After breakfast, Kagome's mom suggested that they go for a walk and Keiko happily agreed. Kagome shrugged, thinking that a walk might just clear her thoughts. However, she now noticed Yusuke watching her out of the corner of his eye with that same odd expression on his face. It was actually the fact that she was seeing him serious about something for the first time ever and it was such an un-Yusuke like thing to do that she didn't recognize it.

Yusuke lagged behind as they walked. Neither he nor Kagome spoke much, so Keiko filled the silence with happy chatter as they walked. She could tell that something was on the other girl's mind, but she wasn't about to pry.

They reached a relatively secluded spot along the path under a large tree and decided to sit down on the bench for a while. It also happened to be the same tree that Inuyasha had been bolted to for fifty years. Kagome stared at it for a while, lost in her troubled thoughts.

Yusuke, as always, sat about in a bored manner and either grunted or said nothing in reply to Keiko's senseless rambling. Keiko was beginning to feel bored as well and when she suddenly fell silent her two companions look over at her curiously.

"My throat's dry," she said. "Do you know where I can find some water?"

Kagome nodded. "If you keep going down the path, you'll find a mini-mart. There should be some drinks in there. Do you need money?"

Keiko shook her head. "No thanks, I have some. You two wait for me. I'll be right back."

She walked down the dirt road and disappeared around a bend. Unbeknownst to Kagome, this was exactly the moment Yusuke had been waiting for all morning.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Yusuke asked unexpectedly.

"What?" she asked, taken off guard by his question once again. He repeated himself, trying to look indifferent, but she could see that he still had that look in his eye that said he was definitely thinking about something.

"N-no," she answered. "Not really."

"Not really?" he asked. "A secret friend then?"

"No," she said, getting more confused. "What's going on, Yusuke?"

"I think I should be asking you that question," he said. "What do you know about demons?"

Kagome stiffened. "What are you talking about?" she asked, keeping her face carefully blank.

"I mean who was that guy I saw you talking to outside the house for the past two nights? He's definitely not human. I've seen him jumping from tree to tree. Since when have you seen a person do that?"

"Look, Yusuke," she said, nervous now. "It's not what you think. He's—"

"A demon, Kagome," he interrupted. "Give it up. Things have changed since we last met. I'm not an idiot anymore."

Kagome gave him a disbelieving look. "Now that I just can't believe," she said.

Yusuke's severe look was broken by a scowl. "Shut up," he told her. And she cracked a tentative smile.

They said nothing for a few moments. Yusuke fumed as Kagome tried to get her thoughts in order. He'd seen them. She could lie. She'd always lied before, but how was she supposed to explain Inuyasha leaping through the trees? I wish he would just walk like normal people, she thought. Then I could at least pass him off as just some eccentric homeless guy or something, but no, he has to go jumping around and doing super-human things that attract unwanted attention.

Okay. Stop diverting from the subject. What am I supposed to tell Yusuke?

You could tell him the truth, a part of her said. A shoulder angel appeared to her on the left, a spitting image of her dressed in pure white robes and holding a harp of some sort. It seemed resigned by now after so many lies. This side never won the fight. It often wondered why it even bothered.

That would be stupid, said the other side, another shoulder angel dressed in skimpy leather clothing with a rebellious expression on its face, made smug and confident by many victories in these debates. How are you supposed to tell him that you're in love with a half-demon from another era and are helping him to fight demons in his time by slipping through a well?

Exactly! said the good side. Except maybe you could leave out the fact that you're in love with him, it added after a look from the real Kagome.

Fine, but it would still sound ridiculous.

Nuh-uh.

Yah-uh.

Nuh-uh.

Yah-huh.

Nuh—.

Meanwhile…

Yusuke, who had been watching Kagome look from one of her shoulders to another for the past five minutes, seeming to be hearing something, was getting uncertain of his own accusations. Kagome didn't seem evil, but something wasn't right with her either. Maybe she's just insane, he thought. She seems to have a few screws loose. But that doesn't explain the demon that she talks to.

You may have just been imagining it all, said a voice as one of his shoulder angels appeared on his left shoulder. It was him in a suit with glasses on and a British I'm-better-than-everyone expression on his face. You sure you didn't have a few shots last night?

No! he denied.

You don't have to be so high and mighty all the time, you know? said the other shoulder angel, appearing on Yusuke's right. This one was dressed exactly as Yusuke was now, in a plain white T-shirt and faded jeans.

Aren't you supposed to look devilish? asked Yusuke.

Yeah, said the shoulder angel. I do. See? It pointed to a belt it was wearing that was back with hellish flames dancing along the edges.

--U

Back to the situation at hand, boys? asked the other angel impatiently.

Okay, okay. What's got your panties in a bunch?

Nothing, and I resent your insinuation that I wear panties.

Stop using big words! You know I can't understand them!

Well, maybe you should pick up a book every once in a while, Mr. Illiterate.

Don't call me illiterate! I can read!

Oh yeah?

Yeah!

Then what does this say? The prissy angel held up a small, bottle of pills.

La. Lacks. Lacksateyeves. Laxatives!

Great! You were under an hour this time!

Shut up. What are you doing with those anyway?

Um…nothing. The pills disappeared.

You taking lax?

No!

Uh-huh, suuure. What do you need that for?

Stop that! It was just a bottle of medicine!

A bottle of medicine that just happened to be laxatives!

See? This is why we don't get along! You are always so mean to me and say these belittling things. I want a divorce!

blink (to Yusuke) What just happened?

Yusuke shrugged.

