A Curse Can be a Miracle

by Danie7

The Curse is coming to fruition. How will it all turn out? KagInu MirSan Akiko & Kaori orgi. chara

3. Love Gets More Selfish the Deeper It Get...

Chapter Three: Love Gets More Selfish the Deeper it Gets

Disclaimer: I know I've said this before but here it is once again.*drum roll* I do not own Inu Yasha or any other characters therein besides Akiko and Kaori and yes they should be appearing in this chapter. Nothing has changed since the last chapter I still think Kikyou sucks-

Inu Yasha:*growl* You know you really shouldn't talk about people you don't know so well Danie its not too nice.

Danielle: Like you would know smarty pants. Its not as if you practice being nice on a daily basis. You know very well just what she's after as I have explained it so many times.*evil glare* Be nice or I just might have YOU attack Kikyou instead.oops I just said something I shouldn't have didn't I?

Inu Yasha: You idiot you just might give away the plot before you get there *growl* Besides she's already dead so why attack her do you not have any compassion?

Danielle: Oh shut up you know you like your current sleeping arrangements with Kagome I can change that you know. *is greeted by silence* thank you for seeing it my way. Now on with the story.

Child Inu Yasha bared his fangs at the intruders. They were on his territory and they would just have to get off because he wasn't leaving. There were three large neko youkai all of them fierce looking but he was not going to give in. He flexed his claws hoping to look threatening but when they laughed those hopes were dashed. "Hey you idiot cats what in all the seven hells are you waiting for? Are you afraid of me?" He taunted not giving in to the fear that he would lose.

That got them. The largest charged at him. He stiffened his posture and closed his eyes willing his death to not be painful. When he only heard screaming and nothing else he opened his eyes to see Kagome in front of him. Leaning slightly he saw the gory bloody mess that used to be three demons. He grinned at her. "You really did come when I needed you." He was surprised when she crushed him to her chest. She released him and brushed at her clothes. She was a real mess. Her hair was matted with blood and so was her body. But she was beautiful to him.

"How did this happen Inu Yasha? Did they force you from our cave?" She looked at him searching for any scratches or signs that he had been hurt. He was still trying to understand that she was there with him again.

"I went out to get some food and I got lost. I wandered around looking for the cave but they ran across me before I could get too far." He looked down at the berries and fruits he had gathered that were now decorating the floor. They were now covered in blood and guts and he seriously didn't feel like eating it now. She looked at it also making a face at them.

"Well maybe you should make a mark over there to signify where this place is so that you never get lost again." He wasn't too sure what this would help but he did as he was asked and was rewarded with a gentle smile.

"Like this?" She nodded.

"That is just fine." He ran into her arms and allowed her to carry him back to their cave. He was content to lean his face against her shoulder. "Later I will take you around to mark a few more trees so that you won't be lost again and you will be able to make it back with ease." She grinned as she touched the tip of his nose. "We need to take a bath you know that?"

Inu Yasha smiled at her and nodded. She showed him where the cave was first then brought him to a stream. She set him on the bank and dropped her clothes. She stepped into the cold water but was happy that it was warmer than she had originally thought. "You need to get out of yours also. I won't let you in here if you're fully dressed." She grinned at him and turned as he dropped his clothes. He leapt into the water causing her to laugh as she was splashed. "Come here you." She reached out and grabbed him by his upper arms. She ducked him underwater and pulled him out again scrubbing his hair. He giggled as her claws scratched his head and made a funny feeling in his stomach.

After they had played in the water and were dried off sufficiently she raced him back to the cave. Laughing she got there a few seconds before he did. He careened into her knocking her on her butt but she shook with the force of her laughter. She looked around he had brought a few crystals that he had found into their cave. She picked up one. "Where did you find all of these?" She sat down shivering. He went over to her and cuddled into her hoping that she wouldn't be so cold.

"I found them just around our cave. You looked like you liked these kinds of rocks." He rubbed her arms as they were really cold. She smiled and moved off into the back of the cave showing him a blanket. "Come on we can sleep here tonight and we'll go on an adventure in the morning."

"Yes Kagome if you want to." Her hands grabbed his as she smiled at him sweetly. She grinned at him as she was struck with an idea. She put her arms under his and tossed him way up high in the air. He squealed as he came down. She caught him and repeated the action. She set him down as she crawled under the covers. Opening the covers for him in invitation, he crawled in and snuggled against her stomach.

"Hey Kagome?" she looked at him and waited. "Why don't you treat me like everyone else? You act like I'm special or just as normal as every other kid. And I've always been told that I wasn't special or even wanted."

Her arms tightened their hold on him. "Oh Inu Yasha any one who told you that was wrong. You shouldn't have to change yourself to make other people happy and besides you are beautiful to me just the way you are." He could feel her heartbeat against his back. She sighed at the thought of someone hurting a child let alone her Inu Yasha.

He sighed and clung to her. "I love you Kagome." He fell asleep in her arms. She frowned down at him. 'How in the world could someone be so cruel and to a child at that. Inu Yasha was just so loving and caring. if anyone didn't see that they were blind.' She pressed her face into his hair and passed out. 'If anyone attacks him like that again I will kill them mercilessly.Isn't that what you did just today?' Her mind asked. She shoved the thoughts aside and went into a deep sleep.

Inu Yasha woke up in the comfort of his angel's arms. He smiled against her neck. 'I wonder what the surprise is.' He smiled some more and leaned back looking into her face. She was a human again she turned that way every morning. 'Maybe her demon side just doesn't like the sun.' His childish mind figured. 'She's pretty either way though and she's here just for me.' He scooted up closer to her face and looked at her. 'She looks so tired still.maybe we just haven't been asleep that long.'

He ran a hand over her cheek and felt her pulse jump in her neck as his hand traveled over her exposed skin. His fingers played lightly over her eyelids which were smooth and soft to his touch. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and focused in on him. He waited for her to speak. "Hey you're up early." She looked around "..or maybe I'm up late." She laughed quietly and he curled into her again. He was pleased when her arms wrapped around him and held him there. "So the adventure is up to you. What would you like to do today?"

He smiled. 'What would I like to do?. I would like to do a lot of things but which ones.' He got up stretching willing the sleep to leave his body. "I want to go out and see something I have never seen before in my life." His little fangs made themselves known in his little smile which was followed by a jaw popping yawn.

Kagome bit her lip playfully. "Like what? Is there anything you've never done before?" She stood up shaking the dust from her clothes. He launched himself at her and she caught him as she fell into the dirt grunting. He gave her his best puppy dog eyes. "I want to go out and see where you come from."

She shook her head at him. "That is one thing that I just can't give you Inu Yasha as I'm not too certain if it would work here as I'm not really supposed to be here." He looked crestfallen. "But I could take you to another place that in time will become special to you for other reasons."

His eyes lighted up again. "You know my future don't you Kagome?" He leaned forward placing his hands on either side of her face trying his best to appear dominating and fearsome.

She laughed at him and ran her hands over his ears gently. He rubbed his head against her hand forcefully really enjoying her ministrations on his ears. "Well I do know what happens to you and all I can say is that if I tell you there may be a horrible time confusion or something to that extent. So I'll take you to that special place and we can play there for a while." His chest vibrated his pleasure as she never stopped rubbing his ears.

He lay down on her chest and nuzzled her neck happily. She sighed and sat up with him in her arms. "Lets go Inu Yasha. I do believe that it is a ways from here and it will take me a while." She led him by his hand towards a village he could smell the breakfast cooking on a fire and he could hear the people of the village moving around busily. He looked to Kagome but she wasn't worried about it so neither was he.

They reached the edge of the village and she stopped. She put her hand on his shoulder to make him stop also. She turned to the left and started to walk off again. He caught up with her slipping his hand into hers again. "Don't worry about that place Inu Yasha. You have no need of it right now."

He could smell flowers. The beautiful kind. He wondered briefly if she would let him pick her some flowers. Once they were in the field she looked around and saw a boulder. She sat upon it and let him roam around as he pleased.

She had been surprised at the state of the village it had looked like it had just been in the process of being erected. Some of the huts were still in their beginning stages which had surprised her but not nearly as much as the fact that she hadn't seen Kaeda's hut. It brought about the thought that Inu Yasha wasn't as young as she thought he was in her time. That thought made her wonder just how far into the past she was. She decided to distract herself by watching Inu Yasha as he chased the tiny animals in the tiny meadow. This would be the field that Kikyou would ask Inu Yasha to become human for her. And the field where they would betray each other. She couldn't help the slight smile that came to her face at how Kikyou had ruined her chance with Inu Yasha then. Even though it was brought about by Naraku. She gasped at the turn her thoughts had taken. Was she really so happy that Kikyou had died? She looked at the small version of Inu Yasha and smiled. Yes she was. No matter how mean that did sound she had to be.

He saw a small delicate blue flower hiding behind several large bright ones. If it hadn't been for that small brown rabbit he had been chasing he wouldn't have seen it at all. He looked at it and struck with an idea he plucked it and ran to Kagome. "Hey what kind of flower is this? It's really pretty. It reminds me of you." He said quickly as he shoved it in her face. She smiled at him and rubbed his ears lightly again. He smiled thankful that he had said something to make her happy once again.

"This flower is a forget-me-not and it is really special. You should only give this type of flower to your true love." She looked at it wistfully lost in thought.

She was surprised when small arms wrapped themselves around her waist and squeezed lightly. "Well then I gave it to the right person. I love you Kagome."

"Inu Yasha I love you too but I don't think you love me in the way this flower implies." At his confused look she pulled him into her lap and tried her best to explain. "Okay your true love would be someone that you would do anything to protect from anything that may harm them. Or you just feel like being around that person whether they feel the same way or not. And you feel like you would want to claim then as yours or make them your mate and you never leave their side."

Inu Yasha nodded. "Oh okay well then you can still keep the flower." He bounded off of her lap and dug around playfully in the dirt waiting for night to come so he could play with her and not have to worry about hurting her. He smiled he was barley seventeen and he could hurt her. "Hey Kagome?"

She looked up. "Yes?" In her hands rested a flower wreath that she had been making. At the front was the flower that he had given her. He smiled as he saw that.

