A/N: Sorry I took so long to update. I broke my ankle and my mom won't let me do ANYTHING at all while my foot was swollen. Of course I can't go to choir practice, but she won't even let me type! Gods!

Please read and review. Thanks!

On with the story!

Disclaimer: Who hunts for these things anyway? Pathetic lawyers... Listen here. This is called a FAN fiction story. That only means one thing: I am just a fan, a poor starving fan, who wants a shot at her favorite anime. Go figure.

SEVEN WEEKS

Knowledge and Deception

-----/---@

"Inuyasha?"

"Nani?"

The pair had been walking in silence since they left the cave an hour earlier, and like any girl, Kagome just couldn't stand the lack of noise in the air.

"I was just wondering... well... don't you have a human disguise or something? Seeing that the other ningens seem to be horrified of you, why don't you try donning it? It would give us less problems that way." Kagome said matter of factly.

Inuyasha was dumbfounded. 'Stupid baka.' He said to himself. 'Why didn't I think of that?'

"Well, I can do that," Inuyasha started as he desperately tried to think of a good fib to save face. "I just didn't think it was appropriate."

"Inuyasha," Kagome began patiently. "It would be MOST helpful if you use it right now. If you don't, we'll never get a decent place to stay, even with all that money in your pocket."

He pretended to consider it for a while. "I guess," he said wistfully.

He closed his eyes as he always did for his whole life to hide his demonic powers and physical traits, but he had been concentrating for a while when he realized that nothing was happening. He tried again, while Kagome stood looking at him worriedly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's not working." He said irately. "It's fucking not working! What the fuck is going on?!"

Kagome went over to him and suddenly pulled his shirt down to reveal his mark.

"Shimatta," she swore to herself softly.

"Ne?" Inuyasha said, blushing wildly. He made a mental note to tell Kagome NOT to suddenly pull his clothes down in the middle of the road. "Nanda? Doushite?"

"Your mark isn't responding to your request," She said simply as she put his clothing back in order and pulled away. "You know that the rest of the star-marked people have been cursed, right? I guess THIS is the way the curse affects you. You don't lose your powers, but you can't hide them either."

"That's bullshit!" he exclaimed! "That pervert monk didn't tell me about this!"

"Then I suppose he didn't tell you a lot of things."

"Chikuso!" he swore loudly. Then something occurred to him. "Oi," he said as he turned to his companion. "Why do YOU know so much about all this? I don't think ordinary people are allowed to know this much."

Kagome paled and stared at him. She started to stutter, but decided against it. "What is it to you how I found out so much? At least my knowledge is helpful!" she yelled.

"Don't bite my head off, alright?! I was just asking, onna! Why are you so edgy?" Inuyasha shouted back.

"Because..." Kagome started, seemingly at a loss for words. "Never mind." She muttered after a while. She was blushing, and that got Inuyasha.

"Iie! Tell me right now! You were gonna answer me, so don't cut it off!" Inuyasha yelled again.

"I'm a criminal, ok?!" Kagome shrieked. Inuyasha just stared.

"Nani?"

"I said I'm a criminal, you baka to yarou!" Kagome said again. "Remember I told you that I'm a cat burglar? Well..."

"And how does that lead to your knowing so much?" Inuyasha interrupted as he started to continue walking.

"I'm talking here, baka!" she shot back. "I usually went to the crystal castle at night, when everyone was asleep, because I wanted to know what went on in the palace. You see, I have always wanted to have a star mark coz I want to work at the palace, but as you can see, I don't have one."

"I thought you guys get them at birth. I kinda figured that out coz it was that way with my mark." Inuyasha said thoughtfully.

"Exactly. Well, my elder brother Souta had one. He was a warrior and I was so jealous of him. When day came that he was called to the palace, I was so sad and frustrated. Frustrated, because I wasn't one of those summoned. Sad, because, envious as I was of his mark, I loved Souta-oniisan very much, and I was never gonna see him again." Kagome said sadly.

"Never?"

"Yes. You see, once the star-marked people leave for the palace, they are forbidden to go back, even for the shortest of visits. They are to spend their entire lives in the palace, serving the princess. No other distractions." She explained as the familiar scent of salt filled the air. She was going to cry.

Inuyasha hated it when she cried, so he rushed into telling her that she could stop if she wanted, but Kagome just shook her head and said that she needed to get it out of her system.

"Where was I... well, before he left, Souta-oniichan and I made a deal. I had always been stealthy, so I promised to sneak into the palace every week to visit him. I did that, but one day, he told me of the book of the holy prophecy, and I was interested. After that, I kept visiting him, but he did not know that I went to the palace not just weekly, but twice every week. I always went to the chamber where they kept the book so that I could read the things written there. No one knew that I went there. At least, I thought no one knew..."

