Disclaimer: I'll wish for it on my birthday, but right now… no.

"…" – speech

'…' – thoughts

--- - change in scenery or time

x-x

-- Previously, on The Sealed Garden:

{Inuyasha looked at her (Kagome) curiously and found an extreme dislike for the demon Naraku had become.

The spirit stepped back in shock. "K-kouga…"

'Kouga' grinned wolfishly. "Hey, babe."}

x-x

Chapter FIFTEEN:

Troubles Anew

x-x

The wolf demon spread his arms wide, gaze fixed intently on the faltering girl. "Come here, Kagome-chan." His grin widened. "I missed you."

Inuyasha could only watch as Kagome took a few hesitant steps towards this 'Kouga', looking half dazed and almost as though in a trance. His voice was stuck in his throat as step by step, she grew nearer to the spirit. In a last effort, he wrenched his voice free. The hanyou was about to tell her to stop when she shook her head wildly and froze at her own accord.

"No…" Kagome whispered before her voice grew in volume. "No." She retreated backwards. "No… You aren't him. I won't… I won't." The girl had backtracked to stand level with Inuyasha once more. "You won't trick me with that. Kouga-kun is dead."

Eyes narrowing, the grin slid off of Naraku's face, making Kouga's expression twist into a reflection of his own. "So, you don't think the silly wolf prince if alive?" The smirk returned, revealing sharp canines. "But don't you see, dear Kagome? He is alive."

The spirit scowled at him. "You lie."

"Do I?"

Inuyasha, however, had an inkling of what Naraku meant and a dread crept into his mind. In a voice that almost inaudible, he spoke to the incarnate of evil, "You absorbed him."

Naraku's gaze flickered to rest on the dog hanyou, a look of barely concealed surprise on his face. "You did your research, hafling. I shall have to ask you where you learnt it before I kill you. Can't have my secrets out for all to know, can I?" He turned back to Kaomge. "Your little halfling pet is right, miko. The wolf is inside me and I am the keeper of his soul."

Kagome shook her head in denial. "You can't. You're lying!"

"Kagome-sama…" She turned back to look at Miroku. "Kagome-sama, Inuyasha is right. Se-… We learned that Naraku does have the ability to absorb things, and it's likely that he's telling the truth."

"Ah, so you are another one who will have to die," said Naraku from within Kouga's body. "You look quite familiar, monk." He peered at him and narrowed his eyes. Realisation flashed. "Of course."

Using his stolen body, the demon stepped forwards, quickly approaching Miroku, who stepped in front to cover Sango. Inuyasha moved back to stand by his friend, as did Kagome, though she was more slow and hesitant in her steps.

Naraku chuckled evilly at the display. "Foolish, you know. I could kill you all in one shot- but no… not yet." Instead, he pointed at Miroku. "Show me your right hand, monk."

He frowned. "And why should I do that?"

With a sudden burst of speed that was an ability of Kouga, he shot forwards and grasped Miroku by the neck in one hand, forcing his hand forwards with the other.

"Miroku!" Sango moved forwards, but the miko sped in front of her, pushing with her powers against the girl. Trying to move forwards without success, Sango shook her head hard. "Miroku! Let him go, you bastard!"

Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga and charged at the demon, but Naraku lifted the struggling human off the ground, causing the human to claw at his bare arms, fighting for breath.

"One wrong move, hanyou, and he dies."

Inuyasha skidded to a stop and glaring hard at the demon, he heavily sheathed the katana.

Satisfied, Naraku returned to his business and drew the monk's right hand up to eye level with the human still in his hold. "Tell me, human, who were your forefathers?" He loosened his grip to allow him to speak.

Despite his precarious position, Miroku gritted his teeth and ground out, "I don't see what business of yours it is." He gasped in pain as the demon punched him in the stomach.

Naraku studied him shrewdly, the ends of his lips tilted downwards in a frown. "No matter. I know exactly who you are. Descendant of monks and a monk yourself. You are named after one of your ancestors, I believe. 'Miroku'." He narrowed his eyes. "I cursed your family line, but why you haven't been affected is beyond me."

"Let him go!" Sango screamed at Naraku, hands itching for her weapon.

