It is I, Jjah-Jjah! I've decided that this is fun! Writing this fic I mean... Not the other stuff that's happened today. Like the shots. I had to go in for the whole pre-college physical and they stuck me with pointy objects! They had to take a blood sample and the nurse was squeezing my finger as hard as she could saying, "Man, you're not a good bleeder..." Whether this was a compliment or an insult, I have yet to discover....

Ne ways... This is the most reviews I have ever gotten for a single chapter! I is very proud of self... Tehehehe.... Onward!

dancing-by-moonlight: Thank you! I dunno about Inuyasha and Kagome, but my entire opinion is kind of marred by the fact that relationships where the girl puts up with a guy who treats her badly are a pet peeve of mine. I've seen too much! Halleluiah, Amen.

desy: Thank you, you are a doll, I love you!

Arria Raine: Thanks. I just figured that anything can happen in 500 years or whatever... I don't think he'll stay poor forever, though... It's just not him.

Shiori-chan: Thank you for pointing out my mistake. I didn't know about that particular episode, but I think I heard about one where Kikyo, well re- dies, and since she's in the fic, I guess this is a sorta AU or whatever... Ne ways, didn't mean to follow a trend, sorry! I'll try to do better. :-D

lysia1982: Thank you! Hope to hear from you again!

d rkpride: Thank you so much for putting me in your faves! You're a darling! The steps are kinda funny. I mean, can you imagine trying to drag anyone up those steps? And think about the winter when they'd be covered in ice. I know I'd kill myself on them!

KB: Thank you, your feed back is really appreciated!

Defafaeth Mechqua: Thank you! ;-D

Tokyobabe2040: Thank you! Am I updating fast enough? Bye!!!!

Alright!!! Now we must move on to the disclaimer!!! (insert twilight zone music here)

Disclaimer: You are entering another dimension... Not one based on sight and sound, but on lawyers and copyrights. It is a strange world, where anything can happen... A world where JJ doesn't own Inuyasha. And we call it... THE DISCLAIMER ZONE...

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"When your soul is in my soul's stead;

And I will friend you, if I may,

In the dark and cloudy day."

--A.E. Housman

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Chapter Two: Irony, The Gold-Eyed Monster

Oolong tea was a wonderful thing. Especially when it's hot and you're cold and wet and have just dragged an unconscious six foot something inu youkai up a very long flight of stairs, in the rain, while trying to dodge the inquiring glances of all your neighbors. Yes indeed. Warm oolong tea was very splendiferous.

Kagome sat back and stared at her bed. Or more accurately, the being in it. She didn't know how she had managed to get the youkai all the way up to her room. She did know however, that she had pulled a few muscles in the process. A trip to the chiropractor would soon be in order. Wincing at her line of thought, she looked down at the first aid kit by her side. Since her adventures in the past, it had remained neglected and nearly forgotten. At least now it had been put to good use.

She had noticed the damage to Sesshoumaru's hands when she had first tried to drag him home, but she had been unable to really look at them until she finally had him up in her room. It was a sobering thing. She remembered Sesshoumaru for his immaculateness; his perfection; how he had had managed to look in control and superior even in the face of defeat. Realizing that several of those dangerous claws of his were ripped completely off was nearly sickening. The rest of him was not in much better shape. She had had to take his shirt off... (Not because she was like Miroku, or anything, but because she didn't want any nasty mud in her bed...) The shock of him actually wearing a modern shirt was immediately downplayed by how emaciated he was. What was the last time he had eaten? The fading bruises around his chest also spoke of his ribs being broken at some point. There were also a random assortment of cuts and scratches. She had fixed him up as well as she knew how. She had wrapped up his mangled hands and brushed most off the dirt out of his hair.

Now all she needed was for him to get it over with and wake up. The suspense was terrible!!!

But the youkai slept like one who was dead and showed no signs of movement, much less of waking. Before long all the oolong tea was gone and Kagome really had to go to the bathroom...

After the fact, Sesshoumaru was still sleeping, so she gathered up the tea things and headed down to the kitchen to fix some more tea and something to eat. She knew that he would be hungry when he woke up...

Now, what exactly was she going to do when he woke up?

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"Meow!" Buyo said.

"Get off the counter." Kagome answered.

Buyo did not reply.

