Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.
Author's
Note: Man, this chapter totally ran away from where it was supposed
to go. Houjo jumped out from nowhere. But some of you kept
asking that same question: Pairings? I say: Wait. You can keep
guessing - some of you have guessed right. There are only two
pairings I'm actually doing, and one's pretty secondary. Obviously
the main one's Kagome. And because of not allowing review
responses in the chapters, those of you who had/ will have questions
I use the reply link - doesn't work for anonymous reviewers
unfortunately, which is a pain.
FF. net has messed with
what can be used as seperators again, so if you have this on story
alert and got it twice, it's because I had to change the scene
changes.
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Chapter 4 - "What do you mean she's with Houjo?"
Eventually, Kagura did show up and switched with Inuyasha. This developed into a whole new brand of problems as Kagura stared at them all, her face set into a scowl. Her ears were under an illusion, like every time Kagome had seen her since she had stumbled from the well with a stricken and guilty Inuyasha and had found the wind sorceress, looking unchanged, standing there impatiently. Obviously somehow she had figured out the date and remembered through the years. It had been a good thing too, since Inuyasha refused to return to his time and someone needed to teach him what went on in this era. Kagome hadn't been in any state to do it, and Inuyasha split his time between watching Kagome and living with Kagura while he learned.
Inuyasha had warned her about the demons turned animals of course, but it didn't make her any happier about it. She arrived on the top of the steps with a swish of a blue and black skirt and crossed her arms over her red blouse, glaring at the closest visitor, which happened to be Hiei. That was unfortunate, as no one was quite sure how to stop the two from trying to kill each other a few minutes later. They were doing quite a good job of it before Kagome dove for Kagura and Botan fluttered around Hiei.
Shizuru, Kagome found out, was Kuwabara's older sister, and the most interesting of the lot, personality wise. Kagome had seen plenty of tough guys, the cold ones, the smart ones, the cold and smart ones, the perverts, and was just plain sick of having so many males about. Even with Keiko and Kagura it wasn't the same. She could talk to Keiko, but not really say her mind about many things she wanted to. And Kagura was just plain unapproachable. But Shizuru, though not the most social, seemed to have a calm that wasn't wavered by anything - except her baby brother. But then, usually the other emotion plain on her face was anger - either at him or someone after him.
Kagome was sure the older girl would have been sick of her after a few days - but Shizuru showed no annoyance when Kagome continually sought her out to talk - even seemed interested. As she slowly learned, Shizuru was interested. Kagome was different, and Shizuru was glad to have another girl to talk to who knew and understood what the boys went through - knew it even better than Shizuru knew it. Shizuru could fight, but not like them, not even close to them. Kagome had the distinct impression that no one really approached the boys in strength. Considering the little information she had on them - most of it rumors - she was anxious to find out.
The one-month mark approached faster than Kagome would have liked, and the day of everyone seemed to be there, even Inuyasha, and no one could sit still. Youko and Yusuke had both snapped at each other a few times - and it had nothing to do with instincts this time, but more because Youko had made more than a few comments about Keiko, and the majin turned wolf was getting irritated.
The only person who wasn't in the immediate vicinity of the house was Kagome herself, who had gone out, first to the God Tree, and then when she was sure not even Inuyasha and Kagura were paying any attention to her, she had slipped off. She just needed a quick break. If what they said was right, then tonight she would have four men and a woman in her house along with the other guests already there - it would quickly degenerate into even more chaos. And Keiko and Shizuru were staying over; eager to see their boys back again. Kagome just needed to escape it all. Her feet quickly began to lead her down the nearest street.
She exhaled sharply in surprise as a voice said, "Hello, Higurashi," And she couldn't help but smile at Houjo beside her. He popped up where she least expected it. They had both long given up on trying to go steady - though he still asked her out on impromptu dates whenever he saw her and she looked well - emotionally well, since he had once mentioned that he had never actually seen her physically unwell except for that one time he had visited her at home. She knew then he suspected there was something more there - but he never asked her about it, just always seemed to be there when she most wanted to talk to someone outside of her immediate circle of friends.
"Houjo," She said warmly. "Funny how you're here," She said pointedly, smiling to show she was teasing.
"Not that funny. I work nearby," He answered and they walked peacefully together. They had both grown up and matured - he no longer was quite as naive about many things, but there was still an innocence about Houjo that Kagome relished - they never made good more-than-friends, despite how often they tried, but he listened well - now, anyway. Listened to her speaking about her problems without actually specifying what was wrong. He didn't know exactly what was going on - and he never asked. Sometimes, in her more regretful moments, she wistfully would imagine the could-have-beens. She very well could have married Houjo.
Except, despite the times she needed to get away sometimes, she did love her life well enough. She couldn't imagine her life without all of the supernatural elements in it.
