Jaid: Thanx all, for the wonderful compliments! Here's another chapter for you guys!

Jad: This is the second time you've forgotten, you know.

Jaid: Hm?

Jad: It's called a disclaimer, Jaid. This is how we do not get sued.

Jaid: Sure, spoil my fun…

Jad: *Sigh*

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Jad: Jaid does not own anything. She would argue that she owns Gabe, but we all know it's just wishful thinking. Takahashi-sama owns it all. Well, except for Miaka and Sari. Jaid definitely owns them.

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(Kagome's POV)

Several days passed and nothing happened. Gabe was eventually released from the hospital and returned home. I went to visit the family shrine a lot after that. My grandfather had died several years earlier, but I found a sense of peace as I sat under the God Tree, Miaka in my lap.

Hojo was on the edge, I could tell. I suppose I was as well. We didn't know what was going to happen.

Right now, we are both under the God Tree, just sitting. Miaka makes various baby noises as she lies in her carrier. The summer breeze lightly blows my hair from my face as I look into the distance. I smile slightly as I remember when Hojo proposed. It had been a day like this, sunny and carefree. Only this day wasn't so easy.

"What are we going to do?" Hojo's voice was quiet.

"I don't know. Be on our guard." I answered. He turned towards me.

"You know him. You've fought him. I've only seen him through dreams…" he stopped, struggling for words.

"He'll try to turn us against each other." I said softly. "That's how he works. Though deceit, hate, anger, distrust. But there's one thing he doesn't understand." I smile. "He doesn't understand love." I reach for Hojo's hand and squeeze it. "And that's what's gonna bring him down."

Hojo smiles and leans his head against mine, so that our noses were touching. "It takes a lot to dampen your spirits, huh?"

I only continue to smile at him.

"I'm a pretty luck guy." He whispers and kisses me. I lean into it, but then Miaka starts to cry. I pull away, rolling my eyes. Hojo just gives me a crooked smile and leans against the tree as I start to nurse the baby. For a long time, it's quiet.

"Are we going to be okay?"

I look up from burping Miaka. Hojo looks at me.

"I guess I shouldn't be the one asking that." Hojo smiles wryly. "After all, it's my job to protect you, right?"

I shake my head. "We'll watch out for each other."

Miaka squeals.

"And you too." I laugh lifting my baby up and rubbing her nose against mine. Miaka coos and grabs a handful of my black hair.

"Stop that." I say, softly laughing. Hojo disentangles her fists from my hair. He looks down at me and I look up at him.

"Don't worry, Hojo. It'll be fine."

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(San's POV)

I look up as somebody tosses a packet onto my desk. Gabe stands there.

"Chief said you should look at that." He says. I watch him for a moment. It's his first day back and he's continued looking strained and pale. He sinks into the chair of his own desk and holds his head in his hand. I open the packet and out falls a note, an envelope, and a ring, all in separate bags and neatly labeled.

"Read the note." Gabe says in a low voice.

I glance over it, then my head snaps up. "Has this been tested?"

"Yes, it has. Only my fingerprints and the nurse's. Same with the envelope and the ring." He swallows and stands. "That's my mother's ring. And she hasn't contacted my family for a little over a week. We don't know where she is."

"Shit."

"I could come with something stronger." He smiles wanly and begins to put the stuff away. "Anything about the harbor?"

"We've gotten two reports so far, but…" I roll my eyes.

"Shaka and Gurantai again, huh?"

"Yeah."

He chuckles. "They are persistent, you have give them that."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't do us any good if they don't give real information." I hand him a file with the reports. He scans them.

"Okay, so we're headed for the Harbor." He says, closing the folder.

"I guess you're driving?" I raise an eyebrow, standing. He shoots me a charming a grin.

"Don't I always?"

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(Hojo's POV)

The break today helped me gain some composure. But I'm still on edge. Kagome seems so cool, so collected. She smiles and discusses teacups with the elderly woman who comes in. I look back at the computer where I was checking up on our website.

"You okay?" Kagome's cool hands press down on my shoulders and neck.

"Yeah. This website's giving me trouble."

"Hm, so that's why you were so tight."

"Yeah." I look up at her and smile. "You know we spent the whole morning at the shrine?"

"Yeah?"

"We missed a ton of calls."

Kagome rolls her eyes. "So?"

I chuckle. "Just thought you should know that Mr. What's-his-face-"

"Mr. Surati." Kagome corrects.

"Mr. Surati," I say. "says that he's found some lovely jade figures and is willing to sell or trade for them. He says to expect his daughters in a few days."

"Oh good." Kagome smiles down at me. "It'll be good to see Cory and Ren again."

I smiled. Cordelia and Renita Surati preferred nicknames to the heavy Victorian ones picked out by their parents. Both young women have a flair for antiques and a love for history that comes with the job. The funny thing is, both are adopted. Cordelia is a tall, slender blonde with vivid blue eyes and a figure that could easily pass for a model's, while Renita is short, brown and the definition of the word 'cute'.