Exasperated, the miko shoved the purring mass of cat out of the way of the miso soup she was preparing and stirred the mixture experimentally. It looked ready. Carefully, she set it aside on the stovetop and turned her attention to the soba noodles frying in the nearby wok. She had read somewhere that you should feed protein to people who haven't eaten in a while to help restore muscle mass, so she had added some leftover pork to the noodles. However, it was really all the meat she had. That trip to the grocery would have to be sooner rather than later. Kagome turned off the stove and scooped a good portion of the noodles onto a plate. She then poured two portions of miso into a couple of bowls: one for Sleeping Beauty and one for herself. Then she placed the food on a tray along with the tea and began the precarious journey back upstairs.

It was not until she was halfway into the room and looking for a place to set the tray down that she realized that his eyes were upon her.

It took an incredible amount of effort not to freeze; to go on with what she was doing as if nothing was wrong. She did it though. She was very proud of herself as she calmly sat the tray down on her dresser.

"Good morning." She said, surprised at how steady her voice was. "Or afternoon, I guess. Anyway, since you just woke up it doesn't matter."

There was no reply, but silence. Carefully, Kagome risked a slow glance over her shoulder at the youkai. Sesshoumaru was sitting up, the blankets bunched up around his waist. Despite the bandages crisscrossing his frame, it was something in the way he sat, motionless, and stared unblinkingly at her that made her think that he could be across the room and ripping her lungs out at any given moment. She looked back to the tray and poured some tea.

"I made some oolong tea. If you don't like oolong, I've got some green tea, chamomile, and some nasty cinnamony stuff that I don't really like, but my mom does."

Kagome smiled and turned around holding a cup of tea in either hand. She knew she was rambling, but if he wanted the conversation to progress, he could damn well contribute. She looked at him for several minutes awaiting some kind of response, and then he gave it...

"Miko..." His voice very nearly sent a shiver down her spine. So familiar! Even if the majority of things she had heard it say went along the lines of 'Die, Inuyasha!', it was still so wonderful to hear it again! Yet the way he said that single word, miko; the tone of it suggested some amount of incredulity in his voice spiced with contempt. It was as if he thought her to be some dolt who dressed up in miko's clothing without actually being a real miko and expecting someone to be impressed. She was roused from her musing when he continued.

"You are a fool. Do you have any idea with whom you are dealing with?"

Internally, Kagome gave an evil smile.

"Yes."

Sesshoumaru blinked for the first time at her answer, and then tilted him head and fixed her with a poisonous scowl. He narrowed his eyes and reached one hand up to draw his hair away from his face. He was giving her his trademark sideways "holier-than-thou" look that Kagome had seen a million times.

She could have hugged him.

"Pray tell. You think me to be some homeless waif in need of rescue?"

"No. I was actually thinking more along the lines of Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands..."

If he wasn't already pretty much motionless, she was pretty sure that he would have frozen at her words. The tea was starting to scald her hand through the mug, so she sat one of them on the bedside table and then went to go back to the tray. It was then that a low growl permeated the room.

"Human, who are you that you know this Sesshoumaru's true name?"

Kagome smiled in spite of herself. She took the food over to the bedside table and set it down beside the tea. "You remember Inuyasha?" She asked and offered him the cup. He made no move to take it. She pulled up a chair and his eyes narrowed dangerously, but he inclined his head in a way that she took to mean he knew what she was talking about.

"You remember how five hundred or so years ago he was running around looking for the shards of the Shikon no Tama and he traveled with a few humans, one of which was the reincarnation of the miko who stuck him to that tree?"

He nodded.

"Well then." She smiled, and fixed him with a look.

His eyes widened when he realization hit.

"Pleased to meet you again, too." Kagome smiled and offered him the cup again. This time, he took it.

"Alrighty then." She picked up the tray. "Here I have some miso soup and some yaki soba. You look like you could use it." She placed the tray in his lap and standing up, went back to the dresser where her own tea and soup were still sitting and started back to her chair.

"Inuyasha's woman..." He said experimentally, looking at her.

Kagome winced. "No. That was the one he wanted to go to hell with. My name's Kagome. Higurashi Kagome."

He had still not touched his food, but he took a sip of the tea. "How is it, Higurashi, that you are here?"

"I live here." As if that explained everything.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I meant, how is it that you survived to this era. That is, if you truly are the woman that traveled with my half brother so long ago..."

"Well..." She began, deciding that it could do no harm to tell him. "I didn't really survive that long... I was from here, this time period, to begin with. I was able to travel back and forth in time through the Bone Eater's Well, using the Shikon no Tama. Or what pieces I had of it. If you remember correctly, I was wearing my school uniform while I was there..."

