"What the fuck happened to your arm?!"

"What are you so worried about? It's just a few scratches." Kagome yanked her arm out of Inuyasha's grasp, stumbling backward and trying not to fall on her ass.

"It better not have been that piece of shit Koga," Inuyasha growled, advancing on her and reaching for her arm again.

She backed away a few steps and held the offending arm behind her back. "It wasn't. I haven't seen him since that first time at the grocery store."

"Well, then who the fuck was it?" He managed to get a hand on her elbow to bring her arm between them again. He wasn't rough with her, which was why she was easily able to pull away again.

"Don't worry about it. It was an accident anyway."

It had started the minute he saw her scratches. She didn't even get a hello before he had her arm in front of his face, sniffing at the injury like he would be able to smell whoever scratched her. For all she knew, he could, or would be able to if she hadn't showered since it happened. She really should have left the marks covered but she never imagined Inuyasha would react the way he was.

"I just need to know whose ass I have to kick for hurting you."

He'd shown a lot of concern for her safety since the Koga incident so she knew he had a protective streak. This was a bit ridiculous though. "You're not kicking anyone's ass, dog boy. If you have to know, it was Sango and it was an accident, like I already said."

That didn't seem to pacify him but he at least stopped trying to grab her arm. "Sango? Isn't she supposed to be your best friend? The fuck is she doing gouging your damn arm?"

"They're not gouges," Kagome argued.

"That's not the point. Those were deep enough to bleed at some point and If it was Koga, fuck, if it was anyone, I want to know so I can make sure it doesn't happen again."

"It's not like you can follow me around everywhere, Inuyasha. You're being ridiculous."

"How am I being ridiculous?" His voice escalated even further, punctuated by occasional growls. "There's a fucking murderer stalking you at grocery stores and you show up with your arm all fucked up. How the hell am I supposed to react?"

"How about you ask before jumping to conclusions? Do you really think I wouldn't tell you if Koga or some other asshole grabbed me in public? I'm not an idiot and I don't need you going all knight in shining armor on me just because I got a few scratches. " She probably could have worded that better but Kagome's patience was starting to run thin.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and his voice dropped to a dangerous rumble. "Whatever. Sorry for worrying. Next time I'll pretend I don't give a shit." He spun away from her but not before she caught sight of his ears drooping.

Well, now she felt bad. He was worried and he overreacted but given his current situation, she couldn't really blame him. "Inuyasha-" she tried but he cut her off.

"Don't. It's fine. You got that charm?" He turned back around and held his hand out.

"Look, I didn't-"

"I said it's fine."

It wasn't fine but he was clearly done with their conversation. Kagome dug in the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the now-charmed rosary. "Here," she said, handing it over. His fingers brushed hers and sent a little jolt of electricity down her arm that made her gasp. She looked up at him trying to gauge whether he felt it too but his face remained impassive, his expression distant.

He slipped the beads over his head, the white and purple standing out against the white shirt he was wearing under his jacket. Kagome watched his hair turn black, the color starting at the roots and flowing down his long ponytail. His furry white ears disappear, and human ears formed on the sides of his head. He held his hands up in front of him as his claws were replaced by regular human nails. He didn't open his mouth but she assumed his fangs were also gone.

"I don't feel any different," he said and reached up to feel for an ear. His hand waved above his head, unobstructed. "That's fucking weird. I can still hear like normal but I can't feel my ears."

Kagome studied his human appearance, taking in his dark eyes and hair, admiring how good the darker colors looked with his slightly bronzed skin tone. "Still hot, even as a human," she said offhandedly then realized she said it out loud. She turned away in embarrassment. "Uh...I guess it's time to head up then. We should get moving."

She started down the hallway, glancing over her shoulder once to make sure he was following. The ride up on the platform felt like it was going in slow motion. Inuyasha was fidgeting nervously and Kagome was trying not to stare at his human features. There was still an air of tension surrounding them, their unresolved argument hanging over their heads.

