AN: So I've been reading over everything I've gotten up for Paradigm Shift so far, rechecking some of my hints and markers for the plotline…and I lied again. Sorry guys. Editing hath commenced. Chapter one just went through its first edit and repost.

Le sigh

~Ele

… … …

Paradigm Shift

Chapter Twenty-six: Under The Surface

… … …

Sango breathed a sigh of relief as she felt them pass out of the reiki-infused area around Edo. Her skin was buzzing and she absolutely ached from the effects of it. The energy didn't affect her nearly as bad as it would a full youkai or even a hanyou, but it definitely made an impact.

The man that Kaede has sent her with had been rambling on and on about all sorts of things that she had stopped listening to a long time ago. The droning voice fell into the background the same way that just about everything did when she was recovering from a particularly bad wound.

There was something morbidly fascinating about watching her wounds start healing right before her eyes. The little bit of youkai blood in her was usually dormant. It sort of woke up when she was badly bodily wounded… sometimes when she got extremely angry… some other times that seemed pretty random, really.

Then again, she did her best to forget about her distant heritage as often as she could. She even carried around pigments so that she could excuse the markings over her eyes that would give her away. Kagome had brought her back some eyeshadow from her home once. Sango had needed to make excuses for weeks about not using it. The pigment didn't dye the skin the same way, it felt strange, it wasn't the right color, and all sorts of other feeble reasons.

There weren't a lot of people left these days that would remember where the taijiya village had originated. Not that it mattered too much anymore… there weren't many of them left. There might not be any left, except her and what remained of Kohaku.

"Miss Sango?"

She was startled out of her thoughts by the man's voice.

"Oh, uhm." She smiled at him and wondered how long he had been trying to get her attention. "I'm sorry. What is it?"

He returned her smile after a moment.

"I was asking if you have family in the village ahead."

"Oh. No. No, I don't." She looked off to the side of the road, watching the colors curl their way across the horizon as the sun came up.

"Oh. We'll be there soon enough, at least. Is there someone else you're going to stay with while you recover?"

Sango shook her head mutely.

The rest of the ride was quiet.

Once they passed the first houses on the outer edges of the village, Sango insisted on parting ways with her young escort and walking to the inn on her own. She was reserved at the best of times with her friends, and his curiosity grated at her frayed nerves. She had impatiently brushed aside his concerns of her leg, telling him that she would be able to go the short distance to the inn with little trouble, and had given him plenty of gracious and genuine thanks for taking her as far as he had.

Looking around at how much the village had grown since she had last stopped in, Sango found herself impressed. While she wouldn't call the place wealthy, it was thriving. They had often visited here when they set out after collecting Kagome, carrying goods or messages from Edo. Messages.

They had carried a lot of messages from Kaede and the other villagers to this inn. There were a few people who would carry messages just about anywhere you asked, for a price. She knocked on the frame of the open door as she walked into that inn, one thought stuck in her head.

"Excuse me?"

A woman came hurrying around the corner of a hallway off to her left and Sango gave her a smile as they bowed to one another.

"Good morning, miss. Do you need a room for the night?" Once her eyes traveled over Sango's form and landed on the blood soaking her long, layered yukata, she amended the question. "Or a few nights, perhaps?"

"If it's possible, I'd like to send a message to Lord Kuranosuke. His compound is a few days toward the west of here. I would need a room until his response arrives if you could spare one for so long."

The innkeeper bowed to Sango again.

"I will bring one of the men who carry such messages to your room after we get you all settled, then."

Sango spared a minute to wonder if she was making the right decision by sending for the lord who had expressed so much interest in her, but she could hardly afford to stay here at this inn for the entire time it would take her to heal. The bite wounds were deep enough as it was, nevermind how much farther her leg had been opened up to extract the snake's venom for her and the venom that hadn't been taken care of; still making its arduous journey through her body.

Yes. Maybe. Hopefully, Lord Kuranosuke would respond kindly to her message.

… … …

Kouga and Kagome found the majority of the female wolves fawning over the inu pups in the large space where they would be erecting the protective barriers. Kagome smiled as she watched Shippou belly-crawling over the stone floor, staring down at the rock and using his fox abilities to very very slowly coat the whole cavern floor in a thick layer of soft mosses and grasses. He was obviously doing his best to make the place more inviting. He had even surrounded the pools of water in the cavern with flowers. There was one large body of water near the center, and it trickled down into a series of three pools that looked shallow enough to bathe in.

Kagome felt pride rising up in her chest the longer she watched the little kit. He was growing up and getting stronger quickly. The pride she felt was tinged with disappointment and sadness when she thought about the fact that she hadn't even realized that his abilities had advanced so much, but she did her best to cling to the pride and the happiness that came with it.

