Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inu...

A/N: I am MUCHO sorry for my delay in posting...I got sick on Wednesday (dizzy spells) saw the Doc on Thursday, had a choir performance AND a dance Friday evening/night, and then ANOTHER stupid choir performance on Saturday...(BIG sigh) Thus I had like ailch time to write the update let alone post it...But I have come through finally! I hope you guys haven't abandoned me...(searches the far reaches or the Internet...(whimpers))...Kay, this answers the question of Did Hojo live or die? It also covers a little bit more of Shimo-chan...(And by the way...shishi means "male heir" in Japanese)it's also a little funny and also (takes a deep proud breath) it's also inspired me to attempt a one-shot (inspiration is in one paragraph...one-shot, if I ever get it done right and have time, would be called "Hungry Like The Wolf.") AND this chapter slaps Inu with a little bit of reality over his jealousy...Thank you Mrs. H! But of course, one can't change one's nature, no matter how much one knows that it's wrong...I just loved the set up here, Inuyasha screams "WHAT!" a lot and it's funny...(snickers) well on to the writing/reading, eh?

Never Coincidence

Inuyasha jerked awake violently and sat bolt upright, his golden eyes dancing feverishly across the room. His ears swiveled as if bombarded by sounds from all directions. One clawed hand twisted through the covers and blankets, searching for the warmth of another, soft, smooth, inviting, full of love, and oh so good smelling…the claws and the searching fingertips just beyond them found nothing.

Sadly the hanyou slumped back down to the futon below, but his spine was stiff, his mind aroused with worrying premonitions. Hanyou-eating demons, monsters that stalked the shadows, his brother's poisoned talons scraping after Kagome and Koinu…so many dangers. Damn them all!

He climbed from the futon, mourning internally as he slid over the empty spot where his mate and wife would've normally been sleeping, her arms or legs draped across his form, her head lolling on his shoulder or his chest. He loved waking up and smelling her next to him each morning…but as he stirred this time, seeing the red light of dawn creep through the shades and screens, there was no scent. Of course today that didn't really mean a thing. This was the day before the night of the new moon, a time when his senses began a swift downturn, becoming duller and duller until finally after the sun set he was reduced to living in a merely human state.

For several moments Inuyasha stood straight as a rod, ears alert, eyes closed, taking in only what his ears and other ore delicate senses allowed. Every morning he tended to do this, letting his youkai senses take a taste of the world without his eyesight barging in on things. If he closed off the dominant sense he was able to open himself up to the deeper feelings—for instance he knew that today it would likely be warm again, a nice spring day. The morning's fresh, bright atmosphere made the flesh of his bare chest prickle briefly in a goose bumps before the hanyou abandoned his moment of quiet observation and moved to dress.

I have to visit Kagome and tell her to stay put right where she is until I kill that damned monster…

Not five minutes later the hanyou was stepping furtively down his own hallway, trying to sneak out of his own house. As he passed the other bedrooms he paused before each, taking stock of what everyone else in the household was up to. Miroku and Sango were asleep with Kasai—he could hear their steady, rhythmic breathing and heartbeats as he passed. The same was true for Shippo, Kohimu and Tisoki as well…it seemed like he was home free—literally so.

As quietly as he could, Inuyasha left the house, not even bothering to put on his shoes—not that he had any to begin with—and headed straight for the well that would let him through time.