"How old are you?" He scratched his head and ran over to her.

"I'm almost sixteen why?" She frowned slightly. "How old are you?" She took the strands and laid them over his head. The bright colors stood out boldly from their perch on his head. She smiled.

"You're only that old? I'm almost seventeen." He grinned at her picking up a strand of her hair he played with it rolling it around in his fingers.

Her eyes darted to his. "You're seventeen?" He nodded. And settled into her lap to relax. Her jaw dropped. "How can you be seventeen?" She smiled thinking that he was joking with her.

"In case you've forgotten we age slower than humans so I will still look like I'm around ten for quite some time." He paused and looked into her face. "You must've really thought I was young ne?"

She nodded. "Yes I didn't expect you to be this old. I thought that once you reached a certain age that you just automatically started ageing slower. Guess that was a stupid assumption ne?" She rubbed his ears and he leaned into the feeling. She sighed as she felt the usual tug of reality. "I'm going to be going away again soon Inu Yasha. Do you want me to take you back to the cave or do you want to try out your skills and see if you can't find it yourself?"

He grinned at her. "I think I'll use my considerable skill and meet you next time but you will play with me then ne?" She laughed as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "It's a deal then." He said making her laugh again just before she faded out and left him again. He felt his cheek where her warm lips had been pressed only moments before.

Kagome awoke by herself. She sat up and looked around smelling the air forgetting that she had yet to turn into a hanyou. Frustrated she got up and searched around but Inu Yasha was no where near her. 'Oh God did something happen to him while I was gone?' She ran outside trying to order the sun to set so that she could be hanyou and find him easier.

Once outside she bit her lip and looked around. "Inu Yasha?" She called uncertain as to where he could have gotten to. She looked around her but all she could see was the leaf barren trees and dead bushes around her. 'Winter is going to be here soon..' A few late birds called in the air as they started to make their trek across the sky to warmer climates. She wandered a little farther hoping to run into him before long.

A few twigs cracked behind her and she whirled around. "Inu Yasha?." Not receiving an answer as there was no one there she started to worry. "W- who's there?" She backtracked and stood at the mouth of the cave certain that he would come once night fell. After a while everything got deadly silent and she was starting to panic. 'Where is he? Oh God please let him be alright please. please.' She prayed. Night set and she transformed.

With her heightened abilities she tested the air for him. He had gone almost directly after she had gone to sleep. She followed her nose and found him bound tightly to a tree with some special kind of rope. "Oh God!" He was beaten roughly she could see the dried blood on his face and that it had pooled around his feet trailing down the tree at his back. She ran to him and tried to cut him free. The bonds wouldn't give. His eyes cracked open and she came into focus. She caressed his face. "Just hold on a minute I'll get you out of this." He couldn't move the bonds tightened around him when he struggled to tell her not to try.

She ignored him moving around to the back she saw where it had been securely tied. She took her claws and worked the knot until it came loose and Inu Yasha fell forward. Running around to the other side she embraced him. "Inu Yasha are you okay? I am so sorry it took me so long to get here." She ran her hands through his hair looking him over trying to discern how bad a shape he was in. He shrugged her off and stood up. The bruises from the ropes that had been tied around his throat burned.

"You know it wasn't too long ago that I was the one doing this?" He laughed then coughed as the action hurt his throat. 'This is just too funny. Now that she's a hanyou she took my place of taking care of the others as well.' He stayed quiet and waited until she was satisfied. "Lets go back. No more leaving the cave for a while ne?" He helped her to her feet. He swayed as he tried to walk. 'I guess I didn't get all my air back yet.' He thought as he felt blackness at the edge of his vision. He was surprised when Kagome picked him up and walked back towards the cave. "Woman, I can walk just fine on my own thank you very much. Now put me DOWN." She shook her head and ignored him. "Can you hear me? I said put me down."

"I will just not right yet. I don't know what attacked you or how they managed to do it as they did. But until I do I am not letting you out of my sight got it?" She looked down at him and he could see the worry in her eyes before it disappeared. She sighed and looked ahead again.

"You know the male is supposed to take care of the female not the other way around." He grumbled as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Well nothing about us is normal is it Inu Yasha? But if the male is hurt how can he take care of the female?" She pointed out making him grumble more but for the most part he kept quiet trying to stave off the impending dark. She got to the mouth of the cave and set him on his feet. He didn't stumble on the way back to the bed. He lay down and closed his eyes slightly wary from the days events. He cracked an eye open as he watched her close the entrance with the boulder. She moved back to his side and ran her hand over his face. When she drew her hand back she asked the inevitable question. "So what happened and how did it happen?"

He sighed. His mouth had a slight blood trail running from the side of it and he was trying not to split his lip again as he had while he was talking to Kagome earlier. Her eyes trailed to it and she reached out her hand to brush away the offending sight. He looked at her as she got frustrated from it oozing blood again. She leaned over him and instinctively licked it to stop the flow. He froze and she looked down satisfied that it had stopped. "So how did it happen?" She seemed totally oblivious to what she had just done.

He shook his head to clear it. "Well while you were sleeping I went out to get something for you to eat as I knew you'd be hungry when you woke up. But I was attacked from behind and they said a lot of things I don't remember." He trailed off and looked away. "I don't know much until you came and got me. As you can see they were able to over power me but it still took three of them to my one and I did get to knock at least one of them completely out of life before they took me down."

He was lying about not remembering, and if he looked her in the eyes she would know it too. Those demons had been upset because she had been turned into a demon and they thought that if there was one there were bound to be more. So they had wanted to use her as an example to all the others who had ever contemplated the idea. But he had not told them where she was so they sufficed with torturing him until a few minutes before she had come for him. They had beaten him bloody and hadn't stopped because he wouldn't tell them where she was. If he had to go through it again he still wouldn't tell them. But why had they left him just before Kagome had come?

He was struck with a realization. "Kagome you have to shield the door." He sat up in worry. "You need to barricade it wit one of those ofudas or something." He looked to the boulder at the entrance then to her. When she didn't move he shoved her towards the entrance. "Go woman and fix it." He watched her until she got there.

She sighed and moved towards it. She placed her hands on the boulder about shoulder length apart. She silently thanked Kaeda for showing her this earlier before all this had even happened. Murmuring a spell to ward off evil spirits she looked at him. "Satisfied?" He nodded his head roughly making his hair tangle under his head. Sighing again she went back to him and took out the knots in his hair. "Better?" He nodded again. Kagome looked around her then decided to crawl over him and sit with her back to the wall.

Inu Yasha was half awake and when Kagome straddled him to get to her destination it shocked him. "W-what are you doing K-Kagome?" She looked down at him as she slid her other leg over him and rested against the wall as she had intended. She raised her eyebrows sending the silent message. 'What?' He blushed and looked away. "Nothing."

She looked at him skeptically and he almost laughed. Because of her dual colored eyes it made her look unnerving and freaked him out slightly and he found that highly amusing. 'Yeah now that Kagome's changed I get to play the submissive one and she gets to surprise me at every turn.' He let a grin cross his features briefly. Her eyes closed much to his pleasure. He studied her while her eyes were closed. Her ears were twitching on top of her head, the tips of them had a black fuzz patch. Almost like her hair he mused looking at the sky blue strands of said hair. The black tips brushed the floor with her head bowed. He hadn't noticed before just how long her hair had grown during her time with him. He was certain she was asleep so he sat up slowly lest she wake up from his movements.

One of his hands took a life of its own and stroked her bowed head. Realizing that she wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon he continued on. She stirred slightly and he remembered earlier on in the day or yesterday.He couldn't really remember. She would talk in her sleep. "Kagome. are you asleep yet?"

"No why should I be?" He about jumped out of his skin. 'She had been awake?!' Her head came up. "Why did you stop that felt really good." She moved her head under his hand again waiting for him to continue on scratching.

"Keh." He moved his hand away and laid down, rolling over so she couldn't see his bright red face. "Go to sleep."

"Whatever you say." She lay down beside him wrapping her arms around him. Pressing her front tightly to his back. He blushed and she smiled against his back falling asleep. 'Never thought I'd be this forward.' Her mind commented before she went to sleep. She didn't visit the child Inu Yasha. Of the morning when she awoke she found Inu Yasha's normal face barely inches from hers. Her smile widened when she saw his lips were parted slightly and he was snoring quietly. 'So THIS is why he never really falls asleep at night with us there.' She giggled. His face was so serene and beautiful when he was sleeping. It made her think that maybe he wasn't just part demon that maybe he was part angel too.

His eyes cracked open to find Kagome's human gaze staring back at him. "Why are you so close?" She realized what he meant when she looked down. Their legs were entangled at an odd angle reminding her of some of that clay art displayed in museums. His pelvis was ground up against hers and she could feel their differences in anatomy very well. She blushed and scrambled out of his close proximity. He smiled. 'So while she's human she acts just as she used to while her personality changes slightly when she's a demon.' (A/N: no really? Boy you have to be a genius to figure that one out. Sorry for outburst, on with the fic) He rolled onto his back and stretched. He was surprised when he went to loosen his haori but found instead that shirt that Kagome had given him earlier. "Kagome I think I may want my clothes back now.." Then he remembered. HE had left them on the other side of the well. He groaned.

"What? You're the one who left them you know." She moved over to the boulder but she couldn't push it back. Inu Yasha sat up noticing this. 'I can use this information later.' He stored the fact away and pulled her away by the waist. "Listen we agreed there would be no going outside for a little while, so behave yourself." She groaned and relaxed in his arms. He put her down and she instantly ran to where she knew another exit was. This one wasn't barricaded but it was empty on the other side with the mountain acting like a natural fence against anyone entering the place. She inhaled the fresh air trying to calm down a little not too sure what it was that was stressing her out so much. "You know there's not going to be that much to do if it's just us right?"

'I can think of a million things to do with you Kagome.' He decided to keep this little thought to himself and wisely so. "Well if you get too bored you can always sleep just think of that but until then there are a few things you may want to learn as we're trapped over here-" He cut off not wanting to go any farther hoping she hadn't read too much into his words.

"What do you mean we're trapped?" She asked warily. He cursed inside his head at every deity known to man. She waited silently for his answer.

