A/N: Sorry this took so long – finals and then the internet got cut off for the summer… But I got such great reviews! I love you all! In return, I'll give you all what you've asked repeatedly for – a little hint of why this is in the romance section!

The Broken Miko

Chapter 7: The Shadows

Kagome sat on the edge of the well, with her legs dangling down the inner wall. Around her, the crickets chirped sadly. Above, the moon shone down with a bright light, making the shadows stretch across the gray grass. It would be full in a few days.

She watched her feet move in the darkness, thumping dully against the wall of the well. Several times, she almost pushed off and let herself fall, but fear held her back.

What if she couldn't come back? What if she had to leave the Feudal Era forever?

What if… the well wouldn't let her through at all?

It was the third question that kept her from jumping, that kept her knuckles white and her claws digging into the wooden sides.

And yet, she still preferred this uncertainty to the tense atmosphere back at the village. She had to leave when Kaede's lips set themselves into a hard line at Kagome's announcement.

Of course, the hanyou hadn't really expected the old miko to take the news very well. It's not every day that someone accuses your undead sister of murder, especially the cold-blooded killing of a child. But it's even rarer that a person would accept this accusation, no matter how long they had known the accuser. And then the younger miko had taken it one step further and blamed Kikyo for defiling a grave, an enormous crime.

Yes, it had been a wise choice to temporarily distance herself from Kaede.

It probably hadn't helped that Kagome had no real evidence of the grave robbery. She was certain that it had been the undead bitch who killed Shippo, but nothing clearly indicated she had stolen Inuyasha's ashes. That was only a well-educated guess, in Kaede's mind at least.

But to the hanyou, not being able to smell the thief was damning evidence indeed. No creature was without a scent and only Kikyo left behind one that would blend perfectly with the scent of a graveyard.

There were no other suspects either. None that made a whit of sense anyway.

But none of these things really mattered to Kagome. She knew it had been Kikyo. She could feel it with the soul she shared with the undead woman. The soul that was now drenched in her own child's blood.

No, the real concern was what Kikyo would do with the ashes. Resurrection seemed to be the logical choice, since that was the only thing one could do with the deceased's remains.

But how would that help the undead priestess? A resurrected Inuyasha would still be Inuyasha. The hanyou who had fallen in love with her and rejected Kikyo would be of no use to anyone that wished to harm Kagome. Or anyone close to her for that matter, since Inuyasha would spare even Jaken if she asked him to.

Kikyo calculated risks and advantages more carefully than that. She would have run through all these possibilities a hundred times before acting. She was not a rash person.

And yet what other choice was there?

It hurt her head to just trying to think about it.

She sighed and stared down into the inky depths of the well once again, wondering for the millionth time if she should take a risk and jump. How many times had she wished that she could do so without her heart threatening to fail? How many times had she wanted to see that blue light surround her without fearing she'd never see it again?

But right now, she wanted to escape this world and all the problems that she had gotten herself into. She wanted to lie down on her family's couch, have her mother stroke her hair and cry about all that had gone wrong over the last six months.

And yet… how would her mother react when she saw the red fuzzy ears, claws and fangs Kagome had acquired? Sure, it was adorable on Inuyasha, but on her own daughter? She doubted that her mother would call her a freak, but the miko also doubted that she would ever receive the same loving looks again. After all, could she really be considered a Higurashi when half of her blood was given to her by the Shikon no Tama?

One would think that killing Naraku would end the torment, not bring even a bigger bout of pain.

Rubbing her temples, Kagome sighed again. She shouldn't have gone looking for Sesshoumaru. It had only served to drudge up painful memories and to prolong her grieving period. Having an Inuyasha look-alike around was beginning to freak her out. She vaguely remembered calling him "Inuyasha" at least once during the past twenty-four hours, although her memory was rather fuzzy.

But she couldn't exactly ask Sesshoumaru to leave now. What would she say? That she had made a mistake in saving him and that he should just go on his merry way?

