Hi. I stumbled across a Rin/Jaken fic yesterday…it was scary, very very scary…

Notes to reviewers:

To Kit-Kat: Well, as for Sango and Miroku, Inuyasha and Kagome…u'll have to wait and see what happens! Shippo has guessed that Sango has feelings for Miroku, so that's why he ran off so they could spend time together. So saying "Sango will thank me" means Sango will thank him in the end when she and Miroku are together.

And the whole FBI thing will play a big part in this… don't worry your answers will come soon!

To streetkid: Like I said to Kit-Kat, you'll have to wait and see!

Starflower Gem: I kinda put some fluff in, don't worry, more will come! Oh, and thanks for the idea, you rock!

Nauriell: Thanks, I'm no good at Japanese!

Jasmine Fields: Thanks, I feel honoured!

FlamingRedFox: Thanks so much for your advice, I'll try!

Yogagirl183: Thanks, and don't worry, Kikyou will be arriving soon!

Thankyou also to Catalina, Moonglow gal, Call me Shiggy, Starlight698, Inuyashakagome, K.C, demongurl, Neko-Yuff16, HazelEyes56, alejandra, TheBlueMoon, animemistress419, FOX, jade eyed neko, street-punk-rocker16, kitsunetsuishi, Cyberwing, Miss Kagosha, Kyoto-the-lonely-demon626, and also Sakurascent!

You rock!

I would write individual replies to all your reviews…but I thought you'd prefer me updating today rather than 10 years time. But a massive thankyou to all of you, I appreciate it.

Sorry if I missed anyone out 0.o

Chapter 13: Matchmaker Shippo!

"Feh, we've been here! We're going round in circles!" Inuyasha complained.

Kagome leaned against the fence. "He's vanished. I should have been more careful…"

"Well, you could stop moaning, wench-"

"I could have looked after him better…" She ran a hand through her hair, and sighed, feeling a few tears trickle down her cheek.

'have looked after him…' Kagome thought miserably. 'I should have looked after him…'

"Hey, wench…" Inuyasha said uncomfortably. "You don't have to cry…"

Kagome nodded, and wiped her cheeks. "Okay. I'm fine now. Let's go that way."

Inuyasha gave a rare smile.

"KAGOME!!" A voice echoed down the street. Kagome and Inuyasha whirled round to see a figure jumping off a rollercoaster.

"Who's that?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know." She paused. "…wait a minute…"

The figure ran closer. "KAGOME! Hi, Kagome!"

Kagome froze. "Oh, um, well…Kouga."

Shippo cackled to himself. He had been following Sango and Miroku for ages now – and they hadn't even looked around.

"Sango will thank me in the end." Shippo said cheerfully.

He passed the Ferris wheel. "Maybe I could go on that…" Shippo said. "It looks fun!"

There was a group of teenagers leaning against the fence of the Ferris wheel. Most were tottering around on their feet – and they looked completely drunk. One was flicking a lighter against his hand, and seemed to be the leader. Another one had passed out.

Shippo kept his head down and tiptoed around the group. "Nearly at the Ferris wheel," He told himself. "Come on Shippo, don't be scared…"

"Hey, kid!" The leader called out. "Are you lost, kid?"

Shippo quickened his pace. "No, no, maybe I shouldn't have run away! I want Sango and Kagome!"

"Where's your mother, little brat?" One girl said. She bent down in front of him. "Want to hang around with us?"

"N-no, th-thankyou…" Shippo stuttered.

"N-n-n-noo, th-thankyou!" Another boy said, imitating Shippo's squeak.

"Want a drink with us?" The leader said, flicking up a tall flame on his lighter.

"C-come any closer, and I'm gonna, uh…" Shippo said uncertainly. "I'll get my mommy Sango and Kagome to beat you up!"

They laughed cruelly. Shippo sniffed and began to cry.

Sango frowned. "Where is he? Honestly," She chuckled. "It's like he's deliberately avoiding us!" She said, frustrated.

Miroku looked sympathetic, and put his arm around Sango. "Don't worry, Sango-chan. A kid can't just disappear."

Sango nodded, acutely aware of Miroku's arm around her.

"We'll find him." Miroku said confidently.

Sango felt her heartbeat speed up slightly, and wondered if Miroku could sense her nervousness. She felt her colour rising in her cheeks.

"I'll get my mommy Sango and Kagome to beat you up!"

Sango jumped out of Miroku's embrace. "Is that..?"

"Shika." Miroku said, running into the crowd. "Hurry, Sango."