The Taiyoukai nodded, took a sip of tea, and then looked at her. Kagome shifted under his scrutiny and tried her best to avoid eye contact. It was then that she noticed something that she felt really stupid for not noticing earlier.

"Hey, your arm!" She exclaimed. Sesshoumaru looked at her for a moment as if he had no idea what she was talking about, but then he looked to his left arm and back to her.

"It takes a great amount of time for a severed appendage to heal, but it is not impossible..."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Concerned, Kagome noted that he seemed to take no interest in his food at all. It was then that the thought struck her that he might not be comfortable with her seeing him eat. It kinda sounded like something he would do. Decidedly, the miko stood up and collected her own cup and bowl and started out of the room.

"Well. When you're finished eating you can take a shower if you want. The bathroom is the first door on the left right over here. I'll see if I can find any clean clothes for you." And with that she left.

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Sesshoumaru waited only until he was sure she was really gone before he seized a pair of chopsticks and began devouring the food the miko had laid before him. He was sickeningly hungry and his stomach cramped painfully as he swallowed the first few bites of food. It had been so long since he had eaten an actual meal, not something that he had dug out of a dumpster or stolen. He could hardly believe that whatever it was that was happening was happening.

When the human had uttered not only his name but his title his heart had nearly stopped. No living creature that he knew of, besides his enemies, knew his name and she had just said it, like the knowledge was nothing special. The human was Inuyasha's human. He had not thought about Inuyasha for hundreds of years; he had had no cause to. Now he had clawed into the recesses of his deepest most arcane memories and found the impression of the scent he was looking for methodically filed away. The woman was whom she said she was: the scent was the same.

But how? He had woken to the sound of rain beating down on a roof above his head. As the thought of how strange it was to be under a roof trickled out of his mind, the sensations that he was also warm and dry filtered their way in. He had opened his eyes to the inside of a room that he had never seen before and wondered where in Tokyo he was. It was then that he heard the sounds of someone moving around downstairs and the smelled the scents of cooking as they drifted on the building's drafts. He sat up and looked out the window by the bed he was in and realized he was in a shrine. He vaguely remembered seeing a human woman dressed in miko's clothing just before he collapsed. He growled deep in his throat. It was not the first time some irksome human had decided to try to help him, but this was the first time that he had been taken in by someone who should definitely know better. He had merely passed out because his lack of nourishment had slowed down his healing ability. He was a noble Taiyoukai of impeccable bloodlines; the one time Lord of the West. He did not need to be rescued.

Then she had walked in. She had walked in and she knew him. She knew him. She was a mere dolt of a human and she knew him... From so long ago. He grimaced, but continued eating. She had known him when he was at his best. What did she think, now when all he had left was his pride, seeing him at his absolute lowest? Why did he care? He could not help but feel the slow burn of shame; that a human could cause him to feel such an emotion...

He had not remembered her name after all these years. He did not know whether to believe her story of how she had appeared in the Feudal Era, but he supposed it was the only explanation. Now that he was more aware of his surroundings he could sense the faint pulse that signified that the Shikon was somewhere near. With it he felt a pang of nostalgia. Things had been so much easier back then.

He finished both the noodles and the soup and before he could stop himself he licked the dishes clean. Disgusted with himself, he sat them on the tray and set the tray back on the bedside table. Then, he decided to take the human's advice and make use of the bathroom. He easily found the room she spoke of by the strong scent of soap and water coming from beneath the door and entered. The first glance in the mirror was a shock. He hadn't realized that his person was in such disarray. Distastefully, he prodded his once glorious mane with a bandaged hand. It looked as if the human had had a go at it, but it had made little difference. It would take countless hours to set it to rights. He was also distressingly gaunt. It was almost as if a stranger was looking back at him through the glass. He stared till he couldn't stand it anymore and then turned his back on his reflection and started unwinding the various bandages on his body. They fell to the floor followed by what little clothing he was left with and he stepped into the shower.

As the warm water beat down on him he could not help but let out a contented sigh. Hot running water and the shower were one of his favorite things about modern Japan. The water running down into the drain quickly turned brown. He simply stood there until all the immediate dirt was rinsed off before he actually set about cleansing himself. The soap stung his cuts, but his fingertips burned the most extensively. He took the opportunity to take stock of his injuries.

Several of his claws were gone. He couldn't remember how that had happened. It was a nuisance. He experimentally ran his hands down his sides and drew in a breath at the sharp pain. The ribs had been broken, but now they seemed to be mostly healed. He also had many other superficial hurts that he immediately dismissed. Satisfied with his self- examination he began the arduous task of trying to get his hair in some semblance of order...

