Backlash-

She slid a bit deeper into the cool water and sighed as the soft current curled around her body as she sat on the smooth, rocky base. Kagome and Sango were in similar reposes nearby in the spring with their eyes half closed in thought. Her mind was fraught with the worry and fear her absence from her own reality must have caused her family, her friends and her roommate, Besse. She wondered what the fiery little red-head would say if she knew that her best friend and source of half of the rent was luxuriating in a cool spring in feudal Japan with two characters from an anime. She wondered what would become of her two cats and if her little brother would ever fall in love. She wondered if her family would ever stop searching for her or if they would die with the hope that one-day she would reappear unscathed but with a mammoth amount of explaining to do. She wondered if they would all find a way to move on and forget her. Perhaps they might buy a gravestone for her and pretend she was in the earth so they could continue with their lives after a while. She didn't know and she couldn't afford to dwell on it. Not now. Not when there might be a way home. If Kagome's wish on the Shikon no Tama caused her to fall into this reality along with Sesshomaru's sudden shift in perspective, Inuyasha's inner peace, Kohaku's survival and the resurrection of Kouga's pack and Shippo's family, perhaps there was a way to reverse it. Perhaps she could go home.

It wasn't so much that she wanted to leave. How many people actually got the chance to walk with their favorite fictional characters and live alongside them? Aside from the more modern conveniences and needing to learn to squat and pee in the woods post haste, there were a lot of reasons never to go home. The world was simpler, moved slower, was cleaner and relatively easier. And then there was the uneasy and yet so very easy draw she felt to Inuyasha. It unnerved her and still felt so very right in her heart and mind. A part of her puzzled out that it was the effect of the wish that must have been making her feel this way, but then... How did she know the wish brought her to him in the first place? If she were supposed to be there for him, wouldn't she have been materialized closer to Inuyasha and not to a pack of horny samurai in the middle of the woods, miles away from his campground? And could she be so bold as to claim that she, not Kagome, would make Inuyasha happy... Lastingly happy? No. She couldn't. But... Perhaps it was more. Perhaps, because in this reality, she had a connection to Inuyasha and her life touched through this reality's Shikon no Tama to Inuyasha's life, her happiness was also being ensured? That seemed like a rather far-reaching stretch, even for her. Her eyes fell on Kagome and noted the faint blush on the girl's cheeks even though the water was only a few degrees away from actually being cold and not pleasingly cool. In the short time that she had been in the miko's presence, Kagome had only blushed on mentioning her with Sesshomaru.

Ivy tilted her head in further contemplation. What if the wish was coming true? What if, to have lasting happiness for them both, their point of views had to be equally shifted? What if Kagome was beginning to feel what Ivy was certain Sesshomaru was already experiencing after witnessing his territorial stance in the miko's name? Ivy smiled faintly to herself, but the expression was held so deeply, her lips upturned slightly as well. She hoped and said a silent prayer to that effect that they didn't find a way to reverse the wish. She knew it meant that she would probably never go home again, but she felt such a strong kinship for Kagome and even for the stoic Taiyoukai of the West, that she could only wish for their happiness too. Part of her silently promised that she would help further the direction of the wish if she had the power.

"We should probably head back soon," Sango said softly but did not move from her place.

"Yes... The boys will be worried," Ivy concurred.

"Let them be worried. I'm not ready to move yet," Kagome replied and smiled with the other two girls before closing her eyes to relax for a few more moments.

A shift in perspective was what Ivy had said. Was that what had happened the night before when Kouga had become so territorial and Sesshomaru so protective? Kagome sighed and thought back to the evening prior, the evening just after Naraku had been destroyed and defeated utterly by herself, Inuyasha and Kohaku to recover the final portion of the Shikon no Tama along with Magatushi who had been ended by Sesshomaru, Sango and Miroku working together with Shippo who was protecting Rin. At the last possible moment, Kouga had entered into the fray to distract Naraku. It had given Kagome the moment she'd needed to reach out and purify the area of Naraku's grotesque, inhuman, unnatural form where the jewel rested.

