Disclaimer: It's chapter ten. Figure it out.

"…" – speech

'…' – thoughts

--- - change in scenery or time

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--Previously, on The Sealed Garden:

{It was only when he had reached the house and was near halfway through a large bowl of ramen before Inuyasha remembered something.

"Shit! My shoes!"

He very near choked on a noodle.}

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Chapter TEN:

The Monk Returns

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The next two days passed without much incidence. Each morning, Inuyasha would wake up and trot along into the backyard after grabbing something from a kitchen to eat. Then, while in the garden, he and the girl would exchange details about each of their times until either they got bored or he had to go. It was usually one or the other.

Of course, the entire purpose had been for the hanyou to learn more about the spirit, but so far, she was only detailing the differences of their worlds themselves rather than telling of her own life. By now, Inuyasha had learned so much that he could have written a book- possibly the most accurate book on ancient Japan ever.

Slowly, Kagome was starting to break from the bonds of tradition and respect and was becoming more open. She smiled more often than three days ago and Inuyasha was lucky to witness her as the person she really was. Of course, that also meant he encountered her less than positive phases and her confident personality. With the two self-assured characters who more often than not, disagreed on an issue, it resulted in several heated debates.

Of course, by the time he had actually remembered to retrieve the forgotten shoes, Inuyasha had found out that the pair had been destroyed. One had been cut cleanly in half with the laces missing and nothing remained of the other than the rubber soles. Now, not only would he have to buy food, the half-demon would have to shop for a new pair of shoes as well.

And did he mention he hated shopping?

Of course, he did have one other pair of sneakers, but honestly, those shoes cost him money, damn it!

Tetsusaiga had found permanent residence on his hip just in case of any other unpredicted attacks.

So far, there had been none.

It had remained almost disturbingly calm around the place ever since that assault from Kagura. There had been nothing- no abnormal bees, no visits from weird people; just a calm that permeated through the entire estate.

But while before, that quiet had soothed Inuyasha's nerves, now, it had him experiencing a level of stress not unlike the kind one feels just before writing an exam. He didn't deal particularly well with suspense, as demonstrated by his latest visit.

"Damn it! Why hasn't anything happened yet?" The hanyou paced back and forth in front of the tall Goshinboku tree. "She said she'd be back… has she chickened out?"

A slightly aggravated looking spirit 'sat' at the roots of the tall tree, staring at the man's progress. "Inuyasha, stop pacing. You're making me nervous!" It was said in an exasperated way that suggested that Kagome had voiced it before. "I'm sure that Kagura's just recovering from that attack you hit her with last time. Don't worry."

"That's easy for you to say." Amber eyes glanced at the girl. "You don't have to worry about what's going to happen if your home's destroyed."

Kagome glared at him dryly. "Oh no? If this garden ceases to exist, I'll probably go with it."

That stopped him.

"Wh-what?" Inuyasha shot her a bewildered look. "Why would that happen?"

The miko gracefully crossed her arms and casually levitated herself a few feet off the ground- she still loved that startled expression on his face when she did that. "Well, from what Kikyou-chan told me, a spirit can only have a form in this world if their physical remains are somewhere nearby. There's some sort of link between the soul and the body." Kagome scrunched her nose. "I didn't really listen to that part. When she was telling us about that, I was busy picking flowers." She laughed dryly.

"So… if your remains are destroyed, what happens?"

She shrugged. "My soul gets dragged to the depths of the hells for eternal suffering."

That was said in such a casual demeanour that Inuyasha could only gape at her for a few minutes. "What the hell? And you're not worried about that at all?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course I'm worried, idiot. But I find it easier to deal with my troubles as they pass by and not worry about them." She made a face. "I hate feeling stressed."

"Keh." He plopped down onto the grass-covered ground. "So where is your body?"

She surveyed him with a slightly resigned look before giving in. "I don't know," she sighed.

Inuyasha's head drooped. "How can you not know?"

Raising an eyebrow at exasperated tone, the spirit drifted to float right in front of the hanyou. "I don't know because I didn't pay attention to where I was coming from when I floated back here."

Needless to say, he was quite confused. "What?"

