Title: Family Problems
Chapter: 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha

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Chapter 3 - Meeting Mother

It had been a week since the boys and Keiko had last seen Kagome and the other two girls. Kurama had taken to passing by Genkai's shrine and Kagome's shrine every day, hoping that she'd be at one of them. When he'd let her go, he hadn't expected for it to take so long. Worrisome thought began to intrude upon him at the oddest time. Today, all four boys and Keiko were going to Genkai's shrine.

Kurama stiffened halfway up the steps and his eyes widened. Before anyone could ask what was wrong, he shot up the stairs. Interpreting his actions, Yusuke was hot on his heels. Both of them skidded to a stop near the door at the scene there. Botan was outside, and she was curled up in a sleeping Shippo's lap. They looked rather comfortable. Much more comfortable than they had been days before.

They were still staring when everyone else caught up to them. Keiko cleared her throat and opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't get any father as Shippo's eyes opened in a flash, on his feet and in a fighting crouch in an instant. He relaxed upon seeing who it was, then blushed as Botan started to wake up from where she now lay.

"Shippo? Why are you...Oh. Hi Kurama. Yusuke. Keiko. Kuwabara. Hiei. Umm...Why are you here?" Botan smiled nervously. That quickly turned into a glare when Yusuke began snickering. Shippo helped Botan up, brushing her off awkwardly. There were a few wide eyes when his hands went places that they shouldn't have while brushing her off. Botan rolled her eyes. "I can brush my butt off myself, thank you very much. Go check on the others."

Shippo sniffed the air and sighed. "No need. Miss Stubborn is up and about. Kikyou and Inuyasha left a bit after you went to sleep. Touya's asleep. Jin and Kagura are... in Kagura's room." He listened for a moment, and then looked relieved. "Only talking. Yukina's resting. We're here. No one else came back here through the portal, so everyone else is in Makai."

"You have some nose," Botan murmured appreciatively. Shippo grinned, then jumped onto the roof and looked around. He glanced at Kurama and the others. "Hey, why are you guys here?"

"Looking for Kagome, obviously," Yusuke said angrily. Shippo raised an eyebrow. Keiko was wincing, but all she did was move closer to Kurama. Obviously there must have been a talk over the week. Or the lack of one was letting the girl choose.

"Yeah, everybody's looking for her. She's so stubborn. She should be resting and healing, instead she's up and about. She's somewhere around the shrine. She wandered off into the forest a couple of times just to get away from me trying to coddle her. Well, the second time anyway. The first time she still had her fever. You want to see her? Go find her then." Shippo watched as both Kurama and Yusuke took off again. He snickered as he looked behind him at his roof companion. Botan joined them on her oar and both of them raised an eyebrow.

"Bets on who finds you first?" Botan asked innocently.

"Same time of course. Kurama will eventually use his nose and Yusuke will look where he would go." Kagome grinned; watching as Kurama stopped at one point in his search and sniffed the air, then took off back towards the shrine. Apparently he wasn't looking up yet. She looked around for Yusuke, ignoring the sudden giggles of Botan and Shippo.

Then she was startled to find herself flat on her back, a familiar face above her that was a mix of exasperation, anger, and relief. She was sure all of those emotions were towards himself as well as her. She smirked at him and raised an eyebrow, refusing to look into why her skin seemed warmer everywhere he touched. Presently, the situation looked extremely similar to the one where she'd decided to kiss him to make him let go.

"Where have you been?" Kagome almost frowned. He actually sounded worried. She'd have thought he would have wanted nothing to do with her after all the trouble she must have caused between him and Keiko.

"Mostly? In the Makai. Yesterday we got here." Her expression dared him to find something wrong with that. He gladly met that challenge. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were back yesterday?"

Kagome huffed and squirmed, glaring at him when he refused to move. She hated being pinned down, and she was struggling not to make this a repeat of the week before. That hadn't turned out well. Well, it had, but it hadn't. She was confusing herself now.

"We were all dead tired, that's why!" Kagome snapped, squirming and bucking as he appeared not to even be considering moving. He probably thought she'd run. Which she would have, from this situation. Finally he sighed and got off of her, extending his hand to help her up. She didn't hesitate to take it. Her anger moved on in an instant. "Why are you always so difficult?"

Kagome flashed him a grin at the grumbled question. "Excuse me, but who had me pinned down before I even knew he was there?"

