Author's Note: Happy Memorial day weekend! I took a 5-day weekend to recuperate, destress and take care of myself. In the midst of that, I wanted to post this chapter since I finally got it finished :0 I hope you enjoy this one. It might answer a few questions some of you have for Kags. For those of you who guessed and waited for those 2 clues that I gave a couple chapters ago- it'll finally be revealed in this one. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

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R2R

susu-anon: Awww thanks for your review. I just felt like I needed to give you guys, my loyal readers, an apology. If I was in your shoes, I would be dying, waiting for the next chapter, so I understand the feeling. But thanks again for understanding. Haha- as for Kag's money... that won't come out until a long time later, not sure how long, but it'll come out later. I'm glad you like Inu/Kag's dynamic and their relationship. It is different, it does have a lot of flaws- no one is perfect. As as you could tell 19 chapters in, Kag has a deep history that she's running from and she comes from a messed up past that left her scarred, almost beyond patience for anyone to repair. Yes, it's not fair to Inu, but he's going to pick up the pieces and put her back together. He's going to have to find the patience (which is not his strong suit) but he's going to do it because she's his mate. Kag's neediness will be shown more and more but hopefully some readers will be able to see the connection. There is a strong connection in how our past affects the way we are- and Kag will be a shining example of how a traumatized past affects a person. Her flaws and her strengths will come to the light as she finds herself gaining confidence and strength with Inu's love. Yeah, I could never understand the Sessho/Inu relationship and that of their father's with their mothers'. Either way, I love a united inu-family who sticks up for each other :) Thanks again for your review. I hope you enjoy this one. Oh btw- I love how you always have another review that comes out of nowhere after re-reading the chapter and adding more thoughts. Love it! I did answer a little about Kag's past and her character above. But as for your comment about Kag's past with domestic abuse and substance abuse and homelessness... she definitely is a proven fighter, determined to survive. You'll read more about her past in this one- but her relationship with her mother will come out later.

hive-chan: LoL wow thanks for that long, amazing, over-the-top compliment on the last chapter! :) I'm glad you liked it and it makes you excited for the rest. Trust me, there will be more reveals that will make you more excited for what's to come. I think you might've been the only one who laughed during that Sessho/Inu moment about sending Sessho's goons after Koga like they're a mafia family lol. Since you brought up Inu pinning Kags to the wall... did you notice how she reacted differently between Inu pushing her back and Sai pushing her back? Both different reactions revealing her inner feelings that she's still trying to discover. As for your reaction to Inu's anger... yes he does have an anger problem... but don't judge him too quickly. You'll see what happened in his past that made him the way he is. The same with Kags and how her past affects her behavior and self-confidence now, is the same way his past affects him. People respond to trauma and life situations differently, so Inu has a completely different result than Kags. And as for your idea about Oni finding out about Inu/Kags... well... you should read. Enjoy :)

anime-geek: Sorry to disappoint, but no Midnite in that last one. Midnite will be in this one. Yes, like you said, Inu's demon claimed her before his human side could catch up in his 'feelings' like any normal human. You'll also read a little explanation of the 'behind-the-scenes' at Midnite- to your comment about Inu not liking his mate servicing other men. There is something that will happen at the end as to dating in Midnite. As to your perception of Kags using sex... yes, sex is a coping mechanism for her. That will play out more and more as she starts to find her sexuality and intimacy with Inu. Sexually abused victims will use sex and see sex differently. Kags is no different, but she doesn't know that yet because this is her first real relationship. Anyways... I'll let you read :) thanks for your review. Enjoy this one

inusitter: LoL good review! Well... thank you for your review and questions. Yes, they will be answered in this one. Sorry you were laid off from work, but hopefully reading my story can give you a smile ;) Enjoy!

MinxieXCX: Haha! Oh no! You definitely have an imagination for drama- I love it, it's needed when writing stories, but sorry to disappoint, that type of dramatic confrontation won't happen. That whole Jay-Z/Solange is NOT something I want for Inu. They have enough struggles as is with their pasts and their present currently on display for the world. But you'll see what happens with Inu/Naraku. Hope you enjoy :)

vanessa: Awww, sorry to keep you waiting. Yes, I'm still around. Might be updating a little later than 'normal', but then again, what is 'normal'? lol I'm glad you like Mir/Sango's relationship. They're so cute together and a huge help with Inu/Kag trying to make their relationship work. They're great friends and will do their best to help and be there for their friends. Kag will definitely need to learn how to be a gf and she has a best friend to help her and learn from. That's the great thing about Kag= she's humble. Thanks again for your review! Hope you enjoy this one :)

Rosie B: Awww, thanks for your review. I'm glad that my story helps you in your funk and whatever life throws at you. We all need a breath of fresh air and if reading fanfictions help, then so be it. Thank goodness we're here for each other. Don't be too disappointed you didn't guess the song. I mean... there's billions of songs to choose from lol. But you'll find out what Inu chose in this chapter. Yes, it's not very clear as to why the group doesn't report Naraku to Akari or even higher up. I haven't revealed that much, yet. But honestly, it just has to do with the group's closeness. Because they're so close like friends and family, they will try to work it out and fix it like friends and family do, without having any outside help coming in. Everything is kept in the circle. But we'll see if they eventually try to get Naraku fired. Right now, they know how much he means to Kik and if she hasn't done anything about it then so be it. Naraku hitting on Kag was his first offense in the group. He hadn't done it to anyone else in the group before so this is new for them to deal with. Now it's personal, especially for Inu, when Naraku's offenses were only on other women they didn't know. Anyways... you'll see what happens with Inu/Naraku. Hope you enjoy :)

xsophiex: Yay to you getting vaccinated, and then reading the chapter :) Yes, Inu has anger issues and that'll be explained later. As for Inu's libido lol... yes, he just needs to claim her, although I think he's doing a good job at holding himself back. But once he lets himself go... well... I won't tease. Haha. Thanks for your review. Enjoy this one :)

val-rommel: Thanks for your review. Yes, Inu's anger is an issue and right now it might be irritating to many because there's no explanation to it. It just makes him seem like a hot-tempered hanyou, as if he grew up this way, but he didn't. Someone's past helps to create their present, and like Kags, Inu responded to his past in a different way= through anger. We'll find out more about his anger issues later, though it was already hinted as to where he got his anger from. I'm surprised and interested to see your POV- that Kags gets needy when she's tipsy. Actually, she's just needy. Maybe it's displayed more when they have drinks, but it's not the drinks that make her needy. As for Inu/Kag's relationship- yes I think you put it perfectly. They're like yin and yang, they bring out the best and the worst in each other- this will be shown more especially in their sex life. Can't wait for that ;) Oh and as for the Fujimoto's professions... I will explain that later as Kag gets introduced to the family soon. Sorry to make you wait :) But enjoy this one :)

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"Sir, Ginta and Hakkaku are here."

"Send them in." Koga stood near his floor to ceiling glass wall, staring out at the city. His office was on the top floor of Nakashima Investments, one of their buildings in all of Japan. This was their main headquarters in Matsuyama City, competing with the other skyscrapers that tried to outmatch the height of each other. Though his building wasn't the tallest, his certainly was one of the most powerful and wealthiest. Koga smirked as he stared out at the neighboring buildings around him, listening as his door opened and he heard the footsteps of Ginta and Hakkaku walk in.

Koga's assistant closed the door as the two entered, making their way towards Koga's desk. His office was very masculine with a decor of nature. He had a few green plants in the corners and near the windows where the light could get to them. The color palette he chose was brown as he loved the outdoors and he had lots of shades of brown from pastel brown to ebony. He had two chairs that sat directly in front of his desk. There was also a small couch with a coffee table in the center of the room with two lamps on either side of the couch.

"When did you two get back?" Koga asked, turning around. He could smell them and knew they had just taken a shower. It was still early in the morning. The city was just waking up and many people were going off to work. He was always one to wake up with the sun and to start his day early.

"We got back yesterday morning," Hakkaku said just as he and Ginta took their seats. The soft leather made a noise as his body slid against the material. "It was a boring weekend."

"Hmmm," Koga grunted, hearing Hakkaku's tone. Hakkaku was always one for action so he didn't take any cues on how the weekend went based on Hakkaku's judgment.

"We got back to Tokyo on Sunday night. That was when the entire group got back, except for Inuyasha," Ginta informed, crossing his legs.

"Inuyasha?" Of course he knew of the inuhanyou's involvement in all this. It was hard not to be reminded of that Fujimoto boy by all the press and media fame that he's had recently alongside Kagome. "When did he leave?"

"Inuyasha left Saturday morning. He and Kagome met in the lobby before he headed to the airport. Alone. Seems like things didn't go too well at the concert Friday night."

"Is that right?" Koga had seen some of the viral videos of Kikyo's performance and a lot of photos and press about it. It was hard not to as it was all over social media and the news, even up until today.

"All we could see was Inuyasha leaving backstage and Kagome chasing after him. They spent some time in one of the tunnels before they walked back out onto the field and headed backstage before the concert started."

"The concert went well," Hakkaku said, playing with his pant. "The ending was pretty cool."

"Yeah it was," Ginta commented, though he said nothing more about it since he was sure Koga didn't want to hear about the dynamic between Inuyasha and Kagome.

"I saw." Koga turned around and faced the two, dressed in his normal suit attire for business with his hair tied up in a high ponytail. His bottoms were always tailored for him since they had to cut an opening out for his tail. He walked back towards his desk and took his seat, resting back into his chair. "What else happened?"

"We followed the group all day Saturday. They went shopping the entire day..." Ginta tried to explain.

"That was boring," Hakkaku interrupted.

Ginta glared at him, knowing he had his own opinions of how the trip went. "But Hakkaku got bored and impatient so I decided it best if we left. There were too many people around anyway. As we were leaving, Hakkaku bumped into Kagome," he accused, glaring at him. Even Koga turned a glare on him, knowing Hakkaku's nature and he being the reason why they had lost Kagome the first time.

"Did she notice you?" Koga's tone left no room for jokes. He wasn't happy with Hakkaku's move.

"No."

"Good. I would've disembowled you myself," Koga said with a growl. "You would've cost me everything. Again." Hakkaku turned his head, not wanting to face Koga's wrath. He wisely decided to remain silent.

Ginta sighed. "It was fine. She didn't notice it was us. There were too many people in the mall for her to spot us out anyway."

"Don't take her for a fool," Koga said, knowing how smart Kagome could be. She was smart enough to have escaped from him, which was a huge blow to his pride and to his heart. She was able to outwit him and escape from him without him knowing. But it wasn't just his pride. He also loved her and losing her was one of the hardest things he ever had to endure. He spent the last ten years trying to find her, hunting her down, using every resource and money he had to get her back. He needed her. "She's not dumb. You'd be wise to remember that or else you'll be spotted again like last time." Ginta and Hakkaku nodded but wisely remained quiet.

"If Inuyasha went back to Tokyo then why couldn't you get to Kagome then?"

"She was constantly with the group," Ginta explained. "They were out in the city all day Saturday and then that night they had dinner together and went to the spa. Sunday they all spent the day together, again, having breakfast and then packing up. There was no way for us to get to her without one of the group members being with her."

Koga growled, knowing that it was probably too good to be true. They were all there for work and pleasure so it was only natural for all of them to stick together and do things together while they were there. And like all vacationers, they would try to plan as much as they could into every moment they were there.

"You didn't catch the same plane back?" Koga asked Ginta, keeping his attention on the more level-headed one.

Ginta shook his head once, placing his elbows on the arms of the chair and intertwining his fingers together in front of his chest. "We got on a plane right before theirs and waited for their plane to arrive at the gate. We followed them down to baggage. I had hoped that we could follower her and get her when she got home but of course," Ginta said with a roll of his eyes, "Inuyasha was there and took her home."

"Of course he was," Koga whispered. He crossed his arms and sighed. 'Inuyasha...' The inu-hanyou was legendary in youkai society. The half-breed son of the Great Inutaisho, the Great Dog Demon. 'What's so great about him?' he thought disdainfully. The dog demon who rules the Western Lands. That whole family thought they were the most powerful in all Japan. There were many powerful youkai who reigned over feudal Japan but the stories talked a lot about Inutaisho. Not only for his power but also for his honor and character. He wasn't a ruthless, killing demon, nor was he a ruthless ruler with no heart. He was known for his honorable and good nature when it came to his rule as a demon lord. A lot of his servants and people trusted him and loved serving him. He and his family were good people, always honorable and always fair.

