Disclaimer: Inuyasha & co. are the sole property of Rumiko Takahashi, and she is not me. There. Satisfied? If not, and you still want to sue me, I've got a whole passel of bengoshi youkai (lawyer demons) that I'm just itching to sic on someone.

Authoress Note: Whoo-ha, yes, biggest anime fan, I am evil! Evil! Evil! And so are non-reviewers! You are non-evil. As is Wiccan Aviva, thank you very much and I cater to your wishes. OK, since that's all my reviewers (Does my summary suck or something?) I guess now the story.

The door finished opening and the rather ugly head of a demon was stuck out. Instead of being just nasty and monstrous like most ugly demon's heads, it was as if he had made himself look human but not bothered with the bishiness factor, or even a great degree of accuracy, so a long, pointed pair of ears thrust upward through his green hair, and his nose was too long and his teeth were crooked, and his eyes were all squinty. He looked kind of like some sort of goblin.

"Yes?" he said. He blinked at them. "You aren't planning to take over the village, are you? Because then I'd have to defend it and probably get myself killed. But conquerors don't usually knock, do they?" The inu-taichi blinked back for a minute.

"But if we were going to attack, you could use that Shikon no Kakera you've got in there and make yourself stronger." Said Kagome at last. He chuckled.

"Goodness no, child! I'm rather fond of my soul. I have no interest in using that thing. I've been here for seventy years, and I like it. If you're not going to attack me, come in and have some tea." Inuyasha grumbled, but that ended up being exactly what they did. The long-eared fellow handed around cups of tea, which everyone drank except the inu, who just sat in the corner and said 'keh' every so often. "I'm Rath-tama," said their host, when they were all settled. "And you are…?"

"I'm Kagome, the monk is Miroku, the little one is Shippou, that's Sango with the boomerang, this is Aerie, and the grump in the corner is Inuyasha." Rath-tama nodded.

"Ah," he said, "You're that group." He turned to Sango. "My condolences about your people." She choked on her tea. "Your father used to come through here every so often, to make sure I still had a handle on things. So," he said, "You're here for that bit of rock."

"Yes," admitted Kagome. Rath-tama stood up.

"Well, as long as you don't let him get his hands on it," he said, nodding toward Inuyasha, "I'm quite willing to give it to you."

"Why him in particular?" Aerie asked. "Or do you just not like half-bloods?" Rath-tama chuckled.

"Goodness, my own grandmother was a half-blood. No, this lad just has a lot of potential for nastiness in him, and I'd hate to think of all of you all slashed up and dead." Inuyasha growled from the corner. Rath-tama looked at him. "If that was supposed to reassure me of their safety, it was monumentally unsuccessful." He informed him.

"I wouldn't hurt them," Inuyasha protested sulkily. Rath-tama's brow furrowed.

"Maybe you wouldn't, at that." he agreed, "But I wouldn't want to take that chance, were I you." He vanished into the next room, presumably to fetch the shard.

"He's…strange," said Sango.

"You'll find no arguments here," Miroku replied, "But he did agree with me."

"Eh?" said Sango.

"Right after Inuyasha killed a nasty blighter called the Peach Man on the night of the new moon, Miroku tried to tell Inuyasha something like that," said Aerie, "While the three of them were waiting for Kagome to get back. It was shortly before you met them. I don't think Inuyasha believed him. Didn't want to, anyway. But he did have visions of dead Kagome."

"Shut up." Inuyasha snapped. "Would you like it if I told everyone what you were thinking just because I knew?" Aerie looked taken aback for a minute, then bowed from her sitting position.

"You're absolutely right, Inuyasha-san." She said. "I apologize. Will you kindly forgive me?"

"Uh…." Kagome nudged his foot with her own.

"Just say yes," she whispered. He shrugged.

"Yes." At that moment Rath-tama reentered, holding a large shard of the Shikon no Tama with a tiny pair of tongs. He seemed to be treating the thing the way people would treat something radioactive in our reality.

"You wouldn't consider letting me keep it until I've finished my research, would you?" he asked Kagome. "It's not every decade you get a chance to examine something this powerful. No, eh?" he sighed. "Probably for the best. It's a relief to get rid of it, really. I've had to fight so many demons out for the power in this, and eventually someone I'm responsible for is going to get hurt. Here." He dropped it into her hand. "Look after the blasted thing, will you?" Kagome nodded and then there was an uncomfortable minute while everyone tried to figure out what happened next. Usually after they got hold of a shard it was time to clean up after the battle, but there hadn't been one this time, and more than one person was just polite enough not to want to leave immediately after getting what they wanted out of him. Inuyasha was, of course, not among them.

