AAAH! I'm so sorry that I didn't update at all before this, but it was craziness… First I got internet taken away, then there was Exam Week, and then banned from the internet again! I am such a dork…

Disclaimer: --tune of 'All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth'-- All I want for Christmas is the copyright… The copyright, yes the copyright… Gee, if I could only have the copyright… Then I could say I owned Inuyasha…

Last Time: Kaede made her way towards the indicated place and removed a small, purple bead from it. Instantly, Mistress Centipede turned to ash and bones. Inuyasha recognized the marble, it was the same one that had flown out of Kagome's side.

Shikon no Tama…

This Time:

Kagome stared blankly at the wall by her bed, wincing every time Kaede touched a particularly sensitive part of her wound. It was the morning of her second day away from home, and Kaede was changing the bandages on her side. She still could not believe that the legendary Shikon no Tama, which now hung around her neck, had been in her side all this time.

Glancing over to Inuyasha, who was lounging right next to the bed, Kagome thought back to what Kaede had said about Inuyasha's previous connections with the Jewel.

"Inuyasha knew the woman who, in this time, was the guardian of the Jewel," Kaede said.

"Then can't we just give her the Shikon?" Kagome asked, "If I've got it right now, I don't think it's still there…"

Kaede looked away for a moment. "Kikyou is dead. She died not even a year ago. Inuyasha has been heartbroken ever since. I believe he loved her.'

"Oh," Kagome said, "Kaede obaasan, how do you know that?"

"I am Kikyou's Obaasan," Kaede smiled slightly, "And no matter what she said, I don't think Kikyou ever truly loved him back."

Kagome sighed wistfully coming out of her thoughts. How sad, an unrequited love. From what Kaede obaasan had told her about the hanyou it seemed like his life had not been an easy one, even without Kikyou's unreturned feelings. She tried not to show any pity for him, but it was hard. It made her so sad; Inuyasha deserved love more than most people she knew of.

She started when Inuyasha looked up to meet her gaze.

"Oi…What's that sympathetic look you're giving me for?" he snapped.

"Ah…" She stuttered, "B-betsuni. It doesn't matter."

He kept glaring for a moment before turning away with a 'Keh'. She sighed, then winced again as Kaede did the final tightening on the bandage. The wound was not very deep, but it still stung. She realized that seeing the Shikon had probably brought up more than a few painful memories for both Inuyasha and Kaede. Apparently, she also looked enough like Kikyou that they could have been twins, which was not helping anything at all.

Sighing again, Kagome wandered aimlessly down the hallway towards the stairs leading upstairs. Drifting in and out of rooms, she was surprised to find herself in a woman's room. Above the headboard, she was surprised to find a large portrait of a beautiful woman, with long black hair and almost purple eyes, holding a silver haired, dog-eared infant in her arms sitting in a chair. Behind her stood a man, with silver hair up in a ponytail, amber eyes, and purple streaks on his cheeks, and a teenager looking bored with the same features as the man, only with his hair down and hanging to his mid-back. Upon closer inspection, Kagome realized that both the standing men had fluffy…things on them. The teenager's fluff on his shoulder and the older man's fluff on his back almost like a cape.

"What are you doing in here?"

Kagome jumped and turned around to see Inuyasha leaning tensely on the doorframe.

"I-I uh…," Kagome stuttered, searching for an appropriate answer, "Is…is this your family?" she finally blurted, pointing at the picture, "Your Okaasan is beautiful."

His glare softened a little.

"That was the day after I was born. My Oyaji," he pointed at the older man, "died that night. He was killed protecting me and my Ofukoro."

"I'm so sorry…"

"It doesn't matter. Ofukoro, Izayoi was her name, lived until I was…about seven. The only family I have left is Sesshoumaru," he sneered at the teenager next to the older man, "He's my aniki, but only half. We've got different Ofukoro and he's a full youkai."

"Where is he?" Kagome asked, "And how old is he?"

"I don't really care where he is, he comes and checks on me every once in a while. And," Inuyasha appeared to be thinking about something, "He's about 230 human years old, twenty three youkai years."

Kagome gaped. "And how old are you?"

"I just turned 150 this winter, fifteen youkai years."

"Oh…then I guess that means you're my age…I just turned fifteen yesterday."

"Er…Happy Birthday then…I guess," Inuyasha looked away, suddenly uncomfortable.

"I'll just…," Kagome began edging her way past Inuyasha, "…be leaving now, then."

Before Inuyasha could respond, she dashed out the door and down the stairs back to the safety of her new room. The same thought ran through both of their minds.

'Why am I so embarrassed?'

Ooh…the beginnings of attraction! Wonder what mayhem I can make to put a little bit of a wrench in the potential blossoming romance… Kikyou, of course, will be brought back to life and some other things like that… Shippou will be showing up within the next few chapters too!

Japanese Words Used: (in order of use)

Betsuni: Nothing

Review and tell other people if you liked it!

Mucho encanta, (Irony here: I quit Spanish last year!)

Miji