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In question, how long had Ellie been holding all of her emotions in?

The few weeks they had been traveling, Miroku and Ellie had their moments;

Keroki and Ellie walked behind Miroku and Inu-Yasha. It had been only two days since they first met and they had grown it had into a routine. Ellie would wake the group, Keroki would clear the path, Miroku would pray for safety and Inu-Yasha would clean up.

"Hey, Keroki?" Ellie asked, passing through a deserted town. Keroki looked at her. "Do you think… We'll ever see our friends again?"

"Of course we will! All we have to do is-"

"Find the well?" Ellie finished. Keroki nodded with a smile. "But that's the problem. We're very far away from it." Keroki hesitated before she answered; "we'll find it."

"What are you two talking about back there?" Inu-Yasha asked. They had fallen behind a bit, since they were talking. "Nothing, Inu-Yasha…" Keroki called back to him, walking faster to keep up. Ellie came up beside her again, "are you not worried?"

"No, why should I be?" Ellie sighed, "maybe cause we might not make it back in time to leave?" Keroki gasped. "I didn't think of that! Oh, what are we going to do?" Ellie snorted, "How should I know?"

"Maybe we should turn 'round." Keroki look behind herself then at Inu-Yasha. But, Inu-Yasha had stopped, his hand on his sword, and Miroku's hand on his prayer beads. "What's wrong?" Inu-Yasha shushed Keroki and his ear perked. So did Ellie's. Keroki gaped at them. "Hello…?" Ellie shushed her. Keroki threw her hands in the air, and then she heard it.

It was mumbling and shuffling. Keroki took her stance with her sword and Ellie pulled her staff off her back. Suddenly, footsteps began to run at them. Inu-Yasha turned and charged at a dark figure, swinging his sword above his head and thrusting it downward. The figure brought up it's hand and it froze the Tetsusaiga in it's place. Keroki's turn. She bounded up and lightly landed sideways on Inu-Yasha's blade. She looked the person in the- bright blue eyes.

"Thierry?" Ellie asked, peeking up in front of him. "Ugh, shh! Thierry's my other name…" Keroki smiled. "Theirry!" She slid down and shook his hand, breaking the spell and Inu-Yasha fell to the ground. Thierry pulled a black cap off his nose and mouth. "Deidra? A-and Jess? Is that you two?" They laughed. He pulled his cloak off and set it on the ground. Two long lionish ears sat in his normal ear's spot. And instead of his hair being white blonde, it was black and shaggy. "Hey," Inu-Yasha began. "What are you doing here, Davou?"

"Davou huh?" Keroki said, sitting across from him by the fire. Thierry chuckled sarcastically, sipping some tea. "Yeah, I used to hang around with this idiot," Inu-Yasha said, looking at Keroki. "How?"

"Well," Theirry began, "when I was little, I used to come down to this cabin all the time, jumping into the well and transforming into a child many people called Davou, since my ears. I met Inu-Yasha after I had learned my locking trick, or what you saw back there. Anyway, I caught him playing with a ball with his mother." Keroki glanced down. Inu-Yasha shook his head. "We were friends since."

"Until you left!"

"I moved!"

"So! You had to have visited."

"I did, but I wasn't ever alone enough to ever come down here and disappear for a day." Inu-Yasha sighed and gazed at the fire. "Answer me this," Ellie said, "how can you get here?"

"I'm a demon! I have demon blood. I learned how to transform into a human so I could live in the future of here."

"Ah, but. Aw nevermind…" Ellie stood up and Kirasha bounded into her arms. "I have to give Kirasha a bath."

"Okay, see you later, Jess- I mean Ellie." She sneered and him and began to walk away, towards the river. "Strange person." Thierry said, shaking his head. "Hey? Where'd the ol' monkey go?" Inu-Yasha replied, looking around.

Ellie knelt beside the river; setting the lamp on the ground and tossing Kirasha into the water, letting her play for a bit. Kirasha splashed around and jolted under water for brief moments. Ellie laughed at her while she twirled in circles. She felt something slither over her hand. She looked down at it and screamed, plucking the green thing off the hand and tossing it, shivering at it's hissing sound and it flew onto a bush.

Ellie gripped her chest. "That was the fright of my life."

"Lady Ellie?" Someone asked. She looked behind herself and saw the monk, eyeing her concerned. "Oh, sorry Miroku, I just saw a snake on my hand-"

"Oh, are you alright?" He rushed over to her and grabbed her hand. "Oh, yes, I'm fine." She felt her heart throbbing. 'I'm alone with the monk… Just great!' He looked into her eyes and she felt her heart disappear. "Uh, look, Miroku I'm-"

He grasped her other hand and pulled her toward himself, wrapping his arms around her shoulder and burying his face into her neck. "Miroku, what do you-"

"I'm not thinking apparently. I'm just…"

'Don't say it Miroku!'

"- Expressing how I feel." She let out all of her air. She didn't want him to say that. Kirasha watched curiously at them. She let herself go in his grip. "I hope you're not angry."

"No, I'm… I'm-" Ellie tried to see herself from a different perspective and pushed away. "I'm- uh, I don't like you that way Miroku…" He pulled her back into him again. "You must… I now you have a crush on me." Ellie moaned. 'Loud mouth Keroki.'