"Okay, feeding time." Kagome sighs as Sari appears in the doorway, holding a crying Miaka.

"Didn't you just do that?"

"Babies take up a lot of attention." Kagome says to me.

"And husbands don't?"

"Hojo." Kagome rolls her eyes while I chuckle. Shaking her head, she climbs the stairs. Sari walks over and rests her chin on the computer desk, staring at me with her dark eyes.

"Need something?" I ask. She shakes her head. And then proceeds to watch my every move. This makes me rather nervous and I soon give up on the website and decide to check on the art gallery we have in the back. Sari follows and makes comments on various pictures. We stay for a moment, while I try to explain the oddities of "modern art" to a twelve-year-old mind, but are interrupted by the phone ringing. I rush back to the shop and pick it up.

"Hello, Kasha's antiques." I say. Kagome and I got the name from the first two letters of her name and the last three of mine.

"Hello, Mr. Hojo!" British accented Japanese greets me. I smile. It's Cory.

"Where are you?"

"Driving around, trying to find a decent hotel. Ren got us lost."

There is a loud protest in the background and I grin.

"You're not supposed to be here. You're father said you wouldn't be here for a couple of days at least."

"Well, dear old Dad sometimes makes mistakes." Cory says cheerily. "We'll probably pop in tomorrow, as soon as we all get settled."

"Great." I say, leaning against the counter. "We look forward to the stuff your bringing."

"We know." Cory laughs. "So, tomorrow then! Bye!"

"Bye." I hang up chuckling.

"What's up?" Kagome walks down the stairs, Miaka over her shoulder.

"That was Cory."

"They got here fast."

"Yeah." I agree as Kagome carefully transfers the fed baby to Sari. The girl then sits on the steps, burping Miaka in an important manner. Kagome and I look at each other and chuckle.

The door opens and a tall, slender woman with black hair wearing sunglasses enters.

"Mr. And Mrs. Hojo?" she asks, walking up to the counter. I nod. The sunglasses come off, revealing eyes the color of fine brandy.

"My name is Katya Ishurugi. I was told that you have some good specimens of old English furniture?"

"Yes." Kagome smiles. "Most of it is in the art gallery. This way please."

Katya smiles and nods, walking towards the door my wife mentioned. Kagome turns to me and whispers, "She's not here for furniture. Keep an eye out."

Before I can say anything, she follows the other woman into the gallery.

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(Gabe's POV)

San and I headed for the harbor. We used a plain car and both of us wore street clothes; San in jean shorts, with a black long sleeved top, as well as black boots. I'm wearing jeans, a white tank top and a red hooded sweatshirt over that. Instead of having my hair in a ponytail, I leave it out, using a dark blue bandanna to keep it out of my face.

"So." I commented as we begin to walk. "Any clue as to how to do this?"

"Shaka said that if we wanted to see him, we have to head to…" she stops and pulls a piece of paper out her pocket. "Warehouse 33."

"Great." I grimace. #33 is probably the most likely to fall down around us as we talk. Shoving my hands into my pockets, we both start walking quickly.

It is summer, and soon I shed my sweatshirt jacket and tie it around my waist. We come up on Warehouse #33. A door bangs back and forth ominously, hanging on only one hinge.

"Charming." I mutter, more to lighten the mood than anything else. "How much do you think to re-decorate?"

"Too much." San mumbled back, then does a double take as I grin. She narrows her eyes at me (a look I see all too often), then walks inside. I follow, but there is something I don't like about the air. I look up at the sun. It shines, but for some reason, seems dull, almost gray. A chill goes down my spine. I shake it off and step inside.

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(San's POV)

Gabe and I walk into the abandoned warehouse. We both come here a lot, posing as drug buyers. I'm known as Akiko; Gabe goes by his first name, Miroku. We look around.

"Hey, Shaka!" I call out. "Come out where we can see ya!" My voice echoes, but there is no response. No gray, cringing old man comes out, hunched over and shaking his head. No whining voice responds. I frown and glance at Gabe. He seems distracted.

"Shaka?!" I call again. "Look, I don't have all day. Get out here now!"

"I don't think he's here." Gabe murmurs. I swallow. A trap? Maybe, but there aren't many who could sell us out. The only people who know of our real identities are fellow cops.

But then again, who said cops couldn't be bought as well?

Almost unconsciously, both Gabe and I stand back to back. I cross my arms, feeling the familiar coldness of the gun in my jean pocket. It's a tiny one, with not much ammo. Gabe has another concealed in his sweatshirt. I can tell he's reaching for it.

"Is anybody here?" Gabe asks.

"Yesssss." A hissing voice answers and I feel my heart leap up into my throat. The voice is strange, but vaguely familiar. It's almost like the voices of those little snake creatures that attacked us before, but deeper, more drawn out.

"Who are you?" Gabe calls out and the strength and confidence in it surprise me. "What do you want with us?"

"Foolsssss."

"What are you talking about?" I demand. "Where's Shaka? We came here for our dope; we want it now."

