Sqeekers- Congrats on getting your comp back and all that. w00t to you! Yeah, I like where this jewel reaction thing is going, too… I just didn't want it to be too predictable with the whole "Kagome good / Naraku evil" thing. That would've been boring. xD Anywho… I'm glad that you're open to the Kohaku/Souta pairing. Not too long ago, I was like "MUST DO EVERYTHING YAOI! . " …which lead to some awkward Naraku/SesshouMaru moments… o.0 So I had stepped back from this story, but now I'm trying to break away from that a bit. I guess I'm still sadly addicted… Either way, there are a lot of people who would have a conniption fit and flame me to death because of the thought of a guy/guy pairing… thanks for being so groovy about it. GO YOU!

L.m KiTsUnE – Holly hell… someone still reads this? o.0;; Well, since you are reading, I may as well update… n.n;; I don't quite remember where I was going with this (its been a while xD) and my writing style has changed a little bit… but I hope it lives up to your expectations. n.n;;

Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Enough said.

Ch9

After leading Kouga of the Northern Lands to a small meeting room within his keep, SesshouMaru sent a servant off to get them some tea. He then closed the door and kneeled down behind a low table, "You wanted to discuss something with me? Perhaps it would have something to do with the message that a servant of yours dropped off yesterday about the crowning of one of your sons?" The taiyoukai hated being informed of something more times than necessary; and an event of that nature didn't need a second notice.

"Nah, nah," the wolf king sat down, Indian style, on the opposite side of the table, "Its something more important than that!"

The Western Lord arched a brow, "What can be more important than choosing your successor?"

Kouga looked more serious than the inu had ever remembered him being, "Kagome. Is she really back?"

He knew it wouldn't take the wolf demon long to figure that fact out. It was disgusting how he held a female in higher regard than his responsibilities to his lands. SesshouMaru nearly sighed, "Yes, Kouga, she is. And she is being taken care of by Reikai."

"What The Hell Do You Mean 'Being Taken Care Of'!" the demon shouted, taking the phrase the wrong way.

"I mean she is being watched over by Koenma's detectives," it took a lot not to roll his eyes at the other demon. Really, it was times like these that he was reminded of his younger brother and had to remind himself to be patient.

Kouga scoffed, "Like they could do anything against Naraku."

"Kouga, that's none of your concern," SesshouMaru stared impassibly at the other, "Have you forgotten your responsibilities to the Northern lands because of one female?"

"She's not just one female!" the wolf glared at the dog, "She's my woman!"

"You have a mate," the taiyoukai calmly reminded the other. "You have your lands. You are going to name which of your sons is going to rule soon. Kagome and Naraku are no longer your business, as Kagome is fine and Naraku is nowhere to be found."

"LIKE HELL NARAU'S NONE OF MY BUSINESS!" Kouga yelled, growling at the other demon, "He Killed My Tribe!"

SesshouMaru watched as the servant came with the tea and poured it for them before bowing and leaving. He took a sip before talking, "Regardless of that, Kagome is no longer of any concern to you. I have told you everything I know of Naraku when I said that he is nowhere to be found. You have no reason to be here. Please excuse yourself." He had to hold back a smirk at the look on the wolf demon's face.

"Fine! Kouga stood up and glared down at SesshouMaru, "I'll go see Kagome on my own!" He was pissed that SesshouMaru would be such a pompous ass and dismiss his concern for his woman so much! Then again, that was always how the Western lord was. He stormed out of the castle before running off. He didn't know exactly where he was going, but he didn't care very much. He just had to blow off some steam and think about what he would do. He already had a mate… but Kagome- his woman- was back. Not only that, but Naraku was back as well. He still wanted his revenge. He didn't even want to think about what evils the dreaded Naraku could be up to at that very moment.

(((((((-)))))))

Naraku stood in the large apartment that the man had owned. It was on the top floor of the building… well, it wasn't on the top floor so much as it was the top floor. He had to enter a special elevator from the floor underneath him to get it. Walking in, there was a central hallway with a kitchen on the right and a bathroom on the left. At the end of the hallway there were two directions you could go.

To the right was a large room that took up most of the floor; it had been decorated with a large television against the wall, and three black couches facing it from different angles- making them look like a 'C'. There was a table in the middle of the 'C' that had various work-related papers carelessly laid out on top of it; the demon decided that he would look over those later.