She scoffed lightly. That would just pique his interest… and his anger. He had already looked royally pissed off when she left the hut without explaining things further, as if she had told a ghost story and left out the twist at the end.

A shiver ran down her spine, alerting her to the presence of a youkai. She tensed up and sniffed the air. Sage and lavender entered her senses. "It's only you," she said out loud, relaxing her shoulders.

The taiyoukai growled at the hanyou's back, annoyed that he did not threaten her any longer. Not that it could be expected after he let her fall into his lap and hit him without punishment. Perhaps he should have sliced her up a bit for the intrusion.

Kagome smirked at his noise of disapproval and peeked over her shoulder to watch him approach. "Would you prefer if I acted helpless? Or did you want me to blindly attack?"

"I would prefer your silence." He paused and waited for some acknowledgement, but soon realized that she was actually following his request for once. "The old woman and child have fallen asleep. You may return without suffering any consequences."

Kagome pressed her hands against the damp wood of the well's wall and pressed down, propelling her body up and over the well shaft. She twisted around in the air and landed gracefully on the other side, facing the taiyoukai. Brushing the dirt from her palms, her brown eyes met his golden ones.

They glittered, even in the darkness, with a sad light.

"Was she still angry?" The words came out in a whisper.

"Why do you care?" he countered. He stopped walking forward, suddenly aware that she did not want him closer, which was fine with him. They faced each other, a slight breeze making their long hair dance.

"Kaede is my friend. She took care of me in the beginning."

He assumed that the girl meant the beginning of her time as a half-breed. After the battle, she probably had more than just emotional wounds. The old miko could take care of her bodily injuries, but he doubted she had eased the girl into life as a half-demon. Humans knew nothing of a demon life. Even Inuyasha would have been a better teacher. He cursed his brother for leaving him the leftovers of a tortured girl-turned-demon.

"She is a human, nothing more. Even as a hanyou, you are superior to her."

Anger flashed across her expression. "You're really going to have to learn that not all humans are bad if you want to travel with me."

"I do not wish to travel with you. I am obligated to do so." He chose to not comment about his opinion of humans, since it would only start an argument that he was too tired for. Leave it to the girl to still care about a species that wanted to stone her to death just the day before.

Kagome cocked her head to the side. "Cute. You really like to mince words, don't you?"

"Unlike you, I simply think before I speak."

She put her hands on her hips and frowned at the taiyoukai. The haunting light of the moon made her face appear skeletal and pale. Only her dark eyes stood out, contrasted against her china doll skin. "Not that I don't love verbally sparring with you, but was there any reason you came here? Or were you just bored and wanted to piss me off for your amusement?"

For a moment, Sesshoumaru was at a loss for words. Why had he come out here? Surely she could have survived outside for the night.

He tried not to sigh. Perhaps three days of tears softened even the hardest of hearts. But that was unlikely. The taiyoukai had watched innumerable demons and humans grovel at his feet before dying. They would cry about their families, offer their wealth and even claim that they had long-lost loves they had to find.

None of them had touched his heart, so it was highly improbable that the wench did. It was much more likely that he needed female companionship more than he previously thought.

"You were wandering alone with a dangerous miko on the loose," he answered slowly, trying to convince himself with his own words. "You have my father's sword and information that you have not yet disclosed. Once you give those to me, I do not care what you do at night or any other time."

"Good luck with that," she scoffed. "You can't even touch Tetsusaiga without getting a nasty shock so I don't know why you try." She leapt forward and crouched on the edge of well, her wrists resting on her knees. "So really, why are you here?"

She received a cold glare in response. Apparently his taciturn manner had become the silent treatment.

Pulling at her sleeves, Kagome sighed and decided to steer the conversation away from dangerous subjects like what he was doing and why. "Right… well… um… Sorry about the whole going crazy thing. Again." Anything was better than silence, even apologies.

Another cold stare. Why did she suddenly feel as if she was on a blind date? A blind date with a dead fish, of course.