He was not sure of what he thought of his situation. He and the miko had known each other in the past only as adversaries. Her intentions were anything but clear. He did not know what his next move would be... Then Sesshoumaru mentally shrugged. Perhaps he would simply go along with whatever the little human had planned.

It wasn't as if he had anything else to do.

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Kagome rummaged ardently through her grandfather's belongings.

"I know it's around here somewhere!" She grumbled to herself.

The task of finding clothing for Sesshoumaru was not an easy one. He certainly couldn't wear anything of hers or her mothers, Souta's clothing was also out of the question, and Grandpa's was too small. However, if Kagome remembered correctly there was another option. Being as there weren't very many stores that sold traditional priest and/or priestesses clothing, Grandpa had always ordered his clothes out a catalogue for a store in Kyoto. One time, they had sent him an outfit that was several sizes too big by accident and he had kept it. Perhaps it would fit the wayward youkai.

She shifted around the objects in a trunk beside his bed and stopped when she felt cloth beneath her fingers. She pulled it out and sure enough, it was what she was looking for. The priest's garment was indeed bigger than anything her grandfather could ever wear and it looked as though it could fit Sesshoumaru. It was different from what she wore as well... Instead of blue the hakama was a pale gray. Smiling at her accomplishment, she put all the things she had moved in her search back in place and exited the room with her prize. She headed back, shaking out the clothes as she went. They weren't too wrinkled. She entered her room and started setting the clothes out for her guest to find when she felt a presence behind her. She whirled around and nearly died.

There was Sesshoumaru, one towel wrapped around his waist and another wrapped around his head. The few strands of hair that escaped his impromptu turban gleamed white. For a moment, Kagome could not help but stare. With all the grime and dirt covering him it had been easy to bring him down to a more manageable level in her mind, but now, seeing him shining as he once did made her wonder just what she had gotten herself into. And of course, there was also the fact that he was wearing a towel.

Only a towel.

Damn.

Kagome snapped out of her musing and blushed seven shades of red. "Uh... I found something for you to wear!" She squeaked. Then she stood there and they looked at each other. He shot her a look that told her he knew exactly the reason for her discomfort.

"Do you wish me to change into them in front of you?" Sesshoumaru questioned after a few minutes.

"NO!"

Kagome fled.

A little while later, Sesshoumaru emerged from the room with a royal air about him. Kagome surveyed him for a second. He looked good in the priests robes. She guessed he would probably look good in anything, but there was something about the old world style of the clothing that just suited him better. But maybe that was just the past talking. After all, the only thing she remembered seeing him in was that fancy kimono with the flower pattern and that big furry...thing he used to wear.

Sesshoumaru looked at her and she looked at him.

"There's still some food down in the kitchen if you want more." She said. He inclined his head in the affirmative, and she went to go get the dishes from her room. She noted that they were spotless; there was not a speck of food left and everything was perfectly neat, down to the placement of the chopsticks. Sesshoumaru waited for her and followed when she made her way down to the kitchen. He took his old plate back and served himself, something Kagome could not imagine him doing. It didn't seem natural. He should have been being served my maids or something like that. What had gone wrong? This whole thing was against his nature.

He sat down at the kitchen table and she joined him. He did not seem shy about eating around her this time.

"You are unable to go back in time anymore?" The youkai asked in between bites.

"Yeah. I just poofed back to this time once the entire Naraku thing was over."

"Pity."

Kagome was unsure how to respond to that. She decided to start up her own line of questioning.

"Do you know what happened to any of my friends? Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, Kaede?"

Sesshoumaru looked at her a moment and did not miss the fact that his brother's name was absent.

"I seem to remember something about them settling down in a village. Beyond that, I know nothing."

"Oh." It was a slim hope anyway. She doubted that Sesshoumaru ever paid them much attention.

"Why did you bring me here, Higurashi?"

Well, that was to the point, and she noticed that the statement contained no thank you... She smiled.

"If you really want to know... I think I just really need someone to talk to..."

The silence that followed was only broken by a distant scratching sound. Sesshoumaru tilted his head to the side as if listening then said deadpan, "Your home is infested with rodents..."

Kagome burst out laughing.

"I know."

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Ah ha! I knew that moose was the one eating my socks!!! Oh... Hi! When did you get here? Have you seen my muse? He's a purple lawn flamingo and his name is Ed. I sent him off in search of tater tots somewhere in Bangladesh and haven't seen him since... Oh well... R&R, people!

Tata, JJ