Chapter Four:

Coming Together

The wild dogs cry out in the night, as they grow restless longing for some solitary company.

Toto, Africa

"Ye are very durable, are ye not?"

Kaede announced as she rubbed salve on Hiei's back, on each cut made by Kirara.

"Hn," was her answer. The others were on opposite sides of the fire. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei (including Kaede) were on the left side and InuYasha, Miroku, Sango, Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara were on the other side.

"You are durable," remarked Miroku, violet eyes looking at the fire demon thoughtfully. "If that had been any other demon, they would have died rather quickly." Kirara seemed to approve of this remark and mewed her agreement. She had de-transformed, and upon doing so, had caused Kuwabara to scream in delight and cuddle her roughly. Kirara still hadn't recovered.

"So," murmured Kurama, who looked at all of the interestedly. "May we know who you are?"

"Hell no," answered InuYasha, who was elbowed by Kagome.

"Don't worry about him… you said your name was Kurama? He's just cranky that he didn't get to fight like he wanted to," she said, nodding in Hiei's direction as Kaede continued to tend to his wounds. The fire demon snorted, and the old priestess gave him a jab in one of the claw cut. Hiei didn't respond.

"Any way, I'm Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. And-"

"Whoa, hold it! Isn't that Goku tree in your shrine in the future," Kuwabara asked as he held up a hand. Kagome sighed and shook her head.

"You mean Goshinboku? Yes, it is. I obviously live on a shrine. So, I'm fifteen and I attend high school at the moment."

"What school," Kurama asked. "Is it next to Sarayashiki?"

"Hmm," she thought for a moment, then her eyes lighted. "The punk school? Yeah, three blocks away. Do you go there?" Kurama shook his head and pointed to Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"I don't, but they do." Kagome nodded, then gestured to Sango, who nodded.

"I'm Sango," she began. "I'm one of the last demon slayers around here, the only one left is my brother Kohaku." At this, her eyes drooped slightly. But a meow from her familiar brought her back.

"This is Kirara, a fire cat that I came across a couple of years ago," Sango explained happily, while scratching the cat between the ears. Another snort was heard and all eyes turned to the fire demon, which was now having gauze put around his back.

"That much I surmised; fire cats are mostly solitary unless you prove loyalty to them." Sango scowled, but chose not to retaliate. Kurama sighed and stared at his friend.

"Not in a good mood today, are you?"

"Hn, you're as smart as the oaf, fox. I congratulate you." Green eyes happy, Kurama turned to Miroku, who was watching this unfold much like Kurama.

"And you…?"

"I'm a monk, Miroku," he said simply, leaning on his staff, which was leaning in his lap. "My father was one and his grandfather was one." Kuwabara and Kurama nodded respectably towards him, Hiei rolled his eyes and Yusuke shrugged. The latter had been checking the strange purple cloth and beads around the monk's right hand.

"What's with them beads, monk? Ya' don't look hurt," Yusuke voiced his thoughts. Miroku's eyes took a sad action, much like when Sango mentioned Kohaku. "That, my friend, is a story that you will hear in do time."

"I hope so…. So, kid, ya' gotta name," Yusuke said, rather affectionately as he looked over at Shippo. Shippo, who had been hiding behind Kagome, squawked, and moved away. Giggling, Kagome snatched him up and held him in front of her.

"Go on, tell him your name…."

"I'm Shippo," the kit announced, wiggling in Kagome's embrace. "I'm a fox, so ya' better watch out!"

"A fox," whispered Yusuke, and he turned to Kurama. "Some one ya' know," he said with a smirk. Kurama looked suspicious, and shook his head.

"Afraid not…."

"He's a human, why would I know him," Shippo asked innocently as Kagome placed him in her lap, stroking his red hair. Kurama smiled.

"Just like Miroku said, that is something you will hear in due time…." It was then that every one, save Hiei who was having a nonverbal argument with Kaede if he should get up or not, turned to the half-demon, whom had his arms crossed. Kagome sighed.

