Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

:00:00:

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around himself as he trudged through the snow, looking around. His parka kept out the worst of the cold, but it couldn't keep out all of it, and he was still chilled to the bone. Not to mention, he had no hat; his ears, located in a place he had never (until now) thought of as impractical, were on the verge of freezing.

But that didn't matter. What did matter was that soon, it would be over… not just this long trek through the forest, surrounded by falling snowflakes, but the whole ordeal that had been his life until now. It would end… he had finally found the way, his own way, to make it better once and for all.

He could live a normal life, in a normal place, with no more heartache and cruelty… a normal life, with normal people… and most of all, with the one person he truly cared about… Kikyou.

He grinned despite the dropping temperature, teeth chattering slightly. Soon…

:0:

Furious amber eyes regarded the small, faintly pinkish sphere that sat incongruously upon the white snow. Blood streaked the hand that reached out for it once more—and was immediately repelled by a flash of harsh light.

:0:

Through the dark shapes of leafless trees, he finally came to the clearing that had been agreed upon. It felt strange, being in the forest he still considered his own while wearing human clothing. It felt strange being in the clothing at all… he had grown accustomed to his loose-fitting bright red haori, the one he'd grown up wearing out of both convenience and necessity. He smiled both in anticipation and amusement. Guess now I'll have to get used to these clothes…

He could hardly stand still in the clearing, looking around at the shapes of the trees surrounding him as if for the last time. After all, it could very well be...

Suddenly a branch broke off a tree behind him. He turned, smiling as he saw who it was. "Kikyou."

He was confused when she didn't smile in return, instead regarding him with some indecipherable emotion in her brown eyes. She wouldn't look him straight in the eye, instead simply watching him and shifting her gaze every time he tried to meet it.

"Kikyou, what…"

Uncertainty flashed across her features, and she wavered slightly as she stepped forwards. Inuyasha frowned, thoroughly bewildered, and tried to meet Kikyou's eyes again, moving towards her. If she needed help… "Hey…"

Suddenly she raised her arm, stopping him, and he sighed in a sort of relief—so she was going to do it after all, she would purify him… eliminate the trouble of his warring blood once and for all. The plan would go through… they could live on together, two humans, away from all the havoc his existence had caused. He waited for the glow of her miko powers, the glow that would tell him she was starting the job, relief rising again within him.

The glow never came. He didn't even notice the gun that was in her hand until after she had fired it.

The pain didn't come until several seconds after he had felt the blow of the bullet. He looked down at where his parka suddenly sported a ragged hole—small and almost innocent-looking. Then the blood began to flow, soaking through the fabric of his coat in a growing black stain. He looked back up at Kikyou and found that he didn't have enough breath left to speak.

Kikyou was still holding out the gun, still pointing it at him, but the grim mask that had been her face was gone. Her teeth were clenched and she was shaking badly, staring at him through brown eyes that were shimmering oddly in the moonlight. Suddenly she lifted both of her hands and made a sharp gesture. Her own blood flew in droplets, and she pulled her hands apart to reveal a small, glowing pink orb.

Her mouth moved, and tears began to come, but he couldn't hear a single word she said through the sound of the wind. It filled his ears, filled his head, a roar that drowned out all other sensation.

Abruptly the world began to fray apart at the edges, but he kept his eyes trained on her, on Kikyou. It seemed almost as though a dark shape was forming behind her… darker than the night sky, darker than the shadows that stretched across the dirty, now pink-tinged moonlit snow… darker even than the horror that brought him first to his knees, then to his side, and finally dragged him into unconsciousness…

:0:

Kagome approached the edge of the clearing slowly, warily, and stopped once she could see into it. There were more youkai lying dead around the clearing, at least five, just as horrible and inhuman than the first, but she couldn't focus on them... for in the centre…

Miroku looked into the clearing, taking in all that it contained—it seemed that he had been right in guessing that Inuyasha had been the one who had killed the youkai, the blood coating the hanyou's hands could not all be his—though with the fact that the hanyou's bandages were soaked through with blood, it was not as easy to tell as it could have been… but upon seeing the smallest, yet perhaps most important detail within the clearing, it felt as though the ground had dropped away from beneath Miroku's feet.

