GAH! I'm sick, so I'm not going to babble so much. But over 100 reviews!! This is soooooo awesome! Sugoi! I love you all! *big hug*

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha and I don't want the flu either.

Chapter 8:

Spirits

"Ah, what a great night's sleep." Kagome said, yawning. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and looked around. It was still dark, for some reason. Confused she looked at the clock to see what the time was.

"4:00 in the morning?" She gasped, then clamped a hand over her mouth to silence herself. She looked around to see if she had woken anybody up but everyone was still fast asleep. It must have been the nap that afternoon, that would probably explain why she wasn't feeling, well, dead tired.

She frowned, trying to remember her dream last night. It had been another nightmare, involving a rose colored glowing…. something and a shadow that felt like a demon. She couldn't remember details about it though, just… nothing. As slowly as she could remember it, it vanished just as quickly.

Maybe some fresh air will help she thought, getting up. Stretching, she changed back into her clothes and she walked outside to the balcony. Tokyo was just starting to wake up as well, with a few cars already beginning their drive to work, the sunlight just peeking up over the horizon. She shivered slightly; she had never known the morning was this cold. She watched a few birds fly off in the distance, then swerve back to fly near the hotel. They were strange feeling birds, and she wondered if it was just the way animals felt or if maybe these birds were demons.

"Hey." Inu-Yasha's voice broke through her thoughts and she turned around to see her guardian behind her. He looked at her seriously, and a bit worried too. "You shouldn't just wander around like that. It's dangerous."

Kagome nodded, turning back to the city. The many windows of the buildings reflected the tiny sunrays that were just beginning to appear, giving the city a bathed look. Looking up, Kagome could see the quarter moon and the stars around it. Inu-Yasha stepped up beside her and wrinkled his nose.

"This place stinks." He said bluntly, causing Kagome to giggle. The angel looked over at his task, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What?" he asked and Kagome smiled.

"You're just great at setting a mood, aren't you?" she said, leaning against the balcony railing. Inu-Yasha raised his other eyebrow in equal confusion. "What's a… a 'mood'?"

"It's a… never mind." Kagome sighed, shaking her head. Inu-Yasha blinked for a few seconds, then looked out over the city. "Mortals." He sighed.

"What about us?" Kagome asked pertly, prodding her guardian in the side. Inu-Yasha flicked his ears, but otherwise didn't move.

"You're all crazy, that's what." He said. "Mood, charisma, where do you come up with that crap?"

"Charisma?" Kagome looked over at him and Inu-Yasha froze for a second. "I didn't say anything about charisma."

"I never said you did." Inu-Yasha said, focusing on a crack in the balcony railing. "I… it was… Well…" He decided it would be best to shut up and just focus on the crack with his claws and to just ignore the girl beside him. He always managed to screw up when she was around, damn it all to Hell. He decided if he acted like she wasn't there then maybe she'd go away.

It was working just fine until Kagome, who obviously didn't know the plan, tried to get her guardian's attention. She stood there, watching him try to deepen a crack on the railing, trying to understand what was wrong with the centuries-old angel. And guys said girls where difficult! She watched him sit there, his giant red kimono fluttering in the wind (didn't that thing get heavy and tedious after a while?), his yellow eyes glinting in the morning sunrise, his ears flickering this way and that.

It was the ears that drew Kagome's attention. Ever since she had fist met him, and noticed his strange anatomy, she had wondered about his pointed doggy-ears. And now… he wasn't paying attention, this was a perfect opportunity. She reached over.

Inu-Yasha was focusing completely on removing a tiny stone imbedded in the crack when he felt something rubbing against his ears. First they were tweaked a bit, then something began stroking them. He froze completely, wondering what the hell was going on. Then he remembered that Kagome was standing beside him, and he relaxed a little bit.

Waitaminute.

"The hell are you doing?!" he shouted, jumping back and flattening his ears to keep them completely out of reach. Kagome looked at him in shock for a moment, then began to giggle. Inu-Yasha just stared at her, wondering if maybe she had truly snapped. He cautiously, and slowly, inched towards her, hoping she didn't say the 's' word. She was still giggling as he waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello, Kagome?"

"Good boy." Kagome reached over and patted him in the head, giving his ears another tweak. Inu-Yasha froze, claws twitching for a second.

"THE HELL?!" he shouted, jumping up onto the railing, stunned, confused and rather unsure how to act. He put his hands on his head, snarling at Kagome. "Don't treat me like a dog, bitch!"

That ruined the mood completely. Inu-Yasha looked in fear as Kagome glared at him, the angel actually feeling a cold shiver go down his spine. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.