To the left was another hallway with two doors- one on either side of the hall. He walked over to them. The door on his left lead to the master bedroom- furnished with a king-sized bed, small table near the bed, closet, bathroom, and nothing more. The bathroom door was to the right of the bed. The door on the right was the guest bedroom with the same furnishings, bathroom and all. The only difference between the rooms was that the master bedroom had a lock on it, and the other did not. The business man had not seen the need to clutter the rooms with too much.

Smirking, Naraku walked into the master bedroom and laid down upon the bed. He had never seen a western style bed before, and was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was. He rolled over and stared at the closet door- people didn't make too much of a deal over his clothing, but he did receive some odd looks from children and teenagers as he walked by. 'Perhaps,' he thought, getting up, 'It is time for me to find something else to wear.'

He walked over to the closet and looked inside of it, not surprised to find a few suits that looked exactly alike, and two pairs of matching shoes. He took a suit out of the closet and looked it over. Black dress pants, white dress shirt, black jacket, black tie. He laid the tie and the jacket on the bed, taking the other two into the bathroom with him.

There was a tub with a shower attached to it. He had never used one of these personally, but the memories of the business man and the foul-mouthed hacker let him know what to do. He stepped into the shower and began to bath as a random thought drifted through his mind, 'I wonder what bathing in here with Kagome would be like…' Cursing himself, he quickly disregarded the thought.

(((((((-)))))))

Botan sighed in relief when everyone exited the portal… in Ningenkai… safely away from the short fire-demon that probably wanted to kill her right about now. She smiled, "Well, I suppose you'll taking her home, Kurama?"

The red-head nodded, "Hai." He smiled at Shippo, "Seeing as it doesn't seem as though you're aloud to be too far apart from her, why don't you stay with us?"

"Or…" the other fox grinned, "you could just leave her with me. After all, it's been a while and we have some catching up to do." His tail twitched slightly in amusement at the flash of gold in the other's eyes.

Shuichi ignored the growl and threat that his other half demanded he vocalize and decided upon a polite smile instead, "SesshouMaru wants you to be around to guard her, but Koenma wants his spirit detective there instead." He looked over at Yusuke, "Would you mind them staying with you?"

"Are you kidd'n me!" Yusuke shook his head, "There's no way the girl can stay with me! Keiko would kill me!" Kuwabara laughed burst into laughter at the thought of his rival being slapped by the short girl. This caused the detective to smack him upside the head.

"Then it's settled," Kurama looked at Kagome and Shippo, "I'm sure mother won't mind you staying with us for a little while."

Shippo burst into laughter, "Mother? Are you a mama's boy or something?"

"You know," Kagome smiled at her 'son', "You used to be something of a mama's boy yourself…" He mumbled something incoherent and crossed his arms over his chest, not wanting to admit that it was true.

Botan blinked, "Uhm… 'Shippo', was it? You're going to have to do something… as you know, humans don't know that demons exist."

Grinning, Shippo took out a leash, "Yeah, yeah." He put it on his forehead and changed in a poof of smoke. It wasn't so much of a change as his fox ears appeared human and his tail was gone. Other than that, he stilled like a young man with green eyes and orange hair. He laughed, "Hey, Yoko, we look like we could be related, don't we?"

"Surprisingly," he blinked at the other, not really noticing it too much before, "Yes… although, I'm not Yoko. I suppose, in a way I am… it's complicated." If their hair had been similar colors, they could pass as brothers.

It wasn't too long before the two humans went home and Botan went back to the Spirit World with the hopes that Hiei had already left and she wouldn't be killed on the spot. Shuichi lead the girl and the fox to his home, trying to think of an excuse to tell his mother.

(((((((-)))))))

Souta was grinning when he got home, a bounce in his step. This caused his aunt to smile at him and ask why he was in such a good mood. He grinned brightly at her, "My sister… she might be… I think she might be alive!"

Shiori smiled sadly at the boy, thinking that he was just unable to except the fact that she was gone. She thought it was odd, though, because he had been taking it very well for a long time. The woman knelt down before Souta and wrapped her arms around him, "It's alright. I'm sure she's just fine, wherever she is."

The child rolled his eyes, "No, really! I know she's alive! And I might get to see her soon!"

Before Shiori could say anything to the poor child, the doorknob turned. They both turned to see who was there as the door opened.

((Ok, short chapter… at least it exists? n.n;; Anyways… it took about two days to get this out… I'm actually starting to get some sort of inspiration going… its odd writing every character… RPing is making me lazy. Instead of 'react to the situation' I actually have to think. xD

I might get the next chapter out soon, but I don't want to make any promises… I might forget about the story… again…))