Mizu: We're back!

Yume: Kings Island?

Mizu: Tomb Raider. Food Fight?

Yume: Little bit of salad

Mizu: I win!! Tomb Raider holds you upside down.

Yume: Shut up.

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

-Scene Change-

/POV Change/

Inuyasha halted in the middle of a clearing, where the group was talking about recent events.

"I wonder what made her do that..." Sarah wondered.

"I have no idea," Rachelle looked to Miroku who was standing next to her. "I'm just glad this can't have happened before. A lot of bastards would be dead in our time..." Rachelle zoned out, staring at her wings. "Hey, I just noticed my wings have a light blue lining!"

"I want my Cassy!" Sarah whined.

"Hiya Inu!" Rachelle said cheerily. Inuyasha nodded in greeting. "Po po Inu! He wants his girlfriend!" Rachelle grinned. Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow at her, as Rachelle exclaimed, "You love Kagome!"

The scene that followed was an angel youkai being chased by an inu hanyou.

"I do not!" Inuyasha insisted.

"Give up that clay ----- and stick with Kagome!"

"Why you-Come back here, you coward!" Inuyasha leaped onto Rachelle, sending both tumbling to the ground. Rachelle squeaked as Inuyasha plopped on top of her. Inuyasha grinned triumphantly.

"Get offa me...fatso!" Rachelle managed out. Inuyasha mock growled at her as he stood. "I'm broken!" Rachelle moaned.

"I AM NOT FAT!" Inuyasha yelled at her. "Okay then, you're heavy!" Rachelle countered.

"Ah, you're soaked! You got me wet!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Then don't try to hump me!"

" I WASN'T!! WHY ARE YOU WET?!!?"

"I WENT SWIMMING WITH EVERYONE ELSE, YOU MORON!!!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he remembered, hearing it from Cassy. "If I'm so heavy, how much do you weigh?"

"I'm not telling." Rachelle said stubbornly.

"Hah! So you are heavier than me!!"

"No, How much do you weigh?"

"Umm....I don't know..."

"Oh yeah, no scales. I weigh like, 120 pounds. I think."

"Rachelle's a skinny, sexy beast!!!" Sarah joked.

So continued with the usual ramblings.

-With Kouga and Cassy-

Her tears had slowed after a time and Kouga rocked her gently in his arms. "Shhhh....it'll be okay....you'll be fine..." he murmured, trying to comfort the grief-stricken girl.

"No it won't! I know I talk tough, and have gotten in my share of fights, but KILLING someone?! Back home, that's a HUGE crime! I don't even know what the hell happened. I know I have a short temper, but geez, that's a bit much, even for me. Oh my God, what have I done?" Cassy cried as she held onto Kouga for dear life.

"I think when you realized your life, and the one's you held dear where in danger, you're instincts kicked in and you couldn't hold them back. It's not you're fault." Kouga reasoned.

"I don't care how it happened. This just proves that I'm a horrible person. I don't deserve to have friends, I don't deserve to be here, enjoying this world, and I definitely don't deserve to have met you!" Cassy said miserably.

"No!" Kouga's voice came out harsh. "Look at me!" Cassy looked up, startled, with eyes wide and bright with tears. Kouga's voice softened, and his face grew gentle, caring. "This proves that your a very sensitive person that cares for people. You should have friends, should enjoy life. And, I'm not sure if I deserve you, but, I love you." Kouga said the last part softly, staring into her deep brown eyes. Cassy's eyes widened, her face mere inches from Kouga's. Her captured her lips in a gentle kiss, dipping into her mouth, savoring the taste of his love. Their tongues met in a timeless dance, this time, her exploring his mouth, instead of simply tasting. As he ended the kiss, he felt Cassy smile against his lips.

"I love you." he repeated, grinning giddily. He loved saying those words to her, yet was afraid of rejection. He was stunned by the simple silence. "Is there somebody else, back in your home?"

Cassy shook her head, "No, it's just that, there's this mix of emotions, swirling around inside of me. I just don't know what to feel...but I have a vague notion of what it is..." she gazed back into Kouga's sky blue eyes, searching for a clue as to where she stood now.