She led the way off the platform at the top and waited while Inuyasha watched everything slide back into place. "Haven't ever actually seen this entrance," he said. "It's pretty clever, the way he got the machine to work with reiki and yoki."

"How has it stayed working for so long?" Kagome asked. "Has it been here the entire time or…?"

"They installed it while I was sealed, I guess. I keep everything at the bottom oiled and maintained so we've never had any problems with it."

"Oh, I see. I guess my grandfather probably needed an easy way to get in and out as he got older."

Inuyasha snorted. "Old man was too stubborn for that. Probably just got tired of sneaking shit in the back way."

"There's a back way?" Logically, there had to be. Most of his furniture wouldn't fit down the well. She just hadn't thought about it before.

"Yeah. I'll show you the next time we're down there. I...I kind of want to get this over with."

"Oh, right. Sorry." She led the way out of the well house and across the shrine grounds toward the house.

Inuyasha looked around, his posture stiff and nose twitching. Had they been visible, Kagome was sure she'd see his ears swiveling in every direction. He stayed by her side and she caught him glancing down at her a few times, his posture relaxing a little when she smiled at him.

Somehow, she'd managed to convince him to forego his usual sweatpants and put on an actual pair of jeans for the occasion. It took a few arguments to coax him into a pair of sandals but he eventually relented. She just wanted him to be presentable. Just because mama took the news well didn't mean he was in the clear yet. She wanted him to make a good first impression.

The smell of her mother's cooking greeted them as they passed through the genkan and Inuyasha relaxed a little more, his stomach letting out a loud rumble.

Kagome giggled and poked him in the side. "Too nervous to eat this morning?" she asked.

"Hey, watch where you're poking, woman." He reached over and returned the poke. "How do you like it?"

She tried to retaliate but he beat her to it and started poking her sides, deftly maneuvering around her hands trying to swat him away. She tried to tell him to stop between giggles but his hanyo reflexes allowed him to deliver a relentless assault leaving her no time to breathe, let alone scold him. He stopped suddenly, yanking his hands back and cursing under his breath; they had an audience.

"You two look like you're getting along well."

"Mama," Kagome said, her face hot with the blush she was positive she was sporting. Inuyasha quickly straightened up and Kagome moved a few steps away from her accomplice.

"Well, don't just stand there. Lunch is just about ready and we still need to make introductions," her mother said and ducked back into the kitchen.

The pair exchanged glances but quickly looked away before making their way down the hall. Kagome entered the kitchen first and moved to the side so Inuyasha could stand next to her.

Inuyasha cleared his throat and asked, "Do you need any help, ma'am?"

Mrs. Higurashi paused and smiled brightly at him. "Well aren't you a gentleman. Thank you, dear, but I've got it. You two just take a seat and we can talk while we eat."

A few minutes later, the three were settled and introductions were started.

"I'm sure you've figured it out already," Kagome started, "but this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is my mother, Higurashi Mayumi."

"Nice to meet you." Inuyasha dipped his head slightly in greeting.

"Hello, Inuyasha. Kagome tells me you have quite the story. She wouldn't give me too many details. Something about you being kind of a secret."

Inuyasha chuckled nervously. "Yeah, it's...complicated. I'll tell you whatever I can though."

"Let's finish eating then we can worry about that. For now, you're a welcome guest in our house so don't feel nervous."

Well, so far so good. Though Kagome wasn't sure how well it would go when Inuyasha had to talk about Koga. She'd told her mother very little about Inuyasha's situation, opting to let him share whatever he was comfortable with. Her mother only knew that Inuyasha was the man from the journals, he was in hiding because of a past incident, that Inuyasha's father was friends with her grandfather, and that there was a fully furnished World War II bunker underneath the shrine that Inuyasha was staying in.

While they were eating, Kagome caught her mother casting suspicious glances between her and Inuyasha. She couldn't blame her, after the way she'd found them in the hallway. At this rate, everyone was going to think something was going on between them. First Miroku, then Shippo, and now her mother had all read way too much into the brief interactions they'd all gotten a glimpse of.

