Chapter 3 "A Joyful Reunion"

"MOTHER!!!" Inuyasha cried, sitting up with a start. He was drenched in a cold sweat, and he was breathing heavily. He had seen it... all of it. His dream had been finished finally, and not only that, but he knew he had a sister-- a sister he had been taken away from when he was young...

He looked around himself, surprised to see he was in a dark hut. Next to him lay another person... their scent told him exactly who it was. For he had remembered the name of his sister as well, and whispered it into the dark shadows of the room.

"Michiko."

A soft moan was heard from the girl beside him, and he heard her move to sit up. Inuyasha knew that she had seen everything from the dream as well, for he could smell tears, and was unsure which were his and which where his sister's.

'Michiko' turned to her brother, finally looking apon his face after so long. After a long pause, she spoke. "I-Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha smiled, and nodded. "Yep, it's me alright!"

Michiko smiled as well as tears ran down her cheeks. She leaned in and hugged her brother tightly, not wanting to let go. She was afraid that it was all a dream...

Inuyasha hugged his sister back. "I can't believe it." He muttered. "It's really you..."

Michiko laughed a little. "And it's really you." She added.

They stayed like that for a while in silence, both recalling what they had both seen. After a long while, they pulled away. Inuyasha smiled and brushed away Michiko's tears.

"Come on," he said gently. "No more tears. We're together again, yes?"

Michiko smiled also. "I know." She said. "It's just so hard to believe I went through life not knowing you... it kinda' hurts, though. To think I could have grown up by your side. But instead, we both were alone."

Inuyasha nodded. He then leaned in and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "Let's make the best of being together again, shall we?"

Michiko returned the kiss to her brother's cheek. "Sounds good." She said.

Suddenly, the curtain covering the door was pushed aside as someone rushed into the room and pretty much tackled Inuyasha in a big hug.

"INUYASHA!" the person cried.

"Kagome!?" the hanyou questioned. He blushed when he looked into the mortal's worried eyes.

"I thought I was going to loose you!" she sobbed. "You... you just fell to the ground- both of you- and I thought... I thought you were... dead!" With that, she started crying again.

Inuyasha's blush turned into a wildfire on his cheeks that soon spread to his whole face, it seemed. Kagome seemed so worried about him... why? And what brought this about all of a sudden?

Michiko laughed.

Kagome pushed away from Inuyasha, shocked to find Michiko there as well. "I uh..." she stammered. "I didn't see you there!"

Michiko smiled. "That's ok... my name is Michiko."

Kagome nodded and shook the girl's hand. "The villagers told me your name. I'm Kagome."

Michiko nodded also. "Well, Kagome, any mate of my brother's is a friend of mine!"

At the same time, to people blushed.

"Any WHAT of your brother's?!" Inuyasha cried.

Kagome's reaction was slightly different. "M-mate?" she questioned.

Michiko looked from Inuyasha to Kagome. "You mean you guys aren't... uh... together?"

The silence seemed enough of an answer for Michiko. "Well, then, this is awkward..." she said. "Sorry."

"Don't mention it." Inuyasha grumbled.

"Oh, don't listen to them." Came a voice. "They won't admit it, but they both like eachother allot."

The three turned around to see Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirarra standing in the doorway.

Michiko smiled. "Oh I knew that one already!" she said.

Sango returned the smile. "This is Miroku the lech- uh- I mean monk, the kitsune is Shippou, my neko-youkai is Kirarra, and my name is Sango. I'm a demon exterminator."

Michiko smiled warmly at her new friends. "Nice to meet you all." She said. "My name is Michiko. I'm Inuyasha's sister."

Four mouths dropped. "You're who's WHAT?" Miroku questioned.

"You never told me you had a sister!" Kagome cried.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and nudged everyone out of the hut. "I'll explain everything later, dammnit! Just give up some freakin' air!"

Miroku sighed. "Are you sure he's your brother?" he asked Michiko. "Cuz you seem allot nicer!"

"OUT!!!" Inuyasha bellowed.

Michiko laughed. "Oh don't worry." She said. "I can be pretty scary when I want to be."

Shippou jumped on her shoulder before they all walked outside. "You don't look scary." He said, twiking her ears.

Michiko giggled. "Well, let's just hope I don't have to prove that to you." She laughed.

"Well, when I touch Inuyasha's ears, he flips out on me." Shippou said, reaching for Inuyasha's ears. The hanyou growled and made a grab for the kitsune's tail. "See?" cried Shippou as he barely escaped. "He's a lunatic!"

When they got outside, the two hanyou's gasped. "It's morning already?" they both questioned at the same time.

Sango nodded. "You two slept through the night without one little peep... and yes, it is morning." She then turned to Inuyasha. "And Kagome was in and out of there every 5 minutes." She said softly. "You have to thank her later for being so concerned. Either that or atleast show her that you are grateful some other way..."

Inuyasha blushed but snorted and walked away.

Sango sighed. "When will you ever learn?" she said to herself. "You've got to tell Kagome how you feel about her sooner or later, before it's too late."

Sango didn't know it, but Inuyasha had heard what she had said as he was walking away. "I know." He whispered in a response. "I just don't know how to tell her... I don't know what I'll do... or if I'll ever do it, for that matter."

Michiko cocked her head, picking up on what Inuyasha had muttered. She looked from her brother to Kagome thoughtfully. 'What these two need... is a little help.' She thought to herself. 'And I'm gunna be the one to give it to them.'