There is a deep throaty, almost gurgling laugh. "Yessss, they want it now. But do we give it to them?"

A myriad of giggles rises up.

"RUN!" Gabe shouts and pushes me towards the doorway. I don't have to think twice as I bolt, hearing his footsteps behind me. As we get back into the daylight, I stop.

"What the hell-?"

The sky and even the air has become a murky gray.

"I don't know." Gabe says. His eyes are huge. Grabbing my arm in a tight grip, we run through the strangely empty alleyways. Reaching the non-descript, rather beat up car we use here, Gabe lets me go and fumbles for keys. He's shaking violently and his breathing is labored.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I don't know!" he answers, then slaps the keys into my hand. "I don't think I can drive; I can't breath-" he breaks off and collapses into the passenger seat, clutching his chest. I stand stunned, but the whispers of a gurgling laugh and millions of giggles prod me into climbing into the car and starting it. With disregard for the speed limit, I press down on the gas pedal and we speed away.

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(Hojo's POV)

I didn't like leaving Kagome with that woman, especially after what my wife had said. But it proved unavoidable. First, some customers came in, and then Kagome firmly pressed me out of the room.

"I'm not leaving you alone!" I hissed. She scowled at me.

"You glaring and glowering at her! For God's sake, Inu-Yasha, can you be more clueless? I'll be fine. Go watch the counter."

So that's what I'm doing; watching the bloody counter. I sigh in frustration, right before I realize that this is the closest to an argument that we've had for months. Kagome is usually so calm and cool. Sometimes I wonder if somehow, she gained some of Kikyo's characteristics, just as I have gained some of the former Inu-Yasha's.

Thoughts on the matter are firmly wiped away as I suddenly felt something like a shock goes through me. There was something wrong; something evil in the air. Frowning, I walked to the front door.

The air and sky are dark and stuffy. I blink. This is summer. Sure it's humid and hot, but not cloudy. There is a weird thing with the light, everything seems darkened. Suddenly my heart stops and I run for the Tetsusaiga. I don't know how I know, but somebody I care about is in trouble. In deep trouble.

"I'm afraid you'll have to come back later, Ishurugi-san. We need to close up shop early today." I hear Kagome approach and with difficulty, I put the sword down behind the counter. Kagome and the woman walk to the door, my wife talking prettily and cheerfully all the while. Once Ishurugi is gone, Kagome turns to me, seriousness on her face.

"Something's gone wrong."

"Again?" I ask dryly. Kagome ignores my sarcasm.

"It's Gabe and San again, isn't it?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"Because no damned youkai is attacking us!" Kagome snaps.

"Fine, I'll go look for him. You stay-"

"I'm coming with you." She interrupts.

"No, you're not."

"Yes I am, Inu-Yasha Hojo, and you can't stop me!"

"Kagome! No! What if you get hurt-"

"And you won't? Is that it?"

"Yes! No!" I stop for a moment frustrated. "Kagome, we have Miaka to think about-"

"You're forgetting that Gabe is my friend too." Kagome says in a low voice. We both shut our mouths and glare at each other, before the fire dies out of her eyes.

"He's doing it."

"Who?"

"We haven't argued for months. Not like this anyway."

I shrug. "All couples…" I trail off. She's right. In crisis, we tend to work together; our arguments are often about silly things, were we just yell at each other to let off steam and then everything's fine.

"We close early." Kagome says calmly.

"Take Sari home and drop off Miaka at your mother's." I continued for her.

"Then we look for Gabe and San." She finished. I nod, feeling calmer now that we're both acting a little more normally.

"Let's go." Kagome says gravely.

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Jaid: Whew! There you guys go! Hope you enjoy, 'cause I can't promise when the next chapter will be up. Mainly because I don't exactly know how this is going to turn out…have you ever known how you were going to end something, but not how to get there? *sighs and beats head against wall*

Sadprincess2002 – My first reviewer! You get a hug! Lol, hope you liked this chapter.

A-chan – Yup! And he learns more about it later on. I'm still not sure if I'll have him be more elegant in style, or just stick to Inu-Yasha's "hack-it-till-it-dies" technique. ^__^ As for San, well, come to your own conclusions. That's all I can say for now. Yes, I think Gabe will eventually find out who he is. I'm being horrible to him right now though…

Iris Omega – You read it! (I've been saying this to you way too much lately, huh? Lol, sorry nin mellon.) I'm so glad you like it! And don't worry; if I have my way you *will* know more about IY…*evil cackle*

Sakura Kounji - *blushes* You have been very gracious in your compliments! Thank you for the reviews on "A Second Chance" and "A Full Basket" as well as on this one. And thanx for commenting on my grammar and description. Sometimes I wonder if anybody notices them. ^__^ ACK! Not a sugar high Shippo! Oh well…knowing my house, he'd probably fit right in…

Ley – You reviewed! *dances around* That makes me happy for some reason that I can't quite ascertain, except that you like my stories in another anime! *dances more* Okay, that sentence didn't quite make sense. Lol, so glad you enjoyed it!