It all Started with a Nameless Beauty

Author's Note: Hey I just met you. And this is crazy. But here's my story. So review me, maybe?

~~~ Chapter 10~~

The moon was high in the sky as Miroku, Sango, and Shippou sat around in a circle. They had set up camp soon after Kagome had left to go hunt, and by now the fire had died down to a few embers.

Shippou had fallen into a very light sleep and every now and then he would wake, only to murmur "Kagome" and then quickly fall back into his slumber. As the night grew darker, the winds grew colder, and Shippou had nuzzled deeper into Kirara, while Sango and Miroku leaned ever so slightly towards each other.

Leaves rustled in the distance. Crickets chirped in the night. A branch unexpectedly snapped.

Miroku was the first to respond. Quickly, he stood up, on the defense. Sango followed seconds later and waited for what was to come.

Out from the bushes, a large silhouette began to take form. It took no precaution to move quietly, and with each step, a grunt was heard. Sango kept her voice low, "Houshi-sama, what in the world is that?" Miroku squinted his eyes, paused, and then turned back to Sango with no response. He simply shrugged his shoulders.

They both looked on at the mysterious form. It wasn't much taller than either of them, and it seemed extremely bulky. The creature approached them at a snail's pace and with very little finesse. If anything, it seemed to be drunk—its width not helping it as it stumbled through the forest.

Sango and Miroku lifted their weapons. Whatever it was, it was heading straight for them. They would have the upper hand, the element of surprise. Just as it entered into their range of attack, the inevitable happened.

IT FELL.

Through the darkness, the monk and the exterminator could only hear bits and pieces of muttered voices. Something about carrying some one?

Miroku and Sango stealthily crept closer to the fallen creature, careful not to alert it, and came upon a sight that they certainly did not expect. Kagome was sprawled on the floor, crushed under an unconscious Inuyasha, while a stranger was tangled in a mixture of his own and Inuyasha's clothing. The trio fumbled, trying to get on their feet, only to fall over once again.

"Ahem," Sango cleared her throat and smiled, "Are we interrupting something?" Kagome looked up only to blush and scold herself for not noticing them sooner. Weren't her senses supposed to catch these things?

Kagome recomposed herself and quickly said, "Gods no, Sango! But please, if you're not too busy laughing at us, would you like to give us a hand?" Sango chuckled and dove in to help peel Inuyasha off of her. Miroku quickly jumped in and heaved most of Inuyasha's weight away to give them room to collect themselves. Effortlessly, he threw Inuyasha over his shoulder and carried him back to camp.

After reaching the barely burning fire, Miroku propped Inuyasha sitting up against a tree, and Sango picked up more wood and threw it into the pit. When the fire burned once more and everyone settled in, the round of questions began. "So… Kagome, who the heck is he?" the monk asked, pointing to Youko.

"Oh! How rude of me! Everyone, this is Youko Kurama. Youko, this is everyone, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kirara," Kagome motioned.

"Hello," he greeted.

Sango opened her mouth, ready with the next question, only to be disrupted by a shrill squeak. Shippou was wide awake now, and pounced onto the newcomer and gripped the front of his shirt, "You! You're a kitsune! Like me! Can you teach me anything? I REALLY REALLY want to become stronger, and with you as my teacher, I can become more powerful for sure! I can sense your power from here!" Shippou stopped for a second to catch a quick breath and eagerly continued, "But before that, what are you doing with Kagome? Who said you can be with her without someone else watching you guys? What happened to Inuyasha? Did you do this? Did you hurt Kagome while she was gone? If you did, you better prepare to feel my wrath!" His small fist clenched.

"Shippou!" Kagome pleaded, "Calm down. I'll explain everything." She grabbed Shippou under his armpits and pulled him into her arms. In her embrace, he spun around to face Kagome and cuddled into her neck and hair. Youko inhaled a sharp breath. The nerve of the little fox! He was mixing his scent with hers!

Not realizing or not caring, Kagome simply hugged him tighter within her arms and started scratching the top of his head.

Youko needed to snap out of it. Shippou was only a pup! What was he getting jealous for?

As Kagome began her story, Youko just stared at her. He watched her lips, mesmerized by their movements. And he looked into her eyes, drowning in their depths. "She is perfect. She is everything I've ever wanted," he thought. His gaze then traveled downward towards the little kit in her arms. The anger that was elicited not too long ago had somehow subsided, and was replaced by something else, a sense of fulfillment. He saw her now, nurturing a fox pup, and his thoughts rapidly transformed from blinding rage to comfort. That was his family.

He knew now what he needed to do.

Kagome did a fine job retelling her story with the three youkai, and she conveniently forgot to bring up details regarding any kisses with any youkai dog or fox.

While Kagome narrated as best as she could, questions were still in abundance, and the story had lasted much longer than expected. When her narration was coming to an end, fatigue had unexpectedly and immediately set in. They would all wait until morning to discuss further plans of what to do and where to go.

Miroku went to Inuyasha to ensure the hanyou was indeed doing alright, and after his quick inspection, he took up his usual position, sitting and leaning against a tree, as Sango chose a place near him on the floor. Kagome went to her bag and pulled out her blanket. She looked down in sadness, if only she had brought her sleeping bag! It would be an uncomfortable night.

She grabbed the blanket at one end and threw her hands into the air, spreading the blanket out onto the floor. She crawled on top of the semi-soft cloth and began to make herself comfortable. Shippou soon joined her, and almost immediately his small even breaths could be heard. She wrapped her arms around the little fox, and closed her eyes. After a day like hers, she was bound to fall asleep quickly. Or so she thought. Kagome continued to fidget, desperately trying to sleep. After tossing and turning for quite some time, she knew it was her demon instinct. Something nagged at her.

