A/N: Wow…my email is full of reviews. Do you know how happy I was to get them? I nearly died of a heart attack, that's how happy I was o_O. You guys, I love you! None of my fanfics have ever had this much glory, not even Black Heart o_O. Well, I'll keep you waiting no longer, hopefully what happens here answers your questions >:D. Oh yah, by the way, mid terms are coming up. I dun' know when my next chapter will be updated XD

Water and Blood

~

"You have Sesshoumaru's scent on you!" Inuyasha barked angrily.

"He what?" Kagome asked in shock as she looked over at Hojou. "I said put him down, Inuyasha!" she yelled angrily, realizing that he still had his grip on him.

"Sesshoumaru…" Hojou said, as if musing. "…The youkai?"

The question heightened Inuyasha's suspicion.

Chapter 9: Help

~

An angry growl came from Inuyasha's lips as he stared intently at Hojou. "What do you know about him being a youkai?" he snarled dangerously. He shook Hojou by his collar quickly.

Hojou stared at him, his skin blanched. He stuttered as he tried to speak. Giving a quick glance at Kagome, he noted that she looked none too happy. "I…I'm not supposed to tell, much less know of it…" he muttered.

"Inuyasha, if I have to tell you one more time to put Hojou-kun down, I'll say the word five times!" she screamed angrily, grabbing onto the sleeve of his haori.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, then back at Hojou before snuffing like a dog as he let go of the teenager. "Fine," he muttered.

"Good," Kagome said. She looked at the school, then at the watch on her wrist. "Too late for school now," she muttered to herself. "We're going for a walk; all three of us," she said as she began walking away from the school, slinging her backpack on her back again.

Hojou and Inuyasha looked at her strangely before following her. "But Higurashi," Hojou started, "my test…"

"You can miss one, Hojou, and still get good grades. I miss them all the time." She looked over at her shoulder and notices Inuyasha following Hojou with his claws extending. "Inuyasha, come up here. You're not going to harm Hojou-kun."

"Oh, so now you call him kun just like that ookami bastard, Kouga," Inuyasha muttered angrily, walking up to her and deliberately bumping into Hojou on his way.

As soon as the three of them were far enough from the school, Kagome stopped walking and turned to the two boys. "You're acting like a child Inuyasha," Kagome said as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She then looked at Hojou before walking to Inuyasha again. "Hojou-kun…" she started, "I have some explaining to do, I know…" She found interest at the scuff marks on her shoes. "I should have been honest with you earlier. But—" At that, she pulled Inuyasha's hat from his head, waiting for a reaction.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha nearly screeched, trying to keep the hat on his head. His pearly white hair cascaded down his back and sides which compelled him to look around just incase any other humans were around.

"Kami-sama!" Hojou said as he took a step back, taking a full look at the pearly white hair and the ears. "You're…you're one of them, aren't you?!"

"Don't panic, Hojou-kun," Kagome said, trying to quiet him down. "Inuyasha can't do anything to hurt you."

Hojou looked from Kagome to Inuyasha repeatedly, taking another step back when he heard a snarl come from the 'youkai's' mouth. "But…"

"Inuyasha wouldn't hurt a flea if he had the chance," she said with a short smile. "Well…if you don't count Myouga, but that's a different story…Inuyasha's perfectly harmless."

"Keh," Inuyasha said as he turned away from them after he crossed his arms.

Kagome rolled her eyes at Inuyasha, turning her attention to Hojou again. "Hojou-kun…I need you to be brutally honest with me," she started. "Why do you know about Sesshoumaru?"

"I can't tell you, Kagome," he said after a while of thinking. "I told you…I can't tell you."

"Hojou…please…this is very important. Tell me," Kagome said, her eyes dilating as she implored him. "This isn't something that you can just hold as a secret."

"You better explain before I rip out your heart with my bare hands!" Inuyasha cut in, his claws flexing expertly. He smirked as Hojou took a few steps away from him.

"Are you sure he's not dangerous?" Hojou asked Kagome, creeping next to her.

"I'll make sure of it," she muttered under her breath. "Osuwari! Baka! I told you not to scare Hojou-kun, Inuyasha no baka! Osuwari, osuwari, osuwari!"

Hojou took a look at Inuyasha lying on the ground, mumbling and uttering curses under his breath. He cocked his eyebrow at Kagome. "How…?" he asked.

"That's not important," Kagome said softly. She grabbed his hand, taking note of the blush that instantly went over his nose softly. "Please…, you have to tell me how you know of him. I know that there's something wrong."

"It's my brother…" Hojou said after turning away from Kagome while grabbing Kagome's other hand.