Inuyasha had managed to slice deeply enough into their foe for Kohaku to retrieve the nearly complete jewel and pull Kagome free from the villain. Then, together, Kagome and Inuyasha had combined their powers to destroy the evil hanyou utterly, expunging him from the earth. At the same time, several miles away in Kaede's village, Sesshomaru slowly cut apart Magatushi with Tenseiga in one hand and Bakusaiga in his regenerated hand with Sango's help to distract the evil monster from within the gem. At the same time Miroku sucked in the parts that were sliced away with his cursed palm. In the end, Kaede had given up the last of her pure life force to purify the remainder of Magatushi from Rin's small form that Shippo had been protecting throughout the battle with his fox-fire and the evil that had resided within the Shikon no Tama as well as the evil that had sought to claim it were gone from the earth and Kagome was left with the final task of wishing the jewel out of existence and dispersing the good energy remaining within it throughout the world.

There had been a bittersweet reunion over the corpse of Kaede as Kohaku had bid Sango, Rin and the others goodbye. He knew that he would not survive the removal of his final shard. Kagome had thought it would kill her to take it from him and she knew she couldn't do it alone. As Sango held her brother tightly to her chest, weeping, Kagome removed the shard. She fused the Shikon no Tama back together completely for the first time in six years. Kohaku's breath began to rattle and then, as if by divine influence, she'd made the wish. Kohaku hadn't died. Kouga heard the howl of his pack in the distance. Shippo's father stood at the edge of the forest, alive and calling to him. The tension she'd always seen in her best friend, Inuyasha, fled his body. Miroku's eyes fell on Sango in the softest, warmest way she'd ever seen and, briefly, she could have sworn she'd seen a softening in Sesshomaru's gaze as it fell on her. And then she'd realized Kaede had not woken and returned from the dead.

They'd cremated her and buried her ashes that day next to Kikyo's monument and then they had decided to camp out a few miles from the village and from the well after Kagome had returned only to verify that it had closed completely. She was trapped in the past and she'd never been able to say goodbye to her mother. That evening in camp, the calm had been damaged by Kouga's declarations that his true and lasting happiness was with Kagome at his side as his mate. And then things had become violent. Kagome and Sango had decided it was best for Shippo's father, Kisho, to take the children along with Kirara, Jaken and Ah-Un away from the fray. The tall nine-tailed kitsune in his human form did as he was asked, leaving directions to his den, and then they were all left to discover where the wish would lead them.

And then Ivy had appeared out of nowhere. The already tense Kouga and Sesshomaru had been distracted, but Kagome hadn't liked the way they were distracted. Both she and Sango, while surprised at the foul mouth, saw a light, vulnerable young woman before them who had the strength to fend off her attackers. She didn't seem a threat, however, both men in their testosterone driven state had seen her as such. Kagome was only glad that Inuyasha and Miroku had not and, instead, defended the girl from the two dangerous full-blooded youkai.

"They're coming."

Kagome's eyes flashed open and looked toward Ivy with a raised brow. She had just begun to feel the presence of Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Miroku approaching them. Sango looked to the miko in question. "The boys must have decided to break camp since Kouga left... They're coming this way right now..." She looked to the still relaxed form of Ivy. "How did you know that?"

She opened her eyes slowly and shrugged before sitting up with a wince. Her back hurt from colliding with the riverbed earlier that morning. "I just... I had a feeling. You know when sometimes you know who is calling before you even pick up the phone or have a feeling about what someone is going to say before they say it? Or that something bad is going to happen?"

Kagome nodded slightly as did Sango. "You have those feelings, Ivy?" The slayer asked with curiosity in her gaze.

Ivy nodded. "I have since I was young. Nothing big, I just... Know things sometimes. Sometimes it's helpful and sometimes just there and other times a damn nuisance. Like guessing the end of a story before you get to the last chapter or even halfway through."

"If they are on their way, we should probably let them know to pause so we can dress and get your wounds bandaged, Ivy," Kagome said, loud enough that she knew at least Sesshomaru would pick up on the sound.