"The… the Shikon no Tama!" he gasped out, staggering back a step. Inuyasha's ears twitched as he heard Miroku's voice, and he turned.

"M… Miroku?" he said. Kagome, upon seeing the tiredness in his eyes, ran forwards on instinct, and he jumped backwards.

"Get away from me, bitch," he spat, landing hard on all fours in the snow, looking for all the world like a cat at bay. "I don't need this getting any more complicated than it is!" Blood dripped onto the snow beneath him, sinking in and being rapidly replaced by more.

"Than what is?" said Kagome, puzzled. She took another step into the clearing, horror slowly filling her gaze as she saw that his entire front was covered in the red liquid.

"Miss Kagome! Don't!" cried Miroku from the edge of the clearing, where he had recovered enough to see what she was doing. "That jewel… it's very powerful! If you get too close to it…"

Kagome looked down. There was a small sphere a few feet away, just lying there in the snow. It seemed to be glowing faintly. As she watched, Inuyasha made another attempt to lift it—his fingers slid smoothly off it as light crackled around him. He glared up at her but made no move to attack this time—in fact, he'd stopped moving altogether.

She frowned down at it. "That?"

"Yes," said Miroku. Steeling himself, he walked out into the clearing, sighing in relief when the jewel did nothing. Apparently there was some sort of shield over it, one that not only prevented Inuyasha from touching it but also isolated it almost completely from the outside world. Now, if they could figure out what sort of shield it was… If he had the Shikon no Tama, he might be able to get the thing to… well, to change. The force it represented was dangerous enough, and apparently it was impossible to destroy, but if he could alter it… perhaps it would be a sort of vengeance, against what had killed his father. Not a person, but…

"Hm," said Kagome. It was apparent that this jewel was the reason for Inuyasha's coming to the clearing. Or at least, it was his immediate reason. But looking at him—bloodied, panting, sagging against the ground as he watched her—she couldn't leave him here. Problem was, if he'd killed all those youkai, he was probably still strong enough to put up a fight if she tried to get him to come back—and, it seemed, crazed enough to actually do some harm. Unless she could give him some sort of incentive…

Her mind made up, she walked further into the clearing. Inuyasha stumbled to his feet and tried to lunge at her, claws out; Miroku yelped and ran forwards, intercepting him before he reached Kagome and pressing him back to the ground, pinning him to the snowy ground.

"Don't fucking touch it, bitch!" Inuyasha yelled as he fought to stand up against Miroku's grip on his shoulders. "It's mine!"

"I would have to advise the same," said Miroku, his voice slightly strained. He turned his head to watch her. "That jewel isn't safe for…"

Kagome, reaching the jewel, hesitated for only a second before bending down and picking it up. It didn't react in the slightest.

:00:00:

It was hot in the brightly-lit Upper Room. The wintery sunlight, always slightly brownish in the inner city, glared off the polished desk beside the windows… the room was emptier than one would expect the center of the nation's politics, its furniture consisting of the desk, a high-backed chair with a somewhat threadbare red cushion laid across its seat and two other chairs near it, as well as several filing cabinets arrayed near the walls. The heating had been turned up far too high, probably at some point during the night—the winter's chill had a tendency to pass right through thick walls. However, that had been amply compensated for—overcompensated, in fact. The room's three current occupants were less than comfortable at the moment—the aforesaid occupants consisting of two politicians, and a single male secretary.

Sarushiro Tono had large beads of sweat rolling down his face, soaking into the collar of his white formal shirt as he sat stiffly in the high-backed chair. No matter that he was, at the moment, the most powerful man in the nation. The secretary, a man currently calling himself Waka had no doubt that Tono's discomfort was due mostly to nervousness.

"Sir," said the third person, a little nervously as well, "Pardon any disrespect, but I think an explanation might be helpful."

Tono's face blanched, and Waka smirked from his position in a chair set beside the desk. He knew the man's thoughts as clearly as if he could read them—after all, it was he who had put them there. It was no struggle not to smirk, as he was used to keeping his emotions concealed, but he did want to.