He actually smirked at her. "That was for fun. You looked so shocked when I did that. Keeping you down was for information, which you seem to hate giving."

"Maybe I like being difficult. So far it has been fun." Yusuke blinked at her grinning face, but Kurama jumping onto the roof with a scowl interrupted whatever he would have said to that.

Shippo snickered suddenly and Kagome and Yusuke jumped. They'd forgotten he was there. "You're a bit late Kurama. Yusuke found Kagome a minute or two ago. You missed the show. They're very entertaining."

"I wouldn't be saying anything since me and Kurama walked up on you and Botan snuggling." Yusuke shot back, only to be shocked by both the females giggling. "What?"

"I didn't know snuggling was part of the tough guy vocabulary," Kagome said through her giggling. Yusuke glared at her. Even Kurama was hiding a snicker. Then he turned serious. "How long have you been home?"

"Yesterday. I've been sleeping, as has mostly everybody else. We got here yesterday morning and I woke last night."

"And ever since then, despite that she still had a ton of bandages on, she's been trying to sneak off," Shippo tried not to let the anger he had been feeling seethe into his voice now. It didn't matter. Kurama still jumped upon one part of the statement. "Bandages? You were wounded? How badly?"

"Don't worry, it wasn't that bad." Kagome let out a reassuring smile, hoping that Shippo would be quiet about it. She didn't need Kurama worrying. After all, she was pretty much healed now. Her leg still ached, but everything else had healed already thanks to Yukina and Botan and her bodies own healing process which seemed to get faster the more fights she was in.

"Are you healed already then?" Kurama asked worriedly.

"Yeah, Botan and Yukina healed me." She knew that was a mistake the moment both boys' eyes narrowed. Yusuke was practically glaring at her. "Why would you need both of them if it wasn't that bad?"

Kagome tried a flippant no-big-deal smile. They were having none of it. She sighed and shook her head. "Really, it wasn't that bad. Just a few scrapes here. Um... Well, that demon did send a dagger through my side. And I broke my leg. A couple other things."

"I can't believe you let her go!" This was Yusuke, looking pointedly at Kurama.

"Neither can I now!" He turned, his eyes blazing as he looked at Kagome. "I forbid you to go with them again!"

Behind Kagome, Shippo gave him a pitying look while prudently stepping back to the edge of the roof. Kagome's still weak aura flared in righteous fury. "You forbid me? And what right do you have to forbid me? If I forbid you to go off and help your friends, would you allow it? No! Then what makes you think I will? I'll go with them as many times as I want, and that will be as many times as they announce they're going to fight someone. I'm healthy and even if my control needs work, with my power I'm an asset to the team! I will be useful, and you will not stop me Shuichi Kurama Minamino!"

Any prudent male would have let it go and fought another day. Kurama was going to do just that and talk to her when she calmed down. Unfortunately, Yusuke was not prudent, and he had no qualms about telling her his opinion of what she was doing. As Kurama took a step back, Yusuke took a step forward, and Shippo wondered if he and Botan should move to another roof. Maybe to one of the trees. On the far side of the property. Definitely not anywhere close to them.

"You just practically said you were dying with those injuries you had, and you just want to go back out there? Hell no! No one in their right mind would let you go out there with what you just said! Do you have a death wish or something?" Kagome eyes were on fire by the time Yusuke finished speaking.

"But I'm not dead, and as long as I'm not, I have the right to go on fighting! You've come close to death plenty of times, but no one ever tells you to stop, now do they? So how about you mind your own business! I will keep fighting, and I will-" Yusuke had a very efficient way to cut her off. He occupied her mouth elsewhere. There were two growls, but both kitsunes restrained themselves as Kagome relaxed into Yusuke's arms.

Kagome stepped back first, trying not to show how shaky she was. Her skin was humming under his touch and she licked her lips while looking away. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Why?"

"Keiko." Kagome didn't see Yusuke and Kurama both wince. Kurama cleared his throat first. "There was a talk about that. Things are a bit confusing but Yusuke and Keiko..."

Kurama trailed off awkwardly, trying not to let his own face heat up. Yusuke groaned at Kagome's confused expression and let his hands drop from her shoulders. "Kurama talked to me about you, Keiko talked to Kurama about all four of us, which Kurama passed on, and we're basically broken up and I wouldn't be surprised if Kurama and her have gotten together officially already."

