Kagome's mom, little brother, and grandfather arrived late that night to find that a bomb had exploded in the living room. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. Pieces of cloth and makeup accessories were scattered everywhere around the room and the three teens were nowhere in sight.

They were just thinking the worst when they heard a tortured scream from upstairs. All three raced up the narrow staircase, but Sota got there first. He reached Kagome's room to find Keiko and Kagome huddled together and giggling. There was something behind them, but he couldn't see what it was.

Kagome's mom and grandpa arrived as well and looked mildly bewildered. "Is everything okay up here?" asked Kagome's mom. "We thought we heard a scream."

Then, Grandpa gave a gasp and let out a horrified shout. "Demon!" he warned, pushing Sota and his mom out of the way. "Stay back!"

Kagome looked around wildly for a second. Seeing nothing unusual, she turned back to her Grandpa. "What demon?" she asked. Keiko seemed equally confused.

"It's sitting right next to you," said Grandpa. He began chanting in an odd language and waving around something that looked like it had been dead for quite a while. Slowly, he advanced into the room and stopped in front of a figure that had appeared behind Kagome and Keiko, brandishing his talisman in front of its seemingly puzzled face. It was a horrendous figure, its face covered in a grotesque blend of colors and textures. Its skin was bare from the neck down, covered in some places by scraps of cloth that seemed once to have been a shirt of some sort.

"Begone, demon! Return to where you belong! Do not harm my family or I'll—" He paused as his waving accidentally brushed against the figure's face, taking a smudge of color with it. Grandpa sniffed it curiously and gave it a lick. "Mm," he said, "Cherry."

The girls collapsed into fits of laughter as Grandpa moved aside to let Sota and his mom see what was going on. Yusuke, suddenly freed, stood up and quickly fled the room, saying, "They're insane! Get me out of here!"

&&&

That night, Mr. Slug finally reached his destination. He would have done it later that day had it not been for the swarm of activity in the room that scared him into hiding. Stupid teenagers, he grumbled. Don't they have anything better to do? Back in my day…

When it reached the glass bottle, however, it found that it was completely incapable of opening it, try as it might. It was on the verge of giving up when it noticed the open window. An imaginary light bulb appeared over its head as Mr. Slug had his epiphany of the day.

He pushed the bottle until it was balancing precariously on the edge of the desk. Then, taking a deep breath, it jumped on, tipping the bottle so that it fell out of the window and down the two stories to the ground.

Mr. Slug felt itself get bounced on and rolled over several times before the bottle stopped moving. It looked up excitedly to find that the bottle…had not broken. WHAT! it roared in its squeaky, gurgle-voice. How could it not break? My plan was foolproof! What are they making glass out of these days? Metal?

As it continued to groan and complain, it didn't notice the figure that was rapidly approaching until it was too late. A foot came down. Squish!

Mr. Slug let out a howl of pain as the shoe descended on and crushed his tail. However, he quickly stifled it as he saw the person pause and look around for the source of the sound. The face turned down and Mr. Slug feared for a moment that he had been spotted. The person bent down, coming closer, and closer. Mr. Slug shrunk down inside itself and cowered before the horrendous being. Its face was hideous and it seemed to have uneven patches of fur as if it were an experiment that had gone horribly wrong. A hand reached out and seemed to be about to squash the remaining life out of the demon when…it passed Mr. Slug by and picked up the glass bottle next to it.

Mr. Slug's initial relief turned to despair as the shards, which had been so close he could almost touch them, were once again lifted out of his grasp. Nooooooooooooooo! he cried in anguish, not even noticing anymore as the person's foot lifted off of his demolished backend, and no longer caring if he was heard. It didn't matter, however, because just then, a group of crickets began their nightly chorus and completely drowned it out.

&&&

Yusuke straightened and examined the thing he had just picked up. He had forgotten a bag in the car when he had arrived the other day and had been going down to retrieve it when a gleam caught his eye.

It was a tiny vial with a couple of shiny crystal shards inside. Looking up, he found Kagome's open window directly above him. Probably dropped out off her desk, he thought. He wondered what he should do with it. Giving a half smile, he thought, I'll just see how long it takes her to notice it's missing. That'll teach her to give me a surprise makeover. Pocketing the bottle, he proceeded to the car to get his bag, whistling happily.

&&&

That day, Inuyasha, for want of something better to do, began wondering about cousins. He realized that he didn't really know what a cousin was. He'd heard the term mentioned before, but had never really cared enough to find out what it was. He seemed to remember it being a pet of some sort, but somehow, that didn't seem quite right.

"Kaede, what's a cousin?" he asked, sitting inside the little cottage as the old lady mixed some herbs into a healing poultice. To his surprise, the woman went stiff and he thought he felt the air in the room drop a few degrees.

"Cousins are evil beings," she said, her tone full of foreboding. "They are creations of the devil that exist purely to spite the righteous and good. They torture the people you value most just to hurt you. Then, when you finally give in to their every demand, they destroy you by killing your loved one. I'll have my revenge someday!" she shouted suddenly, waving her fist in the air. "You wait and see!"