"Explanations are unnecessary at the moment," said Tono, covering up for his lack thereof. He put on a blustery façade. "There is only the simple question of whether or not you will do as I ask."

"But sir," said the Health Minister, a little desperately now, "there just isn't any reason I can see to cut back the funding for the health care system! It's already strained, and besides that, we're severely understaffed! Because of the cutbacks to Research, we don't know a thing about the new diseases we've had reports of… and people aren't coming! Mr. Sarushiro, I'm not sure whether you understand our situation, but people are losing faith in our system, and that's the first step to a dissatisfied population!" He was squinting at Tono—the window was directly behind the other man, and it no doubt interfered with his sight.

Waka could see the strain shining through the sweat on Tono's face. Tono knew better than anyone what a dangerous position he was in. After all, he was the one who had worked for many long years towards the betterment of the country, learning all that he could about its management, its people, its economy… But those days were over now. Waka grinned to himself, inwardly, as the man continued to squirm. He was happier, now, than he had been earlier. Watching people in distress had that effect on him. Satisfaction… no, not quite yet.

The smug feeling was replaced quickly with annoyance, as he recalled the events that had preceded this meeting. His life as Waka the secretary was not the only identity he held. And a plan of his, a very important one… no, the most important, had just been demolished as surely as if he had crushed it with his own two hands.

It was gone. Forever out of his reach. Why he hadn't simply gotten the girl to hand it over at the beginning, purity or no…

Stupid, stupid… he cursed himself. But I'll have it yet. Idiot human girl… miko or no, I will have it yet.

Tono was attempting to form a reply, managing not to stammer as he did so. That surprised Waka mildly, as he watched. He had expected him to stutter, to fall over his own words.

Another wry grin. He'd underestimated his own puppet.

Though not by much. It was taking a long time, too long, and the Minister of Health was beginning to watch Tono with confusion. Waka smiled at his own cruel joke, inflicted on the hapless politician, as he recalled the conversation that had preceded the meeting…

:0:

"You'll do it," snarled Waka, belying his innocent secretarial appearance as he seemed to tower over the older man. "You will do this for me, or your mind will be crushed like the fragile thing it is—and you know I will do it."

Tono fairly whimpered, cringing beneath the furious gaze. Waka smiled to himself, even as he tried to hold onto his rage—the anger at his ruined plans could be put to good uses every so often, and he would hold onto it as long as possible. Though his glee at Tono's discomfiture was making it difficult…

"I will," sobbed Tono, dropping to his knees. "I'll tell him, I'll ruin the city… the country… what are you making me do?" he cried out suddenly, looking up. "why are you making me do this?"

"Shut up," said Waka, annoyed. He was still able to question him? Obviously he wasn't frightened nearly enough. He put a small amount of pressure on the man's mind, as easily as squeezing his hand, and Tono dropped back. "It is not for you to question me."

"Will you…" Tono panted, his face ground into the floor as if he couldn't move it away—which he probably couldn't, yet. "Will you at least give me an explanation? He'll want a reason… I have to give him one…"

"Make one up," said Waka, sneering as he turned away. "Now go. I'm sure he's waiting for you."

He heard Tono's gasping breaths as the man got up, and the sound of scraping footsteps, rapidly gaining speed until he was sure that the politician was running. Much as he would have liked to turn and watch the older man flee in terror, he kept his body averted. Stupid, he thought. What a stupid man…

:0:

Of course, that stupidity served its purpose now. It provided ample amusement for Waka— and there was no worry that Tono would carry out the order, in the end. The funding would be cut, whatever the argument the Minister of health put up. Tono, despite being under the thrall of Waka, nonetheless was a very powerful individual.

"We don't have enough of a budget to support public funding any longer," said Tono. "I can't go on giving funds to these services—it's putting an immense strain on out treasury."

"That's no reason for it!" said the Minister of Health. Whatever else he was, he was certainly passionate, Waka noted. "There is no conceivable reason for putting the people's safety at risk—no excuse for endangering lives! As we speak, people are dying in our hospitals because we haven't been getting the support we need. If it goes on any longer, we face a crisis, Sarushiro, and that's a fact."

