I guess I could've gotten away without posting last week for all the attention it got - or rather didn't get! heck, if I had skipped last week I could've guarranteed you reading material until valentines day, but no! I had to do what I said I would do because that's what good Authors do. I said I'd post and I did, and nobody cared! WEll, just for that I'm going to change my posting schedule to once every two weeks! How about that!

Seriously, I'm kidding. Though, I nearly didn't manage to get this chapter up. Our internet connection got the hiccups so that even when we (ahem! My dad) fixed it, it would only work for about two minutes before it quit again! Thankfully, when i had the time, I fixed it... and it worked at least long enough for me to do all my internet chores and post this wonderful chapter you're all going to ignore again.

And now for something completely different:

Did you now that they have scientifically proven that the more women know, the better they sleep, but the more men learn the worse they sleep? I guess that means men should stay neanderthauls and women should become braniacs (at least the ones who aren't already), the world would be better off once people start getting more restful sleep to help keep everybody's tempers even. Women would win every argument by virtue of being better informed and Men would win every fight by virtue of superior strength (assuming the guys didn't get lazy on top of avoiding learning things). I'm envisioning a utopia full of lean buff guys (all good looking because only men with the best traits would be picked and no woman in her right mind would neglect the looks department!) Super braniac women and possibly world peace because the guys woudln't be in charge anymore!

And to think it was science that lead us to the future! ARgue with that one Rumiko Takahashi! You can't...though Sesshoumaru might try, heheh.

Packing it in

Aki was more or less correct in her assessment of the near future as was demonstrated by the group of people that followed her into the steam filled chamber that held the hot spring.

It was no surprise that Sesshoumaru followed her. She would have been surprised if he hadn't as she suspected the inu youkai planned to stick to her like glue until they left the area and went their separate ways.

Kagura followed her too, but she suspected it was more a comfort issue than anything else. Aki was pretty much the only person in the group that had never seriously fought with Kagura with the intention of doing her actual harm, and never held a grudge against her for following orders. So really, it wasn't much of a surprise.

Of course where Aki and Sesshoumaru went, so too did Rin and Azusa. And, as is the case with girls with new friends, Yumi followed as well, determined to stick with the others this early in their developing friendship.

Aki sighed in the muggy air as she found her bag. Given a choice she would love to kick out some of her stalkers. Heck, she might even love to be violent about it, but she wasn't psychotic yet so she reeled in her irritation. Her bath was likely to require every bit of patience she could muster as it wasn't likely to be very relaxing. Three kids near water negated the very possibility of a peaceful experience. Of course, just letting Sesshoumaru tag along was asking for trouble, as she very much doubted he needed the added temptation of her being very naked. As for Kagura, Aki hadn't spent enough time with Windy to be able to guess at her behavior.

Aki sighed and painfully shrugged out of her wet flannel shirt to find that whomever had dressed her hadn't bothered to figure out the clasps of her bra and simply bound her chest in the same cloth as her ribs. The wrapping suddenly loosened and she glanced over her should to see Sesshoumaru standing there. "Thank you," she murmured and he nodded as he helped finish unwrapping it from her torso so that she wouldn't have to twist as much to do it herself.

A Great splash indicated that the girls had finished undressing and entered the artificial pool built into the rock beside the natural basin formed by the spring originally. Rin and Azusa began to splash cheerfully at each other as Yumi shyly moved to join them.

Kagura eyed them from the side she was already resting calmly against. She frowned, as their play grew impossibly more energetic instead of slowly subsiding in intensity.

Aki shook her head as she finally stepped free of the clinging cloth of her wet pants, shivering slightly despite the heat in the room before slipping into the warm water.

"I saw your snow sculpture," Kagura's voice floated in the humid air. "What is it?'

"It's a study in cultural diversity and freedom," Aki replied cryptically. Sesshoumaru smirked from where he sat against the wall watching them.

Kagura snorted, "It's ugly, whatever you call it."

"Timmy is not ugly!" Aki huffed with mild indignation. "Why do people keep saying that?"

"Maybe because it's true," Kagura suggested mockingly despite not being 100 percent sure who or what "Timmy" was.

"One of these days some of these people you've insulted are going to come back to get you for it," Aki warned. "And I'm just going to sit back and watch."

"Well at least I won't be alone," Kagura shrugged and changed the subject. "Kanna requests that you refrain from playing in the snow."

"Does she still feel the echo of my pain?" Aki asked with concern.

"Her and Kohaku both, though the boy does not complain about it," Kagura nodded. "Kanna usually doesn't mind it so much, but apparently she really doesn't like the cold."