"Would you like to go out for an early dinner, Kagome?" Houjo asked, and Kagome blinked in surprise. It was rare he actually used her first name. She looked at him, studying his expression. Maybe she wasn't the only one who needed to talk.
"I'd love to," She said, and threaded her arm through his as he led her off. Hopefully, with all of the commotion going on at her home, no one would notice she was gone until she was back. Doubtful, but she could always hope. She glanced at the sun and hoped that it wasn't an exact time from when they transformed - because then she wouldn't see them go back. Then again, she would seem them later in the day, and there was still the rest of the month. They could let her go off this once - and once Shippo smelled Houjo, he at least would know she was safe. He understood her need to go out into the regular part of the Human World and remind herself that she had once been a part of them - and it was partly for them that she fought.
---
"What do you mean she's with Houjo?" Inuyasha roared. Souta blanched a bit, but Shippo had lived with Inuyasha's screams and drama for far longer than Souta.
"Just what I said. She does go out with her friends sometimes, and once in awhile she and Houjo go on a... What did she call it?" Shippo paused, and then snapped his clawed fingers. " 'Casual date' she says. Mostly they're just friends."
'Mostly?' Yusuke asked, feeling irritated by almost everything - Youko, Kagome, how slow the sun passed, the fact that the woman had once again gone off without telling anyone, and, most troubling, he was irritated that she was on a date.
"Huh. Considering that it took you over an hour to notice she was missing and track her to the street, I think she had a right to go off. It was a bit stifling here," Shizuru pointed out from her seat in a chair.
Inuyasha had been the one to discover Kagome missing, and he had followed the scent off of the shrine in a slight panic - and Shippo had followed. While Inuyasha had not recognized the scent except for a faint memory in his mind, Shippo had. It was only when they were back on the relative safety of the warded shrine that Shippo had told him - and the name Inuyasha did remember.
"But - doesn't she want to see the boys and Botan when they're back to themselves?" Keiko asked in surprise.
'We will be in that form for twelve hours. I'm sure she'll see plenty of us,' Youko offered, surprising everyone. The white fox made an attempt at a shrug and seemed annoyed when his fox-body refused to cooperate. 'Everyone needs some space - and some personal attention.' The gleam in his golden eyes turned wicked. 'And maybe more than a casual date. Perhaps what she really wants is some casual sex.'
There were a number of growls at that, and a faint grumble from Souta saying, "Probably make her easier to live with if she did."
The growls stopped as a few heads turned to the boy, who shrugged uncomfortably. "What? It might. I mean, any relationship would probably make her happier, and even if it was just sex, she'd probably still be less stressed."
Despite the rather bold statements, Souta was struggling not to blush but Youko's chuckles had attention turning back to him. 'Kid has a point.' Slyly, he added, 'I know I always feel better after some sex.'
'I think we're getting off topic here,' Botan pointed out reasonably. In their typical fashion of not listening to reason, the boys ignored her.
'We should go find her. That demon that got us could be out there and might know she's sheltering us,' Kuwabara pointed out worriedly as everyone began chattering at once.
"Why would she need to go out on a date? She gets plenty of attention here. We listen to her," Inuyasha said sulkily to something Shippo had said.
'You're all idiots,' Hiei stated into the room alive with telepathic sendings and physical sounds. It was in the midst of this that, between one moment and two, there were suddenly five less animals there and five more humans - or at least human shaped beings.
"Oh my," Keiko said faintly. Because they had just been animals - and animals didn't wear clothes. Neither were any of them.
Kurama sighed a bit in relief, despite the fact he was naked. At least he was himself again.
"Here," Shizuru said to Kuwabara and Yusuke. "I suspected this would happen." She looked toward the others and shrugged. "Couldn't get clothes for you three."
"Botan can borrow from Kagome," Souta said, carefully looking anywhere but the naked female. He'd learned his manners well. He elbowed Inuyasha and then glared when the hanyou blinked at him dazedly.
"Get her clothes," he hissed, and then quickly added, "And the rest of them if you can."
Inuyasha quickly looked at the rest of them and then with a quick grumble was bounding up the stairs. Botan had taken to hiding behind a chair. Kurama, with a sigh, had stood up as elegantly as possible and moved behind a couch. Hiei just crouched on the floor and glared at everyone who looked toward him. There was a lot of silence as Yusuke and Kuwabara put on their clothes and Inuyasha began throwing things down the stairs.
"Shorter than I expected," Souta commented to Hiei as he dropped clothes behind Botan's chair, carefully not looking. Hiei growled at him, and Botan gave muffled sounds of thanks.
"Probably no clothes small enough to fit him around," Yusuke said, flashing a grin at the fire apparition.