Waka began to wonder whether he ought to find a way to get the Minister out of his way. He didn't particularly need to cripple the health care system… it had been his way of venting on Tono. But it was certainly annoying, to have this man seem to be winning against his puppet.

Idiot, he thought, unable to keep a faint frown from crossing his face. Tono picked up on it, and began to panic—but before Waka could even properly enjoy the moment, something in the back of his mind tingled…

It was a sensation he'd felt only the night before, but it still felt so alien to him he nearly missed its relevance as it began to fade. I can feel it again! he thought, mind suddenly coming alive. It's still there… we are still bonded!

"I am sorry, Sir Sarushiro, Minister… I need to leave the room for a moment," he said politely, standing up and pushing aside the papers he'd been pretending to peruse. Tono looked over at him, the whites of his eyes shining against his now-flushed face.

"Y-yes, Waka. You may leave," he said, beginning to stammer now. Waka took a moment to enjoy the sensation of the other man's fear as he bowed and left the room.

He recalled the sensation from earlier as he stepped into the much-cooler hallway. The pulse of power, a flare in the aura he was so familiar with… it was far away still, so far that as the power faded it vanished from his senses completely, but the bond was still there. Still working…

It's been found, he thought, as he walked swiftly along the hallway. It's been discovered, and the shield that thrice-accursed wench placed on it is gone…

He allowed a smile to cross his face. It will be mine… the Shikon no Tama…

:00:00:

Miroku gaped, his grip slackening. If Inuyasha had at that moment tried to make his escape, he probably could have. But the hanyou simply lay where he was, staring at Kagome in shock.

"Well?" said Kagome, holding the jewel up. It was slightly warm against her fingers despite the fact that it had been sitting on snow for quite some time.. Miroku had said it was dangerous… well, she hadn't believed him, and this ought to have been the confirmation…. But now that she'd picked it up she could feel its power, tingling against her fingers, and she knew that if she'd wanted to, she could make it dangerous. But not towards her. Never towards her… "Let's go!"

"How did you… how did you do that?" demanded Inuyasha, lurching to his feet and still staring at her. Miroku stood behind him, ready in case anything happened.

Kagome shrugged. "It doesn't matter," she said, beginning to walk away. "Come on! We've got to get back to the car."

"Car?" said Inuyasha, somehow managing to make the word seem strange and foreign-sounding.

Kagome paused and started to turn, her incredulous look already in place, but Miroku came up from behind Inuyasha and began to push him forwards, one hand on his arm. Inuyasha tore his arm from the other's grasp and stumbled forwards on his own, past Kagome, who had to hurry to catch up.

Miroku watched his childhood friend with concern. If he had used youkai speed to get here, he certainly had none left with which to get out. As he watched, Inuyasha stumbled slightly, nearly falling before he caught himself on a tree.

Kagome reached him just as he was pushing himself away from the icy trunk that was supporting most of his weight. He tried to take another step but the moment he left the tree he began to fall forwards again. Kagome caught him.

"Idiot," she said. "You should know better than to do something stupid like that."

"Like what?" he snarled at her, trying to push her hands away. "Like picking up the fucking Shikon no Tama without even knowing what it does?"

"Well at least it didn't half-kill me," said Kagome, "which is more than I can say for you!"

He paused, at a loss for words, and Kagome began to walk forward, still holding him up.

"You're really very stupid aren't you," she said, ignoring his feeble protests. "I mean, it doesn't take a genius to know that you're really badly hurt, and for you to run off on your own is a pretty dumb move. Not to mention that it's the middle of winter, and you run off without even taking the time to get a shirt on or something… I mean, that's pretty crazy! And then there's you even getting shot in the first place…"

He stopped walking. She turned to look at him, startled, as Miroku caught up to them.

"Are you suggesting something?" said Inuyasha softly. He seemed to be looking at the ground—his bangs hid his eyes from view, so she couldn't be sure.

Kagome frowned, realizing the dangerous ground she was treading on—figuratively as well as literally. "Well, I suppose…" she paused. "I guess… I mean, you must have done something in order to be in that sort of situation in the first place, right?"