Of course, for Koga, he and his family were one of the demon lords of their own lands, though their power wasn't as great as the Fujimotos. But of all the demon lords, his family did hold a lot of power and land, especially here on Shikoku Island. This island was under his family's rule so it was natural for him to be living here, although he loved the main island as well.

"Koga."

He snapped out of his thoughts as his eyes went to Hakkaku, giving him his attention.

"Those two have got something going on," Hakkaku said with a smirk. "I can see it. They have a thing for each other."

"Watch your mouth, Hakkaku," Koga said, his blood boiling at the thought of Kagome being with that disgusting half-breed. "According to their own words, there isn't anything going on between them." He remembered listening to those interviews where those two always answered the fan's questions on whether or not they were dating. Their answer was always 'no'.

"And you believe them?" Hakkaku chuckled. "You didn't see the way she ran to him at the airport."

"Or the way he held her," Ginta commented, watching as Koga's demeanor changed. He wasn't happy. "Koga, I can tell that they have something for each other. And who's to say nothing happened after the concert. I think the concert was definitely a turning point for them after what I saw on stage."

Koga suddenly pushed his chair back, startling the two, and walked back towards the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk. 'Inuyasha. The half-breed thinks to steal my woman!' He had met the half-breed a few times at court. Court was for the demon lords and their families. It was a time for them to come together as reigning lords of their lands so that they could all be cordial with one another at the very least, but also a time to strengthen bonds and form allegiances. Usually one demon lord would host the event at their home and it would change every time. Court was always a random event, depending on the next host of the event, and that person would send out the invitation for their scheduled time. So no one knew when the next court event was until the host planned it.

But he remembered Inuyasha from many of the times he saw him at court. He never willingly approached the half-breed, for that was beneath him, but he was introduced to Inuyasha and always reintroduced on several occasions just for pleasantries sake. He remembered the woman at Inuyasha's side for decades. Kiyomi. 'Wasn't that his mate?' He thought those two were mated as he knew that they had been together for a long time, but apparently they weren't together anymore, which made him wonder since inuyoukai mate for life. 'Was it Kiyomi?' She was of no importance to him so he didn't remember it.

As for the Fujimoto family, his family and theirs never got along. When the Fujimotos had found out that they were doing business with opioids, specifically heroin and opium, they wanted nothing to do with the Nakashima family. But they were still in business together through certain endeavors and companies, but they never willingly did business together. The relationship between their families was strained to say the least.

"How did he seem with her?" Koga asked out of nowhere. Ginta and Hakkaku looked at each other, thinking it over.

Ginta tried to explain first. "Well, like I said, he's very protective of her. The way he held her in the airport was affectionate, caring, and it looked like he was protecting her from everyone around them. I could tell by his stance."

Hakkaku nodded. "No one else noticed, but we did. His body language spoke volumes. He'd be an idiot not to know by now but his demon is definitely staking a claim on her."

Koga growled. "Kagome is mine." Ginta and Hakkaku looked at each other and chose to say nothing. Koga always got riled up whenever they talked about Kagome. For ten years he had never been the same. His life's mission was to find her and bring her back to him. No one would question him or tell him to give her up. Koga would never give her up.

"And how did you lose her after the airport?" he questioned, wondering what happened after they landed back in Tokyo on Sunday.

Ginta sighed. "Inuyasha took Kagome home, and their other friends as well. We followed the two to a park but I decided not to push my luck just in case he sensed us. So we ended up leaving but stayed a few blocks away. We followed his car to this apartment complex but she wasn't with him."

"She must've left him after the park," Hakkaku said, finishing the story. "We lost her after that. We went back to the park the next day to try and pick up her scent but it had rained overnight and their scents washed away. We couldn't track her."

Koga sighed, frustrated as Ginta continued. "We stayed in Tokyo for another day, thinking that maybe she was in the area. We stuck around Shinjuku all of Monday but no luck. That place gets packed with tourists. It's impossible to track her scent in that mess of a crowd."

"We ended up catching a morning flight back yesterday and came here to debrief you this morning," Hakkaku finished. The two of them had one hell of a weekend following someone around what seemed like most of Japan, only to lose her in the end.

"Give it some time," Koga said, reigning in his temper. First, he would find a way to get to know this Inuyasha more. 'Keep my enemies close,' he thought, thinking of ways he could eradicate this threat. Inuyasha was only a half-demon so he would be easy to take out. Koga turned around to face the two, walking back to his desk. "Wait until Kikyo has another big event. I'm sure she'll do another concert soon or something. Whenever there's another announcement of an event, I want you two to plan on being there. You shouldn't be able to lose her once she's back out in the spotlight." Koga glared at them. "Or I should say... don't lose her again."

Hakkaku sighed, nodding his understanding. Koga would never give up, which meant they could never give up until he got what he wanted. There was a buzz on Koga's phone, calling their attentions.

"Excuse me, sir. Your mate is here." The two watched as Koga smiled, the look on his face one of love and affection.

"Send her in." The phone went quiet and a few moments later the door opened and Ayame stepped in. Ayame Nakashima was a beautiful wolf youkai. Both of them had light-green eyes and a brown wolf's tail as similar youkai traits. She, however, had short, red hair that she kept up in a high ponytail today. She wore natural makeup with red lipstick and was dressed in a white flared dress with white shoes.

Koga's eyes lit up and he smiled at Ayame as she walked towards his desk, taking in the sight of her as he came around his desk to meet her. He kissed her delicately and she smiled at him, wiping some of her lipstick from his lips.

"Hi honey," Ayame said, her eyes lighting up. "How's your morning going?" she asked, turning to look at Ginta and Hakkaku with a smile. "When did you two get back?"

"Yesterday," Hakkaku said, looking at Koga.

Koga wrapped his arms around Ayame's waist, pulling her into him. He took a moment to look her over with pleasure and approval. "Where are you going?"

Ayame giggled, noticing that look in his eyes. "I'm going to have breakfast with my friend, remember? Then I have to do some shopping for the house and then I'm heading back home." She wrapped her arms around his waist and stared at him with concern. "Everything okay?"

Koga smiled and nodded, looking at Ginta. "These two were just updating me on their trip." He bent his head to place a kiss on top of her head and released her. Ayame released him and watched as he turned around to head back to his chair. She stayed at the side of his desk and leaned one butt cheek onto the desk.

"Find her?" she asked, looking at Ginta.

Ginta nodded. "Yeah. But we lost her when they arrived back in Tokyo."

Ayame's eyes widened and she turned to look at her mate. His face was unreadable but she could sense that he was displeased at the two of them for losing Kagome. 'Kagome.' All these years and Koga was still trying to find her. Of course she knew of the girl. Ayame had been mated to Koga for a century now. They were both around the same age, 300 years old, and their families were sister wolf packs so they had grown up together in a sense. It wasn't until their parents wanted the two of them to mate and form an alliance with their packs did they mate. She had always loved Koga, even while they were growing up together, but he was always his own male. He did his own thing, went his own way and was a free-spirit. She still loved every part of him.

The day that Koga had told her about this human female child who he saw with one of their druggies, she was surprised and taken aback that he would want to marry a human. It was common in a wolf tribe to have one alpha male with a pack of females. There would only be one female who was the alpha female while the others were beneath her and were only for the male's pleasure. It wasn't practiced very much in their family's youkai tribes but it is a common practice among their race. So when Koga had told her about wanting to take this girl as his wife, she was shocked and jealous. So many emotions were running through her that she had to leave for a couple of days just to go to the mountains to blow off some steam running and clearing her head. Koga had tried to stop her and he tried to join her so they could talk it out but she refused and nearly ripped him to shreds. After she had returned from the mountains, then he had talked with her about his decision. Koga really wanted this girl. And she was a little girl at the time he first met her with her parents. He saw her and, according to him, immediately fell in love with her. Her scent was what caught him and he instinctively knew that he had to make her his.

Ayame, of course, didn't like the idea of sharing Koga. But the one thing that he kept reminding her of was that he loved her and that she was his mate. She was his mate. No one else. Yes, she would have to share him with another female, but that was just sexual pleasure. Koga was still hers. She had his heart and soul. This girl would be more like a sister wife, like many other polygamous societies. Of course, Ayame had put up a fight. She begged Koga not to do this and she begged her father to talk to Koga. But her father said that Koga was in his right. He wasn't breaking any laws and he wasn't breaking their mating vows. He was simply practicing a part of their culture. When she begged Koga not to, he simply just ignored her pleas or fought back with her. In the end, Koga won. He always won and one way he always won her over was through sex. The male could make her agree to anything over one night of pleasure.

Ayame finally agreed to let Koga marry this girl. And as much as she hated the girl before meeting her, once she did meet Kagome, she was won over too. The child was adorable as could be, probably around ten or so at the time. Innocent. Pure. As messed up as her parents were, Kagome seemed unfazed and untouched, as if she wasn't the child of drug addicts who left her alone for days to fend for herself. She still had an air about her that was all happiness and hope. She was a bright light and a breath of fresh air standing next to the stench of her parents. Koga had ordered his men that when her parents came seeking for more drugs, that he'd be informed so that he could be the one to give it to them. Her parents knew that Koga was pleased and gave them a little more than their money could buy if they brought Kagome along, so they tried to bring her as often as they could. And the more Ayame met her, the more she could understand why Koga wanted her. Yes, as a young child of maybe ten years old, Kagome was pretty for a child. And as she grew up, Ayame saw this child turn into a beautiful young woman with full curves that men would swoon for. Her long black hair and beautiful blue eyes could captivate a man. However, it wasn't just her looks. Kagome was loyal, maybe even to a fault, especially to her parents. She never gave up on them when they obviously didn't care about her. She was loyal, determined to do whatever she could to help her parents get well, and driven. There was a fire in Kagome that she saw at a young age that Ayame admired her for. That fire was what kept the child alive when her parents obviously wasn't doing their job of taking care of their child. When Kagome turned eighteen, she knew then that it was time for Koga to take her. Ayame saw more of Kagome's fire and determination after Koga married her and had sex with her.

"How did you lose her?" Ayame asked, staring at Ginta. She hoped this time around that Kagome wouldn't notice these two again and run like she did last time. This time, Koga will get her back.

"Inuyasha. I think the two of them are dating or something because he seems to be around her a lot now."

Koga drummed his fingers along the desk, making Hakkaku stare at him. Ayame gazed at Koga for a moment before speaking. "This Inuyasha. He's Inutaisho's boy, isn't he?" Koga nodded his head. She grunted in response. She had seen Inuyasha's many photos and the photos of the two of them together for the concert. She had seen Inuyasha and his family before, though they didn't care much of them, but did she care much of the Fujimotos either.

"Find out." Everyone looked at Koga, hearing the seriousness in his voice and wondering what he was talking about. His sharp eyes stared at his black onyx wedding band on his finger. "Wait until Kikyo has another big event. It'll be easier to get to her in a crowd of fans than on her own. And once you get her out in the open again, follow her and don't lose her this time," he ordered the two. "I want to know where she lives, who her friends are, what she does every day. Find her." None of them knew where to start looking. Kagome had disappeared from all record. That was how he had lost her and couldn't track her. She had left him and then she had left the system, as if she had just disappeared with no trace of her. There was no record of Kagome Nakashima or Kagome Higurashi, her maiden name, anywhere. It was as if she had completely fell off the face of the earth. Until she had reappeared several years ago. Then he knew that she wasn't dead. She was alive and had just hidden herself very well from him and from the government.

"I want to know everything about her."

"We're going to have to go back," Ginta said, knowing this would be the hardest part. They had tried this tactic before. Looking for one girl in Tokyo was like looking for a needle in a haystack of needles. The fact that she had blue hair helped narrow down the search a little bit, but people in Tokyo loved to color their hair and dress up like anime. So it was still hard to track her down when they wouldn't know where to start looking. "We're going to have to pretty much live in Tokyo, Koga, if you want us to find her without any leads."

"That's why I said to wait for a big event," he emphasized, getting impatient with them. "Once we know where she's going to show up, you will have her. You shouldn't be able to lose her after that. Follow her. Live near her if you have to. Figure out her daily habits and routines. Then, find out how you can get to her without anyone noticing and bring her to me."

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'You know I want you

It's not a secret I try to hide

I know you want me

So don't keep sayin' our hands are tied'

Inuyasha moved along the floor, letting the words control his body. How fitting this song was even more so now that he was listening to it after last night's... revelation. 'Kagome.' He thought about her the whole night and into the morning. He couldn't stop thinking about her and the thought of another man with her, hurting her in that way. The more he thought about it, the more it drove his demon's lust for blood so he had to be careful of how much thought he put into it. But it was hard not to think about something like that, especially when it was done to someone he loved more than life itself. For a male to hurt her was one thing. For a male to touch what was his in an intimate way was enough to make his demon itch for their blood. For both things to happen from the same male...