"All this in a week?" Kagome was stunned, but hope was welling up in her chest and she was struggling not to feel relieved. Even if she had single handedly redone much of the group dynamics.

"What have you been doing this past week" Kurama asked politely, trying not to look Yusuke in the eye. He was partly right. He and Keiko weren't officially together, mostly because Kurama insisted that she should have time to deal with her emotions. Many emotions flitted across Kagome's face and she seemed to settle on embarrassed. "Well, I got to see everyone else again. Kagura introduced me to Jin and Touya. She seemed amused a bit when she introduced me to Touya. She pulled me over for the reason later."

Here Kagome fought both a smirk and a blush before continuing. "She also mentioned you as she saw you before they left. Then we fought the demons. We retreated a few times for rest, but finally the day before yesterday we defeated them and we stayed until yesterday to allow everyone to heal enough and restore energy so that we could move. At least, that's what they said."

"Who were you fighting?" After Yusuke's curious question Kagome's face became instantly guarded. "A group that needed to be put down."

Shippo caught her eyes and Kagome closed hers as she saw the sympathy in them. She didn't like what she'd heard about why they were doing this. Unconsciously, her left hand creeped up to fist around the Shikon no Tama. She seemed to relax slightly, feeling the slight pulse of its magic beat within her.

Kurama growled slightly when Yusuke tried to open his mouth to demand a better answer. At Yusuke's confused expression, he simply pointed to Kagome, who had turned from both of them. Yusuke studied her for a moment and grumpily admitted to himself they could push it later. She obviously wasn't ready to talk yet. "Does your mother know you're home yet?" Kurama queried.

"I told her after Kagome was settled in," Shippo answered for her. "We should go home later today. Once Touya wakes up."

Shippo coughed to cover his snickers at Yusuke's sudden tensing at Touya's name. Kurama's lips were quirked into a sly half-smile. "Why wait?"

Kagome didn't seem to notice the suspicion in Yusuke's tone and continued on, oblivious to the danger. "Oh, he wanted to meet my family and I decided to get it all done at once. Besides, he saved my life at one point in there and I decided Mama should meet him. She'll probably cook him dinner or something. I'll find some special way to thank him myself later."

Kurama groaned as Yusuke glared at her unaware back. She'd better make sure it wasn't anything too special, or Touya was going to be an ice pancake. Yusuke was going to flatten him. Kurama shook his head and grinned. If Yusuke had been thinking properly he would have known Kagome wouldn't ever do such a thing.

Kurama decided there was an easier way to diffuse the situation. "You know, I haven't seen my Aunt and my other cousin in a long time. I don't believe Yusuke's met them yet either. Perhaps as you introduce Touya you could also introduce Yusuke and I could reacquaint myself with them."

"Sure! Besides, if she's trying to figure out who is who then she won't be worrying about how hurt I was. Thanks Kurama!" Her sentiment was echoed by Yusuke relieved grin that he flashed at Kurama right before his eyes took on a scheming look. Kurama stifled a sigh. The teenager was too much.

Shippo had his head tilted sideways and suddenly gave a satisfied grunt. "Kagura and Jin's latest argument has awoken Touya I think. He'll probably be ready soon. Nobody takes long to get up when those two are fighting."

"What are they fighting about this time?" Kagome asked in exasperation. Shippo smirked and coughed to hide his laughter. "Window curtains."

Kurama and Yusuke looked confused. Botan rolled her eyes. Kagome looked at the ceiling at her feet and stomped on it once, hearing the low shouts they'd been hearing stop for a moment. Why don't they just get them in green and save their breath?"

"I think they enjoy arguing. Kagura argues more in cold logical tones usually, but with Jin that seems to get thrown out the window. Probably because his careless attitude puts her off balance." Shippo was still listening intently and gave a sudden chuckle that sounded almost like a giggle. "Now they're arguing about whether they should get green curtains or pretend they didn't hear what you said and keep arguing."

Kagome got ready to stomp her foot again and say what she thought of the new argument. A calm, collected voice stopped her as ice blue eyes smiled up at her. "Please don't. They'll just find something even more ridiculous to argue about if you do. I'd rather not have a repeat of the time they argued whether everyone outside could hear them arguing."

Kurama smiled in polite greetings to the ice master, and the ice youkai briefly returned it before his eyes went back to Kagome. "Weren't we going somewhere today?"

