Travelling never felt more like a hassle.

The trek back to Kaede's was a long one. Three and a half days, to be precise.

Everyone was completely and utterly exhausted. The majority of the first night was spent sleeping and recovering from the battle. When the sun finally rose at dawn no one awoke to greet it; it took Shippō waking up and trying to make a fire around noon that anyone opened their eyes. Inuyasha went hunting and Kagome tended to the torn clothing, stitching them up to the best of her ability. I used my medicine and by the time breakfast was ready I could put the machine away.

We ate, packed everything up, and then headed onwards.

I wound up falling asleep on Inuyasha's back during most of the trip, so worn out from everything. Him shouting woke me back up. The process continued, and then a day later we were at the border of Kaede's village. Kaede wasn't home, probably out blessing a villager's house, so we just went ahead and started unpacking. Kagome went out to the lake to take a bath and I followed shortly after, freezing in the cold water. Inuyasha and Shippō bathed together, and as soon as I lied down in the hut I found myself falling right back asleep.

When awoke Shippō was curled against my stomach, mumbling something about his father as he slept. My heart hurt at the sight and I gently ran my fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him whilst avoiding waking him. Shippō cuddled closer and grabbed at my robe, clinging tightly to me. Kagome was nowhere to be seen.

I yawned and sat up slowly, careful not to disturb the small child. Where was everyone? Even Kaede was still gone.

Pushing myself up I tightened my kimono, not caring for how loose it had gotten. I walked over and rummaged through the blue backpack, searching for some new clothes. It was then I saw the blue striped shirt I was wearing before. The stains were gone and the tears were stitched up perfectly. Yeah, okay. I guess I'll wear it again.

And so I changed, basking in the comfort of my black jeans.

Using the inhalers again and taking another dose of the nebulizer-gods I'm really not supposed to be this active- I went outside to hunt down everyone. Inuyasha was hiding out in a nearby tree keeping watch over the village, Shippō had woken up and was now out in the forest collecting mushrooms, and Kagome… where was she? I was running out of breath and I couldn't find her anywhere.

I brought my walk to a halt and took a seat near the outside of a hut. There I people watched for a while, admiring how the children ran about or how adults carried large baskets full of wheat and/or rice. The villagers would cut the stalks with sickles and/or knives, tie them in bundles, and then have them dry out in the sunlight for a while. It was a long, tiresome process… but they got it done.

Meanwhile I sat there completely breathless, worn despite having not done any work to wear me out. It was irritating. I wanted to help, but I physically couldn't.

Stupid illness.

"Hey, hey; are you a demon?"

What? I blinked, turning my head to see a small child standing beside me. He had a couple friends with him, too. "No?"

"Oh. Mama said she thought you were. Y'know, 'cause of your clothes."

I looked down at myself, then at the child. A weak grin formed on my lips. "It's just… what I wear. Normal where I come from."

"I told you!" A girl scolded, frowning at the boy. "She's a priestess, like Grandma Kaede!"

"I'm not a-"

"Demon!"

"Priestess! She's dressed like Lady Kagome!"

"They're both demons! Duh!"

The third child huffed and crossed his arms. "You guys are both stupid. She's a celestial nymph."

I guffawed at that, hardly able to believe what I was hearing. "O-Okay. How about we just say that I'm a normal human being?"

"But you're not!" The first boy shouted. The girl nodded her head fervently, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Yeah! You have them… special magic powers!"

There was no winning this argument. This continued on as the third child added more to the conversation, leading towards another verbal battle. I wanted to tell them to stop, before deciding that it wasn't worth it and that they wouldn't listen anyway. Stumbling to my feet, I walked away from the arguing children towards the center of the village. Sadly the children followed, the girl grabbing my hand and the second boy latching onto the hem of my shirt. The first boy was content to walk ahead of us, as if he were leading the way to wherever it was I was heading.

"Can you sing? Dance? Do you play music?"

"Have you battled any demons? Are you sure you're not a demon?"

"Are you really strong? You look ill…"

Normally I would find this adorable, but right now I was still stressed. I just wanted quiet. It didn't stop me from going along with them though, answering their questions cheerfully and smiling down at them. "I, uh, don't sing very well; no. I like to, my voice just isn't good. Can't dance, uh… I play several instruments. Flute, mostly. Um, plenty demons… y-yeah. I'm human. Haha. I'm not strong. I'm… pretty weak, actually. I feel a little dizzy right now…"

The world spun in front of me and I stumbled, the children's hands slipping out of my grasp. There were dark spots and a throbbing in my skull. I was both burning and cold, like a fire was spreading through my veins before being washed over with icy water. A fever. I should have expected to catch sick sometime, what with being in a foreign country-nonetheless time- but seriously? Now?

What am… I doing right now? How long have I been lying down?

I needed to move.

Fingers twitching I gasped, sitting up as my eyes opened- only to blink when I saw that I wasn't in the village streets anymore. I was back in the hut with a blanket over my legs and a cold wet rag falling off my forehead. "Eek! Don't scare me like that!" Shippō shouted, jumping back with his hands high in the air. "A-Are you feeling any better?'

"What?" How did I get here? When? Just now? Did I pass out? "Wh-Where's… Kagome?"

"She's off with Miroku and Sango, explaining the situation to them." He said, picking up the wet rag and soaking it in a bucket full of water. Straining it with his hands, he walked back over and patted my arm. "Lie back down! You're not well. Kagome and Grandma Kaede already administered medicine, so you'll be better in a few days! For now you need to sleep."

But if I sleep… I might not wake up. No wonder my lungs were acting up even more recently.

I huffed and lied back down, feeling utterly useless. What a pain. "You were lucky Inuyasha was keeping watch over the village today! If it weren't for him hearing the children trying to wake you up, you might still be burning out in the sun!" The fox demon placed the rag back on my forehead. "Get well soon, okay?"

"I'll try."

The beaded door pushed open just as I closed my eyes, and an unfamiliar female voice called out, "Is that the girl? She looks so young… is she truly older than me?"

"Yup! Hi, Sango!"

"Hello, Shippō. My goodness…" Footsteps and the sound of the wood creaking, the new arrival sitting down next to me. "She's so pale. It wasn't a disease she caught, was it? Foreigners immune systems aren't as adjusted to this land as ours…"

"I don't think that's the case." Shippō said, "Otherwise she might be dead already. Irene's already pretty sickly without this bringing her down."

Did they have to talk about me like I wasn't here? I'm awake.

"Really? I wonder what Naraku wants with her…"

My eyes opened, but I couldn't see anything. The world was so blurry. I squinted and turned to look in the direction of the stranger, making out a giant pink blob. "Wh-Who…?" Ah, my voice is raspy. That's not a good sign. My heart raced in my chest, struggling to pump oxygen in-and-out of my lungs. Taking in air felt like I was trying to breathe syrup, and like a large animal sitting on my chest.