Cold blue eyes glanced at her and a smirk made its way onto his face. "Perhaps it would be best if I simply killed you right here in front of your mate, hmm?" His grip tightened painfully.

Kirara growled and the flame flared around her feet. In a sudden burst of energy, she transformed into her larger form- a larger, far more powerful and dangerous feline. Her mew now a ferocious roar, the cat jumped at the demon, long fangs bared.

Not in the least bit startled, Naraku lessened his hold on the monk's neck for a fraction of an inch and dropped the human's hand. He raised it at the approaching Kirara and flung her to the side, into a tree. Deed done, Naraku returned his attention to the struggling man.

"Or would it be more satisfying to curse your family line again?"

"Naraku!" Kagome snapped her fingers and her bow materialised in her hand. Notching an arrow, she aimed its point for the midsection of Kouga's stolen body. "Let him go, or I'll shoot." Her hand shook but her face was grim.

The demon chuckled evilly. "You wouldn't dare. Remember, miko, if you kill me, you kill your wolf demon and the thousands of others in my body."

Kagome faltered slightly before the arrow point rose to rest on its mark. "Let. Him. Go." Her voice was low and her arms shook, but her hands were now steady.

"Do your worst."

Mouth in a line, the girl pulled the bowstring back further before truthfully letting the arrow fly. It sped towards the stolen body and became encased in a blue light. Inuyasha could feel the pure power emitted by the projectile and almost shivered at the thought of what would happen if it were to hit him.

Just as it was about to connect with Naraku, the demon threw Miroku into the air, pulling backwards. The arrow missed him by millimetres, though the purity about the projectile burned his flesh. Inuyasha leapt forwards and safely caught the human, setting on the ground where he was bombarded by Sango.

Looking above the heads of the panting Miroku who was brokenly assuring his girlfriend, Inuyasha made eye contact with Kagome. It was only for a few seconds, but he felt that he couldn't take seeing her eye to eye just yet. The hanyou broke the connection and turned to stare at the shape-shifter.

All amusement had long faded from the shape-shifter's face as he spat at the spirit, "So you would risk the lives of hundreds just to kill me?" His form twisted and moulded to reshape into Naraku's usual body. "Or perhaps it is because you yourself are dead and you wish for 'dear Kouga' to join you?" He stared at her steadily. "Sorry to burst your bubble, miko, but he doesn't remember you."

Kagome frowned in confusion. "What?"

Naraku waved his hand and disgustingly enough, a blob detached from his body and began to writhe. "See for yourself. The wolf prince has long forgotten you. You were nothing more than a bump in his long life- an object of play." The thing grew to assume a humanoid form. "Do you really think he loved you? Why would the prince of the wolves settle for a simple shrine maiden human when he had the choice of the most beautiful demons?"

The girl shook his head. "I don't…"

"It was the jewel he loved. It was the jewel he desired." The blob was now taking on Kouga's aspects. "Here he is, for the first time in five hundred years, free from me."

With that, the newly freed Kouga shook his head as though awakening from a deep sleep. Cerulean blue eyes opened and blinked to clear the fogginess that came from centuries of disuse. Clawed hands clenched and unclenched, cracking the stiff joints.

Inuyasha sniffed the air and while Naraku's stink made his lip curl in disgust, he could detect another scent. It was musty and undoubtedly masculine, carrying the musk of the ancient wolf packs. This, undoubtedly, was the real Kouga.

He glared at him, not liking him in the least and though he put it off to having been a part of Naraku, Inuyasha knew that it was beyond that.

Confused, the wolf-demon looked around at his surroundings and almost yelped as he found himself so close to Naraku. "You!" His voice was gruff and it took a while for his throat to clear. "You bastard! You kept me in your fucking body!" He shuddered with disgust and leapt backwards, achieving a sizeable distance with the single bound. He sniffed himself. "I smell like you!"

The shape-shifter looked at him lazily, holding out his palm. "Be more respectful in your speech, wolf." Something materialised in his hand, appearing to be a heart organ. "You haven't escaped just yet."

He squeezed on the organ and immediately, Kouga clutched at his chest, eyes widening in unbelievable pain. A choked gasp came from his throat as he doubled over.

"Kouga-kun!" Kagome started forwards, not willing to take Naraku's words to heart just yet. "Are you all right?"