"Who cares about your brother, Hohou?" Inuyasha asked as he stood up, his fist shaking in his face. He took a step back from Kagome's angered face.

"It's Hojou," he said obstinately. "Besides…my brother knows where 'Sesshoumaru' is…" Hojou answered. "…I really shouldn't be telling you this, but I was in his office the other day…because lately he's been coming home far too late…And I found something…"

"What did you find, Hojou-kun?" Kagome asked. She nearly yipped as Inuyasha tore her hands away from Hojou's hands and glared at her.

"I really shouldn't. It's classified information, Higurashi. I shouldn't even have gone into his office without his permission…" Hojou said.

"Tell or I'll rip your arm off and feed it to you!" Inuyasha screamed angrily, getting ready to grab Hojou by his collar again.

"Inuyasha, shut up." Kagome looked at Hojou. 'Why is he suddenly so interested?' she thought. 'I mean, just yesterday I really couldn't tell that he had any qualms about this situation.' She opened her mouth, "Listen, Hojou, Sesshoumaru doesn't belong there, where ever he is, much less does he belong here. It's not natural for him…This situation isn't trivial, it's dire."

"I know," he said as he looked down for a few seconds. "That Sesshoumaru youkai isn't having all fun and games where he is."

"They know?" Kagome asked. "They know that he's youkai?"

"Well…that's what my brother's notes says. I really don't believe it…but…" Hojou answers. "he's one of Dr. Mukai's most trusted scientists, despite his age…"

"This isn't the matter at hand," Inuyasha said heatedly. "Get to your point. Where in Kami's sake is the bastard?"

Hojou paused for a moment. "I don't know…" he muttered.

"Your brother, is he there now?" Kagome asked tersely.

"No, he's still at home. He goes there around 11…" Hojou said. 'Higurashi…what sort of secret are you hiding from me?' he thought.

Kagome looked down at her watch and back up at Hojou. "Let's go," she ordered. "We're going to your house now and your brother and I are going to have a…talk."

"But—"

"We're going. Now." Kagome started taking the back-way to Hojou's house, now that Inuyasha's hat wasn't on. They had to be scarce. "I have the worst feeling about this…" Kagome said.

'I didn't tell you everything, yet, Higurashi,' Hojou thought. He took a step to follow Kagome, but yipped as Inuyasha snapped his jaws dangerously at him with a glare. His hand held to his heart, he went in the lead. 'I have a feeling that this is gonna be a long day…'


They cut through the back of Hojou's house and Inuyasha stopped suddenly. A growl came from his lips. "Sesshoumaru's scent is here as well…" he muttered.

"I would think, being that my brother is in contact with his vicinity everyday…" Hojou said hotly. Inuyasha glared at him, which compelled him to take a step toward Kagome. The house was rather small, one story and made for only two or three people to live in. Hojou looked out the steam coming from his bathroom window. "He's in the shower," he muttered.

"How long do you think he'll be in there?" Kagome asked.

"Don't know," Hojou answered. "He usually takes a long time just incase…You know, with chemicals and all…"

"Good," Kagome said. "Let's go in quietly. I want to check out his office."

Hojou simply shrugged his shoulders, taking out his key and tacitly opening the front door. After Inuyasha and Kagome stepped in, he shut the door softly. Inuyasha snuffed as he smelled more of Sesshoumaru's scent. Hojou nodded his head in the direction of the office and began to walk there, past the bathroom with steam and heat crawling from the cracks. Inuyasha glared at the door as he passed by.

"Just stay quiet," Hojou whispered. "I'll stay out here and watch for when my brother comes out." He picked the office door open, allowing Inuyasha to walk in.

"Hojou-kun…" Kagome started before she walked inside of the office room. "Why are you…being so cooperative about this?" she whispered.

Hojou's eyes dimmed from happiness to an expression that she'd never seen on his face before. She couldn't quiet place it. "Read what the notes say," he whispered simply. "I think you would understand…" he muttered. "I don't know about your Inuwasha friend…but I think you would…You'll find them in a yellow folder under a pile of other papers on the desk."

Kagome gave him a short smile before she walked in the room. "I owe you one, Hojou," she said.

He shut the door softly behind her. "You owe me more than one, Higurashi," he muttered. At that, he sat on the floor, his back leaning against the corner, his forehead on his fisted hand, and his elbow resting upon his raised knee.


Kagome flicked the switch on, looking around for a couple of seconds. She looked at Inuyasha partially with humor and partially with anger. He was playing with a pendulum, his eyes staring intently as each ball swung here and there. He was staring at it with such intensity, his eyebrows curled upwards in question.