The dizziness was intense and I had to close my eyes, eyebrows knitting together as I felt a cold sweat drip from my face down my neck. My clothes felt so sticky. I must have fallen asleep again, because the voices stopped for a while. I was barely aware of someone gingerly patting the sweat off my face with a cold rag, the icy coolness of it feeling like such a relief to my fiery skin.

"She's not getting any better…" Ah. Kagome. I know that voice. That's a nice voice. "It's not like I can just bring vaccines through the well…"

"Can't you bring anymore medicine? What are vaccines?" Small, childish, concerned. Shippō.

"I gave her several pills already. She's just… not recovering. I think it's getting worse. Her face swelled up."

Can't breathe. Lungs… burn. Air. Need air. Head hurts.

Someone was muttering in the background. Kaede was praying. There was a male voice speaking alongside her, unrecognizable. I had no idea who it was. My fingers twitched and I shifted, wheezing painfully. Scared. I don't feel good. My stomach was churning; I felt like I was going to throw up.

Acting on pure instinct my hand flew up into the air, curled into a fist. There was a shout from Kagome and a startled squeak from Shippō, and the two watched as I rammed my fist hard against my chest. I coughed, wet and rough, and with a shove of my left hand I pushed myself up into a sitting position. More hacking and wheezing, clearing my throat and spitting onto what appeared to be a bloody towel on the ground, I fell back down and passed right out.

This happened again, later, and I could breathe mostly normal again. I woke to find my back pressed against a wall, a young woman holding the nebulizer mouthpiece in my mouth to keep my lungs in check. My eyelashes fluttered and I blinked, gazing tiredly at the stranger. The woman let out a small gasp, her chocolate brown eyes widening.

"Ah! You're awake! Can you hear me? Do you know what I'm saying?"

She was so pretty. Elegant, yet strong. Her long brown hair fell over her shoulder, tied near the bottom with a ribbon. Her fringe was parted in the middle, giving her a very noble appearance. I didn't know her. I nodded slowly, dainty hand reaching up to grab the mouthpiece so I could hold it myself.

Her hands were very calloused. She wasn't a noble after all. Who, then? "That's a relief… my name is Sango. You're Irene, right? Kagome told me all about you and what happened. I'm very sorry about all this."

Why is she apologizing? How come she's even helping me? Her name… I've heard it before, but I don't know much about her. She was a mystery. "S-San...go?"

"Yes."

"...Pretty."

And with that my eyes closed and all went dark again. This time I finally had a dream, burrowed under several thick blankets and resting on a normal mattress. Not too soft, but firm enough that I could lay straight on my back and not sink into it. It was nice. The gigantic stuffed bear my brother gave me tickled my face, its fur quite fluffy. It was a pleasant dream, yet… sad somehow. I wasn't quite sure why.

It was only when I opened my eyes that I figured it out, finding myself back in Kaede's hut. Something big and yellow was wrapped around me, my fingers pressed against the fur. Nose twitching I blinked, lifting my face up and staring at the giant creature beside me. The cat demon's ear twitched and it raised its head, big red eyes staring at me curiously.

Instead of screaming I merely stared, meeting its gaze unfaltering, when it blinked and laid back down. Arms shaking as I pushed myself up, I sat on my knees and looked around. Everything seemed normal, save for the big cat demon that was cuddling with me. How did it get in here? It seemed docile, lest it would have eaten me by now. Why would Inuyasha have let it in?

Wait… my clothes. They're gone! Where's my-? I wasn't wearing this robe before!

How did I even get in here?

I remember talking with… someone. Kids? Or was it a woman?

My head hurt thinking about it. I tore the blanket off and dragged myself over to the blue backpack in the corner, rummaging through it and greedily using my inhalers. I then curled up with the nebulizer, using it faster than normal due to my heavy breathing. I was surprised no one showed up during that time; normally Kagome fretted about my health. Did she go home? I wonder how long I've been asleep…

Reaching out a hand I turned off the machine, packing everything up slowly. My body felt so sluggish, like it hadn't been used in a long time. Picking out some clothes to wear I grabbed a two-toned green turtleneck and some high-waisted pale blue jeans, and some bathing supplies. I stumbled to my feet and wobbled over to the hanging door, palm pressed against the wall for balance, and was close to falling over when something warm and furry pressed against my side.

The cat demon stared up at me with big red eyes, no ill-intent in its eyes. Why was it helping me? Was it truly a benevolent demon? After everything I witnessed I found it hard to believe, but… it was a welcome change. I hesitantly wrapped my arm around it, leaning my weight against it, and together we went outside.

I hissed at the light and turned away, squinting my eyes at the bright sun. Oof. I forgot how painful daytime was. "Where…? Uh, the lake… bath. Um." Words. I looked at the cat demon, wondering if it- er, she would follow my directions. Yeah. Definitely a girl cat. "You know… where the lake is?"

She blinked. I was about to take that as a no, but then suddenly the ground beneath me disappeared and I yelped, nearly dropping my clothes as I was thrown onto the cat demon's back. For a second I thought my weight was going to hurt her, but she seemed completely unperturbed. In fact, beneath all the fur I could feel the pure muscle that was her body. She was a very strong cat demon.

"O-Okay, that… that works too. Thank you?"

Several villagers glanced this way before continuing their work. I guess they were used to weird things happening in this place by now. Kaede certainly was. Re-situating myself I slung a leg over to the other side, very similar to how one would sit on a horse, and I set my clothes on my lap. The cat demon began to move and I quickly grabbed onto her, not desiring to fall over.

"I'm hungry…"

The village is so quiet today- where are all the women? Normally they were helping the men out with the farming and weaving, but now… they all just seemed to have disappeared. The only girls I saw were children.

"So, uh… do you have a name, kitty? Can I just call you Kitty? Oh, I know! I'll call you Nala."

Nala let out a weird sound, which was like a mixture of a roar and a meow. Seeing as I didn't know her name she seemed content to answer to that.

"You okay with that?"

The demon nodded. Wow. She's a very intelligent cat demon. I mean, most cats were… but I didn't know what to expect from a cat demon. I wonder if Shippō is nearby? I hope he's doing okay. He gets scared very easily. Where's Inuyasha? Maybe he's gone to get Kagome if she's at home or maybe he's killing any demons rummaging about in the nearby forest. I hope nothing bad happened.

Leaning down until I was practicing lying on the cat, I pressed my face into the fur of her neck. It was strange, but… I felt lonely. I've always had someone with me during my stay here. The last time I was by myself was Kasasagi Town and that… didn't go very well. I shivered at the thought and curled closer to the furry creature carrying me. "Nala was a proud lioness, you know? A big cat. She ended up marrying the king of the pride. She also helped Sora, Donald, and Goofy when the hyenas threatened to eat them."

