Author's note: Thanks to everyone who's written to me!! Muchas gracias to SeungLee, Inu-kami, inulover4ever101, Shikon, animegirl38, LilNezumi LilInu, Mika-chan4, and DJ-girly83.

I'm loving the reviews. If anyone thinks of anything you wanna tell me, even if it's a typo, please tell me!

Insta-Disclaimer! No muss, no fuss, no lawsuits! It's a simple, spray-on disclaimer that says "I don't own…" complete with stencils to add the name! Just add typing! *Typing not included. *

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"For the last time, I'm NOT leaving!"

Ishiyana crossed his arms defiantly and glared at Inuyasha through the morning light. The half demon growled dangerously, grabbed the boy's arm, and started dragging him forcefully towards the well.

"Let go! I told you, I'm not going anywhere!" Ishiyana's anger bubbled up when he was ignored. Scowling, he twisted his arm and had almost managed to pull away when Inuyasha grabbed his shirtfront and pushed his own face into the boy's.

"I'm only saying this once. You're useless, you're a wuss, and you piss me off! You're out of here!" He started to drag the boy towards the well, but Ishiyana surprised him by grabbing Inuyasha's wrist, twisting, and hurling him over his shoulder. He stormed over and glared down at the startled hanyou.

Struggling not to give in to the temptation to plant his fist in Inuyasha's face, Ishiyana crossed his arms and took a deep breath. "You can't force me to leave, Inuyasha. Even if you stick me down that well, I'll still come back. I told you, I'm not leaving so long as Kagome's hanging around with you."

Inuyasha growled and started to get up, but was stopped by a soft voice.

"He's not going anywhere, Inuyasha."

Both boys looked up in surprise to see Kagome come out of the trees. How did I miss her scent? Inuyasha frowned. He didn't normally get that distracted. No…as a matter of fact, he could always sense Kagome's presence. Always. Gritting his teeth, he felt a new surge of loathing for Ishiyana rise. He knew the boy would be nothing but trouble.

"Whaddaya mean he's not leaving?"

Kagome walked over to the two of them, placed her hands on her hips, and smiled. "Well, for one thing, are you really willing to let him keep one of our jewel shards?"

"WHAT?!"

Inuyasha jumped to his feet. "Since when does he have one of our jewel shards?!?"

She smiled. "Since he walked home with me last night. I sensed it on him earlier." Raising his eyebrows, Ishiyana reached into his back pocket and pulled out the shard.

"You mean this thing is what lets me travel through the well?"

"Uh huh." Kagome nodded. "Or at least, that's the case for anyone other than Inuyasha. The well lets him through no matter what." She took in the look on his face and laughed. "It's a long story."

Inuyasha growled and crossed his arms. "Ok, so I take him back, get the shard, and come back here. What's the big deal?"

"What makes you think I'll give it back to you?"

"Why you little—"

Kagome sighed and raised her hands. "Will you two stop fighting for half a second here?!" She turned to Ishiyana. "Are you sure you don't want to go back? Things can get really dangerous in Feudal Japan, believe me. Not to mention the fact that it'll look really weird if two people start missing school all the time. It's bad enough that I do, but if you miss, too…"

Ishiyana waved an arm in dismissal. "Feh. I'm not afraid of danger, and nobody will miss me at school." He smiled charmingly. "I'm the new guy, remember? No one's noticed me yet, and anyone who has will just assume I'm the sick type."

Kagome laughed. "No way are you sickly. All somebody has to do is glance at you to know you're in perfect health."

Encouraged, Ishiyana doubled over and gave a gasping cough and sniffled. He looked up at her with a ghastly expression and wheezed, "Are you sure? I can be pretty sick if I want to..."

When Kagome laughed, a wave of pleasure ran through him. She grinned at him as he straightened. "Then again, the kids at my school seem to believe that I've got every disease under the sun, even though I know I look fine."

