Disclaimers: Blah blah blah, you know the drill.
Author's notes: NANI?! "This is a depressing, dirty IY/Kag fic" –jagntrunkshh. That pisses me off. How the hell is this dirty? I mean, I know the rape thing was a bit depressing, but how was it dirty? It's not like I went into detail. And what the hell is so dirty about kissing? This is America, not Japan. (Or wherever in the world you are…I'm in America, where kissing is no biggie) Man, I am *not* in the mood for that kind of review. LOTR and Moulin Rouge just lost Best Picture, so I was hoping for something to lift my spirits a bit. And then I got *that* review. On the flip side, my grandma called my white puppy a demon, eliciting laughs from me. When I said what I was laughing at, my anti- anime sister rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, God, Caitlin." But I told a classmate later, and she found it hilarious. ^_^ And for all who found the last couple chapters depressing, fear not! The depressing-ness ends here. For a while, that is.
Inu-Yasha and Kagome were officially a couple, though you would never be able to tell just from looking. Really, nothing much had changed between them with one little difference: They would get irritated at each other, fight, Kagome would "sit" Inu-Yasha, he would recover, yell at her. It was all the same up until that point: Next, he would apologize for being an ass, Kagome would apologize for "sitting" him, and they would make out. That last part could cause some discomfort in most onlookers, but they put up with it because they were glad the two had *finally* gotten together.
All pretty much went well for a while. Kagome was back to her old, sunny, spirited self. They didn't have any problems with youkai, except for the occasional run-in with a Shikon shard-powered demon. Even then, those were strangely brief. In fact, ever since Katherine had joined the little team, everything seemed smoother. Yet another mystery about that strange girl…
Anyway, they had just obtained a shard, and in the midst of their joy, Inu- Yasha and Kagome were having another little make out session. Miroku turned to Katherine. "You know, it makes me feel a bit jealous…" Katherine, who was nearly fluent in Japanese due to the aid of her dictionary and her friends, did not seem to find this amusing.
"Talk to Shippo about it then," she said grumpily and stormed off.
Miroku followed her hurriedly. He found her staring moodily into the distance, obviously thinking. "What's wrong?" he asked.
She just looked at him icily. "Why should I tell *you*?"
Miroku just didn't understand Katherine. She obviously adored Kagome and Shippo, and cared about Inu-Yasha as well. But she was icy cold to him. He still tried to be kind to her. At first he thought it was because he couldn't resist hitting on her. (She was just so beautiful!) But he tried to stop that for awhile, to no avail. So he just treated her the same. In fact, he found himself falling a little bit in love with her…
"I don't know. But you want to tell me."
She glared at him. "You know me too well, monk. I want to tell you, even though I don't like you."
It startled him a little bit to hear her say it outright, though he had suspected it for a long time. "Why not?"
"I…don't know, actually. I just don't like people. They grate my nerves."
"You seem to get along just fine with Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Shippo. Why don't you like me?"
Katherine sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "To be perfectly honest, I have no clue. Back home, I had very few friends. No, scratch that. I had *no* friends. Well, human ones, that is. Animals liked me a lot. There were a couple of people I would tolerate, but nobody who I really liked and got along with. Inu-Yasha and Shippo feel more like animals, you know what I mean? And Kagome…I can't explain Kagome. I don't think anyone can. Not even Inu-Yasha. Can you?" She gave him a challenging look.
Miroku opened his mouth a few times to explain Kagome, but he couldn't quite seem to. Finally, he gave up. "No."
Katherine looked at him smugly. "Told ya so. Anyway, I'm jealous Inu- Yasha and Kagome."
Miroku said, "Well, that's easy enough to take care of." He reached out and placed a hand on her butt, only to be whacked over the head with a convenient stick.
"Pervert!" Katherine growled throatily. "Not like that. I mean, they've found who they love. I never had a boyfriend because a, I scared off all the boys, and b, I wasn't attracted to any of them. But still, I want someone to love…"
Miroku nodded understandingly. Although he gave in to lust in ninety-nine out of a hundred cases, he did want someone to provide something other than sexual fulfillment and the need for an heir. He grinned at her. "The offer still stands," he said enticingly.
Katherine gave him a look of disbelief. "Do you *ever* give up?"
"Nope."
A smile tugged at the corners of Katherine's mouth until she gave in and grinned. "Persistence will get you nowhere fast in the case, hentai-boy." When she saw Miroku's odd look, she gasped in horror and covered her mouth. Silently, she got up and ran away.
Miroku looked after her, slightly confused. Was it just him, or did she have fangs?