"Yeah, you were, but me and Kurama are tagging along now too," Yusuke made no pretence at being even one iota unaware of the situation. He smirked when Touya's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Truly? It will be interesting to have some more company along." The forced calm look made Yusuke's smirk grow bit wider. Kurama's sigh went unnoticed, and only Shippo noticed his cousin's gaze shifting between Touya and Yusuke with a small mischievous smile on her face.

Shippo groaned slightly. "I'm suddenly wondering what Kagura told her. That smile is almost never good," he whispered hurriedly to Botan. Botan didn't see what he was talking about until she gave Kagome a considering look and saw the smile playing across her lips.

"Let's get off the roof and get started then," Kagome chirped agreeably, going to the edge of the roof and calmly jumping off. Yusuke and Kurama both looked startled and peered over to see her land perfectly fine and beginning talking quietly to Touya. When she gave a quiet giggle at something Touya had said Yusuke broke out of his shock and dropped off the roof, somehow managing to land in between Touya and Kagome.

Kagome backed up a couple of steps, only to back into Kurama who had dropped from the roof without a scene. He held her in place with a gentle hand on her shoulder. She leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Don't play with them Kagome. You've messed with Yusuke's life enough, and I believe he truly likes you. I know you like him, so don't take this game too far."

Kagome glanced over her shoulder and nodded seriously. "I won't Kurama. It wouldn't be fair to Touya either. I'm just... this whole thing is making me off balance. He kissed me. So... I guess this is my defence."

The two cousins said no more, but without a word started off. Shippo watched them go for a moment, and then glanced down at the three leftovers. "Botan and Yukina would probably be happy with a little girl time right now, Keiko. They need to catch up on current events of the past week, and I'm going home with Mama."

"I haven't spent much time with Yukina and Botan so I suppose this would be a good time to catch up... But where is Kurama going? And Kagome and Yusuke?" Shippo chuckled at her rather obvious way of putting Kurama's name first. She blushed and looked away, attempting to hide it.

"They're going to visit Kagome's Mama. So am I. They'll be back later." Shippo wasted no more potentially amusement filled time and bounded off of the roof and into the trees. He quickly caught up to the walking group and dropped down beside them, putting on an illusion to hide his tail and pointy ears. None of them showed any surprise except to glance at him as one and then look away again.

Kurama and Shippo exchanged amused glances as Yusuke glared at Touya behind Kagome's back and Touya's eyes narrowed and his mouth curved into a thoughtful frown. Kagome was oblivious to both of them, anxiously scanning ahead of them for something.

When they reached the shrine steps that something became apparent. A boy a few years younger than Kagome was running down the shrine steps. He paused halfway there, his eyes focusing on Touya, then on Yusuke and Kurama. Shippo groaned at the smirk that slowly grew on the boy's face.

"Bringing home friends, Kagome? Interesting friends too, aren't they?" Kagome sighed in annoyance. That she had expected this didn't stop her from being annoyed.

"Souta..." She said warningly. But he had already bounded down the last few steps and up too Yusuke and Touya. "You two are strong. You're a demon. And you have a weird aura."

Yusuke leaned backwards in shock as a boy who couldn't be more than eleven or twelve sensed what Touya was and sensed that he was special too by just a look! "What the hell are you?"

Souta actually gave a short chuckle. "You her boyfriend? Or you? Hard to tell, you're both acting possessive."

"Child, why should you care?" Touya frowned forebodingly at the boy. He gave an uneven grin and answered cheerfully. "I'm Kagome's younger brother! I'll tell Mama you're coming up with your boyfriend... whichever one it is. Oh, nice to see you cousin!"

"Wha..? Souta, come back here! Don't you dare tell her that!" Kagome almost growled when her younger brother ignored her and bounded up the stairs.

"I'm surprised he remembers me," Kurama said in surprise.

"He doesn't. I just talk to him when I try to teach him to use mystical senses. Which he's gotten better at then I thought. He remembered my description of you and your aura. Come on, before Souta starts making things up to tell Mama." The group was at the top of the stairs in the blink of an eye and Kagome scrambled forward to cut off Souta's shout.

"...And I know one of them is her boyfriend, and I think IT'S MPMPHH!" Kagome smiled sweetly at her mother while she kicked her brother in the back of his shin, apparently not noticing when he tried to bite her hand in retaliation.

"Kagome, is there something you'd like to tell me?" Mrs. Higurashi was eyeing the two boys Souta had been describing, not sure if she wanted her girl to be involved with anyone at all so soon after Inuyasha.