In the distance, the Taiyoukai put out his hand to still the other two men with him who now carried Kagome's things and bag along with the rest of the camp that had been packed up. Inuyasha smirked to Miroku and then nodded to his brother before jumping up into a branch to perch. "Gonna take a while, you know."

"Hn."

Miroku chuckled. "Well, at least they know we're ready to go and aren't making a fuss over it."

"Hn."

Ivy surveyed the two outfits that Kagome and Sango had purchased for her. The first was a traditional, though simple, pale blue kimono and yukata and the second what reminded her of traditional miko garb only in a similar shade of blue for the haori and a deeper blue for the hakama. Kagome and Sango had helped her with her breast bindings which were made of soft white linen and then had bandaged her cuts before explaining there was nothing in this time that even remotely resembled panties, much to Ivy's distress. In the end, she had sighed and chosen the haori and hakama for the simple ease of traveling and movement. In all honesty, she wasn't sure she could even keep her legs closed well enough to don the kimono. In all likelihood, she'd forget at a very inopportune time and sit cross-legged in one of the men's view. Once dressed, she combed out her curly hair and braided it over one shoulder loosely for the sake of travel and the boys were called to them once Sango and Kagome were also dressed. Kagome had slipped into more traditional feudal era clothing as well, neatly folding her other clothing and Ivy's and then slipping them into her pack.

"Kisho's den is about five or six miles to the West. We should be able to make it there by tomorrow morning." The miko said softly, careful not to look at Sesshomaru for the moment.

"Someone must carry the girl." Sesshomaru replied in soft tones, vaguely annoyed that Kagome had not yet looked at him. Since the night previous he had begun taking stock of all her good points and had not yet found a place or part that he did not see some virtue worth admiration. Yes, she was human, however he had noted his view on humans had somewhat shifted to that of his father. Inuyoukai were strengthened by their relationships to humans, not weakened. His kind should be closer to them rather than further away. The shift in perspective was unnerving at first. He couldn't account for it until he'd contemplated the miko's wish. As he evaluated his feelings, he realized that this slight shift in perspective was enough to disengage most of his animosity and spite that had made him so unhappy over the years. It seemed only a happy bi-product that he could also see Kagome so clearly and had found such an abiding respect for her person.

"I will." Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha staring at Ivy with a curious look on his face. The hanyou turned his gaze to the miko a moment later and raised a brow. "Think it would be ok?"

"If Ivy doesn't mind. I'm not the one you should be asking, Inuyasha." Kagome replied with a slight wave of her hand.

Inuyasha smirked and sat beside Ivy on the ledge of the spring, leaning slightly into her form. "What do you say, then?"

Ivy smiled slightly and nodded before shifting her gaze from her hands to his molten gold eyes that were flashing with warmth. "Definitely more efficient that way."

As Kagome finished packing her satchel, Sesshomaru knelt and took it from her, resting the straps on one shoulder. The miko's eyes widened slightly and Ivy giggled. Sesshomaru raised a brow to Kagome. "You refuse assistance?"

"N-no, Sesshomaru... I'm just not used to you wanting to give me any." Kagome replied, finding herself caught up instantly in the almost playful light that sparkled in the Taiyoukai's gaze. It seemed to flood his features even though they had not changed from the stoic mask he always wore. Everything seemed to be caught up in his eyes.

"Perhaps you should accustom yourself." He looked to Inuyasha who was wearing an incredulous, yet placid look. He would have to speak to the hanyou later, it was only correct on his part. In time he would also speak to the slayer and monk about the miko, but, for now, it was best to quell his most annoying half sibling before the half-breed said anything... Brash. "Gather your burden, Inuyasha. We have a long way to go."

The hanyou smirked and nodded and turned his gaze onto the young woman beside him. "I can carry you like I did before or you can ride on my back."

"Which is the most efficient?" She questioned, not certain if she enjoyed being a burden, as Sesshomaru had referred to her.

"My back. My arms don't get tired as fast."

"Ok." She responded and he nodded before moving and kneeling in front of her with his back to her. She furrowed her brows slightly before gathering his long white mane in both hands.

