Title: Another's Name, But My Heart

By Lady of the Ink

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but you knew that. I hope. But I do own this plot and all the twists that it takes.

General Reminder: All references to Kikyo mean Kagome unless that section is in Kaede, Kagome, or the real Kikyo's POV.

Chapter Nine

You've Got A Friend In Me

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Kagome hurried down the hall with tears running down her face. Dismissing her room as too far away, she opted instead to head for her original destination. Once inside the Lady's parlor, she shoved the heavy door closed, barely noticing when it bounced back open. She threw herself across the sofa and buried her head in her arms to have a good cry.

It had been foolish of her to interrupt Inuyasha's meeting, that much she would easily admit. But that hadn't been a good enough reason for him to snap at her like he had. Was it too much for him to simply say "I'm busy right now, come back later?" Of course, that would imply that he would want to see her at another, less hectic time, and from the way he had been avoiding her, that was about as likely as her sprouting wings and flying from one of the towers.

Even though she was only pretending to be his wife, she still felt hurt by the way he seemed to dislike her. She couldn't think of what she might have done to anger him, and trying to figure out his moods swings was driving her insane. All her life, she had thought of herself as an easygoing, likable person. No one else had ever seemed to have a problem with her.

Then she had met Inuyasha. Now she was second-guessing her every move, thinking about any possible way it might make him unhappy. More than once she had completely discarded her plans out of her uncertainty. She was spending more and more time in her room or with Kaede, and the loneliness was beginning to take its toll. She missed her home, her family, and her old life. Every day she spent away from them made the time of her return seem farther and farther away. The strain of living in the middle of Kikyo's plot of lies was quickly eating away at her composure.

Just as she was about to sink into another bout of sobbing, Kagome heard the sound of soft footsteps crossing the floor. Jerking into a sitting position, she quickly wiped at her face, hoping to remove as much evidence of her crying fit as she could. The knowledge that her eyes must be red and swollen made her drag the process of raising her eyes out for as long as she could.

When she finally did look up, she was surprised to see no one standing in front of her. Her forehead furrowed in confusion until a small sound had her looking down. There, right by her feet, stood a small creature with a huge, fluffy tail. It was wearing a miniature outfit of blue pants, a green shirt, and a tan vest with a matching bow in its hair.

Kagome just stared in speechless surprise until it shifted uncomfortably and ducked its head. Looking up shyly from beneath overhanging bangs, it spoke in a small voice.

"Are you okay?"

A little boy, she thought, nodding in response to his question. A tiny foot kicked at the stone floor before he spoke again. "My name is Shippo. I just got here a little while ago."

Kagome relaxed a bit, sensing that the little demon, as she was now assuming he was, didn't mean any harm. After all, he had come all this way to ask her if she was all right. Settling back on the sofa, she smiled a little. "Hello, Shippo. My name is Ka-Kikyo. It's nice to meet you." She tensed for a moment at her slip, then calmed when he didn't seem to notice.

"It's good to finally be around someone who isn't all mean like those two." Shippo tilted his head toward the door and pulled a face, obviously meaning the white haired demons in the other room. Now that he was away from them, he had undergone a very noticeable transformation. Gone was the small, shivering ball of fur. In its place was an animated youth who seemed to want company as much as she did.

Kagome smoothed down her skirts before patting the open space beside her. Shippo quickly hopped up beside her, bouncing in place for a moment. When he settled, he gave her a surprisingly sympathetic look. "You shouldn't let them get to you. If they see your fear, they'll probably wind up using it against you."

Cocking an eyebrow, Kagome didn't hesitate to point something out to her undersized companion. "I didn't exactly see you making a stand in there. You were curled up so tightly I thought you were a footstool!"

Shippo ducked his head in apparent embarrassment before defensively lifting his eyes. "That was different! I had to spend the last couple of days traveling with Sesshomaru! You only had to deal with Inuyasha. While he's not exactly the nicest person in the entire world, compared to his brother, he's a saint. Sesshomaru will eradicate people for just looking at him wrong. Inuyasha is a million times better."

Her recent brush with the "nicer" brother had a quick correction rising to her lips but Kagome firmly repressed it. Although he wasn't being what could be called friendly, neither had he been overly cruel in his dealings with her. An image of disapproving golden eyes and wickedly sharp claws came to mind and she stifled a shudder. Things could have been much worse, and might still be once the ruse came to an end.

Not liking the path of her thoughts or the queasiness it brought to her stomach, she deliberately redirected them, focusing once more on Shippo and the words he had just spoken. "So if it was such a bad trip, why did you come? To visit the village, I mean. Are you Sesshomaru's helper or something?"