She stood up on the edge of the well and stretched. "Fine, I give up," she muttered.

Fatigue seeped through her limbs as she stepped onto the grass. No wonder she could not annoy Sesshoumaru as deftly as usual. She was exhausted.

But as the hanyou walked past the taiyoukai, his remaining arm sprang out to hold her back. He caught her across her rib cage, directly below her breasts. "Why Sesshoumaru, I didn't know you cared," she quipped, lazily moving her eyes down to where his claws gripped her exterminator's uniform. "But usually I wait until at least the third…"

"Shut up, half-breed," he hissed. Without removing his arm, he began twisting his head and sniffing the air.

She fell silent and strained to hear what the taiyoukai had found so alarming. But besides the gentle whisper of silk that Sesshoumaru's clothes was creating, she couldn't hear a thing out of place.

The dog demon growled ever so softly as he trained his eyes on the trees directly to his left. Red began to slowly bleed into amber.

When Kagome tried to move, his claws only tightened around her body, nearly piercing her skin. "Sesshoumaru?" she whispered, slightly frightened by the look in his eyes. Unlike a certain hanyou, the taiyoukai didn't have a subduing charm. If he decided to go homicidal, Kagome wouldn't be able to do a damn thing to stop him.

He squeezed her ribs hard, in order to silence her. She bit back the urge to yelp in pain.

Slowly, the inuyoukai moved his hand down her side, finally resting in the curve of her waist. It would have been quite an intimate touch if his eyes weren't glowing with murderous thoughts. Then, in one swift movement, he grabbed her wrist and swung the girl around behind him.

Caught unaware, Kagome yipped as her face crashed into the taiyoukai's strong back. Feeling his hand leave her wrist, she rubbed at her now tingling nose. "What was that for?" she spat.

She heard the crackle of Tokijin as it was drawn from its place at Sesshoumaru's side.

"What're you doing? Tell me!"

"Protecting a worthless half-breed," he snarled. "Now, be quiet!"

He was clearly serious. Something had spooked the dog demon and she wasn't about to brush off anything that could scare him. She pressed herself against his back and peeked around his left side.

For a moment, she didn't see anything. Then, the shadow of a tree quivered as the side broke off and joined another shadow. Her eyes searched the tree line, but nothing could be seen. "A shadow demon?" she whispered. She couldn't smell it or even see it that well.

Another soft growl erupted from his throat, wordlessly warning her for the third time that silence would be prudent.

Kagome bit her lip and retreated to her former position, letting Sesshoumaru's body hide her own. Her hands rested on either side of his spine, where it curved inwards. She leaned her forehead against his back, trying to calm her breathing. The faint scent of sage and lavender settled her stomach a bit, reminding her that he wouldn't let her die. Not yet anyway.

But almost immediately, she became paranoid that the strange creatures were surrounding them and turned, so that the demon and hanyou were back to back. A hand drifted down to Tetsusaiga's hilt, although she had no idea how to hurt a shadow.

If that was even what it was lurking out there, scaring her half to death.

Before she could break the silence again, Sesshoumaru moved away. Her back turned icy from the loss of his body heat.

A loud battle cry brought her to her senses. She turned immediately, horrified to see that several shadow demons had sprung from the trees. Sesshoumaru's sword crackled repeatedly as he wielded the blade, but it seemed that it only kept the creatures at bay.

Kagome let go of her sword's hilt as she took a few steps towards the shadows fighting the taiyoukai.

Their movements were mesmerizing. They had no discernible forms, but instead seemed to bleed in and out of the shadowy background. But they also had no weapons to speak of, except incredibly long fingers that seemed to do whatever they wished. Thankfully, it didn't appear that they were capable of inflicting harm on the taiyoukai.

She watched in amazement as they deflected Tokijin with mere gestures. So amazed, that she almost didn't notice the demon creeping up to Sesshoumaru's right flank.

"Sesshoumaru! To your right!" she called.

