Disclaimer: Naw, I don't own anything...cept maybe my own original characters...but since they're wrapped up in the IY world they're sorta not mine either, eh?

A/N: Ha! Kagome strikes back! Yep...for once I'm pretty sure I don't need to make a warning concerning Inuyasha's language. He only uses minor curses here. Rin returns...I believe next chapter shall be the dreaded, and anticipated showdown on the two fronts: one with Garou, the other with the ever-hated Pink Lady...there will be several chapters I think of it...Can never really tell anyone for sure you see b/c it sorta writes itself and some ideas never come until the spur of themoment. To get them the way I want them it might just take a while to write and edit and perfect...if you get bored I Miss You is currently advancing wildly, despite my best efforts. (Yes, that one is having like post-writer's block recovery syndrome...eh...vaguely meaning after translation that I'm having trouble stopping writing that one...(sighs) which means that it's progressing a lot faster than this one at the moment, but this one is still coming...don't worry...I just keep thinking about the epilogue I have planned for this story...and I get giddy (giggles and sniggles)) Anyway: Go read I Miss You if you're bored...

Also: I'd like to say that I am OPEN to anyone's ideas as to who should kill each of the bad guys and how and/or when and that sorta thing...call it the "Hit List."

Lastly: OVER 400 REVIEWS! WHEEE! I LOVE YOU GUYS! (blows kisses) Anyway...getting down to it...R and R! Enjoy!

Unexpected Detour

Her legs shook beneath her, the muscles weakened, straining to support her weight. Though she felt this, and wanted only to lie back down under the scratchy blanket Kaede had given her, Kagome found that she couldn't. It was as if a puppeteer had come while she slept and tied steel rods to her legs—and was now, from a safe, unseen distance, controlling the wires.

She was cold inside, and withdrawn. When she looked up her vision was cloudy, her mind fogged, and her head awash in pain that she couldn't localize. She wanted to call for help, to moan with the pain, but her throat refused to move…it reminded her of trying to move while she was still half-dreaming, as if she were drugged.

An old, gray-haired woman appeared in her sight. Her lips moved, Kagome recognized that the old woman—the healer, Kaede—was trying to help her back to her resting spot on the floor of the hut. She carried an earthen bowl in her hands and as Kagome's puppet legs pushed past the elderly woman the water sloshed with her foreign strength.

Kaede's eye—the one that was uncovered by the eyepatch—widened. Kagome heard her words dimly through the hazy world of her drugged, weakened mind. "Kagome, you should be resting…what's wrong?"

Her arms lifted, hesitated, and Kagome realized, with a jolt, what was about to happen. Her heart shuddered and she tried to cry out, tried to warn the old woman…Please! Kaede! Stay away from me! I am not in control of my body!

But her throat refused to listen and the puppeteer continued to pull on the strings that forced her to move against her will. A strength flowed through her that burned her veins, made the haze in her head buzz with pain. Instinctively she knew that it was a demonic energy, not a priestess's pure spiritual energy. It warred with the strength that resided within her own soul, giving her a tiny measure of remaining will and consciousness.

Her senses dulled but she was still able to watch as her own hand swiped out at Kaede's arm and shoulder, a bright, golden energy formed claws at the ends of her fingers…crimson spilled into the air and Kagome screamed and raged within her own mind and her body—both of which had suddenly become a cage to her.

Kaede slumped, gasping, and fell away. Kagome tried to still her legs, tried to make them stop, but the puppeteer was ruthless. She walked on, out of the hut, unknowing of what had befallen the old priestess. She stopped straining against the invisible strings, focused on staying sane. The strength of the demon's energy that channeled through her weakened when exposed to her spirit's power, and Kagome realized that it was likely she could, with enough strength, break through it…

And then she saw him.

Her legs—still at the mercy of the evil puppeteer's jerks and tugs—had brought her to a long, misty bridge. She cringed as those legs carried her out over the abyss, with nothing but the thin planks of wood to separate her from the moist, thick air of the chasm…and then her senses swam with horror.