Looking around intently, Kagome tapped her palm against Kouga's armor and pointed once she finally spotted her target.

"Kouga! It's Miyu!" Kagome waved excitedly when Miyu looked up and met her eyes with a wide smile. "Can you let me down now?"

Kouga chuckled at her exuberance and did as asked, though he kept his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"You know Miyu?"

"Yep! I met her when Sesshomaru brought me here after the battle."

Kouga wanted to ask for more details but didn't have the opportunity.

"Kagome!" Miyu swept the smaller woman up into a hug.

"Miyu! I have your dress in my bag. I tried to clean it up but you're probably going to want to go over it again."

"Don't worry about it. It's yours." Miyu winked at her. "Besides, it looked good on you."

Kouga perked up at the direction their conversation was heading. Miyu had given Kagome a dress? A wolf pack dress? He inhaled deeply, imagining it. That sounded like something he would love to see.

"Dress?" He coughed into his hand at the scratchy sound of his own voice and Miyu's knowing look. "What dress?"

Kagome blushed and Miyu laughed.

"Prince Kouga! It's good to have you back. Welcome home!"

"Thanks, Miyu. It feels good to be home." Well, if they were going to ignore the dress then so could he. Outloud, anyway. He was sure that it would be in his head for a good long while. "So how are things going here? Almost ready?"

Miyu nodded and started pointing to different areas in the spacious cavern.

"All of the supplies are over there but we have to organize them still. We're going to set up the food and wood over there where the little kit wants to try building a garden area. The bathing herbs are already set up around those two pools, they're both big enough and shallow enough for us all." She grabbed Kagome's hand. "We're about to get the kids in the bath with us girls, Kagome." She started tugging Kagome away with her, slowly, as she finished updating Kouga. "The sleeping piles are going over there! The other guys could probably use some help!"

For her part, Kagome was torn about bathing now that her and Kouga had finally found the other women. On one hand, she was dying for a good bath. On the other, she really didn't like the idea of walking all the way back through the maze of passages to wherever they were all planning to wash up.

"Hey Miyu?"

"Yeah?"

Kagome winced as she stumbled along in her new friend's wake and her ankle yelled at her about it.

"How far a walk is it to where we're taking the kids to clean up?"

Miyu stopped, much to Kagome's delight, and turned to her while Kagome shifted her weight onto her uninjured foot.

"What do you mean?" Miyu's confused gaze met hers. She pointed to the pools, just a few steps away. "They're just right there. You okay, Kagome?"

"Oh! Yeah, I just sprained my ankle earlier. Wait.." Kagome's eyes rounded as she took in Miyu's words. "We're bathing here?"

"Yeah, of course. Why would we go somewhere else when we're here already?"

"But there are so many guys here!" Kagome sputtered in a panic.

Miyu blinked rapidly at her.

"Yeah…"

"But…" Kagome searched for words to explain how Miyu obviously wasn't grounded wholly in reality right now. "Guys! Here! Naked!"

Miyu looked around, still confused.

"Kagome… are you sure you're alright?" She touched her hand to Kagome's forehead, checking for a fever. "None of the guys are naked, Kagome."

"No, I mean.. we are going to be naked. Naked in front of the guys if we bathe here right now!" She whispered furiously.

Miyu gasped, finally grasping the problem.

"Oh! I forgot that humans don't act like wolf packs. That's so weird that you all bathe at different times. I mean… wouldn't that take forever?"

Kagome stared, lips parted, not knowing how to respond.

"Don't worry! The guys don't care. Well. I'm sure they appreciate the sight if they take the time to pay attention…who wouldn't like looking at us sexy things!?" Miyu preened and smirked at Kagome. "But we all bathe together most of the time. The guys won't bother us while we wash, we're all used to it. They're not going to attack you or anything."

Kagome started giggling in nervous hysterics, still not really comfortable and not really able to speak coherently.

"If it makes you feel better, you can be in the middle." Miyu told her with a shrug.

Kagome's nervous giggles quickened and she clamped her hand over her mouth as if she could shove the giggles back down her throat. That sentence didn't conjure horribly suggestive images at all. Nope.

Miyu was shouting and waving at the other girls and the children, calling everyone over to them so they could bathe in front of more than a dozen male wolves. To Kagome's surprise, none of the wolves or inu pups seemed bothered one bit about disrobing and starting to splash around in the water. They seemed to be having a lot of fun, actually. She was waved over a few times by some of the wolves until she finally sat down on the edge of the pool Miyu was chasing a couple of kids in. The poor things were nearly up to their necks in the water but that didn't seem to slow them down at all. The water came up over Miyu's ribs and she held her hands over her head with her claws extended, growling; obviously pretending to be a monster after them. It was adorable.

