Preview from last chapter:

Inu-Yasha watched as Kouga writhed on the ground at the base of the tree he had chosen to sit in. He couldn't believe the sacrifices the wolf was making just so he could be with the woman that currently lay in the hanyou's lap. It made him start to think of what he would be willing to do for the woman he'd chosen. It didn't take long to come up with the answer that he would do anything for his woman. The woman he had decided he would take to be his love, his woman, his mate.

But what had Inu-Yasha wanting to bare his teeth was the story Tora had told Kouga. He just couldn't accept the fact that Kikyo would go through the portal that led from the Feudal Era to the land of the Inside just to kill a woman Inu-Yasha now loved as a sister. Oh sure, he remembered how Kikyo had been upset about something. He remembered that she wouldn't let him anywhere near her back for quite some time.

Now he knew why.

"Why, Kikyo? Why would you think I would do something like that?" Inu-Yasha thought, sadness breaking into his thoughts, "Of course, Kagome thinks the same thing whenever I see you, doesn't she? I don't mean to hurt her; it just..... happens. I don't know what to do anymore, so I've made my choice, Kikyo. I know what I want, and I know who I want to do it with."

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Chapter Nineteen:
Revelations

He woke to find weight on his chest and the sounds of birds singing. Their song, however, sounded a bit muffled, and the scents were...different. He felt as though he had a cold; however, he knew he was healthy.

"Hey, Wolf, you up yet?"

Opening his eyes, Kouga put a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the morning sun, "How are you feeling, Kouga-san?"

Turning his head to the left, Kouga saw the concerned brown eyes of Kagome. To her right stood Inu-Yasha, arms crossed over his chest as usual. Seeing that something was missing, Kouga looked down at himself to see that he was wearing Inu-Yasha's haori.

"What's....?" Kouga stopped as soon as he heard his voice. Something was definitely wrong. He saw Inu-Yasha and Kagome exchange nervous glances.

"I know you must be pretty confused, because I know I'd be downright panicking by now."

"Tell me, Kouga-san, do you remember anything from yesterday? Anything at all?" Came Tora's voice.

Scenes from the previous night flashed by Kouga's vision. The story about Tora's encounter with the priestess Kikyo. The loss of Hareyu, the wolf demon Tora had wanted to marry. And then came the picture of the talisman-like piece of paper that Tora had insisted to not be moved from Kouga's chest.

Though afraid to speak because of the new tone his voice possessed, Kouga forced a word past his dry throat, "Hai."

"Good, very good," the tiger said, "now I need to know if you can guess what other change I've made."

Kouga shook his head, not wanting to even think about what the tiger had come up with.

"Uh, Tora-san?"

"Yes, K-chan?"

"I don't know how we need to go about this. Should I show him or do you?" Kagome asked, her voice shaking.

"Un, well, you know more about the, er, anatomy."

"B-B-But you did it!" Kagome argued.

"Well according to you and Sango-san, I shouldn't be seeing that kind of stuff!"

Kouga blinked, turning to Inu-Yasha, "What're they yappin' about?"

Looking at the wolf in front of him, Inu-Yasha resisted the urge to shake his head. Unbeknownst to Tora or Kagome, Inu-Yasha had been watching Leota and Kouga at regular intervals. For Leota, the reason was obvious: he wanted her to be safe. He wanted to make sure she remained in a comfortable sleep. Kouga, though, had been Inu-Yasha's rival for a long time, fighting over Kagome's love. Now, though, Inu-Yasha felt different towards the wolf, and to tell him what had happened literally overnight...

"I-I don't know if I'm the right person to tell you," Inu-Yasha admitted uneasily, "I think you should wait for them to get done bickering rather than me."

Kouga looked over at the still-arguing tiger and miko, "That'll take too long. I'll take my chances."

Quirking an eyebrow, Inu-Yasha asked, "What're 'ya gonna do?"

"Heh," Kouga smirked, "think I can sneak by?"