"Houshi-sama, did you hear that?" Sango said, looking over at the monk and his sleepy-eyed angel. Miroku nodded and they both turned as Kagome stormed into the hotel room, practically in flames. Almost as soon as she noticed that everyone else was awake she changed personalities and smiled. "Good morning everybody. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Shippo, remind not to get Kagome-sama angry." Miroku whispered to his angel, who was now wide-awake. Shippo nodded dumbly. Even Sango and Kirrara had to agree that Kagome's sudden change was a bit unnerving.

"Uh, Kagome-chan…" Sango said, although a little sure of the answer already. "Where's Inu-Yasha?"

"Downstairs." Kagome said sweetly, going to the door. "I suppose we should go get him."

"Down… stairs…" Shippo repeated, trying to not think about how his fellow angel got there. He shivered, reminded of his own rosary by the tiny beads clicking against each other. He gulped and jumped onto Miroku's shoulder, as his task and companions followed Kagome downstairs to where Inu-Yasha was waiting.

Kagome whistled on the way down.

~

"… and that's why I think it would be best if we made our way to Kyoto." Miroku finished, taking another sip of his coffee. Shippo nodded sagely with his task, for this was something they had been planning for a while. Sango, Kirrara and Kagome all looked at each other, decided, while Inu-Yasha sulked with a bandage across his nose.

They were sitting in a small café before it got too busy and people would sit in their seats while they were still 'occupied'. Going through people wasn't that bad of an experience, according to Sango and Miroku, but Kagome didn't want to experience it all the same. She glanced around again, making sure no one would sit on her, then turned back to her friends and nodded.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea. Plus," she added, grinning and Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "I've never been to Kyoto and I've heard they have great stores there for shopping!" She added a warning glance to her guardian and Inu-Yasha pretended to ignore her.

"Uh… sure." Miroku and Shippo looked at her and Sango, who agreed whole-heartedly, and then looked at each other. They both shrugged, offering the explanation on one word. "Girls."

"Well it's true." Kagome argued. Of course, she would have to remember to keep her mind on the true reason why they were going to Kyoto, and it wasn't for a new wardrobe.

Before Miroku and Shippo had met up with Kagome, Inu-Yasha and the rest of them they had been planning to go to Kyoto to find Naraku. The reason: As Shippo had explained before every existence had a certain number of Keys and Earth had thirteen. One of those thirteen was located in the Kyoto area, which was a logical place to find Naraku if his purpose was to destroy the Keys. Miroku and Shippo had been preparing for their journey when they saved Kagome, and the rest of the story is being written.

"Well, what do you think Inu-Yasha?" Miroku asked the only other male of the group. The dog-eared angel sighed and flicked a piece of lint off of his kimono.

"Well, if that's what you think then fine." He stood up, attaching Tetsusaiga back onto his hip. "C'mon Kagome, let's go."

"Go where?" Kagome asked as Inu-Yasha lifted her up by her arm. Inu-Yasha looked at her as if she was stupid or something. "Kyoto of course. Isn't that just what we were talking about?" he asked, putting her on his back. Kagome blinked for a moment, then shouted just as Inu-Yasha jumped up, causing her guardian to falter in mid-air and nearly crash into the ground in a style almost as effective as 'sit'. Just managing to catch his balance, the angel glared over his shoulder at his task, who looked just as irritated as he did. "What the hell was that?" he growled and Kagome matched him glare-for-glare.

"I want to take the train." She said curtly, climbing off of him. Inu-Yasha blinked at her for a moment, dumbfounded. "Why?" he asked.

"Because it's a much nicer and quieter ride, and there's a lot more scenery." Kagome explained, as if talking to a child. She looked over at her fellow mortals and they both nodded. "If I had a choice I'd rather go by train then on Kirrara." Sango agreed. "No offense." Kirrara licked Sango's finger and purred, indicating she didn't mind. A train ride would be less work and more sleep for her anyway.

Inu-Yasha snorted and looked over at Miroku and Shippo. One look at their face told Inu-Yasha their minds were already made up; wherever the girls went, Miroku followed and Shippo didn't want to be stuck alone with a psychotic angel like Inu-Yasha. The older angel sighed.

"Fine, we'll take the fuckin' train." He grumbled, going through the window. He waited impatiently as everyone else calmly, and far too slowly for his taste, walked out as well, stretching the morning sun and taking their time as if today was 'Bother Inu-Yasha as Much as Possible' day. He groaned. "This is going to be a long morning."