"I didn't mean it like it sounds Kagome-" She frowned at him knowing he was lying. He sighed. "I meant that we don't have a way out so we're 'trapped'. As we can't leave that means there is no where else to go." He sat down by the little stream on a rock. She looked at him dryly mouthing the word 'yeah'. He frowned. "Do you want to be attacked by those youkai?"

"No I don't want to be attacked Inu Yasha." She said as she sat near him. "So what is it you want to teach me now?" He grinned at her making her slightly nervous.

"How about you learn how to fight for real?" His smile widened as hers shrank. "We can start practicing now while you're human so as to give you a better advantage when you change tonight." Her smile dropped off her face while his looked as if it hurt. He laughed as he jumped off the rock and tackled her.

He had to check himself from playing to roughly. She was human again and he had to remember that. 'But if she pulls another one of those stunts I swear I'm going to lose it.' He said mentally. She had bit his neck as she had tried to roll him over after the initial tackle. He had leapt off of her but had pounced again once she had gotten up putting her back on the ground. She elbowed him with all her might in the stomach knowing that she couldn't hurt him. He pretended to be hurt while he rolled off of her clutching his gut. She grinned and pounced on him throwing punches at his chest and upper arms. He laughed as he tossed her over his head and she landed on her back with a loud thump. Dazed she lay there for a while when he landed on her again and pinned her down. His right hand held both of her arms captive by the wrist. His left was tickling her on her stomach. His hips were on her thighs keeping her still. She wriggled laughing and groaning under him trying to throw him off. "I give! I give!" She yelled when she lay panting too tired to move any more let alone laugh. He smiled down in her face. "That was fun. Get your breath back I want to play again." He looked up into the sky noting that it was mid-afternoon. "You hungry?"

She blushed as her stomach answered him for her. "I haven't eaten since we left my house so um. I kind of am." She laughed tiredly as he pulled her to her feet. He caught her as she swayed slightly. "Man I am beat."

He laughed. "Yep and I was the winner." She playfully hit him in the arm as they wandered through the natural garden. She saw a few apples in some of the trees and pointed. He got her idea and let go of her as he leapt up and grabbed some tossing them down for her. She waited until he was done then she took up two and went to the stream. She rinsed them off then handed him one and bit into the other. He watched as the juice from the apple slid down her chin. Taking one of his claws he caught it and tasted it himself. "You got a good one." He commented as he bit into his. She blushed and looked away. He looked at her and saw that the tips of her ears had turned pink. "What are you thinking about Kagome? Your ears are turning pink."

That only caused them to go darker making him even more curious. When she stammered out a "N-n-nothing." He knew something was up. Smirking he moved closer to her. She turned to face him and fell on her butt when she saw how close he was. "You surprised me." She said not moving from her seat on the ground. He waited for her to say what she had been thinking of but she stayed silent. He could hear her heart thundering away in her chest.

"Hey I still want to know what you were thinking that made your ears do that." He crouched down to her level still crunching on his apple. She waved him off. "I'm eating." She said between bites. He nodded. "So am I but I'm still talking to you aren't I?" She nodded looking away.

He dropped it much to her pleasure and stayed silent. After she finished eating she looked at him. "What's on your mind?" He looked at her. 'Why does she want to know?'

"Why?" He got up and got another apple. Moving over to the stream he did as she had done and rinsed it off. Biting into it he licked the juice that pooled into the hole he had just made.

"Because I just wanted to know." She put her core in the stream and watched as it rolled away in the gentle current. "As you're so quiet all the time I figured there must be something you think a lot about and I just wanted to know what it was."

'Well it's her that I think about most but there is no way I'm telling her that.' He pondered for a moment. "Well I think of lots of things. There's not really any specific thing that I really think about." He lay back in the grass relaxing.

"I would've figured you would think about Kikyou a lot." She shrugged, "But that could be just me." She looked at him for any kind of confirmation and was surprised when she saw his face.

'Who?.Kikyou.. She was the one I had thought was Kagome when I first met her. But now that I know for sure that she's not and I have Kagome. What about her?' He looked at her. "Yeah I think about her sometimes." He took her hand when he saw that the night was coming. He held it and felt her nails elongate until they bit into the palm of his hand. He looked at her hair and watched as the light blue came from the roots of her hair and flew out slowing down and stopping just a few inches from the bottom leaving a black streak. He smiled into her now dual colored eyes. "You know.It's amazing to watch you change."

She blushed. Her tail as usual had to make itself known by brushing against his hands. He released her hands to run his fingers through her tail. "Well tomorrow you get to go through the same thing." She got up and looked at the sky as a bare sliver of the moon rose and tiny spots of white light made themselves known in the sky. She looked down at him when he made no reply. "I will be the one watching you then." She smiled and stood up. Her tail flicked over his body once before she rolled up her pants to step into the biting cold of the stream. She turned and smiled at him.

"Hey Kagome.I want to take you to your time in about three days." He waited for her reaction. 'Usually such a statement would make her jump for joy at getting to go home for a time. Maybe she finally wants to stay here with me.' When she still said nothing he pulled off his pants and went into the water with her. "Kagome.Are you wanting to go home?"

She turned and looked at him. He felt so bad just looking at her. He eyes looked so sad. "Do you think they'll take this well?" She gestured to her body. He went to her and on impulse hugged her to him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she leaned against him. "I know they're my family but.." Her hands fisted in his shirt. "I just don't want them to be mad or. or to look at me differently."

He stroked her back. "I know. And I don't think that they would do that to you so calm down. They're your family and they should love you regardless." She had picked up on the word 'should' and frowned. 'Was there a chance that they really wouldn't accept her as she was?'

Her answer was muffled against his shirt but he caught the gist of it. "What do you think of how I look?" He was suddenly glad she couldn't see his face because of the shock that question had produced. When he didn't answer after a while she sighed. "I should've known." She said quietly.

He sighed and she stiffened against him. "I think you look pretty any way you are." She relaxed against him. 'Well at least I said something right.' "Come on you promised me you'd give me a good fight once you changed." He grinned down at her.

She smiled back up at him pulling out of his arms. She went to the bank and grabbed up his pants. "You might want these." She grinned and wadded them up tossing them to him. He caught them and moved up on the bank pulling them on. They clung to his ankles and anywhere else he was wet. He pulled them up to his knees so that the uncomfortable feeling wouldn't get to him.

He smiled and ran at her. But with her now as close to a good opponent as he could get she was able to move fast enough that he missed her. She laughed at him as she kept herself just out of his reach jumping form tree to tree. His hands tried to swipe at her but were always just short of their mark. He got frustrated at not being able to catch her so he changed his tactic. He stopped and waited for her to come to him. "Hey I thought you wanted to play." She taunted.

Edging as close as she dared to him she bit her lip and carefully gauged how much farther she could go and still be able to move fast enough to escape him. 'Well he's never really going to hurt me and besides this game is just for fun.' She reasoned. As quietly as she could muster she got up behind him. His ears twitched on his head and she knew he knew that she was there. Instead of backing down she ran at him but he turned and caught her just as she collided. Her force knocked them both into the stream.

He laughed as he sat up in the cold water. "How many times are you going to soak us like this?" He got up and shook off as much water as he could. She got up and wrung out her tail. It was soaked. She climbed out of the stream dripping wet.

"As many times as I want to. Besides you needed a bath after all you still smell like blood." She answered as she took off her shirt wringing it out. He watched until she glared at him. "Do you mind?" He turned away trying to hide the blush that had crept across his cheeks.

"What? Finally going modest now are we?" He said gruffly. Rolling his shoulders and went back inside the cave. She stayed out a while longer looking into the sky. She wrapped her arms around her knees as she sat under the trees in the small grove. She looked at the hole in the mountainous sides that surrounded the glade she was in. It led to Inu Yasha and her new 'home' with him she mused. Looking up into the sky she thought of all the other people that must be looking up at the same sky as she was. Maybe not in this time period but all throughout any time. There must have been millions of others and a handful of those would be thinking along the same lines as her. It was amazing. She heard the leaves crunch and rustle under heavy footsteps. The blanket from inside the cave was draped over her shoulders. She rubbed her face. "Thank you Inu Yasha."

He sat beside her. "What were you thinking about?" When she only looked at him he elaborated. "You just looked kind of sad or just really.. well different than your normal expression. And it looked like you were interested in whatever it was that you were thinking." He trailed off.

"I was thinking.that maybe.a lot of other people are out there looking at the same sky I am. Maybe not at the same time but in the future, in the past and now. That would really amount to a lot of people.But the sky never changes. If we were to go to my time right now. We could look into the sky and see the very same stars. And every once in a while there are going to be other people who look up into the sky and realize that too." She leaned back against the tree. "As if you can't tell I'm bored." Her customary smile came to her face as she closed her eyes trying to relax.

"Kagome?" She looked at him and waited. "How is it that you can smile so much? I mean if I were in your place I wouldn't be too happy." He paused waiting for her to answer but she was quiet knowing that there was more. "If I had to change like you did and I was so used to something like that. I don't think I'd be too happy."

She leaned against him. "I'm fine Inu Yasha. I don't mind being like this.."

"Why?" He was puzzled any human in their right mind would be looking for every and any way possible to be put back to the way they were. 'I know that I wasn't too happy that Kikyou wanted me to change for her. I know that I was disappointed that she couldn't love me as I was but why doesn't Kagome look like she's thinking the same things I had?'

She frowned and looked away from him. "Well.it's just that.I like being this way. And I don't care much for anyone else's opinion besides my own. But the fact that.you actually.. you don't look at me like I'm. never mind..." She got up and walked back to the cave. Curling up in their sleeping area she faced the wall. Inu Yasha walked in a few minutes later. 'Well at least she told me part of it while she was awake and knew what she was saying.' He thought. He looked at her small form on the floor curled in on itself. 'She obviously said more than she intended.' He hunched down beside her. "Are you tired Kagome?" 'Did I always act so mean to her? Make her feel so worthless?' He frowned as he rethought of all the mean things he had ever done to her and felt bad.

She nodded. He sighed and touched her face. He was going to have to do something to get her to cheer up as he was certain that her current mood was because of him. She turned to him. "Will you do something with me?"