"When my soul left my body, I wasn't watching where it was." She shrugged as if it was no big deal. "I don't even know if it's in one piece or if it's been burned. I didn't spend any time looking for it either."

"Oh…" The hanyou stared off into the branches of the tree. Hadn't those old scriptures told him that her body had been turned to ashes? But then, there had never been any evidence that the villagers had found her body at all… It was all so confusing. But then a curious thought struck him. "Oi."

"Hm?"

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome from the corner of his eye. "What's it feel like to die?" It was a horribly imprudent question and asked in such an aloof fashion that the miko fell out of the air.

"What?!" Blue eyes turned to meet golden amber.

He shrugged. "I'm just wondering, you know? Someday, I'm going to kick the bucket too…" He drifted off and leaned back, lying on the grass.

"Kick the bucket? What bucket?"

Right. That expression was unknown to her.

"I mean, someday, I'm going to die and-"

"Don't think about it." Suddenly, Kagome's voice had turned hard with authority. "Don't think about having to die right now, Inuyasha. You're still young. You're a half-demon. You don't have to think about death." Her voice lost some of its heat. "Please? Can we not talk about that right now?"

He cast a glance at her. She was biting her lip and an almost lost expression was on her face. "Yeah. Fine." There must have been a reason why she wasn't telling him… He mentally sighed. The trust thing wasn't going along as well as before. If he couldn't even find out exactly how the girl died, how was he supposed to get her to go?

The girl relaxed. "Thank you."

"Keh."

A few moment of silence passed by, filled with the chirping of various birds.

"Soo…" the spirit drew out the word, clearly having nothing to discuss. She straightened up and sat, hovering in the air. "Anything interesting happened yet?"

He shot her an exasperated glare. Feeling impatiently restless again, Inuyasha hopped to his feet and resumed pacing in a frustrated fervour. "I hate standing around like this!"

Kagome sighed and once again, resigned to following his track with her eyes, chin resting on the palm of her hand. "If you're so worried about Kagura coming back and finishing you off-"

He threw a nasty look her way. "As if that woman could hurt me!"

She looked at him dryly. "Oh no? And who was practically crying in pain just the other day?"

"Keh."

"Mou, you're just as stubborn as Kouga-kun was-…" As soon as the words had left her mouth, Kagome's eyes widened.

Inuyasha stared at her. "Who's Kouga?""

Her response was quick. "Nevermind."

He scowled at her but decided to let it pass.

Coughing, the miko quickly covered up the suddenly awkward silence. "As I was saying, if you're so worried about her coming back," she emphasised 'back' just to let him know what she meant, "then why didn't you just ki-… hurt her more the other day?" Kagome had avoided saying 'kill', not knowing if that was what she had really meant.

The hanyou stopped and marched up to the spirit. With her hovering in the air, it only took him to bend his back slightly to be eye-to-eye with her. "I was in pain-"

She pointed a victorious finger at him. "Ha! Told you!"

"-and I didn't know how to use my stupid sword-" Tetsusaiga gave a seemingly indignant pulse, "-and besides, you're the one who missed her with that arrow. If you'd actually hit her, she'd probably have been purified." He straightened and crossed his arms. "So there. You had the perfect opportunity and you missed." The half-demon snorted.

An embarrassed flush staining her cheeks, Kagome got to her feet and lowered herself to ground level. "For your information, it's been a few centuries since I properly shot something. And besides, it's not like I can really practice since my arrows fly through whatever I'm aiming at!"

The half-demon stuck out his tongue in a gesture that was considered most childish. "Not my fault. If you were good enough, you would have hit her." It seemed as though the pressure of stress had finally been too much.

Kagome step back in resentment. "You… immature… brat!"

Golden eyes blinked in astonishment. "Brat? Is that the best you can do?" He smirked at the fuming girl. "Wench."

She met his challenge. "Dog."

"Bitch."

"Cur."

"You know that's just another word for 'dog', right?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

The spirit 'hmphed'. "So? Bitch is… a little like wench." Her nose wrinkled. "And just as disrespectful."

"Cow."

"Cow? An eyebrow rose. "Cow? Where did you come up with that?" However, she had nothing to add to that and in remaining silent, gave the hanyou the impression that he had 'won'.