About halfway through their meal, Inuyasha got to meet Buyo, the lump of fur that was the family cat. For being a literal dog person, Inuyasha was quite the cat person. He took to Buyo quickly, petting the furball and slipping a few scraps of meat to his new buddy.

After cleaning up the kitchen, the three made their way into the living room to get comfortable. Kagome and her mother sat on the sofa and Inuyasha opted to kneel at the kotatsu facing the two women. Buyo, oddly enough, settled next to Inuyasha, rubbing against his leg before curling into a ball and falling asleep.

"Alright," Mrs. Higurashi started, "tell me everything you can."

Over the next hour, Inuyasha and Kagome went back and forth telling her mother about the last few weeks. They told her pretty much everything, from how she found Inuyasha, to the incident with Koga, to Kagome's discussion with Shippo. Kagome's mother sat patiently throughout, asking occasional questions but mostly keeping quiet.

"Can I see you without your concealment?" Mr.s Higurashi asked after they were done talking.

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome who shrugged her shoulders. It was up to him. Hanyo were common so revealing their features wasn't a big deal. He removed the rosary and Kagome got to watch his transformation in reverse. His ears twitched on top of his head and she found herself once again fighting the urge to reach over and rub them.

Her mother must have had a similar urge because she was on her feet and behind Inuyasha before Kagome could say anything. "Your ears are adorable!" she said as she reached out a lightly ran her fingers over the furry appendages.

Inuyasha, to his credit, handled it well. He only looked slightly panicked and he made no move to put a stop to the elder Higurashi's attention.

"Mama!" Kagome jumped up and tried to draw her mother away from Inuyasha's ears.

"What's going on in here?"

Kagome whipped around at the sound of her best friend's voice. "Sango! What are you doing here?"

"I left something here yesterday...Who's that?" She pointed at Inuyasha. "You get a boyfriend and not tell me, Kagome?"

"No!" Kagome said, a little too quickly. "He's a friend that I met recently. He just stopped over for lunch."

"Well, does your friend have a name?" Sango moved further into the room, her eyes glued to Inuyasha, still kneeling at the kotatsu.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha and he shrugged, leaving it up to her. "His name's Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is my best friend, Sango."

"Keh, she the one who messed up your arm?"

Kagome rolled her eyes; so much for good first impressions."Really, Inuyasha?"

"What?" he asked, ignoring her warning tone. "Is she?"

Kagome shot him a glare, choosing not to answer.

"How is your arm, Kagome?" Sango asked, glaring at Inuyasha and walking over to check her friend's arm. Kagome moved towards the sofa, putting a physical barrier between her two glaring friends. "Doesn't look too bad. It's not the worst injury you've gotten during one of your lessons."

"Tell me about it. I can't believe you haven't dislocated my shoulder yet." That probably wasn't the best thing to say at the moment.

Sango chuckled and Inuyasha looked slightly horrified.

Turning away from Kagome, Sango refocused on her original target. "So what are you, inu or neko yokai?" She glanced at his ears. "Mm, maybe hanyo, not yokai. It could go either way with those ears."

Inuyasha growled and flattened his ears to his head. "It's none of your fucking business."

"Oh, temper. That doesn't tell me much but I'm going to go with inu based on that growl." Sango gave the clearly agitated hanyo a smug look. "And definitely hanyo."

Kagome waved her hands in an attempt to diffuse the mounting tension. "Sango, you've just met him, go easy." She turned her attention to Inuyasha. "She doesn't mean anything by it, Inuyasha. She likes to...initiate people when she first meets them. You know, to make sure they can handle her."

"Keh, I can handle a little human woman. She just needs to mind her own fucking business."

"You wanna come over here and say that? I don't know who the hell you think you are" Sango said, stepping closer to Inuyasha, "but if you think her arm looks bad, wait till I get done with your face."

"Bring it, bitch!" Inuyasha shot to his feet, flashing his claws and fangs at the much smaller woman.