I didn't know what to do.

"I like Nala. She was nice."

Reaching the lake took only a few more minutes. There the cat demon let me slide off her back and she sat down, closing her eyes and taking a nap. Discarding the robe I stepped into the icy water, letting out a several words of complaint about the temperature, and sunk inside completely. It was so cold. I hated it. Still, I was sticky with sweat and smelled disgusting.

A bath was necessary.

I remained close to the shallow end and got to work, washing the sweat off to make myself feel like a real human being again. My hair was going to need a cut soon; it was getting long. I sighed, sinking comfortably closer as I leaned against some rocks. I felt tired. Sleepy. My arms and legs felt like noodles.

I had to force myself to get out of the lake, lest I fall asleep in it. Real clothes felt amazing. I sat down next to the cat demon and carefully rested my hand against her side, petting her gently. She rolled over, giving me access to her belly, and my eyes widened. A grin spread across my lips and I proceeded to use both hands, rubbing her furry stomach. "Aww, who's a good girl? You are! You're my favorite cat demon, yes! Awww~ thank you for helping me. So sweet!"

"K-Kirara?" The cat's ear twitched and rolled back over, causing me to retract my hands with a small yelp. Suddenly the creature erupted into flame and I screeched, jumping back in horror. "Look out-!"

There were rapid footsteps as the world flew past me. The rocks slid out from beneath my feet and I was vividly aware of how I was about to crash into the lake in my dry clothes. I panicked, swinging my arms around to fall face-first, not at all able to stop my fall, when a hand latched onto my wrist and yanked hard- pulling me back.

I crashed into a soft chest, a young woman wrapping her arms around me. "Are you okay!?" I breathed heavily, shaken from the event, and clung tightly to her kimono. "When I got to the hut you and Kirara were gone, so I searched all over for you! You had me worried."

What? I raised my head up, eyes growing wide. "I… I know you?"

She blinked. Loosening her grip she stepped back, putting some distance between us as we moved away from the lake. "You remember?"

"I…" My eyebrows knit together, confusion flitting onto my face. "I'm not sure. I… I think I remember talking to you? Don't know what it was about though."

The young woman raised a hand up to her chin, observing me closely. "You… You woke up for a few moments. I told you my name, though I suppose you don't remember that either. I'm Sango; I traveled with Inuyasha and the others. My friend and I arrived shortly after you fell ill, and several days have passed since then. Kagome told me all about you."

"Oh…" I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I looked down, biting my bottom lip. "S-Sorry… um. What exactly did Kagome say about me?"

"That you were brought from a future further ahead from her own, summoned by Naraku and a demon named Anastasia. Your sister… she's missing, isn't she?"

I didn't answer right away. Sango lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"Kagome told me you think Naraku has her, maybe even done something to her. That strange demon you faced back in Kasasagi Town- it had your sister's voice, didn't it?"

"...Yeah. It did."

Wait. The cat demon. What happened to it? I looked around fervently, trying to find the big cat- fearful of her fate. She had just combusted into flames for no reason! There was no way she could have survived it. Sango blinked, seeing my behavior and finding it strange. "Did you lose something?"

"Y-yeah, the- There was the cat demon! She just-"

I had held my arms arms out when I made to gesture what I was trying to say. As soon as I did so a small mewl could be heard and there was a flash of yellow, and a small creature leaping at me. I yelped and wrapped my arms instinctively to catch it, realizing quickly it was a kitten. The small cat nuzzled her face against my chin, body curled against my chest.

"Oh my gods."

I stared with big eyes at the little kitten, realization dawning on me that this was the big cat from before. They were identical. She was just… smaller now. Much smaller. Sango brought a hand up to her mouth, hiding her smile. "Kirara likes you. I'm surprised."

"Kirara?" I asked, finding the foreign name rather lovely as it rolled off my tongue. "I-Is she yours? Are you guys friends?"

Sango stepped forward, reaching over with her hand and scratching lightly behind the kitten's ears. Kirara let out a happy meow. "Yes. She's been my partner for many years now. Miroku and I arrived to the village shortly after you fell ill, so I had Kirara keep you company to help combat your fever. Her fur is quite warm. But… I have to admit; I never expected for her to take such a liking to you. Kagome wasn't exaggerating."

Cradling Kirara with one arm, my fingers running gingerly against her head and back, I looked at Sango and asked curiously, "Exaggerating about what?"

"Your kindness."

Oh. "I'm… really not that nice."

"I don't know about that." Her thumb ran lightly under Kirara's chin, the small smile never leaving her face. Yet, for some reason, the sadness in her eyes from earlier remained. What was she thinking about when we were talking about Naraku and my sister? "Kirara has a sense about these things. Animals and demons both, I believe. They can tell the intentions of others so easily… almost as if they can see the darkness in their heart. She's never lead me astray once, so… I'm going to believe that that is the case here."

Sango carefully pried Kirara away from me so she could hold her herself, her brown eyes serious yet kind as she stared at me. Her gaze bore into my own, almost rooting me into the spot.

"You've kept my friends safe while I was away. If not for you the others might not have survived Kagura."

I tensed upon hearing those words, not finding them comforting or encouraging at all. The tension in the air turned into a weight against my chest and shoulders, the pressure of guilt and responsibility weighting me down even more than before. If Inuyasha had died back then… this person would have been grieving. It would have been my fault.

"If… not for me…" My words came out slowly, the ache in my heart near unbearable. "If not for me th-they wouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place. I… I dragged them there to… the village. Kagura was after me."

"Kagura is after all of us." Sango corrected, voice stern. A lump formed in my throat and I choked, looking up at her with teary eyes. "Naraku wants us all of us dead. With or without you that would not have changed. But you're here and that makes all the difference. He wants you for something, Irene, and we're going to find out what. Alright? You're one of us now."

Why? How come she's saying all these things? "You don't… even know me…"

"I don't have to." She said. Sango held up Kirara, the cat blinking and staring at me with big red eyes. "Kirara and the others already approve. Besides, I think I figured out enough about you from this one conversation to make a good judgment. Now come on- we should get back to the others. I'm sure they're all waiting to see you up and well."

She turned around and started to walk away, pausing long enough for me to get my feet moving and catch up. Before I even knew what I was doing I had latched onto the sleeve of her kimono like a small child, head held low as I followed. Sango appeared surprised by this, but she didn't push me away. I mentally questioned why she allowed me to do this, but was grateful.

I needed the support right now.

Arriving at the village didn't take too long, but the second Sango saw the strange quietness of the village the woman took off. Kirara and I went back to Kaede's hut on our own, and it was there we were greeted by Kagome, Shippō, and Inuyasha. Kagome was pacing back and forth, hands laced together against her chest, worry written all over her face. She appeared to be panicking.