"Sugoi…" he muttered softly. [sugoi = teen talk for 'Cool']

"Inuyasha, we're here for a reason. Stop joking around," she said, eyeing the desk keenly.

Inuyasha looked from the pendulum to her and back to the toy-thing again. Hearing a clearing of the throat from Kagome, he sighed, standing straight. "This room reeks of Sesshoumaru," he muttered. He walked around for a couple of seconds before standing next to Kagome as she started rummaging through things on the desk. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Hojou-kun told me that there was information about Sesshoumaru here, I'm just trying to find it." She continued scanning through the messy desk.

Inuyasha cocked his eyebrow. "You and that Hohou kid seem pretty close," he muttered jealously.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Yeah, close as in close friends, Inuyasha. Don't be such a hothead. I have nothing going for him. And it's Hojou, not Hohou."

"And I suppose that you holding his hand is nothing?" he asked.

Kagome ignored his question. She cocked her eyebrow as she came upon a dark picture. "Shh," she muttered. She held the picture up to the light and, at closer inspection, noticed that there was a form in the picture. She could swear that she saw pearly white tresses. She dropped the picture on the desk and saw another picture. It was the quality was better this time, light shown in the picture. The light in the picture had a more bluish tone in it.

"What are you looking at," Inuyasha asked. "One of those 'fotoguraff' things?"

"Yes," she muttered. "But I can't exactly make out this picture either…" she muttered. She squinted harder, finally able to make out what was in the picture. Something at the pit of her stomache churned upside down as she stared intently at it. "Kami-sama…" she muttered. She dropped the picture and picked up another one. Looking at the three pictures together, she finally realized what it was. It looked like someone being struck with lightening…or being electrocuted.

"What?" he asked.

She handed the pictures to him without hesitation, grabbing at the folder that she finally found in the messy pile of papers. A few more pictures fell out, and she instantly covered them with a few sheets of paper. She didn't pay attention to Inuyasha's grunts as he looked at the picture, trying to figure out exactly what was going on in them. She opened the folder and looked at the hand-written notes in it.

Minutes later, Inuyasha became bored with looking at the pictures, so he looked over her shoulder. "What are you reading?" he asked.

She hushed him quickly, turning back to the notes as he sneered at her. She kept reading on, turning page after page. Her eyes grew wide with what she read, and her stomache only seemed to tighten. "Kami-sama…" she muttered after a while. "It's cruel…"

She and Inuyasha suddenly whipped their heads to the door as they heard an older man speaking.


"Hojou?" the younger man asked as he stepped out of the bathroom, a pair of pants and a t-shirt on. He saw his younger brother sitting on the floor looking fairly sick. Hojou looked up at him. "Hojou, what are you doing here?" he asked quickly. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

'Kami-sama, think of something! Quick, quick!' Hojou thought. "Takana, I really don't feel well…" he started. "I…threw up on the way to school and came back home a few minutes ago."


'Nice save, Hojou-kun,' Kagome thought as she stared at the door with wide eyes, her hands still gripping at the folder.


Takana's face chortled to one of concern. "Nee, was it something you ate?" he asked.

Hojou shrugged in answer to. "I don't know," he muttered softly. "I just don't feel well…"


Kagome suddenly turned to the desk again as a sheet of paper fell from it. She realized with growing horror that the many sheets of paper were near falling on the ground. 'Crap,' she thought. 'What to do, what to do?' She looked over at Inuyasha, who was staring at the paper as well.

"Kagome, get them before they fall," he whispered quickly. His ears perked at the conversation outside of the room.

"I can't," she whispered back, staring at him quickly. She nearly gave a yip the papers quickly and nosily fell to the ground. She and Inuyasha stared at the door again, their eyes widened.

'Wait, why am I nervous?' Inuyasha thought. 'What can a puny human do to me anyway?!'


Hojou and Takana turned to the office door, Hojou's face contorting to one of quiet horror. Takana took note of the light coming from under his office door. "Hojou…" he started slowly.

"…Yes?" he asked, looking up at his older brother with a weak smile. His smile wiped from his face as he saw the serious, angered look in his brother's eyes.

"Who's in there?" Takana asked, taking a step toward the office door. He cocked his eyebrow as Hojou suddenly stood up and held his hands in front of him.

"No—no one's in there," he said far too quickly, his eyes wide.

"Move," Takana muttered angrily. He pushed his younger brother out of the way, though Hojou objected, making it blatantly obvious that he was hiding something. He tried to open the door and noticed that it was locked. He glared at Hojou, then took the key from his necklace and unlocked the door. His eyes widened as he saw a school girl standing like a deer in head lights, the folder with his notes in her hand.