He pointed his sword towards the offending creature, which immediately paused in its attack and began to slink back into the ranks of his companions.

The hanyou continued to stare, disbelief etching across her features. "This is so weird," she murmured, as she heard the taiyoukai growl in frustration.

What seemed to be a freezing cold rope suddenly slipped around her throat and pulled her backwards. "You have no idea, little half-breed," wheezed a sly voice.

She grabbed at whatever held her, but her fingers flowed directly through it. She realized with a shudder that it was those long fingers of the shadow creatures. "Please," she croaked. "What do you want?" Her eyes darted to the distracted taiyoukai, but his back was still to her. Only if she called to him, would he notice her peril. And she couldn't call out with the shadow choking her.

Another cold appendage wrapped around her waist, dragging her towards the trees. Once the gloom of the leaves covered them, the creature answered, "For your blood to spill."

More shadow creatures joined them as they pulled her through the underbrush. Kagome watched helplessly as the moonlit clearing faded out of view and dark trees closed in around them. After ten minutes, the creatures paused.

She was thrown to the ground and immediately felt a rock jab the middle of her back. But it wasn't nearly as bad as the several shadows that seemed to cover her limbs, preventing any movement.

Whimpering, Kagome forced her eyes over to her attacker. It was barely visible, only a sliver of moonlight through the canopy allowed her to see the outline of what must have been its shoulders and head. It had to be the leader.

Feeling another hand close over her throat, the hanyou kicked strongly, but the shadows clearly had the ability to choose which parts of their body were solid and which were not. She silently cursed her bad luck. It was like having unbreakable elastic bands holding her down, with no chance of escape.

Her hand was forcibly turned over so that her palm faced upwards. Her already injured fingers gave sent a pulse of dull pain up her arm in retaliation for the sharp movement. Immediately, Kagome twisted her fingers, trying to slice a piece of the monsters hurting her.

A low chuckle met her ears. "Haven't you learned, half-breed? You cannot injure us. We are pure shadows."

"Pure jackasses, more like," she sputtered, trying to get her windpipe open under the pressure.

"Now, now… is that any way to talk to your future god?"

'Oh great,' the hanyou thought. 'Yet another creep with a power trip. Why do they target the half-demons?'

The soft sound of metal across metal came to her ears just as the moonlight glinted off what seemed to be the long, thin blade of a dagger. Kagome felt her heart stop as she watched the shadow creatures' leader move to kneel beside her.

As the cool metal tip touched her palm, she tried to even out her rapid breathing. If this was all they wanted from her, she could deal with a little scar on her hand.

Unfortunately for the girl, the blade was not as sharp as it appeared. The cool tip tore through her flesh, biting it and leaving ragged edges. Kagome began to choke on her own tears as pain shot up her arm. The only thing worse would be a rusty dagger, just when she had lost access to tetanus shots.

What sickened her most was that her pain was exciting the shadows. They moved with greater speed and their grips on her limbs grew tighter. And, despite the blood pounding in her ears, she could have sworn that they were laughing and whispering around her.

Her hand was lifted off the ground and pivoted so that the blood would drip onto the ground. Kagome felt sick at how fast it was running out of her body. The shadow must have cut a good three inches across her palm. She whimpered again as it flowed. In all of her years in the Feudal Era, this would be one of the biggest wounds she had ever received.

The creature let out a low purr as Kagome struggled. She looked over and saw for the first time that the monster wasn't letting her blood drip to the ground, but rather into a clay jar.

"Why… why do you… want my blood?" she breathed out slowly, trying not to agitate her captors into crushing her larynx.

"Oh right… like I am going to tell you," hissed the creature, squeezing her hand to keep the flow steady.

Kagome closed her eyes, surrendering herself to the fact that it wouldn't answer any of her questions. Not that it mattered, since the monster probably planned to kill her shortly.

"Wench!"

The call was faint, but audible. The hanyou's eyes flew open and her heart began to beat faster in anticipation. Naturally, that simply sped up the drip of her blood into the jar.