As soon as I entered the hut her head snapped over to look at me, her brown eyes widening. Next thing I knew a pair of arms were wrapped around my shoulders, Kagome hugging me tightly. "You had us so scared, you jerk! How could you just disappear like that!?"

"I-I'm sorry." I stammered, awkwardly hugging her back. I didn't know what to do. "Um, I-I needed a bath, so… Kirara and I went to the lake."

"Kirara?" Kagome sniffed and pulled away, confused. "How do you know her name?"

Ah, yes. Explanation time. "So I was originally calling her Nala cause of Lion King, since she's a majestic and beautiful kitty, but then Sango showed up." The cat let out a happy mew, showing herself as she walked inside the hut. She was in her larger form. I reached over and pet her head, smiling. "Now I know she's Kirara."

"You met Sango?" Shippō asked, bounding up. He jumped up and I caught him, holding him close to me. His eyes were red and puffy- like he had been crying. "She was helping you the other day while Kagome went home… but I didn't think you'd meet like that! Have you seen Miroku?"

"Uh…" Sango said something about him when she stormed off earlier. "I think Sango said she was going to look for him…?"

"Makes sense." Inuyasha commented, sitting on the ground with his back turned to us. He glanced at me from over his shoulder. "All the women here were being hit on by him last I saw. S'why the village seems so empty."

"Oh… Ohhh." It took a second for the words to register. I made a face. "Ew. So he really is a creepy monk."

Kagome laughed a little. "I mean, that's one way to put it… but he is a valuable ally. He's a good friend, despite his behavior."

I nodded, still not believing it. I was going to have to avoid this Miroku no matter what. "Right, okay… so um. Question?" They waited for me to continue. Taking a deep breath, dread pooling in my stomach, I asked, "How long have I been asleep? Sango said I fell ill, so…"

"Almost a whole week!" Kagome said, frowning deeply as she curled a hand close to her chest. "I suppose all the stress caught up with you and… well, your body couldn't adjust properly to the new environment. It is a foreign land after all. You've never been to Japan before, so you don't have an immunity to the diseases. Kaede and I did everything we could to help fight the fever and infection!"

"Infection?" She nodded. I was dumbfounded. "What infection?"

"You… know how in Kasasagi Town you got badly hurt? There ended up being something wrong with your throat. Did you cough up a whole lot of blood before? When… those villagers hurt you?"

Oh. I flinched at the memory. "Uh, y-yeah… kinda. It's… It's a bit of blur, but… there was that. Sorry."

Kagome shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. Naraku caused this. Still, it really worried us. From now on we won't split up- okay? Not unless we know for sure it's safe."

I don't understand. Wasn't I healed in the jail cell? I know it wasn't a complete restore, but the Shikigami got rid of all my major wounds.

That's why.

They didn't consider it as a severe injury. Like my back before- the dog only healed my shoulder. When I used the fish Shikigami during the battle with Kagura I wasn't even thinking about my throat; I was so focused on Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippō. It all made sense now.

I just have to be specific…

At least, I think I need to be. I'll have to try it next time. I nodded at Kagome's words. Suddenly the door behind us opened and I stumbled forward, whirling around and standing next to the middle schooler. Walking into the hut was Sango, who was pulling someone in by the ear. A young man walked beside her, pain etched on his face, his messy black hair pulled back and blue eyes begging forgiveness.

"Ow, ow, ow! Sango, please! I said sorry! Why are you so mad at me!?"

"Hmph! I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"Oh!" Kagome said, surprised. The two stopped bickering and looked up, seeing everyone gathered. Inuyasha stood up. "Miroku, Sango, you're back!"

So that's Miroku? He's a lot… prettier than what I was expecting. Once Sango removed her hand from his ear I could make golden earrings, and on his right hand were pale blue prayer beads. Underneath that was a dark colored armguard. His kimono itself was black, bearing longer sleeves than most, and wrapped around his body was a purple traditional buddhist monk cloth.

"Oh my." The man called Miroku said, eyes growing wide when he looked at me. He leaned forward, a smile spreading across his face joyfully, the stranger stepping closer. I stiffened and resisted the urge to back away, trying to stand my ground. I hadn't dealt with any creeps since graduation, but this person looked as though he were my age. Was he truly such a creep? "Irene, was it? You were so pale and ghastly before, but… now I see it! I never would have imagined you to be such a beauty! Your brown eyes are especially stunning!"

"Uh… thanks?"

"Irene doesn't look like much," Shippō said, hiding behind my head as he gave Miroku a disapproving stare, "but she's actually really powerful! She knows how to communicate with the spirits of the Shikigami, allowing her to heal everyone and even fight against demons!"

"Really?" Miroku looked even more pleased upon hearing this. Setting his staff aside to rest against the wall, he suddenly grabbed my hands in his. My shoulders tensed up and it took everything I had not to yank them away. "Irene, I must insist! Please, will you do me the honor of being the mother of my children? With our combined spiritual powers our kids would surely be-!"

No longer holding back I yanked my hands away, a blank expression crossing my face. "No thanks."

"Don't be shy~." He said, stepping forward with a stupid grin on his face. The man outstretched a hand, trying to grab my shoulder. "We can talk things out, I'm sure! You and I together- we would be unstoppable! Just think about it, would you?"

"There's nothing to think about!" Sango snapped, reaching over and smacking him hard in the back of the head. "She just woke up! Behave yourself, you perverted monk!"

Miroku laughed, rubbing the bump on his head nonchalantly. "Aww, you know I'm only joking, Sango! The only woman for me is you!"

Her face flared red, but her eyes were still raging. "Wh-What is that supposed to mean!? Don't go giving her the wrong idea! You're lucky I don't-!"

I backed far away from the two, hiding behind Kagome. Shippō sighed, "Don't take him seriously. He says that to all the girls."

"I'm not surprised." I hated him already. If he so much as tried to come near me again I would smack him. "Jerk."

"Anyway!" Sango exclaimed loudly, a foot on Miroku's back as he lied on the ground. His face held a red handprint, the monk's skull holding several bumps, but he seemed unperturbed by it. In fact, he almost seemed to be enjoying it. "We still need to tell Irene what we found out! She is coming with us to the castle, isn't she?"

"Huh?" I blinked, looking around at everyone. "What? Wait, what castle? What's going on?"

Miroku pulled himself out from Sango's foot and stood, brushing off his robe to free it of any dirt. "We discovered some strange things on our journey- certain details that might lead us to Naraku. At the nearby castle town cows have been disappearing. Guards that were posted there and the people who had visited the castle to pay their taxes went in and never left. Some have been gone for months."

