Chapter 5:

The Truth about Ashi

After a few moments, he pulled back and looked at her. Her eyes were still shut tightly. "Kagome?" He asked as he touched her cheek. It was ice cold. He was too late; she was gone. She was dead. He could hear Kaede's lecture in his head. "Ye were too late, Inuyasha. Another woman lost at ye hand. How will ye explain it to Kagome's family?" He could no longer hold in the tears. He felt them rush down his face. "No, Kagome!" He closed his eyes tightly because he couldn't look at Kagome anymore.

From over his shoulder her heard a sweet voice. "Try again, Cousin." She said. He spun around and saw the girl in the green and red kimono.

"Ashi?" He asked. "Is tonight your time of the month, too?"

"Yes, Puppy. We were born to the same cursed night." She said.

"What do you mean, 'try again?'" He said.

"Well, Puppy, you felt the shock, didn't you? That was the life energy. If you kiss her again, the poison will be destroyed. Try again, trust me."

"Why should I trust you? You've lied to me too many times in my life."

"Have you got a choice? If you don't comply, she'll die, and I'll feel so bad." She smiled.

"Whatever."

Ashinito and Inuyasha both heard more footsteps. "Miroku, Sango, and Shippou are here." He said. Then he muttered under his breath, "Finally."

"I'll go greet them." She said. "I'll leave you two alone." With that said, Ashinito exited the room and approached the group that entered the room. "Welcome to my home."

"What a beauty!" Miroku said, excitedly. He approached the strange girl and held her hands. "Will you bear me a child?"

"And you are?" Ashinito said. Obviously he doesn't recognize me as the half-breed Ashinito. She thought.

"I am Miroku. I am a simple Buddhist monk who is looking for true love." He said, looking lovingly at Ashinito.

"And you see true love in me?"

"I can see lots of things in you."

"..." She was speechless. "Um, you don't even know me. How can you love me? In fact," she pulled one of her hands out of Miroku's grip and touched his ponytail. "You've seen me before." She pulled her other hand out of his grip and stopped touching his hair. She, then, stepped away from him and scanned the group. Smiling, she continued. "Yes. I met you about a day ago. I'm Ashinito, Inuyasha's cousin."

"You are not!" Sango said. "Ashinito has golden hair, claws, and fangs. She's a youkai."

"Hanyou. Tonight also is my time of the month." She said.

"I knew you smelled familiar." Shippou said.

Myouga hopped to Kirara and jumped into her fur. "All hanyou have a time of the month. Some are moonrises, sunrises, or odd nights or days. The new moon triggers Inuyasha-sama's transformation and it seems Ashinito's as well."

"Inuyasha and the girl he called Kagome are through this curtain." She said as she led the group.

They walked in as Inuyasha was kissing Kagome for the second time and all struggled to either stop looking or laughing. Inuyasha pulled away and glared at the group. "Get the hell out of here!" He snarled.

"Inuyasha and Kagome sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, and then comes the baby in the baby carriage." Shippou sang.

"IT DIDN'T WORK, ASHI! YOU'RE DEAD!" Inuyasha snarled.

As he started to get up, Kagome eyes fluttered open and she smiled at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha?" She asked. Scanning the room, she called out the names of all her feudal friends. "Shippou. Sango. Miroku. Kirara. Myouga. You're all here."

"KAGOME!" Shippou cried as the little kitsune bounced to her. "You're okay!"

"Oh, Shippou!" Kagome said as she hugged him.

"Kagome." Inuyasha said. He knelt down beside Kagome. "We have to talk." Looking over his shoulder, he growled. "The rest of you can get the hell out of here!"

Miroku, Sango, Shippou, Kirara, Myouga, and Ashinito left the room with giggles coming out of their mouth.

"What do you want to talk about?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome...I, uh, was..." He stammered. He wanted to say it, but he couldn't. "Scared."

"What?"

"I thought you were gonna die. I was so scared." He said.

"You were scared for me?"

"I thought I was going to lose you. I hated the thought of it. Ashi stole your Slivers and almost killed you. Now that she knows my feelings for you, she'll keep attacking you."