But the creatures began to move uneasily, jerking their heads around to watch for the taiyoukai. Kagome knew that he could sense their demonic auras, or at least smell her blood. That alone would bring him to her side. It was about damn time, in the hanyou's opinion.

She cracked a smile, ignoring her chapped lips that had dried in a matter of minutes. "He's… gonna… kill… you."

Only the leader seemed unaffected by the dog demon's approach. He calmly waited for her blood to cease dripping and put a stopper into the jar's neck.

Kagome could feel the shadow over her body as he leaned down next to her ear. She damned the creature holding her throat. For these guys, she would even use her fangs to rip them apart.

"He can't kill us, half-breed. No one can," he whispered. He leaned back once again.

"Wench!" It was much closer this time and the shadows began to scatter, although Kagome wasn't sure why. If they were so invulnerable, why didn't they just kill the taiyoukai and her? Like everything else in her life, it didn't make sense.

The leader of the shadows was the last to depart. He brushed his cold fingers over her faced with a feather touch, making her shudder. "We will see each other again," he murmured with an almost sensual tone.

And then, she was alone once again. Kagome rolled onto her side and curled herself into a fetal position, letting her hand rest away from her body. It felt dirty after that monster had touched it.

It was strange in a way. After all the battles with all of those youkai, the girl had rarely felt this hateful towards a demon. And all it had done was cut her hand and steal her blood. Hardly the "causing betrayal between loved ones and collecting Jewel shards for world domination" kind of villainy that she normally detested.

But it had been like she was touched by pure evil. Not even Naraku had given her that feeling.

Her stomach was still churning when Sesshoumaru arrived. He circled the weak hanyou, noticing that her hand was injured and still bleeding slowly. For such a deep cut, it was not surprising that he had believed she would be dead. The knife had almost gone straight through her flesh.

"Wench," he finally said. "Are you able to stand?"

The girl pushed herself up onto her one good hand and knees, but immediately collapsed again. Pain was still shooting up her arm and she still felt physically ill. Turning her head, she found Sesshoumaru towering over her with a blank expression. "I don't think I can. I don't understand why. I haven't lost that much blood."

"The shadows' presence drained my energy. As a hanyou, you undoubtedly suffered more than I," he answered as he knelt down on the ground.

His tail uncurled from his shoulder and snaked its way around her torso while his arm hooked underneath her legs. Effortlessly, he lifted the girl from the ground.

"Do not bleed on me," he warned, casting a disapproving eye at her hand.

"I think it's pretty much stopped," she answered quietly. Despite the need to be in a nice, warm bed with a clean bandage around her hand, Kagome desperately wanted to stand with her feet firmly on the forest floor. It was much too uncomfortable to be nestled into the chest of her dead lover's brother. On the other hand… she was extremely tired…

Sesshoumaru slowly walked away from where the hanyou had been injured. His own leg was sore from the battle, where one of the shadows had struck him particularly hard.

The taiyoukai was extremely vexed. He hadn't been able to touch them. Only Tokijin's energy had staved them off. He himself had hardly contained the sword's evil aura. The shadow creatures had been weakening him. If they had continued, Sesshoumaru would have been at their mercy.

And then… they had retreated. No final blows, no trite words and no gloating. Had anyone else bested the dog demon, even temporarily, they would be screaming it from the mountaintops. But these youkai didn't so much as snicker.

Only when they retreated, did Sesshoumaru realize that the scent of blood was thick in the air. He had been distracted, and now the hanyou was fading in and out of consciousness against his shoulder.

He was holding the result of his own inattention and it angered the hell out of him.

"What's wrong?" asked the girl sleepily. Her brown eyes opened and stared up at him.

The inuyoukai glanced down, realizing that he had growled at his own thoughts. "It was nothing," he replied.

Kagome blinked a few times, trying to clear the slumber from her eyes. "It's not your fault you know. Those things were awful. No one could have expected that."

Sesshoumaru glared down at the girl. "I do not care about you, wench."