"What... What are you doing?" He asked, trying not to blush with the slight sensation of pleasure that her messing with his hair so gently was sending through him.

Ivy chuckled softly and braided his long locks into a thick braid before laying it over his shoulder and climbing onto his back. "I had to get it out of the way or else there wasn't a way I could have gotten on and not pulled and hurt you."

His arms wrapped around her slender but well muscled thighs as they slipped along his waist, her arms slinking around his shoulders after she pulled the braid onto his back gently beneath one of her arms. "Are you comfortable?" He asked as he stood, her weight pleasantly conforming to his back so he could feel every inch of her curves, even the soft pounding of her heartbeat through her breast as it sped.

She blushed and smiled slightly before resting her head to the side on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She hadn't rode piggyback since she was a child and she had forgotten how comfortable the position could be and how entirely intimate. "Yes, very."

He nodded to the others and attempted to ignore their quizzical as well as entirely playful expressions and hoped that Ivy did not see them from her vantage. His gaze rested on Kagome momentarily and inwardly she sighed. There was peacefulness in her but also confusion. He could tell that she wasn't exactly sure about what she saw between him and Ivy and he, truthfully, wasn't exactly sure himself. The whole thing felt strange and unnerving in the intense rightness of everything. They began walking and Inuyasha smirked as Ivy's legs wrapped entirely around him, linking at his abdomen. Unbidden, he wondered what it would be like for her to be wrapped so tightly around him from the front. He almost tripped at that thought, but caught himself before he hit the ground.

"Yash?" Her voice was concerned as he reached to grab onto a tree to steady his self. He felt her fingers trace along the base of one of his ears, which, really, wasn't helping him at all.

He reached up and caught her hand gently but firmly. He felt the eyes of the others on him and let out a staggering sigh. "I'm ok, Ivy. Just wasn't watching where I was going."

"I'm not too heavy, am I?" Her voice was so soft and concerned. He squeezed her thigh that he still held and tenderly rubbed the palm of the hand he'd captured before returning it to rest over his shoulder.

"No. Not even a little. Don't go blaming yourself for me being klutzy." He felt her nod and relaxed slightly, eternally grateful for the position of where her feet had linked around his torso for the moment. It diverted the gaze of most from other areas he wasn't so pleased with at the moment. Though that didn't stop his brother from noticing by scent and so the hanyou shot the Taiyoukai a murderous, threatening gaze that said, unquestioningly, to keep his mouth shut. "I'm ok, let's keep going."

The others nodded and continued, though Sesshomaru's lips quirked as he made note of Inuyasha's predicament. Perhaps his talk with his brother would prove more beneficial to him than he had originally anticipated. Inuyasha relaxed as the tightness in his belly began to uncoil and his manhood decided to lie down again after much convincing and contemplating thoughts of Kouga and, oddly, Kikyo. The wish had been made the night before and with it he had gained an odd sense of peace and comprehension about his life, primarily with respect to the once living and also once undead miko. He found peace about the death of his mother and his cruel life alone as a half-breed child. He even found peace about Kagome and knew entirely that he simply wanted her to be happy, no matter what form that happiness came in. She was his best friend and he'd hurt her so much that he wondered if he deserved forgiveness. The angel on his back told him that, perhaps, the universe and the divine had already decided he did and that she'd been sent to him so that he could let go and accept when Kagome found her true love. The one that would make her heart sing and not ache the way he did. Until that day came, though, he'd be there to protect her as a brother would his beloved sister.