"Oh yea, definitely. Sesshomaru and I could be fighting and they still wouldn't hear a thing over their loud mouths," Inu-Yasha nodded, "just be careful, all right? Don't hurt yourself when you see... yeah. Just don't, all right? When Ota-san gets out of her 'phase', she won't wanna find you hurt."

"All right, I promise," Kouga agreed, wondering why and when the hanyou had developed friendly feelings towards him, "I'll see you."

"Don't go too far, all right? I don't wanna have to drag your sorry ass back here, okay?"

"Hn, don't worry so much! You sound like an alpha female guarding her pups!" Kouga called, enjoying the blush that spread across the hanyou's cheeks.

Slipping past the arguing pair, Kouga headed towards Kagome's house, intending to use the 'mirror' Tora had told him about. Racing up the stairs, Kouga stepped into the bathroom and in front of the shiny, reflective object.

And bit back a howl.

His eyes were slanted, his cheekbones where higher, and his lips were a little fuller. He couldn't believe it. Tora had basically reversed what Leota had done. Just as she had dressed as her brother, Tora had switched it around.

Wanting to know just how far Tora's 'changes' went, Kouga removed Inu-Yasha's haori. His stomach lurched.

He had breasts. He had round, firm, perky breasts. The ears of his hanyou self flattened as he examined himself. Slowly, something dawned on him:

He looked like Leota.

It was uncanny. They could have been easily mistaken for twins rather than lovers. In fact, he was sure that that was what Tora was going to do. He was going to claim that this new 'Kouga' was in fact Leota's twin.

"Feh, Leota's not that stupid. She'd know family from fraud. She had a twin brother. Her brother is dead now. That's it. No more family. So then, who could I possibly be? I look just like her!"

Covering himself with the haori, Kouga wondered something else. While on that topic, another question popped into his head.

The sound of footsteps reached his hanyou ears. He really needed to get used to that...

"K-san? Are you up here?"

"I'm here."

Kagome appeared in the doorway, "Hey."

"Hi."

"I'm sorry about this, I really am. I wish you didn't have to go through this, but if Ota-chan saw..."

"Kagome?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Two questions. One, who do I bathe with? Two, how do I go to the bathroom?"

Kagome blinked, her face showing ten shades of varying reds, "Uh, um, I-I-I don't know how...to uh, show you that..."

"What's the matter? I'm a woman now, aren't I? I'll be bathing with you, won't I? So, teach me."

"You're not gonna be a girl forever!" Kagome exclaimed, watching as her friend's face fell."

"We can't know that."

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Lunia sighed as she put her head in her hands. Divine intervention had always been hard for and on her. The amount of planning that had to go into it was downright tricky!

"Especially when posing as someone like Xavier. Even though it was only for a few minutes! I had to time it just right, or else Tora would have suspected me. Oh thank you Tuku, Goddess of Time. Hehe, I'm so evil," Lunia smiled, a mischievous look in her eyes, "Now that Chan-chan and Kouga can't go around with their lover's antics, they can focus on Kagome and Inu-Yasha! Muahahaha!"

Smiling still, Lunia contemplated the further steps of her and Leota's plot. Leota would be waking up in a few moments, acting like a child in a strange place, and then she'd lead them on to her half of the plan.

This would be good.

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((January 14, 2005)) A/N: Hello, hello! Thanks to all of you for putting up with this story and its writer! :-) Yesterday, I was thinking to myself and I realized something very important that I've forgotten….. any of you remember Chapter Six: Reached Decisions? If you don't, that's okay because I forgot it, too. In that chapter, I mention Sesshomaru having his own plot, but this story is already going on chapter twenty and I haven't mentioned him since!! ::bows:: I apologize to all Sesshomaru fans!! ::bows again::

Okay, I'm done, really. Please tell me what you think! I promise Kouga won't be a girl for long, unless you want him to be. ;-) Also in the next chapter will be the revelation of Leota's earlier plot, even though I've probably said that a million, it will (or had better be) in the next chapter! See you soon!

--Ookami-chan--