"The princess saw me sneaking in on my second visit and decided to confront me when I was halfway through the book. I usually read with the lights off, with just a tiny candle, so when the lights switched on and I saw the princess there, I was shocked! I started to run but she held me back and said that she was not mad. She allowed me to read on, but made me swear not to tell anyone what I had read there."

Inuyasha just looked at her in surprise. "You got more guts than I gave you credit for." He started to tease her, but stopped when the scent of salt grew stronger.

"Oi, daijobu? Why are you crying? Oi! Wench! Stop that!" Inuyasha said hurriedly. Kagome just looked at him with a sad smile.

"Lady Azalea has always been wonderful to me. Remember what I shouted out at Kagura when we battled her?" Kagome said.

"Yeah..." he said reluctantly. He could remember alright. He had meant to ask her about that. Thank Kami that he didn't have to be the one to bring it up!

"Well, Kagura destroyed our town a couple of years ago. It was after the book incident. Everyone in the village lost everything, and that's generally why I became a cat burglar. We used to be wealthy and pride- strung, but when we started starving, I had to leave town and steal food for my folks and myself. When the princess learned of it, she went to the town and did everything to help us by regrowing crops and everything." Kagome said as her sobs grew louder. "I stopped stealing and swore that I would do everything in my power to help her though she may not need it. So when she was abducted... and... Souta..."

"Souta died in the attack by Naraku, didn't he?" Inuyasha asked slowly as he paused from his steady strides in the pointed diredtion. Kagome just nodded. "And that's why you left home to help rescue the princess and get revenge on Naraku and Kagura." He concluded. They had stopped walking again and Inuyasha was looking down at Kagome who was sobbing with her head down.

He stepped up to her and held her by her shoulders. He made her look up at him and his heart constricted at the sight of her tearstained eyes.

"Listen here, wench," he said. "We will defeat Naraku and rescue the princess. The land will be back to normal and though you won't get a star mark in return, you'll live knowing that you did things no other normal person did. And so will Azalea. Now stop crying and promise me that you'll be strong. That you'll help me in this." Inuyasha paused. "Promise me, Kagome."

Kagome stared up at the hanyou with shining eyes. He was looking at her with such tenderness that she started to wish about the undoing of a certain part of the prophecy... the part where he would go back to his world.

She found her heart start pounding at the sight of his golden orbs and the sound of her name on his lips. She just couldn't say no.

"I promise, Inuyasha," she said with a tiny smile.

Inuyasha pulled away and began to walk again. "Good."

-----/---@

Kagura grinned as she made her way towards the princess' prison dome. Naraku had been disappointed that she failed in killing Inuyasha, but was pleased to know that she had managed to see him at work with the Tetsusaiga.

Kagura slowly opened the chamber where the orb was in. The garnet tower's thick red walls cast an eerie shadow over everything around her but she didn't mind. She was not afraid.

She put her candle down on the floor as she approached the princess. The thick barrier of the orb prevented her from seeing Azalea, but the light that came from within the dome was testament to her presence. She held the plate of food with one hand and called out mockingly.

"Hey, princess!" she shouted. Azalea remained silent and Kagura frowned.

'She's tougher than I thought' she mused. The princess had been one big crybaby when they abducted her. She cried all the time and begged to be freed every chance she gets. She used to cry at harsh words and even tried to break out of her prison a few times.

But lately, she had been unnervingly calm. She just sat there, making no sound, accepting everything in stride. She wouldn't eat though, and Kagura could see in her mind's eye a pathetic picture of the princess' possibly now drawn cheeks and thin arms.

'Well. Soon that hated beauty of hers will be gone if she keeps starving herself.' She thought.

"Oi, teme!" she shouted at the dome. The princess refused to rise to her challenge. She just sat there, a soft light pulsing within the confines of her prison.

Kagura pushed the plate through the barrier, careful not to touch it, or even brush it in the least. Youkai can not get through the dome, and touching the said thing sent a strong jolt through her body. And, it hurt. Big time.

"Eat. Naraku-sama wants you to stay alive, you know. I just can't understand why, but he does. If you ask me, I'd say 'kill the bitch right now'! You hear me, slut?"

She remained silent. Kagura fumed.

"What happened? You lost your will, princess? Why don't you just give the shikon to Naraku-sama? Then we'll let you off to live with your pathetic friends."

Silence.

"You know what?! I think your warrior is going off track. He seems to be particularly smitten with Kagome. You know who she is? You don't do you? She's a stunningly beautiful liar who would lead Inuyasha right into my hands..."