"Oh for...will you two knock it off?" Kagome said and maneuvered between the two potential combatants. They both stopped and looked at her but neither seemed to want to give up ground first. Kagome, figuring Sango would be easier to handle, grabbed her best friend by the arm and started to drag her towards the hallway then into the kitchen. She trusted mama would do something about Inuyasha.

Sango leaned down and started whispering in Kagome's ear as soon as they stopped. "I don't trust him, Kagome, he's giving me weird vibes. And what's he doing being all defensive of you when you said you guys just met?"

"It's been like a month so we didn't just meet," Kagome grumbled.

"A month!? How have you not said anything to me about him? How'd you meet him? Where's he from? Are you dating him?" Sango punctuated her last question with narrowed eyes.

Kagome threw up her hands defensively at the barrage of questions. "It's not like that. He's just a friend."

"Alright, I only kinda believe you. What about everything else? Where's he from and how'd you meet him? He's got quite the temper," Sango commented with a small scowl.

Kagome floundered, unable to answer any of the other questions. She was positive that Inuyasha could hear every word they were saying, being only one room away. What was she supposed to say?

Thankfully, she was saved by the timely arrival of her mother gliding into the kitchen.

"Are you two alright in here?" she asked, taking in the panicked look on her daughter's face.

"I just want to know about Kagome's new...friend," Sango said. "Nothing wrong with that. Can't a girl be concerned about her best friend's safety?"

Alright, Kagome had had enough. The implication that Inuyasha would ever hurt her made her stomach burn. This was her conversation with Shippo all over again. The poor man had been through enough, he didn't need people accusing him of being dangerous when he was just concerned about Kagome's safety.

A wave of protectiveness washed through Kagome, surprising her a little with its intensity. "Sango, I think you should go," she said. "We'll talk more about this later but if you're going to stand here and imply that Inuyasha is somehow dangerous when he's done nothing but show concern for my safety, then you don't need to be here."

Sango opened her mouth, probably to protest, but seemed to think better of it and stormed out of the kitchen instead. Kagome heard the front door slide shut with more force than necessary.

"Well that could have gone better," her mother commented. "I'm sure she'll cool off by tomorrow though." Mama always was the optimist.

Inuyasha joined them in the kitchen a few seconds later, concealment charm back on, looking sheepish and a little guilty. He looked to Kagome and she shrugged her shoulders, offering him a small smile.

"She'll be alright," Kagome said. "I was maybe a little harsh."

"Maybe this was a bad idea-"

"Don't, Inuyasha. It wasn't your fault," Kagome insisted. "It's just in Sango's nature to question people. We know literally everything about each other so it would be strange that I didn't tell her about you if these were normal circumstances. I'll talk to her when she's had a chance to calm down."

He let out a heavy sigh but didn't argue. "I should probably head back down. You've got the shrine to run and your brother is going to be home soon."

"Oh, it's alright," Mrs. Higurashi said. "We closed the shrine a little early today and Sota is going to a friend's house after school so he won't be back until dinner. Why don't we go outside for a bit? I'm sure you don't get nearly enough sun with your living arrangements."

Inuyasha tried to protest but he was outnumbered. Mrs. Higurashi didn't hesitate to take Inuyasha's arm and start dragging him out the door and to the large sacred tree that was the highlight of the shrine. They settled on the benches near the tree, Kagome sitting with her mother and Inuyasha taking his own bench. They spent a good part of the rest of the afternoon discussing living arrangements for Inuyasha. Just like Kagome predicted, her mother was insistent that he eventually move into the house.

"We have that spare room on the first floor that could easily be turned into another bedroom," her mother argued. "Plus, it would be nice having the extra muscle around the shrine."

"He knows his way around a kitchen too. His lunches are delicious," Kagome added, watching Inuyasha's cheeks turn pink hearing the small praise. "It's really not a bad idea."

"Oh, and he can help out if one of us needs to go somewhere while the shrine is open to the public."