"I know you don't," she said in an indifferent tone. "I guess I just worry about you sometimes."

The taiyoukai tried to hide his disbelief. The girl worried about him? Unlikely. Why should anyone worry about the Lord of the Western Lands? If they did, it was the concern that he would pay them a visit and perhaps send them to meet Kami-sama. No one else would give a second thought.

Kami, but this girl was a paradox.

"Why would a hanyou worry about a youkai?" he questioned.

She turned her head away and began to color slightly. "It's not about a hanyou and a youkai. It's about friends."

"We are not friends."

The red tint left her cheeks and she frowned. Poking him in the chest with the pad of her forefinger, she said, "You just saved me from creatures that could have easily killed me. I mean, the leader was kind of persistent, but you scared off the others. So I'm sorry. You have a friend now, whether or not you like it, buster." She yawned, showing off sharp fangs that could rival any youkai's.

Sesshoumaru began to sigh, but a thought forced it to catch in his throat. "You said 'sometimes'. 'Sometimes' you worry about this Sesshoumaru. That indicates that you have held concern for me before this night."

She placed a hand on the soft tail that encircled her waist, seemingly forgetting her previous hesitance to touch the pelt. "When you see two brothers fight for years on end, it tends to make you worry. Even if you love one of them and dislike the other." Her fingers sank into the thick fur. "And don't mistake this for pity. I do not pity those who have tried to kill my loved ones. But your arm…"

"Means nothing," he finished for her. "A mark of bad judgement. It will not happen again."

"Hope not," she retaliated, sudden heat flowing through her voice. "You just have the one left now."

He almost smirked. The girl was definitely getting her fire back.

And… he was pleased about it.

At that moment, the taiyoukai realized that he liked the wench's barbed tongue. In his centuries of life, no one else had risen to his unspoken challenges quite like her.

Sesshoumaru glanced at the wound in her hand, the ragged edges of which she was tracing with a claw. He had been so certain that she would be dead when he found her. It hadn't been fright that swept through his body, but rather annoyance. To find another worthy opponent would be difficult indeed and he didn't want to give her up quite yet.

Not until he got tired of her anyway.

Meanwhile, Kagome was once again stroking his tail almost absent-mindedly. "Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to say that your arm really takes something away from you. Physically, at least. I just worry that you might be affected emotionally too."

"Do not be ridiculous, half-breed. It is a battle scar. Nothing more."

"One hell of a battle scar," she scoffed quietly, turning her head away and crossing her arms over her chest.

The soft, flickering light of the village fires came into view as they crested a hill. The hanyou breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the settlement didn't have any signs of an attack.

"Listen, Sesshoumaru. I know you probably want to talk about what happened, but I'd really rather get this cut cleaned up and go to bed. Can we discuss it tomorrow?"

After a moment's pause and an annoyed scowl, the taiyoukai nodded. He gently released her legs and steadied her with his tail before removing his touch completely. Then, he watched as she smiled her thanks and moved away towards the glow of Kaede's doorway.

Kagome's smile grew broader as she stumbled into the old miko's hut, completely forgetting why she had left the place earlier in the evening.

"Kaede?" she whispered. She could see the sleeping form of the old woman in the next room, next to a smaller bundle of blanket that must have been Washi. Kagome leaned on the doorframe and tapped her claws against the wood. The larger body wiggled as it fought to stay asleep. "Kaede? Are you awake? I need to talk to you."

The old woman made a soft sound of exasperation but stood up anyway. She had clearly fallen asleep in her clothes, which were slightly rumpled. As she came into the main room, Kaede glanced at Kagome sharply, but the expression softened as soon as she saw the pale color of the hanyou's face and the bloodstained hand. "Child, what happened to ye?"

'There goes the whole not talking about it idea,' mused the hanyou bitterly. Her eyes wandered to a cozy corner of the hut, which had been her bed many times in the past years. Aloud, she said, "Shadow demons. Wanted my blood for some reason. They wouldn't tell me why."