Kagura thought she heard some motion from inside the dome. 'So, that gets her upset?'

The light from the dome started to glow red. Kagura's sense of self- preservation told her that she should run off at the sight of the mystic's anger, but knowing that the princess could do nothing, she continued.

"Isn't it sad though? Knowing the truth, and yet knowing that there is nothing you could do. And you know what?" she padded on. "She looks like you!"

The light from the dome grew in intensity until Kagura felt the heat from the dome.

'Shimatta,' she thought. 'I'd better leave. She seems to be furious.'

Kagura turned and without another word, left.

-----/---@

Night fell and once again, Inuyasha was faced with a dilemma. The big D: where to spend the night.

Kagome was merrily walking along, humming and chatting, and Inuyasha decided against snapping at her to shut up. After all, those were very sharp arrows, and she was a very good archer...

"Oi Kagome! Don't you wonder about what we're gonna do tonight? You know, where we sleep, where we eat?" Inuyasha asked, irritated.

"Iie. I don't wonder. I know," she replied and Inuyasha fumed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome turned to him, looking exasperated. "This place has tons of caves! Look around you! There's a town in that valley, so I know where we can get food. And we can sleep either in a cave or under a tree!"

He just gawked at her. She seemed to have no qualms about sleeping in the ground.

"Come on! Don't you wanna sleep on a bed?" he queried.

"Of course I do. It has been AGES since I last slept on one. But please, let's work with what we have." She replied with a smile.

"But we have more than enough money to buy an entire inn! Shouldn't we at least try again?"

"You know as well as I do that people won't let you in if you're a youkai." She said calmly.

"Isn't there a way?" he pressed. He was a rich guy back in his world - he wouldn't be caught dead sleeping on the ground, or straddling a tree!

"I have one idea, but I don't think you'd agree."

"Fire away."

-----/---@

"Please, we need a place to stay. We're willing to pay all the money you want."

The crying, pregnant woman pleaded with the innkeeper as she clutched her husband's hand tightly. The innkeeper really didn't want to have anything to do with it, but the woman was with child, and her youkai mate looked docile enough.

The front of the woman's red robes were soaked with tears and sweat. They both looked wan from exhaustion, and though it was not normal for them to house youkai, he nodded.

"Alright, But just for tonight. And not a word to ANYONE about this!" he said.

"Oh, domo arigatou gozaimasu! May the gods bless your generous soul!"

The pregnant woman's face glowed with joy at his words and she wiped her tears as she looked up at her husband and put her arms around his neck, hugging him.

"Hush now darling. I told you it would be alright," the baby's father smiled lightly, as he held his wife. "Kind sir, how much do we owe you?"

"Two gold pieces," the innkeeper said as the man fished around for his money. After taking the money, he gave them the direction and keys to their room.

-----/---@

The 'couple' burst into suppressed laughter as they closed the door to their room behind them.

"Oh damn... would you believe that? He fell for it!" Inuyasha laughed out as he sat on the bed.

"I told you it would work!" Kagome said as she took the pillow from beneath the haori Inuyasha had lent her for their 'disguise'. She took the haori off, threw it at Inuyasha and flopped down beside him.

"I don't get it! People hate youkai! Why did they let us in?" He asked as he threw his haori to the floor and tossed Tetsusaiga on it as well.

"Well... for one, they would pity the preg. Secondly, they know for a fact that demons who take humans for their wives would never kill other humans," she said, looking up at him.

Inuyasha laughed again as he thought about it. "From now on, YOU make the sleeping arrangements."

"Sure! Now... who gets the bed?"

-----/---@

Kagura walked with her sister, her excitement growing as the scent of the hanyou and his companion grew stronger. This time, she would not fail.

Kanna, the said youkai of nothingness, stared vaguely ahead as she felt the aura from both.

"Kagura, she is powerful." Kanna said.

"I know that. That's why I told you to clear your soul-stealing mirror. She is an ordinary person, but after her powers were enhanced..."

"I do not know if I can do it." Kanna replied solemly.

"Nonsense! She just needs a tiny bit of reminding, anyway."

-----/---@

Kagome stirred and shuddered as she felt an odd presence somewhere near her. It was unnerving. She wished she could detect scents as well as youkai could. That way she wouldn't have to worry too much about various beings.

She got up and looked down on the floor to see Inuyasha sleeping on the spot beside the bed using his bundled up haori as a pillow, clutching at the sheets she had given him to use as a blanket. She smiled lightly at his prone figure, then frowned suddenly.

'Stop it! You have a mission to take care of, and that does not include liking the subject!'