"Alright, we've got the shard, let's go," he said, standing up.

"Inu, be polite," Aerie chided cheerfully. "We're guests. Let's at least finish our tea."

"I don't have any tea."

"So go outside and frighten little children with that ugly mug of yours, if it makes you happy. I'm going to finish my tea and talk with Rath-tama here."

"Feh," said Inuyasha. After a minute he did go outside, probably to keep watch for the approach of anything nasty.

"So what is it you do, Rath-tama-sama?" Aerie asked as the hanyou stalked off. He chuckled.

"Please. Leave off the 'sama.' I don't need the flattery, and 'tama-sama' sounds so silly. I look after this village, as I told you. I also…study."

"What do you study?" He shrugged.

"Everything, really. Or perhaps 'twould be more accurate to say, anything. That's what I was doing with the shikon shard, although studying it without touching it was ticklish work. Magics. Physics. Physic - medicine, that is. Anatomy. If your inu had gotten himself killed and I had found the body, I probably wouldn't have been able to resist cutting him up to find out how the demon and human physical traits had crossed."

"Do you cut people up a lot?"

"No," he said, sounding rather offended by the accusation suggested by her faintly suspicious tone, "I don't. I know how human and demon bodies work well enough without slicing up every corpse I come across."

"Sorry."

"OK, I think it's time to go. Shippou's going to burst with sitting still," said Miroku. They had been in Rath-tama's house for almost an hour, having a most interesting discussion. At least, Aerie, Rath-tama, and Miroku were interested in most of it, and Sango and Kagome in some of it, but the kitsune was bored out of his brains. Miroku had finally noticed.

"Am not," Shippou said courageously, but the others proceeded to stand up and take their leave anyway.

"Thank you for a most informative afternoon," Aerie said to Rath-tama, bowing. She had gotten Kaede to teach her bows during her convalescence.

"And you for a most enjoyable one, even if you were trying to say nothing informative," the old demon replied, bowing back. The girl flushed, and he smiled. "You have secrets, but that is alright. I have secrets myself, that I would not discuss with a stranger. Fare well."

"Go well yourself," she replied. Then Miroku and Sango and Kagome said good-bye, and Shippou streaked out the door as soon as the last syllable was done.

Outside they found a very disgruntled Inuyasha, circlets of flowers around his neck and on his head, and several little girls sitting on and around him.

"There you are!" he roared when he saw them, from his rather undignified position, sprawled on his stomach with two children on his back and one on his legs. "Did you have to take so long? I can't stand these little pestilences!" One of the girls, a taller one in orange, giggled and planted a kiss on his eye.

"We love you too, Inu-friend." She said cheerfully.

"Argh!" he shouted. "Leave me alone!" He stood up, catching the two girls with one arm as they tumbled off his back and setting them on the ground without looking at them.

"Whee!" they cried. "Do it again, Inu-san!" His friends were doing their best not to stare. Kagome was stifling giggles. He glared.

"I don't see why they like you so much," declared Shippou, clambering onto Miroku's shoulder. "I don't."

"That's so sweet, Inuyasha," said Aerie.

"What?" he demanded. "They just wouldn't leave me alone! They weren't scared when I growled at them."

"Well, you could have-" began Kagome. Then Shippou launched himself toward Inuyasha, knocking Miroku off balance so that Sango caught him. Inuyasha batted him out of the air, knocking him to the petal-strewn ground, where he lay with a large bump on his head. "…done that." Kagome said.

"Shippou I can hit around. He's a demon, he can take it. He's fine in a few minutes. These little beasts are fragile."

"Aw, Inuyasha. I didn't know you cared." Kagome said, starry eyed. He flushed angrily.

"I didn't mean-" he said. Meanwhile, the girls had clustered around Shippou, who was sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Ooh, you're a demon too?" asked Orange Yukata. "Rath-tama hardly ever lets any in. And you're little like us, so you're almost as cute as Inu-friend."

"Almost?" asked Shippou.

"Well, just as cute then." said a smaller girl in pink. "Just ignore Kypri. She's fallen in love with Inu-san. Can I touch your tail?"

"Um…" said Shippou. She and one of the other girls were petting it anyway.

"Open up, Kitsune-chan. I don't have teeth like that. Ooh, see how sharp they are?" said another girl.