The old miko frowned and motioned for the young woman to sit by the fire. "Let me see the wound," she requested. "Ye have been receiving many injuries as of late."

"Guess it's just my luck," answered the hanyou as she watched Kaede clean the cut with warm water.

"Where is Lord Sesshoumaru? Surely, he returned with ye?"

Kagome glanced around the hut, slightly surprised to see that the silent taiyoukai had not followed her inside. "Perhaps he wanted to stay away from the scent of blood. I could see him trying not to wrinkle his nose at it. Not that I blame him. It's kind of strong."

Before she could begin to think that she should look for him, the taiyoukai came into the hut and placed a small-leafed plant on the floor next to Kaede before sitting down in a far corner. "Crush them and apply it to the wound. It will make it heal faster."

Both of the women stared at the blank-faced dog demon. After a moment, Kaede picked up the leaves and studied them. "Thank ye, Lord Sesshoumaru, but I believe this is only a common weed."

An arched eyebrow told the old miko exactly what he thought of her beliefs. "I would not expect a human to know of this remedy. It only works for demons… and hanyous." He moved his golden eyes to the girl and frowned, as if she had forced him to go and search for the plant. "It will ease the pain."

This was at least the third time he had surprised the young miko in the last few hours alone. She smiled at him, trying to get a mixture of thanks and indifference into the expression so that the taiyoukai wouldn't be discouraged from helping in the future. Quickly, to avoid prolonged eye contact, Kagome turned to watch Kaede, who had taken out her mortar and pestle to crush the leaves.

It shortly turned into a rather strong-smelling paste. It was vaguely familiar. The younger miko closed her nose with one hand while the elder applied it to the clean wound and bound it up with linen.

A brief glance out of the corner of her eyes told Kagome that Sesshoumaru was watching the process as well. She blew the bangs out of her vision. He was probably just making sure Kaede didn't hurt her any further tonight. Then he might be stuck in a human village for another night.

On the other hand, he could have just let her suffer.

Suddenly, Kagome gasped.

"Child? What's wrong?"

The hanyou looked up at Kaede with a slightly dazed expression. "The herb. It's making my hand all tingly and warm. It feels funny."

The women turned their heads to gaze at Sesshoumaru. "This reaction is normal," he said simply. "If it displeases you, wash it off."

"I didn't say it was bad funny. It's kinda nice funny."

Sesshoumaru gave a self-satisfied nod and closed his eyes.

"Child, who would want to do this to ye?"

The hanyou gave the old miko a serious look, trying to ascertain if she would become angry again. Or even a little miffed. Either way, Kagome didn't feel like dealing with it. Once she was sure that none of that would occur, she answered, "I can't be certain, but it must have something to do with Inuyasha's ashes being stolen. It's too coincidental."

"So ye believe it was my sister, then?" Kaede moved to clean the mortal and pestle, washing it gently with a damp cloth.

"She had something to do with it, yes."

"Why does Kikyo have reason to do such things?" asked the old woman as she got up to put away the stone implements.

Kagome traced the lines separating the floorboards with a claw. "She knew about me and Inuyasha," she said finally. "He told her that he wouldn't be coming to see her anymore. That he had chosen and it wasn't her. She was not pleased to have lost her traveling companion to hell."

"And so she killed Shippo because she knew it would hurt ye," murmured Kaede.

"Most likely, although I kind of fell unconscious before I could give her the third degree," answered the hanyou with an attempt at wry humor.

"And ye say these things were shadow demons?"

"I think so. They weren't very nice whatever they were."

Kaede frowned, causing her brow to crease with more than just age lines. "How interesting. No miko could control shadow demons. Youkai can be subdued but to be sent out to fetch a person's blood would be too complex for one who is enslaved. My sister may have an accomplice."

"They were not shadow demons," spoke up Sesshoumaru from his dark corner. "Shadow demons are weak and easily slain."