Kouga grinned, glad to know he was her one and only. "I could wait for you forever." Cassy, hearing this, muttered, "It won't take me that long!"

Kouga laughed, gathered her up in his arms, and went off to find camp. As he ran, he decided that she had had enough of an ordeal for one day, and veered off course to one of his favorite places.

Cassy looked up, questioning. "I'm gonna ditch the others with you, and we're going for some R and R." he explained. Cassy thought a moment, then nodded. "Alright, it might be...fun..." a hint of her usual cheerfulnees creeping back into her voice. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gently reminded him,"I can walk, Kouga."

"I know, I just like to hold you."

Cassy shrugged and settled into his arms more comfortably. "What should we tell the others? Shouldn't we tell them we're leaving?" Kouga looked down at her,"Why, they can't do anything about it." he paused, a mischevious glint coming into his eyes, "I'm...kidnapping you."

Cassy grinned, and put on an expression of mock horror. "oh no, whatever shall I do? If only a hero would come along and rescue me." she laughed.

"What, can't the hero kidnap the girl?" Kouga asked innocently. She just rolled her eyes, she was feeling better already.

-With the Others-

Kagome walked into the minor chaos going on in the clearing. Everyone looked up to greet her.

"Hey guys! Where are Cassy and Kouga?" she asked.

The group looked at each other uneasily. All except for Inuyasha had forgotten about the two in the confusion. Rachelle looked off into the distance, eyes becoming unfocused. Miroku noticed this and frowned. "Ummm, Rachelle dear, are you alright?"

Rachelle didn't respond. She didn't even appear to have heard. The others now noticed and tried to snap her out of it. Inuyasha realized what was going on and yelled in her ear, "STOP BEIN' A SNOOP!!!"

Half-heartedly glaring at him, she grinned at her fellow teenagers. "I know where our couple is..." she said in a singsong voice.

Lora, Nakita and Sarah all crowded around, "Where?" they asked, only slightly out of unison.

Rachelle's grin grew wider, "Well, I guess you could call it a date, but, yeah, it's a date." she paused, gauging their reaction, "I say we spy on 'em!"

"How're we gonna keep them from smelling us?" asked Sarah. Rachelle thought a moment, "We'll just stay downwind." she reasoned.

"Alright, it's decided! Let's go get Cassy!" Nakita declared, taking off. A clawed hand clad in red shot out and grapped her by the scruff of her neck. "No!" a voice spoke up firmly. Rachelle jerked around to see who gave the sudden command.

Inuyasha crossed his arms stubbornly. "No," he repeated, "haven't you people ever heard of privacy? Or is that dead where you come from?" he said stoutly.

"Why not? Why do you care?" Rachelle frowned. Everyone looked to him for his explanation. He didn't falter. At least, not at first. "Because...because..." he thought a moment then went on, "Because I said so!"

All in the group then experienced the joy of an anime fall.

"You have no better reason?" Rachelle asked after getting up. Inuyasha thought hard, "How would you like it if we spied on you and you had a whaddjamacallit with Miroku?"

Rachelle blushed, "Well-um, that's completely different." she stammered.

Inuyasha just smirked, he knew he had her, "How so?" he asked innocently.

Rachelle just blushed harder, while Miroku flushed slightly. "Because," Rachelle answered, "We're not gonna have to watch them, we can look into their minds!" Rachelle finished, looking satisfied.

"Ummmm.....how? So far you're the only one with the mind-reading abilty." Sarah asked confused.

"I think I can open a mind link, kinda like a chatroom, except we're on mute, and they're not." Rachelle said, "And we'd be able to know everything that's happening!"

"Why don't you just do it right here?" Sango asked curiously, though she did disapprove, she was curious.

"Because they just moved out of my range, so we have to get closer." she replied

-With Kouga and Cassy-

Kouga ran for a while, never stopping, holding Cassy in his arms.

"Where are we going?" she asked, arms locked around his neck. They had passed a field and were now in a dense forest.

"It's a sercret." he said mysteriously. Cassy rolled her eyes, but secretly enjoyed the mystery.

"So," he said, stopping at last, "tell me about your family back at your home." he was curious.