"And I wouldn't have to go on an extra shopping trip every week."

"Perfect! Sota wouldn't mind having him around either, I'm sure"

"Definitely! And I wouldn't have to go into the dusty well house anymore!"

"Oi! I'm still sitting here ya know!"

Both women looked at Inuyasha and giggled. His fate was sealed.

A little while later, Kagome's phone rang. "It's Sango, I gotta answer this," she said before walking away.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kagome. Listen, I wanted to apologize for earlier. Is your friend still there?"

She glanced over her shoulder at Inuyasha, sure he was going to be able to hear every word of their conversation. "Yeah, he's still here."

"Oh, well, I don't want to interrupt you two again but I really wanted you to come over here for a bit so we could talk. I really do feel bad about what happened."

"It's alright Sango, I kinda over-reacted. I'll give you a call after he leaves and we can talk, alright?"

"Alright, that sounds good. I'll talk to you in a little bit then. Just...just be careful, ok?"

"Ok...um, I will...Is everything alright?" Sango sounded nervous and it was setting off alarm bells in Kagome's head.

"Yeah! Yeah, everything's fine. Just call me later, please."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later then. Bye, Sango."

"Bye, Kagome."

"Everything alright?" Inuyasha asked when she rejoined him and her mother.

"Yeah. Sango wants to talk so I told her I'd call her later. She worries too much."

Inuyasha looked worried and kagome was about to ask how much he heard but her mother started talking before she could.

"So, are we all agreed about Inuyasha's living arrangements now?" her mother asked, breaking some of the tension.

Inuyasha asked for a few weeks to acclimate before making a permanent move. He would slowly bring some non-essentials up and start getting the guest room in order. It was going to be difficult to move everything up the lift so Kagome offered to enlist Shippo for help with the bigger stuff. They could use the second entrance since they would have two people with yokai blood to move things, making the distance less of an issue.

Eventually, Kagome's mother excused herself to start dinner. Inuyasha and Kagome stayed outside a bit longer, sitting side by side on the little bench, enjoying the sunny day and chatting before he had to head back to his bunker.

"You sure everything is alright with you friend? I could uh...I could hear everything. Sorry." Inuyasha asked during a lull in the conversation.

"It's alright. I kind of figured you could anyway. And I don't know. That phone call was strange. I think she wanted to tell me something but she was worried you might overhear." Kagome sighed and started absentmindedly chewing her thumbnail.

"You shouldn't chew your nails like that." He reached over to gently pull her hand away from her mouth. She let him guide her hand to her lap, his touch light and lingering.

"Oh, right. I've been trying not to do it but most of the time I don't even realize it's happening." He still hadn't pulled his hand back and she had the sudden urge to increase their contact and lean against him. His shoulder looked like the perfect place to rest her head and it took quite a bit of willpower not to give in to the temptation.

"Keh, guess I'll just have to point it out so you'll knock it off, stupid woman." He finally pulled his hand away and she missed it immediately. It was getting harder to remember why she had to keep their relationship platonic.

"You're gonna have to spend a lot more time around me if you want to break that habit." He smirked and Kagome's eyes were drawn towards his mouth. She wondered if his lips were as soft as they looked. Her face warmed and she turned her head away to cough, trying in vain to reel in her thoughts.

"That shouldn't be too hard since we're gonna be stuck living under the same roof pretty soon."

She could almost feel his gaze on her as she turned her head back to look at him. His cheeks were pink, eyes half-lidded, and...were they this close together a second ago?

"Don't threaten me with a good time, dog boy."

"It's not a threat; it's a promise."

It would take such a small movement to close the gap between them. He was close enough that she could feel his breath ghosting across her lips. Her eyes started to close, completely of their own accord because there was no way she would consciously let herself do this.

I don't trust him, Kagome, he's giving me weird vibes.

Sango's words echoed in her head and Kagome stood up, effectively ending...whatever the hell they were doing. "Uh, sorry. Saw a spider." She said, brushing at her leg for effect. She heard Inuyasha's sharp intake of breath and instantly felt guilty.

