Author's notes: Yes! Some of you are beginning to guess right, as you'll see at the bottom. Though, when you read this chapter, I'm sure that at least one pairing will be glaringly obvious. I did that purposely, I was getting exasperated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

------------------------------

Chapter 4 - Eggs

"So, how are they doing?" Two high powered beings entered his room, one voice cool and demanding as it spoke. Tenashu groaned, blue eyes fixing on the taiyoukai in exasperation.

"Do you have to come ask me this when I'm trying to work? If your brother was in any more trouble than my girls being mad at him, I'd tell you. And you," he turned towards the small aging human who had crossed her arms, staring at him with an unreadable expression. "Your student's doing fine. Though I'm not sure the Controller and the Guardian are supposed to have the sort of relationship he wants."

Tenashu frowned, remembering the last few visions. He was no longer the Prophet and was now simply one of the normal prophets. So, now about all he could do was look after his daughter and stepdaughter and hope they would be okay. Unfortunately, this was still an ability that none of the other prophets had, which was why they were in his room.

"He's the Controller? You never said that. He can't even control his temper, never mind a powerful jewel that could destroy whole worlds." Genkai glared at Tenashu, as Sesshoumaru frowned.

"I had forgotten my brother had such a bad relationship with the miko sisters. That will make things difficult." Sesshoumaru's tone was unreadable and Tenashu wondered if the dog demon really cared, or if he was just faking some concern. Then again, why would he be here now if he did not? He could have just waited for the formal reports if he just wanted to know the general progress of the groups.

Tenashu sighed, then shrugged. "They're doing well. They've begun bonding the eggs and at least they aren't trying to kill each other. Though Kagome did enter that battle at a most appropriate time. Of course, that was hours ago."

He found himself with two angry people in the room after that sentence. "There was a battle, and they met, hours ago? And you didn't send us anything about it?"

Tenashu groaned as Sesshoumaru began growling. This was going to be a long meeting.

~_~_~

Gold eyes flickered open; shivering as icy sapphire eyes stared angrily into his. Why couldn't they have been gray? He would have rather seen the gray eyes that hid their emotions than the raw rage and hurt he always saw when he looked into hers. 'I just wanted the jewel. I was young. I knew your sister had to have it, she was the older of you two. I didn't mean to hurt you in the process. Either of you.'

Kagome nearly gasped at the shame and guilt that filled Inuyasha's eyes before the emotions were hidden. She studied him a bit longer, trying to clear up her confusion, before turning the rest of the group. "He's awake now."

"Yeah, well, if you damn girls didn't decide to knock me unconscious for simply speaking my mind, I would have been awake this whole time and-"

"Inuyasha." Inuyasha was interrupted by the quiet voice of Kikyou. He flinched and the other three boys, standing off to one side, all narrowed their eyes as one. The girl hadn't appeared angry. He had no reason to flinch.

"Yeah, Kikyou?" He took it back. He would have rather seen blue. At least he knew Kagome hated him. With Kikyou, it was hard to tell either way.

"Perhaps next time you should think before you act. Or speak in this particular case." Inuyasha saw the flash of anger sweep across her eyes and his ears flattened down to his head. That answered that question. He heard someone clear there throat and looked over to see Kurama, one eyebrow raised quizzically before he began talking.

"Fortunately, I had a device to call our hovercraft Inuyasha, and we had packed before we decided to walk. So, the hovercraft will be here in a few minutes, Inuyasha." Kurama looked up and searched the sky as he talked to Inuyasha but the hovercraft was not yet in sight.

The four girls had grouped together again and seemed to be discussing something. Sango turned around and addressed Kurama. "While you boys await your car we're going to unpack the rest of our things."