When he reached it for the firs time that day Inuyasha stopped, suddenly alarmed. The meadow that housed the well was usually unremarkable. The hanyou never found anything interesting about it, although it did have an interesting history. He had fought for Kagome and the still unborn Koinu in that meadow with his brother. The well was the very place that had brought her to him. The well was the place where he knew she could always be safe—or rather she would always be safer there then she was on this side of it…

But this morning Inuyasha's senses reeled as he stepped into the meadow. Even to his fading senses the scent of blood was clear—not to mention he could see the splatters of it in the snow. Carefully he took in the air, searching for what had left the fluids. At the same time, although he was certain that the blood was at least a few hours old, Inuyasha listened carefully to the meadow. Only birds cheeped occasionally, welcoming the spring morning. But the blood and the remaining scents of the area were not nearly as innocent…

An inuyoukai and… the other scent—which he thought was from the blood because it lingered here the strongest, was indeterminate. It smelled unlike anything he had ever encountered. A chill rushed through him as he suddenly realized that the scent was familiar to him after all—it was nearly the same as the one left by the five-toed creature that had left its prints outside his estate…

Coincidence?

Inuyasha had been around long enough to know better than to shrug off something like this. It was not coincidence with his luck…he was suddenly very glad that he had left Kagome and Koinu on the other side of the well, and glad that Taikokajin had warned him. He strode forward to the well quickly and jumped into it, fearlessly…yet as he fell through the darkness something felt different and worry rushed through him. What if…but no, that was impossible…Kagome and Koinu were safe with the Higurashi family.

He landed in the darkness of of the well's future side and leapt straight up, perching on the well for a few moments to glance around once…and just as he stepped off the edges…he smelled it.

The hanyou's body stiffened. That five-toed beast has been on this side of the well too…and then he felt a shiver of terror whisper through him. Kagome and Koinu! He rushed to the well house's door and nearly tore it open in his frantic rush to get onto the Higurashi shrine. Stepping out into the early morning sunshine he paused, closing his eyes in concentration. His nose worked like a bloodhound's adrenaline fueling his senses to their sharpest…he was searching for the scent of his mate and child. They were here…but that meant little—they lived here. Kagome had left her scent here for years, all her life actually…but when he inhaled a second time the amber eyes snapped open and the ears fell back as horror mingled with terror inside him.

The scent that he was picking up now was recent. It had to be. It was clearly Kaogme's but there was one thing in it that left him with no doubt that she had to have left it within the last few hours—just like the blood on the Feudal era side of the well…

It was milk.

Inuyasha rushed to the front door of the Higurashi household, half leaping and half running, his red fire-rat robes flared out behind him as he moved. All thought of subtlety was vanished. He pounded—hard—on the Higurashi's front door and paced restlessly back and forth, waiting for them to answer. When there was a slight delay—no more than thirty seconds—Inuyasha began to consider tearing the door down. But before he actually became that desperate Sota appeared, scowling against the light.

"Inuyasha?" he blinked, but already the hanyou had pushed past his wife's younger brother roughly, breathing loudly, trying to scent Kagome's presence or lack thereof. As he tromped into the living room first, and then peeked his head into the kitchen, continuing to snuffle like a pig searching for slop, Sota followed, dazedly, always on the edge of calling out the hanyou's name but always stopping himself in favor of watching his brother-in-law's antics. Finally when he could bare it no more—and Inuyasha had begun to charge up the stairs, loud and wordlessly—Sota cleared his throat, asking, "What are you doing, Inuyasha?"

Stopping half way up the stairs, as if he had forgotten what he was doing or where he was going, the hanyou paused. His ears turned backward slowly, as if he'd only just realized that Sota was there at all. Then he whirled and faced the youth, his amber eyes narrowed in something between suspicion and annoyance. "Where's Kagome!"

Sota blinked, confusedly. "What?" he was somewhere between surprised and afraid and the mixture struck Inuyasha like a cannonball—they don't know anything's wrong…

"Where is Kagome!" he repeated, louder and harsher this time, his white fangs gleaming.

A voice from at the top of the stairs caught Inuyasha's ear then and he rounded on it, eyes ablaze, as if he might attack…but it was only Mrs. Higurashi, shrouded in a robe, her hair and face still messy from sleep. "Sota? Inuyasha? What's going on?" she looked from her natural born son to the half-demon that called her mother by law. Her face clouded in frustration. "Is this about Hojo?"