Inuyasha didn't reply. Suddenly he drew in a long, shaking breath—and dropped to his knees.

"Oi!" Miroku reached out and held him from behind as Kagome looked on, startled. Miroku looked up at her urgently. "We have to get him to the car! Quickly!"

Inuyasha batted his hand aside and tried to stand. "Shut up," he said. "I'm not some sort of… of invalid." He spat out the last word, then sank to his knees once more.

Kagome sighed. "Well, you've got to come anyway. And if you can't walk on your own, then we'll have to help you. It's that simple, Inuyasha."

He was quieter after that. It was a relief, but it still worried Kagome—he was almost too passive, allowing himself to lean heavily on Miroku as they made their way through the woods. Miroku had removed the pink coat, gloating inwardly despite the seriousness of their position, and draped it around Inuyasha's shoulders, and Inuyasha hadn't made a single remark. The only movement he had made aside from the walking was to put an arm around his still-dripping bandages. Luckily, whatever things he'd been fighting earlier didn't attack any more... Perhaps he'd beaten all of them, or maybe whatever had drawn them was gone. Miroku didn't bother trying to feel for the jewel's presence, though he knew he probably ought to... there were other things to concentrate on at the moment.

Reaching the car took almost twice as long as had the journey into the woods. The first trip hadn't really been very long at all, perhaps only a minute or so, but it seemed like an eternity before Kagome could see the road, and Miroku's small blue car parked at the side. It had begun to snow lightly, tiny snowflakes drifting down from the sky and between the bare branches of the ice-encrusted trees.

When Miroku pulled open the door to the car's back seat Inuyasha snapped out of the daze he'd fallen into. "What the hell?" he demanded. "What are you doing?"

"This is my car," said Miroku patiently, talking slowly as if to a small child. "I am going to put you into the car, and then we will leave this place." Kagome was already getting into the back seat, moving to the far side to make room for Inuyasha and grimacing as she avoided the blood.

"How the hell does that work?" said Inuyasha, resisting as Miroku tried to push him towards the car's open door. "I'm not getting inside that thing!"

Miroku sighed. It was becoming more obvious with each passing minute that Inuyasha really didn't know a lot about the world. The mystery was deepening… not just what had happened to Inuyasha, but what sort of life he'd led after Miroku had moved away. "Inuyasha, the car will not eat you… it is in fact not even alive. There is no way it can possibly harm you. Now please, just get in!"

"Hell no!"

Kagome leaned over impatiently and seized his wrist, pulling on it. "Come on," she said impatiently. "This is the fastest way to get home, so just cooperate for once!"

Inuyasha was pulled into the car with a muffled yelp. He scrambled upright in his seat immediately, holding his nose. "It stinks!" he said.

Miroku got into the driver's seat. "That's one thing that I can attribute to you," he said, starting the car. Inuyasha jerked in his seat and pressed himself up against the door.

"What the hell is this thing?" he yelped, clutching the edge of the seat as the car began to move.

Kagome eyed him, confused. Something was amiss here…

"It's my car," said Miroku, getting more impatient with each passing second. "Now please sit still, you're bleeding all over the seat... again."

He made a U-turn and began to drive back to Aneston. The snow of the night before had by this point been washed away entirely, and the new snow hadn't yet contributed enough to actually worsen the driving conditions. While the car sped along, Kagome watched Inuyasha as if by doing so she could unravel the puzzle that he posed. He stared out the window at first, wide-eyed and ignorant of her gaze, but soon seemed to tire of that and slumped against the side of the car—still ignoring her, though whether that was intentional or not was impossible to determine.

This is really weird, she thought, fingering the Shikon no Tama in her coat pocket. One minute, I'm just living my normal life… and now there are youkai coming into the picture! And what about this jewel? And… and Inuyasha…

Who is he?

As for Inuyasha, he was growing steadily more muddled. The almost overpowering scent of his own blood filled the air, clouding all the rest of his senses. The heat within the car made it worse, mingling it with the scents of Kagome and Miroku as well, and then there was the stench of the car itself, a burning chemical scent that added a stinging bite to all the other smells. At first he tried to block it out, leaning heavily against the window, but as they neared the outskirts of the town it became impossible. It was hard to do so much as think, as his head began to spin gently, and a wave of nausea began to sweep through his entire body…

"What the hell is this thing?" he said again, trying to sit up weakly.

