Chapter 6

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kagome were trudging along at an agonizingly slow pace.

"If you weren't so clumsy, we could be at this 'mall' you're so hyped about," Inuyasha said, his pace only a little faster than Kagome's.

"Oh, be quiet! It's not my fault you came charging in while I was trying to bathe," Kagome said, not any happier about the situation.

"But you didn't have to try to climb that tree. And besides, who do you think I am, Miroku?" Inuyasha was still a bit grumpy about being turned into a human.

"Inuyasha, if you don't stop talking about that, I'm going to hit you with my crutch," Kagome was still embarrassed about Inuyasha almost seeing her naked.

"Feh, fine. See if I care. You know, there's something creepy about that Angel," Inuyasha said as if just realizing it fir the first time. "And I mean beside the fact that Sesshoumaru likes her."

"I think it's just that they can relate to each other. You know? They both have a younger hanyou, half-sibling whom they seem to greatly dislike. It's understandable that they would get along," Kagome said. "But I think they creepiness factor you were referring to was the fact that her aura was almost completely hidden when she had that metal ring on, and the bit that I could sense seemed almost human; Sesshoumaru's too."

"I'd like to see the look on Miroku's face if he tried anything with her," Inuyasha was acting like his old self again. "That'd teach him to go after every pretty girl he sees."

"Oh, where did they go? They could be anywhere, and I'm cold. What was Angel thinking, giving me a t-shirt in October?"

"Quit complaining. If I wasn't human, I could sniff 'em out, but that wench had to go and turn me into a human," Inuyasha, still fuming.

"Oh, and you want me to stop complaining? " ah, yet another argument to add to that ever growing list. "Ano, why do I feel like we just passed them?"

Just then, the door to the house they had just passed opened and out stepped (drum roll, please) Aifa. "Hey, there you guys are," she said. "Angel, you were right, as usual."

"Of course I was, what did you expect?" Angel said, as she stepped out of the house as well, closely followed by Kate, and finally Sesshoumaru. "And it's about time you two got here."

For some reason, Angel appeared to have noticed something that made her angry. "Baka, I told you to leave this," takes the Tetsusaiga from him using her demon reflexes against his, presently, human ones. "At the house. I know that you have ears, do you just not use them?"

"Hey! H-how can you hold that?" Inuyasha demanded.

Angel switched to English. "Kate, this is Inuyasha, the one who is a lot like your brother. Why don't you show him what we think of him?" at this, Kate proceeded to kick Inuyasha in the shin.

"What the fuck was that for? What the hell did you tell her, bitch?" Inuyasha's mouth appears to have taken over his brain...

Angel unsheathed the Tetsusaiga, and it transformed. "Whoa, nice! It's really too bad a sword like this has to wasted on a half-breed who couldn't outsmart a retarded rock."

"I agree completely," Sesshoumaru stated. "That is the reason I have been attempting to liberate it from his possession."

"No, you've been trying to steal it," Inuyasha said.

"That's what he said, dimwit," Angel snapped, wanting very much to hit him for all he was worth, which, actually, she assumed wasn't very much. "Well, Sesshoumaru, if you want it, here," she handed the sword to him as if it were nothing more than a bokken. He was surprised to find that it didn't repel him as it had in the past, and he didn't even have a human arm this time.

'Crap, we're all gonna die!' Inuyasha had no faith, because he was defenseless as a human.

"Why would you just give it to me?" Sesshoumaru inquired.

"I don't need it, I'm getting a new sword today, anyway. But you still can't bring it to the mall," that really rained on his parade.

"And where, exactly, do you propose I leave it? Certainly not in the care of that human girl. I am not, in the least bit, inclined to let it away from my side," Sesshoumaru (who else would say that?).

'He hasn't even tried to kill us, yet. He must be planning something,' was along the lines of both Inuyasha and Kagome's thoughts, but Kagome's also included a: 'I don't even have my bow and arrow.'

"Well, if you can stay here for a sec without trying to kill each other (you'd set a bad example for Kate) I'll bring the sword back to the house, and you can duke it out for it later," ah, Angel the Savior.

"I am not going to relinquish this sword to anyone," Sesshoumaru, of course.

"You'll get it back later. Now fork it over," she held out her hand, her tone making it clear she was not used to being argued with (just like Sesshoumaru).

"You will not order me, wench."

"Then don't order me, and don't call me wench," she was having a difficult time not dropping into a fighting stance.

"Psst, hey Kagome, is this what we sound like when we fight?" Inuyasha whispered.

"I guess so. Wow, this is creepy. I'm amazed he hasn't either chopped her head off or started trying to pummel her," she whispered back.