Shippo's eyes widened almost comically and he flailed his little arms wildly. When he finally managed to speak, his already high-pitched voice had risen noticeably. "No one spends time with Sesshomaru if they can help it! I was only traveling with him because I had to. And to be honest, it's not something that I ever wanna have to do again!"

His obvious agitation made Kagome frown. "If you didn't want to go with him, then why did you?"

"I didn't exactly have a choice. When the Lord of the Western Lands tells you to do something, you don't ask questions; you just do it."

"'The Lord of the-' Oh, you mean Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father, right?" Shippo nodded and Kagome sent a silent thanks of gratitude to Kaede for constantly repeating background information every time they were alone. Even if Shippo didn't appear to be good friends with either brother, there was always a chance that the details of her conversation with him might get back to them. It would have raised suspicions if she didn't remember things that the real Kikyo would have known well, and that was the last thing she wanted. "So he just sent you here with no explanation about why?"

Shippo shook his head. "None."

Although she had just met Shippo, Kagome nonetheless felt offended on his behalf. "That just doesn't seem right. If he was going to uproot you from your home and family, the least that he could have done was give you a reason why."

"Well," he paused, and she could tell he was hesitant to continue.

"What is it, Shippo?"

"I don't really have any family, or a home, to be honest. I'm an orphan, so I've been on my own for awhile now."

Sympathy welled up inside her, tempered with guilt for her earlier thoughts. She had been whining and feeling put-upon because she was simply away from her family. Now she was sitting beside someone who was as out of place as she was, but who didn't have the comfort of someone or somewhere to go back to. Biting her lower lip, Kagome made a decision. For as long as she was around to do it, she was going to take care of Shippo, even if it meant an argument with Inuyasha to do so.

Turning to the smaller boy, she hesitantly curled her hand over his tiny shoulder. "Well, Shippo, I'll make you a deal. For as long as we're both here, you won't be on your own anymore. I'll be your friend if you'll be mine, okay?" Her offer was rewarded with a brilliant smile only dimmed slightly by her mental continuation.

'Because I have a feeling that we're both going to need all the help we can get.'

x

"I just don't understand her!"

Inuyasha accompanied his strident declaration with a low growl. His pacing never slowed as he expanded on his thought for the benefit of the man who leaned easily against the wall. "One minute she's standing up to me over something and the next she cowers as soon as I raise my voice. And then there's everything that I'm hearing from the villagers. None of it fits together and all of it is driving me crazy!"

The priest, Miroku, merely nodded as he listened, the same way he had been nodding since Inuyasha stormed into his small house beside the church. The hanyou lord had begun blowing off steam before he could even utter a greeting, leading Miroku to choose silence until Inuyasha had calmed a little. He obviously needed to vent his frustrations before he would even hear any advice, let alone consider taking it.

"I didn't want this marriage anymore than she did, but I was willing to give it a try. But what if she only agreed to it to stop the fighting? How do I know that this isn't part of some secret plan she has to keep me distracted so she can . . .do something I wouldn't want her to do?" He stopped pacing and looked expectantly at the dark garbed figure across the room.

Since it appeared he was actually waiting for an answer, Miroku cleared his throat. "Women are very complex creatures. You can't expect Lady Kikyo to be any different. From what you've told me, it's clear that you need to get to know her better. Over time, it will be easier for you to conclude which is her true nature. From there, you should be able to guess at her intentions."

Inuyasha's face slackened in disbelief. "You think I should get to know her? How?"

It was Miroku's turn to pause. He gathered himself quickly, though, and pushed away from the wall to tick off options on his fingers. "Talk to her, ask questions. Watch her; see what she does and how she acts when you're not around. Talk to the people she's around the most and see what their opinions are. Or you can be patient and wait for the answers to reveal themselves."

There were other, more enjoyable ways to get answers, of course, but Miroku didn't think the half demon would appreciate hearing them. The observations he had made during his short stay so far had made it clear to him that the newly wedded couple was far from ready for them, anyway. The tortured expression Inuyasha was currently wearing hinted that even the simpler things he had listed would be a chore. Miroku shook his head in sadness. It was such a waste to fight when there were so many better ways to spend the first weeks of marriage.

Without saying another word, Inuyasha turned on his heel. With a noise of disgust at the whole situation, he stormed from the small house, grumbling all the way. He knew the priest was right, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. The potential outcomes for such an undertaking were almost too numerous to cover. Their confrontations so far had followed a twisted path through worry, tenderness, slapping, snapping, and tears. And then there was the kiss that he couldn't seem to forget. Who knew what the next one might bring?

"Spend time with her," he muttered to himself, throwing a glaring look over his shoulder. "Why does the thing I should do always seem to be the last thing I want to do?"