"Souta still has old clothes about," Kagura said unexpectedly. She had been oddly quiet since Inuyasha had found out Kagome was gone. She had been unashamed to admire the male bodies and was still doing so with Hiei, despite his growls. "Probably be a little off, but they'll do for the day. None of did consider clothing."
"Find something black," Kurama suggested as Souta handed him some clothes that Inuyasha had thrown down. They were some that Inuyasha kept at the house, and the red head stifled a grimace at the bright red shirt. The blue jeans weren't so bad - but the red practically screamed target, which was exactly what he didn't want to be.
"I'll go tell him," Souta sighed when no one made a move to go talk to the hanyou. The boy grumbled to himself as he left the room and they soon heard stomping on the stairs.
"So, what are we going to do about Kagome?" Yusuke asked, now dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans. No one answered him for a moment, and it was Kagura who, with a snort, answered him.
"Nothing. She went out, and she chose to go out. Even she needs a break sometimes. Of course," Kagura bared her teeth in a fierce smile, "That doesn't mean she won't get quite a lecture when she gets home, and if she leaves the shrine again without my knowledge I'll make her wish she had never met me."
"Not hard to do," Inuyasha muttered as he came in and threw a pair of black jeans and an old shirt of Souta's and the fire apparition. "She's probably regretted that a few thousand times by now."
"No," Kagura said smoothly. "Only a few hundred. You on the other hand, she constantly regrets meeting. I'm sure not a day goes by where she doesn't wish that."
The Spirit Detectives found that it was like watching a family fight - a dysfunctional family, and one that looked as if it was about to come to blows. They had started off at cruel teasing, but the hanyou looked as if he was about to lunge for the wind sorceress at any time. It was surprisingly the small kitsune who interrupted, his green eyes fierce and his tail puffed up in anger. "Stop it! She never thinks that. She's Kagome! She loves us too much to think that, and it's things like this why she wants to get away so bad! It's not them or the chaos, it's you two, and us, her family, sniping at each other and her! They just add to the chaos, but she's done this before and will keep doing it until you two stop being stupid!"
There was a wet look to his eyes, but the kitsune refused to let the tears come, and continued glaring at the older demons. Keiko and Botan both shifted uncomfortably where they sat, unable to get up without disturbing them, but not really wanting to see the two demons be dressed down. The rest of Yusuke's friends had no qualms about staring in fascination at the unfolding drama.
Yusuke, despite being in his own body now, didn't really feel anymore relaxed. They could fight all they wanted, but there was still another month before they fully recovered their powers, and the one in charge of them, this house, those damn wards, and who should have been there was out on a date. Yusuke wanted to go out and find her, and drag her back, if only to keep the hanyou and wind sorceress in line. It was tempting, despite the limitations still on them. Except, he had no idea where she was.
Eventually the argument lost its novelty, and first Kurama, and then Kuwabara and Hiei joined Yusuke as he stared out the window impatiently.
"I'm sure she can't stay out too long," Kurama said, but the part of him that was Youko was saying something entirely different, and Yusuke didn't look convinced.
"She has to come home eventually," Souta commented as he joined them, ignoring the argument with the rest of his "family". "She always does."
---
Kagome knew she was in for a lecture in the morning, but she thought it was worth it to talk and play the normal girl. Houjo even walked her home, and they both smiled at each other in that way that said, "Here we are again." It was a much more comfortable smile than it would have been years ago. Impulsively, she leaned up and kissed him. He actually blushed and she giggled a bit.
"Thank you," She said with feeling.
"It was my pleasure, Kagome-chan." His smile faded slightly and she frowned when he looked a bit hesitant. Then he continued, saying, "Whatever you're doing, I think it's good for you Kagome. You seem more... alive than you have in the past year."
She had blinked a few times before the thought really registered and she stared at him thoughtfully and said slowly, "Thank you again, Houjo. You've given me something to think about."
"You're welcome," He answered, and after a moment where they both stared at each other, he turned around and walked away, carefully not looking back. She turned from watching him and slowly climbed the steps. She realized it was later than she thought when she glanced at the moon. It was in the wrong position for the time of night she had thought it to be.
She was definitely going to get a lecture - but she didn't expect for a voice to ask, voice threaded with sarcasm, "Have fun?"
She recognized that voice, but as it was usually in her head, she jumped halfway out of her skin, almost falling back down the steps. A hand shot out and dragged her a few steps forward so they were both in the moonlight. She sucked in a breath, not expecting the demonic aura to be so strong from him, or for the difference of seeing him in real life instead of in a picture. "Hey Yusuke. Pictures don't do you justice."
She saw him start back in surprise and pulled her wrist from his grasp. She could have gone inside while he was still busy being shocked, but she did feel a bit guilty for leaving all of these people she was supposed to be helping without even a word.
