Yuka had been giving Kagome weird looks all morning, and it had reached a point that she had to risk getting lectured by the teachers between classes for turning around and asking if there was something in her hair. While their classmates looked at them with a mixture of amusement and confusion, Yuka would only respond with a shake of her head until she finally said "Let's talk at lunch".

The wait wasn't doing her any favors. Kagome knew that talk would mean they wouldn't be eating lunch in the classroom. There was no place they could sit and talk about whatever Yuka wouldn't say without being overheard.

It was disappointing to take out her lunch and not be able to open it. Breakfast had been rushed and she hadn't felt like she'd gotten enough to eat. Arguing with the three in her bed had set her back time she could have had to sit down and eat, and instead she'd thrown a mishmash of food into a disposable container so she could eat on the way to school. Then the girls nearly swarmed her desk, and Eri was bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking like she was getting ready to run a marathon.

"I'm going to go get some bread," she said quickly. "Can I get anyone anything and where are we eating?"

Ayumi wanted anpan, Yuka said she was fine with either melon pan or taiyaki; whichever wasn't sold out when Eri got to the cafeteria. Kagome didn't hesitate as she said "Can you get me two curry pan?", feeling like she was going to need the comfort food to get her through the lunch break.

"We're going to be eating on the roof," Yuka told Eri, taking her lunch to hold as the other girl took off like a shot. With the two lunches in her hands, she gave Kagome a pointed look that said to follow.

Before she sat down on the bench, Kagome rounded on Yuka. "Will you tell me why you've been giving me all the weird looks now?"

"You don't want to eat first –"

"No, I want an answer." She'd made Kagome wait this long, so if she was a little pissy it was to be expected.

"Eri's going to be back with the bread–" Yuka was stalling and she couldn't tell if she was waiting for Eri to back her up or if she didn't want to tell Kagome anymore. Before she'd gotten to finish the sentence, the door to the stairwell had swung open with a bang, revealing Eri holding an armload of prepackaged breads. "–soon."

Kagome set her lunch down and crossed her arms, waiting for the explanation. "You were saying?" She took the purchases Eri handed her, reaching into the pocket of her jacket for the money to give her.

Yuka looked over at Ayumi, who was tearing open her package of melon pan. There'd be no help there, and even Eri was watching her curiously, which meant neither of them had any clue what Yuka was wanting to talk about.

"You're…married to Inuyasha, right? That's what you said that day?"

"Yes… and I also said that we wanted to hold a ceremony for my family after graduation. What brought this up?" She set the spare curry pan on top of her lunch and began to pull apart the plastic of the one that remained in her lap. Now it made sense why Yuka wanted to go to the rooftop for lunch, if she wanted to talk about Inuyasha, but why all of a sudden?

"If you're married to Inuyasha, then why were you kissing on that guy with the black hair?"

Kagome nearly slung her curry pan across the roof in shock. It was a miracle the wrapping hadn't split open and launched the bread upwards. "W-what? How –"

The outburst had caught the other girls by surprise too, looking between Kagome and Yuka like they were watching a tennis match unfold. Yuka was ready with the next swing. "I saw you this morning, Kagome! Is this why you were nearly late for school? You were going out of your way to meet your fling without your husband finding out?"

"Now wait just a second! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"You kissed a man that wasn't Inuyasha. I don't know how that's not clear –"

"That was Inuyasha, Yuka!"

"That's impossible! His hair is silver! And he wears that old-time suikan –"

She wasn't going to get to eat her curry pan, was she? Kagome let out a sigh as she stilled her hands. All three of them were watching her closely, probably wondering why she wasn't being more defensive. The truth of it was, she didn't have the energy, and she could only explain so much. "You do remember me telling you that Inuyasha is a hanyou, right? That means he's half youkai and half human."

There was a moment of silence while they thought about Kagome's statement. She was going to take the chance and eat a bite of that bread and almost, almost had it –

"But how, Kagome?! Can he switch at the drop of a hat?!"