She nodded slowly and sat up. "What is it Inu Yasha?" He pulled her to her feet.

"Dance with me." She smiled at him. "What? I've never done it before." She shook her head and leaned against his chest swaying slightly. He placed his hands on her hips not too sure what he was supposed to do. When she pulled him tighter to her he knew he had done the right thing. He followed her slight movements and when she started to move her feet in different patterns he followed to the best of his ability. She laughed when he stepped on her feet for the tenth time that night.

When he got the hang of it they messed around trying out tons of things that Kagome had seen in her time on those movie things. He rather liked when she had him dip her. She had laughed and he could feel it reverberate through her chest into his.

Once he was certain she had forgotten about telling him he set her in the bed and curled around her. "Go to sleep we've been awake for quite a while. And I imagine that you will be extremely tired what with you traveling through time so much." She turned in his arms and tucked her head under his chin. "Tomorrow we'll do something different ne?" She nodded before she dropped off into a deep slumber.

She didn't wake up until the sun was starting to set. She looked at the boy in front of her. "Inu Yasha wake up." She nudged his chin with the top of her head. His eyes opened slowly and his mouth yawned opening widely, showing her that his fangs were already starting to dull. She smiled when she saw his tongue loll like a dogs would. "What?" His voice was thick with sleep.

"Nothing." She detangled herself form him and peered into his face. His eyes were starting to darken around the edges, creeping in on his natural amber. She pulled him to his feet laughing when he started yelling at her leave him alone. She pulled him outside into the ever dimming light of the sun. She watched as his hair started to turn from a silvery white to pitch black. His ears started their slow descent to the sides of his head losing the bit of fur and getting more of a human curve to them. She lightly fingered the small point that was left of his ears until it too disappeared. She looked into his now brown eyes. She could see herself in them and they drew her in just as much as his amber ones did. "Wow. I think I know what you mean by liking watching someone change like that." She peered into his face. He leaned back not too comfortable with her being so close to him but not wanting her to leave completely.

"You're a little close don't you think?" She blushed and apologized. 'Well she does look different with these human eyes. But what is it that makes her appear so?' He thought for a moment studying her face before him as she still hadn't turned away. "You know you look very different with these human eyes of mine." 'She looks like a goddess or something so far above me. Like maybe I'm a peasant looking on a queen.'

She looked down not sure what he meant by 'different'. "Oh." She said stupidly.

"No I don't mean different like bad. I mean I can't see you as well and it. just makes you look different to me but you're still just as pretty or even more so now." He about bit off his tongue. 'Well that was about the understatement of the century. She's a lot more than pretty.' He got up uncomfortable with his thoughts so he decided to leave them.

"Come on I'm tired of being in here and I wanted you to see the ocean and now that you're human is the best time to do it." She grabbed his hand and before he could say anything edgewise she was out of the cave and running through the woods with him on her back. He sighed. 'Will she ever just let me walk on my own? I swear I don't see how she could like this.' He smirked as she landed with a flourish at the well. "Lets go."

"Wait Kagome. What are you going to do about your.. um ears?" She remembered and put him down. She fingered them thinking of the different possibilities.

"Well I can always hide them somehow but I don't intend on going near other people when I look like this so I won't be worrying too much about it. And after all this is night so. Wait I don't have to worry about that." Her face brightened.

He gave her a wry glance. "If anyone notices that tail I'm sure you'll be able to just explain it away too. " she smiled and wrapped her tail around her neck. "Do you like my scarf?"

"Well what if those animal rights people you talk about sometimes throw red paint on it?" He countered thinking he had caught her.

"I will kill them. There is no way that they will do that to MY tail." She punctuated with a light growl. "And as for my ears I just won't move them but if I do then I can always say that I got them specially made." She moved her hair so that it covered where her ears were supposed to be. "There now I can always say that it's just a pair of fake ears. Are you happy?" She didn't give him time to answer. Grabbing him she jumped into the well. The familiar weightless feeling assaulted them both. After they touched ground she could hear her grandfather outside talking with some of the neighbors. Her mother and Sota were probably still at that school field trip. She leapt out of the well and moved stealthily along the edge of the shrine. Inu Yasha followed closely behind her as quietly as he could.

Once she was certain that they were beyond her grandpa's hearing she took his hand and walked with him to the edge of the city. It didn't take so long as they already lived on the outskirts anyway. She looked up to the signs even though she knew where she was going. With her enhanced senses she was able to already smell the salt of the sea and she knew that it wouldn't be too long before he would be able to smell it too.

His nose habitually wiggled as he tried to smell the air. "Stupid human nose.." He grumbled. His hand flexed in hers asking for release so she let go. He followed her the sand sticking to his bare feet. He rather liked the foreign feel until life had to play its little pranks on him as usual.

He cursed when he stepped on a broken shell. She turned around and could smell the blood leaking out of his foot. "Here." She sat him down and looked at it. She looked into his eyes. "It may hurt a bit but I have to get this shell out of your foot." He nodded and bit his lip. She took her claws and carefully pulled out the piece that was embedded deeply inside the cut. "Here it is." She said holding up her bloody prize. He sighed in relief. "But I'm afraid you can't walk on it until we get you to the water as the sand might get into it and make it fester and get really gross." He sighed resigning himself to taking her help yet again. She put an arm under his shoulder and helped him hobble up the sand dunes to the ocean. As she got close to the waters edge she pulled off her pants and her upper shirt. He sat down keeping his leg off the sand as she had said and did the same.

She smiled at him and pulled him to his feet. Lifting him up she tossed him in the waves. He gasped as the cold water engulfed his body. He felt her small hands grasp his and pull him up to the surface. He took in a deep breath once his face broke through. The waves crashed against the rocks closer to shore. He looked to where he had landed and where he was now. "How did you swim out here so fast. You threw me so far. And by the way I really don't like being treated like a sack of rice for your own pleasure." He looked at her as her hands moved from his arms to his waist and pulled him closer to her. He could feel her body heat radiating off of her in waves. He shivered hoping that she would think it was the water getting to him.

"Are you cold?" She pulled him tighter. He could feel her legs moving gracefully under the waves as she pulled them farther out to sea. "You know when I was younger.I used to have a fear of what I couldn't see under the water. I used to watch all these scary movies and they gave me all sorts of ideas. Like the movie Jaws. I never used to like to swim in the ocean or any other body of water where other things lived."

He looked out farther. He opened his mouth to ask what exactly was 'Jaws' when something caught his attention. There were sleek gray bodies moving through the water. "Kagome what are those?" She turned to look at them as they approached.

"They're dolphins. They're supposed to be a very smart animal. Maybe if we stay still they'll play a little bit closer to us." She kept moving her legs under water to keep them from going under and he started to wonder where she was getting all this energy to be able to keep them afloat for this long. "sometimes they do tricks in the water like jumping up and splashing its really cute to watch."

"Kagome aren't you going to get tired soon? Why don't we go over to those rocks on that jetty?" She looked to where he was pointing.

"I can't. If we go over there. There are crabs in those rocks and they have extremely strong pincers and they could cut off one of your toes and that would really hurt. And there are jelly fish and everything else out here so lets just stay. I'm not too tired.not at all." She turned him to where his back was pressed to her chest and he could see the dolphins better. And just as she had said there were a few that were jumping the waves. He watched as their graceful bodies slid through the water as if it were air. "They're beautiful aren't they?"

He could feel the salt of the ocean in his cut and it stung but he kept quiet so that the dolphins wouldn't notice them and think of them as a threat and leave. "Yes they are.Are there going to be whales?" He looked out to the sea unable to see where it ended.

"I don't know. They generally don't come out that often but we may get lucky. I wasn't expecting the dolphins to be out I was thinking that the seals would be and they come out every night so I want you to see those before we go back." She rested her forehead on the side of his neck. He gave into temptation and pressed his lips to her hair. She looked up at him surprise written all over her face. She smiled gently at him and returned the gesture. He pressed his lips tighter against hers but she broke off before he could deepen the kiss.

He rested his forehead against hers once they broke apart. "I guess you get to be my first in everything don't you Inu Yasha?" She smiled into his eyes. Before he could answer she looked into the sky. "We might want to move to shore as it's going to be light soon. And I'm not so sure that I'll be able to support us both with me just being human. Unless you can swim against the current?"

He shook his head. "I don't know how to swim never tried." She smiled at him. "Will you take me to the ocean in our time to teach me?" A rough barking noise was heard on the rocks. He looked as pillow-like bodies moved sluggishly and clumsily on the land. He could see them rolling off into the water and that's where their clumsiness as they turned out to be as graceful as the dolphins.

"Sure. It should be fun.. but what if there are other demons in the water?.Maybe we should practice at night when all decent people are asleep." She suggested. He nodded ascent. Looking to shore she balanced him on her stomach with one arm around his waist as she pulled them to shore using the current to help her get back.

Soon they were able to stand up in the shallow water, he watched as the sun rose and her ears moved down on her head to their natural position. Her hair seemed to absorb the light blue color and her eyes swirled in colors until it went back to normal. He could feel his strength returning to him and her eyes stayed on him until he was done. They watched as the sun put gorgeous streaks of color across the ocean's surface. He looked at her in her human form once again. The breeze coming in off the ocean was stirring her hair and her cheeks were flushed from the cold. "I can't believe we did that with it being almost winter." He commented as he pulled on his clothes. Then he quickly jerked her onto his back going back towards the shrine and home.

Once they were inside the yard he saw her grandfather sweeping the steps. "Oi not get much sleep last night?" He called out giving the man a shock. He smirked when he saw the old man's eyes look like they were going to pop out of his head.

"Kagome! How is it that I didn't see you come out of the shrine my girl?" He moved over to them and glared at Inu Yasha. Inu Yasha let her down and she slid down his back slowly as if she really didn't want to. Then he remembered that she had left her clothes at the beach. 'No wonder she didn't want to get down.' Immediately he stepped up to the grandpa and looked down at him. "Hey why don't we see why your ofudas don't work." Kagome took the hint and ran inside to get dressed. He placed on of his clawed hands on the old man's shoulder and was peered at with disdain.