"R-Right," Inuyasha said. "Need me to kill it for you?" He chuckled awkwardly, his attempt to ease the moment falling flat. "Guess I should...go back down or whatever. Don't want your brother to see me just yet."

"Yeah, gotta make sure the time is right for that."

He stood and they started towards the well, a tense silence stretching between them. Kagome kept telling herself that whatever had been happening, it couldn't go further. Inuyasha had a past, he had secrets, he was in hiding and he was in no position for...for anything.

That didn't stop the disappointment.

That didn't stop her from wishing they didn't have to stop.

That didn't stop her from hoping that one day they wouldn't have to.


Sango stormed through her house heading for her bedroom, still fuming over whatever the hell had happened at Kagome's. It wasn't like her to hide things from her friends and Sango was determined to get to the bottom of it.

She went straight to her computer, pulled up Google, and started typing. Inuyasha was a unique name and him being a silver-haired, dog-eared hanyo should make finding him even easier. Having his family name would have been ideal but she could work with what she had.

He wasn't difficult to find; it was the first search result. All she searched was 'Inuyasha hanyo' and the article jumped right out at her. It wasn't about Inuyasha specifically but his half-brother, Takahashi Sesshomaru. The article was about some legal dispute over his late father's property being left to Inuyasha, who was missing but not considered dead because he was a hanyo. Hanyo and yokai couldn't be declared dead as quickly as humans without a body because of their resilience, 50 years being the minimum threshold.

Which was good because Inuyasha was obviously not dead. His small faded picture that accompanied the article confirmed his identity. The warning bells were already going off in Sango's head when she got to the truly damning part of the article. She read and reread those few lines at least ten times before specifically Googling the murder of his father. The results weren't pretty.

Her best friend had managed to find and befriend a missing murderer. Not just any murderer, a man who had chased his father into the woods and shot him in cold blood. What the hell was Kagome thinking? She couldn't know about his past otherwise the bastard wouldn't be lounging in her living room, meeting her mother.

She read the second article again and again, weighing her options. She had to get Kagome away from Inuyasha without him becoming suspicious or he may do something drastic. Should she alert the authorities? No, Kagome may be charged with conspiracy if they thought she was hiding him. There was a private investigator with a special interest in the case mentioned in the article, a wolf yokai named Koga; maybe she should contact him.

Sango slammed her hand down on her desk, her thoughts racing. This couldn't wait, she needed to get that man away from Kagome and her family. Still thinking of what she might say, Sango pulled out her phone and called Kagome.

The conversation could have gone better. It worried her that Inuyasha was still there, making small talk with Kagome and her mother like he wasn't a fucking killer. She had to fix this, and fast.

Sango read the article one more time, taking in as many details as possible. There was another picture of Inuyasha attached, his gold eyes staring out at her menacingly from his mugshot. What could drive a man to murder his own father? And what it did to his poor mother...how could the man live with himself? She only hoped the truth didn't hurt Kagome too much.


"I'm growing tired of these pointless phone calls."

Koga was growing tired of dealing with this pompous ass, but sometimes you just gotta suck it up to achieve a common goal. "Whatever. I haven't been able to contact the Higurashi woman again. Either I was wrong about when she shops or she's avoiding me."

"She is probably avoiding you, a wise decision on her part." Sesshomaru sounded bored but then again, that was pretty much how he always sounded.

"Have you had time to go through those reports and photos?"

"Yes."

"Alright, and? What do you think?" Koga growled. He was about done dealing with dogs by now.

"I am beginning to think we have all been tricked into condemning an innocent man. We should discuss anything further in person. Are you available the next few days?"

"I'm gonna need more proof before I believe he's innocent but I can see where you're coming from. Just name the time and place and I'll be there."

"Two days, meeting place three, 9:oo pm. I will be bringing Jaken as I have other matters I wish to discuss with you."

"Fine, whatever. See you then, bastard."