Another shape had appeared in her way, a red shadow—topped by two adorable dog-ears. Her heart pounded inside her, but her legs kept moving, slowly but surely. She tried to speak, tried to move her facial muscles to send him some silent warning—but nothing happened. Soon he'd seen her as well and rushed to see if she was all right. Her legs stopped when her body collided with the hanyou, and though she raged inside she did nothing as his arms slid around her, as he leaned his face against the top of her head…

No! Not Inuyasha! Please, get away from me!

But her silent pleas went unvoiced, and the puppeteer strengthened his hold on her with a vengeance.

The foreign demonic strength tore through her veins again, ripped at her soul. No!

But she could do nothing as her hands came up to the hanyou, as if to return his embrace…and the gold-yellow claws reemerged, like Sesshomaru's energy whip, from her fingers.

Her efforts to break through the control were rewarded with just a little whisper, "Inuyasha…"

And then she saw her hands drive the golden, glowing claws through his body, and her mind screamed for him, splintered apart when the bright red of his blood stained her white priestess's garb…

(A/N: Boom! Scene change! Present time!)

With a weak, shuddering cry, Kagome's eyes snapped open, her breathing hard, ragged. Her vision was blurred—she could tell even in the dimness of the room. Pain tore through her skull and she moaned, though even her throat fought that action. The dream was still so fresh and raw in her mind. Fearfully she raised a hand and probed her cheek, finding cold tears there.

And suddenly it came to her: I know what's wrong with me…

When Menomaru the moth demon had taken control of her through his spell Kagome had felt the same, draining weakness, the hazy focus, the dulled senses…the fatigue. When she pushed past the initial pain and investigated the inner recesses of her mind she found it: the lingering tingle of a spell—and just as Menomaru's spell had carried the sickening aura of the demonic energy, so too, did this one.

But who…? How…?

Her jaw clenched when an answer came: Taikokajin…

Anger was like a crutch, it propelled her through suffering and through pain. Kagome used it for all it was worth, pushing herself up, blinking at the world around her.

Koinu…she spotted the pup, playing at the edge of the furs, giggling innocently. Her relief made her shiver, made the pain swell until she gasped, clutching her head. When it finally subsided slightly Kagome was trembling in near-exhaustion, sleep beckoned welcomingly—but Kagome steeled herself, her powerful miko's will, against such a thought.

Stay awake, Kagome. Stay awake if you want to live to see your son grow up—if you want to hold Inuyasha in your arms again, if you want to have more babies to show your family…She had to fight.

Kagome slowly, painfully, reached forward, grabbing up her son cautiously. Her arms shook.

The pup squealed eagerly, moving toward her grasp. His little ears wiggled uncoordinatedly and the big, innocent blue eyes sparkled up at her lovingly. When she held him to her chest he wrapped his arms around her neck, familiar with the routine, and snuggled into the small hollow where her neck met her collarbone. His warm, gentle breath against her skin was a beacon, leading Kagome's weakened mind back from the brink, feeding it.

Koinu's ears tickled her chin and neck, making Kagome smile tenderly. She nuzzled his fuzzy, silver-haired head and the pup began to coo against her softly.

His weight, his warmth in her arms, focused Kagome's strength, her will and soul. Carefully she reached inside herself, stroking the dormant power of the miko. It flared within her, feeding her energy she didn't know that she had. She assessed it, shaped it, honed it…and then sought out the place deep within her that was fragmented and torn by the demon's spell…

Pain raced through her and Kagome whimpered to herself, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Koinu's cooing was lost to her outer senses, the real world faded as her struggle turned inward.

This demon's magic was like Tsubaki's, dark, forbidden—and ancient. Menomaru's demonic energy had warred with her spiritual strength in the past, but Kagome remembered that Tsubaki's had been far worse. Dark magic was the miko's pure magic gone all wrong, and there was only one way for Kagome to correct it: purification.

Sensing his mother's pain and suffering, Koinu whimpered and started to cry against her, making small, childish sounds. His white ears turned backward, he snuggled into Kagome's skin, trying to get her to comfort him—but from his mother there came nothing but tenseness, the shaking of her muscles, and the gleam of sweat breaking out on her brow.