Inuyasha looked ahead at himself as he stepped and moved his hands to the beat, focusing on the music. He decided to put his hair up in a ponytail with the pace and the style of the song that he wanted to dance to today. It wasn't one of Kikyo's songs, which was a first for him. He had never done a choreography to another artist's song before, he had no reason to. He was too busy thinking of new numbers for Kikyo anyway. But he wasn't making this choreography for Kikyo, which was also a first for him. This choreography was for him. For him and for Kagome.

'You claim it's not in the cards

And fate is pullin' you miles away

And out of reach from me'

He loved the change of pace in the beat, how it goes from slow to fast and back again. He envisioned many style changes, wanting to see what Kagome can do with her body. He felt like this song talked about their relationship even more so after last night. He had known that there were things about Kagome's past, especially with her ex, that affected her now and made her the way she is. Like how she doesn't like men touching her. Now... he understood why. Inuyasha stopped dancing, letting the song continue on as he got carried away with his thoughts. He remembered that time Miroku touched her and how she had flinched back, and only now he understood why! He stared at himself in the mirror, promising to himself that he would prove to Kagome that she could trust him, that not all males were like her ex. He would prove to her how much she meant to him and how much he loved her. His love was different.

'What if we rewrite the stars?

Say you were made to be mine'

The door opened and he turned to see Kagome walk in, her eyes catching his as she lit up with a smile.

"Gosh it's loud in here!" Kagome yelled with laughter, now realizing how great these soundproof walls are in the academy. Of course the dance studios would be soundproofed so that the neighboring rooms could do their own thing without being distracted by another group's practice. When she had opened the door and the loud music came blaring out into the hall, she had a greater appreciation for soundproofed rooms.

Inuyasha chuckled and dug out his iPod, cutting the music. "Sorry. I got carried away."

Kagome shook her head and shut the door, dropping her duffle bag next to his. "I like this song." She walked towards him, taking him in. The man could stop a woman in her tracks. He always looked so sexy with his hair up and away from his face, showing his chiseled jawline. Even with long hair, Inuyasha never looked any less than masculine and handsome. He wore black denim cargo shorts that went to his knees with zippers all over the sides and a red shirt with white sakura flowers in patches on the bottom. He had his white sneakers on, fitting his style. He walked towards her and she licked her lips, loving the sight of him. He held out his arm to her and she reached for him, walking into his arms.

Inuyasha felt like things had changed so much between them. Now that they were together, it was different going back to work together and trying to figure out their dynamic with one another and with the group. No one knew yet except Sango and Miroku. And Kikyo. But they hadn't told the group unless Sango and Miroku told them. He didn't care. It was just... different now. 'Different in a good way,' he thought with a smile.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, moving back to look up at him. She ran her hands up his chest, looking down at her hands against him. "Are we okay?"

Last night was huge. It was a huge step forward in their relationship together and she wanted to make sure that they were okay. That he was okay. She still felt anxious knowing that someone knew about her being raped. She didn't want to be judged or seen any differently. It took a lot for her to trust him with this information and she hoped that he would prove to her that she could. Only time would tell and time was what they needed to help build their relationship. The intimacy part would be a little harder for her than it probably was for him but at least now he would understand why.

Inuyasha took a breath, feeling her hands on him, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He kissed her because he couldn't help himself. He felt her shock at first and then her smile against his lips. She brought her hands around his neck and gave herself up to him. So easily. Inuyasha deepened the kiss, wanting to tell her not in words but in actions of how 'good' they really were. He would show her that they would make it work. They had to.

Inuyasha broke the kiss and looked down at her, seeing her blue eyes darken. "We're good. How was your night?"

Kagome shrugged, leaning into him and intertwining her fingers behind his neck. "I'm still a little anxious. I couldn't sleep well last night."

"Me neither," he said. "Why are you anxious?"

"It's... a lot, Yasha," she said softly, looking down at his chest. "I've never told anyone this before." She looked up at him. "I just don't want you to look at me any differently. You and I... we have a lot to uncover about our pasts. This is just one of mine."

Inuyasha frowned. She was right. He had to tell her about Kiyomi eventually and all the drama and history there. Not because she told him about her ex but because, out of respect for Kagome, he wanted her to know about his past relationship. Kiyomi was a huge part of his life and Kagome would probably like to know more about her. He didn't want any secrets between them. And since he knew Kiyomi would be coming back into his life for whatever reason, he wanted Kagome to find out before Kiyomi sprung on her.

"I know. There's things that we both need to be honest about. But we'll overcome them together, Kagome. I promise." He brought his head down to put his forehead against hers. "I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

She smiled, moving her head to kiss him. "I love you too." Could life be this good to her? Now? After all these years? Could she finally find the peace and freedom that she craved?

Inuyasha kissed her forehead and released her. "So you know this song?" They needed to get to work or else he could spend the whole day holding her and kissing her and probably doing more to her than she was ready for. He moved back and looked ahead at his reflection in the mirror, seeing her turn to do the same.

"Yeah. Rewrite the Stars. It's a good song."

Inuyasha nodded his agreement. "I want us to make a choreography for it." Kagome's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" She didn't know how many songs he had choreographies for but she hadn't known that he would want to do a song that's not Kikyo's. "I'm surprised it's not one of Kikyo's songs."

Inuyasha smiled. "I've never done a choreography for another artist's song before. This is the first."

Kagome's eyes widened and she turned to look at him, crossing her arms. "Why do you want to do this one?"

He turned to look at her, taking in her figure. She was so sexy standing there in her loose, white athletic shorts and a yellow v-neck shirt with white sneakers. He could never take his eyes away from her breasts, and she noticed. Kagome giggled and uncrossed her arms, making him pout.

"Don't pout. It's not nice to stare at women's chests."

He smirked and walked right up to her, pulling her against him. "I'm not staring at women's chests. I'm staring at my woman's chest."

Kagome swooned, and she never thought she was that kind of a woman. But the way he said it and how possessive he was just made her want him. His smirk told her that he could sense her change. She smiled and whacked his chest with the back of her hand.

"We're not going to get anywhere if you keep it up." She pushed out of his embrace and put some space between them. Of course she wanted him. What sane woman wouldn't? When he was being possessive like that she just wanted to jump on him. But she wasn't sure if she was ready for something like that yet.

"Where is this going to go?" he asked, curious, poking the bear. If he was going to get lucky with her then he wanted to know everything and anything he needed to say to get her in the mood like that. He followed behind her but Kagome just looked over her shoulder, giving him a hard look.

"Stop following me. You said you wanted to do a dance. So let's dance."

Inuyasha burst out laughing, lightening their moods and making her laugh along with him. "Fine." He turned and went back to the center of the room so that Kagome followed him. "So I wanted to do a choreography to this song but I want you to help me."

"What?" Kagome was not a choreographer. Sure she made her own choreographies at Midnite but that was just her dancing on stage, and it was a totally different environment. She had never made a choreography with a professional choreographer for who knows who to see it.

"I haven't made the choreography," he explained, turning to see her shocked expression. "I'm winging it as we go, which is how I normally do it. I usually just let the song and the beat tell me what to do and then I'll record myself and make whatever changes I think I need to make."

"You make it sound so simple," she mumbled, crossing her arms again.

Inuyasha smiled. "Don't be nervous, Kagome. It's not that hard. I'm sure you've danced to songs before and made your own steps."

She was not about to answer that. She had made more than steps. She made full on choreographies that included a pole. "It's different, Inuyasha."

"Why?"

"Because you're a professional."

"So are you," he clarified.

She rolled her eyes. "You're a professional choreographer. I just dance with whatever comes to my mind."

"That's all it is." He knew she was nervous and could sense her resistance but he wanted to encourage her. "I want this song to be ours, Kagome. I want this to be our song, not a dance for Kikyo but a dance for the two of us to express ourselves. The other night when I stayed at my parent's house, I was outside walking under the stars and I couldn't stop thinking about you. This song came to my mind and I think it's so fitting for our relationship. It talks about how we both want each other but our relationship isn't written in the stars. But that's what I love about the song. Even though our relationship isn't in the stars, we're going to make our own destiny together, against the odds."

Kagome frowned, her eyes welling up with tears at his confession. 'Inuyasha...' The way he saw this song made the song make so much more sense to her now. She knew the words to the song but now she saw it as if it was written for them because it truly did talk about their relationship. She uncrossed her arms and bit her bottom lip, twisting her fingers together. "Fine."

Inuyasha smiled, watching as she faced the mirrors ahead, waiting for his instruction. "What I was hoping for was for the both of us to just listen to the song as many times as we need to and let our bodies do the talking. That's how I normally make my choreographies. I'll play the song, then make up some moves, then play the song again and keep going." Kagome nodded her understanding with a little trepidation. "If nothing comes to you then don't worry. If it comes down to it, then I can always make your parts."

Kagome nodded her head. She was nervous to say the least. Here she was, a gentlemen's girl making a choreography alongside a professional for possibly the world to see. She hadn't done anything like this before and was a little intimidated just thinking about it. She took a breath and walked a little closer to the mirrors in front of them, needing some space away from him.

"Are we going to make it up together while watching each other?" she asked.

Inuyasha nodded as he came to stand behind her so she couldn't see him except in the mirror. "Yeah. Maybe we can get inspiration from each other." He smiled at her, taking a moment for her to take a breath. "Don't worry, Kagome. This is new for me too. I don't do duets."

Kagome nodded with a smile, remembering how the group had made such a big deal when he made a duet with Kikyo's popular song. She watched as Inuyasha took out the iPod and the music began to play. She waited for the singing and closed her eyes, tapping her fingers against her thighs as she listened to the song. She heard the cue and opened her eyes, staring ahead as Inuyasha moved, obviously having some idea of how he wanted to start the song.

'You know I want you

It's not a secret I try to hide

I know you want me

So don't keep sayin' our hands are tied'

She watched as the beat picked up and he followed along, twirling around while his hands and feet moved in perfect unison. He was beautiful in the way he danced, not only sexy but his moves were so clean and on fire.

'You claim it's not in the cards

And fate is pullin' you miles away

And out of reach from me'

The whole time he danced Inuyasha kept his eyes on her reflection's. She could see him singing this song to her even as his lips moved during certain parts, as if he was really telling her something.

'But you're here in my heart

So who can stop me if I decide

That you're my destiny?'

Inuyasha walked it out and fished out the iPod, cutting the music. "What do you think?"

Kagome shrugged and smiled. "It's fitting," she said coyly. "Okay, play it again. Let me try to think of some things."

He smirked, knowing that she would rise up to the challenge. He restarted the song and let the first verse replay again. He was shocked as she began to step to the beat, not really knowing what to do in certain parts but her feet definitely knew. He watched her move as if she had blocked him out and forgot he was there. She moved her hands in the air and then touched her body, swaying her hips and popping out her butt. There were parts where she was unsure of what to do so she just walked it out or stared at herself. He could tell the wheels were spinning and she never lost the count, finding the rhythm when she decided to jump back in. He was fascinated by how quickly she picked up on it. When the verse ended, she turned around to smile at him from ear to ear.

"What'd you think?" Inuyasha stared at her, his mouth open, and she giggled, wondering if he was okay. He blinked and then went to shut the music off, giving her a confused stare.

"You've done this before."

Kagome shrugged. "A little," she confessed.

Inuyasha arched his eyebrow and crossed his arms. "A moment ago you were all hesitant and shy. Now..." he thought, seeing how she reminded him like water. "You seem so confident in yourself and you made that quicker than most dancers."

Kagome shrugged and turned from him, looking ahead at her reflection. "I've never made a choreography alongside a professional choreographer. It's intimidating, Yasha."

"But you've made choreography before," he led on.

Kagome nodded, not wanting to lie to him but not going to tell him the whole truth. "I have. What dancer hasn't made their own moves to songs before. It's just something we do."

'That's true,' Inuyasha thought. But she was different. Of course he knew her dance style and had seen the way she picked up on choreography quickly like a gift that many of them had in their group. But her dance style was unique. She always had a way of captivating her audience by the facial expressions she made or by her body motions. She always danced as if no one was watching but as if she was dancing for the crowd alone. She could captivate his attention any time with her moves as if it was just for him.

"Kagome..." he said, walking up to her. He went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling the way she leaned back into him and brought her hands up to hold his arms. He looked ahead at their reflection together, loving the way they looked. "You surprise me all the time."