Inuyasha was victorious. "Ha! You ran out of names!" He stepped back from the glaring match and grinned at the agitated spirit.

Kagome's eyes closed in irritation as her fists clenched and unclenched rhythmically. "And what importance, pray ask, might that be?"

Ignorant to her rather obvious animosity, the hanyou shrugged. "Who cares? I won's all that matters."

Her patience broke. Blue eyes suddenly flying open in a scowl, the girl pointed a single finger straight into the half-demon's face. "Inuyasha…" her voice was low and laced with annoyance.

He developed a strange and slightly comical look when his eyes became crossed as he stared at her finger. "What is it, wench?" For somebody who only reached his chest height, Kagome appeared to be quite menacing as her expression darkened even further.

The lines on her forehead deepened. She stared hard at Inuyasha, concentrating and with a suddenly loud voice, uttered a single commanding word: "Sit!"

A few moments passed without event.

The man quirked an eyebrow. "What-"

But he was cut off as an oddly tingling sensation began at the back of his neck. It was subtle and almost as if somebody were dripping water onto him, but before the hanyou could twist his neck in an attempt to see, another far more obvious impression was impressed into him.

With the effect of having a load equivalent to the weight of an adult elephant suddenly dropped onto his back, Inuyasha's eyes had time to widen comically before he collapsed onto the ground, arousing several clouds of dust from the ground. The thump of flesh meeting dirt had caused the earth to tremble slightly, shaking a few leaves from the tree towering over them.

Having fallen face first into the ground, his unquestionably foul language was muffled by the blades of grass. Dog-ears had flattened on top of his head. The half-demon attempted to rise, but it seemed as though whatever had happened was still having an effect and blatantly wouldn't allow him to stand.

Anger having abated and been replaced by amusement mingled with a bit of concern, Kagome squatted down in front of the fallen man, the bottom of her pants almost- but not quite –brushing against the top of his head. "Hey, are you all right?"

A darkly grumbled response was her reply.

She giggled. "Don't eat too much dirt or grass, Inuyasha. It's not healthy for a dog."

Finally, the half-demon could feel some semblance of control returning to his maltreated body and slowly, deliberately, he gathered himself up from the ground. Amber eyes remained intentionally closed as the full extent of Kagome's 'punishment' was revealed.

The spirit laughed at his appearance: what had once been a moderately clean white shirt, was now stained with green and brown smudges. Several blades of grass had broken and now littered the front of his body. The worn jeans he wore had suffered the same fate with a patch of something black and sticky on the knee where Inuyasha had crushed an unsuspecting insect.

But most comical of all, was the half-demon's face, which was quite red, covered with brown and green. His ears remained pressed to his head as Inuyasha shook the foliage that had fallen into his hair.

Kagome grinned sheepishly and muffled a laugh. "Whoops! I must have used a little too much force…" Unable to contain it, the spirit broke into another fit of giggles.

"I'm glad you're amused." The voice of Inuyasha was heavily draped with sarcasm and somehow more menacing than before. His teeth were visibly clenched and his eyes slowly opened to find a miko, laughing hard at his increasingly disgruntled expression. "I'm sure it was hilarious."

Slowly, her laughter abated and Kagome raised her gaze to land on an annoyed visage. She managed to choke the last of her sniggers with a cough. "Sorry Inuyasha, but you deserved it."

The hanyou scowled at her. "And how did I deserve it, woman?"

"Because you were being silly, rude and childish." The spirit shrugged at him.

"And making me fall face-first into the ground isn't?" He was grinding his teeth now.

Kagome grinned at him. "Nope!"

The hanyou heaved a sigh and sat down within the slight impression his fall had made in the ground. "And just how did you make me do that?"

"Use your brain."

Inuyasha closed his eyes. "Those weird power things again?"

The spirit happily fluttered down to join him on the grass. "Yup! No sense having these things if you don't use them, right?" She turned slightly concerned. "But seriously, you aren't hurt right?"

A slightly sarcastic smirk lifted a corner of his mouth. "No sense asking me that now. But no, I'm fine." One eye opened to glare at the girl. "Just don't do it again."

She shrugged. "If I have to…" She looked at him pointedly, "but it's partially your fault too."