She wasn't going to scream. Cry possibly, if she didn't get to eat soon. Kagome had to remind herself that they really didn't understand, and some of that was on her. They'd gotten only a glimpse of what her life had been like for the last few years in that one short visit. They hadn't found out everything. "Inuyasha has nights were he turns human – and before you start yes that was Inuyasha's human form – but…something's happened. It's not really something I can explain right now and I'd really like to eat before lunch is over, so if you guys want to come by the shrine for dinner I can clear everything up. Will that be okay?"

"I've got nothing going on," Ayumi commented.

"We've got some things our parents want us to take care of first, but we'll make it," Eri said. "Will this be okay with your mom?"

"She won't mind; she's feeding Inuyasha so there will be more than enough." And to make sure of that, Kagome was already planning to stop by the store on the walk home. 'Please don't let Inuyasha and Grandpa get into it while I'm in school,' she begged any higher power that would listen. There was no telling what was going on at home, and the thought was frightening.

Youkai Inuyasha hated being bored. Sitting still wasn't any better, but he hadn't wanted to go back through the well. He wanted to be there to greet Kagome when she came home from school. The human had begun his trek to meet her at the gates, and the hanyou had gone back to Kaede's to explain the situation.

Chances are Kikyo had told her sister every last detail by now.

He snorted as he stretched his legs across the limb of Goshinboku. That priestess had gotten her share of looking as much as Sango had months before, but at least Sango had shaken off her surprise and moved on. Kikyo looked as though it were the first time she'd ever seen one – and she sure as shit hadn't seen his before then!

The youkai looked out across the shrine grounds, concealed by the leaves of Goshinboku. Unless one knew what to look for, they wouldn't see the silver haired man lounging up in the tree. Mama had nothing she needed help with, and the old man was filing away parchments in that tall metal chest. If he had anything that needed strength or speed, he'd be sure to call out. Souta had some practice after his school ended today, so he wouldn't return to the shrine until sundown.

He didn't understand why it was so important to kick a ball around. Back in the day kemari was the game of choice among the nobles, and look at how fucking well that had gone for him. But according to the boy, this sport he was taking part in wasn't entirely collaborative. Instead of everyone being accepted into the game – as it fucking should be – this game was divided into two factions that fought to gain the most points after a set of rounds had passed. Now that sounded more like his kind of game.

Youkai Inuyasha shifted, frowning. He really wished the human would hurry up and bring Kagome back. Even if all she did was sit at her table with those books, he'd feel better knowing she was in his sights.

And so she could see his handiwork from that morning finally.

It was starting to itch something fucking fierce.

"We have a problem."

"I agree, but he's at the shrine –"

Kagome rolled her eyes as Human Inuyasha grinned at his own joke. She knew that he would be coming to walk her home, and had been looking forward to it all day, but that had been before her friends had rounded on her. "No we've got a problem-problem, Inu. Yuka saw us this morning."

Human Inuyasha blinked, unable to figure out why that was a cause for concern. The girls knew they were bonded. They knew he was a hanyou. "Shiiiit," he hissed through his teeth. They didn't know he'd split.

"Yep."

"What did you tell them?" he asked, wondering if the hanyou had returned from the past yet. He wasn't going to take this well no matter how they told him.

"Nothing cause I wanted to eat my lunch!" At his questioning look, Kagome recounted how Yuka had been sending her strange looks up until their lunch break, being hauled up to the roof to eat, and then having to give an explanation for why she was caught kissing someone that wasn't the Inuyasha they knew. "I had to tell them that it was too much to explain at school, and if they could come over for dinner tonight all four of us could lay it out."

He nodded. Guess that made sense. It also explained why she said she needed to stop at the store on their walk home. He hadn't asked, simply followed her and helped her carry the bags. A small part of him – alright maybe not so small – was disappointed in knowing that company would be coming over. He'd wanted, hoped rather, that maybe if Kagome had been inclined…

"We should probably walk faster," Human Inuyasha suggested. "Youkai has been wearing that cloth all day."