Kagome stared back at him, her eyes widened. "Ano…" she muttered.

"What are you doing with that?!" he yelled angrily. He quickly walked over to her, grabbing the folder from her hands. A clearing of the throat stopped him from grabbing onto her arm tightly. He turned to his side and gaped as he saw what stood before him. "Kami-sama!" he yelled quickly, taking a large step back. He quickly grabbed onto Kagome's arm, ready to pull her out of the room. "Move! That thing is dangerous!" he yelled.

"Takana," Hojou muttered as he walked next to his brother. "Let go of Kagome-chan."

Takana looked at him with wide eyes before staring at the white-haired male with pearly hair, his arms crossed. "What is this? Some sort of joke?" he asked quickly. He didn't wait for an answer. "Explain," he said heatedly turning to Hojou.

"Ano…" Hojou started. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kagome's booming voice cut him off.

"Are you the one that wrote these notes?!" she asked angrily, her eyebrows turned inward. She waved the closed folder in his face angrily. Both Inuyasha and Hojou took a step away from Kagome, knowing what sort of havoc she could reek.

"Give me those!" Takana yelled angrily, snatching the folder quickly from her hands. "Who gave you access to my room?" He asked. "Why are you—"

"How can you be so cruel?" Kagome asked angrily. "Baka!" she screamed. "What are you people doing to Sesshoumaru?!"

Inuyasha looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. 'Exactly what did those 'notes' say?' he thought.

"You're one of them…" Takana said as he pointed to Inuyasha. "But you're not as wild…" he muttered in amazement

"Of course he isn't!" Kagome said, taking a step forward with her hands fisted in anger. "He's not caged up like some sort of lab rat like Sesshoumaru is!" She was shaking with anger.

"Caged?" Inuyasha said aloud at her words. A snort came from his throat before a smile came to his lips. "Sesshoumaru? Caged?" he repeated.

"It's not funny," Takana said as he glared at Inuyasha. Kagome, Hojou, and Inuyasha stared at him incredulously.

"If you don't like what is happening to him so much, then why do you allow it?" Kagome asked.

"It's not like I have a choice," Takana muttered angrily. "If I could I'd get him out of there."

"Don't lie," Hojou said. "You know that you enjoy these acts just as much as everyone else there does."

"Note, I did before," Takana said, glaring at his little brother. "But that doesn't mean that I feel the same now…"

Kagome stared at him for a couple of seconds, trying to figure out if she could trust his words. 'Maybe…maybe he can…' she thought positively. "Then help us," she offered.

"What?" Hojou and Takana asked, turning to Kagome.

"Help us get him away from that place…" she said intently, her eyebrows drawing inward again. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, looking downward as his feet stuck to the 'fotoguraffs' as he called them. His eyebrow flew upwards as he saw the picture. He didn't quite like it. "You will, help us, right?" she asked.

Takana sighed before looking at Inuyasha again. "Who is he?" he asked.

"That's Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru's half brother," Kagome mentioned quickly.

"And…I can trust you…?" he asked dubiously.

"He doesn't belong there," Inuyasha muttered, his eyes fixated on the picture, his brows drawn inward.

"Please…" Kagome muttered softly after she turned from Inuyasha (as he spoke) back to Takana, her eyes boring into him deeply. "Please…" The look in Inuyasha's eyes had struck her deeply.

Takana looked over at Hojou and then at the other two. "I can really get into trouble if I do this…" he muttered, his hand scratching the back of his head.

"And he can die if you keep it up," Kagome added in. She heard a sound come from Inuyasha at her words, but she didn't look over at him.

"Fine," he said finally, breaking the tense moment.

Kagome smiled at his words. 'I feel awful for Sesshoumaru…' she thought. 'And Inuyasha…what's wrong?' A smile came to her lips. He was concerned, this she knew.

A/N: Hmm…maybe I'll just prolong things a bit… >:D. Nee~ I have so many reviews! *glomps you all* I LOVE YOU GUYS!! XD Well, here I go:

Tsume Yamagata: Er…since when does Sessh belong to you? >_> *grabs Sess and runs away maniacally*I really think there will be only one more instance where Sess, is hurt, which isn't even much, it's like…nothing. Next chapter, that it is ):D

Darkbahamut: Actually, unlike Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru knows when a situation is futile ):D. So actually, he can give up, but I won't have him do that in my fic…to the most part. Well, Kagome and Inuyasha are on their way now, ne? Yay for them!