Sota desperately tried to mime signals to his mother to keep her from divulging anything further—he could only pray that the hanyou didn't remember Kagome's former human suitor…but that one name was enough to stir Inuyasha's memory. He never forgot rivals…

"Who!" he growled, fists clenching, "Where the hell is Kagome!" he repeated, turning round to glare once at Sota, who stopped his hopeless gesturing at his mother with a guilty choking sound and a flimsy smile.

"I thought that she was with you!" Mrs. Higurashi blinked.

Inuyasha crossed his arms and scowled. He was so tempted to call her stupid, but she was his wife's mother and he knew that even among demons such behavior would be scoffed at and scorned as unbelievably rude. So he held his tongue and instead threw out, "Feh! Would I be here asking that if she was with me!"

That seemed to finally reach Mrs. Higurashi and Sota. From behind the hanyou Sota cautiously asked, "You mean…you didn't come through the well yesterday afternoon and find her with Hojo…?"

"WHAT!"

He whirled to face Sota, his amber eyes wide and feral. The youth cringed and talked very fast to save his skin from his brother-in-law's rather sharp and deadly claws. "Yesterday-Hojo-came-over-and-Kagome-talked-with-him-and-went-outside-and-later-we-found-Hojo-passed-out-by-the-well-alone!" he squeaked with his terror.

Inuyasha growled like an animal and stomped past Sota, choosing to pace rather than stare at the youth and fight the instinct to rip him apart. Mrs. Higurashi and her son stared at him while he moved, dumb with worry, until finally Kagome's mother cleared her throat and called his name, "Inuyasha…?"

"What?" he snarled, without even looking at her. His mind was churning over and over with the terrible, unthinkable things that might've happened to his wife and tiny son…as well as trying to deny the little voice of jealousy that ad arisen inside him to learn that an old suitor had returned to hit on his mate again…didn't humans understand that by every right Kagome was his and his alone! Even Kouga had followed the demon code of conduct when Kagome had officially taken him as her mate…he still smirked fondly remembering how that visit had gone. The wolf had breezed in, eager to claim "his woman" now that the threat of Naraku had passed—not that Kouga had had anything to do with the evil demon's death—and stopped short. Demons marked their mates in multiple ways, some of which were quite vile and distasteful, but Inuyasha had marked her in those days only by scent—his scent inside her. Such a mark was invisible but powerfully clear to other demons with a fair to decent sense of smell, and Kouga fell under that category. When he'd appeared he'd only taken one whiff of the air about the couple and realized the truth—and they never heard from him again…

But the Hojo that Mrs. Higurashi and Sota spoke of wasn't a demon; though Inuyasha hadn't thought that it would make a difference…did that Hojo do something to her…?

Mrs. Higurashi spoke again, her voice uncertain, hesitant, "Would you like to see Hojo, ask him what happened?"

The hanyou turned to regard her and a sudden vicious smirk crossed his face. "Where is he…"

Both mother and son looked startled, their faces bleached white. Apparently they were rethinking the wisdom of such an option. But once offered it couldn't be revoked—Inuyasha would make sure of that…

"Where is he!" the hanyou demanded, his voice dangerously low and hissing with rage and desperation.

"Inuyasha…" Mrs. Higurashi began stiffly, noticeably nervous, "Kagome and Hojo were merely visiting. She left the house to show him around the shrine grounds and when she didn't come back with him before nightfall…"

"WHAT!"

Pale and stiff as a ghost, with Sota cringing beside her, Mrs. Higurashi's voice stuttered and tried to fail, but ruthlessly she went on, "It's n-not what you think at all Inuyasha…" her voice and face hardened with a stern, condescending emotion, "And for you to even consider that possibility shows how low you are! Kagome loves you—only you! That's more than what I could say about you for many years…"

Inuyasha was red in the face, his ears so tight against his skull that it was as if they'd been torn clean off in battle. His amber eyes glittered in rage. Damn her for bringing up Kikyo…damn her! If he stared at Mrs. Higurashi any longer he thought he might lose control of that inner beast within—the stress and fear for his newborn family was just too much for his consciousness to contain and control—so he let his eyes stray away. They landed on Sota's rather large and untrimmed toenails, and the hanyou's thoughts spun as he frantically tried to regain his grip on reality.