"Not to mention all the demons that have been reported seen heading towards it." Sango added, crossing her arms. "This all spells bad news. It definitely has to be the work of Naraku."

"Wait…" I thought about this. The dread I felt turned into complete fear. "The people in the castle… they're not dead, are they?"

Sango shook her head. "That's what we'd like to find out."

"Oh gods. Okay." I brought the back of my head up to my mouth, blinking rapidly to fight against the tears. I wanted to throw up. "Right. So… wh-where is this castle? W-We're gonna save those people, right?"

"That's the plan." Sango said. Her gaze then softened, as if realizing something. "You… really aren't used to this life, are you?"

"Nope!" My voice cracked a little, even as I tried to sound cheerful. "B-But that's fine. You know? It's… It's how things are; no changing it. So, um, how we getting there? You said it was nearby?"

"Yes." Miroku nodded, giving an encouraging smile. "The fastest and safest way would be through Tsuzumi Village."

"Okie dokie!" I clapped my hands together, forcing myself to be upbeat. "So! We do that then! Great."

"You know…" Miroku began, stepping forward again. Kagome moved to block me from his view, but we were both so much shorter than he was. He gave a sly smile, "If you ever need someone to comfort you in these trying times I'd be more than willing to help. I know you must be very scared from all this."

"Miroku..." Sango warned.

"What!?" He held his hands up defensively. "I'm just trying to be nice! She's clearly shaken up by all this!"

"I'm fine." I said sharply, ducking down until I couldn't be seen. Kagome was a good shield against playboys; her glare and Sango's fierce tone was keeping him back. "Thanks, but no thanks. Appreciate it, but don't want it. I have a Shippō for cuddles. He gives very nice hugs."

Inuyasha straight up snorted at that, breaking out into barking laughter, and Shippō pointed triumphantly at Miroku from his spot on my shoulder and shouted, "Ha! That's what you get! I'm the favorite and you know why? Because I'm not a creepy pervert like you!"

"He's my small child." I patted the fox demon on the head. "I have adopted him. Like I am Maria's small child, Shippō is my small child."

Shippō stuck his tongue out at Miroku, who pouted and sighed.

"I lost to a kid…"

"What was there to lose?" Inuyasha sassed, grinning. The door opened and Kaede walked in, eyes widening in surprise when she saw all of us together. "Oh, the old hag's back."

"You're all here! Irene… what a pleasure. You've woken up." The old woman smiled and stepped forward. "The color has returned to your skin; I was starting to grow fearful you might not recover."

"N-No, I'm… I'm okay." I rubbed my neck sheepishly, feeling bad for causing so much concern. It felt weird having so many people worry about me. The only who really seemed to care was Maria, so having Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippō, and even Kaede and these two strangers acting all worried was strange. "I'm sorry about… everything, really. I-I didn't mean to freak you out."

All I seem to do is cause everyone trouble. Oh! Speaking of-!

"Inuyasha!"

The half-demon jumped, startled. "What?"

"Thank you!" Everyone looked confused- even him.

"Uh, for what?"

Seriously? I frowned and tried to explain. "Back in… the battle with Kagura! When she tried to attack me with those tornado things you… took the hit." I lowered my head, guilt crushing my heart in its harsh vice. All I could remember was the sight of him bleeding out, his guts on full display with his blood covering my bare hands. "Y-You almost died because of it, a-and… I couldn't do anything."

"Irene…" Kagome murmured.

"I was just so scared. A-And I'm still scared. But you saved me a-and I want to help you!" So many times now he's helped me. Inuyasha has always been protecting me. I was a sick, useless human being that could barely even get the spirits to work with her. But that's going to change. "I-I couldn't even control the Shikigami back then; they were just acting on their own! I was mad and… and hurt, and scared, and I didn't want you to die! You, Kagome, or Shippō. So… I promise! I'll get better at wielding Shikigami! That way you won't have to do that ever again, okay?"

The half-demon was stunned. No one in the room said anything for the longest time; the quiet was practically suffocating. Then he scoffed and turned his head, folding his hands into his kimono sleeves. "Do what you want. It's not like I care. I just didn't want Kagome to yell at me if you died. It gets so annoying."

"Stop lying." Kagome said, shaking her head at him. She reached up and pulled lightly on his dog ear, causing him to lean over so to avoid any pain. "You view Irene as a friend and you know it."

"I do not!"

Kaede chuckled at all of us. "Now, now, children. Need ye not prepare for your journey? You'll be heading out soon, will ye not? Why don't you rest for the day and take off at early light?"

"Sounds like a plan." Sango commented, smiling. She seemed pleased. "It'll give us time to get to know Irene better! We need to go shopping for supplies anyhow, right? Irene and I will go together."

"I need to go collect some more herbs," Kagome said, releasing Inuyasha and pressing an index finger to her chin in thought, "so I'll be heading into the forest. A walk sounds nice."

"Yeesh." Inuyasha sighed. "I guess I'll go with you."

"Are we teaming up?" Shippō questioned. He jumped off my shoulder, landing in Miroku's arm. "I'll go with Miroku then! That way I can make sure he stays out of any trouble!"

"You all have so little faith in me…"

"No," I said, stumbling over to the brunette beauty, "I'm pretty sure it's because they trust you that they have to keep an eye on you. They trust you to get into trouble."

"Sounds about right." Sango agreed. "This way now!"

She grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the hut. I followed her and Kirara into the main village center, where all the shopping seemed to take place. The woman asked me how exactly I came to meet the others and I told her, informing her all of what took place. My explanation ended up being a bit all over the place, my story-telling being better on paper than spoken, but she seemed to understand.

I asked Sango how she fought, as I knew everyone else's talents, and she told me she was demon slayer. After we finished buying supplies, she showed me back to the hut where she took out her weapons and displayed them. I gaped at the big boomerang she was holding, hardly able to make sense of what I was seeing. "That's… girl, you are holding that with one hand!"

"Hm? Yes." Sango demonstrated, twirling it about above her head with ease and then tossing it out into the sky. "It's my hiraikotsu!"

I yelped as it came swinging back to us and ducked down, bringing my hands over my head, and I fell back onto my rear in shock when she caught it. Her feet barely even shifted with the weight of the recoil, and she slung the weapon easily over her shoulder behind her back.

"Woman." I began, eyebrows raised. "You are a beast. How!?"

"I've been training with it for years." She explained, smiling at my reaction. Sango appeared a little bashful by the praise. "Want to try it?"

"Uh… pretty sure I'd end up breaking myself."

"Oh, don't say that! Come on!" I shook my head and stood, making my way over. I reached out to grab it and, as soon as she let go, I nearly toppled under its weight. "Ack- Look out!"