As Naraku released his grip on Kouga's heart and it disappeared, the wolf demon looked over at the concerned girl, puzzlement in his eyes. "Who are you and why do you call me so familiarly?"

The miko stopped still and she shook her head. "No… Don't you… remember?"

The wolf-demon frowned and sniffed at the air, his confuse doubling. "You're not even alive! I've never seen you in my life! Why would I bother to meet a human like you?"

Defeated, Kagome felt a tugging in her chest even though she had no beating heart and she stumbled backwards, unable to stop. "No…" She closed her eyes and shook her head wildly. "You're lying!" The bow had disappeared again until it was called for, and her fists were clenched hard.

Sango looked at her friend with concern and pity, Miroku's head placed strategically on her lap. "Oh, Kagome-chan…"

Inuyasha's own hands were flexing rhythmically, the hanyou longing to take a big chunk out of the demon. His hatred for the wolf grew as it became evident that he had plainly used Kagome to try and get closer to the Shikon no Tama. He dismissed the fact that maybe, just maybe, the five hundred years in captivity had truly wiped Kagome from the wolf's mind.

Some people would call him jealous, even.

In fact, in his eyes, Kouga had become a rival ever since the hanyou learned of the connection between miko and demon.

Though he would never admit to it.

Kouga looked around again, catching sight of the glowering hanyou and the huddled humans. "Where the hell am I?"

Naraku, who had been keeping silent and inwardly gloating at the expression on Kagome's face, grinned lazily and snapped his fingers. "It doesn't matter because… back you go."

The wolf-demon was drawn irresistibly towards Naraku even as he put up a valiant effort. "Hey… Let go! Damn it!" Kouga slashed at the demon as soon as he was in range, but wherever his claws sliced through the flesh, it simply remoulded and healed itself. "I'm not going back!"

But it was too late as the group watched the horror of Naraku reabsorbing the struggling demon. Everybody was speechless and not even Kagome had the heart to call out again.

Inuyasha, snapping out of his disgust, quickly drew Tetsusaiga and charged the preoccupied demon. Naraku caught sight of the enraged hanyou long before he had come into range and raised his hand. While Inuyasha kept on running, katana poised for a powerful stroke, the shape-shifter sent a heavy blast of miasma from his palm.

"Foolish."

The half-demon barely had time to evade the poison and he jumped to the side. The miasma connected with a nearby tree and melted a hole clean through the trunk. Regrouping, he quickly resumed attempting to get closer to the demon and recalled the 'scar of the wind' technique.

Pausing, Inuyasha skidded to a stop and sniffed discreetly to find where the 'scar' was. Taking this opportunity, Naraku sent a large bullet of his signature poison towards the hanyou from the side. By the time Inuyasha had realised what had happened, it was too late to avoid the blow and he held up his arm in defence.

He waited for the venom to burn through his long-sleeved shirt and through his flesh, but nothing happened. There was the sound of something swishing through the air and a grunt from Naraku. Hesitant, Inuyasha lowered his arm and blinked as he found the translucent body of Kagome standing between him and the demon.

Her hand was drawn back from releasing the string of her bow. Her back was straight and her feet apart in a classic stance. Getting over the initial shock and relief, Inuyasha glanced past the miko and blinked at the sight of Naraku… with a large hole through his torso.

"Naraku!" Kagome called out, her hand already reaching for a second arrow. "You will not get out of this garden alive for as long as I am the guardian of the Shikon no Tama." Her voice was hard with authority and was devoid of emotion.

The demon narrowed his eyes. "We shall see about that. I hear that spirits do not last long when their bodies are completely destroyed." He raised his hand, calling up a large amount of miasma. "Let's see how long you do once this entire place is destroyed."

Inuyasha raised the transformed katana over his head and called for Kagome to step aside. Even if she was a spirit, he wasn't risking her to get caught in the blast that was sure to come.

"You bastard…" The hanyou laughed grimly. "You've underestimated me." Making certain of where the scar was, he brought down Tetsusaiga hard onto it. "You should have killed me while you had the chance!"

Immediately, huge blades of power headed directly for the shape-shifter, creating forceful winds alongside it. Inuyasha's hair blew back and he raised his arm to shield his face from oncoming foliage. Sneaking a glance at Kagome, he saw that not even her clothes were affected by the winds as she watched the assault proceed towards Naraku.

