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Itty Bitty Pretty One

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The feather and the woman on it flew with incredible speed as Emi followed along from a safe distance. That woman was after the potion. She had to be. But that scent. The scent of the old woman seemed to follow her. HER! That strange woman on the feather. There was something wrong there. Very wrong. Oh, she'd searched for the old woman initially in the hopes that there would be some type of explanation but when the scent began to fade, Emi had no choice but to chase after the strange woman soaring effortlessly through the sky.

"That scent," Emi whispered to herself as she ran, "It couldn't be. That woman was real. She was alive. It's not like there's any way to…"

Slowing her stride for a second, a sickening realization hit her. It was possible for someone to appear alive and real when they were actually dead. That miko that the monk and slayer had warned them about. And the more she thought about it, a regular human wouldn't have been able to sense her. Plus it was all a little too convenient. Too specific.

"No," Emi gasped as her eyes widened in horror and she stared after the feather that was growing farther into the distance and with a determined look, Emi took off full speed as she growled out a menacing, "NO!"

It was that woman. All along it had to have been that woman. How else could she know the location? Which meant that the potion was probably a trap. Poison or worse. They wanted her to give it to him and when she'd left it behind, they must've decided to do it themselves. She had to stop her. Panic shot through her veins as the woman began her descent. Even if she managed to get there, the woman would be gone long before she'd be able to stop her. Pausing, Emi's chest heaved erratically before she sprinted off in the direction of the village where the half-demon lived. She might not be able to get the potion but she might get there in time to warn them.

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"Pathetic," Kagura scoffed as she removed the small bundle from the tree and lifted the small cloth to reveal the vials inside, "All these games. Why not just kill them and be done with it?"

With a heavy sigh, she placed the covering back onto the bottles and tucked it securely in her arms. Now the tricky part would be to get those fools to eat it themselves. Perhaps if she managed to put it into their water or even, perhaps, their food? But how to accomplish such a thing. It was unlikely they'd allow her into their home. Unlikely? No. Impossible. Even if she did claim to be an ally like she had in the past, they'd never allow her to step foot into the village. No, another dead body was needed. A fresh familiar face.

Grinning evilly, Kagura straightened herself up and looked towards where she last saw that half-demon and her pathetic so-called family. That boy would do quite nicely. The girl would be too suspicious but the child? Oh, those morons would take him in with open arms.

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"Come to bed," Kagome sighed exasperatedly from underneath the covers, "You've been all over the place all day. You ended up in bed last night, you might as well just come over here already."

"No," Inuyasha grumbled miserably as he tried to adjust himself more comfortably against the wall, "I always sleep like this. I'll be fine."

He was not fine. Sleeping upright was all fine and good when he was a hanyou but as a human, he found it ridiculously uncomfortable. The thought of the soft, warm fluffiness of the mattress was like a sirens call – something that he wanted more than anything but something that would end in certain death. She might not have noticed last night and he might have been able to deal with the problem today but who knows about tomorrow? He was having trouble regulating everything from his appetite to his moods and it kept getting worse rather than better. This is why he hated being human. It was like being trapped in a cyclone of repressed emotions. It felt like every bad thought, memory and emotion that had ever passed through his mind believed this was their moment to shine. Every time he'd called Kagome names. Every time someone called him names. Every time he almost died. Every time someone tried to kill him. The day he lost his mother. The day Kikyo sealed him to a tree. The first time he turned human.

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"Master Jakken, when do you think Lord Sesshomaru will be back?" Rin asked softly as she sprawled out atop the two headed dragon, "He's been gone for a long time."

"Silence stupid girl," the imp hissed back, "Lord Sesshomaru has matters of important business to deal with. Its none of your business."

Rolling her eyes, Rin giggled slightly before propping herself up on one elbow, "Yes but how much longer do you believe our Lord will be gone?"

"How should I know?!" Jakken clipped back, "Now silence!"

"Rin is hungry, Master Jakken," Rin whined softly as she slid off the dragon's back, "She is going to find something to eat."

"No you don't!" Jakken snapped angrily as he marched up to the slightly taller girl and glared her down, "You will stay here, Rin! If you wanted to eat, you should've eaten when there was daylight. I'm not going to be punished when you get hurt or abducted, again!"

