Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi knows what she's doing. If I were her, I would know what I was doing instead of floundering along the way I do. Please draw appropriate conclusion.

Helpful flashback: "Aerie, I don't think you know what you're doing." said Kagome seriously. "Inuyasha is dangerous. He could kill you by accident."

"I wouldn't lower myself-"

"Osuwari." Inuyasha crashed to the ground and Aerie bent over him.

"What's the matter, Inu? Scared I might make a fool of you?"

"I am not scared of you!" he spat out, along with some dirt and a few pebbles.

"Fine. Prove it. And if I win, I get to come along." Inuyasha sneered at this idea, and they faced off as their friends backed away. "Now, before we start, no hair pulling, no biting, and no using those claws of yours -" he opened his mouth to sneer at her for cowardice " - on the weapons. No fair slicing my stave." He nodded grudgingly and struck. Kagome saw Aerie dodge. She ducked his next few attacks, as well, watching him, learning the way he moved, then engaged. Kagome could hear the broomsticks meet repeatedly, as one blocked a swing from the other. Sometimes they met flesh, with a thwack and sometimes a yelp or a yip or a curse. Many times they found only air. Inuyasha had not expected her to be so good. In fact, he couldn't believe it. She moved faster than a human ought to. Their friends were mostly tracking the battle by sound. If they had been using real blades, there would have been much blood in the air by now. Actually, she probably would have been dead. He definitely had the advantage, all told, but she was so fast and so damned good at defending herself - well, humans had a harder time healing, so of course she'd be more careful of her body. Finally, it was a tricky bit of maneuvering that did him in. She got a foot in behind his heel and jerked it back, bringing him down more ignominiously than any 'sit', and placed her broom handle at his throat. "Yield?" she panted. He wasn't tired. If they had kept going much longer he would have beaten her. But she had won. Slowly he nodded. She lowered her 'sword.' "Nice." she said. "I really am impressed. I thought that would be easier than it was." She offered him a hand up and he took it, considering throwing her but deciding that it would be childish.

"Ningen?" he said uncertainly when he was on his feet again. She nodded.

"Not that I like it." Miroku was the first to recover from the shock He rushed over to the two opponents, draping an arm over Aerie's shoulders and steering her toward Kagome and Shippou. The little kitsune had been screaming the entire time for whoever he thought was winning not to kill the other one. "Hey, Sango," Aerie called to the taijiya, who she saw approaching. "I found out how not to be groped by Miroku! Just beat Inuyasha in a duel!"

"Say what?" Sango asked.

"I found out -" Aerie began.

"No, the second bit." Sango cut her off.

"Just beat Inuyasha up." Sango closed her eyes and counted to seventeen. Then she demanded an explanation.

"So where are we going?" Aerie asked cheerily. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Right after knocking him into the dust, she had reverted to her prior aggravating self. She smiled too much. You couldn't tell what she was thinking. It probably wasn't absolutely nothing, as he had thought before, though. No one as utterly dumb as she acted could fight like that.

"There's news of a demon with Shikon no Kakera near a village to the east." Kagome told her.

"So we're going to go east until we somehow bump into it?" Aerie said.

"Sango knows where it is." Kagome replied. She sounded like she was running out of patience, too. Perhaps sensing this, Aerie dropped back to walk beside Miroku so she and Shippou could annoy one another.

"How do you stand her?" Inuyasha asked Kagome. She sighed.

"I've been wondering that myself," she admitted. Behind them, a discussion on much the same topic could be heard, if one cared to listen.

"You're really ticking them off, Aerie," Miroku said. "Especially Inuyasha. Why?" He had reason to ask. When she was not around Inuyasha, Aerie was quite charming. Either there was a personality clash of atomic proportions going on here, or Aerie was doing it on purpose. "You're making them hate you," he continued. She chuckled - she never giggled unless Inuyasha was there to annoy.

"True," she said, "But look at those two. They haven't had an argument all day. Inuyasha's too busy disliking me."

"You're kidding," said Miroku. "You're being annoying on purpose just so they'll get along?" The girl nodded. "That's insane," the Hoshi said flatly, "Don't you care if they like you?" She shrugged.

"No one likes me anyway." Miroku promptly turned to Shippou and said with great cheer,

"Hello, no one! Wonderful to meet you! I'm nobody. Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" Aerie blushed.

"Okay, so you're not no one," she replied. "I just meant…."

"Lonely years behind you, eh? Well, it's sweet of you, but - stop. Inuyasha may not be as cold as he pretends, but if you get him to hate you he's hardly going to risk his neck for you." Aerie nodded.

"Alright." They halted suddenly. Sango had stopped and they had caught up with her.

"We're here," she said. She glanced at Kagome, who nodded.

"Yes, there's a shard here," she said, "Right…there." She pointed to a modest dwelling near the edge of the settlement.

"In the village?" said Miroku, rather startled.

"Yeah…" said Kagome, sounding surprised herself. "In that house."

"Strange," agreed Sango.

"I don't see what's so strange about it." Aerie said. "Either there's a demon staying in a human village or a human has a shard. Miroku was in a village when you caught up with him." Inuyasha 'keh'ed, Kagome stayed absorbed in thought, staring at the village, Miroku flushed, Shippou laughed, and Sango shot Aerie a glance. Someday she was going to wring out of that girl exactly how she knew what she knew. Cautiously. If Aerie could beat Inuyasha, she was not going to be that easy a nut to crack.

They went down the hill and into the village. As usual, they drew stares. The monk was normal, the demon exterminator at least…okay, but Inuyasha and Shippou looked, as usual, out of place, and Kagome's clothes always looked weird. Now they had Aerie, who was wearing the black jeans and Tshirt she had arrived in. They looked just…strange. They got to the house Kagome had pointed out and paused. Kagome looked at Sango. Sango looked at Miroku. Miroku looked at Inuyasha. Then they all turned and looked at Kagome again. Kagome shrugged. Aerie, feeling slightly put out at being left out of the loop, said,

"Oh, hells," and knocked on the door. It started to open….

Ngahngahngah….What will emerge…? OK, enough of that. I hope you all (Ahem. The existence of one single beloved reviewer is here noted. Go biggest anime fan!) enjoyed that, because I did. If anyone is offended that I gave my heroine the skill with a sword to beat our favorite inu, I'm sorry, because I know the giving of random talents always ticks me off, if it's not handled very, very carefully. I hope I did so, and alsomade it clear that if it had been a real battle, where getting hit was getting sliced and Inuyasha was using all his abilities instead of just a broomstick, she would have lost. She would have, too. She may have been taught by elves, but she's basically human. Let me also say in my defense that she's been able to fight like that as long as I can remember, so I didn't just do that for the sensationalism of it, and-

Inuyasha: That was not fair.

TrisakAminawn(the human faker): Oh, yeah? Why's that?

Inuyasha: She had the Sakusha on her side. I never had a chance.

Trisak: Inuyasha, every single fight you have, who wins is pre-decided. Every time you beat someone it's because you have the Sakusha on your side.

Inuyasha: That's no fun. I move for rebellion!

Kagome: Ssshh. Keep your voice down. If she finds out….

Inuyasha: Oh, damn….

Trisak: Stay posted for these and other interesting developments-and-Aerie-put-that-chainsaw-down-this-instant-

Augh! That was scary. I think I will consider carefully before letting them talk again; they keep getting out of control. OK, people, or person, whatever, review this and read the next chapter or I will take Aerie's chainsaw and come after you….Kidding! Kidding! May you fare well wherever you fare, and eyries receive you at journey's end.