Kagome made up her mind and walked over. It wouldn't hurt to just sit near them, after all. She could wash up after the guys had finished their work and wandered off somewhere else. She rolled up her jeans to her knees and let them slide into the pool.

The water was crystal clear and notably cool on her skin. She felt herself relaxing and laughing just as much as everyone else as she watched everyone play. The kids deserved this. They should be smiling like this. After everything they had been through, this was really good for them.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Kouga spoke from right next to her.

"Aren't you gonna clean up?"

Holding both hands over her heart, Kagome met his eyes where he was squatting down at her side.

"Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Kouga pressed his lips tight together, trying as hard as he could to not laugh at her. His nostrils flared as he sucked in deep breaths to calm his humor and speak again.

"How come you're not in there cleaning up? He asked.

"Oh… well…" She blushed.

Kouga cocked his head to the side.

"What's wrong?"

Even his ears couldn't make any sense of her mumbles.

"Huh?"

Kagome turned her face from Kouga's and covered it with her hands for good measure.

"It's just… there are guys everywhere…"

When she heard Kouga's bellows of laughter, her arms came up to cover her whole head in embarrassment.

"We're not going to attack you or anything, you know." He pushed at Kagome's arms. "We can control ourselves around your luscious bodies while you wash." His teasing only made Kagome tighten her arms around her head, knowing that it wouldn't help save her from Kouga's tugging hands. After no time at all and with no effort, he had her wrists pinned in his strong hands, so Kagome resorted to shutting her eyes to hide from him.

"So I've been told." She grumbled.

"Well, they're right. Go on, Kagome. Wash up, have some fun with the pups." With another laugh, Kouga stood up and made his way back to the other guys where they were still setting up all the supplies. Kagome watched him go with a huff.

Once she realized that she was definitely staring at the men much more than they were staring at anyone in the water, a blanket of depression settled over her shoulders. Maybe she was just tired. Maybe she was just being stupid. Maybe she was holding on to what life in the future was like. Maybe there had just been too much bad crammed into too little time.

Suddenly it didn't even seem to matter if she was stared at or watched, anyway. The fun in the water seemed so very far away from her, even though she could feel the ripples against her ankles.

She chewed over the wonder that somehow she felt like she was watching everything here and everyone with their smiles and laughs from far away.

She felt like a spectator.

The smiling and the laughing grated against the inside of her scalp, now. How was it even possible to just let go and forget like they all seemed to be doing?

There were so many dead… so much blood.

They were stuck in this purgatory where war was looming over them all, casting this shadow that should but somehow didn't dim this light that they cast.

And here she way, a stranger in this strange land where all she really did was intrude and steal happiness for herself.

Wow, she was being rude. Understatement of the century, right? Five centuries, actually.

Kagome turned her face away and covered it with her hand so that no one could see the twisting clash of depression, anger, and longing that stole over her expression. She wished that she was ignorant and fifteen again.

Wished that she couldn't see past all this lighthearted atmosphere and into the darkness that lay below it.

She was shaken out of her spiral by a hesitant touch on her knee. Funny that she didn't even see Rin coming toward her.

"Hey, Rin." Kagome smiled to cover the distance she felt from the moment.

"Come play, Kagome!" Rin's brown eyes sparkled as she swayed side to side in the water.

And because it really didn't matter at all, Kagome did. She undressed without any more hesitation and she washed herself and she chased the children with Miyu and she smiled and laughed and played and cried behind the lighthearted atmosphere she took part in.

She volunteered to help when a few of the wolves started pulling clothing into the water and scrubbing at them with herbs, glad for the reprieve if not happy about it. At least she wasn't having to smile smiles that didn't reach her heart right now. Both feelings were foreign and uncomfortable.

She scrubbed harder to ignore it.

Eventually, some of the inu pups started to complain about hunger and everyone started trickling out of the water. The men were yelled at to bring some food for the little ones as the women started scooping up children and settling them on the soft moss floor, sitting behind them.

Not really thinking about it, Kagome let Miyu lead her over to the cluster of naked women and children. She sat down next to a pretty wolf with chocolate eyes and red hair who gave her a wide grin over the shoulder of a tiny inu who looked half asleep.

Kagome blinked at Miyu on her other side when a comb was pressed into her hand.

"Could you?"

Miyu scooted around and shook her hair out to fall behind her. It wasn't as long as most of the other wolves' hair, just barely past her shoulders.