Kagome watched him briefly, nonplussed. "Come on, we're almost there Inuyasha," she said, as the car passed a sign marking the edge of Aneston. "See? In a minute or so we'll be home."

"'S not it," he mumbled, curling in on himself. "Feel… sick…"

Carsick? It took Kagome a moment to think her way around that. How would he know about motionsickness? Unless…

"Miroku! Pull over!" she yelped suddenly, leaning forwards in her seat. The car swerved again, grinding to a halt in the slush that lined the edge of the road. Kagome reached around Inuyasha to open the door and all but shoved him out of the car.

He landed hard on his hands and knees and retched immediately, bringing up the broth he'd eaten that morning and thankfully little else. Kagome scrambled out of the car and stood carefully beside him, holding his long hair out of his face while he heaved.

Miroku sat in the driver's seat, not seeing any need to get out. Who'd have guessed that a hanyou could get carsick? he thought with morbid amusement. Though this is hardly the time to be finding out…

Inuyasha rubbed a hand across his mouth, panting. Out in the open air once more, the nausea had vanished without a trace, but not before that rather humiliating display of weakness. Stupid sense of smell! he thought furiously. "Ugh…"

"Are you all right?" asked Kagome as he sat back carefully. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak at the moment.

"You'll have to get back in the car, though," she said. "I'm sorry… it's the only way to get back home."

"'Sokay," he said, standing. Now he would have to wait for the vile taste in his mouth to fade (he had hated that broth!), in addition to dealing with the stench inside the car… he took a deep breath of the clearer outside air before going through the car door once again.

Kagome followed him in, closing the door behind herself, and then they were on their way again. Inuyasha closed his eyes and leaned against the door again, keeping his mouth shut firmly in a thin line.

Kagome watched him again, with no small amount of concern. She had always hated to see anyone be unhappy, no matter who they were… or how much of a jerk they can be, she thought with faint amusement. A faint idea was coming to her, and she looked down at her lap thoughtfully. It was a long shot, and if he did throw up again she'd be in a bit of a predicament, but… one glance at him, leaning against the door looking half-asleep and slightly ill, made up her mind for her.

"Hey," she said softly, "do you want to lie down?"

He lifted his head away from the door, peering at her through half-closed eyes. "Uh?" Blinking, he looked down at the seat and then back up at her earnest face. "How?"

Unable to conceal a slight blush, Kagome motioned towards her lap. "You can rest your head on me if there isn't enough space." Why am I blushing! There's no reason to blush! She put a hand to her cheek, willing herself to stop.

To her slight gratification, he was now blushing too, staring down at the very dirty seat. "Er…" He glanced down at her lap. "O…okay."

She shifted slightly as he moved away from the window and lay down slowly. The coat that was draped over him shifted slightly, giving her a glimpse of smooth, firmly muscled shoulders, and then she felt the weight of his head settle in her lap.

Despite himself, Inuyasha could feel his body relaxing. Kagome was warm, and it was all he could do to keep from moving in closer. The smell of blood seemed to recede, replaced by the scent of her—like flowers, and the second, unknown scent… mysterious, but equally pleasant.

Kagome watched as his features relaxed further, the tenseness dropping away as if he were falling asleep. His eyes were closed again. He didn't look ill any longer… Her eyes moved across his face, taking in the oddly delicate features once again—thin-bladed nose, the subtle slope of his cheekbones, the way his silver hair framed his eyes… Before she could stop herself she had reached out and gently ran her index finger through his thick fringe, watching how each lock of hair returned to its original position moments after her finger had moved on. To her surprise, he didn't seem to mind—in fact, if she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that he'd moved his head into the contact, just a little bit.

When he spoke, she nearly jumped.

"You… smell nice," he said softly.

"Huh?" She looked down at him, startled. He just said that I… I smelled nice, her brain informed her. She could feel her cheeks heating up again.