When his tears began to spill, and his cries grew a little louder, a little more insistent and fearful, and still there was no answer from his mother; Koinu became genuinely scared. His sense of smell was keen and although he didn't yet understand the world or the people living in it, he was instinctually programmed to understand and decipher a few select scents. Things like fear, blood, pain, milk and rage. Now, from his mother, he scented pain, and reacted by screaming louder, calling for help from his father, blood to blood…

Inuyasha jerked and twitched in his sleep, restlessly. Three hours before Shimofuri had left him in his true form to go fishing, trusting his father's sword, Ribikou, with the hanyou. Though he had set about to make a fire—which he had—and pace until his cousin returned, his exhaustion had gotten the better of him: Inuyasha had fallen asleep, perched high in a tree near the river.

But his sleep was light and troubled. He dreamed immediately—nightmares almost exclusively…

He watched Kagome suffer from years long past, Kikyo shot the arrow that pinned him to the Sacred Tree time after time after time. Miroku was sucked into his own wind tunnel, Sango slain by her little brother Kohaku mercilessly. Naraku tortured Koinu Kohimu, Tisoki, and Kasai, making them battle one another to the death. Shippo was torn limb from limb by a huge white dog with golden eyes (Sesshomaru!) but no, wait, the eyes were pink now (Taikokajin!)…and then the dog was black and shimmering as it snarled at him, the blue-gray eyes shining red in the middle (Shimofuri!). A swirling black shadow descended over Koinu's crying, helpless form, sucked the life right out of him even as Inuyasha screamed and cursed it, hacked at it with Tetsusaiga for all he was worth…and nothing touched it.

The shadow swept toward him then too, leaving Koinu silent and dead, torn to fleshy, horrifying bits in its wake…

He jumped awake, eyes wide in terror, ears swiveling wildly. "What the—" he stopped himself as the sound of the river reached him, the drone of night crickets. Only dreams…but he didn't feel comforted. In the wake of Naraku's death he'd often felt as if he weren't really safe, but since mating and marrying Kagome that had been eased a bit—she tended to help him that way, steadying him like a second half. And dreams of losing a child, especially a tiny baby, were something he'd had ever since he learned Kagome was pregnant in the first place…but the shadow?

He scowled unhappily. The dream had left a scent with him, buried inside the shadow: Garou's stench.

Inuyasha's hands clenched into fists, tight with worry and determination. I will die myself before I lose Koinu. He vowed, snarling at the dim embers of the fire he'd lit just after Shimofuri had vanished down the river.

Where is that Shimo-pup anyway?

The hanyou started to rise from his treetop perch only to stop, his amber eyes alight from the inside, his ears still as stone, his body stiff. After a moment he blinked and his ears turned backward, disturbed. He looked back over his shoulder over the river and toward the distant Middle Lands in the east. His heart rate had picked up, his senses alert.

Something's wrong…Koinu!

The door to the room Kagome and Koinu were being kept in slid open, a shadow looked in on them, hesitant, cautious. "Lady Inuyasha?"

Kagome collapsed exhaustedly into the white furs, breathing in sharp, winded gasps. Koinu's crying continued unabated, though his ears were turned in the direction of the door and the waiting maid attentively.

When she felt she was no longer going to pass out from the pain, Kagome reached for her pup with shaking hands, stroked his head, his hair, tweaked his ears. The child's cries quieted, settled into timid whimpering instead. He turned into her touch, basking in it, welcoming her return.

"Lady Inuyasha?" the maid at the door repeated stepping into the room and bowing, though Kagome still hadn't—couldn't—sit up to face her. "Lady Taikokajin requests your presence while she eats."

Through Kagome's pain-wearied mind came one clear thought: Taikokajin isn't the one responsible for this spell on me; she is an inuyoukai, not a dealer in black magic.

Then who…?

Someone Taikokajin had hired, maybe…she would have to find out from the Pink Lady herself.

"Lady Inuyasha?" the maid asked again, her voice beginning to sound frightened, "Are you all right?"

With all the willpower Kagome could muster she pulled herself up, clutching Koinu to her, and turned her head slowly to face the maid. "I will not eat with your mistress." She whispered, her voice weak and breathless.

"What?" the maid stammered, obviously taken by surprise.

"I said that I refuse to eat with her. Bring my food here, if you would. If your mistress wishes to see me," Kagome paused, her strength and her lungs failing her again for a moment, "Let her come and see me. I won't go to her."