There seemed no way to reign his temper in again except a violent release or hours of sulking…But just as he thought that he imagined his wife's face from many years ago, when she'd been nothing but a loyal friend and fellow Shard-gatherer. He remembered the unshed tears as she pledged her allegiance to him—despite the fact that Kikyo had set about to drag him into hell with her for eternity—she had sworn to uphold him no matter what…and come what may she had. He hadn't needed to change to earn her respect or her love, Kagome had always been true for him, always been there.

His gaze traveled slowly back to Mrs. Higurashi's proud, stern features, and Sota's fidgeting nervousness. He let his shoulders sag, his rage flow out of him uselessly. I'll save it for finding Kagome… "You are right…" he sighed slowly, and both Kagome's mother and brother blinked at him in surprise at the admission. "I'm just being a stupid hanyou…" wryly he imagined Kagome's voice cutting through their silence, screaming her infamous word: "Sit!"

"We found Hojo lying unconscious and alone out by the well." Sota admitted, looking toward his mother for approval.

She nodded slowly, pursing her lips in new fear, "We assumed that she had been showing him the well and you happened to come through at that moment and see them talking together and…"

Sota finished for her, "You got jealous."

Inuyasha felt his ears fall backward again, though they'd only been poised forward for a few seconds while he was listening to their explanation. He scowled, realizing that their interpretation would've been exactly right…but I wouldn't have left a simple human unconscious and just dragged Kagome back through the well with me… quietly he asked, "Where is this guy now?"

Mrs. Higurashi gestured toward the end of her hallway, to Kagome's old bedroom. "We couldn't wake him so we put him up for the night…"

Inuyasha started forward immediately, his face grim, but both mother and son stepped to block his progress. The hanyou's amber eyes flashed with irritation. "What's your problem now?" he growled, "I gotta talk to this jackass if I'm going to figure out what happened there and who I need to slaughter for it to get her back…"

Sota and Mrs. Higurashi's stances faltered, they glanced at each other quickly before Kagome's mother sighed heavily and looked back at her hanyou son-in-law. "Inuyasha—be gentle, okay? Hojo and Kagome's interactions were always innocent. Don't take your frustration out on him, please."

He rolled his eyes, "I won't now—get out of the way!" he pushed through them, only to have Sota grab onto his arm and pull at him, calling his name. "What, Sota! What do you want now?" he growled, glaring at the youth. He was aware that behind him Mrs. Higurashi was scurrying at the foot of the stairs, digging in a closet and rushing back to him. He wondered once if she might try to press a weapon to his back to drive their point of "being gentle" with Hojo home, but instead a moment later he felt Mrs. Higurashi's hand at his shoulder, pulling him down. He knelt slightly, turning to face her as he did, and found a weight smashing over his ears and his head. He scowled as realization dawned on him and just above where his amber eyes could see it a line of bright red matching his Fire Rat robes wavered. That damned "baseball" cap she always used to make me wear…

Frowning he reached up and turned the part that stuck out awkwardly over his forehead—the front of the cap—backward, twisting his ears painfully as he did so. Inuyasha grimaced once and then forced the discomfort away from his outer mind, focusing on his need to discover what had happened to Kagome and Koinu to flood his thoughts and will first and foremost. He turned away from Sota and Mrs. Higurashi and scaled the rest of their stairs in a single leap. Behind him, after he'd landed, he heard the duo coming up after him hurriedly, and, frowning, he didn't wait for them.