Sango turned around and three of the girls and Shippo left, leaving Kagome by herself. Inuyasha turned his face away, studying the sky as Kurama watched the other girls walk away and Hiei sat on a tree branch. Kagome shrugged and looked at Yusuke, who seemed more than a bit angry that Sango had skipped normal procedure and just decided to tell Kurama. 'Stupid charming fox, girls never pay attention to who has what rank when he's around. '

Yusuke seemed a bit surprised to see Kagome was still in front of him and narrowed his eyes. She probably just wanted to talk to Kurama too. "Since we're supposed to be one team, I think we should get together and decide cooking and clean up schedules, who has communication duties, and other things after your settled in. So, after dinner? I'm sure everyone can settle out dinner between themselves for one night."

Yusuke smirked at the other leader, not noticing that Kurama was watching them talk and Inuyasha's ears had swiveled around to listen. "Sure. Besides, I know at least they," he indicated his team, "will probably be the easiest to handle right after they've had a meal."

"Too right. It's hard to get Sango to do anything besides sleep after she's had a meal. She just wants to curl up and not be bothered until morning. She always awakens early though, so it all works out. Oh, I have to go unpack my stuff. I'll talk to you after dinner Yusuke!" Kagome grinned at him, then turned and promptly ran over to her stuff, digging in and carrying thing towards the two tents for the girls.

"We only get one tent, Why do they get to tents?" Yusuke grumbled under his breath, hiding the flash of disappointment when the girl left even as he watched her from the other side of camp. He heard a snort from Inuyasha and glared.

"Yusuke, do remember you just met the girl," Kurama said. Yusuke glared at him.

"What are you talking about?" Yusuke's gaze flickered between Inuyasha's unreadable golden eyes and Kurama's amused green ones.

"He means that we know when you like a girl even before you do. I don't see what's so great about Kagome. Stupid girl. She half killed me the first time her miko powers lashed out at me." Inuyasha swung off topic while reliving memories of two years gone. He leaned back as his three teammates all glared at him.

"Really? And why would the miko want to kill you Inuyasha?" Kurama's green gaze was cold and Inuyasha winced. They really did hate it when one of them lied, and that it was apparently something that almost got him killed was even worse.

"I already told you. She just got jealous because I wanted Kikyou and mad I was using her. Her emotions drove her powers at the time." Half-truths always worked best. He hadn't really been interested in either of the girls either way, but he wasn't lying that much.

"She seemed pretty in control when she punched you. I'm sure she could have melted all your face off. She's a miko after all." Yusuke glared at his supposed friend. Inuyasha's ears were drooping again, an obvious sign that he was lying, besides the fact that he wouldn't look any of them in the face.

"The mikos are very powerful. I do not have all the details, but the younger one has the powers to destroy him, and possibly the skills," Hiei added in with a snort. Three pairs of eyes swung around to him as all three of them caught on to what he had said.

"That powerful?" Yusuke asked, sneaking a glance to the other side of the camp where Kagome was bent, shuffling through equipment.

"Kagome doesn't have skills. She's a child," Inuyasha sneered. He pushed the guilt away. That he was loosing trust from his friends by keeping their secrets seemed a big enough pay back that he didn't have to be polite about it.

"What do you mean you don't have the details? Hiei, your skills at getting information, especially from computers, should have given you everything," Kurama said, a confused frown on his face.

"Hn," Hiei answered, glaring at them before disappearing higher up the tree.

"That was helpful. Damn fire apparition," Inuyasha muttered, glaring up the tree.

"You know, she definitely doesn't look like a child," Yusuke remarked, still watching Kagome from across the clearing. Inuyasha growled in frustration.

"I was talking about how she acts, moron."

"Talking about yourself again, Inuyasha?" Yusuke asked mockingly. Inuyasha snarled, his claws flexing dangerously. Kurama interrupted them by turning their attention to the sky.

"The car's here," Kurama said calmly as it started to lower. Yusuke and Inuyasha immediately leapt away, remembering the time they had gotten caught up in fighting and Kurama had landed the flying car on them.

Inuyasha immediately jumped into the car, going into the back part specifically made for carrying their mission supplies. He threw around a few bags before coming out with a round device with a miniature solar panel attached and a lot of ramen. He snarled at everyone around him. "The ramen's mine! All of it! You can all eat anything else, just stay away from the ramen!"