Kagome smiled, staring at Inuyasha's reflection. "So you liked it?" She was getting his approval and that made her so happy. Of course there were a lot of areas to work on and improve, but for her first go-around, she thought she did pretty well and apparently so did he.

Inuyasha nodded his head against hers. "I do. There were some gaps," he said, feeling her nod her agreement, "but for your first time, I'd say that was amazing." Kagome smiled at him, her eyes lighting up. He never knew that his approval would make her that happy. "One thing I would critique," he said, going back to work mode. "What you just danced was for a solo dancer."

Kagome blinked, taken aback. She didn't see her dance in the way that Inuyasha saw it. She knew he had a lot more experience and a better eye about it than she did. Even though she didn't fully understand what he meant by that, she knew it was the truth. Of course she danced as if it was only her dancing because it has always been only her dancing to a song. She's never had to think about making a choreography with a partner and how that would look. She hadn't had to think about complimenting her moves with a partner, nor has she had to think about what she had to look like next to a partner.

"I... I never thought about that."

"Of course you haven't. You never had any reason to. You're right in saying that all dancers make up their own choreography but they make it with the mindset of it being only for them. When you're the only star of the show, you make more moves that are bigger and more complex. When you're making a choreography with another dance partner, you have to keep in mind your moves compared to theirs. How cohesive your moves will look with theirs and if it is a move that can be blended together. You have to anticipate what your partner might do or what you might want them to do, and you have to time your moves so that you give them a chance to get closer to you if they have to or move away from you. Timing is everything when it's more than one dancer. When you're making a choreography for a group it gets even more complicated. You have to be able to read the entire stage and have an eye to see what you want each individual to do, when you want them to move and where, and how they look together. You also don't want to make any moves that might not be their strong suit or that they might be uncomfortable doing. There's a lot of factors that come into play when you dance with other people."

Kagome frowned as she listened eagerly but was overwhelmed as to how he does it. She was amazed as to what Inuyasha had to do as a choreographer. There were so many things that he had to consider and be aware of that she got overwhelmed for his sake. There was no way she could become a choreographer with all that knowledge to take in. But this was Inuyasha's talent and she was once again reminded of how lucky she was to be on Kikyo's dance group with one of Japan's most amazing choreographer.

"You're amazing, Inuyasha," she whispered, smiling at his reflection. He smiled back at her and kissed her cheek, making her fall in love with him even more. She had never had this kind of tender touch from a man. She had never had this kind of love before. And she didn't know how to accept it and take it all in. She felt like a teenager having her first boyfriend, only about fifteen years later.

"You're amazing." Inuyasha released her but grabbed onto her hand and made her face him. "What style of dance do you know?"

Kagome shrugged, thinking. "I don't know. I can do a little of a lot of things but I can learn it well if I have to."

"I know you can," Inuyasha said confidently. "I just wonder what you already know. Maybe we can use it for this dance." Kagome smirked at him.

"How about you show me your moves to the first verse again," she said, pulling her hand out of his to give him space. She wanted to see what his moves were and, taking his advice, if she could match some of her moves to his. She wanted to learn from him, and what a perfect way since they were alone and they could only focus on each other. The thought brought on a new sense of awareness. They were alone and they were together. That still didn't feel real too. That they were boyfriend and girlfriend was something that she had to get used to before the world found out and she wouldn't be prepared for it.

"Fine," Inuyasha said with a smirk. He turned to look ahead and Kagome stood a few feet away from him with her arms crossed. He turned to look at her, giving her a once over, earning him an arched eyebrow. He chuckled and played the music, waiting for the cue. He stepped forward as the male's voice came on, moving his hands up and against his chest, turning to point at her as his dance was his way of expressing his feelings towards her. He moved forward towards the mirrors, taking up space as if he was leaving things open for her to decide when she wanted to come to him. Fitting, because he really was waiting for her to open herself up and trust him in this relationship. The beat picked up and now he was dancing away from her but looking back at her, reaching out his arms to her as he spun around into another move. She was so far from him that sometimes he felt like he couldn't reach her, like he couldn't break down her walls and get inside. But he just needed her to know that he was here and he wasn't going anywhere. He began to take a few steps slowly back to her, dragging his feet out and along the ground while bringing his hands in the air and against his chest where she would always remain in his heart. He wasn't going to give up on them because she was made for him, and he would prove to her that they were destined to be together.

As the chorus began, he quickly grabbed the iPod and cut the music. "I actually have more ideas now after I did that," he said with a laugh.

"Wow..." Kagome said, her eyes wide with a smile. "I loved that."

Inuyasha shrugged. "It's how you make me feel."

Kagome blinked at his words, taken aback. She knew what he meant because his moves were like the manifestations of the words of the song. As if he was singing and dancing the song to her. Kagome moved forward, walking up towards him to place her hands on his chest. She realized how much she loved touching him, and how much she loved him touching her. She couldn't get enough of him.

"Inuyasha..." What could she say? Sorry? Sorry that she was so hard to get to? Sorry that she was probably the worst girlfriend ever? She didn't really know how to be a girlfriend, how to be intimate with another person. She ran her hands up his chest to wrap them around his neck. "Do I frustrate you?"

Inuyasha shrugged and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her against him as he slowly moved them from side to side, dancing to a silent song. "Sometimes," he said with a smile, not thinking anything of her making him feel frustrated.

Kagome frowned. "Tell me." She wanted to know how she could do better, be better for him. She wanted to learn what it was he wanted from her because she wanted to be all those things for him.

Inuyasha shrugged, not knowing how much he should tell her. He didn't want her to feel like she was a disappointment to him, because she wasn't. He knew it was just who she was and he was going to have to be patient with her, and she with him, if they were going to work this out. There was actually no 'if'. They will work this out. "I think you and I just need to learn how to trust each other and love each other. I'm only frustrated because sometimes I feel like you're so far away from me emotionally that I can't reach you." She avoided his eyes and he tilted his head so that her eyes couldn't avoid his. "That's why I love this song. It fits us. You and I... Kagome, I believe that we were made for each other. You don't understand it now, but I'll explain it to you later. Right now, we just need to learn how to be each other's other half. You just need to trust me more."

"I do trust you," she said sincerely. "I do. You're the only man I've ever trusted like this in my entire life." That was the honest truth. Sure she trusted Onigumo because during a certain point in her life she had no one else to trust and he was the only one who would help her. With Inuyasha, it was different. Inuyasha was asking her to trust him with her heart. He wanted to know everything about her and love her. But he needed to understand that he truly was the only person in this world who she trusted, more than anyone else she has ever trusted before. And that fact alone scared her. In her heart and in her mind she was moving too fast with him, falling in love with him without taking the necessary steps in getting to know and trust him. That she could place so much of her trust and her self into this one man, that he held her heart and soul in his hands, that fact alone frightened her.

"I never trusted anyone in the world as much as I trust you," she said, moving with him side to side as he led the way. She loved the way she felt in his arms, so sheltered and protected. The feelings he made her feel, so feminine and so beautiful, just made her want to give herself to him. The fact that she was almost turned on just by being in his arms made her smile to herself. "You really don't know how much you mean to me."

"Tell me." He waited as she thought it over. Maybe she was thinking whether or not she should tell him or maybe she was thinking how to explain it to him. Whatever the case, he waited. He understood that for many times in their relationship, he would have to wait for her. But he saw how much it meant to her. She needed to make the choice and she needed to choose what she wanted to share. He would wait, though, because he was comfortable like this. He liked having her in his arms. She fit so right against him, her soft body against his hard one. She molded against him and he was dying to touch her skin. Her v-neck shirt exposed her cleavage to him and he couldn't help himself but to give in to his need for her. Inuyasha kept moving them together to a beat as he brought his head down to the crook of her neck, taking in her scent. 'Damn... her scent...' It was a drug to him. His blood was on fire and he wanted more of her, so much more. He breathed against her skin, bringing his mouth to place a kiss against her neck. He heard the catch in her breath and she froze in his arms. He heard her heart beat accelerate, her fingers behind his neck tighten, her breath become faster and shallower. She was turned on and he could smell it. He took another deep breath, reveling in the way her body responded for him, the way she pleased him. He lifted the back of her shirt to run his fingers against the skin of her lower back, feeling the softness of her skin. "Kagome..." he whispered against her skin. "Talk to me."

Kagome felt like she was going up in flames. She had never felt so beautiful, turned on and sexy all at once before. The things Inuyasha did to her, she had never felt before. But she loved it. She loved him. She wanted him with every breath she took. Her feelings for him were what she was most afraid of but the way he made her feel... She felt his breath against her skin and it sent goosebumps on her entire body. Her nipples hardened at the first puff of his breath against her neck. Then when he kissed her neck, she realized that her neck was a sensitive spot for her, a feminine weakness. Her body melted even more into him and she felt him run his fingers along her lower back.

"Kagome?"

"Hmmm..." she moaned out. Inuyasha chuckled, moving to capture her earlobe in between his teeth, startling her with a gasp. The rush of heat that spread throughout her body and the way her core clenched only brought on a wave of lust that hit her hard. And he knew. He planted his palm against the skin of her back.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, his voice husky and deep.

In the haze of her mind, she thought over her response. She realized how she wasn't afraid of him. She wasn't afraid of the way he made her feel or the way she made him feel. She wasn't afraid of the lust between the two of them, lust mixed with love, a deadly combination that could turn violent. And she wasn't afraid of his touch. All these things made her realize how far she has come in trusting men, more specifically trusting Inuyasha. The only thing she was afraid of was herself and how fast and how far she had fallen for him.

"Yes..." she whispered, unable to think as he heightened her awareness of him everywhere. She felt him suckle on her earlobe to help with the bite of pain after he nipped her. "Inuyasha..." she moaned, unable to stop herself. She forgot that they were still moving, her body moving on automatic as it followed his lead. She closed her eyes and gave up to the way he made her feel. "I trust you more than you know. I'm afraid of how much I do," she confessed.

Inuyasha pulled back and kissed her, a little roughly, his tongue eager and excited as she met his desire. She ran her fingers into his hair and gave herself to him. 'Inuyasha...' The man knew how to kiss. He stroked her tongue and kissed her like sin, making her core clench. She found herself moving against him, rubbing her chest against him to help with the friction. She was lost in the sensations he made her feel.

The sound of Inuyasha's phone broke their passionate kiss. The two of them were left panting for air as Inuyasha stopped dancing and looked down to see that Kagome was flushed with a dazed look. Her blue eyes were darker, a dark blue like night, filled with desire. He knew what she needed, what they both needed, and he wished they weren't in the studio.

"Your phone," Kagome said, releasing him as the sound of his phone reminded her where they were and what they were doing. She moved back a step, trying to regain some sense back into her mind and body.

Inuyasha turned, letting his hands fall away from her, and walked towards his bag in no rush, uncaring if he missed the call or not. Kagome fixed her ponytail and her shirt, thinking about the way Inuyasha made her feel. She couldn't deny how much she wanted him, and the more they did things like that, the more she wanted to have him anyway and anywhere she could. She wasn't one to be ashamed of her body or about her sexuality. She was comfortable with who she was and what she looked like. She was just as comfortable at Midnite as she was working for Kikyo. Besides... she had been through too much to be shy or timid when it came to sexual things. The only problem was... control. Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha, watching his back as he answered his phone.

"Yeah?" Inuyasha said, turning around to look at Kagome. She was watching him, smiling. "Where?" He looked down at his Fitbit, checking the time. "Fine. Me and Kagome are at the academy making a new choreography. Okay. Same studio. 'Kay, bye." He put his phone back on his duffle bag and made his way back over to her. "Kikyo's coming."

Kagome's eyes widened a bit. "Now?"

He shrugged. "Soon, whatever that means. She's wrapping up an interview with a radio station and will probably head over after." He waved his hand, dismissing the topic of Kikyo. "So... how did you like it?"

Kagome arched her eyebrow at him and smirked. "Like what? The makeout session?" she giggled. Inuyasha laughed, crossing his arms.

"No... I know you liked that," he said confidently, making her shake her head at him. "How did you like the number I did?"

She made an 'o' with her lips and thought about it, smiling. "I loved it. I understand now what you meant about the difference in making a choreography for a single person or a duo. I could tell that your moves were... incomplete," she said, trying to find the word. Inuyasha nodded his head with a smile, proud of her for seeing the changes and her ability to learn and adapt quickly. "The way you kept your arms out towards me or the way you kept moving back and forth towards me... I knew that you were keeping it open for me to add my own moves. And without me, your moves looked incomplete." Kagome placed her hands behind her back, stretching. "You actually gave me some ideas," she said excitedly.