Crossing the hallway's length until he reached Kagome's old room, turned the knob and entered, he was assaulted with the still somehow strong scent that his wife had carried about her like perfume when she was still only a teenager. The scent made his gut tighten with old, ancient, unfulfilled longing…and then the far more recent scent of himself and the pup reached him and Inuyasha was forced with a jolt back into the present. The amber eyes landed on a figure covered in one simple blanket, snoozing away…

A handsome human…Hojo reminded the hanyou slightly of Miroku, only five hundred years into the future. He bristled wondering if this Hojo possessed a similar personality, though the one that lingered in his memories didn't. Behind him he felt Sota and Mrs. Higurashi pressing close and he growled quietly with annoyance and pushed ahead into the room, kneeling at his wife's former childhood bed.

First he sniffed the sleeping human male once, trying to pick out anything unusual—the lingering scent of dust from inside the well house was all that his nose was able to find. Grumbling to himself the hanyou raised one clawed hand above the human's head—and smirked when he heard Sota and Mrs. Higurashi gasping with shock—and brought it down forcefully, slapping the oblivious sleeper.

Hojo sat straight up, gasping desperately. He stank of sudden terror and fear and Inuyasha cringed at it, almost backing away at the reeking stench. "What! Who is…what…I…Kagome…?" Hojo stammered, looking about the room in bewilderment. When his eyes landed on Inuyasha he appeared confused at first and then, abruptly, a cold clarity reentered his eyes and face. "You're…" he breathed, blinking stupidly, trying to remember the proper names and titles with which to address his infatuation's handsome, quite manly husband.

Inuyasha didn't give him the chance, "Hobo—you in there dumbass?"

Mrs. Higurashi's voice rose in a tone of reprimand, "Inu—" but she cut herself short as Sota elbowed her in the ribs.

Hojo stared hard at the hanyou for a moment, his thoughts swirling and confused and tried again to identify the red robed, fair-haired man in front of him. "You're…Kagome's…"

Once more Inuyasha cut him off, "Yes, that's right, I am." He appeared, for a moment, very pleased with that fact, and then the familiar scowl reappeared. "Where is Kagome, Hobo? Tell me fast and I might just be nice about it…" at his sides where Mrs. Higurashi and Sota could see it, but not Hojo himself, the hanyou's hands flexed, his claws sharp and deadly, a silent promise in them of harm for Hojo if he refused to cooperate.

"I…" he searched his memory, found confusion and blackness and…his eyes widened in horror. "Something came out of your well!" he looked toward Mrs. Higurashi in near panic. He tried to point in the direction of the aforementioned object and his index finger shook the entire way, "It just…he came…Kagome and the baby…"

Inuyasha sprung at him then, unable to contain himself anymore. Amber eyes ablaze with his frantic terror and rage once again, the hanyou grabbed the worthless Hojo by the collar of his shirt and pulled his face close, allowing him to take in the other man's scents very accurately—as well as to simply intimidate him. "What happened to them?" he hissed, dangerously.

"I…" Hojo's eyes started to tear and he began shaking in horror and fear. Feebly his hands tried to pry lose Inuyasha's grip and failed. "I don't…" a tear or two slid down his cheeks as the memories of the attack hit him, the blackness, the pain, the helplessness all returned to him. Kagome hovering over the ground, her body held rigid, the beast's evil eyes gleaming as Inuyasha's own did now, but unlike Kagome's husband's amber orbs, the thing's eyes had shone with hatred and a sadistic hunger…the light inside a murderer's eyes…

"God no!" Hojo bawled, shaking, and pawed at Inuyasha's hands, at his face…his fingers closed over the baseball cap and pulled. The thing gave way; fell toward the floor. Inuyasha's white dog-ears sprung up merrily, released from their red prison. Hojo was suddenly mute with the mixture of epiphany and terror. Kagome was telling the truth about everything—and someone captured her from that other side…

"This can't be happening!" he whispered to himself, his mind still reeling, trying to deny the things that were moving atop Inuyasha's head, swiveling back at forth with irritation. The claws that were tearing through the fabric of his shirt, the amber eyes that reminded him of his cat's eyes, bright gold and shining in a clearly inhuman way…

Inuyasha let loose a sharp, disgusted growl and tossed Hojo back onto the bed. He snorted and rose to his feet, looking at Sota and Mrs. Higurashi. His stomach was tight with worry for his wife and child but he refused to show her family that weakness. Only confidence mattered at this time. He nodded slowly at them. "I've heard all I need to hear from this loser." He sneered.