The boys watched as Inuyasha went away happily, placing his heating device and ramen on the ground as he gathered up water. Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Like we'd obey him. Hell, I steal his ramen just to see him scream."

Kurama sighed at Yusuke's statement. "We know. It's why I'm always gathering plants to help you and Inuyasha heal. You two do more damage to each other than the enemy ever does. Though our ship blowing up came close."

Yusuke glared at him and stalked off to the hovercraft. He grinned as he looked inside. Tonight he'd see if the Congress were right. He would see if an egg accepted Kagome.

~_~_~

Kagome watched as the other three girls headed towards their side of the camp, filled with food and Sango already looking like she wanted to sleep. Sapphire orbs searched and spotted Yusuke sitting near those strange eggs they had brought, the other three boys near their own tent. She smiled and walked over to Yusuke, settling herself besides him while looking at the eggs curiously.

"Those are eggs of some strange creatures called Ancients," Yusuke said in answer to her questioning look. Kagome nodded, but her gaze was fixed firmly on the eggs. Four of them were much larger than the others, and rolled away from the remaining six. The eggs carried spirits in them, growing ones, she could sense that. Her hand neared the eggs and they all seemed to call out to her, but she couldn't seem to choose one.

Inuyasha had crept up, moving silently through the trees. He smirked when he saw Kagome's hand wavering uncertainly over the eggs. "Looks like the wench doesn't get a soul partner. It was almost instantaneous with the rest of us. The eggs know when their energy source is near."

"Energy source? Soul partner?' Kagome briefly ignored the insult to send a puzzled look towards Yusuke.

"Yeah. When you touch the egg it eats your energy. Not all of it, just a good percentage. You get to choose when to feed it though. We also got orders not to move until the eggs were hatched. They bond to your soul while they develop in the egg," Yusuke explained, struggling to remember the few things they had been told while sending a glare at Inuyasha. Not all of the eggs had chosen quickly. Yusuke's golden-green egg had taken almost a full minute to choose.

"Keh. Stupid wench isn't good enough for an egg." Inuyasha growled at Kagome, still furious over the earlier stabs to his pride, forgetting the guilt he held.

Kagome's fury grew as Inuyasha talked and she felt a small answering pulse from her anger. She saw a dark blue egg briefly glow and she smirked, her eyes turning to meet Inuyasha's. "Looks like you're wrong again," she smirked and added one, "puppy." before placing her left hand on the egg.

She forced herself to keep her hand there as the egg glowed pink with her miko powers. Her whole body was tingling as energy streamed out of her and into the egg. Her eyes were impossibly wide as she watched the egg grow before her very eyes. She heard Inuyasha let out a choked gasp in the back round as the egg stopped taking energy.

"Damn. That thing grew just as much as yours did the first time, Yusuke. If not more." Inuyasha said, staring at Kagome and her egg while he directed his comment towards Yusuke. Yusuke, on his part, was a bit surprised.

"Either the eggs grow bigger from miko energy, or you're a hell of a powerful miko Kagome," Yusuke stated as Kagome leaned back, looking a bit shaky. Yusuke managed a grin to reassure her.

"Every time you feed it you'll probably feel a bit dizzy afterwards. Fortunately after they hatch they don't eat as much, and can eat other energy besides your own," Kurama said as he came up behind them. He to was staring at her egg curiously. Seeing the boys gathering near the eggs, Botan and Kikyou were beginning to wander over with a sleep Sango in tow.

Kagome barely listened to the sounds around her, but instead was looking at her egg. She picked it up slowly, letting it settle in the crook of her elbow. It had gone from being slightly bigger than her fist, to the size of Shippo. She calmly stood on shaky legs and walked over to the boys' eggs, putting hers down near the other 'claimed' eggs.

Kagome settled down and grinned as Shippo came up, jumping onto her shoulder and peering at the egg. "Why'd that one grow when you touched it?"