"Sure!" Kagome smiled at Miyu's back and carefully ran the tines of the comb through her wet hair. "Sesshomaru told me that grooming is important for inus. Is it like that for wolves too?"

Miyu hummed at her question before she answered.

"Sort of. I think it's just as important, sure. Different though. Pack dynamics are different, you know?"

Kagome nodded, unseen, and set about French braiding Miyu's hair. When she was done, Kagome passed the comb back to Miyu over her shoulder.

"Your turn!" Miyu exclaimed, scooting around in a circle to face Kagome and running her clawed fingers down her braid. "This feels nice. I haven't ever felt a braid like this before." She smiled and spun one finger in a circle in front of Kagome's face. "Your turn!" She said again, excitedly.

Kagome laughed and did as she was told, letting herself relax into Miyu's finger and the steady pull of the comb as she was groomed. She felt privileged and out of place at the same time, thinking about how easily the wolf pack had accepted her as one of their own with little to no preamble. She swallowed hard, shoving down the thoughts and emotions. She focused on the little tugs and the glide of Miyu's claws over her scalp as her hair was twisted and wrung into whatever style Miyu had decided to give her.

She was nearly asleep when Miyu told her that she was finished. Kagome opened her eyes and looked around, noticing that most of the others had already wandered off to other places in the cave. There didn't even seem to be many people left inside of it, either. They must have gone somewhere else. Maybe there were more supplies to be brought in?

"Well? Aren't you going to feel it?" Miyu's happy impatience was almost tangible.

Kagome's blue eyes unfocused on her friend's face as she ran her fingers over her hair. Miyu had painstakingly braided three locks of hair from behind her right ear and five from her left temple and jawline. They all reached backward and were twisted into a little bun at the back of her head, holding her hair away from her face.

"Wow! It feels really nice, thank you."

"No problem! I wore my hair like that a lot when it was as long as yours." She reached behind her and handed Kagome a pile of red and white silk. "That's the stuff you left here last time. I washed it for you and fixed up the tears. They were pretty small and there weren't many, so it didn't take long."

Kagome ran her hands over the smooth silk and was touched by this woman's kindness and generosity. First she had gone out of her way to make Kagome comfortable even though they had just met and she was only there for a small amount of time, and now she had done this.

Kagome launched herself forward and threw her arms around Miyu's shoulders.

"Thank you so much, Miyu. It means a lot to me."

"Like I said, it didn't even take long! Don't worry so much!"

When Kagome let go of her, Miyu stood up and started pulling on some clean furs.

"I'm gonna go find my mate"

Kagome didn't respond, holding the bundle of silk against her chest and looking past Miyu's legs. Miroku was there, leaning against the wall and looking right into her eyes with something intense in his gaze. She distantly heard her friend laugh as she walked away, but her world had tunneled into a pinprick that only contained that intense gaze capturing her attention.

He was in just his white juban and gray pants again, barefoot and…walking toward her. She didn't know why, but his approach made her stomach flip flop and her heart flutter. Inexplicably, she felt the urge to flee from him.

She scrambled to her feet and pulled the haori over her head. She didn't manage to do more than straighten the haori before Miroku was standing right in front of her, his eyes searching her face, looking so deep into her eyes that she stopped breathing; wondering if he was somehow actually looking into her soul.

She gulped.

"Hey." He whispered.

"H-Hey…"

His fingers brushed over her cheek and he leaned in, barely touching his lips to hers. It made her breathe again but it made her heart stop for a second, so it was a pretty equal trade.

"Here. I thought you might want these. You always seem more comfortable in them." Miroku passed one of her pairs of jeans into her hands. These ones were black denim and about half a size too small, but she really was happy to have them in place of the silk hakama.

She noticed, with half a grin, that he had one of her shirts but was hiding it behind his back instead of passing that to her as well.

"I can't have my shirt, too?" She pointed behind his back.

"Nope. I like the silk on you." He leered and reached out, grabbing her wrist and tugging her into his chest. It was probably absurd that his warmth made her shiver but it happened anyway. "Why so sad?"

The question brought Kagome up short. She fisted her free hand in his juban and pushed her nose into his chest, hard. She was so sick of crying all the time and she refused to cry right now.

"What makes you think I'm sad?" Her wavering voice complete;y belied her confidence.

He let go of her wrist and crushed her into his body, making her very aware that her jeans and hakama had fallen to the floor by her feet and she was still in only the silk haori.

"I know because you've never been able to hide it from me, Kagome."

And it was true.