"Yes, Lady Inuyasha."

The voiceless call passed and Inuyasha's heartbeat slowed, his ears slowly drifted forward again. The tenseness left him in the whoosh of a massive, deep sigh. A figment of my imagination? He wondered, idly. Surely that could explain it—he'd just dreamed of losing Koinu so horrifically, it made sense for him to imagine things that didn't really exist or were impossible.

With a nervous, uncertain shake of his head, Inuyasha turned back to the dim fire and leapt down to stoke and tend it once more. When it was roaring high and happily again he sulked next to it, waiting, watching…but still there was no sign of Shimofuri or the fish he'd promised to return with either. Worry gnawed on Inuyasha's insides but he ignored it, counseling himself with a lame, but possible solution to the youth's lateness: Shimo-pup might be a clumsy hunter…or afraid of water…? Perhaps it will be deer tonight then—if he can catch one.

But as he stayed still and continued to wait, sleep grew increasingly tempting, and soon Inuyasha had dozed off right where he was sitting.

I can't believe I'm doing this…

Shimofuri's tongue was lolling out of his mouth, flapping in the breeze, like a common mutt. Determinedly he ignored the ache in his legs, the cramps beginning to form in his guts, and the tearing, cold rasp of the spring air on his raw throat. He flew through the shadows of the forest, between the trees, dead leaves, dirt, grasses, mushrooms and ferns all trampled into oblivion underneath his fleeting paws.

He was heading west, sprinting back the way he and Inuyasha had walked all that day and the night before—from Sesshomaru's castle. What he and the hanyou had covered in bipedal form in what amounted to one full day, 24 hours, of simple walking Shimofuri hoped he could cover in less than four hours of pure sprinting in his true form. Four hours there and back again, making eight total, perhaps nine if Sesshomaru were slow in meeting him…he would be back to the hanyou with food hopefully before dawn. With how tired Inuyasha was Shimofuri doubted that the hanyou would truly miss him, or worry, at least he hoped that was true.

If this is wrong—please Sesshomaru, don't kill me yet, I'd like to rescue my sister first…

He'd left Inuyasha hours before fully intending to catch the fish as slowly as possible to give the hanyou some resting time, but had quickly been convinced otherwise when he caught the lingering scent of someone he hadn't scented in years…the scent had so stunned Shimofuri that his paws had slid out from underneath him and he'd found himself sprawling clumsily in shock. Following the scent for a short distance Shimofuri had come to a brief break in the trees, where the moonlight shined in—and lingering in that milky light was the shadowy silhouette of a man.

But to Shimofuri's gray-blue eyes, and to his nose, it was no ordinary man—in fact, it wasn't even a real man it all…it was the ghost of one. Without hesitation he had transformed back into his humanoid, bipedal form and rushed to the man. He'd had to withhold the desire to embrace the man, to shed tears of pain and grief for him, even though from the very moment he'd set eyes on the misty, semi-transparent shape, he'd known that it was either an illusion of the mind or merely a ghost. But he'd restrained his emotions, remembering that he was no longer a young, exuberant pup and was far closer now to being a lord, a proud and regal warrior among the dog demons.

When he'd come to within ten feet of the ghost, shimmering in the moonlight, Shimofuri had spoken the specter's name, using the same familiarity and honor that he had when he'd last known the man before his untimely—and most unfair—death. "Kokoro-sama? Houshi-sama?"

And the spirit had turned to face him, the robes of the monk, and the staff he'd carried with him, all eerily silent, another testament to the man's true nature as deceased. But when Shimofuri had looked to the ghost's face—with its unmistakable long shape, the broad jaw and the lengthy nose with the tiny kink in it from an old battle wound—he had no doubt about the ghost's identity, whether real or fake.

That was how he'd come to be panting in exhaustion at the gates of Sesshomaru's palace once again, catching his breath before he begged to be admitted. And, indeed, he was sure certain, and quite accurate, in assuming that he would have to beg. The guards that met him at the gates after he'd taken on his humanoid form once again had blinked at him dumbly for a moment before scowling in familiarity. They'd promptly refused to allow him in.