~**~
Katherine curled into her bedroll, sobbing. Now her secret was out…everyone would hate her now. She just might as well just leave now. She crawled out and, purely from habit, fixed her hair and checked her contacts. She heard footsteps coming from the woods. She looked and saw the vague profile Inu-Yasha approaching. "Leave me alone," she told him. "I'm going. Don't try to follow me."
"Yes, you will be leaving," an icy cold voice said that froze Katherine's blood. Who she presumed was Inu-Yasha stepped out. True, he had long white hair and golden eyes. But that was where the resemblance ended. "But it will be with me." Before Katherine had a chance to speak, he grabbed her and bounded away.
~**~
Kagome walked into the small clearing where Katherine had chosen to set up her gear to talk to her. Miroku had just told her something very odd, and Kagome needed to talk about it with Katherine. Miroku said she had fangs. It was an unusual trait, to be sure, but some normal humans had them. When she walked in, she saw the back of Sesshoumaru leaping through the air, holding in his arms a captive Katherine…
~**~
Sesshoumaru often took a mortal captive and tortured it before killing it, just for amusement. Their screams and pleas for mercy were all the more interesting, and it was one of the few forms of entertainment he had.
But this girl he had just taken. She was different, somehow. He felt no ill will towards her, and she in turn did not fight her captivity or try to run away. Instead, he was captivated by her, what with that long silver hair, a color he had never seen on a mortal, and those dark, seal brown eyes. He approached her. Jaken had tied her up for him. He gripped her chin and looked into her eyes, expecting to see the usual terror. But instead, what he saw surprised him.
"You don't fear me…"
"No, I have no reason to. I'm Katherine. Who are you?" Her voice was soft and held none of the fear or animosity he usually heard in his captives' voices.
"Who am I?" He smiled thinly, slightly amused by her ignorance. "I'm Sesshoumaru, Youkai Lord of the West."
"Oh. A lord, ne?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer. Instead, he tilted her head back slightly, causing her long, straight silver hair to fall back, causing her to gasp, once again, in horror and his eyes to widen slightly in surprise.
Her hair had fallen back to reveal delicately pointed ears.
End notes: WOW! What a plot twist, ne? I've been planning this part since I started this fanfic. Actually, since its present state evolved from the initial planning, that is. But we got two major plot devices in one chapter this time. Normally my pacing reveals things gradually, just one thing at a time. Review and tell me what you think!
Author's notes: NANI?! "This is a depressing, dirty IY/Kag fic" –jagntrunkshh. That pisses me off. How the hell is this dirty? I mean, I know the rape thing was a bit depressing, but how was it dirty? It's not like I went into detail. And what the hell is so dirty about kissing? This is America, not Japan. (Or wherever in the world you are…I'm in America, where kissing is no biggie) Man, I am *not* in the mood for that kind of review. LOTR and Moulin Rouge just lost Best Picture, so I was hoping for something to lift my spirits a bit. And then I got *that* review. On the flip side, my grandma called my white puppy a demon, eliciting laughs from me. When I said what I was laughing at, my anti- anime sister rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, God, Caitlin." But I told a classmate later, and she found it hilarious. ^_^ And for all who found the last couple chapters depressing, fear not! The depressing-ness ends here. For a while, that is.
Inu-Yasha and Kagome were officially a couple, though you would never be able to tell just from looking. Really, nothing much had changed between them with one little difference: They would get irritated at each other, fight, Kagome would "sit" Inu-Yasha, he would recover, yell at her. It was all the same up until that point: Next, he would apologize for being an ass, Kagome would apologize for "sitting" him, and they would make out. That last part could cause some discomfort in most onlookers, but they put up with it because they were glad the two had *finally* gotten together.
All pretty much went well for a while. Kagome was back to her old, sunny, spirited self. They didn't have any problems with youkai, except for the occasional run-in with a Shikon shard-powered demon. Even then, those were strangely brief. In fact, ever since Katherine had joined the little team, everything seemed smoother. Yet another mystery about that strange girl…
Anyway, they had just obtained a shard, and in the midst of their joy, Inu- Yasha and Kagome were having another little make out session. Miroku turned to Katherine. "You know, it makes me feel a bit jealous…" Katherine, who was nearly fluent in Japanese due to the aid of her dictionary and her friends, did not seem to find this amusing.
"Talk to Shippo about it then," she said grumpily and stormed off.
Miroku followed her hurriedly. He found her staring moodily into the distance, obviously thinking. "What's wrong?" he asked.
She just looked at him icily. "Why should I tell *you*?"