"I don't think that he'll introduce himself…. This is InuYasha, a dog demon wh-"

"Half-demon," amended Hiei swiftly, without looking away from the old woman. InuYasha growled dangerously, eyes blazing. Hiei shrugged.

"Well, yes, he is a half-demon," Kagome said slowly.

"An' what of it, half pint!"

"Hn, I'm not surprised," Hiei stated easily, as if he was discussing the weather. "Dog demons, like the animal, favor humans and would most likely rut with them and have a child. The next two demons that would mostly likely have a half-demon child is bat and light demons."

"Oh, and wolves," asked Sango interestedly, not having heard so much information about demons from a demon. Kagome blushed at the mention of wolves, but didn't respond.

"Some times, most likely not. The human in question would have to be considerably strong." Kurama nodded. InuYasha made a noise in his throat, but didn't pursue the matter at all.

"So, what about you," Miroku asked nicely, looking at Kurama, the assumed leader of the group. With his leadership in question, Yusuke answered first.

"Yusuke Urameshi, toughest punk in Sarayashiki Junior High an' in the world! That about sums it up."

"Feh, maybe you're the strongest in your time, but here, I'm the strongest in this one." This, of course, came from InuYasha, who had long since crossed his arms in defiance. Yusuke looked the half-demon over mockingly.

"Really? Is that a challenge dog-boy? I saw Hiei whoop your ass out there, an' your like twice his height!" This statement earned him two growls, one from the half-demon he had meant to insult, and one from a fire demon he hadn't meant to insult. Smiling cockily at the half-demon, he turned apologetically to the fire demon, smiling idiotically. Hiei rolled his eyes as Kaede offered him his cloak.

"Ye should get a new cloak," she said slowly, for indeed, there was blood on the back as well as tears. Hiei looked at his cloak, and shrugged, throwing it on the floor angrily. He moved towards Kurama, without a shirt on, and sat next to them, daring anyone to speak.

"You should've packed another one, hmm," countered the fox coolly. He didn't get an answer, so his smiled. Kuwabara then thought to put in his two cents.

"The name's Kuwabara, an' I'm the toughest punk at Sarayashiki Junior High!" The half-demon, along with Yusuke snorted. Thankfully, Hiei had decided against insulting him. Kurama smiled.

"I'm Kurama Minamino, or Shuichi as I'm known to my human counterparts-"

"Ya' are human," persisted Shippo, still in Kagome's lap. "I can smell ya'." Kurama smiled mysteriously, as if promising a story of interest to the young kit. Said kit accepted this silent promise, and nodded his head energetically for him to continue.

"I am fifteen, along with Yusuke and Kuwabara, and I am also in high school. I live alone with my mother, stepfather, and my younger stepbrother, Shuichi. And until we can tell you the more… interesting parts of our history, you'll have to tell us yours."

Then all eyes went to the fire demon, who had taken a manner like InuYasha and had refused to speak at all. The members of Hiei's group sighed, some of them rolling their eyes.

"You're not going to say, are you," replied Kurama easily, looking over at his friend socially.

"Hn…."

"I'll take that as a no…. This is Hiei, and, as you already know, he is a demon."

"I pretty much surmised that," Sango said snidely. Hiei growled, but made no attempts to attack the slayer where she sat. Miroku shook his head and looked at the demon interestedly.

"You pushed back the Tetsusaiga… using only a normal katana… how did you do that, I might ask?" Hiei smirked, crossing his arms as he looked the monk over with narrowed eyes.

"I am a demon, need I say more. That sword of the half-demon's is more powerful then he is; meaning he can't truly harness the power of that sword, enabling me to beat him."

"That makes sense," murmured the monk, scratching his chin. "Though, like I said, I'm still surprised that you survived Kirara's attack." Hiei shrugged.

