Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha . . .

ROCK ON!!!

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Crap . . . crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!!!!

Junichiro saw the dark forest swirl in front his eyes, his head suddenly feeling light-headed. Crap . . .

Inuyasha stared hard at the young man beside him. He had turned several shades paler in a matter of seconds, his eyes that glowed golden in the dim moonlight growing as wide as saucers. Frowning, he noticed Junichiro's left ear twitching uncontrollably.

Hey . . . I do that too!

Watching the young man stumble, Kagome took a concerned step forward. "Junichiro? Are you alright?"

"Uh, fine fine . . ." he muttered, holding his head with a hand. "Tired, that's all."

"Go to sleep, kid," Inuyasha ordered, heading back to the tree.

The dark-haired man turned slowly to watch the hanyou's retreating back. "Huh?"

"You heard me," the dog demon grumbled, jumping up into the tree. "Go to sleep."

Staring wide-eyed at the now-still tree, Junichiro wobbled towards Kagome, his head spinning.

"C'mon," she coaxed, stretching out her arm, "You look exhausted."

"Uh, yeah . . ." Junichiro trailed off, following her back to the hut. Before they left the clearing he glanced back, his thoughts tangled.

He knows I'm a dog demon . . .

Why didn't he tell her?

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"What happened last night, Kagome?"

The young miko paused from her herb picking, sitting back on her legs. "Don't know. I woke up when I heard this really disturbing noise, and then I noticed Junichiro was missing. So when I went outside to investigate, I found Inuyasha and him talking by Goshinboku."

"Have any idea what they were talking about?" Sango inquired, hurling the Hiraikotsu at a nearby tree, neatly slicing it in half.

"No idea," the young woman shook her head. "They stopped talking when they saw me."

"Guy talk maybe?" the demon slayer suggested, springing into the air as she caught the large boomerang.

"Maybe," Kagome mumbled, wiping her brow. "Strangest thing though."

"What?" the older woman glanced at her friend.

"When I first saw them last night, I could've sworn those two were identical."

"Identical?"

Kagome picked up her bow and arrows, nodding her head. "Exactly the same; same bone structure, same hair length, even same eye color."

"But aren't Inuyasha's eyes gold?" Sango crouched low on the ground as she prepared to launch Hiraikotsu at another tree.

"Well, yeah," the young miko notched an arrow. "But Junichiro's eyes have that golden-glow to it."

"So, the look identical," Sango grunted, throwing the large weapon. "Any more clues on who he is?"

Letting an arrow fly to a nearby tree, the young woman whispered, "He's a dog demon."

"What?!" Sango gaped, nearly missing the boomerang that headed towards her. "How in the world do you know that?"

Kagome let another arrow fly, the small object whizzing through the air. "Dog ears."

"DOG EARS?!?!"

"Sssh!" Kagome hushed, glancing around. "I saw them on his head last night."

Sango stared at her for a moment. "Kagome, you were a little sleepy last night . . ."

"I know what I saw!" the young miko insisted. "Besides, remember that demonic aura I sensed from him yesterday?"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't tell him, but it was very similar to that of Inuyasha's."

Sango dropped her weapon, rubbing her temple. "Wait a minute. So you're telling me, that not only is Junichiro a inu-youkai hanyou, but is related to Inuyasha?"

Kagome shrugged. "It's possible."

"But as far as we know, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are the only two living inu-youkai left in existence!"

"Well . . ."

"What are you thinking?"

"Sesshoumaru--"

"Whoa!" the demon slayer's jaw dropped. "You're not suggesting that Junichiro might be an offspring of Sesshoumaru!"

"It's just a theory," Kagome mumbled, plopping back on the ground. "Unless Inuyasha's having children behind our back."

"Now that's just insane!"

"So then he must be connected to Sesshoumaru! There's just no other way to explain it-- his demonic aura, his eyes, his uncanny resemblance to Inuyasha-- he even has the same cool, aloof manner as him!"

"You're forgetting the dog ears," Sango reminded. "Sesshoumaru despises humans! Why would he mate with one and produce a hanyou when he clearly hates Inuyasha?"