Miroku just didn't understand Katherine. She obviously adored Kagome and Shippo, and cared about Inu-Yasha as well. But she was icy cold to him. He still tried to be kind to her. At first he thought it was because he couldn't resist hitting on her. (She was just so beautiful!) But he tried to stop that for awhile, to no avail. So he just treated her the same. In fact, he found himself falling a little bit in love with her…
"I don't know. But you want to tell me."
She glared at him. "You know me too well, monk. I want to tell you, even though I don't like you."
It startled him a little bit to hear her say it outright, though he had suspected it for a long time. "Why not?"
"I…don't know, actually. I just don't like people. They grate my nerves."
"You seem to get along just fine with Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Shippo. Why don't you like me?"
Katherine sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "To be perfectly honest, I have no clue. Back home, I had very few friends. No, scratch that. I had *no* friends. Well, human ones, that is. Animals liked me a lot. There were a couple of people I would tolerate, but nobody who I really liked and got along with. Inu-Yasha and Shippo feel more like animals, you know what I mean? And Kagome…I can't explain Kagome. I don't think anyone can. Not even Inu-Yasha. Can you?" She gave him a challenging look.
Miroku opened his mouth a few times to explain Kagome, but he couldn't quite seem to. Finally, he gave up. "No."
Katherine looked at him smugly. "Told ya so. Anyway, I'm jealous Inu- Yasha and Kagome."
Miroku said, "Well, that's easy enough to take care of." He reached out and placed a hand on her butt, only to be whacked over the head with a convenient stick.
"Pervert!" Katherine growled throatily. "Not like that. I mean, they've found who they love. I never had a boyfriend because a, I scared off all the boys, and b, I wasn't attracted to any of them. But still, I want someone to love…"
Miroku nodded understandingly. Although he gave in to lust in ninety-nine out of a hundred cases, he did want someone to provide something other than sexual fulfillment and the need for an heir. He grinned at her. "The offer still stands," he said enticingly.
Katherine gave him a look of disbelief. "Do you *ever* give up?"
"Nope."
A smile tugged at the corners of Katherine's mouth until she gave in and grinned. "Persistence will get you nowhere fast in the case, hentai-boy." When she saw Miroku's odd look, she gasped in horror and covered her mouth. Silently, she got up and ran away.
Miroku looked after her, slightly confused. Was it just him, or did she have fangs?
~**~
Katherine curled into her bedroll, sobbing. Now her secret was out…everyone would hate her now. She just might as well just leave now. She crawled out and, purely from habit, fixed her hair and checked her contacts. She heard footsteps coming from the woods. She looked and saw the vague profile Inu-Yasha approaching. "Leave me alone," she told him. "I'm going. Don't try to follow me."
"Yes, you will be leaving," an icy cold voice said that froze Katherine's blood. Who she presumed was Inu-Yasha stepped out. True, he had long white hair and golden eyes. But that was where the resemblance ended. "But it will be with me." Before Katherine had a chance to speak, he grabbed her and bounded away.
~**~
Kagome walked into the small clearing where Katherine had chosen to set up her gear to talk to her. Miroku had just told her something very odd, and Kagome needed to talk about it with Katherine. Miroku said she had fangs. It was an unusual trait, to be sure, but some normal humans had them. When she walked in, she saw the back of Sesshoumaru leaping through the air, holding in his arms a captive Katherine…
~**~
Sesshoumaru often took a mortal captive and tortured it before killing it, just for amusement. Their screams and pleas for mercy were all the more interesting, and it was one of the few forms of entertainment he had.
But this girl he had just taken. She was different, somehow. He felt no ill will towards her, and she in turn did not fight her captivity or try to run away. Instead, he was captivated by her, what with that long silver hair, a color he had never seen on a mortal, and those dark, seal brown eyes. He approached her. Jaken had tied her up for him. He gripped her chin and looked into her eyes, expecting to see the usual terror. But instead, what he saw surprised him.
"You don't fear me…"
"No, I have no reason to. I'm Katherine. Who are you?" Her voice was soft and held none of the fear or animosity he usually heard in his captives' voices.
"Who am I?" He smiled thinly, slightly amused by her ignorance. "I'm Sesshoumaru, Youkai Lord of the West."
"Oh. A lord, ne?"
Sesshoumaru didn't answer. Instead, he tilted her head back slightly, causing her long, straight silver hair to fall back, causing her to gasp, once again, in horror and his eyes to widen slightly in surprise.
Her hair had fallen back to reveal delicately pointed ears.
End notes: WOW! What a plot twist, ne? I've been planning this part since I started this fanfic. Actually, since its present state evolved from the initial planning, that is. But we got two major plot devices in one chapter this time. Normally my pacing reveals things gradually, just one thing at a time. Review and tell me what you think!