Mintvee: Yes he does :D. It's sort of a shock that I had him know this way, isn't it? Some people asked me the weirdest questions ~_~. No, Hojou isn't the son of Mukai-san. Yah, the drug is a sort of submission thing. I've been reading these fanfics with collars being fanfics, though. I wonder why… *hides Sesshoumaru's collar quickly* ):D It's okay what you wrote about Rin/Sess. That's your opinion and you don't have to be sorry at all :D

Lima Squamosa: Ah, change is good ~_~. No, Hojou isn't the general's son or Mukai's son. Ew. *belch* But yah, you found out :D I would take up on your offer of that sub sandwich, but I don't eat red meat. Er…in other words, the only kind of meat that I eat is seafood, not even like…chicken and turkey. I just stopped a couple years ago for reasons unknown to myself ;~;. XD, I'll go read your story :Dv

Yun Fei: No, not trying to kill you…just making sure that you stay with my story >:D. No, Hojou isn't related to Mukai. Hmm…I don't think I'm answering that question anymore, you guys found out anyway ):D. And you're right, making Hojou the general's son would make the plot too complex. And don't forget that this story isn't an all AU. That would most likely make the story more AU than it already is. Thanks :D

RedHerring: Hmm…psychological damage, eh? >:D. Hum hum….okay, well, er, I updated as quickly as possible :D!

Evil-Miyu: Thanks! Of course they can save Sess! I mean…urg, what would the story be like if Sess stayed in the future forever? Poor thing…*hugs Sessh*

RejEcteD AnGeL: >_>. You're name was so complicated to write XD. I had to look at it like 10 times while writing it ):D. Wow? Really? Hehe ~_~. I'm glad that my fic is so 'wow'ish, really. :D. Thanks for your comment. :D

Shapeshifter Keioko: Hehe~ ~_~. I try :D. Now uh…Sess is gonna get better, just you see :D. Now…hide those claws *runs away*

porifra: Yesh, yesh. I've heard many people say that my imagination should put me in a mental institution (seriously -_-;;), but that's okay ^-^. Well, you found the answer to your questions :D.

marnika: Yaah! Thanks :D. Yah, this new year, I'm tryin' to bring out some better stuff… *cough* ):D

Lord Fluffy: Hey~~. Er…I hope I've made your life better and not darker o_O ( >:D ). Well, Hojou's not that bad of a kid. He's so bashed…the poor thing. *hugs Hojou*. Then again, I can never bring myself to believe that a character is truly evil…:D. *runs away with Naraku*

Crow T R0bot: ):D. Well, I don't think Japan today is too proud of past Japan. I really don't hear about them cavorting in the streets happily about how they caused so much pain to people. They're pretty ashamed with themselves. It's a pity, really, because they're trying to make up for it. And yah, Hojou's name is spelled with a 'u'. I've seen Japanese episodes. It may SOUND like Hojo, but the u is definitely there ~_~. Besides, I caught him from that pocket-bishounen webite (which has been like, taken down ;~;), and his name has the 'u' at the end. And another note, in the Japanese language, there is no 'l'. So, in Japanese, Kirara's name is…Kirara. Kilala just sounds like what they say in Japanese, and usually in dubs, they just go buy what the name sounds most like…so that's why her name is Kilala in ENGLISH. I'm going with the Japanese (wonders about Vegeta, which is actually Bejita in Japanese.). So yah, clearing that up ^-~ (I hope I didn't come on too strong ):D). Sesshoumaru is not going to get that far in the fanfiction o_O. He's staying in Japan ~_~.

Miharu210: Er…Hojou IS nice. Poor thing, why do so many people not like him? ;-;

Hitoriki-Sunny-Side-Up: Nee~I answered this in an email. *gives fingers a rest*

fireash: I know what you mean. Sess is my favourite character too! How many people think that the show should be called Sesshoumaru (aside from the fact that he's so scarce in the show, but every time he comes on, it's SUCH a big deal :D)?? Yes, he'll be saved soon. He'll heal. Dun' worry :D

bearmoon: >:D. I've got you thinkin' eh?? EH?! Muahaha~ *evil vixen laugh*Well wait no longer…until the next chapter >:D

Okay, my fingers hurt from writing those reviews ):D. Ouchies…Well, anyway, thanks for reading :D. I hope you REVIEW…and don't forget to read my other Inuyasha fics :D AND my rewrite Cry in the Dark :D. Do it, it is ordered of you >:D! Ja matta, minna-san ~_~. I'm so happy, I got an A in Japanese. Woo! *pumps fist*