From this angle, Inuyasha could see that her face was unusually masked and her face held no emotion except for a deep dejection in her eyes. He bit back the emotion that was rising within and instead, focused on Naraku in the distance.

Sango squeezed her eyes shut and huddled over Miroku, who had long before recovered. The rings on his staff jingled as the wind moved them and the golden stick itself tilted backwards from its position in the ground. Kirara was safely hidden behind the pair and mewed softly.

The demon regarded the approaching attack with a cool calm. Just as the first most blade was about to strike, he held up a casual hand and quickly formed a barrier around himself. Although the attack hit and pushed hard against the shield, it was not match and the 'scar of the wind' was soon defeated.

Inuyasha raised his head, expecting to see nothing but a corpse in front of him but he was sorely disappointed. While there were now several new gouges in the garden floor, Naraku was all but unharmed as he dusted off his sleeve carelessly, ignoring the others for the moment.

Sensing the hanyou's gaze, he smirked and raised his palm again. "Underestimated you, did I?"

Another bolt of miasma was sent spiralling towards the hanyou.

Again, Kagome stepped in and this time, notched not one, but two arrows and carefully aimed them towards the demon. "Give it up, Naraku." She let fly the bow and the two arrows sped towards him. One cut through the miasma, purifying it immediately and then there was a clean path left for both arrows.

The shape-shifter seemed to be slightly startled at the sight of two streaks of pure spiritual power headed for his body. So fast were the projectiles that the evil incarnate barely had time to move before one successfully made its mark and hit him dead on.

"Yes." The spirit lowered her bow; a look of grim satisfaction etched on her face as a huge burst of light interrupted the dark of night.

Inuyasha looked at the point of explosion, but something told him that Naraku hadn't been done in just yet. Miroku had stood up and was retrieving his staff, his gaze weary and watching the lighted area. Sango had stayed back, Kirara in her grasp.

The light faded.

The dust cleared.

And what they saw both startled and disgusted them all.

It was a blob- fleshy and shapeless, with several appendages sticking out of it. There were insectoid legs and humanoid limbs. On top of it all, was the frowning head of Naraku. A black puddle of blood and miasma rested on the grass directly below along with several smaller portions of the blob. Slowly, the particles, as though attracted by the larger piece, flew towards it and they rejoined.

Inuyasha, seeing his opportunity, readied Tetsusaiga and quickly cut across the scar in the wind again, this time with a greater effort and accompanied with a grunt. The blades created flew directly towards the disabled demon and he could only watch and feel as the attack met him head on.

There was an inhuman screech that echoed off the stone walls, but when the dust fell to the ground, Naraku was still yet alive. Granted, he had been torn to pieces, but he was still alive and it appeared to be that he was still regrouping.

The greenish blue blobs on the ground pulsated and the all flew towards the central piece, massing and merging together.

"Damn… what does it take to kill this guy?" Inuyasha muttered to himself. "He just keeps on reforming."

However, Naraku did seem to be beaten for the day and he himself knew it. The demon glared at the group, sensing that he had underestimated them- as a group, at least. The monk and the exterminator hadn't been in the action, but nevertheless, leaving them out of his plans had been a large miscalculation.

He spat onto the ground.

"I will be back." A barrier formed around the pieces of the demon and he slowly rose from the ground. "The Shikon no Tama will be mine, and your soul, miko," he stared at Kagome, "your soul will be damned to suffer in the depths of hell forever."

"Come back here and fight, you bastard!" Inuyasha ran forwards, Tetsusaiga poised. "You running away?"

Naraku sneered at him. "Little halflings shouldn't meddle with things that are beyond them. What you desire is out of your grasp, hanyou." His eyes narrowed. "And if you would, it is a strategic retreat."

"It looks a lot like running away to me." Miroku strode forwards, the point of his staff directed at the demon. "Come back and face us." There were visible bruises on his neck and he clearly wanted compensation.

The demon paused and drifted a little lower. Naraku now wore an evil smile on his face, an idea already forming in his head. "Have you ever heard of the 'Kaazana'?"

The human paused, caution prompting him to step back.