"Do you know what happened, Inuyasha?" Sota whispered, a mixture of apprehension and awe in his voice.

"No." Inuyasha scowled, "But I can guess—and I'm going to go through the well and find out."

On the bed Hojo mumbled the hanyou's name like a madman: "Inuyasha! Yes, that's it, Inuyasha! That's who she said she'd married…that was the boy she introduced me to so long ago."

Inuyasha threw his mate's former suitor a quick smirk, "No wonder Kagome didn't like you…"

If she wakes up to feed the pup it'll be a miracle. Shimofuri thought to himself with a frown as he tried to cuddle and comfort the hungry baby for the thousandth time.

He sat on the floor of the wide, spacious guest room of his mother's palace. The walls and shoji screens of the room were decorated in grayish-purple reeds with the occasional intrusion of gold and bright orange koi fish. It was a spring pond theme, and gorgeous just as everything else in his mother's palace was, but at the moment Shimofuri hated the room. He hated it not for its beauty—but because it was smaller than many of the other rooms. It echoed worse than the caves that he had spent the night in while once hunting in his true form with his father—Haiseishoku—in the wilds of his mother's territory. That was saying a lot for it…and he wished that he could go deaf for just that night…just until a wet nurse could be found to end the pup's hunger.

Why was it that I decided to take care of Inuyasha's pup? He wondered, bitterly, trying to ignore the ringing in his ears from the baby's continual crying.

Cooing and cuddling had stopped working ages ago on the child. Since arriving at the palace the child had refused to be placated. The little white ears had drooped and disappeared pathetically as he screamed, the tears had ceased because he'd shed so many, the eyes were squished tightly shut endlessly, and the pup's face glowed a bright red. He pitied the child but there was nothing he could do…his mother is unconscious…and with the pup screaming so much the inuyoukai had gotten a shot of the baby's still toothless gums. Nothing but milk will do for him…

Shimofuri looked up from the screaming baby in his arms and toward the futon on the other side of the room where, swaddled in bright white furs, a human form lay, unmoving. Inuyasha's human mate was almost as surrounded by myths and legends as the hanyou was but at the moment he thought she smelled and looked just as frail as any human woman might…but looks could very well be deceiving…what other choice do I have?

With a sigh, which was impossible to hear above the baby's screams, the young inuyoukai rose to his feet and walked carefully across the room. The child's screams moved with him, the echoes changing and flowing about the room as he went, like ripples in a pond. He knelt at the futon's side and leaned over the unconscious woman, peering into her pallid, utterly still face…like one of the dead…and he saw her blink. By the gods! He almost grinned but quickly restrained it to move away from her instead, bowing low to her when the young mother turned her head slowly to stare at him. He held the baby pressed tightly to his chest, protecting it as if it were his own and not his distant, hanyou cousin's.

"My lady," he murmured, formally, his tone without emotion.

The human woman's eyes blinked once, twice, taking him in. Then her gaze changed and he realized that she was thinking of her child and his ceaseless crying…Shimofuri rose and moved to her side again, extending the pup out to her in his arms. "I have watched over him." He assured her, gently.

She started to sit up, but paused half way there, breathing raggedly, her eyes closed. Beneath their lids Shimofuri saw her eyeballs seeming to spin, flickering wildly…is she dizzy?