So it was that Shimofuri fell to begging—and then, when that didn't work, to trickery and backdoors. "The Lady Rin would be very much interested in hearing what I have to tell her and her lord." It was only that, oddly enough, that made them listen. He convinced them to deliver a message to Rin, using a small orphan boy who worked the stables named Shero, while he waited for her order.

A surprisingly short time later Shero returned and the guards begrudgingly allowed Shimofuri to enter. The boy cheerfully escorted him into the castle, despite the obscene hour at which he'd arrived. He waited, with the boy still present, in the court, to be received. When the inevitable rustling of robes came and the door to the hall slid open, Shimofuri immediately fell into a deep bow of respect, starting to murmur Sesshomaru's name—until he caught sight of the visitor's gentle steps, the small, white-socked feet peeking out from underneath a cream colored kimono robe.

He stammered stupidly, his eyes glued to the floor, though he tried to watch the other person's movements in a slow realization. "Lo—Lady Rin…"

"It's fine, Shimofuri-sama," a small, gentle voice greeted him, "You don't need to be formal with me, this will be short."

He looked up, trying not to appear as if he were staring so obviously at her, but it was hard not to. Little more than a day ago when he'd last seen the lady Rin she'd been finely dressed, though clearly relaxed and not expecting company. Now, and considering the late hour he didn't blame her in the least, Rin was plainer, softer perhaps, more of a woman than of a beautiful girl with a woman's soul. Her face was shiny with natural oils left over from sleep, her hair pinned up in the laziest bun he'd ever seen…his mother had never looked so casual or fatigued, not even when she was giving birth to Tsukiyume. Yet despite it all she was still beautiful…she reminded Shimofuri of Inuyasha's mate somewhat, he mused, as he stared—or rather, as he tried not to.

"My lady." He offered, bowing again, and he heard Rin give a tiny sigh. When he glanced up she was shaking her head, smiling lightly.

"You'll never loosen up, will you? All you inuyoukai are alike I think, so stoic on the outside, but wild within…" he didn't miss the secret smirk in her gleaming eyes.

Shimofuri cut straight to the chase, remembering that time was of the essence. "Lady Rin, I must ask something of you…"

She smiled, grinning dazzlingly, genuinely amused at him. "Anything, Shimofuri-sama." She allowed the smile to change, twist into a tease, "You're the one who came and alerted me, after all, when my mate was so eager to stain the walls with blood again."

He bowed again, trying to cover the instinctual blush, "It was nothing, my lady…"

"Well, it was something to me, Shimofuri-sama. I shall remember you fondly, and a favor for you is no trouble." She smiled a little again, though her eyes were growing steadily more tired, and her gaze turned to Shero, who was still sitting in the room with them. "Shero!" she beamed, "Come sit with me."

The boy, returning the same eager smile to Rin, scuttled across the room to kneel beside her—so close he was almost in her lap. "Rinrin, I've missed you!" he gushed, clinging to one of her arms.

She returned his affection with a hug—but during the exchange Shimofuri caught onto the young woman's pain. It was in her eyes, in her slightly stiffened movements, in the weaker, twitching smile she offered him. She cared deeply for the boy but something about him hurt her in some way Shimofuri couldn't yet understand…he ignored it and pressed onward.

Clearing is throat, Shimofuri began his request, "I need you to ask Lord Sesshomaru to reconsider lending us—Inuyasha and myself—aid in destroying the demon that we seek…"

Her gaze was keen when she stared at him, and the same pain that she'd had when interacting closely with Shero before was in her eyes again. "You said that this was on a matter that could affect my children…" the corners of her lips twitched, fighting either a smile or a frown, though what exactly she was fighting and why confused the young inuyoukai. "I assume then, that you're speaking of the hanyou-eating monster again?"

He nodded, solemnly. "Yes, my lady…Sesshomaru's help in the battle that lies ahead will be direly missed if he refuses to lend it."