"Uber-shadow demons?" suggested Kagome, earning her a blank stare from both the demon and human. She huffed. "Never mind. German is lost on you guys."

"So it would seem," intoned the taiyoukai, slightly annoyed that the hanyou knew a part of academia better than he did. "But I am sure that whatever 'German' is, it was a ridiculous idea. Do not repeat it."

Kagome peered at the dog demon. "Fine. Then what do you think they were?"

"This Sesshoumaru avoids speculation," he answered. "But they were not shadow demons."

The hanyou shrugged her acquiescence to his assertion. "Okay, but now it's really time to sleep."

She stood and stretched like a cat, doing a backbend to crack the joints along her spine. Then, before Kaede could retreat to her bedroom, Kagome took an extra blanket and curled into her corner, diagonal from the dog demon.

The old miko covered the fire with ashes, so that the embers would remain warm and dry for another day and then retired to bed, leaving the demon and hanyou alone in the dark.

"Goodnight, Sesshoumaru," whispered Kagome as she tucked the covers in around her body.

Unsurprisingly, she only received a small 'hmm' in return.

Only the stars and moon gave off light now, but it was more than enough for the dog hanyou to see by. She watched the taiyoukai for a moment, watched as he shifted into a more comfortable position and seemingly fell asleep within moments.

She knew he was bluffing of course. After the attack, it was unlikely that he would be sleeping for a few nights in a row. She knew because she had done the same many times in the past six months, finally giving into slumber after a few days for the need of the dream world.

Not that she wanted to invite those nightmares to her head. They just appeared, much like everything else in her life. Inuyasha, her Feudal Era friends, Sesshoumaru, the Jewel, Washi. They all just seemed to spring out of nowhere to make her life complicated.

Her finger traced the linen wrapped around her hand. She made her life complicated enough as it was. She didn't need any help.

And yet here was another inconvenience. Sesshoumaru had reminded her of Inuyasha tonight. Not just once, but three times. When he came out to the well with that lame excuse about protecting his father's sword, when he saved her and then when he gave her the herb, pretending that it didn't matter.

Her eyes flew open. The herb. She had smelled it before, on Inuyasha. Why hadn't she realized it before? Whenever he had acquired a new injury and yet was able to move, he would end up smelling like this.

But why wouldn't he tell anyone about it restorative properties? Surely, Kagome could have helped him heal faster with this if she had known.

Perhaps he didn't want her to know about the remedy. But why?

Her gaze traveled over to Sesshoumaru, who sat with his head slightly bowed. His silvery white hair draped over his shoulders and down the front of his burgundy silk clothing. But in the limited light, only his hair, skin and tail stood out, making him look like a strange, beautiful creature that was not of this earth.

He had told Inuyasha about this herb. That was why the male hanyou disliked people knowing about it. A trick that his hated older brother had taught him was not a trick to be remembered willingly.

It made sense to Kagome anyway. The thing about it that just tickled her was that Sesshoumaru had now taught it to her. He certainly had a way of keeping the 'filthy' hanyou race alive.

His breathing had evened out, growing deep and slow. It would fool anyone who didn't know him and his tricks.

Kagura was right. He was handsome and deadly. A dangerous combination for anyone who didn't handle the situation correctly.

If she wanted to travel with him, she would have to learn how to handle him. His moods, his bloodlust, his pride. Everything. She didn't save him for nothing after all. They had a mission to do and she wouldn't let anything get in the way. Especially not the attitude of a pompous youkai.

Kagome smiled as she closed her eyes to sleep. A dangerous combination indeed, but one that she was determined to figure out.

Without a subduing spell this time.

A/N: Whew! This was a really hard chapter to write. Possibly because I kept writing it in little chunks and therefore had to reread everything a million times before continuing. Anyway, I hope this pacified some of you – we have the beginnings of an actual relationship. Not a particularly loving one, but at not one based on hatred.

Hopefully, the next chapter will be out much quicker. I don't see why it wouldn't be. And on to the review responses!

Review responses removed due to ban