The teenagers had surrounded Shippo, and were laughing at his weak threat. The leader was twirling his lighter between his fingers. Shippo started wailing. "Sango-chan! Kagome-chan!"

"Leave him alone!" Sango shouted, pushing through the teens. Shippo jumped into her arms and carried on crying loudly.

"How dare you pick on a defenceless child?" Sango shouted, fuming. "You-"

"H-have a drink, babe." The leader said, tossing an empty vodka bottle towards her. "Loosen up."

"Don't 'babe' me." Sango said through gritted teeth. She caught the bottle with one hand and flicked it behind her. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

The leader took another gulp of vodka, and walked unsteadily towards Sango. She braced herself, trying to calculate how harmful this drunken boy could be. "Listen, honey-" He said, resting a hand on Sango's shoulder. "You should-"

SMACK.

Miroku's fist flew out and connected with the leader's skull. The boy staggered backwards, landing on the floor, leaving the rest of the group with their mouths hanging open. Miroku stood protectively in front of Sango and Shippo.

"Don't touch Sango." He said, his voice low and dangerous. "Now leave."

The teenagers scrambled to their feet. The leader flicked his lighter. "God, I didn't do noth-"

"Leave." Miroku ordered.

They took one glance at Miroku, and ran off.

Sango stood in complete shock. "Y'know, I could've handled that." She said, still in awe. "But thanks anyway."

"No problem, Sango." Miroku said. Sango gave him a genuine smile.

Shippo grinned over Sango's shoulder. His plan had worked better than expected.

Kagome's heart sank as Kouga ran towards her. Beside her, Inuyasha was giving Kouga a death glare – he recognised Kouga as the FBI agent.

This was not good.

"Hi, Kagome!" Kouga said. "I wasn't expecting to see you here! I thought you were investig-"

"Investing…my money in the stock exchange?" Kagome said, inwardly smacking herself for such a lame excuse.

Kouga looked puzzled. "What, are you bugged-" He started to say, referring to a hidden microphone.

"Yeah, I'm really bugged with you, right now." Kagome said. "I mean, I, uh."

Inuyasha barged in front of Kouga. "Do you two know each other?"

Kouga saw Inuyasha, and raised his eyebrows. "Hey, you own the Shikon no Tama!" He looked pointedly at Kagome.

"Yes, and you're the sneaky little FBI demon who met us at the Pearl Restaurant!" Inuyasha said angrily.

Both turned to Kagome, looking for an explanation.

"Well, yeah, I know Kouga, I used to work with him." Kagome said. Well, it was half true…she did work with Kouga.

"In the FBI?" Inuyasha demanded.

"No, no!" Kagome said quickly. "Before FBI. We worked in, a, chocolate factory."

"A chocolate factory." Kouga said. "Yes, a chocolate factory."

"We made…nice, really nice chocolate."

"Yeah, lovely chocolate…"

Inuyasha glared at her, obviously wanting more answers.

Kouga ignored Inuyasha's glare. He seized Kagome's hands. "Kagome, are you free this Saturday? Because we could catch a movie, then go back to my place, and…"

"I don't think so, Kouga." Kagome said politely.

"But Kagome, why not?"

"She said no, you stupid wolf!" Inuyasha snapped. "Didn't you get the message?"

Kouga shoved Kagome behind him. "My woman can answer for herself, dog-turd!" He hissed angrily.

"Your woman?" Inuyasha said sarcastically. "Since when was she your woman?"

"Are you jealous, dog?" Kouga shouted back. "Although, looking at you," Kouga sneered. "There's no competition."

"Damn right! There's no competition! Because Kagome isn't your woman, and she doesn't want to go on a date with you!"

"Well, she doesn't want to go on a date with you either, filthy half-dog!"

Their argument had attracted a large crowd of people, all surrounding Kagome, Kouga and Inuyasha. There were several chants of "Fight! Fight!" or "Good answer!", or "Oooh!". And Kagome, meanwhile, was dying of embarrassment.

Kouga's comment of 'half-dog' had definitely struck a nerve with Inuyasha. "Well, at least I'm not a full-demon like you!" Inuyasha hissed.

The crowd fell silent, after a quiet "oohh…" People began edging backwards.

"Hey, it's okay!" Kouga said frantically, flapping open his FBI card. "Look, I'm FBI! I'm not dangerous!"

This seemed to satisfy the crowd.

"So!" Kouga said triumphantly. "It's my job to protect Kagome from the impurities of society!"

At this point, it took all of Kagome's willpower not to shout out: "I'm from FBI too!" Instead, she jumped into the air and landed neatly between the arguing demons.

"Kouga, Inuyasha, stop this!" Kagome ordered.