Her lips quirked into a smile when he recovered and began to scowl at her. She tilted her head toward the house. "Anyone else awake?"
"Almost all of us - we weren't going to waste time sleeping when we're finally ourselves. Everyone else went to bed - though I think you're brother drugged Inuyasha." He was watching her for a reaction as he spoke and she carefully kept from doing anything but smile. Though she did make a mental note to thank Souta - since she was sure he had. Inuyasha never would have gone to sleep otherwise.
"Soon those after you will get impatient," She said with a sudden change of topic, beginning to walk - but not toward the house. Despite the dark, she knew every step by heart as she turned away from the sight of the well house and looked toward the God Tree.
Apparently willing to let it drop for now, Yusuke matched his pace to hers. "Then why haven't they attacked yet?"
"Probably trying to figure out how many other people are here, and how much effort it will take to get through the wards." Kagome reached out to touch the bark of the God Tree. It was the one constant in her life, and right now, when she could feel new demon presences in her shrine, and the one human and whatever Botan was exactly, she needed it.
"How much effort will it take?" Yusuke asked, and she glanced over, squinting in the moonlight to see that he had sat down on one of the large roots, one leg stretched lazily in front of him.
"I don't know. It depends on who attacks, how strong they are, and their powers. If I knew more... But I don't. But if I hear of your enemies stirring, I can always have some of the girls strengthen the wards. Probably they haven't found us yet - but it can't be long. There aren't many places that could hide all of you - or would be willing to, by what I hear." Kagome turned around and settled against the trunk of the tree, slipping between two roots to sit on the ground. She had to turn her head to look up at him, but he wasn't looking toward her.
"The girls?" He asked.
"Girls from the Miko Network," Kagome answered and he nodded absently, obviously not paying attention to her anymore. She followed his gaze to the house and grinned.
"Kitsune flirting with Keiko?" She asked calmly, and knew she'd hit a mark when he growled.
"That was Youko. Kurama wouldn't do that," He answered. But his voice was unsure and Kagome snorted, glad she was safe from his glare, hidden by the darkness and sheltered by the God Tree.
"Really? Because I saw that photo album, and while there were pictures of all of you, there were more of Keiko than of anyone else - not so that you'd usually notice, but enough that if you look for it..." She let him finish the thought and then watched as he stood suddenly and head abruptly toward the house.
She was left alone - at least, she thought she was. She grimaced when another familiar-unfamiliar voice said, "They'll destroy your house in a fight."
She bent her head back to look into red eyes. She shuddered a bit, knowing she shouldn't, but red eyes always held bad memories for her. She stared a bit longer than she should have, pushing back the memories, and then closed her eyes against the sight, saying calmly, "They won't fight. Keiko won't let them."
"Leave them alone." This time it was a distinct command and Kagome opened her eyes, feeling a spark of anger. She wasn't doing anything wrong - she hadn't done anything at all except try and get herself out of trouble - though why Yusuke had been waiting for her she didn't know. He certainly looked different as a wolf, that was sure.
"I can't do that when I'm trying to help them - and you." His eyes narrowed and she twisted around, trying to keep a tight lid on her temper. "I've done nothing wrong. If your kitsune friend does like Yusuke's girlfriend, he's the one doing something wrong, not I."
Hiei's aura flared, becoming brighter and stronger to her senses - and then disappeared completely. Frustrated, he slammed a fist into the bark of the branch he was sitting on. The branch rocked and dented, but didn't break. He snarled, "If I was back at full strength - "
"Then you wouldn't be on my property and I'd have strengthened the wards and used every mystical object in my possession to keep them up," Kagome interrupted.
"You wouldn't be able to keep me out," He sneered.
Kagome stood, apparently ignoring him. She brushed off her clothes and started toward the house. At the corner she paused, one hand on the wall, and looked over her shoulder to where she knew he was still crouched in her tree. "You'd be surprised at what I have in my possession."
The door opened with a slight creak as she turned the knob, and quiet angry voices were revealed to the night air. She could feel Hiei's eyes burning into her spine and she shut the door with more force than necessary. The voices went quiet and she could feel their curious stares.
Ignoring them, she went up the stairs and into her room, firmly forcing everything else out of her mind. She was going to sleep, and not a majin with personal problems or a scary fire apparition was going to stop her.
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All right, so she only saw two of them as normal - she'll see the rest next chapter. And this chapter definitely wrote itself. I refuse to admit responsibility, as nothing in this chapter happened as planned - and Houjo being in the story never crossed my mind.
Review please, and thank you to everyone who did. Read the note at the top if you're wondering why there are no responses. Oh, and I urge you all to go to my crossover forum in my profile... because I made one and I like people to visit.
