," she murmured. "Were you perhaps lying before?"

Inuyasha winced but said nothing, realizing with a start that he had blundered straight into a trap.

"I thought so," Lust chuckled. "Don't forget Inuyasha, I'm the logical one. I'm not so easily distracted as the real Kagome. But even if I didn't think you'd agree, I still mean every word about sneaking off with you. I would never purposely lead you on, no matter how many pieces I'm cut into."

"...How would Kagome feel about you offering me something like that?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'm not sure. But she hasn't asked you before now even though she's attracted to you. So I think it's safe to assume there's a reason. But I can't understand what it was. I don't know fear or sorrow the way I am now, those feelings are just vague memories. Maybe she took your dumb comments about how ugly and useless she is to heart?"

"...Would she... remember?"

"Well, she'd have to remember the entire fiasco with two completely different perspectives if she did. So probably not. At the very least, she's going to come out of it really confused."

Then after a moment she asked, "Would you want her to forget being with you?"

"No. But I don't want to take advantage of her either," he replied seriously.

"I don't feel like you'd be taking advantage so why should she?" Lust asked with a shrug. "I'm the one who asked you right? It's not like you're trying to make me do anything I don't want to do. If I say Kagome can handle it, then she can handle it."

He wasn't so sure about the logic there, but he wanted to believe her too. Having something more than dreams to look forward to in the coming night was a tempting thing indeed.

"I'll... think about it."

"Okay," she answered with a sigh, tweaking his ear gently one last time before returning her hand to his shoulder. "Just come talk to me later if you're interested."

(-)

The rest of the run went a little more normally once Inuyasha had been allowed to run in peace with Lust no longer driving him crazy, figuratively and literally.

Or at least things were normal, until Love suddenly called out, "Inuyasha! I sense a jewel shard!"

The girl on his back seemed surprised by the sighting but then she when she looked around she seemed to focus on a point somewhere to the east.

"She's right," Lust confirmed. "She must have a better view of things from up there, but I can definitely see something at the edge of the horizon."

So Kirara came in for a landing and Inuyasha slowed his pace to a stop, regrouping with everyone on the ground.

The last one to show up was Miroku, who came jogging up behind them breathing hard from the effort. Once he reached the circle he collapsed in exhaustion. Inuyasha cast the monk a small smirk as Lust slid from his back. 'Serves you right,' he thought smugly.

"So what do we do?" Sango asked. "Go after the shard? Or go back to the village and get Kagome put back together?"

Lust gave the horizon a critical look. "...I think I would rather go back to Kaede's," she admitted.

"And just leave the shard alone?!" Inuyasha asked incredulously. The girl turned back to give him an annoyed look.

"Let's put it to a vote then," Sango suggested evenly.

"Fine!" snapped Inuyasha. "I vote, we go for the shard."

"But what if Kaede knows how to put me back together?!" Lust insisted.

"I'm not saying we don't go back later," he clarified sternly. "I'm just saying it won't hurt nothin if we snag a jewel shard along the way!"

"If it was a CLOSE shard I would agree with you," she acknowledged. "But this shard is just a flicker on the freaking horizon! It has to be at least a day off from here!"

"It's just one day!" he countered firmly.

"You idiot! It's a day to get there, a day to fight the stupid thing, rest, and then a day to get back!" she corrected angrily. "That's at least three extra days of being split in half that Kagome doesn't need!"

"Er... I agree with Inuyasha," chimed in Love quietly. This elicited a glare from her double that made the girl recoil and bow her head a little.

"I-It won't hurt anything to put it off a little," Love pled almost apologetically. "There could be people in trouble! Besides, we don't know if Keade even can fix us. We might be rushing back for nothing."

"Well when you put it that way, I vote for going after the jewel too," Sango said, folding her arms in resolution.

"Me too. Love-san makes an excellent point," Miroku agreed from his position on the ground.

"See!?" Inuyasha sneered victoriously.

Lust narrowed her eyes at the dog demon. "Look, what's more important to you? Kagome, or the stupid jewel shards?!" she demanded furiously.

At the offended and hurt expression that flickered on Inuyasha's face, Love made a small sound of upset and ran to stand between them.

"You know Inuyasha would never do anything to hurt us!" Love objected. "It's just that we have to think of what could happen if we let a shard slip away! I know being separated isn't... pleasant, but it's not Inuyasha's fault that a jewel shard appeared. You know how dangerous they can be!"

"And you're not just taking his side because you're spineless?" Lust accused with a returning look of anger.

The girl shrank against her counterpart's harsh tone and took a step back. "I-I just agree with Inuyasha," she murmured clasping her hands to her chest anxiously. "I don't think we should leave when there could be people who need our help. Even... Even if it is scary."

The annoyance slipped from Lust's face and was replaced with acceptance. "Fiiine," she sighed. "You win." Then she turned toward the supplies.

"Watching the two of them argue is like watching Kagome have an inner debate that stopped being 'inner' without her realizing it," Sango commented softly.

"No kidding," Shippo agreed quietly, looking from one girl to the other with wide eyes.

Lust snorted but chose not to comment on the observation."Well if we aren't going to be at Kaede's place by lunch, then I'm taking a break here. I'm hungry," she informed the others with a proud tone.

"Agreed," Miroku sighed, unsteadily rising to his feet and following Lust toward the bag that Love had dropped beside Kirara.

Once Lust was occupied with digging out food and water, Love sighed and turned back to Inuyasha with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry," she said meekly. "I guess Kagome can be pretty mean sometimes."

Inuyasha actually grinned at the apology. It was crazy just how much of Kagome he could see in both of her counterparts when he really stopped to look.

"So you're the half that always apologizes to me after our fights?" he asked, instead of just accepting the apology.

The girl blushed and laughed lightly, reaching up a hand to scratch the back of her head in embarrassment. "Maybe," she agreed shyly.

He gave the girl a look of amusement and watched her own smile widen in return. "So are you hungry?" she asked brightly. "I could make you something if you want?"

Then again, it was crazy how different they both were from Kagome too. But with the kind of changes he had seen so far he wasn't sure he minded.

"Sure."

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Author's note

11/15/16

So that makes three chapters in what? three days? four? -w-; I've lost track. Anyway, It's mostly just because I already had a lot done on the story before I started uploading. Well, that and the fact that each chapter is only about two thousand words long. So that makes things easier

the coming chapters will probably be a little more spaced out now that I've gotten to sections in the story that are more incomplete. but if you like the story, by all means, drop me a review! feedback is all kinds of inspiring for me and it makes me want to work hard for you guys! But even if you don't review thank you for reading!

Cover art by Grapefruitwannabe! Thank you so much!

12/28/16

Edited by Yellow Mustard Sunshine! Thank you for all your help!