Inuyasha slipped out of the cottage, thoroughly unnerved and now a bit nervous. Had he left Kagome in some sort of danger? Maybe that was why she wasn't able to come back. They were forcing her to stay in the future. Maybe they were even after the jewel shards!

"Hey, Inuyasha, are you okay?" asked Miroku, who had been sitting outside the hut. "You seem sort of worried."

"It's none of your business," Inuyasha snapped. "I have to go." Without another word, he took off, leaving a highly confused Miroku behind.

&&&

Kagome snuggled into bed that night, still smiling at the demented drag queen image of Yusuke as she'd last seen him. Keiko had fallen asleep already and was snoring lightly on the extra mattress that had been set up for her in Kagome's room.

Kagome still wished that she could be helping Inuyasha and the others to find jewel shards in the Feudal Era, but staying with her cousin wasn't half-bad either. Keiko was certainly a nice girl. Yusuke was a bit odd, but that's the way he'd always been. He seemed different, though, from the rebellious brat that she remembered him as. She wanted to say that he seemed more mature, but that wasn't possible.

Something about him almost seemed to remind her of Inuyasha. She wondered what it would be like if those two met. Realizing what she was thinking, she laughed at herself. Yusuke and Inuyasha in the same room; what a disaster that would be.

Yawning contentedly, she snuggled deeper into her blankets and closed her eyes, still smiling at the thought. No sooner had she shut her eyes, than she felt a presence hovering over her. Her eyes flew open to find Inuyasha standing over her bed, a mere shadowed silhouette in the dark room. Oh, no, she thought.

Putting a finger to her lips and gesturing to the sleeping Keiko on the ground, she prayed that he could see and understand what she meant. She waved toward the door and started to slip toward it. Inuyasha moved, seemed to shake his head. She gave him a confused look, but before she could ask what was wrong, she felt herself being picked up and gave a short scream of surprise as he leapt out the window. She bit it off quickly, hoping no one had heard.

She and Inuyasha both waited for a few moments with bated breaths to see if Keiko had heard.

"She stirred, but she didn't wake up," Inuyasha whispered in her ear after a few moments.

"Are you sure?" she whispered back.

She could almost see his indignant scowl, though the dark hid his features from her. "Of course I'm sure," he said, twitching his ears irritably.

"Right," she whispered back. "Sorry."

They stood there in silence for a few moments more. Suddenly, they both seemed to realize that he was still holding her. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and he was carrying her bridal style. They both coughed or made some sort of noise to hide their embarrassment as Inuyasha set her down.

Kagome blushed hotly and was intensely grateful for the dark that hid it. Neither said anything for a while. Finally, Kagome cleared her throat.

"What did you come here for?" she asked. "I thought I told you that I wouldn't be back for another week."

"I know, but…" Inuyasha drifted off, finding that he didn't really understand the reason he was there. "I was wondering…How is your cousin?" he asked finally.

Kagome, slightly confused, but also touched by the fact that he actually seemed to be taking an interest in her life (despite the time and method of his showing it), said, "He's fine, crazy as ever. He brought his friend along too and I like her a lot. Her name's Keiko. I think you would like her too."

"So he's hasn't…harmed you in anyway?" he asked hesitantly.

"No," said Kagome, starting to become suspicious. "Inuyasha, have you been talking to Kaede about her cousins?"

"No," he denied quickly. Then in a more curious tone, "Why?"

"Because she's told me the story about her cousins and how they tragically ripped apart her favorite doll when she was a kid. She doesn't seem to have forgiven them for it yet…" Kagome had actually met Kaede's cousins and they were very decent people. Kaede simply refused to give up her grudge from when they were 6 years old. If Inuyasha had been talking to her, he might have gotten some pretty twisted ideas about cousins.

When Inuyasha didn't answer her, she knew that she'd been right. "It's okay, Inuyasha. I'm perfectly safe."

Good thing I was awake, she thought, otherwise that meeting between Inuyasha and Yusuke might have really happened. She shuddered to think of how that would have ended: with Inuyasha tearing Yusuke to pieces while her cousin called the demon all the vulgar names he knew (which were actually quite a few).

"Who said I was worried about you?" countered Inuyasha. "I just wanted to make sure that the jewel shards are still there."

"Oh, I see," said Kagome, annoyed. "So all you care about are the shards, is that it? Well fine, you can take your precious shards and I'll just stay here."

"What!" He was quickly shushed by Kagome.

"Keep it down!" she hissed. "And why should I ever come back with you if you don't even care what happens to me, hm?"

"But I- you- You can't do that!"

"Watch me," she said, stalking back into the house.

&&&

Neither noticed Yusuke watching from his window again. Keiko had not been awakened by the scream, but Yusuke had heard it. He had been paying special attention after the other night and it turned out that he hadn't been hallucinating. Kagome had some secrets, and from the looks of that demon and the midnight meetings, they were not at all good. He'd have to keep an eye on her.

He sighed. He had actually grown to like his cousin. She was a bit air-headed and that makeover was not at all cool, but she had a good personality and was sensible when she wasn't off in space. He hoped that his suspicions were wrong, that maybe he'd just mistaken a strange boyfriend for a demon. I'll just have to wait and see, he thought, fingering the little glass bottle in his pocket grimly.