"Ah, you're scared. That's the first wise thing I've seen out of you lot." An arm emerged from the black mess. "I killed your ancestor long ago, but clearly, he had a child I knew nothing about." The hand raised its palm, a black hole growing in its palm. "But now, I think it's time for your bloodline to re-acknowledge… the wind tunnel."

The black hole suddenly sprang from Naraku's hand and travelled as a sharp spiral, headed directly towards Miroku's own hand. It moved much too quickly for anybody to react and soon enough, the human gave a cry of pain, collapsing onto his knees.

Sango rushed forwards, but Miroku shook his head. "N-no! Don't get any closer!"

Shaking and sweating from the absolute pain, he slowly raised his right palm and discovered, with a jolt of horror, that the black hole had merged with his hand. It drew in soft winds, but the force of the winds were quickly gaining in power so that Miroku had to hold his hand away from his face to keep himself from being sucked in.

In doing that, the kaazana now had an open area and the winds rapidly increased in strength. Blades of grass were sucked through and with a morbid curiosity, the man shakingly directed his palm towards a young tree to see what would happen. The branches of the tree swayed and its truck creaked.

Kagome, the only one physically unaffected by the winds, watched as the roots strained to keep its grip on the ground, but the tree was clearly loosing the fight.

Soon, its roots could not stand the pressure of the winds and it was cleanly uprooted and flew for the monk. Miroku flinched and looked away, but couldn't withdraw his hand.

To his and his friends' surprise, there was no impact and instead, with a sickening 'shloop', the tree was swallowed by the wind tunnel.

Naraku laughed at the looks of shock on their faces. He threw a piece of cloth and some beads towards the monk. "These are the last of your ancestor. I would suggest you put it on if you don't want to be consumed by the Kazaana."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Why should he accept your help?"

"Anything that goes into the wind tunnel will never come out again." Naraku scoffed. "Now put on the glove before you destroy the entire garden."

Despite not wanting to accept anything from the demon who had imposed the curse, Miroku quickly put on the purple coloured cloth. He slid his third finger through a golden ring and fastened the beads around his hand and lower arm.

A perfect fit.

Sure enough, the rosary served to counter the darkness of the curse and contained it. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief.

However, before they could feel too relieved, Naraku chose to cast worry on their minds.

"I wouldn't pause just yet. The Kazaana may be tame right now, but it will get larger." He grinned maniacally. "And when it grows, the winds will grow and you, human, will be sucked into your own hand."

Miroku stared at his covered hand in shock.

"And that's not all." The demon was gloating. "When you die, the curse will be passed on to your offspring and them to their offspring." His red eyes fixed Sango with a malicious glance. His gaze strayed purposefully to her stomach and he grinned. "Your entire bloodline will forever be inflicted with the Kazaana."

Inuyasha, infuriated, leapt at Naraku with Tetsusaiga but the demon sped away in his barrier before the hanyou reached him.

His maniacal laughter echoed throughout the countryside even long after he was gone.

As soon as Naraku had gone, the atmosphere seemed to calm down. All rushed towards the kneeling Miroku, Sango reaching him first and taking his cursed hand. Kirara strayed around them, mewing in a concerned manner.

She felt the beads and gingerly pressed in the middle of the palm.

There was nothing there… it was like an indent in his palm.

Blinking back tears, she shook her head, almost not believing that something like this could have happened. She felt his arms stray around her form and the strain finally took its toll on Sango as she cried softly into his chest.

Sighing, Miroku stroked her hair. "Come on, Sango. It- it's not that bad…" He swallowed thickly, just barely managing his own emotions. He stared at his hand. "We'll just have to find a way to beat Naraku. I'm sure that… will take this curse away." The hand dropped to his side. "Besides, my ancestors were free for a while, weren't they?"

It did nothing to console his girl. After all, he didn't know… what she did.

Inuyasha looked at the pair consumed in their own sorrow and almost forgot his own. He slowly sheathed the Tetsusaiga, eye on his best friend and his girlfriend. In all the years that he'd known Miroku, the man had always been calm and reserved, taking things at face value.

But now, he was cursed.

He laughed dryly, without humour.

It looked like the monk really did have cursed hands.

The hanyou looked around the clearing. The grass was heavily scarred and in the place Naraku had been, there were large black marks on the dirt. But the garden had its own brand of magic and it was already re-growing to cover up the damage.