Okay, I lied. I did topple under its weight. The giant boomerang weighed down on me and my legs gave out beneath the pressure, crushing me against the ground. Sango quickly reacted and pulled it off of me, apologizing. I told her it was fine. I then asked if she had any other weapons, to which she grinned and proceeded to show off her sword skills.

After finding out about the poison powder and the blades hiding under her sleeves, I came to the conclusion that Sango would make a brilliant assassin. She's so beautiful, too. No one would see it coming.

Not even me.

When I ran out breath and got dizzy, Sango only further demonstrated her strength by lifting me up. If I wasn't flustered before I definitely was now. After everyone returned to the hut for the night we all got comfortable, laying on hay or futons, and the next morning we all took stock of what supplies we had. As we were about to leave Kaede showed up, asking me to return the green kimono she gave me.

Confused, but understanding, I did as requested and in return she gave me one that matched hers completely. From the white tops to the red hakama, I would look more like a priestess than ever. "Seeing as ye have a bad habit of getting injured, I figured a change of clothes would be preferable. These ones still need to be properly mended. Kagome did a fine job, but a bit more tending would be best."

"O-Oh, um. Thank you."

She smiled. Then, as if reading my mind, she held her arms out for a hug. I didn't hesitate, wrapping my arms around her shoulders gingerly so as to not harm her. "Have a safe journey, my child. I wish ye good luck."

"You too… thank you so much, Kaede."

As we were leaving the village a couple children saw me and tackled my legs, crying out about how they were sorry. I was confused, until they explained that they thought they were the reason why I had passed out so long ago. I laughed and ruffled their hair, giving them quick hugs, explaining that I was just frailer than most people.

Kagome and Shippō were amused, yet happy I got along with the other villagers, and Sango and Miroku were surprised to see I was on such good terms with the kids. Inuyasha didn't really care one way or another.

The passage through the main forest took two whole days, leaving us at the beginnings of the next trail. Heading out of one forest we went right into the next, and through all of this we only fought a couple demons. Thank goodness. I sighed, shuddering at the thought of encountering any heavy interference. I hated battle.

As we made our way through we walked into a clearing with several statues, resembling some kind of deity or monk. We were getting close. "How much longer?" Shippō asked, frowning as he saw the sky get dark. "We've been travelling for a while now; Tsuzumi village has to be close, right?"

"Yes. Just a few more days." Miroku answered. He looked up and stared at the sky, frowning. "Kagome, what day is it?"

"It's…" She paused. Her eyes widened. "Tomorrow will be the first day of the new month! Inuyasha-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Shove it." He trudged forward, marching on as he pushed past the girl. "It ain't gonna stop me. We got this far, didn't we? We can keep going."

I blinked, looking back-and-forth between them. "I'm so confused. Is Inuyasha's birthday coming? Ooh! Can I sing?" Excitement lit up in my eyes. "Happy early birthday!"

"It's not my birthday!" He snapped. "Just leave it alone. You'll find out what it is when it happens."

"O… Okay?" Rude. I frowned, slowing down and walking behind Kagome to get away from him. "So angry…"

I was starting to get used to his behavior, but it still hurt sometimes.

Shippō sighed from his spot on Miroku's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Irene. He's a bit defensive around this time."

"I am not defensive!" Inuyasha snapped. He then paused, sniffing the air for a moment before squatting down. "What's that…? Hmm." The half-demon lowered his face to the ground, sniffing the dirt. My eyebrows knitted together and I made face, noting how he looked more like a dog than ever. "That's Kagura's scent!"

"What's Kagura doing way out here?" Sango questioned. "Shouldn't she be at the castle?"

"I think she is." Inuyasha responded. He crawled forward, walking on all fours. It was… rather ridiculous. "It's in the same direction of Tsuzumi village. That leads to the castle, right? That means you guys were spot on! Let's go!"

The half-demon took off.

"Inuyasha, wait!" Kagome called out, hopping onto her bike. "Irene, climb on!"

"Uh, okay!" Shippō hopped into the basket and I climbed onto the back of Kagome's bike, awkwardly wrapping my arms around her waist as she started pedaling. Sango climbed onto Kirara after she transformed into her larger form, Miroku following suit. "Whoa!"

The school girl gave no warning when she sped up.

Unfortunately, about three hours later, we were brought to an abrupt stop at the sight of more statues and a familiar old man. Inuyasha dug his heels into the ground and Kagome hit hard on the breaks, all three of us on it letting out a shriek. Inuyasha had help catch the bike, setting it on the ground with ease, showing off his immense strength. Kakuju gave a start from the loud noise, turning to face us, and Sango and Miroku lowered Kirara down to the ground.

"It's you!" The old man said as I fumbled to get off the bike. "I'm glad you came here. There was something I wanted to give you."

"H-Hold on!" I held an arm out for Kagome to use to help get off the bike, the girl shaken from the event. Shippō was totally dazed as he sat in the basket. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so…"

"Um, do you guys know this old man?" Sango asked, not intending to be rude. "I think he's talking to you…"

"He's the one who awakened her Shikigami." Inuyasha explained. Miroku's eyes lit up in understanding, the monk removing himself from Kirara's back and stepping closer to view the older man. "Kakuju was the one who taught her how to use it."

"I see! You must be truly powerful!"

Kakuju turned in the direction of the voice, but didn't look directly at Miroku. "Yes… my, what a fortuitous coincidence this is. I was planning to give it to the priestess, but… this monk here should be able to help you make good use of what I have to give you, Irene."

"Me?" Miroku blinked. I stiffened, greatly uncomfortable with this new development.

"M-Miroku? You sure?"

"Yes." Kakuju walked forward, using his cane to help guide him, and stopped a few feet away from where Kagome, Shippō, and I were standing. He reached into his vest and pulled out a large pile of sutras, written and colored in red with a very familiar pentagram on them. "Take these and show him."

"Th-This is…" My eyes widened as I accepted the items. There was no doubt about it; this matched the burn on my leg completely. "I know this symbol."

"Yes; it's the symbol of the Shikigami."

Miroku walked over, knowing he was integral to this conversation. "May I have a look, Irene?"

"I-I guess so?" I held it out to him, very reluctantly allowing the monk to take it from me. "What are they?"

"These look like talismans." Miroku commented, not completely recognizing the design. "Will these work with my spiritual power?"

"Mm-hm. I added a little of my own magic to it, so it will give you both more power when you fight together."

"Thank you so much!" Miroku bowed his head in thanks. "I will use this gratefully."

Kakuju smiled. "You're more than welcome. I want nothing more than for that young girl to reunite with her family. I'm afraid I must go now, so until next time! Take care!" The old bowed his head and turned around, using his cane to help himself walk down the road. Shippō looked at me.

"He really seems to worry about you, huh?"