"I wish I had known that would be a side affect when I gave them that piece of soul," Aki sighed. "Why doesn't Kikyou complain about it too?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as he realized what they were talking about. Aki had seemingly been handing out pieces of her soul like small treats to children. Somehow he just knew that couldn't be good for Aki's health.

"It is possible that the dead miko does not suffer the effects as much because she already had a piece of Kagome's soul and was already dead. She and Kohaku had managed to live with healthy connections to their souls several years before you met them," Kagura pointed out. "But Kanna has always had her soul withheld from her. Naraku made her that way. You made it so that she had a strong enough tie to her own soul to feel things properly and thus she feels what you feel as well. Or at least part of it. Kohaku does too because your soul is keeping him alive.

"It's not a bad explanation," Aki pondered aloud. "But why do they only seem to feel the pain?"

"Perhaps pain is the only emotion impersonal and sharp enough to echo so strongly," Kagura shrugged. "Or Kanna really doesn't mind when your joy and pleasure travels to her."

Aki grinned ruefully as color not due to the waters heat painted her skin. "Well, then I'll have to apologize for that too."

"Don't bother," Kagura glared at the noisy children still splashing away in the water. "Kanna rather likes being able to feel. It helps her develop a sense of self that was lacking before. Besides, she deserves a little pain for being so cheeky when she successfully foils Naraku's attempts to observe you once again."

Aki chuckled carefully; not wanting to disrupt the comfortable painless feeling the water had produced in her ribs. "I'm glad she's enjoying herself."

"Whenever he asks to see you she shows images of leaves falling, or ripples on a pond, a thunder storm, or fish jumping from a stream. Once she even found a grass fire to show him," Kagura smirked pleased that the bastard in control of her heart suffered some frustration. "Kanna won't even let me see what she shows when he asks because it's so hard to keep a straight face when she does it. I don't' know how she manages to keep her face so blank."

"What explanations does he come up with for this inability of his anyway?" Aki asked.

"He keeps his own counsel about it," Kagura dismissed it with a shrug. "We were just lucky he hadn't tried to see you before Kanna developed this problem."

"This problem with belligerence and misdirection," Aki declared dryly, watching as the girls finally began to tire of their game. "Soap's over there kids," she called to them. Hopefully the children would wash up, get bored and leave. She didn't really expect it to happen, but one could dream.

"Kohaku's gotten really good at foiling plans with minimal risk and effort," Kagura observed. "He's got Naraku convinced it has something to do with distance and memory. Hakudoushi's slightly suspicious though."

"Why hasn't the big bad guy sent that monstrosity at me?" Aki wondered.

""It might have something to do with you throwing that horseshoe at Entee and startling the rotten beast," Kagura guessed with amusement.

"Well, he shouldn't have tried to drop it on me," Aki sniffed.

"Kohaku was certain Hakudoushi wouldn't go near you with Entee because you might steal the rotten hell horse," Kagura laughed.

"What would I do with a horse of brimstone and damnation? Destruction and massacres aren't really my thing," Aki snorted as the other woman rose from the now calm pool of water. Rin, Azusa and Yumi had already returned to the common room having grown bored listening to the two women talk. Aki pushed herself onto the ledge of the pool slowly.

Kagura quickly dressed and paused as Aki slid back into the water. "What's wrong," she demanded.

Aki gave the detachment a strained smile. "Just need a little more time in the water is all," the former English tutor answered quietly. "Now that my muscles aren't so numb they're starting to protest the last couple weeks."

Kagura nodded, "You strained yourself fighting the mole's orders."

"It's no big deal," Aki muttered, lowering her gaze to the water.

"Move over closer to the actual spring, the water is warmer there," Kagura suggested.

"I'm fine here thanks," Aki answered quickly.

Kagura blinked at the partial youkai before nodding dismissively, "Suit yourself." The wind user then turned to walk into the chaos of the main room.

Aki inhaled the moist air carefully, not wanting to irritate her ribs further. A disturbance on the surface of the water drew her attention from the pool to find that Sesshoumaru had quietly joined her in the water.

"You should have said you were in pain," Sesshoumaru admonished her.

"Why? Saying it out loud won't change anything and it isn't that bad to begin with," Aki attempted to shrug and froze mid-motion as pain sparked along her nerve endings.

"It is bad enough," Sesshoumaru concluded and collected her in his arms before moving to the warmer side of the pool. "You should have just beaten the whelp. He is not worth your pain."