"My lady…?" he whispered, trying to call her back to the real world. It worked—her eyes shot open and locked onto him again and she pushed herself the rest of the way up. Her arms reached out for her pup and Shimofuri handed the screaming infant over without hesitation.

The moment the child scented his mother's presence—and no doubt her milk—he quieted, whimpering hungrily instead. The tiny little clawed hands dug at his mother's torn white jacket knowingly. But the mother did nothing to relieve the child of his hunger…instead she looked up at the young Inuyoukai, her dark gaze confused and troubled…and suddenly Shimofuri understood, and was immediately embarrassed.

Quickly he turned round, letting her see only his back. This had two reasons, the first was to give her what he'd realized she wanted: privacy to nurse the pup. The second was to hide his abrupt blush. Such a thing was quite unbecoming of a strong, proud inuyoukai heir. He refused to utter an apology to the woman—that would reveal his embarrassment in the matter for certain! He couldn't allow that. His thoughts bristled with self-loathing for several seconds as he scolded himself for not immediately sensing the woman's need. Of course she wouldn't want to nurse the child with him around! Shimofuri had, he supposed, forgotten that she wasn't apart of the clan. His mother had unabashedly nursed Tsukiyume whenever and wherever either of them pleased. There wasn't any shame or taboo associated with it to the inuyoukai—but this woman was not an inuyoukai and she wasn't even part of the clan technically…shifting uncomfortably Shimofuri forced his thoughts to stray to something else, burying the topic as well as his embarrassment.

When he heard the pup's whimpering cease he knew, with a huge surge of relief, that Inuyasha's human mate had finally begun nursing the child. He remained stoically still, not moving to look back at her, for fear that she would stop if he disturbed her in any way, but the silence lengthened and made him jumpy inside. This situation—with his mother baiting their mysterious and utterly powerful hanyou cousin—made him distinctly unhappy and uncomfortable. He wanted to speak to the woman, for when she had met his gaze before he'd seen the silent questions in her eyes, but feeding her pup came first…

Just as he was about to raise his own voice to begin speaking to her, the woman broke the terrible weight of the silence between them: "Where…are we? Who are you?" her voice was weak and hoarse with its lack of use. Shimofuri tried to scent her to take in her mood—but he could smell nothing except the sweet tang of milk.

"My lady," he began formally, his back still to her, his voice careful and controlled and quiet, "You and your child are in the palace of the presiding inuyoukai of the Middle lands, Lady Taikokajin. I am the heir to that position, my name is Shimofuri, but you may address me as shishi-sama, if you wish." His formality with the woman was sure to make her uncomfortable, he knew, but although he didn't much like it himself he knew that his mother would disapprove if she found that the human woman was calling him by his common name and not one of high respect and authority. Uncertainly he held his back rigid and straight, waiting to see if there was more the woman wanted to know.

"Shishi-sama…?" she whispered behind him, confused it seemed, "Okay…" her tone was one of a reluctant acceptance, he heard her sigh. "I assume that you know who I am, but…am I a prisoner here, shishi-sama?"

Shimofuri frowned, unable to stop himself from making the expression, though he tried, and glad suddenly that he had his back to her still. He let the silence drag onward, searching himself for the answer. Should I tell her the truth?

In this new quiet Shimofuri heard the baby's continual squirming and kneading of his mother while he nursed, as well as the slightly lethargic breathing of the woman. The scent of milk swamped his senses still and he resisted the urge to shake his head in an attempt to clear it—the mother might see that as an answer to her question and he didn't want that.

He allowed himself a deep breath before he answered, "In truth, my lady, I do not know your name, but I do know who you are. And you are free to do as you will here—but I cannot allow you to leave. You will be treated as a guest in this palace, I shall make every effort to assure that you are comfortable…" he stopped himself as he realized that he was about to accidentally announce to her, 'for as long as you are alive.' Had his brains turned to mush! Shimofuri almost growled to himself and his fists, lying peacefully in his lap until this moment, curled into angry balls. If she dies Inuyasha will likely kill us all…Mother why must you be so blind! But then he too remembered his half-sister and he bowed his head, closing his eyes.