"…Oh my god."

"He wanted to show you!"

Kagome sighed. Yes, it would be better to hurry home so she could see and he could take it off before the girls arrived. She couldn't imagine how uncomfortable he'd been all day.

Michiru didn't bat an eye as Kagome and Human Inuyasha ran into the house loaded down with shopping bags, or even as her daughter explained that her friends would be coming over later and if it would be alright if they joined them for dinner. She'd taken the bags with a smile and told Kagome the more the merrier. When she insisted that she'd help with dinner, Michiru shrugged it off and said that Youkai Inuyasha was waiting for her.

It wasn't the first time that Kagome wondered if her mother was the reincarnation of some deity for the amount of patience she had.

She'd taken the stairs two at a time, not caring that the breeze she was making made her skirt bounce a little more than usual. Human Inuyasha wasn't complaining; from the sounds of his footsteps he was going as slow as he could to watch the view. Miroku would have a field day if he knew just how perverted his friend really was.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome threw open her door to find an empty room. "Inuyasha, wh–"

"Right here, Mate!" His voice sounded muffled, and for a second she thought he'd found a way to lock himself in the closet. Then she saw a claw tap on the window before a pair of ears appeared, wiggling.

Kagome forgot she'd locked the window before she'd left for school. It wasn't a habit she'd done for years, not since meeting Inuyasha anyway. Between the Inuyashas, getting ready for school, and the countdown to the test she was stressing over, it must have been muscle memory. The fact of the matter was, it did nothing to help her current situation, and she was thankful that he hadn't simply busted through the glass. "Sorry –"

Youkai Inuyasha swept Kagome up in his arms, crushing her against his chest before cupping her face and drawing her in for a kiss. It was brief, which surprised her. "Did you have a good day?"

"It was fine, I guess?" Why was he being so…human? "Are you alright, Inuyasha?" A glimmer of a wince passed across his eyes, which didn't help his case when he said he was feeling fine. "You look uncomfortable. Did Grandpa stick a sutra on you anywhere?"

As Kagome started to search his person, Human Inuyasha piped up with "He's probably cut off all the blood to his brain."

"That's a damn lie, Human –"

"I can't believe I'm about to say this but drop your pants and prove it." He wished it'd been Kagome he was telling to undress and not the youkai, but before either of them could speak again, she was already dropping into a squat and unbuttoning the youkai's jeans.

"He told me you've been wearing this all day?" Kagome asked, slowly lowering the zipper. She wasn't in the mood to be a tease, but she didn't want to catch the material in the zipper teeth either. Above her, Youkai Inuyasha grunted, and she knew the one that was trying to lie wasn't the human. There was too much of a bulge within the boxers.

When his cock sprang up from the fabric and smacked Kagome in the nose, all he could say was "Surprise?"

Human Inuyasha began to laugh so hard he fell backwards on his ass, and if Kagome's mind was anywhere else, she might've found the accident funny too. Instead she was staring down at this rod of flesh that was wrapped in a perfect bow with one of her handkerchiefs. Youkai Inuyasha had tied it at the base, and now that he was excited it looked all the more like a gift that was ready to be used.

Kagome looked up at the youkai, feeling bad that she had to "unwrap the gift" for later, but there was nothing to be done for it. "You did a really good job, Inuyasha." Maybe the praise would suffice for the time being?

Seeing it bounce slightly as he shuffled his feet made her bite her lip so she wouldn't laugh. Youkai Inuyasha almost looked as though he puffed up from her words, but then his face shifted. It was a look of panic as he looked down at her. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh?" She mimicked. "No uh-ohs. We can't have uh-ohs right now. Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi will be coming over for dinner in an hour. Why are we saying uh oh?"

"I…I think the knot's too tight…" He winced. "It's getting tighter."

"How tight did you tie this?!" Kagome frantically reached up and tried to pry the bow loose, but with no luck. Her friends were on their way, Human Inuyasha was laughing so hard he'd achieved a pitch only dogs would hear, and Youkai Inuyasha's attempt to be cute was going to cut off the circulation to his penis. "Can you think of something that doesn't involve sex so you'll go limp?!"