"No." Kagome sulked, her lip jutting out into a pout as she did. Mrs. Higurashi raised an eyebrow. She carefully let the subject drop when her daughter appeared to be less than incline to tell her what was going on. Upon seeing the shocked of long red hair and green eyes that did not belong to Shippo, a smile lit up Mrs. Higurashi's face.

"Shuichi! Shori was telling me how much you'd grown recently! I was so glad when Kagome came home from her... vacation and told me you and Shori's number. I have been so glad to catch up with my sister." Kurama stepped forward hesitantly towards the woman radiating kindness and acceptance. He was engulfed in a hug that reminded him pointedly of his mother. He made a mental note to pay special attention to his mother when he got home. He had been neglecting her a bit with Kagome, missions, and the strange relationship developing between himself and Keiko and Yusuke and Kagome.

He only wished that either his aunt or his mother could be told about what he really was. But both mothers seemed ignorant of their children's supernatural powers. So it came to a surprise when Mrs. Higurashi drew back, still smiling lovingly and kindly, and asked pleasantly, "Is your kitsune form as tall as Shippo?"

There was a stunned silence from Touya and Yusuke. Kurama gaped at the woman in front of him, who managed a confused glance towards Kagome. Kagome understood and sighed. "Mama knew about a lot of my feudal adventures, I saw no reason to keep things about her own family from her."

"Oh. I apologize for my..." Kurama trailed off, not sure what he was apologizing for. Souta snorted.

"For what? Being surprised that my sister blurts out everything without a moment's notice? 'Sides, Mama would have figured there was something strange about you eventually. After all, no one normal hangs around big sis." Souta smirked at his sister who smiled a bit too sweetly in return.

"Remember that applies to you, he who begs to hang out with me. Normality not only doesn't hang around here anymore, it didn't even take the time to pack its bags before it left screaming." Souta scowled and put on an expression identical to hers when she pouted. Kagome couldn't help but giggle a bit and looked away when he glared at her.

"Come on children, let's go in and eat." Mrs. Higurashi herded them into the house and then went to make something for the "children" to eat.

Touya tilted his head and looked puzzled. "I am not a child. I have not been a child for over a century."

Shippo chuckled lightly. "I'm over five hundred and part of Kurama's over three hundred. Believe me, your actual age doesn't matter. She will call you child forever if you're one of Kagome's friends."

The six assorted supernaturally powered beings exchanged glances, then as one sat down, spreading themselves across the living room. Kagome ended up between Yusuke and Touya, and at Kurama's raised eyebrow, Kagome shrugged. This time it wasn't her fault, but it was better than if she hadn't been in the middle. They'd probably tear each other apart somehow.

"So, which one?" Souta's bright question left the two boys next to her confused and the two kitsunes amused. Kagome glared at Souta, who smiled just as sweetly as she had done a minute or two ago.

"Ekusuy," Kagome said suddenly, a playful smile running across her lips. Kurama's expression turned puzzled, but Shippo began laughing out loud. Souta grinned too, which had Kagome grimacing. She hadn't expected her little brother to figure out that ever-so-simple "code" she had just used.

"Hey, what are your names, anyway?" Souta asked, directing his question towards the demon on her left and the teenager on her right.

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"I am Touya, an ice youkai."

Souta eyes lit up and his eyes briefly flitted to Yusuke's form before he started to laugh. Kagome actually began to blush, but whether from anger, embarrassment, or a combination of both was anyone's guess. Kurama still looked puzzled. "What does Ekusuy mean?"

Shippo leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Kurama blinked and then grimaced at himself. "Of course. Why not? Next we can all start saying it's opposite day like five-year-olds."

"It's opposite day!" Souta and Kagome exclaimed at once. Kurama groaned and Shippo burst out into laughter again. Yusuke and Touya accidentally exchanged confused glances before briefly glaring and turning away. Kagome and Souta joined Shippo in giggling as Kurama attempted a stern expression.

"It's not funny."

"So, you're saying it is funny?" Kagome asked innocently. Kurama opened his mouth to refute her statement, and then realized he'd be agreeing with it, but that she'd probably turn it around and say it wasn't opposite day if he agreed, so he'd still be agreeing. Kurama put a hand to his head and felt Youko whimper. The human part of him whole-heartedly agreed. His family was crazy.

He kind of liked it.

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