Kagome shifted on her blanket another ten times before she froze. She knew exactly what it was, "Youko!" she whispered as loudly as she could without waking her fellow campmates, "would you PLEASE stop staring? It's making me uncomfortable, and it's not polite!"

Youko, who was still by the fire, was stirred out of his trance, and immediately went up to a tree not far away from Kagome and sat himself down. She had seen his slight hurt expression, and instantly felt the guilt for snapping at him like that. He didn't do anything wrong, and he did just save Inuyasha. She was sure she was just cranky from not having eaten and from not having a good night's sleep in so long.

Kagome sighed. "Youko," she pleaded, "I didn't mean to be rude or cold, and I didn't mean to chase you away. I'm sorry," she paused and waited.

She looked at him sitting in the tree. He did not even acknowledge her! She sighed again. Ugh. He was such a child. Kagome frowned, then rolled her eyes, "I'm going to hate myself in the morning," she thought and took a deep breath, "Do you want to come down here and share my blanket? I mean, I know it's not much, but it's better than a tree or the ground." She looked up, curious. He turned his head away from her.

Kagome's shoulders slumped. She looked away and snuggled deeper into Shippou, curling herself into a tight ball. Maybe he would forgive her tomorrow morning? With guilt still dwelling in her heart, she knew she would sleep another uneasy night.

Not until she felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around her from behind, did she fall sound asleep.

The sun slowly crawled over the horizon, as if dreading the start of the day. Birds began to chirp and people began to wake, and soon the world was bustling.

"Get your filthy hands off of her you FOX!" Inuyasha yelled. There was no time to wipe the tiredness from their eyes, everyone was wide awake.

Kagome was still in Youko's arms and fidgeted within the fox's grasp, trying to flee. Shippou was no longer in Kagome's arms. She could see him eating a cup ramen by the fire, making the situation seem much more suspicious than it really was. A male and a female spooning in each other's arms for an entire night?

She wanted ,no, she NEEDED to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible. She felt the arms around her begin to tighten, and her plans to escape were wiped out. She strained her head over her shoulder and could see that his eyes were still closed. Was he still sleeping? She futilely tried one more time to get away, but felt the fox snuggle deeper into her hair, breathing deeply. Inuyasha's eyes flared wide and he began to pull out Tetsusaiga—

"Osuwari!" Kagome yelled.

The earth shook as Inuyasha plummeted into the ground, and Youko's eyes finally began to open. "Oh, good morning everyone!" he lifted his arm and waved. Kagome quickly took the opportunity and scrambled away from him and clambered up to her feet, "Sango! Let's go take a bath, there's a hot spring nearby." She used her hanyou speed and strength, and dragged Sango by the wrist towards their destination.

At the camp, it seemed Inuyasha was having a stare down by himself. His glare bore into Youko's entire being, but Youko was completely unaware, his face blank and innocent. He didn't understand what the dog was so angry about.

Soon after, Inuyasha sulked. He knew he couldn't touch a hair on the fox's head. Kagome would osuwari him until the ends of time if he did. With Tetsusaiga sheathed, all of his frustration began to build up, "You have NO right to be near her, Fox! I don't know why you're so familiar with her and I don't really care, so just leave and go back to the pathetic hole you crawled out of!"

Youko, stared blankly back, obliged him, and left.

"Ha!" Inuyasha laughed, "I showed him! He knows not mess with me!" Miroku, on the side, had witnessed the whole scenario, sighed and took a seat on a nearby rock, "you know he saved your life yesterday, right?"

Inuyasha looked at him in surprise and grunted, "Feh."

Sango quickly took off her kimono and taijiya outfit and submerged herself into the soothing warm water. "You have no idea how much I needed this, Kagome. We've been travelling for days without rest," she sighed, and then turned back to her companion, "so when are you going to tell me more about the new guy?" she smirked.

Kagome sat at the edge of the spring and splashed water into Sango's face, "And just what are you implying?" Both girls giggled, but Kagome promptly stopped. Something was coming their way. "Sango, shhh! Hide." she whispered.

Kagome stood up from the ground. Waiting. Sango quietly swam behind a large rock, and peeked out just enough to see what was going on.

Out of nowhere, Youko suddenly appeared in the clearing, and Sango was about to scream and beat him with her boomerang, until she realized that his back was towards them. "At least he's respectable and not a lecher," she thought.

"I apologize ladies," he spoke, "but Inuyasha said I was to come here and bring Kagome back. He had something to ask her. So please, do not think that I would come here for the purpose of spying."

Kagome looked at him cautiously, "and why would he send you? Why didn't he just come here himself?" she asked.

"He said you would just use the spell again—the one with the rosary beads. He also said you probably wouldn't listen to him." Kagome looked him over again, his argument seemed sound. He continued, "He also said I would be a safer choice than the monk." That was definitely true. She would have hurt Miroku if he had come. And with Inuyasha's hot temper, she was sure she'd harm him too.

Kagome looked back at her companion, "Sango, do you think you can get back safely?" "Of course!" Sango responded. "But don't think you've dodged my questions yet," she quickly added.

Kagome smiled at her friend, and turned back to Youko. She tentatively took a step closer to the fox, and then picked up a rather speedy pace, passing Youko, and heading straight back to camp. Youko easily caught up to her and walked a safe distance behind her.

This was it. This was the moment. Just as she was far enough from the spring and Sango's sight, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. "Youko! What are you doing? I can walk for myself!" she screamed.

"I'm sorry Kagome, but I can't leave you in the hands of an irresponsible hanyou like that! He can barely take care of himself!" And with that, Youko carried the stunned Kagome back to his domain.

~~~End of Chapter~~~

Author's Note: thanks again for reading!