"It's kind of hard when you're on your knees in front of me, Kagome –"

"Yeah I can see it's hard and that's the problem!"

To say that Inuyasha was surprised finding Kagome's school friends hanging out under Goshinboku when he opened the well house doors was an understatement. Hearing them exclaim and run to him, asking how he'd dyed his hair black and then back to silver so quickly set of warning bells. And when the started asking him if his marriage to Kagome was on the rocks, he nearly lost his mind.

"Kagome said to come over for dinner," Eri explained. "She told us there was something that she needed to get off her chest –"

Oh yeah, and the odds are it was his youkai half that was plastered to her. It wouldn't do to tell these girls that, because he had a feeling he'd confuse them. Instead he told them to wait there, and he'd go find Kagome.

It'd be safer that way for everyone.

That's what he kept telling himself as he entered the house, sprinting up the stairs once he'd heard from Mama that Kagome and Human Inuyasha had gone up to her room. The closer he got, he heard distinct laughing over shrieking, which…didn't sound like they were doing anything questionable. Kagome wouldn't. She'd invited the girls over for some reason, and of any of them she was the one that had the most control.

Inuyasha didn't bother to pause before he threw open the door, and once he took in the scene, no amount of trying to listen on the other side would've made what he was seeing make any more sense.

The human half was laid out on the floor, laughing so hard he was in tears. The youkai was flushed and torn between moaning and snapping at the human, telling him to shut his mouth. And there, sitting on her knees before the youkai was Kagome, furiously pumping the youkai's cock and shrieking about how she was trying.

"What…in the hell…"

Kagome turned slightly, never stopping her hand's movement. "Inuyasha! I…I can explain…"

"I sure hope so, cause those girls are waiting for you under Goshinboku –"

"They're here?!"

Youkai Inuyasha yelped. "Mate! Grip! Don't squeeze!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Why are you doing this now of all times?" Inuyasha nearly whined. He knew his odds of not finding one of them doing something dirty with Kagome was slim to none, and he'd already accepted that he had to brace for seeing his own bare ass every time he entered this room. But this was ridiculous.

Human Inuyasha sat up, wheezing. "Ding dong over there got hard and can't get the bow loosened –"

"And now I'm giving the fastest handjob in history in the hopes we can get it off," Kagome blushed. "They weren't supposed to come over for another hour…"

Inuyasha wasn't going to comment about how if she kept jerking that fast she'd rip his dick clean off and that'd solve multiple problems. It'd either send the human into another laughing fit, or set off the youkai, who'd pick a fight without thinking about the woman in front of him. And as hard as she was apparently bearing down, if he took off in a chase she'd be dragged along. He'd heard Kagome swear softly under her breath before replacing her hand with her lips.

He didn't want to watch this, but what was he going to do? Go back to Goshinboku and tell those three that Kagome was otherwise occupied? He still didn't even know what they were here for!

"Ah – oh fuck – yes –!"

That was quick, and for once Inuyasha couldn't be offended in his body's ability to lose control at Kagome's touch. The hanyou looked over at the youkai who'd started to loosen the bow as Kagome checked her face and uniform in her hand mirror as she cleaned up. "You better be satisfied," he told his counterpart, eyes narrowed.

"Knowing that I've still gotten more than the human, very."

"Fuck. Off."

"Outside. Now." Kagome countered, pointing to the door. "We need to go explain to my friends why Human Inuyasha was with me at the school gate, cause Yuka thinks I'm cheating." She adjusted her uniform and tossed the tissues into the bin, carrying herself to the door as if she hadn't just gone down on her husband.

"Okay real funny, Kagome." Yuka crossed her arms over her chest as her friend, Inuyasha, and two other men met them at the sacred tree. She'd wondered what all the noise was coming from the house, but it was faint enough from where she stood that she couldn't make sense of it. "Who are these two guys? Are they friends of Inuyasha?"