Kagome petted Shippo's tail as he spoke, then nodded to the older boys. "Ask them, I think they'll be telling it again to everyone else. Especially since there are five more eggs. One for each of us and a couple of extras. Maybe only one if you get one Shippo."

She smiled as the kit jumped away to listen to Kurama explain the eggs. She chuckled at her own automatic reactions to the kitsune. She had saved him from youkai only a half a day ago yet she already knew how to calm him. He seemed to be so simple compared to the rest of them. They all had secrets. She believed she knew most of the ones in her own group, but her new teammates were another story.

Her gaze trailed over each of them, wondering why they specifically had been ordered to do these missions. She didn't care what Metria had said, her team all had personal reasons for wanting to get rid of Resurga and Naraku and protect the Shikon. Killing Resurga and Naraku went with the package of protecting the Shikon no Tama, and Metria had said that was why they would eventually be sent against them.

Kagome didn't believe her. The war had been going on for decades with the three armies fighting each other. Yet, now, the one object that all three sides wanted to use was being sent straight into danger with eight teenagers and a kitsune child to protect it. There was something off here. Why not hundreds of soldiers? What made this team special?

'I'll get a headache thinking this way. I know Father has something to do with this. And the prophecy. I wish I knew more about that. But he never said much about his visions, and one-day I was just saddled with my duty. And he left us. Dropped his last name to protect us and left to "help" he said. He must know we're out here. Doesn't he care? If we fail the whole war will be lost! Why is he doing this?' Kagome could feel the moisture beginning in her eyes, and two gazes were on her. One worried and sympathetic, instinctively knowing what she was thinking about.

Kagome's gaze met the other, looking into Yusuke's confused eyes. Reading his puzzled face she simply mouthed 'memories' and left it at that. He was still gazing at her, but his look was oddly thoughtful as the girls began to stare at the eggs in awe. Kagome dropped her eyes from his. Her sister always said she gave away too much in her eyes, and she knew that if she kept looking at him he would read into her other emotions.

She looked up as she heard Shippo's yell of delight. He had been the next to get an egg. "Look Kagome! My egg is the same color as your eyes!"

Kagome laughed at Shippo's statement, but found it was true. His egg was lighter than hers, and almost the exact shade of her eyes. She shrugged, the eggs were odd anyway, and she couldn't do anything about the color. "That's great Shippo. I'm glad you have an egg."

"Yeah, but Kurama says the egg color doesn't always impact the color of the animal inside. I think it would be nice if whatever is inside is that color." Kagome frowned, contemplating what Shippo said. No one had actually mentioned exactly what was in the eggs. She shrugged, then looked over as Yusuke came up. Shippo jumped onto Yusuke's shoulder. "Hello! You're Yusuke! Which one is your egg?"

Kagome giggled as Yusuke rolled his eyes and he gave her a mock glare before putting one hand on a golden green egg that glowed blue with his energy. "This ones mine. Nice to see you got an egg kid. But shouldn't you be a bit more tired?"

Shippo shrugged, then put one hand up and touched Yusuke's slicked back hair. "Why do you do that? Why not leave it down? Does the fire apparition's hair stand up like that naturally? Why does Kurama have a fox spirit inside of him? I think he's a silver. That's what he smells like. Why are the eggs here? Will I be taken away from Kagome and the girls?"

Shippo liked the girls, that was obvious. After all, they had taken revenge when he could not. Yusuke seemed to be reeling from all the questions, but caught the last one and grinned reassuringly. "Nah, kid, not only would the girls fight, we would to if you don't want to go. And nobody ever beats me and my team. No one ever will."

Shippo relaxed at the confident tone and Kagome was smiling at the words, feeling the contentment radiating from the kit. She understood why the kitsune needed to ask. He needed to know if he could get attached to them, or if he would be shipped off. She smiled at Yusuke and added to his words. "That goes for me, Kikyou, Botan, and Sango. Besides, Botan thinks all four of us girls should take care of you, and you've never seen anyone try to take something Botan considers as hers. She'd face the whole army of Naraku before she let someone take something of hers."