"I guess…"

Sango walked over, glancing over Miroku's shoulder to see the talismans. "That was nice of him. But why the interest? Is it just because of your Shikigami?"

I ruffled my hair, trying to figure out what Kakuju's aim was. "I've no idea! We met him in Akebi Village twice before. I don't know anything about him." It feels like he know something and he's refusing to tell us. That might be my paranoia speaking, but… something about him bothered me. "It's… weird. He kinda hinted that he was there when I first showed up in this place, too."

Miroku turned his head, frowning. "And yet he continues to help you? How strange. Still, I sense no ill will in this gift… so I can only assume Kakuju can be trusted. For now, anyway. What about you, Inuyasha, Kagome? What do you think?"

"I think he's sweet." Kagome answered, shrugging. "He's been really patient with Irene when teaching her how to use the Shikigami."

Inuyasha huffed. "I don't care one way or another. But it is thanks to him that Irene can actually be of use now."

"Sorry for being a sickly human." I muttered. Inuyasha's ear twitched at that, but he said nothing.

"Well, are we done here? Kagura's scent is trying to get away! Let's go, go, go!"

And so we returned to our earlier positions, travelling until nightfall. At this rate we would be able to get to Tsuzumi village in half the time, but the next day… didn't go to plan. At all. For some reason Inuyasha's nose wasn't working as well, so instead of being able to run and smell the air at the same time to catch scent he had to be on the ground at all times. His nose was practically pressed against the dirt.

"What's the matter, Inuyasha?" Shippō asked, frowning from his spot in the bike basket. "Isn't this the right direction?"

"Shut up! Stop yackin' and let me concentrate!"

Sango made a face, looking down at the half-demon and observing his strange antics. "Sniffing around on all fours won't get us any closer to the castle or Naraku, will it?"

The half-demon didn't respond, sniffing a couple more times before cursing. "Damn it all…"

"Is everything okay?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "You're not sick, are you?"

"I'm fine." He barked, "I just need a better angle."

Shippō sighed. "Maybe your nose just isn't working right now. Tonight is the first night, remember?"

"Yeah…" Kagome looked concerned. "The new moon."

Wait a minute. My eyes widened and I looked over at them, alarmed. "What's wrong with the new moon!? What does that have to do with Inuyasha?"

"The new moon…?" Sango inquired, realization slowly dawning on her face. Miroku frowned.

"That's right…" I looked over at them, waiting an explanation, and the monk continued to speak. "The night of the new moon is the one time where Inuyasha loses all his powers of a demon and becomes a mere mortal."

"...I'm sorry, what?"

"Do you have to go spillin' my secrets so easily!?" Inuyasha snapped, glaring at him from his spot on the ground. Miroku shook his head.

"You said yourself she'd find out eventually. I felt it best to inform her ahead of time, lest she stress herself out and become ill again."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Whatever." He proceeded to sniff the ground again. Kagome stopped walking and parked the bike, turning around to look at her half-demon companion. I was still trying to process what Miroku told me, wondering what he meant by mere mortal and if that meant Inuyasha would look less… otherworldly once nightfall hit. "Damn it!"

"Inuyasha, maybe we shouldn't do anything rash tonight." Kagome suggested, "Even if we get to Tsuzumi Village and are able to get to the castle, you can't fight without your powers! If Kagura is really at the village, then…"

"We made it this far!" He retorted, moving forward slowly and sniffing the dirt. "I ain't backing out now."

"Let's get real! We can't do anything hasty."

I clapped my hands together, brain starting to hurt from trying to piece together the new information. "What do you mean he becomes mortal? He's a half-demon, right!? How does that work?"

I never got my answer. The wind picked up speed and Miroku's voice caught everyone's attention, the monk whirling around and pointing out, "Look! There's a cyclone!"

"Tornado!?" Why was everyone acting so calm? It's heading right towards us.

"It's coming this way…" Sango noted, hand tightening its grip on her hiraikotsu. As the cyclone came closer Miroku pushed himself and Sango back, and I let out a small shriek and jumped behind Kagome. Inuyasha wasn't as fortunate and was completely run over by it, the tornado digging into his back and planting him hard into the ground. A gust of dirt kicked up and suddenly the strong wind disappeared, a young man taking its place as he stood close to the middle school girl in front of me. "Whoa!"

"Yo, Kagome…" The man purred in greeting. "It's great to see you again."

He had dark skin and long black hair, his blue eyes contrasting nicely with the rest of his features. His well-muscled legs were bare, save for the fur covering his hips and shins. Very old-fashioned armor covered his chest, and a sword was strapped to his waist. "Kōga!" Kagome exclaimed, surprised. "It's you!"

Sango and Miroku regained their bearings and approached Inuyasha, who was letting out a pained groan.

"Well," the young woman began, "that's what you get for sniffing around on the ground."

"Hey, mutt!" Kōga said, turning to look at the half-demon he ran over, "You followed the scent around here, too, did ya?"

Inuyasha huffed, shakily pushing himself up. He really was a lot weaker than before. "You mangy wolf…" He growled. Inuyasha finally managed to get himself onto his feet, reaching out to unsheathe his sword. "I'll kill you-!"

"Sit, boy!"

I flinched as Kagome said the word, Inuyasha planting his face hard into the ground. I think I heard something crack. Kōga grinned at the sight, looking quite pleased by Kagome's actions. Miroku stepped forward, "Kōga, did you come to find Naraku's castle as well?"

"Yeah…" The, very obvious, wolf demon nodded. "I don't know why, but I'm picking up strong whiffs of Naraku's foul stench. That never happened before."

"That's must mean-!" Sango began, eyes wide.

"The barrier around Naraku's castle has weakened." Miroku finished, frowning. Kagome snuck around Kōga, heading towards the half-demon. "We were heading in the right direction, after all."

"In any case," Kōga continued, "if I follow this scent I'll find his castle." The demon turned, closing his eyes with a warm smile as he- eh? What? His hands gently grabbed my own, holding them close to his chest. I froze, realizing very quickly he had no idea of his mistake. "Don't you worry, Kagome; I'll kill Naraku this time. I promise-huh?"

His eyes finally opened, the demon catching my scent and realizing my hands were smaller than expected, and he paused. Shippō made a face, commenting, "I know she's pretty, but I don't think Irene's your type. She can't see jewel shards."

"I-Irene? What?" Kōga shook his head, pulling away as though my skin was fire. I stepped back, but my heel hit the bike and I had to stop-cornered. Frick. "Hold on. Who the hell're you? I've never seen you travel with the mutt and his gang before!"

"Um… Sh-Shippō just told you my name?" I cowered slightly as he stepped forward, the demon's nose twitching he memorized my scent. This was weird. Uncomfortable. Please stop. "I-I, uh, was brought to Japan by Naraku so… trying to find him. Get some answers, you know?"