"Then why does he keep Rin around?" Kagome countered. "For all we know, those two might--"

"Kagome, your mind's run away with you," Sango laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe you should bug Inuyasha into letting you go home."

The young miko frowned a moment, before sighing. "Maybe you're right . . ."

But why else would he look so much like Inuyasha?

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"So, Junichiro, who are your parents?"

The young man froze, his hand stopping midair as his hammer paused. "My . . . parents?"

Miroku looked up from the lumber he was holding together. "Yes, your parents."

Inuyasha and Shippou also stopped working, waiting to hear the dark-haired man's answer. The four were doing some volunteer work in the village, helping to rebuild some huts that had been destroyed in the latest demon attack.

Junichiro stared at the ground. "My . . . parents are dead. They died when I was two years old."

The monk, hanyou, and kitsune were taken back by his rather depressing answer. "Oh," Miroku nodded slowly, "I see."

Resuming his pounding on the lumber, Junichiro winced. What am I suppose to say? 'Well, my father's right over there hammering away with Shippou, and my mother's training with Sango' . . . keh!

"So who do you live with?" Shippou asked curiously, he himself an orphan.

"My mother's brother and his wife," Junichiro grunted, driving the last nail into the board. "My parents left me with them before they left."

Inuyasha frowned, glancing up at the young man. "So wait, they knew they were going to die?"

"Something like that," Junichiro said quietly, "they were on a . . . a type of mission, and they didn't know if they would return."

"Mission?" Miroku raised an eyebrow, "Were they type of missionaries?"

Junichiro grimaced at the hole he buried himself in. "More like . . . archeologists."

"Ark-ee-all-gists?" The monk tried to pronounce the word. "And that would be?"

The young man mentally slapped himself for telling them a word unknown to the time period he was in. "Um, they search for ancient, lost things."

The three nodded, finally understanding. Exhaling, Junichiro resumed his work. It's not like I'm lying . . . they were searching for the shards . . . which are ancient . . . and they were lost . . . sort of . . .

"Tell me, Junichiro," Inuyasha drawled, "Did your parents have any traces of demon in them? Or maybe one of your parents had miko abilities?"

Junichiro tensed at the question. Sighing in exhasperation, he stood tall and faced Inuyasha, his height nearly matching the hanyou's.

"If you must know," he growled, "my mother was a miko."

"And your father?" Inuyasha pressed, his eyes gleaming.

"You asshole," the younger hissed, "wher--"

"Junichiro! Inuyasha!"

The two turned around reluctantly as they saw Kagome and Sango walking towards them.

"What do you want, wench?" Inuyasha snarled, glaring at the approaching miko. "We're busy!"

Kagome sent the hanyou a simple glance before muttering, "Osuwari."

Junichiro watched in amusement as his future father ate a faceful of dirt while yelling all the curse words known to man, and then some.

"Anyways," Sango shook her head, "Kaede just told us there's been a shard sighting in a village a couple days' journey from here. Let's go check it out."

Nodding, Miroku and Shippou stood, wiping their brows and stepping over the frozen hanyou. Kagome stepped forward and kneeled by the hanyou.

"When will you learn," she grumbled, dusting off some dirt on his hair.

"Keh, stupid girl," came a muffled reply.

Sighing, she turned to Junichiro. "So . . . do you fight with a sword? A bow and arrow perhaps?"

The young man blinked at her. "Um . . . no?"

"Well, that's alright." Standing, she stretched out her hand. "We'll find something for you to do."

"Nani?"

Kagome gave him a warm smile. "You're coming with us, of course."

"I . . . I am?"

First I land myself back in time, nearly blow my cover, and nowI've joined the hunt for the shards . . .

Great . . . just great . . .

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AN: another chapter . . . I must say, there's a little tension going on between father and son, don't you think? hmmm, well, now that Junichiro's accompanying them to the village, what'll happen next?

thanks for all the reviews . . . you guys are great!A "Beneath the Tangles" update's coming soon . . .

stay tuned!