"I am not a low-level demon, that fire cat is three levels below me." Said cat growled at that comment, but also refrained from attacking. Kagome sighed.

"So, what are you doing here…?"

"We could ask ya' the same thing, girly," remarked Kuwabara. The priestess bristled. "Ya' don't belong in this time anymore then we do."

Sighing, Kagome began the tale, of how she fell through the well, met InuYasha and company and about the Shikon jewel and Naraku.

"Shikon jewel," whispered Kurama, eyes glittering in a dangerous way. Hiei growled and Kurama was brought back to earth. "It's still here…?"

"Well, not really," Kagome said sheepishly, glancing at InuYasha, who shrugged. "I broke it… shattered it actually, into a hundred pieces that went all across Japan. It's now InuYasha's and mine duty to put it back together for-"

"Even shards of the jewel update demon's power," Kurama finished, and the priestess nodded.

"That's why I'm here, to help put the jewel back together and defeat Naraku."

"Naraku, why must ya' defeat this demon," Yusuke responded roughly, looking mildly interested.

"He… brought pain among many people, captured Sango's brother, cursed Miroku's family, killed… Kikyo, and has tried to gather the shards on more then one occasion. He seeks the power of the jewel, like all demons, for the same reason. He also never sullies his own hands, using his underlings and incarnations to do his dirty work. Naraku is despicable, he must be destroyed."

"That makes sense," the older fox said slowly, nodding. "Though, this Kikyo person, I've heard of her…."

"Maybe you have, the priestess guarding the jewel," offered Miroku. Kurama nodded.

"Yes…. I suppose this Naraku killed her for the jewel and failed…?" They nodded slowly. Sighing, Kurama shrugged. "Indeed. Maybe, we have more on our hands then closing the portal."

"Portal," InuYasha asked loudly, shaking his head quickly. "There's no portal here, assholes!"

"InuYasha, don't make me say it," Kagome seethed, eyes narrowed dangerously. The half-demon made no further attempts to speak, but looked at Kurama rather angrily. The fox ignored this, and turned to Yusuke, who in turn, began his tale. Beginning from where he died, to the meeting of Kurama and Hiei, and finally stopping at their previous mission.

"So, as ya' can see, we haffta close this portal in Sengoku-jidai that releases demons in future Ningenkai. Some type of paradox, ya' dig?" They nodded.

"An' there are three worlds, Makai, Ningenkai, an' Reikai…? The demon world, human world an' spirit world," stated InuYasha. Yusuke nodded. "An' all demons originated from Makai," the half-demon continued.

"Yes, and here might not be the place to discuss such a matter, another time," suggested Kurama slowly. The half-demon nodded quickly, though still curious.

"So, you came here by another portal, that may have caused the other portal to get bigger," questioned the slayer, obviously confused. Yusuke and his counterpart nodded quickly. "Okay… And you died once…?"

"Twice, actually," Yusuke said breezily, smiling at them. A stunned silence followed, as expected. Chuckling nervously, Kurama took the floor.

"And I suppose some other things should be cleared up-"

"Yeah," Shippo said excitedly. Smiling at the kit, Kurama began to slowly explain his true origins.

"Though it is true that I am 'Shuichi Minamino', a human, I house the soul of a demon. A yoko, to be exact. The fox's name is Youko Kurama, and is a very powerful fox demon."

"Wow," whispered the only other fox there, eyes wide and curious. Miroku coughed and looked at Kurama.

"I've heard of demon possessions… I suppose this is something like that…."

"Oh, yes. Just more complicated. And I can explain why I don't smell like a demon. The scent radiating off of me is Shuichi's true scent, not that of Youko. Quite simple, really." The monk nodded.

"I'm surprised how you met Yusuke," chimed in Kagome. "A thief!"

"Well, my reasons for stealing the Forlorn Hope were more plausible then the other two members of our group…"

"Which were," Kagome said, nodding.

