AN: Hey! I'm sorry I didn't update earlier, I have been sick with the flu, and I can't even eat without dieing. It sucks. But I woke up from my beautiful dream of magically turning into Kagome just to post this for you guys. After all those gorgeous reviews, I couldn't let you hang….
Sesshoumaru looked at Rin. She looked back at him.
He felt his eyes begin to water.
She smiled.
One eye began to twitch.
She began to whistle.
The eye drifted a little further down…
She began bouncing up and down to the tune.
He blinked.
Rin clapped with joy. "Yay! I win! I can keep her!"
Sesshoumaru was temporarily frozen in shock. He had NEVER lost a staring contest before. She must have cheated.
He shook his head.
"The deal was only if it doesn't have a mother."
"Or if she isn't safe at home!"
"Yes, yes. Lets be off, Rin."
"Ok!"
************************
Inuyasha perched on the highest branch of the closest tree to the pool. Kagome had been going back and forth and back and forth in that weird lake for a long time. Inuyasha thought that it was pretty stupid; didn't she realize that she wasn't getting anywhere?
Feh. He shoved the "pool" and her odd behavior in it into the large wasted corner of his brain labeled "things I should ask Kagome but won't because it might make me look dumb."
He did wish she would hurry up, though. It was making him very nervous to see her surrounded by all the perverted and crazy people of her time when he wasn't close enough to protect her if they tried to attack.
Not to mention that every time a guy looked at her he felt a powerful urge to leap at their throat.
Deep breaths, Inuyasha. Take deep breaths.
Suddenly, a terrible, awful scent drifted its way to his sensitive nose. Inuyasha grasped at his throat, certain he was going to pass out from the terrible fumes.
*************************
"Ok, everyone! That's it for the day, head over to lunch!"
Kagome let a sigh in relief. Her swimming coach had been cruel today, not one break! And she had been nervous the entire class that Inuyasha was going to appear and demand that she put on some clothes….
She didn't understand what his problem was. Why was he being so difficult about her swimsuit?
He couldn't be jealous, could he?
A mental picture of Inuyasha giving her a valentine's gift while smiling sweetly drifted across her mind.
Sadly, the mental picture of Inuyasha threatening to kill her tests overrode it.
Nope, that couldn't be it.
She let herself lie back into the water and float on her back. What a troublesome guy Inuyasha is. It would be so much easier if he would just-
"AIIIIII!"
The two gold eyes blinked.
"What's
the matter, Kagome? Finally realized what you're wearing?"
"Inuyasha!" She stared at the hanyou in disbelief.
He was hanging upside down from a branch that hung over the swimming pool, hair almost touching the water.
"Are you sure you aren't some kind of squirrel demon? I mean, what is it with you and trees?"
"Be quiet, wench. I need to leave."
"So what's stopping you?"
"I don't want to leave you here alone."
"Why? I've been going to school most of my life, Inuyasha. I think I will be ok."
"I don't trust the people in your time. They are all crazy perverts."
"Hey, those are my friends you are talking about!"
"They are!"
"Why do you need to leave, anyway?"
"There is a stench. I feel like I can't even breathe. Is this some type of weapon in your time?" Inuyasha tensed. Ready to defend Kagome against anything that might be coming for them.
"Huh?" Kagome sniffed experimentally. She didn't smell anything except lunch.
"What are you talking about, Inuyasha? I don't smell anything."
Inuyasha frowned. "How can you miss it? It's coming from over there." He pointed towards one of the school buildings.
Kagome followed where he was pointing and started to laugh.
"Hey, what is it?"
Kagome snickered again. "Oh, that's not a weapon, Inuyasha. That's cafeteria food."
"Cafy-teera?"
*************************
The great Sesshoumaru silently debated the pros and cons of dying on the spot. He was not used to arguing with filthy, bawling, human, females.
But he had promised Rin he would see to the child's safety. Otherwise, she could keep it. And that was NOT an option.
Thank goodness he had found the woman who left the girl behind, at least he knew the child did have a mother…
"Take back the child."
The woman cringed in fear; she had never heard of a youkai that did not kill humans on sight. And Sesshoumaru was more than a little frightening, even by youkai standards. Despite his eyeliner.
"I… I'm sorry, my lord, but I cannot. The village elder says that he will kill the child if it remains in the town!"
Sesshoumaru winced inwardly. Rin was most likely listening from behind one of the trees, and the woman's claim was not going to help him get rid of the baby.
"Why would he kill the child?" He kept his voice absolutely deadpan, despite his worry.
"Because she… she… was born with a…" Her voice dropped to a whisper, barely discernable to even Sesshoumaru's vastly superior ears. "a… tail." And with that the woman burst into tears.
Sesshoumaru frowned. What was the matter with that? His own mother had been very pleased with his luxurious tail when he had been born. It was a point of pride for him.
"And?"
She looked at the youkai with reddened eyes.
"What do you mean, and? She has a TAIL!"
"And how is this a problem?"
It suddenly dawned on the woman that she was talking to a demon with a giant fuzzy tail* slung over his arm.
"You take it!"
WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
"What?" His voice barely wavered.
She looked desperately at him. "You must know somewhere that she will be safe. Somewhere that the fact that she is… is… Somewhere where that she won't be considered different!"
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I don't think so."
A tiny voice came from the direction of one of the trees.
"Yes! We can take her!"
The woman looked around wildly. "Who's there?"
Sesshoumaru didn't move. If a human found out that he was caring for a little girl, he knew what would happen…
"No one is there."
"But… I just heard a voice…."
"No you didn't."
"I'm quite sure…"
"Perhaps you are under too much stress, woman. Just take your child and go."
She shook her head. "She isn't mine. She's my sister's."
"Whatever. Take it to her then."
Tears leaked out of her eyes. "My sister died in the birth…"
Sesshoumaru fought not to scream in horror. The baby had no mother… A deal was a deal….
The small figure that was hiding behind a tree shot towards him at a run.
"Yay! I can keep it!"
The youkai backed up a step.
"No Rin! Don't come out…" It was too late. The woman had seen Rin. He braced himself for what was about to happen next.
It was not long in coming.
The woman, who had just a minute before been trembling in fear, latched onto his arm. "Oh! You are taking care of a little girl all by yourself! That is so sweet, it must be hard for you to raise her all alone… Are you married? Do you have a girlfriend? It's so nice to meet a responsible young man who is willing to take on the responsibility of a child, and so rare… Young men never are willing to take on that kind of…"
She fell silent, realizing her hands no longer held onto anything. The youkai had taken off at a run, holding Rin under one arm and the tailed baby under another.
"Damn! The good ones always get away!" She sighed and turned back towards the village.
* normally I think that the fuzzy thing is a boa, but for this story it is a tail
AN- I don't think I like how this came out. I think I'm going to rewrite the entire chapter, but I decided to post this until then. Tell me whether you think I should in a review, please? I just don't know…