"That's your opinion," Aki hissed as the hot water began to seep into her abused muscles and ribs.

"The hanyou would have survived the beating," the taiyoukai growled firmly as he rubbed at the muscles of her back and shoulders.

"And I will survive a little pain," Aki replied tiredly.

"But it is not a 'little pain'," Sesshoumaru growled. He greatly disliked for Aki to feel so much pain.

"I will get over it," she growled in return. Aki groaned as she forced herself to move out of the water's gentle embrace. She needed to eat something before Kikyou came in to force it down her throat.

Sesshoumaru silently left the water as well. It was quite clear that Aki would be in pain whether he won the argument or not. The only thing he could do was try to reduce the amount she suffered. So when she dug out her towel he relieved her of it to dry her off with it. He made certain to be especially gentle around her multi-colored rib cage.

Eventually Aki usurped control of the drying cloth and wrapped it around her hair before stepping into her underwear and the leggings she had packed for this trip. She had intended to wear them under her jeans if the weather got cold enough, but they would just have to serve without the added layer, as her jeans were very wet.

It didn't take her long to give up on wearing her bra. The thing just required too much awkward movement to bother with.

Sesshoumaru mentally shook his head as he watched her attempting to finish dressing before collecting the wrapping for her ribs from the floor. He stepped behind her and wordlessly started to wrap her torso snugly.

She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder as he finished his task. Her eyes were closed and her breathing easy as she rested. "Thank you," she breathed gently. He rubbed his striped cheek against the side of her face and squeezed her carefully before she pulled away to don her sweat jacket and zip it up.

Aki dug out something else and handed it to him. "Your clothes got wet when we fell in the snow. I don't have any pants for you, but I think yours weren't too bad," Aki told him when he raised a questioning eyebrow at the bundle of white fabric. "It's yours so it should fit."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened imperceptibly. This was the garment Tama had given to Aki on that day he first made Aki his mate. It seemed to have been an eternity since then. The inu youkai didn't want to accept the shirt. He liked when she wore it and it comforted him that she had it, but she would insist he take it. He supposed he could find comfort in the fact she worried about him and his health.

The taiyoukai suppressed a sigh and dressed in the garment quickly, Aki was sure to attempt something unnecessary while he wasn't watching. He was right. Sesshoumaru found her with the straps of her bag wrapped around her wrist in preparation to lift it and take it with her, the fool.

Every movement caused her pain without her lifting anything unneeded. He wasn't about to let her do something so likely to increase her pain. "Leave it," he ordered softly, tangling his fingers with the strap to drag it from her arm. "You aren't going anywhere today." Certainly not when she was in that kind of pain anyway.

"But," she began only to stop as he shook his head and covered her mouth with his.

He probably shouldn't have kissed her in reality, not when the memory of her naked skin was so fresh. Sesshoumaru had behaved himself, controlled himself, but he had desired to kiss her in reality since he woke up and she wouldn't' stop arguing. And kissing Aki was much too engaging to try to think up adequate reasons for the action.

The knowledge of Aki's bruised ribs and strained muscles kept him from taking it further. But it was still several minutes before he reluctantly disengaged the connection and cuddled her to his chest. "You said it was going to snow, so why can you not stay here a while and leave your bag where it is?" he asked her reasonably.

Aki sighed haltingly before replying, "It's actually going to storm, so nobody should be going anywhere." She stepped away slowly, "I suppose I can leave it here."

Sesshoumaru cupped her cheek with his palm and nodded his thanks before they turned to rejoin the multi-special circus awaiting them.

"Aki get over here and eat right now!" Kikyou ordered the moment she saw the partial youkai.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Aki grumbled petulantly. Sesshoumru had to force the smirk form his face. It amused him greatly when Aki gave others a hard time.

"Sit down and shut up," Kikyou gave a fair imitation of a growl.

"If I shut up, I can't eat," Aki pointed out.

"I'd shut up if I were you Aki, that crap she plans to feed you is worse than starvation," Kagura declared.

"You stay out of this, spawn of Naraku," Kikyou glared at the detachment.

"No fair dragging parents into this," Aki scolded the miko.

"Nobody is responsible for their own origins," Kagome added. "It's what we do with our lives beyond that which we are in control of, to a certain extent anyway."

"Shut up! Aki sit!" Kikyou ordered again and prepared to feed Aki the mush in her bowl.

"Kikyou, I can feed myself," Aki protested.

"Not today you can't," Kikyou replied flatly. "Now open up."

