Thank you to all the reviewers, especially Calendar-chan, who pointed out my grammar errors. Trust me, I too am a grammar obsessive. About the romance bit, well, in my view, it's a little hard to write a fic about those two without romance isn't it?

Scroll Four

Planning

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All too soon they reached the shrine, having no troubles with the pouring rain or wind. Inu-Yasha was rather strong smelling when the got back though, and Sango ordered him to take a bath or he'd kill them from the stench and save Naraku the job. Growling, Inu-Yasha complied only when Kagome had said that Naraku was too much of an egotist to attack when his main opponent was using the bathroom.

" Kagome!" Sango said, after the scowling Inu-Yasha had taken off towards the bathhouse. " How are you? I was worried when Inu-Yasha said Naraku went through the well…"

" She almost had a heart attack," Miroku commented from his corner of the room, where he poking at a wall scroll. " She started yelling and demanding we get through the well immediately and what do you know if Inu-Yasha doesn't just grab Sango, Shippo-chan and myself and take off. We got into a bit of a tough spot coming through, but we managed to convince him not to shove us all through like we were going in a sausage skin."

" And when he got here he went right to your room, but you weren't there," Shippo continued for Miroku. " Miroku said he had a ca-co-conniption fit. Then Sango suggested that you might be over at that dojo you go to and I don't know the rest cause Inu-Baka took off and I was with him."

Kagome sweat dropped. " I'm fine you three, only a little damp and that can be taken care off. The most urgent thing right now is to get to a place where we can have a battle."

Sango turned around and placed a hand lightly on a wall.

" This place is thin, but it's set apart from the city. Luckily your brother, mother and grandfather were off on the trip you told us about."

" Yes," Kagome answered, standing up and looking out a window. Miroku and Shippo looked at each other, the pensive girls, back at each other and shrugged. " They were going to Hong Kong for two weeks to visit Grandpa's doctor friend. I told them I wouldn't come back and have wild parties though…"

" Wild parties?" Shippo broke in, confused. " Like the kind they have at palaces?"

" No Shippo, not those kind. Those are sophisticated, something I'd like to attend if people in my age still had them, but 'wild parties' are when a bunch of kids gets together at a house and play loud music and eat lots of food and break things and drink a lot."

" That doesn't sound like fun!" Shippo exclaimed.

" It usually isn't for the kid throwing the party after their parents find out. My mom knows I wouldn't throw any, but it's customary for the parents to give their kids a warning, even if they know they'd never do it."

Suddenly a yelp and then a snarl erupted from the bathhouse area and shortly after the sounds of splintering wood. Miroku raised his staff to prevent Kagome from rushing to find out what was wrong.

" I suspect that Inu-Yasha is having trouble with some of your modern conveniences. I will go and see if I can help."

He walked off, leaving Sango, Shippo and Kagome to wonder what situation Inu-Yasha had gotten himself into.

" I bet," Shippo started, " that that big idiot got himself in the eyes with some of that hair soap you use Kagome."

Kagome winced. She'd introduced Sango to Shampoo, and Shippo after he'd asked her what it was, but all Inu-Yasha knew was that it went in the hair. He wouldn't know to keep his eyes closed, or that it'd sting if it got in them.

The wind moaned as they all stared at the floor, leaves blowing through the open side door that led to the porch.

A squirrel came along and looked at them funny.

A car honked.

Miroku came back in.

Albeit, he was soaking, thoroughly disheveled and trying to put a serene look on his face.

" Inu-Yasha will be out in a moment." He finally announced to the waiting party. " He was having a little trouble."

" Was it the shampoo?" Kagome asked, wondering if Inu-Yasha was going to come in claiming she's blinded him.

He's going to kill me…

" No, it wasn't the hair soap. Don't worry, it's all worked out now."

Well, what was it then!?

" Ah, here he comes now." Miroku sat down as a thoroughly wet, yet clean, Inu-Yasha emerged and sat down at the table. He was wearing a heavy scowl and glared at Miroku whenever he thought no one was looking.

" I've checked out the area," Sango said, ignoring the fuming demon. " It's a good area. It's removed from where innocents might get drawn into the battle and it's got enough open space to fight in. There aren't any walls, which I don't like, but we can do without, and there are areas where we can take up defensive positions. Kagome, I think the holy woods would be a good place to retreat to if the battle gets too rough."

" Holy woods?" Shippo asked, munching on a rice cracker. " Where are they?"

" They're out behind the house a bit," Kagome said, handing a bowl of rice crackers to Inu-Yasha. " You know the woods where I found Inu-Yasha?"

" Mmhmm," Shippo said, stealing another snack and getting whapped over the head by Inu-Yasha.

" Well, the woods behind the house are the trees who were part of that forest. They're called the Holy woods because anything you make from the wood there is supposed to ward off evil and to give good luck."