&&&

She tiptoed back up to her room and quietly shut the door behind her. The room was as she left it and Keiko hadn't moved. She cast a perfunctory glance at her desk, checking that the jewel shards were still there, and then she- She froze and did a comic double take as her eyes shot back to her desk, scanning every inch of it. The shards were gone!

She covered the distance to her desk in a stride and frantically searched about, hoping that she had just misplaced it. Oh, no! she thought. She checked her backpack too, turned it inside out, but found nothing in there either. Inuyasha is going to kill me, she thought with a growing sense of doom.

She tried to sleep again, but this time, sleep refused to come. She was filled with dread about the shards. Even if Inuyasha didn't kill her, the shards would be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. Where could they have gone? She glanced over at her desk as a breeze stirred the curtains on her open window. It must have rolled out! she realized with a start. She made to get up again, but realized that it would be far too dark to search for it. She'd have to wait until morning.

Still, her worries were not allayed. In fact, they grew worse. If they'd rolled out her window, anyone could have picked it up. The shrine had many visitors and she'd never be able to find out who did it. Anxiously, she tossed and turned in her bed, wishing that morning would come so she could go look. Sleep finally took her sometime in the early morning.

She felt that she'd only just closed her eyes when her mom came into her room and woke both her and Keiko up for breakfast. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head to keep the light out. A second later, she threw them off and ran down the stairs and out the front door in her pajamas. Some of the shrine's early morning visitors stared, but she didn't notice as she desperately scoured every inch of the lawn for the little glass bottle.

It has to be here, she half prayed, half demanded. It just has to be! Where is it?

Finally, after her fifth time going over the entire lawn, she sat back, admitting that it wasn't there. "It's not here," she mumbled bleakly to herself, feeling slightly numb. Something bad was going to happen now. It was inevitable. The shards were circulating about somewhere. It was only a matter of time before someone realized their power and used them to reach their own ends.

She covered her face with her hands. How could I have let this happen? How could I have been so stupid! If only I'd put them in a safer place! I'm such an idiot! I-

Keiko, who had tapped her on the shoulder, interrupted her thoughts. She wore a concerned expression on her face. "Your mom told me to tell you that breakfast was ready. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kagome lied. "I'm fine."

She got up and followed Keiko inside resignedly. She ate her food without tasting it and Keiko looked worried. "You really don't look so great," she said. "Are you sick?"

"No, no," said Kagome. "I'm really okay." She forced a smile and tried to pay more attention to what she was eating. She didn't notice Yusuke watching her intently from across the table.

"How did you guys sleep last night?" her mom asked them. "Was everything okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Keiko politely.

"Everything was great," said Yusuke in an oddly polite tone. "How about you, Kagome? You didn't seem to have gotten much sleep last night. What were you up so late doing?"

"What?" asked Kagome, surprised by both the question and his tone. She looked at him and saw a strange look in his eyes that she couldn't quite make out. "N-nothing. I had bad dreams," she lied.

His eyes hardened and she became slightly frightened by what she saw in them. "I see," he said.

Keiko looked back and forth between the two of them. "Is something going on here that you two aren't telling me?" she asked. "Yusuke, what is it?"

"It's nothing, Keiko," he said. "I was just concerned about my dear cousin, that's all."

Keiko gave him a disbelieving look. "Kagome? What's going on?"

Kagome shrugged, giving Keiko a look of innocent ignorance, but her glance flicked back to Yusuke, who was now nonchalantly shoveling down bacon and eggs as if nothing had happened. What's up with him? she wondered.

A/N: Well then, this was a pretty fast update for me. Finals are coming up (yes, I still have school, pathetically enough), so naturally, I'm stalling. Anyway, this story is starting to move. Whee! Hopefully, the next chapter will come soon. Thanks to all those who reviewed and are still with me. I promise I'll try to make it worth your while. Any criticisms or critics are welcome. Flames will do too, if you really want to, but try to have some useful commentary in there, will ya? Useless flames just really tick me off.

EDIT+ A friend just tipped me off that my chapter titles were getting repetitive. I didn't even notice that. Anyway, changed the chapter title. It was hard to come up with one for this chapter. So scattered...

...- sorry to disappoint, but Mr. Slug hasn't made it yet. I was going to give it to him for all his hard work, but I just didn't feel like it yet. : D Thanks for reviewing!

FireFox – thank you!

Sk8er7 – Not quite, but we're getting there. Don't want to rush things, you know.: )

DevilDo1169 – Thanks!

Lady of Chaos 2005 – Your wish is my command (sometimes)

FireFox639 – Haha, thanks! You have almost the exact same name as one of my other reviewers, btw.

serenity2222 – will do

robin162004 – here it is. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!

Anime Alex36 – haha! Sorry, no dress, but they did tear his clothes off…sorta. Btw, I found a locker at my school with Alex 36 scratched into it. How crazy is that?

shadow miko – the wait is over! Thank you for your comment : )