She stood and walked towards the window. She started to close it when she saw a strange light coming from a distance.

'Sore wa nani? What is that?' she asked herself as she continued looking. 'A signal...'

-----/---@

Inuyasha opened one eye. He had fallen asleep on his haori on the floor. Something was amiss, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

He sat up to peer onto the bed to see how Kagome was, and he nearly collapsed when he realized that she wasn't there. He looked around in a professional paranoid fashion, hoping she was somewhere in the room.

She wasn't.

Inuyasha bolted up off the floor and started to put his haori on. 'Wait a bit... my haori's here?' he thought frantically as he realized that the pillow they used as a 'baby' was there as well, and Kagome may have gone out without putting the disguise on. They'd be thrown out!

Thousands of other thoughts rushed through his head. He knew she wasn't THAT irresponsible, and definitely not dumb. She wouldn't do that! Maybe she was in trouble!

He called her name aloud in the room as a last try, and when no one answered, he fastened his clothes and reached for Tetsusaiga.

Problem was, it was missing as well. And so were the girl;s bow and arrows.

"Chikuso!" he swore under his breath as he realized that Kagome may have them with her. "God damn woman! What is going on here?!"

He headed out the door and stepped out into a dark hallway. Clearly, everyone in the inn was in bed. 'Why me?' he thought desperately as he turned the corner of the old inn and headed out the main door.

He had just reached for the knob when he smelled the now familiar stench in the air. It was the scent of Kagura and the bat creatures. The scent of Naraku. Two people who bore the smell were less than a few meters away.

His eyes widedned as he smelled another familiar scent: this was not nearly as foul as the other two. 'Kagome,' he thought wildly as he wrenched the door open.

What he found greatly surprised him. It was Kagome, standing before a smirking Kagura and another white clad, poker-faced youkai. She was holding the Tetsusaiga and was about to hand it to Kagura! He was shocked to say the least, and he called to her in anger.

"Kagome! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he demanded as he stepped up to them.

Kagome turned at the sound of his voice, her usually warm eyes glinting with malice. Her lips seemed frozen in a cold-hearted grin and she clutched the Tetsusaiga to her chest as he came closer.

"How dare you!? You tricked me! I trusted you!" Inuyasha yelled furiously.

Her steady gaze seemed to waver and her lips turned neutral. She held the Tetsusaiga less tightly as she continued to stare at him with gradually sombering eyes.

That was when he noticed something peculiar. Kagome's eyes, though malicious, seemed blank. Her usual aura seemed weaker and he noticed a thin band of smoke wrapped around her throat. The same kind of smoke that circled the mirror in the hands of the childlike youkai.

'She's under a spell?' he thought dazedly as the steady smirk came back on her lips. Kagome raised the Tetsusaiga and handed it to Kagura. Kagura, who caught it, screamed as her hands came into contact with the weapon and promptly threw it to the ground.

'Kekai da... a barrier surrounds the sword! I can not touch it! Can it be that only that hanyou and those flimsy humans can touch it?' Kagura thought as she watched Kagome lean down to pick up the sword.

Inuyasha watched as Kagome dropped the sword on a spot beside Kagura. She grabbed her bow from it's place, strapped on her back, along with an arrow, and aimed at him.

He couldn't hurt her if she really was under a spell, so he tried to call her as her suddenly unsteady aim and grip on her bow falter.

"Kagome! Baka! Snap out of it!" he shouted. She looked stern about killing him. He turned to Kagura and her companion.

"Kagura! Teme... Fucking bitch! Let her off NOW!" he started to panic when Kagome aimed steadily and shot, the arrow heading at lightning speed for his heart.

-----/---@

A/N: I still had so much on my brain, but the chapter seemed so looong to me that I had to stop myself from getting too carried away. I practically had to handcuff myself to restrain my 'itching-to-type-a-fanfic' fingers.

Oh yeah. Responses!

Drow goddess: Here's the chap! I guess we WOULD make a great team! LOL! Anyway, you should definitely try writing one! It is so much FUN! You spelled 'ja ne' right, don't worry. ^_^ Thanks for reviewing! Please continue reading.

Ginagurl1234: Now I'm all confused too...

Vegito044: I'm sooo glad you like it! Thanks and please keep on reading and reviewing!

Zeh Wulf: Yeah. He is kinda dense... I'm glad you like my story. Please keep reading!

Laura-chan: Yup! Asian. I'm a mix of three nationalities actually... I agree, you're good at English. Like I said, I read your stories and I haven't seen any major errors... Thanks for reviewing!

So, there! Thanks for reading and please review!

Love you guys!

ScarletRaven1001