The hanyou glanced at them and scoffed. "Something like that."

That was the wrong response. Yuka's eyes widened, a look of terror etched all over her face. "You're allowing this?!"

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but Inuyasha beat her to the punch.

"What choice do I have?" he shrugged. "If it's what Kagome needs, I'm going to give it to her –"

Now all three girls looked shocked as they turned their attention to Kagome, who was trying to find her voice again. Her mouth was moving, but all that was coming out were a strangled stream of noises. The other silver haired man actually appeared smug, but the one with the black hair at least looked apologetic.

"Hanyou, I don't think they understand…"

"Why are you calling Inuyasha 'Hanyou'?" Eri asked. "You know what he is?"

"Well, yeah. That's the Youkai –"

Kagome continued to squeak as her friends focused on her again. "It's not…it's not…"

"You weren't satisfied enough with Inuyasha that you have to have both a youkai and a human?!"

"I can't even get a boyfriend!"

"Kagome how could you?! Inuyasha is your husband –"

The moment her voice came back in full, Kagome blurted out "They're all my husband!" without thinking, and a second later realized her mistake.

"You're a polygamist?!"

"Is that even legal here?"

"No, not since the second world war –"

"There's been a battle?"

"Don't even get me started…"

"It's not like that!" Kagome wailed, stopping Ayumi from giving Youkai Inuyasha a crash course in modern history. No matter how much he appeared interested, there was not enough time in the day, and dinner would be ready soon. "This isn't polygamy! I'm not cheating on Inuyasha because these two are Inuyasha!"

Yuka walked up to the youkai, tilting her head as she studied him, looking back over at the hanyou. "But…how?"

"Trust me this isn't normal," Inuyasha snorted. "Kagome's right. My human side only appears one night out of the month, and my youkai side is usually dormant until my life is threatened. But this?" He gestured around him. "This is because of me…"

Human Inuyasha decided to interject. "What he means is that a few months ago, he was hit with the realization of how much we care for Kagome, but at the time he was digging his heels in because he didn't want to tie her down. We – the youkai and myself – knew better, and our insistence caused us to appear one morning."

"It took…a month? Almost a month later, and things were made right," Kagome smiled at Inuyasha, whose cheeks started to turn pink. It wasn't necessary to go into every detail, but they needed to know just enough for it to make sense. "Which brings us back to yesterday…"

"Yeah," Inuyasha coughed, not looking at anyone. "Again, my fault. I uh… I got in my head and… these two are again telling me that I'm being stupid, and then…" he waved a clawed hand at the result.

Yuka looked ashamed about her accusations. "That explains why you couldn't tell us over lunch," she said. "I'm sorry, Kagome…I thought…you know…"

"I get it. It's alright." It wasn't, but it wasn't something Kagome wanted to circle around back to either. Yuka realized her mistake, and they were now caught up. Sort of.

"Does this mean you've got a month again before you're back to normal?" Eri asked.

All three Inuyashas shrugged. "Won't know until the next night I'm supposed to turn into him," Inuyasha jerked his thumb at the human.

As the girls turned their questions to Kagome and his counterparts, Inuyasha let his thoughts wander. What would happen on the next new moon? The first time it happened, they had no idea if he could even go back into one body. What if…what if his fears kept him separated for good? Would he still be able to protect Kagome as needed? Could he still offer her the family she deserved? Would she still want to divide her attention between three sides of him if he were stuck this way forever?

In the immediate future, he had no doubts. But after five years, or ten, would she still feel the same way?

A/N: Mini note to say that I've run into a bout of burnout and this is the last of my update buffer for...well...anything. Not for lack of trying, but I think I need a small pause to sort things. I'm taking part in four zines currently, with one *hopefully* going live on kickstarter in the next week or so. Work also has me busy and I need to meet those deadlines first. This burnout fucks with my plans, but I want to do quality work, not quantity. I hope you guys are doing well! I'll do my best to pick up writing again soon!