"One was Goki, a soul sucking ogre who stole the Orb of Baast just so that he may eat souls. The other one," he said, looking askance at the fire demon. "Is Hiei."

All eyes turned to the now smug fire demon, who looked back indifferently at them. Coughing, Shippo looked at the fire demon.

"What did ya' steal…?"

"Hn, Sword of Darkness, used to cut any human and make them into a demon," Hiei responded, shrugging.

"An' why would ya' want to turn humans into demons," questioned InuYasha dangerously, his hand moving towards Tetsusaiga. Hiei smirked.

"Let's just say that me and this Naraku person had a lot… in common at one point." The half-demon growled lowly, and Hiei smirked. It was obvious that they didn't trust him, but it wasn't like he trusted them as well.

"So, ye have come from Kagome's time to close a portal in our time that may destroy ye's time," Kaede asked slowly. Yusuke nodded. Kagome smiled cheerfully and held out her hand.

"Well, that makes sense. Partner?"

"What the hell d'ya' mean, 'partner'," asked InuYasha and Yusuke quickly. Kagome chuckled.

"Well, you could help us defeat Naraku, and we could help you close the portal. See, we could help each other." They all though about this, before Kurama and Kuwabara nodded.

"That does make sense. We'll join you and help you try to defeat this Naraku character," Kurama said slowly and shook her hand. So, Kagome, InuYasha (reluctantly), Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara agreed to help each other in their own quest. All eyes turned to the fire demon, which had stood up and moved towards the doorway of the hut.

"Hiei," Yusuke whispered as the fire demon entered the sunlight. Hiei didn't turn around, just shrugged.

"I will respect Kurama's decision on the matter, but I'm here just to do my job, not yours. Though it is obvious that the priestess had no idea that her time traveling affected our time as well as hers, I would advise her not to travel back to her time during our mission."

"The name's Kagome," said priestess whispered. Hiei ignored her and turned to InuYasha and his gang.

"While I do respect the fox's decision, that doesn't mean that I will help you at any point during our agreement. You take care of your own back, and I'll take care of mine. Find yourself in a position in which you need saving; have fun in hell." With that said, Hiei walked out of the hut and presumably towards the forest. Yusuke chuckled.

"Don't worry bout half-pint," he said, as their new allies sat in stunned silence. "He's like that to everybody. You'll grow to love 'im; we did!" They still looked unconvinced, so Kurama took over.

"Hiei's just… not a people person. He was like that the first time we met him. He may warm up to you, or as close as Hiei can warm up to anybody."

"No kiddin'," whispered InuYasha. "That little runt… I don't trust him."

"And he doesn't trust you," Kurama stated softly. "That's just the way he is."

"So, he goes off into a demon invested forest while seriously injured," questioned Miroku, playfully more then inquisitively. Yusuke and Kuwabara let out a loud laugh.

"Man, if Hiei was 'seriously injured' we'd be in some deep shit," announced Kuwabara. Yusuke nodded.

"Yeah, if Hiei considered that a serious injury, then this mission is goin' downhill fast." InuYasha scoffed loudly, eyes blazing.

"You're tellin' me that that little dude is strong," he said, smirking. "I doubt it." The older fox sighed, shaking his head.

"Hiei is a very important ally, InuYasha, it would be best not to get on his bad side. Though, you probably are already…."

"Ye must not underestimate that demon," Kaede said slowly. "He is not what he seems, he will prove very valuable to destroying Naraku, as will his friends."

"Thanks, Grandma," Yusuke said happily, saluting her mockingly. She smiled at him. Sango smiled and began to stroke Kirara. Shippo giggled happily and Kagome shook her head playfully.

"So," Kuwabara said slowly." What do we do now?"

Author's Notes: I thank my daddy for comin' up wit' the chapter name an' for lettin' me borrow his Toto CD. Thanks daddy!

Ja ne ICBINA