"Hie hame ih Hhgippou." Said the kitsune. The girls frowned in puzzlement.

"Say what?" He snapped at their fingers so that they drew them away and repeated,

"My name is Shippou. Please don't put your fingers in my mouth anymore."

"OK," they said cheerfully, "We'll look at Inu-san's teeth instead." Inuyasha stopped arguing with Kagome to say,

"What? I don't-" before they were heaving mightily at his legs and scrambling up his back. His super-poofy pants started to slide down, and as he grabbed at them the children unbalanced him and swarmed over him, pulling at his lips so they could see his 'pointy teeth.'

"These children," said Miroku, rubbing the latest bump Sango had given him,"Have no fear."

"Which is really strange," added Sango. "Not that they actually need to be frightened of our two demonic companions. Rath-tama must do a really good job protecting this village."

"I wonder…." Said Aerie.

"Mm?" said Kagome. Just then Inuyasha started laughing, giggling really.

"No, come on…. Stop it!" he cried, as Kypri wiggled her fingers under his arms and her companions gleefully followed suit.

"He's ticklish?" said Kagome with unholy glee. "Oh, I cannot pass this up!" She fell on the hanyou like a bolt from above. Aerie grinned.

"The poor guy," she remarked.

When Inuyasha finally escaped his tormentors - which involved jumping a ridiculous height, sending them rolling in every direction - the taichi left, although the girls clung to Inuyasha's jacket, begging him not to go, they were sorry and would never tickle him again.

"Feh," he said, sticking his nose in the air.

"It's not because we tickled him," Kagome said, "We just have to go. Maybe we'll visit again some time."

"Not bloody likely!" Inuyasha snapped. Kypri looked crestfallen.

"He doesn't like us," she said, and started to cry. Inuyasha looked uncomfortable.

"Look," he said, "Maybe I could visit sometime…." Kypri grinned, the tears vanishing.

"Really?" she hugged his leg. "I love you, Inu-friend."

"Keh," he said. "Whatever."

"So," said Aerie, " 'Inu-san,' huh? Mr. Dog." Miroku kicked her in the ankle and she remembered how she wasn't being annoying anymore. The guy was sulking anyway. "Never mind."

"So where are we going?" Kagome asked eventually. "It's not like any of us are wounded, so going back to Kaede's would be silly."

"Guess we're going rumor-hunting again, then." replied Sango. "Just follow the inu."

At the end of the day, with the sun already set, Inuyasha at last stopped and said the first thing he had said since they left Rath-tama's village.

"OK, this seems like a good place to - Argh!" A spear-point had appeared through his chest and before his startled friends had a chance to do anything, he had been yanked into the undergrowth, dripping blood.

"After him!" cried Sango. They burst into the forest, pelting after the trail of blood and the sound of dragging. Sango and Aerie, in the lead, burst into a clearing and Aerie was nearly sick. Silver hair was knotted around an overhanging tree branch, a familiar head hanging from it…

Kukukukukuku….How do you like that! Yes, I know all of you were expecting a battle once the door opened, but -

Inuyasha: I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!

Trisak: You can't. I already killed you.

Inuyasha: That isn't fair! I can't do anything about it in the middle of a chapter.

Trisak: The pen is mightier than the sword, dog-breath. Even the Tetsusaiga.

Inuyasha: Goawarrrrgh!

Trisak: Oh, shut up. You're not really dead anyway.

Inuyasha: I'm not?

Trisak: No. Dead people don't actually talk. Now be quiet and let the nice people read the next chapter.

Inuyasha: Keh.

OK, see? Like I told Inuyasha, he's not really dead. Only he would actually have to be told that. Most of us know whether or not we're dead. But didn't it create a lot of suspense to let you think he was? However, any fanfic where they actually killed him off I probably wouldn't finish, so I'm telling you here that he IS NOT ACTUALLY DEAD. Got it? Good. Yes! He's ticklish! Kukuku! Oi, that was fun to write! And just once, somewhere, there had to be a perfectly decent demon who didn't even want the Shikon no Kakera. Had to. So I wrote him. I hope you liked Rath-tama. A Rath is a Celtic word for a faery fort, tama is (I think) Japanese for stone, or jewel, so I'm mixing cultures, don't care. Review me! Please! I'm withering here. Wasting away for lack of acknowledgment. Two people have reviewed this thing! Two! Yes, you guys are worth it, but I'd still like someone else. cries Pretty-please? See ya!