"All a matter of opinion." Inuyasha scowled and turned his back on them. Aren't they the cute couple. She's shameless, flirting like that! His expression darkened. What does she see in this guy??

The other two frowned at him. "You see?" Ishiyana turned to Kagome. "This is the sort of thing I was talking about before. I don't like the idea of you hanging around with someone so…violent, Kagome."

She put a smile on her face and waved her hand dismissively. "He's not as tough as he looks. Inuyasha's not so bad once you get to know him."

Inuyasha's ears tweaked backwards at them. "Feh."

"Even so…" Ishiyana placed a hand lightly on Kagome's shoulder. "I'd feel better if I didn't leave. I mean, at the very least, I can help you study, can't I?"

She laughed. "Yeah, I guess you can." She sent a look at Inuyasha, who was loudly grinding his teeth as he watched them over his shoulder. "C'mon, Inuyasha. Why don't you let Ishiyana stay? It can't do any harm."

"No, but I might," he muttered under his breath. Great. If Kagome wants him here, I'll be "sat" every time I try to get rid of him. He tried to ignore the churning in his stomach at the cozy picture they presented. "Fine. You want him, you got him."

He turned and stormed back to the village, leaving the two with blushes on their faces.

"You idiot! It's not like that. We just met, for crying out loud!" Kagome yelled after him. She frowned when he continued walking…er, stomping away. "Sheesh. How jealous can you get?"

Ishiyana looked at her, but said nothing. She's right, we did just meet, but…I just don't know. I've got a funny feeling about her. He smiled. Oh well. At the very least, some jealousy will do Dog Breath some good.

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Stocked with supplies from the village, the slightly enlarged group headed out again. Eager to get some distance, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Ishiyana rode on Kirara while Kagome rode on Inuyasha's back. Inuyasha had maintained a stony silence towards Ishiyana and Kagome, but whenever the others had tried to comment, Kagome had just rolled her eyes.

Hands loosely placed on the monk's waist, Ishiyana frowned at the sight of Kagome and Inuyasha. The idea of Kagome plastered all over the hanyou's back made something in the pit of his stomach tighten, but he knew better than to comment. He could recognize a long-standing habit when he saw one.

Miroku glanced over his shoulder at their new companion. "A bit quiet, aren't we?" He raised an eyebrow as Ishiyana looked up guiltily. Miroku followed Ishiyana's former line of sight and smiled knowingly.

"I know you have a bad impression of Inuyasha. Everyone does when they first meet him; however, you should not let those first impressions dictate your actions. Inuyasha is a good man…he just won't admit it."

Ishiyana looked at the monk in surprise. "You mean, you guys didn't like each other when you first met?"

Shippo, who rested in Sango's lap, peered around her at Ishiyana. "Actually, all of us fought when we first met Inuyasha and Kagome. Miroku and I were after their jewel shards, and Sango was tricked into attacking us."

"And…you ended up getting along?"

Miroku smiled. "Actually, Kagome always stopped the fighting. She convinced Sango and me to join, and I believe she convinced Inuyasha to let Shippo stay with them." He faced front. "I never thought about it before, but I suppose you could say that Kagome is the glue that brought our group together and made us…stick."

Sango allowed herself a small chuckle at that. Ishiyana remained silent for a moment, then asked quietly, "Are they…are they a couple?"

The others were quiet. Finally, Sango spoke. "That's…a hard question. There are some feelings between them, I'm sure, but…some…things have gotten in the way."

"What kind of things?"

Miroku answered. "You'll have to ask them about that."

Translation: Subject closed.

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Naraku, cloaked in baboon fur, walked silently through a secluded area of the forest. All around him, black, catlike creatures with green eyes backed away from him. Ignoring them, Naraku headed towards the only building in the area. He smiled snidely at the makeshift, open structure. It was little more than a floor and a roof supported by four poles. A man with long red hair sat in an ornate chair in the center of the edifice, calmly stroking a black kitten.

"Naraku." The man stood. "I did not expect to meet you again."