"What do you mean my ofudas don't work? I'll show you that they do!" The old man exclaimed. He ran back to his little shrine and dug out a box full of them. He threw a few of them at Inu Yasha and they hit him but did nothing. He remembered being hit with the power in Miroku's ofudas. Boy was that something that he never wanted to feel again.

"Here if you let me help maybe they will ne?" he moved closer to the old man and took one in his hands. "I will take this to Kaeda or Miroku and see if they can't tell me anything okay?" The old man glared at him. He picked up one of the scrolls and held it between his claws studying it carefully.

"What did you do to my granddaughter? After all she is only sixteen and I'm certain that because you're a demon you are a lot older than you look." He hissed as he gave Inu Yasha the stink eye. "She came back here in her underclothes. If I find out you took advantage of our Kagome you're in trouble."

Kagome came out of the house just then and caught the end of his sentence. "Jii-chan do you really have to ask? He didn't do anything we just went for a swim in the ocean. He's never been and I wanted him to see the animals and stuff out there. I didn't have my swimsuit with me and I didn't want to ruin my clothes by staining them with salt water. Besides don't you trust me enough to know that I'm not ready for something like that? I'm not that stupid."

Jii-chan still didn't look convinced so she went for her trump card. "Besides if you really think he did something you can take me to the doctors just to make sure." She didn't have to say any more. With Jii-chan being so old he wasn't comfortable with talking about going to the doctors to get 'checked out' for stuff like that.

He muttered something inaudible under his breath but Inu Yasha caught it and Kagome already knew what it was. "Fine I believe you Kagome." He looked up at Inu Yasha then. "Are you going to let her go to school? Or was this just a check in?" The stink eye was still there just not as fierce.

"It was just a check in Jii-chan. We will be back more often though so no worries ne?" He hugged his granddaughter and she kissed him on the cheek. "Take care of yourself Jii-chan and try to keep the diseases at a minimum thanks. I'll see you all in a little while okay?" She smiled as he watched her jump into the well.

She sighed when they got to the other side. "That was shocking. I can't believe I forgot something like that." She blushed furiously. "I mean for real. It was my clothes! You'd think I could remember something like that."

He laughed at her. "So what 'doctor' is this that it upset your Jii-chan so much?"

She grinned at him. "In my time it's a doctor who looks at you down there." She pointed to the referred area. "And on girls he can tell if they're still virgins or not. Jii-chan isn't exactly too keen on going to one of those and neither am I."

"There's a job in your time to look at naked girls? And in their most private places?" He was shocked. She laughed at his facial expression.

"There are plenty of them. I guess it's a good thing that Miroku isn't from my time ne? He would scare all those poor girls silly." She sighed and looked towards Kaeda's. "I think I want my CD player."

"You mean that noisy thing that Shippo sang to?" She nodded. He groaned. "Why do you want that noisy thing though?" He whined not wanting to go to the village at all.

She took his arm. "I'm going with you and when you get my pack I'm going to see how Sango and Miroku and Shippo are doing. I was really worried about them." He nodded and reluctantly took her to the village.

Once they got there Shippo launched himself at Kagome as was his custom. "Kagome! It's been so long since I've seen you. I'm missed you." She laughed as she stroked the kit's head. He looked into her eyes. "I never want you to leave me like that again."

She smiled down at him. "Now Shippo you know that I don't mean to." She heard Sango and Miroku call her name from a little way away. She glanced up. "Hey guys I'm over here." She waved her free arm. "Shippo with Inu Yasha being the way he is I'm not too sure that he would want you along. But I promise that I will come and get you tomorrow if you can behave yourself ne?"

He nodded vigorously. There was no way he was going to get to miss out on spending time with Kagome. He sat on her shoulder as Sango crushed Kagome in a gigantic hug. "Kagome oh we missed you." Kagome smiled but before she could say anything the monk had her in an equally crushing hug. "Inu Yasha needs to let you breathe for a while Kagome."

Said hanyou cleared his throat behind the monk and picked him off of Kagome. "Why hello Miroku I'm glad to see that you found Kagome now if you don't mind." He put him down a fair distance away from Kagome. "So Sango I know you went to go find out some information on Kagome's condition so how did it go?"

Sango glared at him. "I don't think I was wanting to tell you but you already know all of what I'm going to say." Kagome looked quizzically at them all wondering what had been going on lately.

"I do?" He looked puzzled and it made Sango wonder if he had been asleep when Kikyou had found out the information from him. 'Maybe that's why she was able to remember such trivial details.'

"Yes you do as you're the only one who knows anything about it. Kagome isn't going to live a normal life. She will live longer than a normal human but its not for sure if she will live as long as a hanyou as she still turns human during the mornings. She won't age that quickly thanks to her transformation. And she won't be able to be transformed back into a human thanks to the Shikon jewel." She looked at Kagome. "Because of the way the death wish was stated you had to want to change too Kagome. And because you carry the power of the sacred jewel your magic combined with his to create the spot you're in now." She tapped her lips as she looked at Inu Yasha. "There's one other thing. We can find out more information but we have to go to your hometown which was burned down years ago and hope that it will give us more answers. But as we have not even the slightest clue as to where you grew up we have no idea of where to start."

Inu Yasha glared at her. "You went to Kikyou." It was a statement not a question but Sango felt the need to nod affirming what he had said. "Why did you go to her?" His voice was deathly cold.

"I will never go near that horrible nasty old wretch again and I hope she rots in hell with all the other demons we've sent ahead of her." Sango spat vehemently.

Miroku laid a comforting hand on her shoulder to get her to calm down. "That isn't too nice to say as she did clear up a few things for us Sango. But granted she wasn't exactly the nicest person you could meet and I second what she just said.The point is Inu Yasha that we need you to tell us where you grew up so that we may go to find out more about Kagome's condition."

Inu Yasha looked away. "No."

"What?" Miroku everyone bore the same shocked faces. Inu Yasha repeated himself. "But why? Don't you want to get Kagome to be able to be one way all the time?"

"Of course I do. But it's up to her for that not me. The reason I won't tell you where I grew up however is because you would die. Sesshomaru would kill you for trespassing as he inherited the land and I did not. But that really doesn't help you does it? Because everyone knows that the castle I grew up in is a secret place not even many demons know the location and I know for a fact that before I was sealed away by Kikyou that he had been hunting down the ones who did know. So I can very well say that you have a snowball's chance in hell of finding that place." He put his arm around Kagome's shoulder. "I found your CD player lets go."

Shippo tugged his hand off of Kagome's shoulder. "I don't want her to go. Kagome stay here we all want you here." She gently set Shippo on Sango's shoulder. He cried.

"Shippo what did I say?" His tears dried up. "That's much better. Now behave yourself and try to help Sango and Miroku. They may need your help." With that she turned with Inu Yasha and they walked off into the forest.

"Just what was it that you said to the kit Kagome?" She smiled and held onto his arm successfully distracting him.

Miroku looked to Sango as they watched them go. "I don't know about you but I want to find that place. Did you see how Kagome looked at Inu Yasha when she heard that there might be a way to make her hanyou all the time? I think she may want it." He took Shippo. "Hey you were on her shoulder you could hear her heartbeat what did it say?"

"She was excited by the idea but I don't think we should meddle in this. Inu Yasha didn't seem to keen on the idea." Shippo said as he looked at Sango. "You noticed it too I know you did."

"Yes I noticed. But. Inu Yasha doesn't seem to like the idea of her changing especially if he thinks she's doing it for him." Sango said.

"Which she essentially is. But that's okay I suppose. because if she does he will never leave her alone. Just look at him now. I bet she had done something really nice for him or she had to pull teeth to get him to come down here with her. As he seemed not to like the idea last time of her going anywhere without him unless he told her to. And even when he told her to he had ulterior motives on why she should go." Shippo and Sango nodded.

"Well where should we go to find out where he grew up? Kagome looked like she might know but there is no way that we'd be able to ask her. Even so she probably wouldn't say anything as she wouldn't like to upset him. No matter what she really wouldn't tell I bet. So I guess that leaves us to find Jaken or Sesshomaru. But do you think that we can?" Miroku said.

A few days journey away from the small group said demons were watching Rin. The spunky little girl was running through a group of birds scattering them to the winds. She giggled and laughed with delight as they called to each other in the air. Sesshomaru contemplated on how he had gotten stuck with an annoying servant who was about as dense as a rock and an overtly happy girl for the millionth time in the day.

He looked down at the toad demon by his feet when he heard a less than uplifting comment about the human girl. "Be careful Jaken because to me you are both a weakling and annoying." That shut the toad up as the toad knew that if he uttered another word his life would be on the line.

Sesshomaru finally got fed up with the girl's antics and called to her. "Rin come we are leaving." The demon lord didn't wait on her but moved on.

Rin watched as Sesshomaru-sama moved deeper into the forest. She giggled to herself as she sent one last bird flying before she ran after him. "Wait up Fluffy-sama!" That name caused the poor demon lord to shudder. Oh how he loathed that name she had given him. He slowed his pace none the less pausing as the human child caught up to him. He sneezed. "Oh!" Rin said. "Someone's thinking about you Fluffy-sama." She grinned at him. He regarded her out of his cold eyes and wasn't surprised when she took hold of his limp sleeve in her tiny little hands.

"No one is thinking of me Rin." He corrected her.

"Oh yes they are. There are some people that have to know about Sesshomaru- sama. Surely he doesn't kill every one he meets does he?" She asked Jaken as she knew that the demon lord would never answer her himself.

The toad glared at the miserable little human. "Yes he does you little brat and he should've done the same to you too." That earned him a glare from Sesshomaru which caused him to shut up rather quickly. "But I guess you're lucky." He mumbled.

Rin smiled at him knowing exactly why he had to backtrack as he did. She shone her smile at Sesshomaru-sama. As he didn't appear to be in the best of moods she left off her nickname for him but she still asked as she always did. "Where are you taking us Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Be quiet Rin. There is no need for you to know where we are going just that we are." He answered curtly. Nonplussed Rin still smiled and skipped ahead of him on the trail giggling slightly to herself. Sesshomaru regarded her from his cold eyes as she still bounced around in front of him. He kept it to himself but lately he had been feeling a slight warmth when he looked at her and now was no different. It made him uneasy and snappy so he was glad that neither of his companions said a word to him. Every so often he would catch comments about stupid humans and what-not from Jaken but if he were to keep it up any longer Sesshomaru was just going to have to beat him bloody. "One more comment, Jaken, just one more and I will kill you. I am not up to listening to your fits right now and as you cannot change the fact that Rin is traveling with us I suggest that you shut up before I am forced to make you."