"Yeah Aki, you know the drill," Fred cut in. "The airplane is coming into the hangar!" he announced gleefully and proceeded to make motor noises as the chopsticks neared his friend's mouth.

Aki burst out laughing. "Ow! Oh don't make me laugh!" tears streamed from her eyes as her laughter caused her pain despite the joy it sounded like.

Kagome was giggling as well, being the only other person to get the joke for what it was. The rest of the group stared at them strangely only serving to make the situation seem more hilarious.

Eventually the two managed to calm their laughter as Fred kindly ceased making the noises under Kikyou and Sesshoumaru's fiercest glares. "Are you done?" the dead miko asked as bursts of laughter like hiccups slowly subsided in the partial youkai.

"No more air plane noises Fred," Aki wiped her eyes. "Please, no more."

"All right, all right. No more, I got it," the ghost shrugged.

"What's an 'airu pran'?" Shippou asked.

"Please ask for an explanation later, Shippou," Sango requested. "Aki will never get to eat if you demand an explanation now."

"Okay," the boy nodded firmly.

Kikyou glared at Fred a few moments longer as the ghost pretended to look innocent. Finally she raised her laden chopsticks and bid Aki to open up.

"Hey Aki," Fred began blandly as Kikyou paused not trusting him with the ability to speak. Just as she resumed her motion the ghost continued, "Two words: Choo-choo!"

Aki snorted and dissolved into painful laughter once again. "Oh that hurts! Don't make me laugh!" she gasped through the pain of her renewed laughter. Ugh, even her smile hurt.

"Fred!" Kagome giggled. "That was so bad!"

"I don't get it," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Join the club," Miroku remarked, using a phrase Kagome often did. "The rest of us here do not understand the joke either."

"What the hell is going on in here?" A gruff voice demanded from the door. "Kagome?"

Everybody turned to find a certain wolf prince standing in the doorway to the outside. "Kouga!" Kagome exclaimed.

It was then that Kouga spotted the detachment he'd scented some time back in close proximity to the woman he'd claimed. This would not do. The wolf youkai plowed through the group to take out Kagura, stepping on Inuyasha for good measure in the process.

Aki had moved more quickly than she should have in order to prevent the impending blood shed. She shoved Kagura out of the way and used the ookami's own momentum to push him to the floor. "Behave yourself," she admonished him. "Attacking in such a crowded room is sure to cause injury to more than just your prey. Or do you not care if you hurt children and your so-called 'love' while you attack someone."

Kouga didn't like being told how to behave any more than Inuyasha did. "Shut up!" the wolf growled and threw his open hand into her belly to shove her out of the way.

Aki yelped and fell to the floor on hands and knees. Her ribs throbbed as she struggled to breath around the pain. Sparks floated across her vision, threatening to either blind her or pull her into unconsciousness.

"Just breathe Aki," Fred's steady voice whispered in her ear. "Just like at home, you need to breathe, slow and even."

Sesshoumaru gathered the injured female into his arms and wrapped as much of himself around her as possible. Careful of her much abused middle, he leaned her against his chest for her to better hear his heart beat and even breathing. He did not care about the ookami. Besides, Kouga's threat had been thoroughly dealt with.

All that could be seen of the foolish prince was a pack of agitated wolves, four angry children, an angry time traveling teenager, a hanyou, and two wolf brothers, each quite angry with the youkai being smother by their weight.

Kagura wisely stayed out of it. No way was she getting too close to the wolves. Instead she moved to stand next to the inu youkai trying to help Aki. She tapped his shoulder with her fan and nearly gasped when he turned eyes rimmed with youkai red. Aki's pain had him scared.

Quickly, the reluctant detachment bent to check the female over, somehow figuring out the strange device on Aki's clothing to reveal the bandaging underneath. Kagura bit back a curse as she ran her hands over the tender flesh. "She's beginning to swell," she declared. "We need to slow it, stop it somehow, to relieve her of some of the pain."

"How?" Sesshoumaru demanded roughly.

"I don't know," Kagura bit out angrily. "I only know what is wrong not how to fix it!"

Fred growled and shot his arm through the youkai in his way until his cold, ghostly palm pressed just into the wrapping over Aki's ribs. "Ice and cold reduce swelling," the spirit declared as explanation, relentlessly keeping his hand pressed where it would do the most good despite Aki's whimpering.

By the time Aki's breathing returned to normal, Kikyou had snapped the door shut while Miroku and Sango sorted out the mess of bodies wreaking havoc in the small space. Sango muscled the wolves out of the way and Miroku clunked both Inuyasha and Kouga over the head to gain their attention.