"You're feelings? Inuyasha, are you saying that you love me?"

"Um, I, uh..." He was stammering again. "I mean, yes. Kagome, I do."

"I love you, too, Inuyasha."

"Aw! I knew my trap would get him to tell." Ashinito said, excitedly. She held the curtain open and watched. "I knew that if I told you, true love's kiss would erase the poisons, you'd believe me."

"WHAT?" Inuyasha said, anger rose in his voice. "YOU LIED TO ME AGAIN!"

"Actually, Puppy, the only cure for my poisons is my demonic powers. I used the last of them to cure her, and told you that love's true kiss would heal her." She paused. "I noticed how you were so willing to protect her, and I have no will to kill her, so I cured her and you can just owe me one." Ashinito explained.

"She called you Puppy. Aren't you gonna fight her?" Kagome asked.

"No." Inuyasha said.

"Why do you call him Puppy?" Kagome asked Ashinito. She started to sit up.

"Puppy was the nickname I gave him when we were younger. He called my Ashi, so I called him Puppy because he looked like one to me." Ashinito said as she smiled. Her smile didn't looked forced or even ugly; it was true; it was a truly happy, nice smile.

"Ashi, but why did you poison Kagome?" Inuyasha asked who moved to sit next to Kagome. Kagome, noticing Inuyasha looks, moved her feet and let him sit next to her on the blanket. She held his hand and scooted closer to him.

"Hold that thought." She said as she let the others in. "Come sit down. I need to explain it to all of you." She paused. "I heard about a month ago that Inuyasha was traveling with a reincarnated miko with the ability to see the jewel Slivers, a slayer, a lecher Buddhist monk, and a baby kitsune. When I heard about the reincarnated miko of Kikyo, who I knew that Inuyasha fell in love with, I knew I had to meet her and see if he had fallen in love with her.

"I collected the jewel Slivers in hope to meet up with Inuyasha and the miko. When I saw for myself how much he cared for Kagome, I knew that I could get anything I wanted. I also saw how she wanted to help Inuyasha so I knew she was the one." Ashinito finished. The whole group looked at her surprise. "I slaughtered that village in hope you'll find me. I decided to find you. All I had to do was smell for Inuyasha's scent, and I found you easily."

"That's totally barbaric!" Kagome said. "How could you slaughter something you are a part of?"

"Like Inuyasha and Myouga said, I didn't belong in any group. My own mother turned against me and left with another youkai named Mocha." She paused. "He taught me the poison tricks I know, but that was only when my mother was nearby. Other times he was horrible to me, just like all the other youkai I knew. He eventually took my mother away, and I was all alone. I hated her so I destroyed this house, slaughtered anyone who came near it. I gained a name as a human killer hanyou. " She said, as her voice filled with remorse.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha and then at Ashinito. She didn't know what to believe. Inuyasha even said she lied so many times in his life that he didn't believe her anymore.

"It's been a long night." Ashinito finally said. "I suggest that you all go to sleep and we can talk more in the morning. I'll go get more blankets and pillows." She stepped out of the room and was gone for several minutes.

No one spoke for a long time. Kagome finally broke the silence when she looked at Inuyasha. "Do you believe her, Inuyasha?"

"I don't really know what to believe anymore." He said.

Ashinito walked back in with a handful of pillows and blankets. She dropped them on the floor and smiled. "Puppy and Kagome can stay in here. The neko youkai and flea can stay in the living quarter, the slayer and monk may stay in my mother's former room, the baby kitsune can stay with the neko and flea. I'll sleep outside. Pleasant dreams." Said Ashinito as she, Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Myouga, and Shippou left Kagome and Inuyasha alone in the room.

"I'll keep watch." Inuyasha said as he got up and sat next to the door.

"Get back over here." Kagome said. "I want you to sleep right here next to me." She smiled.

"But what if-?" He started, but stopped quickly. He had a feeling that Ashinito wasn't going to attack them tonight. He walked back over to the bed and climbed under the blanket with Kagome. She fell asleep in his arms. That was the way he always wanted it.