" Why don't you just call them the Luck trees then?" Inu-Yasha asked, still glaring.

" Because that's not what they're called! There's a legend of a miko who died there, it wasn't Kikyo, I checked, who had amazing powers but she died and her love slew himself to be with her in death. I think it's romantic."

" You would unless it was you!" Inu-Yasha glared back. " There's nothing noble about dying. It's all pain and agony and blood. Even in that 'romantic' tale they didn't die in peace, but in battle. There's nothing noble about that except for honor."

" You are insensitive Inu-Yasha!"

And you're worried and nervous and…

" Feh! At least I'm not worthless in battle!"

They looked at each other for about five second.

" Sumimasen," Kagome chimed. They stood up, walked out of the room and closed the door. After they had walked into a room down the hall and had locked the western style door behind them Inu-Yasha grabbed Kagome and pulled her close.

" I don't like stories with miko's who die in them," he whispered into her hair. " I've had it happen to me once, which was once too often, and then I was stupid enough to go ahead and fall in love all over again."

" I am the same soul you idiot," Kagome hissed into his gi. " You are such a baka sometimes…"

Don't let this be that last battle. If it means losing him, I'll gladly fight youkai everyday if he just survives this

" Kagome," Inu-Yasha talked into her hair, " what'll we do after the battle? After we've completed the Shikon no Tama?"

Kagome was silent for a while before drawing away from him and sitting down on the floor, knee's drawn up to her chest. She smiled up at him.

" When the time comes, I'm sure we'll know exactly what to do. After all, we're soul mates--"

Inu-Yasha squatted down and looked at her, his amber eyes serious.

" Kagome…if anything, what if, in the battle…"

" Nothing's going to happen," Kagome yelled, getting to her knees and yelling into his face, " and even if it did we'd find a way to be together! It happened before, remember, and I found a way back to you!"

Inu-Yasha drew her in for another embrace. " Baka on'na. I don't know if I could lose you again. Losing Kikyo, it almost…when I found out that she was dead…"

Kagome pushed away and looked him straight in the face.

The scene changed to the outside of the house, serene except for the sudden screeching of,

" BAKA!"

In the other room Miroku and Shippo flinched and Sango laughed.

" What?!" Inu-Yasha exclaimed, taken aback by the force of her anger. " What did I say?"

" How many times," Kagome said, gritting her teeth and getting right in his face, " are we going to have to have the ' I remember most of my Kikyo memories now' talk? She and I are the same person. It's like you're talking to me about me!"

" Feh! You don't have to get so defensive! How long has it been since you've gotten those back, a week? How do you expect me to make the switch from two different people to one person in that amount of time?"

" I don't know!"

" Feh!"

" Inu-Yasha, let's just go to the others, I think that would be the best---"

Inu-Yasha had grabbed her again, pulling her down with him into a sitting position. Though he didn't hug her against him, he held her hands and looked her in the eyes.

" Let's wait. We don't know when Naraku will attack, and we don't get to be alone very often, so let's just wait for a little while. We can talk, or we can sit or we can do anything you want."

" Inu-Yasha…" Kagome said, her head bowed and her eyes hidden by her bangs. " I know that we haven't had a lot of time to work things out…"

" What's to work out?" Inu-Yasha said, cutting in, grabbing her shoulders. " We already had our big mushy moment and we can't afford to have another one until this is over!" He clenched his fist. " I want to get that bastard for stealing your soul. He makes me sick…what?"

Inu-Yasha looked at Kagome in alarm. Her eyes were hidden but an eyebrow was twitching. Her fist came up to her face and she looked him in the eye.

" MUSHY MOMENT!!!"

" What!?"

" USWARI!"

Cut back to the room with the others.

" He's going to be feeling that one for a while," Miroku commented, sipping his tea.

" I hope not," Sango said, looking towards the door.

" Why not," Miroku asked, putting his cup down and taking up his staff.

" Because Naraku's here."

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Scroll Five

Separation

Please be patient for my next chapter, it might be a couple of days because I'm moving. I hope to have it done by Wednesday at the latest.

Uswari- Suwaru is the spelling of sit that I could find. I decided that I was going by my own ears then what some supposed wise person I don't even know put down in a book that doesn't even mention anime characters.

On'na - girl, woman

Seppuku - Ritual suicide, something I'm going to do if I can't get my hands on the Kenshin OVA or Inu-Yasha movie, both of which are coming out in Japan this month. Does anybody know where I can get some good fan-subs? Accurate ones, that don't fuzz with digital static? E-mail me please if you do. I know enough Japanese to tell if they actually are saying the things that the fan-subs say they're saying, but not enough for the specific details. I can understand and translate things like, ' Hey Jim, lets go save the world and then get drunk', but not, ' The history lesson you are about to receive started in the year 1600 and the Hitokiri who was responsible for…' It drives me nuts when I get a fan-sub that I know isn't accurate.