"What?" Kagome looked over at him and he chose to instead watch a bird fly by. Kagome sighed. "This is going to be a long morning."

Sango, who had heard them both, had to stifle a laugh.

"We're here. You happy?" Inu-Yasha grumbled, letting Kagome down. Today certainly wasn't working out well for him. First Kagome says she wants to go to Kyoto, then when he tries to take her she says she wants to take the train, then when he agrees she wants him to take her to the train. This was not turning out a very good day indeed. Damn he hated Tuesdays.

"Very." Kagome responded, following everyone else, who rode on Kirrara, through the train station. Inu-Yasha grumbled followed, only to find he had to wait while Miroku found which train was heading to Kyoto. "I don't get how you stand it." He muttered to Kirrara, who just transformed and began cleaning her face. Inu-Yasha flickered an ear in annoyance. If he had to tell himself this was going to be a bad day one more time he'd have to kill himself.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome shouted behind him, scaring the living beejebas out of him and shortening his life span by another hundred years. The angel glared down at her from his perch on one of the kiosks in the station area. "That wasn't funny." He growled.

"Sit!" Inu-Yasha fell face first into a puddle of water, splashing a few living passerbies and scaring the living beejebas out of them. The dog-eared guardian sat up, face wet, and glared at Kagome who giggled. "Well that certainly was." She said with an innocent smile before turning back to join her companions.

Inu-Yasha stood up and shook his head dry. VERY bad day.

Grumbling he wrung a bit more water out of his long hair and followed after Kagome and her mortal friends who weren't giving their angels problems. As the girls looked around and chose what train car they wanted to be in, both preferring the one with the least number of people, Miroku and Shippo joined the sulking Inu-Yasha.

"Bad day?" Miroku asked, earning a death glare that could have frightened Naraku from the dog-angel. Miroku quickly changed the subject. "Well look on the bright side. We don't have to do anything for a whole five hours."

Inu-Yasha grunted a reply.

"We're ready!" Kagome called out, waving from the car she and Sango had chosen. Miroku waved cheerfully back and began walking, Shippo on his shoulder. "You coming Inu-Yasha?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Inu-Yasha sighed, following the mortal.

The car Kagome had chosen didn't just have the least number of people; it had no people at all. Kinda of convenient, Inu-Yasha thought as he did his routine check for demons with a few sniffs I the air. There was a faint scent, either something really small or a demon that had been there and was long gone. Nothing to be worried about. Shrugging, the angel sat down on one of the soft, cushy seats, smirking with the irony. Mortals. Whenever they died they immediately wanted to live the high life; he had no idea what the rich and famous wanted, but it was probably opposite their lives. Humans were so predictable.

Kagome sat down beside him and sank into the seat, sighing contentedly. "I've never ridden on a train before, much less first class." She said whimsically. "It's wonderful."

"Look, they have little serving trays and everything!" Sango said in front of her, while Kirrara pulled the serving tray out from the back of the seat before them, the mortal toying with the footrest as she too looked like she had entered heaven. "Now this is the afterlife." She sighed, closing her eyes.

"Not bad, is it?" Miroku asked, sitting in the seat across from the older girl and her feline angel. Shippo was busy beating at the plushy seats, giggling with childish amusement as it bounced right back. "This is fun!" he squealed.

Inu-Yasha couldn't believe he was stuck with this company for, how long did Miroku say it was? Five hours? Oh Hells. The train started moving and three or four living people entered and sat near the back. They looked like businessmen and barely five minutes into the ride they were either typing at their laptops or sleeping. Shippo eyed the sleeping man's laptop, but Miroku held him back. Even the lech knew when to draw the line.

Inu-Yasha glanced out the window, trying to drown out the sounds of the two teenage girls gossip (while Miroku pretended to understand what they were talking about just so he could be part of the conversation and maybe even get a seat beside Sango). He watched the landscape go by, trying to figure out what the hell was so great about it that Kagome wanted to spend five hours on this infernal contraption just looking at it (which she wasn't even doing, he added mentally with a growl), when he felt a prick on his neck, like a pin. Then came a very, VERY familiar sucking noise. Instinctively Inu-Yasha smacked a hand on the side of his neck, causing a slapping sound that at least got his companions to shut up and look at him.

Inu-Yasha pulled his hand away and found himself looking down at a flattened flea about the size of a ten-yen coin, dressed in a classical kimono. The flea righted itself and brushed the dust off of his outfit, then squinted up at Inu-Yasha. His features brightened as he smiled up at the angel, who's face was a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Inu-Yasha-sama! It is you!" he danced gleefully.