Miroku watched as Inuyasha carried Ivy so carefully on his back. The girl seemed familiar to him in a very strange way. It was almost as if he were remembering a dream when he looked into her eyes and yet it wasn't his dream. He knew that she was Inuyasha's. His eyes diverted to Sango and some of the tension that had built inside him from the night before and that morning dealing with Kouga, melted away. Things had come into focus after the wish had been made. He understood that what he wanted, who he wanted, was Sango and no other. He had always loved her, perhaps from the first moment he'd seen her, but it was in his nature to give in to his lecherous desires for other women. Sango, for a long time, had been like home to him. No matter where or to whom he roamed, she was where he returned. Now he realized that he didn't want to wander any longer. He wanted to settle down with her and make her his home and heal the damage his wandering had caused. The slayer looked up and met his gaze with that smile he loved so much. He reached out and squeezed her hand, but this time, he didn't let go. He smiled when she blushed and turned his eyes back to their direction. He noticed Kagome sneaking glances now and again at Ivy and Inuyasha as he was, but even more so at Sesshomaru. He raised a brow slightly and smirked. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who had his perspective changed. It was only a matter of time before Kagome gave in, of that he was certain.

She woke slowly and stretched languidly for a moment before looking at her clock. It was Sunday, the only morning she got to sleep in past nine and she always made use of that time to 'dream pretty pictures' as Ivy was so fond of saying. Ivy. Yeah, she was probably unconscious on the couch again. Besse had gone to bed after one but Ivy had still been typing at that time, working on her latest story. She was going to be grouchy waking up. She always was when she accidentally spent a night on the couch and not in her bed. Oh well. Besse would make her some toast for breakfast while she made herself some coffee and the world would be shiny again.

She walked out into the living room and found the couch empty, but the computer still open on the coffee table. Besse shrugged and closed the laptop so it would go to sleep and then went to Ivy's bedroom. The little redhead's eyes flashed open in confusion. The bed was empty. Besse began searching for a note on her door or near Ivy's computer but found none. The door was locked. Besse rushed downstairs to find Ivy's car still parked in its space. Upon returning to the apartment, Besse dialed Ivy's number only to hear her best friend's cell phone ring across the room. She tried to pace her breathing, but couldn't. Where was she? Why hadn't she told Besse if she was going somewhere? Why would she leave her phone behind? What in the hell was going on?

He shouldn't be breathing. He knew he shouldn't. The last thing he remembered was being destroyed by the miko, Kagome, and that bastard Inuyasha. And yet, he was breathing. He was taking in deep, strong breaths. He sat up slowly and looked around. His eyes fell on another who sat across the clearing from him, staring at him with deep, almost golden brown eyes. He was familiar and yet not familiar. "Who are you?"

"You knew me as Magatushi and I knew you as Naraku." He said in a low, silken voice. "Apparently, somehow, you were reborn in your human form, and I in the weak, lower youkai form of my birth," he scowled softly. As a three two tailed kitsune, he had little more power than it would take to create basic illusions. He wasn't even particularly handsome. "You are now Onigumo and I am Kenshi."

He raised a brow and snarled. "We are powerless, then."

Kenshi laughed cruelly. "Oh, no, Onigumo. We are not powerless. We simply have not yet regained our true strength." He stood and walked to the ebony haired man before him and met his deep mahogany eyes intently before putting out his hand. "We have a similar goal. We wish to destroy our enemies. Together we can find the strength to do just that and gain our revenge."

He looked at the hand before him and then up into the eyes of the man before him. After a moment he nodded and reached out. Kenshi pulled him up to stand and the two smiled at each other darkly. "Come. Let's set about our revenge."

Kenshi chuckled. "Yes. Let us."

She had shifted against him for a fourth time in as many moments. She hadn't made any complaint, but if she kept moving against him, he was going to have a definite problem in a few moments that her linked legs wouldn't be sufficient to hide. "Ivy, we can stop if you need to stretch your legs."

"Hmmm?" She was pulled out of her reverie of thought by his voice and had murmured into his neck. "No, I'm ok."

He trembled slightly at the warmth of her breath on his neck. Maybe she didn't need to stop, but he did. He needed to jump into an icy brook for a while. His eyes fell on Kagome. Certainly she'd help him. "Kagome... Do you need to rest?"

She blinked and looked to Inuyasha. "I... Not really, do you?"