"What would Naraku want with a lousy human girl like you?"

"Hey!" Shippō jumped to my defense. "Irene's really powerful! She can heal and fight, and communicate with Shikigami Spirits!"

"Shiki-what? Ick. Like I care. But- hey, hold on." He sniffed the air again, leaning forward and practically pinning me to the bike. I was trapped. I turned my head, disturbed, running various scenarios through my head to figure out the best course of action. Should I kick him? Push him away? I hated confrontations. "Your scent is… familiar. Why is that?" Kōga narrowed his eyes, moving even closer. I was seriously tempted to raise my knee and hit him where it hurt. Did he never hear of personal space? "Do I know you from somewhere? Can't be though… I'd remember meeting a foreigner like you... oh! That reminds me; Kagome! I need your help with-"

"No, Inuyasha!" The wolf demon turned, tensing when he saw the way Kagome had her arms wrapped around the half-demon to hold him back. Inuyasha was about to tackle Kōga, the teen ready to fight him at any given moment. "Don't do it!"

"You can't stop me!" He snapped, struggling in her grip. It was startling to see how weak he was now. "I'm gonna settle this today, once and for all!"

Kōga stepped away, giving me some breathing room, and I promptly dashed to the other side of the bike and knelt down to hide from him. He freaked me out. "Hey, Shippō… what's happening? I thought he was friends with everyone… so why does Kōga hate Inuyasha so much?"

"Long story short, Kōga kidnapped Kagome once." He explained, sighing. The fox demon reached into Kagome's neon yellow backpack and pulled out a piece of candy, sticking it in his mouth and chewing. "He fell in love with her after and is determined to make her his, and since Kagome's so nice to him Inuyasha is mad. They view each other as love rivals. So now they fight each other constantly to try and win her over."

"Oh… that's stupid." I made a face. "What about her feelings? Did they not ask her what she wanted?"

Shippō shrugged. "Honestly, they're both morons."

I tuned back into the conversation happening in front of us, Kōga squatting down in front of the half-demon. The rage that was previously on his face was now gone, instead replaced by curiosity as he sniffed Inuyasha. Ah. So that was just his thing. Or maybe a demon thing? Inuyasha smell things and people a lot, too. Is it because they're canines?

"What's goin' on…?" Kōga asked, frowning, the wolf man genuinely confused. "Something's different about you… You don't smell like a mutt! Did you take a soak in the river or what?"

Inuyasha and Kagome blinked, alarmed. I shook my head incredulously, eyebrows raised, beginning to wonder if Inuyasha really was going to transform into a normal human. If even his scent is changing… gods, this place is so messed up.

"Hey!" Kōga suddenly snapped, standing up when he saw the way they two were clinging onto each other. "Don't get so close to my Kagome!"

As a result of this Inuyasha launched himself at the young girl, Kagome letting out a small yelp as his arms latched around her waist. The half-demon only clung tighter with a big grin on his face, watching as Kōga failed to pull him off. "What are you gonna do, you creep!?"

"Get-off-of-her!"

"Take it elsewhere!" Kagome shouted, trying to worm out of Inuyasha's hold. "I'm not a prize!"

Inuyasha shouted as Kōga grabbed onto his leg, nearly ripping it out of the socket.

Suddenly I could hear voices in the distance. It was hard to make out what they were saying, but squinting my eyes and standing I could see two young men- maybe my age or a little older- running at us. Accompanying them were several, very much real, wolves. Kōga blinked and turned, seeing them, and realization dawned on his face. "Oh, right. I don't have time for this."

He dropped Inuyasha, who had finally been removed from Kagome, and started to move away. Kōga waved at her.

"Later, Kagome!"

He flashed her a brilliant smile and then- in a gust of wind- disappeared in a cyclone. Inuyasha lifted his head up from his spot on the ground, scowling. "Are you running away again!?"

"Naraku's head is mine!" Kōga yelled, vanishing completely from sight.

"Please!" One the two men running past us cried. "Slow down! Kōga, wait for us!"

The man with the mohawk saw the black-haired middle schooler and waved as he passed by, "Oh, hello, Kagome!"

"Hi boys!" She greeted. The other man ran past, followed by the wolves.

"Can't stay and chat!"

Everyone else seemed so unperturbed by the wolves casually running by, chasing after Kōga. I, meanwhile, was pressed to the bike and hiding as best as I could from them in fear of being bitten by one. I did not have very good memories with dogs. But… these ones didn't seem very aggressive. Just… tired.

One in particular fell behind the rest. It slowed down into a walk and was about to pick up speed again when it saw me. It turned its head and walked over, and I stiffened as our eyes met. The wolf's nose twitched, let out a small noise, and then continued on with the rest of the pack. Hearing Miroku and Sango discuss whether we should follow and help Kōga, I shakily stood and cried out, "Can someone please explain to me what's going on!?"

"Huh?" Miroku blinked.

"What do you mean?" Sango turned, confused.

I hung my head, defeated. "Inuyasha can turn mortal? There's a dude named Kōga that's in love with Kagome? Who had kidnapped her before? ...Is Inuyasha literally just going to transform like some kind of magical boy or- what? I don't get it."

"I see." A familiar voice spoke then and we watched as Myoga the flea hopped off of Miroku's shoulder and onto Shippō's. "Irene; there is a lot that needs to be explained to you still. But Lord Inuyasha is only half-demon, with half-demon powers. Each child born to a demon and a human have a specific period of time where they lose those powers and the human blood in their veins take over, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Lord Inuyasha's period of vulnerability just so happens to be on the first of every month- where the moon is not visible."

"...Okay." My head hurt. "So… is the new moon the period for every half-demon? Or it just varies?"

"It varies."

"Right. But… how does the losing powers work? Will he still look like… you know." I raised my hands up to my head, trying to mimic the dog ears. Inuyasha scrunched his nose up at me, unimpressed by my antics. "Doggy?"

Sango had to suppress a snicker at that, while Miroku straight up smirked. Inuyasha shouted something indignantly, but I wasn't paying attention. Kagome reached up and pulled on his ear, saying something about how my description wasn't wrong. Myoga chuckled at my words. "You'll see soon enough, but no. Lord Inuyasha does not keep his current appearance. In fact, he looks even less like his father when he transforms."

I snapped my fingers, finally understanding. "Okay! So he literally turns human? No dog ears or anything?"

"Exactly."

I slumped my shoulders, letting out an exasperated sigh. "That's complicated. This world is weird. So, what? His hair will turn black or brown or something once night hits?"

"Precisely."

"And what about Kōga? Why'd he kidnap Kagome before?"

"Why don't we explain that while we search for a good place to make camp?" Miroku suggested. "The sun will be setting soon."

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