Before her world had gone all topsy-turvy on her, even. He had always given her knowing looks when she caught him looking at her over dying fires. That didn't include the times when he would slow his pace to match hers, offering her his steady and silent support when Inuyasha pushed them just a little further as they traveled in search of shards. He had always known exactly when to pull her aside and offer sweet words, kind advice, an understanding ear, or a few minutes of fun distraction when her mood would fall.

She had never thought much of it over the years, but now, here, in his arms, with him so near, having seen all of him underneath that flippant attitude he wore like a mask, it meant worlds to her… and frightened her a little.

She pushed weakly against his chest with both hands.

"Stop it." It was little more than a pleading whisper and she knew that he would ignore it as soon as she said it.

"Never." He said.

Then his fingers were threaded into the hair at the base of her skull, and he was pulling her head back, and he was kissing her.

It lit her on fire and made her toes curl into the moss under her feet; made her forget the rest of the world and everything in it that felt like it would rip her heart into bits. Somehow, he made her feel like her heart was whole and would stay whole and she didn't have a choice in that because it wasn't really hers anymore.

She was panting for air when he moved from her mouth to bestow her hair a barely-there kiss. She felt bereft when he stepped back from her, pointing to the black denim covering her toes. She pulled them on, and snatched the hakama from the ground, while he talked.

"Everyone is heading out of the caves right now. Kazuo and Kouga have something planned for everyone. They finished in here, so now we're just waiting for Sesshomaru and the bear clans to arrive."

Miroku tilted his head to the right and turned. Kagome followed as he started walking toward the sleeping area that had been set up. She was impressed. Furs had been set up, squashed between large rocks on three sides, tied together at the seams, in what amounted to a really big, really warm tent. More pelts were hanging over the fourth side, acting as a series of door-flaps.

Between the insulating greenery that Shippou had grown and the thick pelts, the heat from all the bodies inside the makeshift tent was trapped, making the space more comfortable than she thought a cavern could possibly be.

Kagome sighed in contentment as she stepped inside. She hadn't realized how numb to the cold she had gotten until she suddenly wasn't cold anymore. Spotting her lavender backpack, she hurried over to tuck the silk hakama inside, wanting to satisfy her curiosity about this thing Kazuo and Kouga had planned outside.

She froze and blinked when she unzipped the bag and saw nothing but purple and black. Miroku's robes. It seemed so personal, so intimate that his robes would be nestled there, on top of her own clothing and other supplies. She smiled softly and gently laid her hakama on to of them, giggling as she thought that now he was surrounded by her.

She zipped up the bag and folded back the flap that his the second pocket, opening that one and digging out the only thing in it; her projector that flung stars and suns and moons everywhere. Miroku chuckled as he watched her prance to the middle of the tent and turn it on.

All of the other occupants stared around at the lights in awe and she rocked back and forth on her heels at the sight.

"Ready to go?" Miroku asked.

"Yup!" Kagome practically skipped to his side and tucked her hand around his elbow, letting him lead the way out of the caves.

… … …

As it turned out, the surprise was a hidden valley that was cradled on all sides by mountains. It was in a shallow cup of a dip and it was breathtaking in the summer afternoon.

There was bustling activity everywhere. As Miroku led her down a narrow pathway, Kagome saw barrels of sweet-smelling juice. There was also a shallow, circular, metal basin the size of her bed. It was lifted over a fire pit surrounded by stone and full of water; littered with tokkuri and chirori of sake.

Little voices filled the air with echoing laughter and squeals of delight as they played. There was singing and music and roasting meat over cooking fires and all of made Kagome tighten her hand around Miroku's elbow as she let the giddy feeling in her chest bubble over and out of her mouth.

She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek when they reached the valley, walking away from him backward and forgetting the pain in her ankle for now. She turned and jogged over to Kouga with a grin, letting him lift her and swing her around in a circle over his head. She shrieked in delight and hugged him when he let her down.

Miroku watched them, walking at a much more sedate pace toward where Kouga sat down among a group of male wolves. He watched Kagome say something to him that made him grin up at her before she bounced away to, no doubt, talk to everyone she could.

He watched her with a full heart, knowing that even if she couldn't see it, this was her element. She belonged in the midst of happiness and excitement. He hoped that she didn't have enough time to think about how fleeting it was.

Midday passed, but the sun hadn't set enough to call it evening, when shadows danced across the valley. Standing around the valley's rim were dozens of bears, calling down to the wolves and being answered in loud rumbles and roars.

… … …

AN: Thank you all for reviewing! I'm glad you guys like it so far, and thank you to everyone who suggested that I keep the pairing out of the description / first few chapters.

~Ele