"Well, better than the car, anyway," said Miroku from the front seat. Kagome looked up to see him looking back in the rearview mirror, with no small amount of amusement in his violet eyes. She flushed deeply.

"Hey!" she said, leaning forwards. "Were you listening?"

"We're in a car," he said, turning his eyes back to the road ahead. His inward laughter was plain in his voice, though. "It's hard to avoid hearing."

Kagome leaned back in the seat, annoyed. Of course it was a car… she had just forgotten briefly, that was all. Anyways, so what? She hadn't said anything embarrassing, after all. Only offered to… to… But that was just to be nice, that was all! Inuyasha was the one who'd said…

He said that I smelled nice, her mind informed her again, and the blush returned immediately. She glanced quickly down at Inuyasha, only to see that he was fast asleep. I'll ask him what he meant later, she thought, and then mentally slapped herself. Why would I need to do that? He just said that I smelled nice… he didn't mean anything by it…

She felt a jolt as the car pulled over and stopped once more, shifting backwards by increments as its momentum was reversed. She looked up to see that Miroku had reached her house without her even noticing—there were the familiar red brick walls, and the shop, with the sign in the window now turned over to read open.

Miroku came around the car and opened the door for her while she gently shook Inuyasha's shoulder. "Inuyasha… wake up, Inuyasha. We're there."

He opened his eyes slowly, focusing on her face, and blushed suddenly and deeply. He sat up quickly, muttering something unintelligible under his breath, and waited for her to get out of the car before climbing out of the door after her.

He didn't seem to know exactly where he was or what he was doing. Miroku had to catch him before he ended up face-first on the snow-covered pavement. When he finally stood on his own feet, he swayed badly.

"Wait!" hissed Kagome suddenly, while Miroku was steadying the hanyou. She peered in through the window of the shop and whirled round suddenly. "There are customers in there! We can't go through!"

Miroku paled. Inuyasha had begun to shiver violently despite the pink coat wrapped around his shoulders, and his weight was making it hard for Miroku to move. "We have to!" he hissed back. "He needs to get inside, now!"

"I know, I know!" said Kagome. She bit her lip, turning to regard the storefront worriedly. Through the glass, between the parted blue curtains, she could see her mother smiling as she chatted with a tall woman whom Kagome identified as Nazuna… one of the neighbours. There was a man moving through the stacks, too, tall, dark-haired… she didn't recognize him. If they went through the store as they were, it would wreak havoc on the shop's reputation… but it was equally important to get inside as soon as possible.

"Here, get the coat on him properly," she told Miroku, moving to his side and tugging at Inuyasha's pink coat. "Do you have a hat?" she asked as Miroku set to work forcing Inuyasha's right arm into one of the sleeves. Inuyasha did not resist, but neither did he help.

"No," he said. "It's up in the guest room…"

Kagome bit her lip again. As an idea came to her, she reached up and unwrapped her scarf, fashioning it into a sort of floppy hatlike shape, and placed it on Inuyasha's head. It hardly looked normal, but it at least covered his ears.

Miroku had to bite back a laugh despite his growing worry. Inuyasha looked just like a girl!

"All right," said Kagome, after stepping back and considering her handiwork. The coat covered up the grisly bandages completely, and the hat took care of the ears… there was no way to disguise the fact that Inuyasha was only semiconscious, but it couldn't be helped. If they could get through the shop quickly enough, then hopefully no one would notice. "Let's go. Miroku, try to keep him from falling or something."

"Damn it…" muttered Inuyasha, earning a startled glance from them both. "Won't… fall…" Then he lapsed into silence once again.

"Okay," said Kagome, rubbing her hands together. "Let's go."

She opened the door and held it as Miroku walked slowly in with Inuyasha. The bell jingled, attracting the attention of Mrs. Higurashi, who looked up briefly from her conversation with Nazuna. Her eyes widened briefly as she beheld the form of Inuyasha wearing Kagome's old pink coat, with a scarf on his head, and she concealed a smile. Kagome left the door hurriedly, allowing it to swing closed with another jangling of the bell. The strange man, luckily, seemed to be absorbed in looking through the stacks; he didn't even turn his head as they entered.