The toad remembered his place and stared sullenly at the object of his hate. 'How in the world could a human- and a mere child at that- worm its disgusting little way into Lord Sesshomaru's affections?' As he had more self-preservation instincts than to voice his discomfort through a growl or any other natural demon instinct. He had to suffer through his discomfort.

That night as was the usual custom they slept outside. Rin watched Sesshomaru through half lidded eyes. She had been spent from the morning of watching Fluffy-sama attack the humans who didn't give what he wanted which ultimately meant their deaths. She knew he was watching her to see a reaction to maybe be able to have an excuse to send her away. So instead of giving into the horror of what had occurred she looked down at her own species and made a face at them. "Eww they sure do bleed a lot Fluffy- sama." That response seemed to please him as he nodded and moved on in search of whatever it was that he had wanted.

Yawning as weariness took over her small frame she saw that her Fluffy-sama was laying on his back with his tail curled over his lap as a blanket. She shivered on the cold ground then bit her lip looking from him to the ground she was laying on. Finally coming to a decision in the internal war in her head she walked silently over to Sesshomaru. When he didn't act as though he knew she was there she crawled onto his chest to sleep under his tail with him.

Sesshomaru could hear the girl stir beside him even though she was supposed to be sleeping. He kept an ear on her and was mildly surprised when he heard her tip toe over to him and crawl under his tail with him. His eyes shot open as he felt her snuggle down on his chest keeping one of her hands on the exposed skin at his neck. He pretended not to notice and fell asleep that way.

Inu Yasha sat up in the night looking down on Kagome. Her face was flushed slightly as she slept. Tonight he was certain that she was asleep. "Kagome?"

Her ears swiveled in his direction. "Hmmm?" she said sleepily as she snuggled into his side.

"Are you awake?" He felt her nose brush his side in negation. "Do you want to be hanyou all the time?" He rolled her onto her back so he could see her chest rise and fall with each of her breaths. She didn't answer him so he figured that she still wasn't sure. "What are you dreaming about?"

"The ocean. and when you. kissed me." Came her sleepy reply as she sighed. He grinned. "Why are you dreaming about that?"

"Mmmm it felt good." He smiled at that. "Would you like me to do it again?" He heard her show signs of waking up and laid down to keep her from noticing.

"Inu?. Are you awake?" She yawned. He looked at her and feigned that she had just woken him up. "Sorry. I thought you were saying something." She started to drift off again. He decided that he may as well try as she had liked it the first time.

He pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes opened up. Realizing what he was doing, she smiled before they slid shut again. He experimentally licked her lips to ask entrance. Her lips parted under his letting his tongue roam inside. When he ventured too far into her mouth her fangs nipped lightly. Enjoying the sensation that traveled his body when she did that he tried it again. He moaned into her mouth as he felt the desire rock his body with that simple act.

Wanting her to feel the same things he was he drew her tongue into his mouth and nipped. She purred slightly enjoying the feel just as much as he did. He drew away from the kiss to plant small ones along her jaw and down the column of her throat sliding his hands up and down her arms. "You awake now?" He asked his voice slow and rough as his tongue was slightly swollen from their play.

She sighed and rolled over. "You wanted me awake is all?" She looked at him through half-lidded eyes. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen he decided. He nodded so she got up and wandered around. "What did you want me awake for?" He just grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes. Then she heard scrapping on the other side of the boulder and muffled voices. Inu Yasha too distracted by her didn't hear it. He moved to her pushing his face in the crook of her neck purring lightly. "Shhh-" She ran her hands quickly through his hair. "I think someone's on the other side of the boulder trying to get in." She whispered as she tried to frown down at him.

'How in the world can she be thinking after that?' His mind just couldn't comprehend that she wasn't as muddled as he was. "What?" He wanted to growl at the groggy way his voice sounded.

"Someone or.." She sniffed the air. There was a slight air current coming from under the boulder where they had been digging for a while. "There are about three or four of them and some of them smell like a wet dog." Her nose wrinkled.

"They must be from Kouga's tribe. That wimpy wolf always smells like wet dog no matter how much he yells about me reeking of dog-"He was cut off by Kagome's hand over his mouth.

"You don't smell like a dog. You smell rather nice to me if that's any consolation. But let's take care of whomever's on the other side and then we might just continue what you started." With that she pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. He grinned. 'So she did like it.' He couldn't help the way his considerable ego swelled at her actions and his thoughts.

He then concentrated and heard the demons on the other side. 'Those aren't the same ones who wailed on me.But they definitely know them. Oh God Kagome's going to be in danger.' That thought was cut off when she started towards the boulder looking for all the world like she was going to skin them alive.

"Smells like that Inu Yasha was lying. He does have a claim on that disgusting human." "Smells like he's going to mate her in there." There was some snickering on the other side. He couldn't catch what was said so he looked at Kagome's face. He listened intently while he watched her. Suddenly Kagome got extremely upset. She took her fist and drew back. Before Inu Yasha could stop her she had already knocked the boulder back crushing at least two of the four youkai that had been waiting on them. "What in the world do you think you're doing? This is not your home and I expect you to act as such." Kagome fumed.

Inu Yasha quirked an eyebrow at her as she couldn't see him. 'Her home?' That was the last thought he got before they were both fighting off the invading youkai. The two bigger ones were working on keeping him away from Kagome as the faster and smaller ones went for her. They were mildly surprised that she knew some of the demon attacks that she used and she even surprised him when she started fusing in her miko powers to help them both.

Kagome looked at the tiny blue blurs that she was fighting off. Every so often she would glimpse their faces but they were too fast for her to catch much besides the fact that their stripes were very different from the other youkai she had seen. Theirs were multicolored and in twisty waves along their cheeks. One landed a punch to her mid-section. Not about to stand for it she felt a power pulsate in her hands like the time she had first fell down the well and disintegrated that centipede youkai's arm. Focusing on that power she brought out her claws and sliced down on one. It caught one of them across the shoulder and tore his entire chest open. She watched as blood bubbled out of his mouth and he drowned on his own thick fluids. His eyes were fire-engine red and had black slits in them. His stripes were circled counter-clockwise on his cheeks. His small body was convulsing with pain.

"You bitch! What did you do to Suigi?" The darker blue demon shouted at her. She paused shaking her hand free of the blood staining it. His face was contorted into a mask of rage as he leapt at her. Fortunately she knew that youkai didn't think half so clearly when they were in a rage but they hit a whole heck of a lot harder. He didn't manage to hit her the first few punches he threw and she was able to land a kick to his mid-section that sent him flying into a wall. She winced at the sickening snapping and cracking noises that ensued form her attack. The boy got up completely unfazed and launched himself at her again.

She nimbly avoided his claws as they swiped at her and instead ended up ramming into one of Inu Yasha's opponents. He twisted quickly as his burly arms came crushing around her ribs holding her in place as the small one ran at her again this time succeeding in slicing her stomach open. She watched dimly aware that the ground was coming to meet her face. She felt the demons kick her a few times taking advantage of the fact that Inu Yasha was distracted by his other fight and that she didn't call out to him.

She was dimly aware of Inu Yasha screaming at her to get up before she could hear nothing more. A warm sticky fluid pillowed itself under her body. She felt her body roll over and Inu Yasha's face was hovering over hers. Something warm hit her face and slid down her cheek. Trying to get him to calm down and not worry she tried to lift her hand. She wanted to say something to him anything to make him stop looking so worriedly at her. She saw one of the demons that he had just taken down rise up and bash him over the head with something making him fall over her unconscious.

Inu Yasha watched Kagome's face as she seemed to register that she was falling and that she had been hit. It looked surprised like she didn't feel what had happened to her. "Kagome! Get up you have to! You have to be alright!" He looked to the big one that had held her still and swinging the tetsuiga He lobbed off the demon's head. It lolled around on the floor while the smaller one ran at Inu Yasha. He took his fist and slammed it into the young one's face knocking him against a wall. Inu Yasha immediately rushed to Kagome's side. He rolled her over trying to keep the tears that wanted to fall in check. He failed in that area and watched as his tears left a clear trail down her cheeks amongst the blood that had collected there. Her mouth worked and she tried to raise her hand but it fell back to the ground limply. He saw a horror in her eyes and made to turn around to find what it was when everything went dark.

Akiko's blonde hair whipped in the night wind his bangs catching in the corner of his mouth. His half-sister Kaori had felt that someone had needed their help and that they could use their help too. His green eyes looked at the blood smeared entrance to the cave. He could feel two youkai inside both of them half-demons. Was one of them the ones that Kaori had wanted? He stepped inside and had to cover his nose at the sickening smell of blood and the dead. He looked in at the scene. He could see a bloodied man laying over top of a battle wounded woman. He felt Kaori in his head saying that the woman was the one they needed and that he needed to help her so that she wouldn't die in the morning.

He looked at the man a little closer. He was an inu youkai with white hair which was currently stained with blood as was everything else here. He could hear Kaori in his head. 'Akiko! Did I say to heal the boy? No I didn't. Just do like I asked and heal the girl first but be careful. If you let her wake up she will hurt you unintentionally so let her stay knocked out. Once you heal her if you feel the need to you may help the hanyou boy just so long as he doesn't wake up either.' He nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him.

He knelt near their bodies and couldn't help but think of the romantic stories that his mother used to tell him of two star-crossed lovers doomed to die. 'Well' He thought 'This pair isn't going to end up like that sad story mother used to tell me. No sir, not if I have anything to do about it. These two will not die like this.'