"Stay out of this, Kagome. Impurities?" Inuyasha sneered. "What do you mean, demon?"

"I mean," Kouga said, turning to face the crowd. "This man here is in fact, a half-demon, and a danger to normal humans!"

The crowd "ooh"ed again and took a step back.

"He's currently being investigated by the FBI!" Kouga proclaimed. "I warn you to stay away!"

From somewhere in the crowd, someone shouted out: "Hey, you're the demon I was chasing earlier!"

Kagome felt her heart sink even lower, as out stepped the staff member they had run away from.

"Oh no…" Kagome said. "Kouga, I'm really sorry about this!" She yelled over her shoulder, before snatching Inuyasha's hand and dragging him though the crowd. "Inuyasha, we have to run again!"

"Kagome, let me finish off that wolf-shit…"

"No time, Inuyasha." Kagome glanced round. The whole audience to Kouga and Inuyasha's fight was running after them, with the staff man in front. Kagome had a strange sense of déjà vu…

"Kagome, see that wall ahead?" Inuyasha shouted as they ran.

"Yeah, what?" Kagome shouted back.

"Hold onto me and we'll jump over it. It should buy us some time."

Kagome nodded and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's haori. He kicked off from the ground and they soared gently over the wall.

A few of the crowd tried to follow.

"Get a ladder, someone!"

"Hey, help me get over…"

"They're getting away!"

"Arrest him!"

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and they sprinted on. Soon the tall rollercoaster's seemed quite small against the sky. They came up against one last wall, which Inuyasha scaled easily.

"Thank god I took track practice at school…" Kagome muttered. "Damn his demon speed!"

"I heard that." Inuyasha muttered back, his ear twitching.

"Well, look how far we've run!" Kagome said huffily. "We're miles away from the park!"

"I can take us back." Inuyasha sighed.

"But Miroku and Sango are – OW-!" Kagome yelled, bashing her head on the hard bark of a tree.

Inuyasha slowed down. "Kagome? What happened?"

"I ran into a tree." Kagome muttered, getting up and leaning against the offending tree. "Damn plant."

"Ha ha ha…" Inuyasha laughed. "Didn't you realise we were in a wood?"

"It's your fault, I was talking to you! I wasn't looking!"

Kagome sat down for a while to get her breath back, when suddenly a huge whirlwind of dust appeared in front of them. Kagome screamed and flattened herself against the tree. The cloud of dust cleared, to reveal Kouga.

"Oh no…" Kagome groaned.

"Ha!" Kouga said proudly. "You can't escape that easily! I have demon speed too, of course!"

"So you found me, wolf?" Inuyasha said. "Now what are you gonna do?"

"Well, I feel I have to protect Kagome's safety. So I'm going to arrest you. The less Kagome has to do with you," He said, raising his eyebrows at Kagome. "The better."

Kagome glared at him. "Listen, Kouga." She said between gritted teeth. "I appreciate your concern, but this isn't your case! Although, I don't know how the FBI works, of course…"

Inuyasha seemed too busy scowling at Kouga to notice what she said.

"Kagome-chan." Kouga said. "I'm sorry, but this is for your own safety." He said, brandishing his FBI badge. "This dirty half-breed is a corruption of society. He should not be allowed to interact with normal humans. He is nothing more than a monster, Kagome. His mother was quite obviously mad, to mate a demon. I-"

Kagome took one look at Inuyasha, who was growling at flexing his claws.

"Kouga." She said quickly. "I'm sorry, but this is for your own safety!" Kagome swung her leg out, sweeping Kouga off his feet. She spun him round and dealt a quick punch to the back of his neck. He fell limply to the ground, unconscious.

Inuyasha turned round so Kagome couldn't see his face. He jumped into the branches of the tree, and climbed up the tree trunk until the leaves of the tree hid him.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome called. "Inuyasha, come down!"

There was no answer.

"Hmm." Kagome murmured to herself. "Maybe Kouga's words really did hurt him."

There was still silence.

"Maybe he wants to be alone for a while?" Kagome thought. "I'll give him a few minutes by himself."

She wandered aimlessly round the tree, trying to spot Inuyasha in the branches. Eventually, she caught a glimpse of some silver hair, right at the top of the tree.

"Did he have to climb that high?" Kagome groaned. "Heights was never my thing…Inuyasha! I'm coming up!"

She swung herself onto the lower branches, and slower clambered up the tree trunk. Twigs got caught in her hair, and branches whipped against her legs. "Damn, I'm so far up…" Kagome said. "I mustn't look down, I mustn't look down!"