"I'm sure you didn't." Naraku's smile disappeared. "You promised that your minion would be able to adapt to the powers of whatever group I set it upon. It failed to destroy its adversaries…as a matter of fact, it was brought down by a mere human."

The man frowned. "Impossible. My Kitlings are perfect tricksters. They should be able to take on the form necessary to obliterate any enemy."

"This one did not." Naraku's voice took on a note of menace. "I am not pleased with this turn of events. Our agreement was that if your creature destroyed my enemies, I would let all of you live. You have not held up your end of the bargain."

The man stilled for a moment and considered Naraku with a remarkable lack of fear. He thought, then smiled slowly.

"Then perhaps it is time for your friends to encounter the Master Trickster himself."

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Kagome was getting sick and tired of Inuyasha's surly mood. Was it really THAT big a deal if she'd wanted Ishiyana to stay a while? I mean, he's already been a big help. We all might be dead right now if it weren't for Ishiyana…then again, that could be Inuyasha's problem in the first place. She tightened her arms around his shoulders.

"Inuyasha, why are you so upset?"

"I'm NOT upset."

"Oh, come off it. I know you're mad. You've been pouting all morning."

"I do NOT POUT!"

She sighed and let it drop. "Fine." After a few moments of silence, she gasped and looked to the right.

"Inuyasha, I sense some jewel shards nearby!"

He ground to a halt, followed closely by Kirara. "Where?"

She thought for a second, then pointed. "Over there. Someone's got a couple of shards in that village."

He turned and ran towards the village she'd pointed out. A scowl crossed his face as he saw the destruction already done to the village. Smoke and dust filled the air, buildings lay in ruins, and dead humans and animals littered the ground.

Miroku sighed at the sight. "Once again, it would seem that the jewel has led to a massacre." Ishiyana felt a wave of nausea hit him at the stench of the dead villagers. Kirara landed next to Inuyasha, and they all dismounted. Looking around, none of them spotted any movement.

After a moment, Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "Are you sure the shard is still here? I can't pick up the scent of any demons…"

Kagome frowned. "I'm positive. There are at least…four shards here."

The group moved slowly through the decimated village, searching for any sign of life. Inuyasha lifted an arm to cover his nose from the stench. Whatever happened here wasn't normal. I've never smelled this stench before, even though I've been to dozens of villages attacked by demons.

Miroku stopped suddenly, swinging his staff. "There's an evil presence here! Something's been left behind!"

At the ready, the others waited. A soft wind blew through the village as they listened for movement. Suddenly, the door of a nearby hut opened with a creak. A man stood in the shadows, head hanging.

With a growl, Inuyasha pulled out his Tetsusaiga and aimed it at the man. "This is the guy, all right. He reeks of human blood!"

Slowly, the man lifted his head and stepped out of the hut. His hair burned a fire-red, and his eyes blazed a bright green. A jagged scar split his right hand down the back. The man smiled slightly, thin lips whitening in the process.

"So, you can tell." His eyes glinted. "You can tell that I, Kiori the Master Trickster, destroyed this village. But I wonder…can you tell how I did it?" His smirk spread. "Can you tell why this village stands apart from others you've seen? Can you tell what I did that made the smell so offensive to you…Inuyasha?"

He flinched. "How do you know who I am?"

Kiori laughed softly. "I know a great deal of things. I know all about your past, your present." He turned to Sango, Miroku, and Shippo. "I know who you've lost." He looked at Kagome. "I know your powers, probably better than you do." Finally, he looked at Ishiyana. "And I know you…and your deepest fear."

The others looked at Ishiyana, who stared at the man in shock. "That's…that's impossible!"

The man laughed. "Oh, but it is possible. I know the limits of each of you, just as I know your deepest fear." He gestured at the villagers. "That smell you can't stand… that is the stench of absolute fear. Each person here died at the hands of their worst nightmares."

A wicked smile split his face. "And that is exactly how you will die."