Inuyasha smiled. "Good. That's what I wanted. It's better when the dancers find inspiration off each other and in the moment because it's more real that way."

Kagome beamed at him. She walked up to him and placed her hands on his waist, bringing her face up to him. He met her halfway and kissed her, pecking her a few times as she left her mouth there for him. Kagome giggled and then walked away from him with a little skip in her step. "Okay. Let's do it again." She was ready. She was excited. She felt so special that he wanted to do this with her and his love gave her the encouragement and excitement to get through this and see the final product.

After a couple of hours, they had finished the first verse and the chorus. The chorus took them a lot longer than the first verse because it was the chorus, the most memorable part of the song and the big climax as to what the entire song is talking about. For this song, it was different. The three choruses were sung differently by each of the singers and then ending with both of them singing the chorus together. But all three choruses were tailored to each singer and how they felt about them being together. Since the male artist opened the song, he sang the chorus first. They had decided to let Inuyasha be the lead for the first verse and the first chorus, being the main focus of the choreography while she backed him up and supported him. But his attention was still on Kagome which still made her a huge part of the dance as he was dancing to her and for her.

Kagome was able to witness what it was like when Inuyasha created new choreographies for Kikyo's songs. Not that she had never seen the artistic and creative Inuyasha before, but this was different. She saw his skill as a choreography and his creativity come to life as they created a new dance from scratch. He valued her opinion and asked her what she thought of certain moves or what changes she thinks needed to be made. He considered all of their opinions and options and then made the final decision.

"I like it!" Inuyasha exclaimed, truly proud of what they came up with so far. Kagome nodded her head, taking off some of the hair clinging to her neck and cheeks.

"I like it too." They had done a lot of guessing, a lot of trial and error, but she loved what they ended up with. They had tried a couple of complex moves like lifts and a lot of hand-holding moves while dancing together. They tried moves separate, away from each other, and they played with their distances and how much space they wanted to take up in the room. In the end, they came up with a beautiful choreography of just the first two parts of the song so far.

The door opened and Kikyo walked in, catching their attention. Kagome looked as Kikyo walked in with Naraku right behind her, noticing Inuyasha going to meet Kikyo. She noticed Ben standing outside in the hall as Naraku closed the door behind them.

"Hey," Kikyo said, smiling at the two as she walked towards them. "What song are you guys dancing to?" She watched as Inuyasha didn't even look at her as he met her halfway, but breezed right past her.

Inuyasha saw no one and heard nothing else but his whole focus and attention was on Naraku. 'Bastard!' Just the sight of him made his blood boil. He was going to make a point with Naraku the hard way since he obviously hadn't listened when Kagome and Miroku told him to leave her alone. He zeroed in on Naraku and as he got closer, Naraku's eyes widened but he had no time to react as he realized Inuyasha's intention too late.

Kagome, however, realized that he wasn't going to meet Kikyo, he was going directly for Naraku. It was Inuyasha's stride and the fact that he dismissed Kikyo that made her realize what he was about to do. "Inuyasha, don't!"

Inuyasha growled deadly and Naraku's eyes widened, but in that split second, he decided not to hit Naraku the way he intended and always wanted to. It was only Kagome's voice alone that stopped him from pummeling Naraku's face in. He grabbed Naraku by his shirt, yanking Naraku towards him and lifting him up into the air, holding him there. There was no doubt as to how strong Inuyasha was as he lifted a grown man off his feet with just his hands on the man's shirt, holding him suspended in the air a few feet off the ground. Naraku grabbed onto Inuyasha's wrists, glaring at Inuyasha.

"What the hell! Put me down, Inuyasha!" Both Kikyo and Kagome were staring at the both of them, Kikyo being afraid for Naraku's life. She knew it would have come to this. Naraku and Inuyasha would've had to see each other eventually. And she knew Inuyasha was so angry at Naraku that he would physically harm Naraku, but she wasn't sure how far he would go. She quickly made her way towards them and placed her hands on Inuyasha's arm, coming to stand at his side so that he could see her.

"Inuyasha! Please, let him go." She didn't want there to be any injuries on anyone, although it would be Naraku that would be the only one walking out of here with injuries. Still, she didn't want there to be any problems an altercation would cause in their future business relationship. Kikyo grabbed onto Inuyasha's right arm, squeezing him to get him to hear her. "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha growled, glaring at Naraku. "Naraku..." His voice was low and guttural, coming out in a growl. "If I hear you touch Kagome ever again, or even look at her the wrong way, I swear I will make you regret having a face."

Naraku, now realizing why Inuyasha was so mad, just held onto Inuyasha's hands, trying to pry them open. But of course, Inuyasha was too strong for him, adding onto his own anger at the hanyou. "Let go of me."

Kagome didn't want this to escalate because of her. She walked up behind Inuyasha and placed her right hand on his left shoulder as she came around to his left, opposite of Kikyo. Her eyes met Kikyo's for a split second, seeing the woman's fear and worry. For who, Kagome didn't know. She turned to look at Inuyasha, speaking as calmly as she could. "Inuyasha... let him go. It's not worth it."

Kikyo frowned, staring at Kagome, watching the way she touched Inuyasha so intimately. There was a pang of jealousy that she felt in that moment. Kikyo feared that she would always feel this jealousy towards the woman who captivated Inuyasha's heart and who had something that she would never have. She didn't hate Kagome, that she knew for sure. She truly liked Kagome and respected her talents and skills. But when it came to her relationship with Inuyasha, it was still a sore subject for Kikyo and it was hard for her to watch it play out.

Inuyasha, though he didn't hear Kikyo, heard Kagome and turned to look at her. Kagome smiled at him sadly, kissing his shoulder. "Put him down, Yasha. I don't want this." She never wanted Inuyasha to resort to violence because of her, because of what Naraku did to her. She was a big girl and she could handle herself and her own problems. Even though it was endearing that Inuyasha cared so much about her that his possessiveness kicked into high gear, she still didn't want Inuyasha to hurt anyone, especially Kikyo's manager. They all had to work together and see each other every day.

Inuyasha growled and turned to glare back up at Naraku, hearing a ringing in his ears. If it wasn't for Kagome, he would've pummeled the man's face in and left him bleeding and unconscious. He felt his demon tearing to get free, to hurt the man who had dared to touch his woman. But in that moment, with Kagome calming him down and talking some sense into him, even his demon listened to her. He didn't want to scare her. And it was only because she asked, it was only for Kagome's sake, that he placed Naraku back down onto his feet but roughly released Naraku's shirt.

Naraku stumbled back and fixed his shirt, pulling it down roughly as he glared at Inuyasha, sizing the hanyou up. Inuyasha didn't back down from his glare, actually wishing the man had the balls to not just size him up but actually come at him. He would gladly take Naraku on if he made the first move. Kikyo moved from Inuyasha's side, letting him go, to stand between the two and a little in front of Naraku.

Inuyasha actually took a step in front of Kagome, placing her a little behind him and to his side. She noticed and grabbed his left hand, hoping that Naraku wasn't stupid enough as to charge at Inuyasha.

"I mean it, Naraku," Inuyasha started. "If I ever see or hear about you looking at Kagome a certain way or touching her in any way... I will make you regret it." Naraku had never seen Inuyasha fight before but he had no doubt that Inuyasha was a man of his word. He wasn't afraid of the guy, but he also wasn't one to let someone threaten him.

"Watch yourself, Inuyasha," Naraku said, pointing a finger at him. "I could sue you and have you fired!"

Inuyasha smirked, his eyes holding an evil gleam in them. The nerve of this guy. Naraku would threaten to sue him? There was no way in hell that he would ever win any case against him, a Fujimoto. And the fact that Naraku thinks he could have his job? His eyes went to Kikyo.

Kikyo put her hands up, trying to diffuse the situation. "Okay! Enough! No one is suing no one and nobody is getting fired. I make those decisions, Naraku."

'Finally...' Inuyasha thought, remembering his conversation with Kikyo yesterday. Kikyo needed to remind Naraku who he was and who she was. She was the boss, not him, even though he thought and acted like he was.

Naraku turned to glare at Kikyo, turning his anger towards her. "You're taking his side?!"

"I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm saying that I'm your boss, Naraku. I'm everyone's boss," she reminded them all, looking at everyone. "And whatever is happening here needs to stop. I won't have the two of you at each other's throats every time you see one another because that will be literally every day! I can't have you two not being able to work together."

Inuyasha huffed. "Too late for that. Naraku proved that he can't be trusted with the females in our group. And I, for one, don't trust him alone with any of the women in my group."

Kikyo nodded her understanding, knowing that Inuyasha had his reasons. She also knew what he was referring to, which she didn't need to be reminded of Naraku's rape accusation, but she also knew that she wasn't willing to fire Naraku. "I know. We'll work all that out in the future. But for right now... I feel like this," she said, using her hands to signal between Naraku and Inuyasha. "This needs to be resolved. Or at least, you guys need to be cordial with one another so that we can all work together."

There was a long silence in the room until Kagome decided to speak up. "Everyone will be cordial. I think we can all work together just fine. We won't be the best of friends but we'll respect each other's space." Her eyes remained on Naraku, making sure he understood that she wasn't someone he could harass like that again.

Inuyasha and Naraku said nothing, both of them glaring at one another, not willing to throw in the towel. Kikyo sighed, turning to Naraku to push him back towards the door.

"We're not getting anywhere. Let's just go and you two can take time to cool off. The next time we get back together this will not happen again," she warned the both of them, turning around to look at Inuyasha, making sure that he got it. Naraku had turned around and allowed her to urge him towards the door.

Kikyo was sure that if they had stayed things would not have gotten any better. It was a tense standoff between the two males and she needed to diffuse the situation before it became irreparable. So leaving was the only thing she could think of to do. Naraku opened the door and the two of them left not even ten minutes after arriving.

-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-

"Tell us everything that happened," Midoriko said, nearly drooling at the mouth. Kagome giggled, shaking her head as she put her hair up in a ponytail, pulling it tightly.

"I can't tell you everything that happened. It's too much and we need to be out there in ten minutes." The club was about to open in fifteen minutes. Kagome felt so giddy and happy tonight. She was so glad to be back working at Midnite again, a home away from home. Even though some people might look down on a job like this, or might even judge the women who work in these sort of establishments, for her, she loved her job. It was her one safe haven because she had control here. She always needed control in her life. It was important to her.

Ayumi glared at Kagome, sitting on Kagome's right while Midoriko was on her left. Their makeup chairs were right next to one another, making it easy for them to get ready and chat every single night. "Tell us something," Ayumi said. "We haven't seen you in a week."

"Has it been a week already?" Kagome asked, mostly to herself. Time had flew by since the concert last Friday. Her first day back to work after taking last week off for Kikyo's concert. None of the girls had seen her since she came back to Tokyo Sunday night, and it was already Thursday. Where had time gone?

"Girl, you've been gone for a week. And I wouldn't say we haven't 'seen' you," Midoriko said, using her fingers to make quotation marks in the air. "We've seen you all over social media."

"Your performance in Osaka was amazing!" Ayumi said, adjusting her bra beneath her black dress that had white stars all along the bottom at her knees. It was a strapless dress and she had her white see-through shawl to drape over her shoulders. "You and Inuyasha looked so amazing together."

"You two were on fire," Midoriko said, pursing her lips together as she put on her lipstick. "I'm telling you... you need to lock him down before he gets taken."

Ayumi laughed. "Taken? He's already taken by her. Did you see the way he looked at her during the whole dance?" Ayumi closed her eyes, daydreaming. "The way he looked at her... ugh..."

Kagome arched her eyebrow and looked at Ayumi's reflection. "Are you thinking about Inuyasha?"

Ayumi made a face and wiggled her eyebrows. "Of course I am. That man is every woman's wet dreams."

"That man is my wet dream," Kagome said with a smirk.

Ayumi and Midoriko both looked at her with shocked expressions and both of them squealed. "Are you two official?" Midoriko asked, braiding her long, green hair.

Kagome nodded her head, giggling. "Yeah. We started dating on Sunday when we got back from Osaka." She put some hairspray and gel on her hair and then placed some sakura pins up against her ponytail.

"Oh my gosh, finally!" Ayumi rolled her eyes, always knowing that those two would get together. It was a long waiting game that took longer than it should've. "The internet was already talking so much about you two being together after that performance. Anyone with eyes could tell that there's something between you two." The girls in the room cheered for Kagome and congratulated her for locking down one of Japan's hottest bachelors. Everyone could hear each other's conversations and heard Ayumi and Midoriko squeal, catching onto their conversation. Even Kagura, who stood up from her makeup station to head out the door.