Inuyasha sighed heavily.

Then, herself drew his gaze away from the damage, to another person who was sitting, hunched up in the grass. Her head was bowed down and delicate hands were wrapped around her legs. Blue eyes stared without seeing.

He turned towards the humans and found that they had stood up.

Grim and depressed, Sango took a stumbling step forward and nodded her head towards the house. "We-…we'll be going in. Coming?"

The half-demon shook his head.

The woman nodded in understanding. She'd seen how he'd looked at Kagome, and even if he didn't realise it himself, it was pretty obvious…

Miroku placed an arm around her shoulder and supporting each other, the two headed slowly towards the exit, trailed by a slightly limping fire cat.

Soon, Inuyasha was left alone with the spirit, though she didn't seem to notice it. Slowly, hesitantly, he headed towards her small form. A sudden realisation hit him that out of all his friends, he himself had been the one least affected by Naraku's revelation.

His fist clenched.

He'd pay that bastard back.

But for now, there was a different problem sitting in front of him.

The half-demon slowly sat onto the grass next to the brooding miko and she finally seemed to snap out of her daze. Lifting her head, Kagome looked at him before lowering her eyes again.

"I guess I should have told you about Kouga, huh?" her voice was flat.

At the mere mention of the wolf demon's name, Inuyasha felt his temper (and jealousy, if he'd known it) spark but his tone was surprisingly neutral.

Flat, even.

"It would have been nice."

Kagome lapsed into silence once more, lost in thought.

She wasn't so much sad, as she was utterly confused.

For one, she had expected that knowing that Kouga probably had been playing her, would leave her an emotional wreck. She had expected for herself to be in tears by now. After all, not only had she been betrayed in a way, she had also been just a 'bump' in Kouga's life.

Suprisingly enough, all Kagome felt was a deep sort of acceptance and some degree of sadness- though not as heavy as she would have expected.

Was she angry with Kouga?

The answer to that, of course, was resounding yes.

Of course she was mad. Who wouldn't be?

But the thing that made Kagome so pure hearted was that she never held a grudge against anyone. She was always looking for ways to help others and she always got over setbacks. That was what had set her apart from Kikyou, and that was why she had been granted the Shikon no Tama.

She sighed.

That was only one thing.

Another was the fact that the pain in her heart wasn't as painful as she'd imagined either.

It was almost as if… she'd had always known that Kouga hadn't been serious.

But she didn't understand that either. If she hadn't really loved him, then why wasn't her heart empty? There was somebody in there and it was like she had fallen in love with somebody… but she didn't know who and how it was that he had crept into her heart without her knowing.

She mentally shook her head.

She couldn't love anybody.

Not that she wouldn't, or didn't want to…

She couldn't.

Period.

Not now, not ever.

As long as she was the protector of the Shikon no Tama, her life was bound to it and having romantic connections wasn't only almost impossible, it was dangerous as well.

After all, look at where the last relationship had gotten her.

Kagome stared morosely out and up into the sky, catching the waning moon. In a few days, it would be the new moon.

She sighed, capturing the half-demon's attention.

"What's up?"

The girl glanced at him from the corner of her eye, feeling strangely at peace despite what had happened. "Nothing much."

"I see…" Inuyasha fought to keep himself from demanding just what kind of a relationship there'd been before her and the wolf.

After all, it wasn't like he cared.

Of course not.

His interests in the miko were strictly professional…

And as in 'professional', he meant…

…

He didn't know what he meant.

Kagome turned her full attention to the hanyou and she found herself staring at him for a lot longer than necessary. The light of the moon was little, but it shone off of his silver hair, illuminating it and making him look almost otherworldly. Shining golden-amber eyes seemed to glow and his face was set in its ever scowling expression.

She felt herself drifting closer, but at the same time, was so caught up in his image that she barely noticed herself moving. It was only when her hand had moved on the grass that she looked down.

She stared at her hand and felt a sudden plummeting in her heart. An almost unbelievable pain struck her chest and for the first time in, literally, centuries, Kagome felt supernatural tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

'Oh… oh gods."

Her hand… it had slid right through his.