Both eyes opened in surprise. "M-my fault? How was it my fault? I was the one who nearly had his back broken in!"

"You're the one who told me about people in this time training their dogs to fetch, heel and," her eyes twinkled mischievously, "sit."

On that single, word, Inuyasha flinched but nothing happened. Kagome was sent into another transport of giggles. The hanyou sighed. "Yeah, yeah." But then the full meaning of her words sank in. "I am not your pet!" His glare regained its heat.

Kagome pointed at the furry appendages on top of Inuyasha's head as they twitched in the soft wind. "So? Those adorable ears are enough for me." Catching what she had said, the miko's face turned just the slightest colour of pink but she didn't retract what she said.

He grumbled, "They're not 'adorable', they're…" Frowning, the hanyou tried to think of a word. The ears twitched "They're… useful." He raised his chin. "I can hear things that your pitiful human ears can't."

Interested, the miko leaned forward a little. "Like what?"

"Like the squirrels just in that tree over there," he jabbed his thumb in the direction of a rather small oak, "and the stream trickling outside."

The girl frowned. "I don't remember there being a stream here. There was one close to the village, but not here."

"There are man-made streams now. The one out there runs around the house and I think my mom's family had it dug out." He shrugged. "It doesn't matter, anyway."

However, Kagome didn't seem to think this was as light a matter as he did. Her expression remained dark. "There are methods to control how nature runs? What next- guided winds?"

Inuyasha shrugged again. "I don't think they're going to go that far…" He continued describing the extent of his hearing, looking to distract her from the topic. "I can hear the birds in the forest back there, deeper in. I can also hear our-" he suddenly cut himself off.

She blinked at him. "Hear what?"

The hanyou shot her a strange look she'd never seen before on his face. It was almost guilty, but not quite. He hastily responded, "I can hear a lot of things."

Kagome shrugged and leaned back to look into the sky. "It must be interesting to have such heightened sounds…"

Inuyasha only half listened to her as he quickly looked away. He had been about to say that he heard their heartbeats, but that wasn't right. Just before completing the sentence, his ears had caught on to the fact that there was just one beating heart there, and it was obvious to whom it belonged.

He took a quick glimpse of the miko. She was lying back, almost touching the grass but not quite. The sunlight shined through her body and hit the grass only slightly darker, almost as if passing through translucent curtains. No matter how had he tried, Inuyasha couldn't detect any semblance of sound from the girl.

She was dead, wasn't she…

And yet somehow, in their conversations, he had forgotten that fact. Kagome acted so… normally that it only seemed natural that she was real and alive, in flesh.

'But she's not.'

And for one reason or another, this sudden understanding caused a sudden heaviness on his soul. What it was, though and why he felt that way was foreign to him. Throwing his thoughts out of the proverbial window, the half-demon rolled his shoulders and sat up straight. He didn't need to think of such things right now.

Hell, he didn't want to think.

"…right, Inuyasha?"

What was that? Had she just asked him a question? "What was she talking about?" The half-demon shot a wide-eyed and innocent look at the girl. "…what?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "You weren't listening."

"Of course I was…"

"Then what did I say?"

"…"

Azure eyes rolled. "I thought so."

Inuyasha 'keh-ed' "I was thinking-"

"I hope it didn't hurt."

He glared at her. "Well, I heard what you said, I just didn't listen."

She returned the scowl. "Big difference."

"So, what were you saying?"

Kagome opened mouth to answer- before closing it with a frown. "I don't remember."

The half-demon snorted in amusement.

"Oh shut it. It's your fault."

"Everything's my fault."

The spirit turned and grinned widely at him. "Sure it is! From the Shikon no Tama being created to a worm being cut in half, everything's your fault," she stated happily.

Inuyasha gave her a dry look and shook his head disparagingly. "That's it. You've snapped. Gone crazy."

"And that's your fault too."

He shook his head. "Right…" But then, doggy ears twitched and swivelled to train onto a sound that was coming from outside of the garden. "What?"

Kagome looked at him curiously, reaching easily for her bow. "What is it? Danger?"

The hanyou frowned. "No… it sounds like… my doorbell…"

"Doorbell?" she was distinctly puzzled.