The mother sighed behind him, "Thank you, I guess…" she sounded nervous, and after a moment he heard her quietly offer her name to him, "My name is Kagome…"

Though he still had his back to her he bowed, knowing she could see it, "Lady Kagome." He murmured solemnly, "May I ask the name of your child?"

"Oh—we named him Koinu…"

A name of great affection…he could guess that the pup was very important to both Inuyasha and his human mate…he felt a strange, cold darkness inside himself when he considered the way his mother had looked at the child the night he had spoken to her. Her eyes had glowed with a tiny hint of something that frightened Shimofuri more than Garou's dark magic…she suggested that I could adopt the pup—but I don't think in her heart she was thinking of me taking the pup…

She'd been thinking of the pup as her own…

Shimofuri suppressed a shudder and realized that he needed to escape the room. Clearing his throat he asked, "Lady Kagome?"

"Yes?" the answer was quiet and tired.

"Are you hungry? Would you like food or water?"

There was a pause—all the answer that Shimofuri needed. He rose to his feet and walked away from her quietly, "I will fetch you sustenance." He told her mechanically when he reached the door and slid it open, stepping out into the hall. As he padded, nearly silent, away from the guest room on his bare feet, passing servants that bowed low to him as they went, Shimofuri was tense and deeply disturbed at heart. This will come to be our doom Mother, he whispered at her inside his mind, though he knew she couldn't possibly hear him and even if she could've she wouldn't have listened, Inuyasha will destroy us if Garou doesn't…I can feel it.

Endnote: WOWEES! This story is WAY over the 200th reviewer now! WOW! Kay: the 200th Reviewer was The Moonless Night! (tosses cookies at everyone and gives a massive award out to The Moonless Night (winks) And you thought that you weren't going to be the 200th! HA!)

A MONSTER THANK YOU TO ALL REVIEWERS! FYI IY is mine, adamile, The Moonless Night(200 reviews! YAYS!), sarah, Taigo, Yami Chikara, SerenaClearwater, TheDarkAngel101(sorry this one's just as long (sheepish grin)), angelpup,kirarakitty, nekoyasha213, heather, cool-chick-rae, Sesshomaru13, Lady Kjerston of the Western, Inuadmirer, Ryine Kuriso To'oname, Crolynx(You shocked me dropping the f-bomb in your review, I thought I was going to be screamed at! I'm going to have to read the author you suggested, I will endeavor to do so in the very near future...),Cindy(Interesting point...and THANK YOU! I hope I can live up to your expectations! (sheepish smiles)), inuyasha'sbabe07 , Simonkal of Inyu (Did I mention I LOVE you guys? I giggled proudly when I read your review (giggles again) THANK YOU!), inuyasha-is-mine7630, Tiamath(WOW! I didn't see that one coming! Hehehe...he IS evil but his evil-ness stems from a fear of more than just death but pure extinction...can we really blame him? eh...probably yes b/c we love IY and Kagome and Koinu so much...(grins)), fanfiction1(Yes, I think you got that all basically right, and yes, Inu probably would've gone anyway, but Taiko needs the leverage of having Kagome and Koinu within her power/protection to make sure that Garou doesn't get them, as well as to be kinda a shield against Inu's wrath, like "Don't wind-scar my butt becuase I have your wife and child..." that sort of thing...), Rinelwin (I didn't really do anything to Koinu (snickers)and no, Shimo-chan isn't in love with Kagome, he's probably too young to feel that way anyway, he might be by demon standards an adolescent...)

I think that's everyone...sorry I id everything in bulk...I have homework I need to do and such...(sighs) but at least I got to updating finally! (whimpers) Can you all forgive me for being so late? (sniffles)...