Kagome smiled, keeping her thoughts to herself. She knew that her friends had always rooted for her to get with Inuyasha. She had shared some of her feelings for him with them and they had encouraged her to follow her heart and her gut. But the situation was a lot more complicated than they knew, and things just so happened to fall in line. Now, here they are.

"Did you have him yet?" Midoriko asked with a seductive look. Kagome smiled but shook her head.

"No. That's probably not going to happen anytime soon."

"Why?"

"There's a lot of fears I have. One of them... is men touching me." She looked at herself in the reflection. "That's why I love my job here. I can control if and how the men touch me. With Inuyasha..." she whispered, feeling her skin flush at the thought of what happened with them yesterday in the studio. She got goosebumps at remembering his breath against her skin and how he nipped her earlobe. One thing she found out yesterday was that her neck was a major turn on spot for her, especially near her ear. "With him, I can't control how he touches me. I mean, it's not like I want to. I love the way he does and I don't mind how he touches me."

Ayumi laughed, standing up. "Yeah, if I were you, I would want him to not be able to control himself around me." Midoriko agreed and the two of them stood, following Ayumi. They all wore different outfits tonight but they all looked sexy and hot and ready for a night with their clients.

"I can't wait to hear about how good he is in bed," Midoriko commented, making Kagome gasp and slap her friend on her shoulder. The two laughed and Kagome just shook her head, laughing along with them as they began to make their way out with some of the other girls.

Kagome walked out with Ayumi and Midoriko still giggling, teasing her about how good Inuyasha will be in bed. She tried to shush them as all the bodyguards and the bartenders were out and able to hear, everyone getting the club ready for the night. She left the two and headed over to the bar where she saw Hojo and Kohaku wiping down some of the glasses.

"Hey guys," she said with a wave.

"Hey Kagome," Hojo said cheerfully, watching as she sat at one of the barstools.

"Cute outfit," Kohaku complimented.

"Thanks, hun." Tonight she had decided to wear a magenta, flared mini skirt with a light pink, long sleeve blouse that showed her cleavage very well . The outfit made her look cute, young, and still gave her a sex allure. No matter what outfit she used, everyone always told her that she screamed of sex in anything. Kagome couldn't help it and didn't know what exactly it was, besides her curvy figure and gifted assets. She decided to wear white heels with her hair up and some sakura pins to finish the look. She kept her makeup simple with a light pink eyeshadow and lip gloss being the only color she wore for makeup. "I wanted to be cute. I feel like I haven't seen all of you in so long. And I'm in a good mood."

"Drink?" Kohaku asked, already making her favorite without her answering. She smiled and watched as he efficiently scooped ice into her tumbler with one hand while the other grabbed the Bailey's bottle, pouring it into the cup and then handing it across to her with a wink.

Kagome giggled and turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked and saw that it was Jinenji and she couldn't contain herself. She left her drink on the counter and stood to wrap her arms around Jinenji's waist, breathing in his cologne. "Jinenji. I missed you." She doesn't take days off, ever. She never had a reason to. Well, she did for a couple of times in the ten years that she's worked here. But more recently due to the high demand with working for Kikyo. She just wasn't used to not being here for so long and not seeing the people who became like friends and family to her without them realizing it.

Jinenji smiled and placed his hands on top of her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. "You've been missed."

Kagome smiled against him and then moved back, letting him go as she turned to grab her drink. "You missed me?"

Jinenji smiled with a nod. "So have your clients. Shall we go over your list of appointments for the night?"

Business as usual. Kagome nodded her head with a smile and sat back on the barstool as she took a sip, listening to Jinenji while feeling the smooth, sweet liqueur slide down her throat. She moaned, and then heard a name that caught her attention.

"Sai?"

Jinenji nodded his head, knowing that the man would be one of the first on Kagome's list once she got back. He hadn't reserved her for the whole night but Jinenji wasn't surprised that Sai would be coming to see her.

Kagome frowned, remembering the last time she was working for Sai. Things hadn't gone so well in the Sky. He had triggered her and she had broken down, became distraught and inconsolable, leaving him no choice but to leave without getting an explanation or apology. She sighed and took another sip. Tonight, she would have to apologize and try to figure out what her relationship with him from here on out would look like.

Just as she was beginning to think about her feelings for him, she heard her name called. Kagome turned to look at the end of the bar where Kagura stood with an arm against the bar and a smirk on her face.

"Onigumo wants to see you."

Kagome stared at her, giving her a look. Kagura looked too happy, too satisfied with herself. Something was up. Kagome stood and left her drink half full at the bar. She made her way towards Kagura, taking in the woman's skin-tight dress and the cocky grin on her face. "What's up?" she asked Kagura, wondering why Onigumo wanted to see her and why Kagura reported it to her.

Kagura just shrugged, her eyes gleaming with unspoken delight. "You better not keep him waiting. He's in a mood." With that, she walked around Kagome, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Kagome glared at her show of attitude, wondering what Kagura told Onigumo.

"The club is now open," Bankotsu called out, his voice echoing throughout the big, empty room. All the girls were now getting to their spots and putting on their best faces, ready for the night. The DJ walked towards his booth and took his seat, turning on a soothing, instrumental song to get the clients into a good mood. Bankotsu walked towards the door just as Kagome made her way towards the stairwell that headed up to Onigumo's room. She turned around, knowing Jinenji was following her.

"Stay with my client, Jinenji," she ordered with a smile. "I'll be as fast as I can." She was eager to get back to work. The excitement and desire of being with the men, having their attention on her and giving them hers, was something that shocked her. She never thought she would've had this sort of withdrawal. As she climbed the stairs she thought about why it was that she was so eager to get back to work. There was a part of her that craved the attention from the men. She had had it for so long, almost ten years, and even before that when she was younger. She had always had the attention of men, men wanting her and desiring her. It was all she knew. Kagome placed her hand on the doorknob, frowning as Inuyasha came to her mind. She erased him from her thoughts.

Opening the door, Kagome walked in, her eyes quickly scanning the room to see Onigumo standing near the glass wall that overlooked the entire club. She shut the door and made her way over to him. "You wanted to see me?"

Onigumo didn't turn around to look at her but she knew he heard her. She stood behind him and waited, wondering what kind of a mood he was in tonight. His hands were behind his back and he wore a neatly, ironed white-collared shirt with tan trousers and shoes to match his pants. He didn't say anything to her, making her worry even more. It wasn't like him to not have anything to say, especially with her. Kagome walked up closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. Onigumo immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her in front of him, startling her as he slammed her against the glass, pinning her body with his own.

"Onigumo!" Kagome caught her breath, startled and dazed. She tried to pull her hand free but he gripped her wrist against the glass and pressed his body against hers. The smell of his cologne hit her and she turned her head as Onigumo brought his head down close to hers.

"You have a way of making me feel like I'm on fire," he said softly, menacingly.

"What?" she whispered, trying to comprehend what he was doing.

"I feel like I'm either fully turned on or I want to beat the hell out of you." Kagome struggled against him, using her other hand to push him away but he grabbed that hand and pinned it to the wall on the side of her head. If the glass wasn't tinted, the clients below would be able to see everything that was happening. Kagome looked at him and saw his eyes were on fire, burning with rage. She hadn't seen him this mad before, at least not at her. "Sometimes I don't know whether I want to pin you down and use you for my pleasure or to beat you until I get tired."

"Onigumo..." her eyes burned with tears, suddenly fearing for her safety. She had never been on the receiving end of his rage like this before, and he truly frightened her. She knew of the kind of man he could be if one was to cross Onigumo, she had seen it. But he had never hurt her before, not like that, and the fact that he threatened to physically hurt her or, worse, rape her was enough to let her know that he wasn't happy. At all. "What did I do?" she whispered.

Onigumo glared at her, squeezing her wrists. Kagome cried out in pain. "Don't play dumb. I'm really... really not in the mood for your games, Kagome." He was barely containing his rage and she was pushing his buttons even more.

Kagome shrunk back, turning her face from him. She remained quiet. She knew that in order to protect herself and to stay alive, she needed to let him feel like he was in control. She had learned how to survive situations like this since she was a child and she was very good at staying alive. She could not answer back or show any display of power and fight. She simply submitted. Slowly, as if it came naturally, she found herself going back to that dark hole she had been in years ago. It came so quickly and naturally that she realized that part of her, the abused, victim part of her, never left. Her whole body went soft, surrendered, and she waited.

Onigumo nearly growled at her, his voice vibrating with rage as he screamed in her face. "Do you realize what you've done?!"

Kagome flinched but said nothing, staring at the ground.

"Dammit!" He released her left hand so that he could punch the glass wall right next to her face, startling her. Kagome jumped and moved from his fist, her eyes wide with fear as she stared at him, shocked. He had avoided her face, maybe on purpose, but her heart began to beat faster, truly frightened of what he might do to her. "Did you fuck him?"

Kagome flinched at his language but shook her head, turning her head down. Onigumo grabbed her face and made her look at him. He searched her eyes for the truth, seeing the fear there deep in her blue eyes, eyes that he loved so much. He felt his rage begin to temper down at the sight of her eyes. And she was frightened. 'Good. I'm getting my point across.' Even if he felt a little sorry for losing his temper now, he couldn't help himself. He was losing her. Kagome was the one thing in his life that he was not willing to lose. He released her face, not wanting to cause any visible marks on her since she still had to work tonight.

"Is it true?" Kagome didn't answer. "Are you dating Inuyasha Fujimoto?"

Kagome nodded her head. She hadn't thought about the repercussions, not for her job here. Of course, Onigumo had rules in place, rules that he wanted all of his girls to follow, but those rules were not in their contract so it's not like they could be fired for breaking these rules. But everyone knew the rules, which were basically Onigumo's desires and wants. Onigumo doesn't want them to have boyfriends. None of them. She hadn't thought about that when she agreed to date Inuyasha, when she had been falling in love with him throughout her time working with him. She hadn't thought of any of his rules, only of how Inuyasha made her feel.

"You didn't even think about what that would do to your clientele," he said, making a face of disgust. "The reason I have that rule in place is so that the clients would not feel uncomfortable with their women. So that they wouldn't feel guilty of crossing a line with you girls if you were married. That's why I don't hire any women who are married or dating anyone!"

"I know," Kagome whispered. None of the girls working here had boyfriends. And it was an unspoken rule that if they ever did fall in love, they would have to quit. Onigumo just wouldn't tolerate them breaking any of his rules, and their boyfriends probably wouldn't tolerate them working at a place like this. They had a reputation and an establishment to represent. "I know."

"Then why?" He for sure was not going to fire her. Instead he would get her to break up with Inuyasha. He couldn't have his top girl being taken. Her desirability and exclusivity would go down if she was dating someone. He could already see her clients not wanting to be with her because she would be tainted and soiled by another man while servicing them. Or, better yet, with the media attention that she and Inuyasha has been getting, Onigumo was sure that her clients would not want to be found by a Fujimoto as one of Kagome's clients. That would be suicidal.

"I love him," she whispered, putting her head down in defeat.

"Love?" Onigumo asked, taken aback. He released her other hand, taking a few steps back as she dropped her hand to her side, defeated. Without warning, Onigumo burst out into laughter, bending over at the waist with his hands on his hips.

Kagome looked up, curious as to what he thought was so funny. She watched as he turned around from her and made his way over to his couch in the middle of the room, turning to flop down. He faced her, his laughter turning to a chuckle as he composed himself, fixing his shirt. He rested his elbow on the arm of the couch and brought his fingers to his lips, looking her over as she leaned back against the glass. Onigumo cleared his throat, smiling at her.

"Kagome... you don't even know what love is."

Kagome flinched, immediately straightening as his words cut her heart like a knife. She turned from him, fixing her blouse and skirt, as she stared out at the club. The men had arrived. So many of them, early for the night, coming to steal a little comfort and attention from these women before they headed home after a long day at work. These men who craved and paid for their attention. Did any of them know what love was? Does anyone know what love is?