"Something somebody rings that makes a sound and tells the- never mind. I'll tell you some other time." The answer was absent and Inuyasha stood up. The sharp blades of grass tickled his bare feet. "It just means that somebody's waiting for me to open the front door, and I'm not there."

"So go answer." She shooed him off.

He sighed. "It's probably some annoying salesman wanting to get some money offa me." He began striding towards the entrance and could sense Kagome following him. "I guess I'll see ya later."

She cocked her head to the side. "I'm ecstatic."

Inuyasha shot her a dry glance. "Right. Please, restrain your ecstasy." He stepped out of the doorways and looked back. The miko stood there like somebody sending off a visitor from their home, which, as he reminded himself, wasn't far from the truth. "Then again, it could be that Hono guy again."

Shaking his head in exasperation, the hanyou walked off towards the entrance of his estate, completely missing the confused expression on Kagome's face. In a voice even he could not hear, the miko whispered to herself, "Did he just say Hono?" She shrugged it off and waved a last time to the half-demon before retreating into her haven, carefully shutting the doors behind her.

In the meantime, Inuyasha was tromping his way on the grass towards the main entrance, debating on whether to answer from within or to surprise the caller from behind. Passing the side entrance, the hanyou shrugged indifferently. "Surprise it is."

As he quickly approached the front, another resounding ring rang through the house. He frowned and mused to himself, "I've got to tone that thing down sometime…"

Soon, it became apparent that the visitor was becoming increasingly impatient as Inuyasha took his sweet time answering them. The rings became more and more closely grouped together. Scowling, the half-demon jogged the rest of the way- three-quarters of the mansion's length to come out at the face of it. There, standing just outside of the main entrance was a man who was certainly growing frustrated.

The hanyou crept up behind him. Though the caller was downwind, he had an inkling of who it was if that dragon's tail and golden staff was anything to judge by.

Standing a few feet behind the human, Inuyasha crossed his arms and awaited his friend to notice him. Suddenly, the man's usually long patience gave out and he banged on the door with the metal-made staff he carried. "Damn it, Inuyasha, answer the freaking door!"

"You know, if you break that, you're going to have to pay for it."

Starting badly, Miroku whipped around, violet eyes almost comically wide. "Shit, Yash! Don't scare me like that! I'm only human, you know!"

The half-demon raised an eyebrow. "Payback for all those years I had to room with you."

Regaining his composure, Miroku sighed and shook his head. "It wasn't an easy job living with you either."

"I'm sure."

The monk quirked an eyebrow. "What have you been doing? It looks like you've been rolling around in the mud…"

Inuyasha twitched. "I'll tell you later." Hopefully, he'd forget before then. He pointed a clawed finger at the small sports bag his friend had dropped onto the ground and his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What's up with that?"

The human suddenly threw the hanyou an unexpectedly nasty glare and unzipped the backpack he wore. 'Thanks to you, man, I got thrown out." Reaching a hand into it, he drew out a familiar manila folder. "'Maybe you guys can look at it together', you said." Miroku scowled. "Great advice."

Staring at it, slightly bewildered, Inuyasha looked at him questioningly. Then, the light clicked on and the gaze turned amused. "You actually showed it to her?" He snorted. "I thought you would've been smarter than that."

The monk-in-training thrust the package into Inuyasha's arms. "Yeah, only why would I suspect that my best-friend would have given me a dirty magazine?"

The half-demon was literally shaking with amusement. "And so you called her over and opened it together?"

"Shut up." Miroku was in an uncommonly bad mood. "When Sango saw what it was, she… ah… threw me out."

Inuyasha stood up straight and looked at his friend disbelievingly. "Don't you mean, she beat you up, then threw you out?"

The man sighed. "And she didn't even let me explain…" His countenance became slightly confused. "She's been acting really strange lately…"

"I don't blame her."

"Oh shut up," he repeated. "It's your fault anyway."

The hanyou threw crossed his arms. "Everything's my fault," he grumbled. But then he waved the envelop-covered magazine. "But if you hadn't had some sort of perverse fixation with American smut, you wouldn't be here… speaking of which, what are you doing at my house?"

The glare intensified. "Well, since I don't have any place to go, I remembered what a generous person my friend is and his many roomed house." The staff jingled as Miroku pointed its tip at the hanyou. "I'm staying here."