Eventually she could see Inuyasha's red haori through the branches above her. As she reached for the last branch, she couldn't resist looking towards the ground.

"AIII! I'm so far up!" Kagome screamed. Her hand slipped off the branch and her feet seemed to wobble like jelly. She was falling.

Inuyasha's hand appeared from nowhere, and lifted her up. Kagome slowly and ungracefully settled herself on the branch next to him.

"You stupid wench. What were you thinking?" He snapped.

"You could have come down yourself!" Kagome replied.

"I like trees."

"Oh, come on, you don't have to pretend." She sighed. "What Kouga said to you was really nasty and untrue. Don't pretend you're not upset."

"I'm not upset."

"Whatever you say, Inuyasha. But still, you have every right to feel hurt by his words."

"I'm not hurt."

Kagome sighed in frustration. They sat in comfortable silence, with Kagome pulling twigs out of her hair, and Inuyasha shredding leaves into tiny pieces.

"Why is Kouga accepted?" Inuyasha asked randomly.

"Huh?"

"I said, why is Kouga accepted? He's still a demon, but he doesn't get chased by angry humans wherever he goes. He's treated…normally."

"Well," Kagome said. "I don't know. He's an FBI agent. So people know he's trustworthy."

"But he's still a demon." Inuyasha argued. "He's no different to any other "monster"."

"Well, to be fair, some demons are bad." Kagome said. "Some demons kill people and pick out their insides."

"So do some humans."

"Hmm…that's true." Kagome paused. "The world's unfair, isn't it?"

Inuyasha turned to face her. "How would you know?" He demanded. "You're just a normal human. You don't know anything. Everyone trusts you, Kagome. You probably don't know the meaning of being truly alone! Of being rejected, just for something you can't control."

Before he knew it, Kagome had thrown her arms around him, and was practically hugging him to death.

"Is it really so bad, Inuyasha? To be a hanyou?"

Inuyasha stared at her disbelievingly. "Why aren't you scared of me? I could kill you with these claws right now."

"But I know you wouldn't! And I trust you."

"You're an idiot, then." Inuyasha said, and his voice lowered to a whisper. "Just like Kikyou."

"Just like…Kikyou? Your wife?"

Kagome took Inuyasha's silence as a yes.

"She must have trusted you, Inuyasha." Kagome said.

Inuyasha nodded. "She was the only person who trusted me, apart from my own mother, who was dead. And Miroku, of course."

Kagome hesitated, before asking her next question. "Inuyasha, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but…How did Kikyou die?"

Inuyasha smirked. "You don't beat around the bush."

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me." Kagome said quickly.

He stayed silent for so long, Kagome wondered if she'd offended him.

"It was my fault that Kikyou died." He muttered, glaring at a defenceless twig, which he was slowly smashing to pieces. "It was five years ago, and we were just teenagers…"

"Don't you wish you could be human, Inuyasha?" A sixteen-year-old Kikyou said, resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

Inuyasha grunted. "Of course, Kikyou. But that's not gonna happen, is it?"

"When we get married…I'd like us to have a real wedding, with loads of people. I don't want to be scared, in case someone realises you're a hanyou. I don't want you to be scared, in case someone recognises you."

"Feh , I'm never scared."

"Haven't you heard the legend of the Shikon Jewel? It can grant any wish. If we had that, you could change to a human."

"The Shikon Jewel? That's not real, is it?"

Inuyasha's older brother, Sesshoumaru walked up. "Of course its real, little brother. That wench has a good idea. If you stole the Jewel, you could transform into a human."

"A real human? I want this Jewel…"

"We eventually found the Jewel, about a week after me and Kikyo's marriage. So I tried to steal it from this full-demon-"

"On your own?" Kagome interrupted.

"No, Kikyou came, Miroku came…and my brother Sesshoumaru came." He looked at Kagome's expression. "Yeah, the same brother you got into a fight with in my office."

"Okay…go on."

"I'm finally holding the Shikon Jewel." Inuyasha said. "It's about time."

Kikyou gave her rare smile. "So, are you gonna use it?"

"I think it would be wise, dear brother, to use the Jewel quickly." Sesshoumaru said. " Other demons will soon sniff it out, now it has appeared again in the world."

Miroku looked around furtively. "There's no one around. Quickly, use it."

"Okay." Inuyasha said. He closed his eyes and began to wish…

"STOP THERE, HANYOU!" A voice yelled.

"It's a human." Miroku said. "A man. Hurry up, Inuyasha!"

Three gunshots echoed through the air, clattering onto the ground next to Inuyasha. "Feh, who are you?" Inuyasha yelled.