At that point, Keiko finally returned from her water crusade. She stopped and stared when she reached them. Kagome was looking rapidly from one shoulder to the next and looking very distressed. Yusuke shrugged while looking at one shoulder and then turned to the other and seemed to be watching or listening to something intently.

Keiko checked both of her shoulders, wondering what was going on. Finding nothing there, she looked back at the two cousins in bewilderment. Maybe it runs in the family, she thought.

She cleared her throat and both of them looked up, startled. "Oh, Keiko! When did you get back?" Kagome asked. "I didn't see you."

"Yeah," agreed Yusuke. "You just came out of nowhere."

"Are you kidding? I've been standing here for five minutes watching you guys!" Keiko exclaimed. She threw her arms up in exasperation. "I give up."

&&&

The rest of the day was spent in wary silence for Yusuke and Kagome. Neither was prepared to make any open accusations, but each remained alert and watchful of the other.

Kagome battled with herself. She wanted to tell Yusuke the truth. He was family, and the rest of her family knew the truth. On the other hand, he was practically a stranger to her. She hadn't heard anything from him in years. She'd only spent two days with him and knew nothing about how trustworthy he was. Not only that, but if she told him about the Feudal Era, she would probably have to tell Keiko as well, and, despite her feeling that they could be trusted, it was far too risky.

They probably wouldn't believe me anyway, she thought. But Yusuke's already suspicious. If he goes snooping around and finds something out, the results could be worse. And what was that he said about things having changed? He knows something about demons, that was for sure. Maybe there's another portal somewhere and he's found it. If that were the case, then maybe she'd finally have someone to talk to about it.

She shook her head. What was the chance that there was another portal to the Feudal Era that her cousin happened to find and be able to pass through? He probably just watched one too many scary movies. Not to mention the fact that Keiko didn't seem to suspect a thing.

It was a serious problem. She wanted to tell. Anyone who has a secret for long enough constantly feels the urge to tell it. She'd had to restrain herself over the years and it wasn't all that easy. The lies that she had to keep telling her friends made her feel absolutely horrible. She sometimes avoided hanging out with them simply so that she wouldn't have to tell them anymore lies. It wasn't a good plan, but she had no alternative.

Kagome sighed. I'll wait, she decided finally. If something else happens, I'll explain. Otherwise, maybe he'll just forget.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw him look quickly away, pretending to be staring at nothing. Somehow, she didn't think he'd forget anytime soon.

&&&

Botan paced about in front of Koenma's door. "He should know," she muttered, then shook her head. "But it's not there anymore. It could have just been a mistake."

She was still talking to herself and pacing when Kurama found her a little while later.

"Hey, Botan," he greeted her pleasantly. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, Kurama! I was just thinking to myself," she said, smiling.

"You seem worried," he said, concerned. "Is something bothering you?"

"No, well, sort of. Yes," said Botan hesitantly.

"Why don't you tell me? I might be able to help," he offered.

"Well," she began. "It's the Demon Compass. Every once in a while, it seems to react wildly to something, like a really strong demon is in the area, but a few minutes later, it's gone. And it always seems to happen in the middle of the night."

"Hm," said Kurama. "That is troubling. Were you going to tell Koenma about it?"

"Well, yes," she said, "that was my plan. It's happened twice already and I've tried to go to him twice, but it always stops by the time I see him. I want to say something, but I'm not sure. It could just be something wrong with the compass."

"Could I see it for a moment?" Kurama asked, pointing to the Demon Compass.

"Sure," said Botan, handing it over. "I've tried examining it myself, but I still can't find anything wrong with it."

"You're right," said Kurama, looking at it closely. "It seems to be working perfectly, but that presents us with an even bigger problem." He became grim. "How strong did you say the demon was?"

"I didn't, but it seems to fluctuate. Sometimes, it seems almost as strong as an S class demon, but other times, it seems to barely have any demon energy at all."

Kurama seemed about to answer when the great door to Koenma's office opened and the blue demon appeared. "Koenma can see you now," he said, waving them in.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Kurama offered.

"No, no, that's quite all right," said Botan with a bright smile. "I can handle it, but thank you."

She was, in truth a bit nervous, however as she walked toward the open ornate door. That is, she was until the pointer on the Demon Compass began spinning wildly.

A/N: Well, there you have it. This chapter was kind of icky, but I'm too lazy to go back and edit it, so you'll just have to live with it :P. Oh, and thanks to all those who reviewed, I REALLY appreciate it!

Lynnes – I'm shocked and honored that you actually read this! Yeah, I do need a title, and good point about the chapter title thing. I didn't even notice. Thanks! Oh yes, and you KNOW you want to buy me Starbucks on Tuesday. :puppy dog face:

shadow miko – thanks for reviewing!

Animefan601 – Haha. Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

KitsuneMistressoftheYoukai – Thank you for your review! And I'm not giving away pairings. You'll just have to read and find out ;)

Bus Buddie – Haha! You have to be the first person who's actually said they liked my title. Brownie points for that. And that is an idea. I'll think about it, considering none of this story is actually planned out before hand. You know about as well as I do what's going to happen. So we'll see, eh?

Chibes – Um…because she…just doesn't feel like it:) Bear with me here. I'm terrible with details and I just don't feel like having her find the shards just yet.

Dreamer Resurrected – Wow! I LOVED your review. It made me feel all happy for the rest of the day. Thank you so much! And I'm glad you think the storie's not a disaster. I hope to keep it that way. (I have a way of writing stories into the ground :winces:)