"Are you tired, Little Brother?" He fought back the smile that was threatening as he observed Inuyasha's plight. He almost felt sorry for him, recognizing he'd be in no better state if Kagome were riding on his back so tightly coiled around him, but to see the hanyou in such a state with the rest of his party so blissfully ignorant was beyond amusing. However, it bothered him that he did not wish for the half-breed to suffer that kind of torture, especially when his torturer had no idea of her power over him and if she did, Sesshomaru knew instinctively he would want no party in watching Inuyasha's downfall. "It is nearly past second meal. If you are so weary, we could make exception and rest for a short duration."

Inuyasha snarled faintly at Sesshomaru. The bastards knew exactly what was going on and, instead of helping him gracefully discover a way to stop, he'd made it impossible for him to save face and his pride. "I don't need to stop. And you're an asshole."

Ivy whimpered suddenly and then shifted. "I do need to move, now that everyone's talking about it... My legs are cramping up."

Inuyasha let out the breath he'd been holding and headed in the direction of the nearest stream. It was only a dozen or more yards from the path and so not that far to divert. He sat near the stream and settled Ivy behind him before turning and looking at her in concern. She was massaging her calves with a little pout capturing her lower lip. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah... Normally I'd just stretch out, but the way I need to do it to get these cramps out I shouldn't do with my feet bandaged up. I'll be ok. The muscles will release in a few moments." She startled as Inuyasha reached out and started massaging her left calf in the same way she was massaging her right. "Yasha... You don't have to do that."

"Maybe you shouldn't curl all the way around me when I carry you again. It ain't helpful if you hurt later." He murmured and looked up into her sparkling blue eyes. They seemed to shift between colors and he found it entrancing. He smiled faintly but did not release her calf and continued to massage. "Don't worry. I want to. Ain't a matter of having to do anything."

She smiled faintly and blushed as she watched him focus on the nasty cramp he'd found. Kagome watched quietly a moment as Miroku and Sango caught up with her and Sesshomaru near the stream. "I've never seen him so gentle," she breathed, knowing only the Taiyoukai, slayer and monk would hear her. The hanyou wasn't paying attention to anything but Ivy's cramping calves and Ivy's hearing wasn't good enough to catch her comment. "If I'd walked in on him like this with Kikyo, I'd have lost it, but... I never saw him this... Happy. Not even with her. Ivy has a powerful effect on him and I... I don't even feel slight jealousy. It has to be the wish that's doing this."

"If it is, Kagome, what do you suggest we do about it?" Sango asked softly.

"We're all being affected on one level or another, Sango." Miroku murmured. "I doubt any of us, though, could say that the effects of the wish are causing us any harm."

"But we're being controlled, Miroku." Kagome murmured and sighed.

"It is not a constant control, Kagome." The Taiyoukai murmured. He met the miko's eyes meaningfully. "If this Sesshomaru was still being controlled, Miko, I would know it. The wish, certainly, shifted our perspectives and returned to those of us what we needed in order to have happy lives in the case of Sango and Kohaku and the kitsune's father, but once its power was spent, the influence ended."

Inuyasha looked up from his task and saw his brother's expression as it fell on Kagome. He frowned faintly but only in concern and not anger. He'd heard Sesshomaru's words and he'd realized rather quickly that the two of them would need to have a serious talk soon. "If you all are finished whispering, there's space to sit down here." He called out with a faint snarl. He paused and looked down to see his hands covered by Ivy's. Her eyes were gentle and warm.

"What is it?"

"They're just worried, Yasha," she murmured and grasped his hands before releasing them. "My legs are alright now."

He smirked slightly and pulled away after another second and then sat near her. Kagome sighed and sat at the base of a tree and rested her head on its trunk as she watched Ivy and Inuyasha sitting together. Her attention was caught as the fearsome Taiyoukai sat beside her. She looked to him and trembled seeing the gentle expression captured in his eyes. He didn't have to say a word and she understood. She leaned gently so her head was resting on his shoulder and she sighed. She knew what Ivy had said about never taking Inuyasha away from her, but she couldn't help it. The girl who fell from nowhere, slipping from Inuyasha's dreams, was taking the place in his heart that she'd always wanted and as much as she was happy for him that he had a chance at happiness, she ached because it wasn't her.