"My name is Onigumo, and I suppose you must be Inuyasha. Now give me the Shikon Jewel."

"No!"

"Give it, or I'll shoot you!"

Miroku's head appeared from nowhere. "Inuyasha! The authorities are here! The police! And the FBI!"

"Damn it." Inuyasha cursed.

"Inuyasha, you have to use the Jewel quickly!" Kikyou screamed. "This is our only chance to have a normal future!"

"No, give it to me!" Onigumo ordered.

"RUN!" Miroku yelled. "Sesshoumaru, don't just stand there!"

"Little brother, that human is-"

"I don't give a damn!" Inuyasha shouted. "Let's go before we get caught!"

Several uniformed FBI agents ran onto the scene. They shot randomly at the hanyou, but he dodged the bullets.

"FBI! Put your hands in the air, demons! Do not attack!" The first uniformed man said loudly.

They sprayed a strong-smelling liquid into the air. It stung Inuyasha's sensitive nose. Sesshoumaru looked ready to faint. Onigumo rubbed his nose, but seemed unharmed.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Miroku asked.

"It's a demon spray, little brother. It's affecting my nose." Sesshoumaru said weakly. "For once, dear brother, be glad you're hanyou and not full-demon. It would affect you a lot more."

Onigumo sent a flash of demon power towards Inuyasha, but missed. The demon energy struck Miroku on his hand, causing a gaping hole. Wind started erupting from the hole, sucking in bits of dust.

"What are you?" Miroku yelled, clutching his hand. "Who are you?"

"Your family is now cursed." Onigumo cackled manically. "I was aiming for the half-breed, but you will do."

The police sprayed tear-gas into the air, hoping to subdue the fighting demons. Suddenly one officer shouted:

"There's a human girl! Look, a human girl!"

The FBI agents crowded round Kikyou.

"Are you okay, girl?"

"Were you getting attacked?"

"We'll get you away from that dirty little hanyou…"

Inuyasha fumed. "Don't lay a finger on her! That's my wife!"

The officers looked shocked. "Surely you're not married to that…that thing!" One asked.

"Are you on their side?" Another one demanded.

"She's working for the demons! Kill her!" The main officer ordered.

At that point, two things happened. Inuyasha leapt in front of Kikyou, to shield her from the angry FBI officers. He dropped the Jewel in his attempt to get to his wife. Kikyou picked up the Jewel, and Onigumo started attacking Kikyou.

In the chaos, Miroku's wind tunnel reopened, causing a huge force of wind to suck everyone towards him. As the FBI and police were fighting against the wind, Inuyasha saw his escape.

"Kikyou! Let's go!" He yelled.

One officer saw them, and shouted back. "Girl, if you follow the hanyou, you'll be a criminal! He's a disgusting half-breed! If you go with him, we'll arrest you!"

"Kikyou! Come on!" Inuyasha shouted.

Kikyou seemed to be hesitating, glancing at the Shikon Jewel she held in her hand.

"Come on, girl, you don't really want to go with the half-demon, do you?"

Suddenly, a huge explosion blasted in front of Inuyasha's eyes. Flames leapt into the air. One of the FBI agents had thrown a bomb.

"SESSHOUMARU!" Inuyasha hollered. "Save Kikyou!"

"Brother, she's fine!" Sesshoumaru said, annoyed. "They're aiming at you!"

When the smoke cleared, Kikyou was nowhere to be seen. The FBI agents were wounded from the bomb. Sesshoumaru was leaning on his knees, his face emotionless. Onigumo had vanished.

"So the bomb…?" Kagome asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. The bomb killed Kikyou. I asked Sesshoumaru to save her, but he didn't."

"So that's why you hate him so much."

"He thought Kikyou was gonna disown me. He thought she was gonna stay with the FBI officers, and act like we weren't married."

"Would she do that?" Kagome asked bluntly.

"Feh, no." Inuyasha said, effectively ending the conversation.

Kagome, however, remembered the strange dream she'd had of the black-haired girl. Kikyou.

"Hey." Inuyasha said. "Why did you knock Kouga out?"

"Oh, you were about to strangle him. I didn't have many options – knocking him out seemed the best idea."

"Feh, that was a nice move. Where did you learn that?"

"Oh, around." Kagome said vaguely.

"Shall we leave him here?"

"No!"

The next chapter will be out as soon as possible, I hope you liked that chapter! Thoughts/suggestions/flames welcomed, as long as its constructive.

Mansee

PS. Did ya hear, has this cool feature called "Reviewing"! Wanna try it?