'Akiko will you stop thinking like a hopeless romantic and get down to business?' Kaori's agitated voice sounded in his head. He sighed and reached for the girl. A low menacing growl came from the boy. 'What would you expect dummy? He loves her after all and any male to come around her like this is perceived as a threat.' He nodded again but this time took a hold of the boy's strange robes and rolled him off of the girl. The boy's hands unconsciously reached out for the girl. 'Oh that is so sweet. And by the way his name is Inu Yasha and hers is Kagome just so you stop calling them boy and girl because they are more than that and you know it Akiko.'

He grumbled but did as he was told. He placed his hands on Kagome's chest eliciting a growl from both of the hanyous. He ignored them and focused. He felt his strength start to wan as her wound closed up and sealed itself. He sat back and rubbed his hands off on his jeans. He felt a sickness rise from his stomach so he ran to the corner to be violently ill. He wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand and saw the blood he had left. He sighed. 'That is the only part I hate about healing.' He thought. He could feel Kaori's arms wrap around his shoulders lending him a little of her strength.

'Go ahead and heal Inu Yasha. He will need it for what he plans on doing after he awakes.' He patted her arm and moved over to Inu Yasha. He placed his hands on the boy's body and could feel all the broken bones and wounds through his clothing. He focused and faster than he could've imagined the wounds sealed up but he had to run to be sick in the corner again. 'Take the girl and go. Inu Yasha will be awake by the time the sun shines on that door.. well what's left of it anyway.' He looked and saw that she was right. The 'door' was smashed into a million pieces by the passageway. He grinned then hunkered down scooping her into his arms. Standing up he looked down on Inu Yasha and sighed. 'Wait! Take off her necklace and leave it with the hanyou.'

"Why?" He asked aloud before he balanced her in one arm to rip off the broken jewel with the other. "This one?" He could feel her agreement so he walked over to Inu Yasha and dropped it on his chest. He left with the sleeping girl in his arms. Tears trailed down her cheeks and he heard her whisper the boy's name. "Inu Yasha." He frowned. 'Your work is cut out for you. You know that right?' He could hear her sigh in his head and knew she realized that.

Kagome opened her eyes the light was blinding. She groaned and rolled over her arms reaching for Inu Yasha as she tried to comprehend where she was. Her eyes opened wide when she didn't feel him near at all. Her eyes snapped open as she sat bolt upright. She heard someone humming in a room just off of the one she was in. She stealthily got up and moved to the other way out. Seeing the trees outside she bolted only to run into a wall of muscle. "A-a Hello.." She said cautiously. The boy's blonde hair moved in the breeze coming in from outside. His green eyes delved deep into hers. She had to look up to see his face. 'Wow he's even taller than Inu Yasha. Not quite as cute though but nice for a human.' She could hear raucous laughter coming in from the room where the humming person was.

Kagome watched as a pretty girl came out. Her face was heart shaped whereas the boy's had been angular. Her eyes were a rich dark brown as was her hair which was pulled back into a loose braid down her back. The girl was about her height and a little bit larger than she was. "Not as cute eh?" She said startling Kagome.

"D-did I say that out loud?" She looked worriedly at the boy hoping that she hadn't offended him. He shook his head confusing her.

"I can read your mind dear don't worry he doesn't know who you were comparing him to and I bet that's a good thing." Mirth seemed to roll off of her in waves slightly infectious. Kagome found herself wanting to smile but cursed herself for even thinking it. She looked up at the silent boy that was so close to her she could smell him without her being a hanyou.

"Sorry." She mumbled and decided to try her luck squeezing past him. As she was expecting his arm caught her around the waist and drug her against his chest to keep her still while the strangely beautiful girl got so close to her face she could see tiny flecks of green in her dark brown eyes. "What?" She snapped. She contemplated on asking where Inu Yasha was but decided that if he was here he would've already gotten her out of this place and this guy behind her wouldn't be acting so 'familiar' with her.

"Akiko I don't think she likes you holding her like that. Maybe you should let go." She smiled at Kagome. Kagome was tempted to shield her eyes at the brightness of the smile. She saw that Kaori had caught that comment and was laughing. "Oh I like you. You're funny!" She placed a companionable arm around Kagome's shoulders once Akiko had let her down. "Well we do have a reason for you being here and no your hanyou is not here. We didn't need him but rest assured that he will be fine-" This got her a dry look as Kagome pulled out of the girl's grasp.

"Listen I want to go back to him. I don't want to stay here no offense or anything because I don't feel like you people are bad people its just you don't know me and I want to be back with people who do know me." She explained quickly. She looked at Akiko who gave her a glare. His green eyes disconcerted her and made her feel exposed his being taller than her only added to the discomfort.

"No you listen here girl. We know a lot about you more so than you think. And just so you know if it weren't for me you wouldn't have a hanyou to go back to nor would you be capable of going back. The least you could do would be to listen to Kaori and see if you won't help us because even if you refuse I can always take back what I did and then you would be dead and so would your precious hanyou. This won't take too much of your time and I expect you to show at least a little bit of gratitude." He glowered down at her. His words made her want to crawl in a hole and die but instead of cowering she stood up to him.

"I didn't ask you to help me. Maybe you shouldn't have helped me not everyone is so nice you know and how would you know if I would help you anyways? Maybe I'm some untrustworthy vagabond off the streets? Think of that one Sherlock?" At their confused looks she once again cursed herself for using future terminology. "Listen I don't want to snap at you I just want to go back as soon as possible and make sure that he's alright."

"Don't worry he is okay. There is nothing wrong with him and we even left that jewel that was around your neck as your mind seemed to scream about how important it was to you and how you wanted to make sure it wasn't stolen. So yes he has it and we will make sure that he stays out of harm's way until you return to him. We'll even prompt him to go back to your friends so that they might be safe from the danger they seem to attract too." He said softening his tone to make her want to agree. He tried to use his powers of persuasion but her mind was resistant to it. 'Kaori what you taught me isn't working!' He fumed to her in his head.

'It wouldn't work anyway. She has quite the strong barrier around her mind and the only way I was able to discern so much about her was because you were touching her and I share a rather strong link with you. You won't be able to do anything to her without touching her. I can barely do it myself and you know how strong I am.' She answered.

Kagome watched the exchange happen and decided that she wouldn't trust these people if they couldn't trust her to say what they were talking about. Kaori looked at her surprised. "If it were important you would be included don't worry."

"If it weren't important you would talk to me about it." She sat down on the futon that she had occupied earlier. "What is it that you two want me to do so desperately?"

"You are able to go into the past when you dream. We want you to do something for us while you go into that state. It is very important for you to do this for us." Kaori grabbed her hands afraid that she would say no.

"Well I can't really do it if I know nothing about it can I?" She said. Akiko looked at her shocked. 'She's really going to do this for us? I thought she wouldn't she didn't seem like that much of a giving person earlier when she tried to escape.' He was still sore about being told that he wasn't as pretty as someone else she had seen.

'Well she is rather agreeable. Think about it would you have done the same in her position? Besides it was the love of her life that she thinks looks better than you and even you thought so when you were healing him as you thought he was cute.' She smiled at him. Turning back to Kagome she focused in. "Our families created a monstrous spell in that time that you are visiting. We need it destroyed. I can't tell you what it does because that may alter fate even more so. I can tell you that you need to go to the village that is just being built and make sure that you take your little love with you." At that she smiled. "If you take him with you then you could visit him while you sleep in the past. I would take you to him and don't worry I will know nothing of your experiences with him as long as you don't think about them okay? I can't delve information out of people if they aren't thinking about it in their minds. Even then I am not so rude as to look but if you think about it a lot then it kind of flashes through and I would know. So while you're here we will take care of your body and you would take care of our problem." She smiled again. "Before you go though you might want to eat and I made some food so you can eat with us if you like. But if you decide that you don't want to help us then I won't let him undo your healing as it was nice of you to just listen to us and consider it which all we can ask." She left the room and Akiko sat in a wooden chair across from her and slumped in weariness.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked tentatively. "I didn't mean to upset you if I did."

He waved her off. "No its not you." She frowned and could feel his sadness radiating off of him. She got up and placed her hand on his forearm. "I think you are rather pretty myself and if I weren't already otherwise occupied with Inu Yasha then I just might try for you." She smiled as he grinned at her. "But he would kill you for even touching me and I'm certain that your sister Kaori wouldn't want that and she is such a nice soul that I wouldn't want to hurt her."

Akiko grinned some more. "Well-" He drawled out. "I doubt your hanyou would be able to take me down." He smiled some more and patted her hand. "But the reason I don't feel so happy is because she has her heart set on you doing this for her-"

"What did the spell do that you want reversed so badly?" Kagome asked certain that it had to do with them.

He frowned. "I don't think that you should know."

"Why?" She looked into his green eyes searching for the reason.

"Because you will be disgusted by your hanyou if you knew what you're going to have to do." He sighed and caught her hand. "Make sure that you don't do what I did. Make sure of that." She patted his hand reassuringly trying to get him to calm down.

"I won't as long as I know what it was that you did." He frowned and cut off. She knew that he wouldn't continue on unless some miracle ordained by God. She was interrupted by Akiko saying that Kaori had finished with dinner.

Kagome sat eating the rice and other available items on the table not really listening as Akiko and Kaori talked at her rather than to her as she didn't respond. 'What spell could it be that they would need my help? What is it that Akiko did that he doesn't want me to?' She poked at the fish on her plate as she thought. 'How is it that they can talk telekinetically? Or that he has healing powers? And is that part of the spell?'

Kaori looked at her. "Once again Kagome you are throwing your thoughts out so loudly that even Akiko heard some of them if not all of them." She smiled. "If you knew about how the spell worked then it might influence what you do and I just can't have that." Her smile shone again and Kagome studied her plate intently. "As for our reasonable 'powers' we got those as a sort of consolation prize I suppose. It was for what we went through with the spell some other people got special gifts also even though they weren't directly involved in this." She thought for a moment her face brightened as she came up with whatever it was that she had been trying to figure out. "You know that dead priestess? I think her name is Kikyou ne?" Kagome nodded. "Well before she died so many years ago she was gifted with empathy and that is how she tricked your little hanyou into becoming human for her. It is also the reason why she sounded so convincing when she asked Inu Yasha to go to Hell with her. She hit all the guilt buttons in just the right way to get him to comply but he has no intention of doing that anymore just so you know."