The alarm bells began ringing in Inuyasha's head. "Oh no… No. No. No." He pointed down the road. "You are not staying here. I am not putting up with your weird habits again."

"Yash…"

"No. Go stay with Munshin or somebody. Anywhere but here. I don't care if you have to beg on your knees for her to take you back."

The human mirrored his crossed-armed stance, pushing the base of the staff into the grass covered ground. "I'm not going anywhere until I drop off my stuff, Yash. It's your fault I got kicked out. I'm not staying with Munshin. He's cared for me all those years since my father died, and I'm not troubling him again." Miroku's expression was dead serious.

"Plus the fact that you hate his drinking habit."

"That too."

"Go to a hotel."

"I'm not wasting that money." The human scowled at him. "Face it, Inuyasha. I'm here to stay until Sango calms down. Right now, she'd slaughter me if I got within a half-mile radius. And you know she can do it too, what with all that exterminating training and that boomerang of hers."

Inuyasha frowned. "But she didn't act that way when she found that entire stack of… manga under your bed during university…"

"I know," Miroku sighed, looking a little lost, "I said she's been acting weird."

Cracking his knuckles, a sure sign of annoyance, the half-demon tapped a foot impatiently. "Well, how long is it going to take?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Last time she got this angry, it took about two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" The hanyou gaped at him. "What did you do?"

"Well, we were at this fancy restaurant and this really cute waitress dropped her wash cloth near my seat… she bent down to pick up, and, well… what can I say? My hands have minds of their own."

Inuyasha sighed. "Old habits die hard?"

"Mm."

"But it couldn't have just been that… It takes more to get Sango really angry."

The human had the decency to look sheepish. "It… ah… may have been our- anniversary."

"Smooth."

"Thanks." Miroku clapped his hands together. "So, shall we go in now?"

The glower returned. "I'll give you one week and no more, monk." A clawed hand reached for the door and slid it open. "When your time's up, I don't care if Sango's going to castrate you, you're out." He walked in.

His friend flinched. "Now that wouldn't be nice." Miroku picked up his staff and bag and followed the half-demon through the main entrance, through the eastern door. "So, where's my room going to be?"

Inuyasha turned around, flicking on the low lights. "You can pick any one of them, as long as you stay on this side of the house."

"Why?"

"Because I'm on the other side, and I don't want you closer than absolutely necessary."

"Right… As the kids say, Eenie, meenie, minie, moo." the human glanced into the room that was closest to them and threw his bag and backpack in. "Now that's done with."

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. "It's 'moe', not 'moo'."

"So?"

"Nevermind." He pointed to a door across the hall from the rooms. "That's a kitchen, but I don't think there's anything in it. I've shown you the western side and everything's basically symmetrical-"

"Hey- you used a big word!" Miroku gave mock applause. "Good job!"

Inuyasha sighed. "-and you should be able to find your way around."

"That's fine. Hey, thanks Yash."

"Whatever."

The monk grinned and stretched, the rings on the staff jingling. "So, about this spirit girl… how far have you two gotten?" He was answered by a glare. Miroku waved his hands in a placating manner. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant, have you been getting to know each other?" He sighed when that didn't sound as innocent as he'd intended it. "How about you forget my past habits and just answer the question?"

"We were attacked."

That certainly caught his attention. "What? When? By whom?"

"Two days ago, by some wind demon named Kagura."

He frowned thoughtfully. "Kagura, eh? That name sounds a little familiar. I don't know why though…" he shrugged as an unconscious gesture. "So, what did she want?"

"A jewel called the-" Inuyasha paused.

"Called the…?"

The hanyou fixed his friend with a steady stare. "You have to promise to keep this secret. If you spill, Sango won't be the only one after your head."

"I promise by my right as a servant of Buddha." Miroku bowed.

"Fine. It's called the Shikon no Tama."

"You're kidding."

He raised an eyebrow. "You know about it?'

"I've heard about it. It's supposed to be really powerful." The monk was serious now. "It's coveted by demons and evil-hearted humans and had to be protected by a miko… I heard it disappeared a few centuries ago, but-" realisation dawned. "You mean, this miko of yours knows where the jewel is?"