-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-

Onigumo and Kagome walked down the streets of Shikoku, too late for anyone to be up, but there were still some stragglers stumbling down the streets, trying to find their way back home. This was a notorious, infamous district in Shikoku where some people referred to it as one of the red-light districts in Tokyo. It had many restaurants and bars and it wasn't a very homey place to live, definitely not for families. Looking at the buildings that were apartments, one would think it was an affordable housing district or maybe a place with people who didn't want to be bothered. It was a perfect place for Kagome. She didn't have any money to afford anything and she definitely didn't want to be bothered, let alone found. No one would come looking for her here, not in this part of the city.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her eyes watching a man stumble past them, his gaze hungrily staring at her. Onigumo had his arm around her and he had given her his jacket to wear for the cold, now only in his white, long sleeve undershirt and his black trousers. It was past two in the morning and there were still people walking the streets, finding their way back home.

After Onigumo had found her, he brought her to his nightclub. Midnite. It was a club for the rich, or so he said. It was a gentlemen's club where men would come and pay for the services of a woman, and those services would vary. He brought her to his club and took her upstairs to his office where he kept her all night. He had one of the women bring her a beautiful, yellow dress that looked too expensive for her. She had protested but Onigumo didn't give her any room to say 'no'. He asked the woman to take her downstairs, to stay with her, and to let her use the woman's shower and bathroom so that she could freshen up. Anything and everything was free for her to use. If she didn't want to wear the dress, Onigumo told her to pick anything she wanted to wear from the women's racks downstairs in the dressing room. So she had done just as he told her to do. Cleaned, showered, and looking like a totally new person, she felt like this was the start to something new. She felt like for the first time, she was washing away the past and moving on to something brighter, a new future. Whatever that looked like, she had to trust that Onigumo could help her figure out what that was. When she came out of the shower, the woman whose name was Yuki, helped her to find any outfit that she felt comfortable wearing. Kagome had chosen to wear black shorts and a blue, silk blouse that had frills on the edges at her shoulders. Looked simple but she had no doubt it cost a lot of money. The rest of the night she had spent in Onigumo's office while he worked. He had a big man with green eyes bring her some water and food. But for most of the night, Onigumo kept to himself. She didn't know what to do but she was so tired and full from him being so kind as to feed her a decent, and very fulfilling, meal that she ended up falling asleep. It was the first time she had slept so peacefully in... she couldn't remember.

Now they were both walking down the quiet street. Onigumo had told her he had arranged a place for her to stay that wasn't too far from the club. It was about a five minute walk.

"It's right here," Onigumo said, urging her with him towards the entrance into a building. "I know the man who owns this building. He's a client of mine. I made some calls and he had an empty space available." Kagome nodded her understanding and kept quiet as he led her through the narrow hallway. The entrance was small and the building definitely looked old. It had stairs that went up but Onigumo walked past the stairs, past the mailboxes for the tenants, and straight to the small elevator. The two of them went inside an elevator big enough to hold maybe four people max, and then got off on the fourth floor. He kept his arm around her the entire time, the two of them walking down the hallway until he stopped them at a door. Pulling a key out of his pant pocket, Onigumo let go of her to open the door, walking in and turning on the lights.

"You'll stay here for the night," he told her as she came in. Kagome took in her surroundings, feeling confined and safe at the same time. She looked at the kitchen on her left, or what was supposed to be a kitchen. It had an empty dish rack with two appliances that looked like it hadn't been used for a long time. She walked further in as Onigumo closed the door behind her. There was a chair sitting in the opposite corner and she walked to open a shoji on her left that revealed another room, perhaps the bedroom. There was nothing in this room and she noticed a small balcony outside of the glass doors.

"The bathroom is in here," Onigumo said, calling her attention to the opposite wall that had a door. He opened it and flicked on a light. "Behind this wall it opens up into a bathroom."

Kagome nodded her head, her eyes remaining on his. Onigumo sighed and smiled at her, closing the bathroom door as he made his way over to her. She kept her hands in front of her as he reached for her, bringing his hands to rest on her shoulders.

"I want you to stay here for the night. I'll come get you in the morning and we'll sort everything out then. I've already made some calls tonight to some friends of mine who will help us in the morning. But for now, I want you to see if you like this apartment."

Kagome blinked, staring up at him, surprised. "You're giving this to me?"

Onigumo smiled. "I'll buy it for you... if you like it. I know there's nothing here," he said, looking around them. "But my friend has had a lot of people come and go in this building because of the neighborhood." He looked back down at her with a shrug. "It's close enough to Midnite and I don't think anyone will come looking for you here." Exactly what she was thinking.

"Onigumo..."

"Sleep." He saw her face and could tell she was overwhelmed with what he was doing for her. He wanted to make sure that she was safe and then they could figure out the next step and the next as it came up. He would've kept her at Midnite but he didn't want the women to get jealous or start gossiping about her if he let her stay in his office overnight. He also knew that some of them went into work sometimes to practice their numbers and he didn't want any of them to walk in and find Kagome. It was better to keep her here. Also, he was planning on buying this for her if she liked it. It would be easier for him to keep her close to him. "I'll come back in about five hours, around seven. I'll take you back to Midnite where you can take a shower and get new clothes and then we have a meeting with my friends at nine in the city. Okay?"

Kagome nodded, unable to say 'no' to something like that. He was doing so much for her, too much, that she was too overwhelmed to object. But at this point, she really had no other option. It was either she took everything that Onigumo was willing to do for her, or she go back out on the streets and try to make it on her own. Right now, option one sounded better.

"Perfect." Onigumo released her and grabbed her hands, opening one of them to drop the key on her palm. He smiled at her reassuringly and headed for the door. "There should be a tatami mat in the closet in the bedroom. Tomorrow we have a long day. If you like this space, we'll start shopping for furniture and everything you need after our meeting tomorrow." He turned around to see her still standing where he left her, still wearing his jacket and the clothes she borrowed from the club. Standing there in that outfit, she didn't look like she fit in this bare bones of an apartment. "Get some sleep. I'll come for you at seven." With that, he took his leave. "Don't forget to lock the door."

Kagome did as he said and made she the door was locked. She stood there for a few minutes, turning around to stare at the empty space of the apartment. She didn't know what to do. She thought about all the scenarios that 'could' happen. She imagined the meeting they were going to have, who his friends were, what Onigumo would want from her. She originally thought that he was going to give her a job at Midnite when he took her from the streets, which he still hasn't talked about yet. So she had no money, no employment to even pay for rent if he got her this apartment. But most importantly... she had no identity. How could she get a job without an identity? If she told Onigumo her real name, Koga might be able to track her down. She quickly shut her thoughts off, and the lights, and made her way to the bedroom. The city lights from outside gave her enough light to find her way into the bedroom. Just as Onigumo said, she found the tatami mat in the closet and brought it down from the upper shelf. Turning around, Kagome looked around to find the best place to lay the mat. She decided to place it near the corner of the wall with the closet so that she could see both the bedroom shoji and the glass sliding door. She sat down in the corner and stared at the empty space, keeping an eye on both doors. For the whole night, she did not sleep.

Morning couldn't come too soon and the sun came streaming into the room. Now that there was light, Kagome could see the walls were an ugly shade of grey with streaks of brown in many spots. The ground had many scratch marks and stains all over. She sat there in the corner all night, unable to sleep. She felt... uneasy. It was a new environment, one that should've made her feel safe because she was within walls and a locked door. She did feel safe, but only so much. There was still that nagging feeling, like she was being watched, hunted, and she was. She had lived on the streets her whole life and knew what it was like to be on constant alert.

The knock at the door scared her and she immediately clutched at Onigumo's jacket around her for protection.

"Kagome."

Onigumo's voice sounded through the front door and she started, getting up quickly, wanting to see him. She unlocked the door and was greeted by the sight of Onigumo. He had obviously changed for the day, wearing a jeans pant and a black, button-up shirt. She immediately threw her arms around him, causing his jacket to fall to the floor. Onigumo was caught by surprise, feeling Kagome's arms wrap around his neck as she leaned her weight into him, making him brace the both of them.

"Onigumo!"

He blinked. Kagome's voice was so small, like a child, that it shocked him. He could feel her breath against his neck and his entire body came alive, hyperaware of how beautiful she was and how soft she felt against him. He wrapped his arms around her small waist, pulling her tighter against him, and brought his lips to her temple, placing a kiss.

"I'm here."

Kagome had missed him. Throughout the night she had craved him, the one man who gave her attention and care. The one man who saw her in an empty alley when no one else did. She craved his attention and his touch to remind her that she was alive, that she was seen, that someone cared. Not only that but she also felt like he could protect her against anyone, even against Koga. Even though she knew that no one could protect her from Koga, she still believed that Onigumo could. He was her anchor, her lifeline, the only support she had in the entire world. And without Onigumo, she was nothing.

"Did you sleep?" he whispered, his cheek resting on her forehead. He felt her shake her head and he frowned, worried. "Why not?"

"I couldn't. I kept thinking about so many things. And... I didn't feel safe."

Onigumo urged her back so that he could look at her. She finally released her hold on him, her hands dropping to her sides, as he held onto her shoulders. She was traumatized, that he could tell when he found her in the alley. "Do you like it here?"

Kagome nodded her head, her eyes pleading. "Yes, yes, I do." She didn't want to seem like she wasn't appreciative of what he did for her in getting her this place. "I mean... it is safe here. No one knows I'm here and... I do have a roof over my head," she said with a smile, truly grateful for what he's done for her. "I just meant..." What did she mean? "I just don't feel safe. Anywhere." Onigumo would never understand what it was like to never feel safe no matter where you were. She was sure that even if she left the country and went to a remote island, Koga would somehow still find her. There was nowhere in this world that she would ever feel safe from him, so long as he was alive and looking for her.

Onigumo took a breath, staring at her as she averted her gaze. In that moment, she reminded him of a child. And he wanted to take care of her. Badly. He could tell in the less than 24 hours that he had found her, that she was broken, beaten, traumatized, and yet there was something in her beautiful, blue eyes that caught his attention. She was special. She was a fighter. She was determined to live. And he wasn't going to give her up. He wanted to know her, to make her feel safe, to be that safe haven that she needed. He wanted to be everything for her. And now he knew that she saw him that way. Right now, he was all she had and she clung to him. That's what he wanted. To be her everything.

"Let's go to the club. You can take a shower and use all the amenities there, and then we'll head into the city." Kagome smiled and nodded, grateful that he was taking such good care of her.

Later she found herself sitting at a round table in a beautiful office room high on the top floor of a high-rise in downtown Tokyo. After Onigumo had told her where they were going and helped her in choosing an appropriate outfit, she found herself playing the part quite easily. She wore a high-waist, black pant with a tan long-sleeve blouse tucked in. She had black heeled boots and she put her hair up in a ponytail. She did look very elegant, as if she was going into the office, which was fitting for their environment. But putting on the outfit, she felt like she was playing a different role. She wasn't the poor, homeless person, and neither was she Kagome. She was a different person, sitting next to Onigumo as if she was an accessory to him, complimenting him well. She sat next to Onigumo, quietly, listening to the men talk about her.

"So..." one of the four men started. "What is it you need of us?"

Onigumo looked at the four men sitting at the table with him and Kagome. They were all dressed in black and white suits, looking like they could either be an undercover agent or a regular businessman for the day. He knew better. They had their own specialties.

"I called you all to help me with this important matter." He turned to Kagome at his side, watching as she turned to him, her blue eyes simply curious but quiet. He smiled at her, finding himself getting lost in her too deep, too quickly. "Kagome was living on the streets last night when I found her." He turned to look at the four men. "I need you to help me create a new identity for her."

One of the men stared at her, his eyes a little too sharp, as if he could see everything that she had ever done. Kagome clasped her hands in her lap, nervous now that the attention was on her. She realized that Onigumo was not only going to help her find a place to live, but he was also helping to erase who she was so that she could create a new life. She was shocked that he would figure out that that was what she needed. The thought of erasing her old life overwhelmed her and made her fearful of the unknown.

"Kagome, is it?" the man asked. She nodded her head, finding the strength to look at him. He looked like a demon from the purple eyes to the purple marks around his eyes. "Last name?"

One of the other men, who looked like a human with black hair up in a high ponytail, opened the briefcase in front of him to pull out a laptop. He opened it up and then his eyes went to hers, waiting for her answer.

"Higurashi." The man began typing on his laptop and she figured he was taking notes for them. She stuttered, turning to look back at the man with the purple eyes. "I mean... Nakashima."

"As in the wolf-demon tribe?" The other man who also looked like a demon spoke up. He had short black hair with white tips and his nails were long like claws.

Kagome nodded, her fingers fidgeting nervously under the table. All of the men looked at each other, and Onigumo also leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. The room grew oppressively still as the situation grew serious. Kagome turned to Onigumo, reading his reaction.

"You know Koga."