Inu-Yasha's face changed completely from that as he looked more annoyed then anything else. "Feh. Of course it's me Old Man." He snorted while everyone else looked at the tiny flea in surprise. "Otherwise you'd be miles from here." The flea didn't take to well to the insult.

"Myouga-ji-san?" Shippo interrupted before an argument could erupt between dog and flea. Kagome wondered if every conversation with Inu-Yasha ended up in an argument. Then she decided they probably did. Shippo, meanwhile, had climbed to the top of Kirrara's seat, in front of Inu-Yasha, and was looking down at the flea in surprise. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You're not running away from something again, are you?" Inu-Yasha asked skeptically, squeezing Myouga between two of his claws. " 'Cause if you are…"

"I'm not, I'm not, I came here to find Inu-Yasha-sama!" Myouga protested. "Shippo, help me on this one!"

"You two know this guy?" All three mortals said in unison before Shippo could say anything. Both angels nodded and Shippo spoke up first.

"Myouga-ji-san is a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, ve-" Shippo faltered as Myouga gave a tiny glare at him. "Old demon and he's also many times very wise in the ways of the three existences. He's taught my father and he's taught me and he's also so old that he was actually there when Naraku was killed the first time. And he was old when that happened. So he must be over a thousand." Shippo said, trying to induce awe in his audience. Myouga nodded importantly.

"I'm also taught Inu-Yasha-sama." He said.

"But you're a demon." Sango interrupted. "Why were angels taught by a demon?"

"Just because I'm a demon doesn't mean I'm bad." Myoga said, looking up at Sango with the knowledge of millennia. "I've taught demons, angels and even humans. Especially with your past you should know not to judge by spirit alone." Sango looked at him in confusion, and the tiny demon elaborated. "You may not know this, but I can smell it in your blood." In a flash he was on Sango neck, sucking at her blood. She smacked him and held out her hand, while everyone waited from Myouga to pop back again.

"Ahem." He cleared his through after he did so. "Can taste it too." He then adopted a more serious tone. "But in your past ancestry, you certainly have the blood of the takijin who slew Naraku. I'd say you were her reincarnation, if I'm not mistaken. You have the looks about you. And you," he turned to Miroku.

"I already know that, the knowledge has been in my family for years." Miroku said, and expertly caught the flea in midair. "Which means you don't have to taste my blood to figure it out."

"Impudence." Myouga muttered. "I'd definitely say you're descended from that monk. Probably as lecherous too." Both girls nodded and Sango gave Miroku a warning glare after realize he had been inching closer and closer. Miroku took the hint and backed away. Just a little.

"And you…" Myouga then turned his attention to Kagome, and immediately jumped back. "Twelve Hells!" he cried and jumped back onto Inu-Yasha's shoulder. "Inu-Yasha-sama! The rumors certainly are true! She's Kikyou's exact co-!" Anything further of Myouga was crushed as Inu-Yasha smushed the flea for the third time in ten minutes. Kagome looked annoyed with her guardian.

"Who's Kikyou?" She asked, wondering if maybe she should have taken up studying her family tree when she was alive. Everyone else seemed to be related to the group that had killed Naraku. Maybe Kikyou was some many-times great-grandmother of hers. But Inu-Yasha and Myouga seemed to be avoiding the subject.

"Shippo's father, Kirrara's mother and Inu-Yasha-sama's parents as well." Myouga was saying. "The entire group was a mix of human, angel and demon blood.  The demon blood was a little weak I admit, but all the same."

"Well, if you were the only demon there." Miroku reasoned, but Myouga shook his head.

"Not so." The demon said. "Inu-Yasha-sama's father was a hanyou: half-demon, half-human."

Everyone looked at Inu-Yasha as he squashed Myouga again, no expression on his face. That would explain why his energy felt off, Kagome thought. He had demon blood in him, human too. So did that mean…

"It's not such a big deal." Inu-Yasha said, looked at all of them emotionlessly. "My father was a hanyou and my mother was an angel. I just have three bloods in me, that's all. After they died I went to live with the angels because my angel blood was the strongest."

There was more silence following that. Kagome knew this bothered Inu-Yasha simply by his reaction. After a moment her suspicions were confirmed when Inu-Yasha wordlessly got up and jumped through the roof to sit on top of the train for some moment's peace. Everyone unanimously decided to give it to him.

Inu-Yasha sighed. Stupid flea. Now everyone knew about his lineage and that damned demon almost let the cat out of the bag with Kagome. Was nothing meant to be simple in his life? Did he have a sign on his back that said "Hey, come over and bother me!" for all the world to see? He sighed again. Or maybe this was just a really, really bad day.