Cassy's smile diappeared. "It's not my favorite subject. My mom's family is wonderful, I really feel part of it and accepted, and loved there. But I feel more at home in your den than I do with my father's family. Basically, I wouldn't play along with their charade. They were crude, and disrespectful to the family, and just asses. One of my brothers turned out okay, and his kids were great. But...personally, I refuse to associate with them. It's gotten to the point where I just let them win or walk away, and it just kills me because they know that they beat me and it just goes against my grain." She trailed off, and Kouga mercifully let the subject drop. He stood and walked towards what seemed a solid line of branches.

"This is what I wanted to show you." He parted the branches of the weeping willow tree and revealed a small hotsprings with lillies and the sun shining down cheerfully on them. They were surrounded by a ring of weeping willows that created the illusion of being a world away, so secluded it was. Cassy's eyes widened. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.

She looked at him, "I know I still have my swimsuit, but what about you?"

"Rachelle gave me some swimming trunks out of Kagome's bag. She really does come prepared for anything." Kouga joked.

She grinned and looked at him, well then, what are we waiting for?" she cried, and jumped in, after slipping out of her covering clothes, revealing the swimsuit beneath. (Mizu: I forgot if she was just walking around in a bathing suit or had clothes on over it. Let's just say she did. Yume: Baka baka baka. ::swats with holy fan:: Mizu: Wrong anime! Now who's the baka? Yume: Uhhh, the Tree of Bob! Mizu: --; )

Kouga laughingly followed suit.

It was really very nice. The springs sloped down to a deeper end and up to a more shallow end.

She swam from the deep end and surfaced at the edge of the shallow end. Kouga came up beside her. They swam around for a while, relaxing and enjoying each others company.

They began kissing, slowly, softly. Then harder and more passionate. Climbing out of the springs and continued their kiss. Kouga pressed her up against a nearby tree trunk, hands roaming her body. The broke for air, panting.

Looking into each others eyes, she softly said, "I think I'll listen to my heart this time. I love you, Kouga."

Kouga grinned and asked, "So you'll be my mate?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Are you sure, I mean, wolves and kitsunes both mate for life..." he reminded gently.

"Yes, I'm sure!"

He smirked, "I love you too."

The pair began kissing again, then slowly stretched out on the soft green grass...

-With Rachelle and Inuyasha-

They got in range, just as Kouga asked about Cassy's family. Rachelle sat mesmerized, Cassy never said she felt at home in the wolves den. Didn't care to elaborate.

Inuyasha listened, stunned. How could she just live with that?! And she still called them her family!

They continued to listen during their swim. Then, during one of the conversational lulls, the pair got bored and decided to leave.

Inuyasha had won the bet, and they never gossiped to the others, much to the latters dismay.

"Any girls up for a bath?" Kagome asked cheerfully. A chorus of agreements followed and the girls headed for a nearby hotsprings.

-With the new couple-

Dusk had fallen and both lay in each others arms.

"Regret it?" Kouga asked carefully. Some demonesses first baulked at the constriction.

Cassy tilted her head up and smiled, "Never."

Kouga kissed her forehead, "Good." he murmured. He was struggling with something and Cassy knew it.

"What is it?" she inquired, curious.

"Well, for other demons to understand you're mine, I have to mark you." he said quietly. he didn't want to hurt her, but it was needed.

"Where?"

He hesitated, "On your neck, I have to bite you."

Lifting her hair out of the way, he quickly sank his fangs into her neck. She cried out at the surprise, but only for an instant. When he pulled out, she was bleeding, but it was already beginning to heal. He washed it off, and curled up with her underneath a cozy tree. "I love you." he said simply.

She smiled, "I love you too."

"Do you think we should head back now, so the others don't lay into us about it?" he suggested. She nodded. "Yeah, we'll probably get 'the talk' for this one. So let's try to avoid that."

He nodded vigoriously, remebering Miroku saying something about how horrible it was.

They sped back to camp, grinning secret smiles and enjoying the new bond.

Mizu: I'm so sorry, but school starts tomorrow and I just kept putting this off. I was very busy this summer, and Yume was gone to a summer program for future college credits...yeah

Yume: It's her fault. She's lazy

Mizu: ::bows deeply:: Yes. Please find it in your hearts to review.

Yume and Mizu: R and R please!