Onigumo looked at her but decided to say nothing. The other man who also looked human cleared his throat, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

"Koga Nakashima is a well-known wolf-demon. Anyone who is someone knows about the Nakashima family. They have been around for generations."

Kagome began to feel a little nauseous. Maybe this was wrong. Maybe she shouldn't have come. Would these men sell her out and tell Koga where she was? Would they even be able to help her if the mention of the Nakashima family seemed to put them on edge? It was clear to her, and had always been clear to her as a child, that the Nakashima family was not one anyone wanted to mess with. Their name alone made these four men seem to second-guess their intentions to help. She turned to Onigumo, her eyes pleading with him, wanting to leave, but he kept his eyes glued to the table, lost in thought.

"Tell us what happened," the demon with the purple eyes demanded.

Kagome looked at him for too long, wondering if she should trust him.

"I can sense your growing fear. Just know that we're only here to help Onigumo, who obviously seems to be captivated by you," the demon said, looking at Onigumo. Onigumo didn't deny or confirm his suspicions, but his eyes did come up to stare at the male. "There's nothing you have to fear from us. We just need to know what we're dealing with so that we can know how we're going to do what we have to do."

Kagome could see that he meant what he said, though she still wasn't sure what to do or who to trust. She turned to Onigumo to finally see that he was looking at her. He then nodded to her and she felt like if she couldn't trust anyone, at least with a little trust, then no one would be able to help her. She had to trust them with what they needed to know if she was going to have a chance of making a life for herself. This seemed to be the only option she had.

"What do you want to know?" She was surprised as to how determined and detached her voice sounded, even to herself. There was always a part of her that knew how to detach from what was happening around her. It was a coping mechanism she found as easily as breathing. She knew how to detach and to shut down her emotions if she had to, for her own protection and sanity. This was a skill she learned since she was ten years old.

Even the purple-eyed demon arched his eyebrow, sensing her sudden change in demeanor. "Tell us how you met Koga."

"I was young, just a child, at eight years old," she went on, as if telling a fairy tale. "My father and mother were drug addicts. Heroin was their choice of poison but they loved to mix it with anything and everything." Kagome looked down at the table as everyone waited for her to continue. She could hear a buzzing in her ear, drowning out the pain and the sorrow that always swamped her whenever she thought about her past with her parents. "My father's drug dealers were working for Koga. When my father found out that Koga Nakashima was the main boss man, he ended up making a deal Koga couldn't resist."

Kagome remembered clearly that day her father brought her a jasmine, her favorite flower. He had come back to her high but functional, remembering about her favorite flower, at least remembering her. Her father had told her that he had a surprise for her and that he needed to take her to a big party. She was told to take a shower and put on the nicest clothes she had, which wasn't very nice at all, but it was a red dress. Her father then fixed her hair, combing it out with his fingers, and then tidied up her dress as best as he could, wanting his little girl to look her best. Kagome didn't know what kind of party this was but she was excited and started imaging all the little children that might be there at this party for her to play with. When she got there, however, it wasn't at all what a child might've expected. Her father took her to a huge mansion that had a lot of big men protecting the property from people like them. Kagome thought it strange that a party would be here because she had never been to a house like this before. The size alone intimidated her and she no longer wanted to go into the house, to the party, but her father just dragged her along with him. That was where she met Koga. She remembered the first time she met him in the doorway of his home. He was tall, standing over her, with his long hair tied in a ponytail and his light-green eyes warming at the sight of her. She found him very intimidating and had hid behind her father.

"My father promised my hand in marriage to Koga in exchange for drugs."

The men at the table all looked at each other, clearly taken aback as to the history of this one woman. She was dressed in very nice clothes and she looked the part of a businesswoman, but they knew better. Everyone has secrets and a past beneath the outfits they wore.

"My father could tell that Koga was smitten by me. Koga would sometimes deal with my father directly just so he could spend some time with me." She remembered some of those days. He was so kind to her and she loved him, she really did. Over time, the little girl felt child-like feelings for this older man. He would throw her over his shoulders and take her out on walks. He sometimes came with sweets and would give her some gifts, much to her delight. And throughout those first two years, Koga came to see to her, to make sure she was okay and to make sure that her father would keep his end of the bargain. "My father used me to his advantage. If Koga married me, then he and my mother would be given a lifetime supply of drugs as a part of the Nakashima family," she said with a roll of her eyes. Kagome looked out the windows, staring at the other buildings around them from their vantage point at the top of the building.

"Koga agreed to this?" one of the men asked.

Kagome nodded. "He only agreed to it because he fell in love with me. The same way I fell in love with him," she said, unashamed. Somewhere in her heart, she still loved him, as messed up as that was.

The purple-eyed demon nodded his understanding. "Wolf demons are known to be polygamous. Though they only have one mate, they also tend to have a harem of concubines to satisfy their lust, though they are not allowed to bear his children. Only the alpha female as his true mate can bear his children. But the other women are free for his lust and love."

Kagome nodded her agreement. "I was eight when I was promised to Koga," she said, getting back to the point before she got carried away by her past. "I was eighteen when we got married."

The man at the laptop stopped typing, looking up at her. "Your maiden name is Higurashi," he said, putting two and two together from the beginning. Kagome nodded, and he went right back to typing.

"I'm assuming you are running away from your husband," the purple-eyed demon said.

"Yes."

"And why is that?"

His purple eyes stared at her intently, as if he was already pulling the information out of her. He was a smart one, this demon. Onigumo had powerful and dangerous friends. She would have to remember that. "He's..." Could she tell them? Would they believe her? No one else did, not even the nurses at the hospital did. How could these men who looked like they could kill someone believe her when an innocent nurse didn't? "He was abusive." She looked down at the table, reliving the nightmare. "He was... sexually and physically abusive. I didn't want to marry him, but my mother made me out of obligation. It was my father's dying will."

"Your father is dead?"

"Yes. He died of an overdose... good riddance."

The demon didn't miss her emotionless tone. He stared at her, watching her intently. This woman had been through a lot from what she told him. It was what she wasn't telling him that said a lot. "So you could've broken off the agreement."

Kagome shook her head. "My mother was in on it too. Both she and my father wanted the lifetime supply of drugs. She knew what my father was doing. She knew everything," she accused, her voice trailing off as memories came back to her. "Koga had left Japan when I was ten," she continued. "He and his family had to take care of the opioid problem with his suppliers in China. He was gone for seven years and when he came back to Shikoku Island, he searched for me and waited to marry me at eighteen. He wasn't going to give me a way out. He still loved me and he still wanted me as his wife."

"We demons have no sense of time as we live for a long time. I'm sure Koga just saw those years as nothing and came back to finish what he started as if it was yesterday."

Kagome shrugged. She wasn't going to speak on his behalf. "He ended up hurting me so bad that I had to be taken to the hospital. I was under his family's security watch 24/7." She remembered being in that brightly lit hospital room, watching the men sit outside her room guarding her, more like preventing her from escaping. Only the nurses were allowed in, besides Koga, of course. "I got a break when his security left to use the bathroom. I pulled the IVs and wires out of my arms and I ran." Tears sprung to her eyes thinking about it, her heart beat accelerating with full adrenaline as if she was reliving that night that she would never forget.

"No one tried to stop you?" one of the men asked.

"It was the time of a change over, so there weren't many nurses in the hall. Even with my severe injuries, I ran and got out of the hospital and never looked back." She remembered how much pain she was in and how, after she had found a safe enough distance away, in the forest, she had passed out from the pain and blood loss. "I sold my engagement ring, bought me a ferry ticket and left the island the next day. I ended up in Kure and went to a small clinic to get my wounds treated. Then... I just kept moving. I never stayed in one place too long. I tried to put as much distance between myself and Koga as I could and I went as far north as I could. That's how I ended up here, in Tokyo." She wasn't willing to tell them anymore. She was already an emotional wreck, though she was trying so hard to keep it together. She wiped away her tears and placed her hands back in her lap, shaking.

"Well... let me make one thing clear," the purple-eyed demon started, sitting up straighter. "Wolf demons are notorious for their hunting and tracking skills. If you say that Koga loves you," he said, looking at Kagome. "Then I can assure you that he will not stop hunting you until he finds you."

Kagome's bottom lip trembled and she was paralyzed with fear. She had always known that Koga would be looking for her. He had told her many times that he wasn't going to let her go, that she was his and no one else's, and he would kill her before she could ever leave him. Hearing that confirmation come from another man made her paralyzed with fear. There was nowhere she could go that would be safe for her. Nowhere. She felt Onigumo's hand come over hers in her lap but she couldn't look at him.

"Calm down, Kagome," Onigumo said softly, feeling her hands tremble in her lap. "You're too pale. Take a few deep breaths." He didn't realize how serious her situation was but he was glad that knew. He needed to know everything about her if he was going to be able to protect her. And he was set on protecting her from anyone and everyone, especially Koga.

The purple-eyed demon waited, allowing Kagome time to calm down. "I only say that, Kagome, because you need to know that he won't stop. I have met Koga twice in my existence, and in both times he was a formidable and prideful male," he said, placing his arms on the table to lean on while he interlocked his fingers together. "He's someone we all need to not take lightly... or underestimate his capabilities." The others nodded their agreements.

Onigumo looked at the four of them, wondering what was next. "What do we do then?"

"I think the best thing to do is to continue with what you wanted from us," the demon said. "First, we'll start with erasing all records of Kagome Higurashi and Kagome Nakashima from existence. We'll find everything... from dental records to school records to even your birth certificate and destroy any traces of it." He turned to look at the other demon in this room, opening his hand towards the male. "He can get the physical documents and destroy them easily with his abilities." Then he motioned towards the male typing away at the computer. "He's obviously very good with computers. He can get us into any database, whether it's hacking into a school or governmental database, and deleting all digital files from existence." The man looked up at Kagome and nodded his head, winking at her as if this was pure fun to him. The demon motioned to the last man sitting across from her. "He's also good with hacking and with computers, so we use the both of them to help with the technical stuff like security cameras and what-not."

Kagome just nodded, not knowing their names and obviously no one cared to tell her their names for good reason. This was all illegal activity they were going to do. She was probably never going to see them again so she didn't care if she knew their names or not. She cleared her throat, finding her voice again.

"You won't find much. I grew up homeless. We lived on the streets after my parents sold everything they had for drugs. I never attended school in my life." She looked down at the table, ashamed. "I learned on my own the things I needed to learn to survive by watching. I was very good at not being seen. Sometimes I even watched at the school classrooms to learn how to read and write, and sometimes the people at the homeless camps taught me. I worked small jobs to make money so I could eat or I would resort to eating out of the trash or stealing food." When she looked up, she expected to see disgust and condemnation in their eyes. Instead, they simply looked at her as if they were learning something new and taking in the information with no judgment. "You probably won't find much to erase from my past."

The purple-eyed demon nodded his understanding, leaning back into his chair as he placed his hands on the hand rests. Onigumo moved, placing his hands on the table and adjusting his position. "Once you get rid of her past identity, we need to setup a new one."

"Yes, I agree," the other demon said, speaking up with his deep voice. "Any suggestions, Kagome?" he asked her, his dark eyes staring at her.

She turned to look at Onigumo, seeing his reassuring smile. "How about a new name for starters?"

She thought about it for a minute. "I love my first name. Can I just change my last name?"

Onigumo nodded his head, thinking it over. "What about Saito?" Kagome nodded, uncaring about her last name. It was just a name. But Kagome, to her, was special.

"What about your appearance?" the demon asked, placing his right hand down on the table to tap at it with his claws. "Will you get any tattoos or piercings?"

Kagome blanched, not thinking that she had to do any of those things. "No."

Onigumo shrugged. "Maybe you could just change your hair color. I don't see you with any tattoos or piercings," he said, feeling adamant about altering her appearance that extreme.

"I do love blue," she said with a smile.

"Hmmm... well your eyes are blue," the demon said with a smirk. "That would look lovely on you."

Onigumo turned to look at the demon, thinking it over. "How long will it take?"

The purple-eyed demon shrugged, knowing what he was talking about. "Give us three days to make sure everything is wiped clean. He can go to Shikoku and destroy any physical documents if need be," he said, pointing his chin towards the other demon. "Once we get that done, I'll call you to see what Kagome has decided on. Then we can go ahead and put all of her physical appearances and changes on her new identification before we set it up."

Onigumo nodded his understanding with a smile, looking at all four of them. "Thank you."


Oh yeah, sorry if the grammar was bad. I tried my best without using the spell check/grammar thing. I just really wanted to get this out because it's sooo good! LMK what you thought :)