She shoved away. "The answer is no." She stood and waltzed away, feeling Miroku's eyes set on her. Kirasha shook all the water off her and followed.

That's only the icing on the cake. Ellie fell more and more for Miroku day after day and he knew it. But he also knew that she would never accept the fact that they could actually be together. Her wall finally falls here:

The 8th day finally came. Ellie hummed and she skipped through the near city. Theirry had decided to go back and tell the others about him and us. Ellie had made a few arrangements with a horse seller and received a quarter horse she had been begging for.

She felt great! Knowing that her friends would sure enough postpone their flight and wait for them. She knew Miroku had gotten the point. Miroku had to have gotten the point, but why didn't she? How come every time she was around him, her heart fluttered to a stop and she stuttered before she answered him.

She knew she had to be in love with him, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. She couldn't spend her life here and she sure a heck couldn't spend it with a man whom only thinks, talks, and taunts women. He would probably cheat on her and not even take care of their child, if they had one.

"Ellie! Hey, you're daydreaming again."

"I'm not daydreaming, just thinking." Keroki snorted a laugh and pulled her away from the road and into a cabin, Miroku lied about having a 'dark cloud' hovering over it, and bought for us.

She shoved Ellie onto a couch, next to Miroku. And sat next to Inu-Yasha.

Crickets

"Why are we-"

"Shh! I hear a monster coming, come on Inu-Yasha, let's go fight it off!" Keroki dragged Inu-Yasha up and tripped out the door. "Yep. She's drunk." Ellie slid onto the floor and grabbed Kirasha, setting her in her lap.

"It's a pity, you know." Miroku began, watching her. "What is?" She asked, stroking Kirasha's tail. "That Keroki took Inu-Yasha will her." Ellie swallowed, but urged herself, "how so?"

"Why is it not obvious to you?"

"What isn't obvious to me?" Miroku sighed, crouching next to her. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about." Ellie felt her bones melt. She did, but she did want to admit it. "I'm sorry, but I don't." Miroku smiled, his frustration building. "I know you do. I can tell."

Ellie looked into his violet eyes. "Can't you take a clue? I don't like you! I have a crush on you, yes, but I know we could never be together because you're a woman hunter and woman hunters never settle down with one woman!" She took a deep breath and longingly let it out.

"Do you feel better?" Ellie nodded, letting herself be dragged in by Miroku. Since she was leaning against the couch, he had to wrap one arm around her lower waist. Kirasha jumped off of Ellie's lap before Miroku pulled her totally against himself. He did as he did by the river and set his face in her neck.

It did feel better to have gotten all those words off her chest, but now, she wanted him to ask her to bare him a son, or be his wife. She hated herself for feeling it, but she couldn't help it.

Miroku set his face in front of Ellie's. She felt her face burn from blushing. Her heart slipped into her stomach and she held her breath, ready for a kiss.

I shouldn't continue. All I'll tell you is, she felt flustered and girly afterwards. Sorry about blocking it off, but I also need to get back to Keroki and Inu-Yasha…

Keroki set her ear on the door. "I can't hear anything anymore." She blushed looking over at the angry Inu-Yasha. "I can't believe she fell for him. After all of that yelling. For nothing! What a waste." Keroki, stumbled, to Inu-Yasha and nearly fell on top of him. "You know Inu-Yasha, she could have punched him. I did hear a thud on the floor." Inu-Yasha blushed, looking into Keroki's eyes. "So…"

"So, that means- oh, nevermind, just come here!" Keroki pulled Inu-Yasha to her and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He looked down at her, utterly shocked, but comfortable. She smiled and set her head against his chest. She felt one arm cross over her shoulder and one around her back. She clipped both arms around his waist.

"Wow…" Keroki began to laugh. She remembered the first wow he had given her. "So you do think before you talk." She felt his heart pounding. "Are you okay? You seem," She looked up at him, "nervous."

"I am… a little" Keroki pulled herself up and kissed Inu-Yasha on the lips. His heart stopped.

()()()()***()()()()

Everyone glowed the next day. Even Inu-Yasha couldn't frown. He had a weariness in his eyes, as if the kiss Keroki had given him wasn't how he wanted it. Keroki felt proud of herself, not waiting for Inu-Yasha to make the first move. Miroku also felt proud of himself and Ellie was at his side most of the day.

They left the town and headed out to find more shards. Being unsuccessful, until one little demon appeared in their path. Well, not necessarily little, but…

Inu-Yasha went first and striked the beast in the head then came Keroki, bounding up and pulling the shards out of the skull. Inu-Yasha and Keroki flew behind Ellie, who was behind Miroku, which opened his wind tunnel and sucked the beast in.

Ellie stood behind Miroku, watching them, jealously. She wanted to help, but she seemed to have been pushed aside in many of their fights.

She walked away after they connected the shards to Kagome's first chunk. "Hey, where are you going, Ellie?" Miroku called after her. Her angry face was pushed down as she turned to look at them. "Just to relax, be back in a few. Don't leave without me!" She waved running backwards then twirled forwards, her angry expression returning.

Chapter 6:

The extras;

Understanding