"They can hear you, you know?" Aifa interjected.

"I gave you the sword. Which, by the way, I didn't have to do. And you'll get it back, but you can't bring it to the mall. There's just too much temptation, especially if any of the boys from my school are there," Angel continued arguing with Sesshoumaru.

"Do you have any idea the obstacles I have faced trying to obtain this sword, woman?" Sesshoumaru was actually losing his cool. (something for the record books)

"No, and, at the moment, I don't care. I have things I have to do today, and arguing with someone who, right now, has the maturity of a six-year- old. You are losing your temper, and causing me to lose mine, over a sword that you will have back in your hands in as long as it takes for us to get through the mall. And it's going to take the longer, the longer we continue this, due to the crowds that will accumulate," she didn't even seem to care that he was holding the completely transformed Tetsusaiga.

"Woman, you are infuriating."

"I know," she was proud of it. "And did you forget my name already? It's 'Angel' not 'woman'. Get it? Got? Good. Now give me the damned sword."

"Hey, if anybody gets the sword, it's gonna be me," Inuyasha unwisely interrupted.

"No, you're not," the two purebloods snapped in unison.

"And I am not being immature," continued Sesshoumaru (immaturely, lol). "If anyone is, it's you, protecting those humans. Why anyone would want to willingly interact with them, let alone protect them, is beyond me."

"Don't insult me, just because I grew up in a different environment than you did," Angel replied. "Things are much different here, than they were in Japan 500 years ago. Hell, things are much different here than they are in Japan right now."

"This is completely ridiculous. I should just kill you now."

"Go ahead and try, I dare you," she challenged.

This really threw him. No one had ever dared him to try to kill them. This girl was either much braver than he had suspected or much stupider. At least, no one in their right mind. That must be it; this girl must not be in good mental health. "Are you sure you would like to challenge me? It is a death wish, you know."

"I have never been beaten by anyone I have challenged in the past, or anyone that challenged me, for that matter. So if you take my challenge seriously, let's finish it quick. I have other things to today," she stepped forward so that she was only about two feet away from him, an easy, open target for the Tetsusaiga.

"You do have a death wish. You come at me completely open and completely unarmed. Are you mad?" her bold move surprised him.

"Sesshoumaru, you do not seem to understand the fact that I know exactly what I am doing. I have just told you that I have never lost a serious battle in my life. Now, eighteen years may not seem like a long time to you, but, at this point, it is for me. I know that you are not, in the least bit, a weak opponent, but understand, neither am I. This will not be an easy fight to win," she declared. She looked directly into his, now, violet eyes and saw something she had never seen in an opponent before, and it creped her out a tiny bit. Desire. But not an exactly lustful desire, she had seen that often enough. No, this a different kind, one she couldn't fully explain or even really understand. It, to put it simply, made her quite a bit concerned, if, for any other reason, his mental health. (that was so retro, it was sad.) (funny author's note: If this were a pic in a manga, and someone did a spoof on it, there would probably be a thought bubble for one of them, thinking "Must win staring contest." Just so you get an idea of what this would look like to anyone watching.)

He closed the short distance between them, and before realizing what he was doing, his lips were on hers.

It was over before her brain told the rest of her body to react. For a moment, she was in a state of complete shock. What just happened? She was pretty sure that had never occurred before, during, or after a fight. When she finally did catch up to the rest of the world, she didn't know how to respond. She felt the color rise in her cheeks.

"Um, wow. that was unexpected," she said slowly, unsure of what to think of it. "Sesshoumaru just kissed you, say something smart ya moron,' she berated herself.

'Why did I do that? I was just about to kill her, then. then I kissed her. What's wrong with me?' obviously, Sesshoumaru had no idea why his body had just done what it had done.

"I don't get it. Weren't they about to rip each other's throats out?" Inuyasha broke the uncomfortable silence that had started settling over them.

"What an idiot," Aifa muttered as she whacked him in the head.

"What the fuck was that for?!" Inuyasha, unfortunately, recovered quickly.

"Ruining the moment, twit," she explained.

Angel cleared her throat. "Well, uh, I guess you can keep the sword with you as long as you swear not to kill, maim, or otherwise injure anyone with it, or at all for that matter. At least while we're at the mall. Do you promise?" she asked.

"If it is what I must do to keep the Tetsusaiga, then I will comply." (He really is willing to do anything for it)

"I'm going back inside, that was gross," Kate said, reminding everyone of her presence.

"At least you get to escape, Kate-chan," Aifa remarked humorously.

"If you see my brother at the mall, tell him to come home, okay?" Kate said just as she walked inside and closed the door, not giving them a chance to argue.