'Oh gods, I'm… I'm…'

She found that she longed to feel his rough skin on hers, but of course, she couldn't because…

'I'm… d-dead…'

For the first time since she had died, Kagome truly understood that she was really… truly… dead. She couldn't touch Inuyasha and she couldn't touch anything here because she was…

'I'm… dead…'

But, getting past the initial shock, she realised that that wasn't the only thing that caused the pain in her heart and another jolt of shock spread through her soul.

'And…'

Slowly, the girl withdrew her shaking hand, watching as it slid right out of his.

'And I'm…'

She edged back, gaze still on his hand. She watched it with a bemused expression, almost as if she didn't know what was going on herself.

'I'm falling in love…'

Slowly, she began to stand up.

'I'm falling love with… Inuyasha…'

How could she have let that happen? How could she have let her defences down despite what had happened in the past? Inwardly, the spirit barked out a short, humorless laugh.

'How… how ironic.'

Kagome stood up abruptly and turned around, wanting to run away from it all.

Inuyasha followed suit and called after her. He had watched out of the corner of his eye as she had edged closer. He hadn't said anything and strangely almost wanted her to be closer. He'd watched her eyes glanced down and seen as something akin to panic entered her eyes.

Panic and distress.

Then she'd backed away and stood up.

"Wait up!" He jumped to land in front of the startled spirit. "What's wrong with you?"

Kagome shook her head and tried to walk past him and into the dark forest.

Inuyasha reached out, intending to grasp her arm, but of course, his hand only sailed through hers. There was a moment of surprise as he recalled that she was dead- he'd forgotten, before he recovered. "What's up?"

The contact, or more accurately, lack of contact, seemed to cause the girl even more distress as she closed her eyes and backed away, beginning to fade away as only spirits can.

"Hey- wait!" the hanyou made another grab, this time as unsuccessful as the last. "Don't leave!"

But it was too late.

Kagome had left and he was alone in the garden.

He cursed.

Something was up with that woman, and he'd find out what.

Eventually.

Review Responses:

-- ChAnDrA16
Well, 'ease' would be 'comfortable'. 'Less' would be 'Without' and '-ly' makes it a pronoun, so 'easelessly' would mean, 'without comfort'. -.-;; Shifted the positions? How so? Do you mean Naraku's transformations?

-- humble bumble
Eww, indeed. Oh, but Kouga's not dead. He's just in Naraku… which really isn't any better than death… 'Do you have the willpower to kill me, considering who rests inside of me..." Kouga's in Naraku and if Kagome kills Naraku, she kills Kouga. Atitoki? Who's that? How did Kagome know Houjo? Will be explained later.
Ah. And your long awaited fluff will not be here… just yet.

-- ever free
Yes. Something did happen. Actually… a lot of things. How is Inuyasha going to fall in love with a ghost? Isn't he already? Well, I've heard of people who fall in love with non-existent people so falling in love with a ghost really isn't that far fetched…

-- Kibo
I've only read two of the 'Dark is Rising' series. I own 'The Dark is Rising' and I borrowed 'Greenwitch' from the library… I can't seem to find the other ones… but I imagine they're good. I has proper grammar and speeling? (Had to do that…=)) And the typos do get annoying since I find them in the posted version (on ) when I read through it, but I'm too lazy to go to the saved copy to correct it… -.-;;

-- SkyWolf
What say you to the complexity now?

-- Mental Monkey
Oh… Kouga's not dead… not exactly… Sango is pregnant, but what is she going to do now? And… um… yeah. Kouga's not dead, but well… …
You'll see.

-- White Dloud
Oh, but I did make Kagome like Kouga enough to kiss him… but recent developments make that sort of null and void, no? Was this complicated enough? Ahh… Sub-plots… And don't worry… I'll know what to write next- as long as I read my own story once in a while.

x-x

Many Thanks To:

hanyou-elf (bring her back… only if she wants to come back…)

LadyAkina

Samieko (how indeed…)

remix-69er

snowecat

bubbles =)

sapphire pink (…)

Sarcasm Girl8

Poison Death Tree

Kag of the Sengoku Forest

Fiery Demon Fox

lady lilacks

ebony

4kagome

[Alas, drama comes before fluff and trust me… there's going to some more of it… XD

Me bought Ranma1/2 book. My go buy another Ranma1/2 book after me post this.

Me have new mouse! =)

Till next time…

Ja!]