She reached out her arms towards Shippo and he jumped into them, snuggling into her arms. So that Yusuke couldn't hear, she added to her former sentences. "I would too Shippo. Naraku and Resurga's. And we won't get killed off either."

She saw the kit's body shake a little in tears. Yusuke shifted awkwardly across from her before following her earlier example and running a hand through Shippo's tail. This seemed to calm the child and he was fast asleep in a few minutes. Kagome smiled at him and Yusuke scowled. "What?"

"Nothing. I just think that was sweet." Kagome smiled at his scowling and shocked face before walking off. Yusuke stared as she went back to her separate side of the camp before her sentence clocked in his mind.

"Sweet? I'm Yusuke Urameshi. I am not sweet." Yusuke scowled before stomping back to his tent, grumbling under his breath while her off hand comment still rang in his mind. Finally he stopped, then grinned when he was sure no one was looking. Maybe sweet wasn't so bad.


---------------------------

Author's Note: *dryly* Gee, I wonder who I paired Kagome with. *grins* I'm sure you all know that by now.

smile7499
Thanks, I try to keep them in character. Of course, considering the different back rounds, they will step out of character sometimes. Thanks for reading, I don't care if people actually like it, but I do like the feedback saying why they like it or don't.

Fire Kitsune Goddess
Nope, it's not Kuwabara. He won't be in this that much, though he and some other characters will pop in eventually. As for bashing, I don't go out of my way to bash, sometimes the characters have problems with each other, but that's just history. Though, if you want Inuyasha seen in a bad light, you'll probably love the story I'm in the process of writing.

Reiko
Thank you, review again.

The Youkai Nightmare
Heh. You're right about the Yusuke/Kagome part of course. What else would I do? *grins* You get candy for guessing that pairing! Also, Sango/Kurama is also correct. Which, you can probably figure out the last pairings by who is left.

wayfarer-redemption
Thank you, I will!

princessdaisy
Candy for you! Yes! It is Yus/Kag! Thanks for reviewing, review again!

FireDemonLord
Actually, he isn't a half demon. Raizen is his full demon grandfather about 44 generations back who in the latter part of YYH, awakens Yusuke's demon blood, making him a full demon. But, in the beginning, he's simply a human with a bit of demon blood. Otherwise, someone would have sensed that he was a demon. Believe me, that confused me at first too, but I looked around the Internet for awhile and got help from Yusukeholic on the subject. Thanks for liking the story, review again!

Angelfirey
Oooh! Candy to you! You guessed my favorite pairing right! Kagome and Yusuke it is, as well as the Hiei Botan pairing!

CrimsonBlades16
*grins* Thanks for thinking it was nice. As to why it can't be Kurama/Kagome...Because I don't like that pairing. I will never do that pairing. Actually, there is only one Kagome pairing I will ever do, and it's not Hiei/Kag either. Everyone else, I have no preference as to pairings, mostly anyway.

SsAnImE
Nope to all of your pairings. Sorry, review again.

Kinky Usagi
*giggles* Yeah, it would be funny to see a crispy Kurama. And, as you know, you were right about the Botan Hiei pairings, though it hasn't shown itself much in this chapter.

Cyclonus1
I don't mind you not reviewing the second chapter. It's not like I review every chapter of every story I review. And yeah, the girls and Inuyasha will probably have a few more spats in the future before they decide to be a bit less violent with him and he decides to not insult them every other minute.

YuYuGang-Kagome r the Best
Heh. You know, I may actually get Kurama shot at some point. Maybe Youko will come out and try to get the jewel again. That would do it. Of course, everyone will probably get hurt at one point in the story or another.

Rem9
You're half-right. It is San/Kur, but not Kag/Hiei. Review again!

blazingsunstar
Thanks. Review again.

Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe
Here's a new update.