"Rin will be fine, Master Jakken," Rin pouted as she moved effortlessly past the huffing kappa, "She won't go very far."

"RIN GET BACK HERE!" Jakken screamed in exasperation as she skipped off merrily into the darkness and he took chase, "RIN! RIN!"

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A dark cloud hovered over his head as he sat with his back against the wall. Kagome had invited him, again, to share her bed and while he wasn't opposed to the idea, memories of that morning stopped him from readily agreeing. He did not want or need a repeat performance. He'd rather be sore and tired in the morning than endure that level of hormones rushing through his veins. That dark memory wasn't the only one racing through his mind at the moment. He questioned how someone like her could love someone like him. Every mean thing he'd ever said to her playing on loop whenever she smiled at him. Every time he'd been mean to the monk, or the slayer or the kit reverberated through his skull. All those years of isolation. The fact that if he remained human he'd never be able to protect himself much less anyone else ever again. He'd be alone. He was sure of it. He'd be left behind. He was a burden. Something that would be a hindrance.

But...but it wasn't all bad. At the same time all that bullshit was racing through his mind, all the good thoughts would chase after them and vice versa like a never ending race that sent him reeling. Those dark repressed thoughts would be followed by ones of Kagome's smile, her telling him she loved him, his other friends in the feudal era, the fact that he had friends, that he wasn't alone anymore….that he was human now and couldn't protect them, that he was an asshole, that his brother hated him….that Kagome loved him anyway….that she did say she loved him as a half-demon and now he was human….and so the cycle continued.

"Just go to sleep," he repeated miserably as his chest grew tight and he let out a shuddering breath as he closed his eyes, "I'll be fine."

"Well if you won't come up here, I'll go down there," Kagome countered as she lifted the blankets off the bed and cocooned herself in them before moving to settle on the ground, "You've been all over the place and I don't want to leave you alone. Plus…well, I enjoyed cuddling with you last night."

"Get back up there woman," Inuyasha groaned as Kagome settled down beside him and rested her head on his shoulders, "This ain't comfortable."

"More reason for you to have joined me on the bed," Kagome teased playfully as she scooted into a more comfortable position, "but you didn't and here we are."

"You're impossible, you know that right?" Inuyasha snorted as he glanced down at her, "I'll be fine. You don't need to do this."

"I want to," Kagome countered with a happy sigh as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, "And you make a good pillow anyway."

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha rested his cheek atop her head for a moment as the corners of his lips twitched upwards, "And nothing I say is going to make you go back up there, huh?"

"I'll come with you might," Kagome cooed as her hand made an appearance and she intertwined his fingers with hers before giving them a gentle squeeze, "But I like this. I like being near you."

"I'll never understand women," Inuyasha chuckled playfully before sighing heavily and making to stand up, "Fine. Come on then. We'll go to the bed. You're gunna hurt yourself trying to sleep like this."

Grinning from ear to ear, Kagome was on her feet and eagerly leading him towards the inviting look space in no time. As they settled, Kagome coyly bit her lip before leaning over and pressing her lips firmly against his. For a moment he fought it. A very, very brief moment before he gave in and returned the peck eagerly. Their lips engaged in a battle for dominance and only stop when Inuyasha heard himself make a very embarrassing whimper when she pulled away. Chest heaving erratically, he averted his eyes and pushed her away slightly before turning away from her.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked quietly in between soft panting breaths, "I...I thought…"

"We should get some sleep," Inuyasha mumbled miserably – too embarrassed with himself to admit what was wrong, "We should…"

The ability to formulate a coherent thought fled his body as Kagome's lips gently pressed against his throat in a pleasurable form of torture that had him whimpering all over again and his body writhed gently under his ministrations.

"Stop…" he finally managed to moan softly, "I…I can't…it's…mmmm."

His mouth and mind seemed to be at an impasse however for the moment she tried to pull away his hand flew up to stop her.

"I thought you wanted me to stop," Kagome breathed against his skin – causing him to emit a faint shaky sigh, "So either you need to let go or let me continue."

"Kagome," he whined softly as his hand forced her lips back against his neck. As she pressed her lips against him once more, a brusque intake of breath was her reward as he resigned himself to this fate.