That… was a good point. Inuyasha hadn't thought to ask whether it still existed or if she knew where it was hidden… "I'm not… sure," the hanyou's frown deepened. "You know what? How about we go right now?"

"Now? Into that garden of yours?" This was unexpected.

"Yes, now. There's nothing else you have to do…"

"Well, no. What if she's busy?"

The hanyou thought about it and shook his head. "Nah. Let's go."

"Alright… Just let me bring some ofuda spells with me." He caught Inuyasha's strange stare. "Just in case something happens. You never know."

The hanyou rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Even if something does come, I can take care of it with Tetsusaiga."

"Oh? Did you talk to Sesshoumaru about your sword?" Miroku emerged from his new room.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Keh. I figured out how to use it on my own. I don't need that bastard's help."

"Really? I must say, Inuyasha, I'm impressed." The pair made its way towards the eastern entrance. "I just hope you realise that your katana has more than one special attack… and if you only found one, it'd still be best to talk to your brother about it."

"Just shut up."

"Right." They began walking towards the back of the yard. "Nice design of the place."

"I guess."

Miroku sighed. "Really, Yash. This place is wasted on you."

The hanyou spun around. "What the hell d'ya mean by that?"

"Well, for the duration of your stay, where have you explored? And I mean, actually walked around and looked at things."

"Library, that training room, my room and… I guess part of the garden."

"My point is made."

"Whatever." They crossed the bridge at the back of the house, reaching the great wooden doors. "Listen up, monk, I don't want you doing anything that you would normally do. Understand?"

Miroku managed a wounded look. "You don't trust me?"

He earned a glare. "No."

The human deflated. "Fine. I won't touch your girl."

Inuyasha burned red. "She's not my girl!"

"Sure, sure." Miroku waved it off. "Let's go in now, shall we?"

The hanyou shot him a suspicious look before pushing gently on the doors. As they began to walk through and into the garden, Inuyasha gave Miroku another withering scowl and allowed him to walk ahead.

'Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?'

Review Responses:

-- sapphire pink
Well, younger children generally have purer souls (so they say) than the older ones and Kaede would be a little too young, yes? Kikyou's killed all sorts of things (if she's been defending the village) and well, the story just wouldn't run as well if Kikyou were the protector of the Shikon no Tama… ; ) And, oh no. Kikyou didn't love. At least, that's what her journal says.

-- Izayoi
Fantasy is good, no? You were confused? I would have been too, I suppose. Now, can't you just guess what relation Sango is to Kanshou now? XD

-- hanyou-elf
It could definitely happen… ahh- =D I'm glad you can't wait to read more...

-- Katami
Is that new? Of course, there are those completely modern-day fics where Kikyou and Kagome and Inuyasha exist in the same time, but this concept is a little new, no? Unexpected twist? I suppose. XD

-- AngelMiko289
Naraku? It might have been. I hope to fully release that information soon… preferably the next chapter, but if not… any other guesses?

-- November Dusk
Ah, Shippou. I'm debating it, but I really can't see how I can bring in the little runt. -.-;; His character right now, would be a little redundant, although he might make a brief appearance… And, bringing Kikyou back might stretch the story on a little, no? I doubt she wants to come back, but it's up to speculation…

-- lady lilacks

Flirting? Well, that certainly is an interesting way to describe it, but I suppose it's true, no? -.-;; The shoes have been destroyed… how sad… Oh! Puss-in-boots eyes… heh. I can still see that… since watching the movie how-long-ago…

.

Many thanks to:

AnimeAngelz

WhiteDloud

Mental Monkey

FieryDemonFox

Poison Death Tree (Almighty? O.o)

darkscorpio28

Ryngrl5

Translations:

Oi - Hey

[I could resist bringing in the 'sit'. XD. Oh, oh! Miroku's back! Yay…! A little more mystery is introduced… just who is Kouga?

…

This chapter was finished after reading some Cooper (The Dark is Rising), but her influence isn't apparent. For some reason, I felt like writing this chapter in Inuyasha's point of view. In fact, I got down the first few paragraphs, before realising it was in first person perspective...

Oh well.

Till next time…

Ja!]