"Everyone shall calm down and discuss the situation without violence," The monk declared firmly. "There will be no fighting. Is that understood?"

"You're one to talk, monk," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Osuwari!" Kagome muttered.

"Wait until Aki regains herself before we begin," Sango said gently. The monk nodded agreeably.

"I didn't hit her that hard," Kouga grumbled in confusion.

"That is not the point, youkai," Kikyou responded waspishly. "You hit an unarmed female that had offered you no violence and some commonly understandable advice. You did this in the presence of allies who were likewise not engaged in violence."

"You attacked in an obviously peaceful and neutral environment," Sango continued. "What did you hope to accomplish?" the slayer asked evenly. "Was it your intention to cause injury without provocation?"

"She was defending that bitch! The same bitch that killed my people!" Kouga defended himself.

"I don't recall hearing Aki speak on Kagura's behalf," the purple draped monk observed blandly.

"That's because she didn't," Inuyasha growled. "She only moved to end a fight before it started and injured somebody not involved in it."

"Inuyasha," Kagome gaped at the hanyou. She was surprised he even understood what Aki had meant to do.

"And you hit Aki when she was already hurting!" Azusa yelled accusingly and lunged at the youkai that had been the cause of her terror when Aki fell. She couldn't stand to lose anyone else; she couldn't bear it.

Luckily for Kouga, a couple of wolves tripped Azusa up and prevented her from reaching her target.

"Everyone, be still," Aki's tired voice floated through the room.

"Are you all right, Aki-chan?" a teary eyed Rin asked timidly, slightly afraid of the answer.

"I'm fine –" Aki stopped when Sesshoumaru growled and Fred snarled at her. "Okay, I've been better, but I'll live," she corrected herself with an amused smile.

"Really?" Rin wiped her eyes.

"Yes, Rin. Fred is the best cold compress ever invented. Now all I need is some food in my belly and I'll be set for some stories," Aki look up at her ghostly friend.

"Well, I suppose I do owe you something for letting me feel you up," Fred laughed over the inu youkai's growl.

Kagura bent to hand Aki the bowl of food causing the incorrigible female to smile up at her. "Thanks," Aki moved her hand to the chopsticks as she teased her dead friend. "No wonder none of your girlfriends ever lasted. You were entirely too fixated on me and my unmatchable good looks!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Fred grinned mockingly.

"Aki put that down! You're too weak to feed yourself," Kikyou declared.

Aki and Fred rolled their eyes. "Please don't start that nonsense again. Fred won't be able to help himself," the former English tutor whined.

"Are we going to discuss the fact you're keeping company with that spawn of Naraku?" Kouga demanded.

"Be still!" Aki's eyes flashed at him. "She isn't harming anyone, and until you know the whole story I suggest you be a bit more courteous to everyone present. Think before you act, idiot.

Kouga growled at the woman only to be floored by his furred brethren once more.

"Apparently the fuzz balls agree with Aki," Fred chuckled over his shoulder.

"Fine!" the wolf prince shoved his way to his feet. "I'm leaving!" Kouga stalked across the floor to the door only to hiss quietly as the surface singed his hand. "What did you do?"

"Nobody is leaving," Aki declared boredly. "The storm comes."

"Like I care what you're imagining! Let me out bitch!" Kouga snarled.

"Kouga grow up!" Kagome shouted causing everyone, except Aki and Fred ot stare at her incredulously. "Aki is only tyring to save your stupid ass from freezing to death or getting lost! Kagura is probably still here so that she can say she lost track of Aki in the storm because she doesn't like Naraku anymore than we do!" The teenager panted from the effort of her yelling. "We're not asking you to make friends, just to refrain from violence inside these walls. Why do you have to be so difficult?"

Kouga gaped like a fish. "Kagome-nee-chan is always so kind hearted," one of the wolf brothers commented to the other.

"And Aki-san has been very generous with us too, Kouga really needn't have struck her," the other replied.

"Even the furry ones agree," the first nodded.

"Again with the fuzz balls," Aki smiled as a bunch of them moved closer to nose at her feet and knees left extended beyond Sesshoumaru's embrace. She continued chowing down as she ran her foot over the fur of the most aggressive one.

"Show them some respect!"

"That's what you said last time," Aki snorted. "They don't seem to mind, so why do you?"

Kouga didn't have an answer to that, especially not with Ginta and Hakkaku watching the pack brothers mill around Aki's feet, whining for attention. The wolf prince growled in frustration as he resigned himself to the situation gracelessly.