Kagome's jaw hit the floor. "How did you know all that stuff?" Kaori smiled and started to eat again. After dinner Kaori took her outside into the fresh air. Akiko came also and they sat watching the sun set. Kagome felt the familiar power surge through her body while Kaori and Akiko stared at her transformation. After it was over Akiko sat in front of her with a big grin on his face. "If that hanyou ever did leave you I want you to promise you would come to me so that I might steal you away as you just stole my heart." He clutched his chest playfully putting on a mask of utter puppy love.

Kagome laughed. "Flattery gets you no where my dear. Although I will make a mental note of that." She giggled as he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

Kaori kicked him lightly with her foot. "You show off!" She laughed at this antics as he lay his head in her lap. "You just want to have your own personal sex slave that's all."

She grinned at him and he feigned a hurt look. "How could you think so lowly of me? Besides Kagome wouldn't mind being locked up in a room with me to keep her company. Would you Kagome?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Kagome burst out laughing her cheeks flushed with merriment. "I'm sorry I'll have to decline no matter how tempting the offer." She sobered up as thoughts of Inu Yasha came floating through her mind.

Kaori and Akiko both threw their arms around her and held her close. "Please be careful when you go Kagome." Kaori said. "If it were under different circumstances then I think we could've been the best of friends." She gave one last squeeze before she released her hold on the girl.

"Remember-" Akiko whispered in her ear, "Do not sacrifice yourself. Do not. Just don't do as I did." Then he released her and her world faded to the black of the deepest dreams. Akiko gathered up her collapsed form and brought her into the house. Kaori followed silently. "He will come for her soon. What should we do? He is bound to want to kill us for taking her away from him as we are changing the past with this little stunt."

Kaori's dark head was bowed and he could feel the sadness radiating off of her. He settled Kagome on the futon putting her hands upon her chest as if she were dead. Her face bore the flushed cheeks from their laughter as her lips were equally red. "Yes he will come. And yes he will be angry but this is what we wanted. This curse of a spell to be lifted. And she can do that and I can only hope and pray that she follows your advice and does not sacrifice her happiness to break it." She sighed as she could feel the enraged hanyou coming. "He will be here soon."

Inu Yasha awoke, his hand wandered to find Kagome wanting to know how she fared. When his hand met nothing but air his eyes opened and he rolled over. He heard a clunk as. 'That's Kagome's jewel piece! What would she be doing without it?' He growled. Kagome wasn't there. He felt another growl rise as he smelled that another male had entered their cave and he had taken Kagome from him. He could smell that the man had touched him before he left leaving his scent on Inu Yasha's clothes.

Inu Yasha pulled his shirt over his head and inhaled deeply engraving the scent into his brain to never be forgotten. Placing the jewel around his neck, he tied the shirt around his waist and hurried after the smell. He figured it had been almost an hour since the man had been through. He made a mental note to dismember whoever had attacked them last night along with everyone else involved. 'The man who had taken Kagome however would die a slow painful death and feel every little tiny. well gigantic thing he did to mutilate the man's body. Kagome was his and he would not tolerate letting some man get off with his Kagome. Yep the man was going to die horrible and he was going to love every single minute of it.' His countenance grew darker with every passing minute as he tried to remember all the best ways to torture a victim and keep it conscious until the end. 'Oh yeah. this guy was going to rue the day he messed with his Kagome.'

He felt like he had been infused with all the power in the world and he definitely felt like using it all up on this new male. 'Well at least its human and not Kouga. That wimpy wolf. Well I wouldn't have minded slicing HIM up but Kagome might not have let me do it had it been him.' He growled again startling all the birds out of the trees that hadn't already left. 'This is taking so long!' He whined in his head. 'I want to kill the man NOW.' He felt a gripping terror rise in him that maybe Kagome might have already died from those wounds that had been inflicted upon her. 'Come to think of it. I should've died from that blow already also. It was delivered at a place where it meant instant death for humans. Maybe something miraculous happened while I was out or I just attained a new level of healing that I hadn't known that possessed maybe. Yeah now that would be something I could accept.' He grinned but with his death revolving mind it was not a pretty sight to behold.

He could feel that the man was getting closer as his scent only got stronger. "I will kill you for touching Kagome!" He yelled into the air wanting to put the fear of God into him. He could smell a woman close by along with the man. He stopped and watched. Kagome was sitting in front of the man laughing about something. He couldn't hear it but then he saw the girl and the man hug Kagome tightly looking so sad. They talked some more with her before she dropped like a sack of potatoes. He was about to go charging in to rip the man to shreds for touching Kagome, when the man picked up Kagome and brought her inside. Inu Yasha waited until they had gone inside then he ran to their door and stood waiting for them to notice him. He heard all of what they said while they were inside but they just smelled so sad. He saw the regret flit across the blonde man's features as he passed his hand over Kagome's face. His hand was thin but his fingers were long and slender. The girl was a beauty her face had 'tragic maiden' stamped all over it. Her figure was thin and small, she was not very old by her looks but he had a feeling that their looks just might be deceiving in this case.

"He will come for her soon. What should we do? He is bound to want to kill us for taking her away from him as we are changing the past with this little stunt." He listened as the man said it his melancholy evident in his voice and demeanor.

"Yes he will come. And yes he will be angry but this is what we wanted. This curse of a spell to be lifted. And she can do that and I can only hope and pray that she follows your advice and does not sacrifice her happiness to break it. He will be here soon." The girl's voice was a mix of light and deep tones sounding glorious in its own way.

"I am already here." He announced himself as he stood in the doorway. He could feel the sides of the door frames brush his shoulders as he stood there effectively blocking their escapes. "What did you do with MY Kagome?" His voice was threateningly low and dangerous.

"I have a deal to make with you. From what I saw of you in her mind. I think the only way you will trust us is to give you Kagome but she can not be taken away from us. She will surely fail her task if that were to happen." The girl said. Inu Yasha's anger grew as he listened to her talk on as if she knew him. 'And she got into Kagome's head?' He fumed. "Yes, I got into her head and what I propose is that we come with you and we go to where your other friends are.. The monk and the exterminator and the tiny kitsune." She held up her hand before he had a chance to tell her to take her offer to hell, stick it up her butt and rotate on it. "Listen we will wait until morning for your answer but you may not leave with her without us. You may stay in here with her and we will not interrupt you but I do warn you that should you take her away from us you risk her death and there is a barrier just so you know. And as you may guess, you cannot cross it unless I give the go ahead." With that said she nodded and walked out of the room followed closely by the boy.

He rushed to Kagome's side and took her hand into his. "Kagome?" He said softly. He knew she wouldn't wake up like the other times he had done it but he tried anyway. "Kagome you have to wake up dear. You need to come with me." He put his arms under her shoulders and hugged her to his chest.

Kaori watched him from a crack in the door. 'Oh Akiko.' She wished that Inu Yasha would let them come with them. 'If we can get to go with him then I want you to do me a favor.'

'And that would be?' Akiko sounded in her head with heavy sarcasm. She reached back and patted his arm to comfort him.

'I only want you to play Cupid for a while. Her monk friend, Miroku-if I remember correctly, and her exterminator friend, Sango, aren't on the best of terms. She wants them to get the 'Happily Ever After' deal but he has a problem with being a letch and Sango is seriously averred to that. He constantly gets hit by her and Kagome feels that they should get together.' She smiled knowing that he liked to do this type of thing. 'You can go about it freestyle I don't personally care how you do it just so that you do.'

Akiko smiled. 'Any way I want?' He teasingly poked her in the back causing her to fall into the room on her face. She got up hastily. "I tripped." She said as she flounced into the kitchen. Akiko turned quickly and went to his bedroom.

'Kagome can you really die if I take you away from them?' He looked to where he knew they had been spying and then looked to where they had retreated. He clasped her tighter to his chest. "Hey you two people!" He yelled not knowing their names.

Kaori poked her head in he heard an answering grunt from the back room where Akiko had disappeared. "What are your names?"

"Oh I am so sorry that was so rude of us. I am Kaori and the boy back there is Akiko. We are brother and sister." She smiled but he could smell some sadness radiate off of her through her scent when she said that.

"Well I want to know just where Kagome is and just what she's doing." He growled lightly.

"She is in the past with you like she always does while dreaming. She is going to destroy a spell that we can't bear to have in existence any more and the only way to do that would be to have the spell maker destroyed. He died of natural causes a while back so we had no way of killing him until she came along." She sat in a chair across from Inu Yasha. "But if we go with you we will be able to assist Kagome to make sure she is unharmed."

Akiko had wandered in hearing Kaori talking of how to get part of the mission done. "In any case you will find out what exactly happened when Kagome gets back as it is happening in the past. Might I suggest that you take us with you as Kaori said earlier and then we would help you find out as much as you could about this curse.." At Inu Yasha's growl he changed the label. "blessing that has been bestowed upon her. And maybe how to make her become all demon as there will be points in time where we will be able to go to Kagome in the past and we should be able to go to the village that has all this information-"

"It is already burnt in the time where Kagome is. She found me just as it happened and took care of me for quite a while after that." He dropped off looking down at the girl in his arms wishing she was awake and wanting to take her away from these strange people. "You may come with me but I do not want any more spying is that clear? I don't put up with it at home I won't do it here."

They nodded and Kaori pointed to a room down the hall on the right. "That's the guest room you can stay in there-" She watched as he picked up Kagome gently and walked down the hall with her in his arms 'like a bride and her new groom.' She thought.

Authors Note: So how did you like my fic so far? You can tell me in a review, which I would greatly appreciate and this time I won't be so lenient on when I post my chapters if you can't read I can't type for you end of story. I will continue on this story on my own but if no one reviews there will be no other people reading it deal? I think we have that down pat and I expect you to review a chapter at a time because the way I write you could skip over something you wanted to comment on and if you review every chapter that means that I will think that I have more readers than I do therefore getting out a new chapter got it? Thank you for spending part of your busy day reading what I wrote and I think I just may up the rating in a few more chapters. I'm not too sure. Oh and if you have any questions about my fic so far feel free to email me and ask and I will try to answer to the best of my ability as long as I don't give away too much of the story there is a good chance that I will answer okay? Okay.