He faced forward the let the wind hit him right on, holding his breath so the billions of smells wouldn't drive him crazy at this speed. Then he stiffened. He could feel it more then anything, his own demon blood responding to it's presence. He could also feel something more distinct, from his past, faint but there. He swore and drew Tetsusaiga, then froze. He couldn't fight in the car. There were people in there and Tetsusaiga affected both realms, mortal and spiritual. He swore again and sheathed his sword, preparing his claws for battle. He heard his task scream and, wasting no more time, jumped back into the train.

"Kagome!" he jumped in front of his task just as the demon attacked, shooting hundreds of tiny barbs into his flesh. He winced from the pain, but wasn't badly hurt thanks to his clothing. "Everyone get out of here!" he shouted to the rest of his group, prepared for battle. "We have to fight on the top of the train!"

The demon, who was in human form, laughed harshly at this. "Fine then, go on top." He said with a grin. "My brother's waiting for you up there." He grinned darkly, brandishing his double-bladed spear.

Shit, there's two of them. Inu-Yasha matched the demon glare-for-glare, waiting for the others to get on top while he guarded their backs. There was the chance the demon was bluffing in order to keep them down here. When no movement was heard behind him Inu-Yasha began to get impatient.

"The hell are you waiting for? MOVE!" he snarled, and was satisfied with the rest of them quickly following his orders, Sango and Kirrara bringing up Kagome although she was protesting. If this demon was telling the truth there would at least be enough of them out there to deal with it. He smiled, brandishing his claws. "Let's dance."

The demon smiled, getting in a ready stance. "Fine then. I'll lead." With that he dove at Inu-Yasha, who fended him off with his claws. Quickly Inu-Yasha glanced around him. The men hadn't noticed anything yet, but they certainly would. The sleeping one had woken up and was already looking around, slightly uneasy. Inu-Yasha grimaced; they would have to leave and fast.

"Keep your attention focused!" the demon advised, just barely missing Inu-Yasha's head with the double-blade of the spearhead, slicing the angel's cheek. Inu-Yasha jumped away, then with another quick glance around, jumped through the side of the train.

Outside he dug his claws in, bracing against the wind as he climbed up the side. The demon's spear sliced through metal and just nearly hit him again. The demon then poked his head out, smirked at Inu-Yasha who was near the top, then jumped out to join him, stabbing his spear in to keep his place. Inu-Yasha scampered to the train top, only to be greeted with a not-so-friendly sight.

That stupid bastard wasn't lying, Inu-Yasha thought. Another humanoid demon, but shorter and uglier, was doing battle with Sango and Kirrara, Miroku and Shippo. Kagome stood to the side with a bow and arrow, trying to get a shot in the confusion. She seemed to notice Inu-Yasha because she looked over at him, and her eyes widened in shock. Before Inu-Yasha could move he felt the cool metal of the first demon's spear sliding through his chest. He gagged on some blood and bile as the demon twisted the spear and pulled it out. He stumbled forward but was having trouble focusing and with a laugh the demon tripped him up and put the spear to his throat.

"What an honor it is for me to kill the fabled Inu-Yasha." He sneered. Inu-Yasha glared at him through blurred vision, trying desperately to focus and gather strength to protect himself but he couldn't do anything in this position. The demon smiled as he leaned on the staff, driving the spear harder into his throat but not breaking the skin yet. He seemed to be taking his time, half concentrating on the turmoil his brother was causing. Inu-Yasha could hear the battle and smell blood, most of it on his side. The first demon turned his attention to the angel as Inu-Yasha growled, and the demon looked at him coolly. "I'm gonna have fun with your women once you're dead."

Inu-Yasha clenched his claws around Tetsusaiga, ready for one desperate move to kill this bastard, even if it meant killing himself. The demon noticed and stepped onto Inu-Yasha's hand, shaking his head. "I don't think so, angel." He said. "It's time for you to die."

Inu-Yasha felt the pressure increase on his throat and watched spots dance before his eyes. The demon was taking his time, making Inu-Yasha die slowly, enjoying himself. And Inu-Yasha was helpless, unable to do anything, and if he didn't survive this the asshole was going to go after Kagome. This was turning out to be a very bad day.

"Shit."

End Chapter 8

There's chapter 8!

And my brain is muddle-fuddle from illness and sleepiness. So no preview (sorry, you'll have to wait in suspense) But I will tell you one thing: The chapter is called Reborn. Guess what we finally find out!!!

Well, ja ne! Until Monday, and when I'm better!

~Ama~