"Hi, Kagome," said Nazuna, turning and giving her a friendly smile—with only a brief, slightly curious glance at Miroku and Inuyasha. "Hey, don't you work in the store now?"

Kagome motioned for Miroku to keep going as she paused beside the desk. Looking down, she could see what the older woman was buying—one of the new paperbacks from the city, its cover mercifully unwrinkled. Apparently mother had found them after all… She smiled for Nazuna, her talking-to-a-customer grin, while her mother rang the book through.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "I'm not working today, because something came up at the last minute."

"Ah." Nazuna nodded understandingly. "I wondered, when I came in… I thought you might have taken sick, or something."

"Oh, no, I'm fine," said Kagome, keeping up her smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Miroku turn to look at her questioningly as he placed his hand on the doorknob at the back of the shop. She nodded to him quickly. "But I still have something to take care of, upstairs. I'll see you later, Nazuna!"

"Bye, Kagome," said Nazuna. Mrs. Higurashi shook out a small plastic bag and placed the purchase in it before handing it to the other woman. Kagome remained at the desk, and once Nazuna was out of the store she leaned towards her mother.

"You have to go upstairs!" Kagome whispered, glancing towards the stranger nervously. "Th-there's been an accident… he's worse now!"

Mrs. Higurashi glanced at her in alarm. "Dear, I… what happened?"

Kagome shook her head, motioning urgently towards the stairs. "Just hurry! I'll mind the shop."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded, and slipped out from behind the desk. Kagome took her place beside the cash register, watching the man as he perused the stacks. She could hear the creak of the door to the staircase, sounding out twice… once while the door opened, once while it closed.

She sighed. It would be impossible to focus… she could only hope that the man would hurry up. Maybe then she could turn the sign back over… She sat down in the chair, dropping her head in her hands, and tried not to look desperately worried.

Idiot, she thought furiously. Idiot, idiot… She wasn't sure who exactly she was referring to.

:00:00:

Ooh… this was hard to write. Poor Inuyasha! But he'll be better soon (promise!)… Anyways, here's another overlength chapter (I've been writing long lately… oh well.). It's really, really long.

There is also some exploration of the AU world... not a lot, but it shows how the political situation is. The characters will leave the house eventually, I swear! And they won't stay in Aneston forever, either... eh heh... don't want to give anything away here, but there are a lot of things that have been vaguely hinted at. Very vaguely. In fact, they may as well not even be there. Keh.

Oh, as for some new names: Nazuna is fairly obvious, she's the girl from manga volume 5 or anime episode 13... from the scene with the old oshou who turned out to be a spider youkai (yeah, that's where quite a bit of this chapter's content came from... including a certain rather famous line ). As for Tono and Waka: both are names from the ninth volume of the manga (uncertain as to the episode numbers... it's the part where Sango and Kohaku are first introduced, anyway. The whole issue with naraku possessing Kohaku and getting him to kill his family... yeah, that). Tono was what they called the castle's old lord, the one who Naraku made out to be controlling the spider youkai, and the one who ordered Sango killed (Sarushiro is the name of the castle... it means Monkey Castle... as in baboon, heh heh). As for Waka... this kind of gives away any surprise, but it's the name of the 'young lord.' Yes indeed... you can see why it's a bit of a giveaway? The lord in manga volumes 9-10, the one who... ah, I'd better stop talking now... 3 guesses who he is! ...No, really!Are there any questions?

Oh, and this chapter really only covers part of the reasoning behind the Higurashis' reactions... there is more to it, I swear! Just wait... (-Grin- to Cyan I'd for answering my queries... )

Also, sorry about the cliche-ness of Waka-san... ohh, he is indeed evil, and I'd been hoping to avoid some sort of 'EVIL EVIL EVIL through-and-through' syndrome... but I can't really help it (in this scene, at least). Bloody... evil... wanker... it is not due to lack of thought, though. Oh, no. I just need him to be EVIL EVIL EVIL in this scene.

Ahh... and thanks to everyone who reviewed. Hooray for feedback and constructive criticism!