Rin's eyes lit up again, the same smirking, knowing light that had lived in her gaze during their last meeting when she had called a truce essentially returned now with a vengeance. "I shall make it my personal duty that my mate is made aware of your wishes…" only Shero failed to catch Rin's mischievous glee. Shimofuri himself fought a blush, remembering her earlier tease…Sesshomaru certainly found a feisty one…she is very open in her desire for him…

Only a short time later he was running once again, his tongue loose and flapping spittle in the breeze, for all he was worth. His progress heading back to Inuyasha was slower than the first time around because his first stores of energy had been used up. His muscles burned, his lungs shook, his throat was raw as if sandpaper had been rubbed over it for hours on end…but Shimofuri never once stopped to rest, not until he was back alongside the river that he'd left Inuyasha near.

The sky had begun to turn a blue-gray that matched his humanoid form's hair when Shimofuri finally returned to the spot he'd left his cousin at—and immediately smirked seeing that the hanyou was out as if in a coma. He clutched the tails of the three fish he'd caught for the hanyou and cleared his face of all amusement as he approached his lightly snoring cousin.

"I thought that you weren't going to sleep, cousin." He murmured, keeping his face expressionless as he ran each of the fishes through with a stick and placed their skewered bodies over what remained of the fire. Inuyasha jerked awake groggily at his reappearance and swiftly sat up, scowling unhappily at being caught off-guard.

"Well you took so damn long Shimo-pup…" the frown on his face deepened when he noticed that in his time asleep the fire had gone out and the fish weren't going to cook very fast. He threw his cousin a glare. "Just give them to me raw pup—we need to be moving."

Shimofuri paused, his clawed hands still occupied with skewering the last fish. When the gray-blue eyes met Inuyasha's golden, irritated glower he allowed a frown to ripple his face. "You will get sick, Inuyasha." His words, contrary to the uncertainty he cultivated, sounded tired, exhausted.

"Feh! As if!" seemingly to prove his words, Inuyasha snatched up on of the skewered fish, tore the body free from the stick and gulped the thing down without so much as a grimace. "I eat raw stuff all the time, pup!" he reached for the second fish even as he rose to his feet, preparing to leave.

Blankly Shimofuri watched as Inuyasha tossed Ribikou to him, still chewing on the last half of his second raw fish. "Whatcha standing there for, Shimo-pup?" he gestured at the sword, "Strap it on and give me that last fish." His amber eyes lost any mirth at that moment and he finished in a growl, "We gotta a soul-sucker to kill."

Endnote: THANK YOU! YAYS! (THROWS A BIG PARTY! COOKIES FOR ALL!)

THANK YOU: SomeoneInThePastOfEarth, SerenaClearwater(Hey! My dad loves Legend of Zelda!) Prophet WolfStar(Hehe, I LOVE writing Sesshy like this. I watched the latest AdultSwim episode where he saved Kagome and company and then when Inuyasha comes and demands what happened Kagome says that he saved them and immediately Sesshy denies it and says he just killed the guy b/c he "couldn't answer my questions." But I think he just couldn't stand to see a pretty girl in trouble, cuz I didn't hear him asking too many questions before he just killed the guy. Also my little sister theorizes that Sesshy must kill all ugly things to better the gene pool...but that's just a joke--like that's why he hates Naraku too, it's his "greasy" hair--so I think it could fit him...for a pretty and innocent face he might very well have a soft spot...) TheDarkAngel101(Yes, you and a small army...Taikokajin has a big red X on her for execution...) Yami Chikara (Hope to keep pleasing!) Heather (Perhaps, but without the rude-mouth and the gruff exterior. He's a lot younger and vulnerable still in my mind. Interesting observation. Perhaps Shimo-kun is what Inuyasha could've been if he were raised by his father and not his human mother.) orangepencils (LOL I oughtta start a club called the Hit List...start sending me emails and reviews full of ideas for who shuold kill them and HOW...hehe...though I'm starting to have an idea...) kirarakitty (You're probably right, I haven't read it over...(cringes) I hope this chapter's better...It's like one of those things when someone's talking in front of an audience and they start saying "Um" and you notice once and then you can't stop yourself from noticing it EVERY single time afterwards, eh?) inuyasha'sbabe07 (I hope this answered your question about Kagome...there'll be more next chapter too! WHEE!) SlummyRedDragon (Oh! Can I call you Slummy? I've had the biggest urge to for so long now, you're a regular and I giggle when I notice think about your name...I'm not sure why...I guess I see a red dragon in like a big black Hoodie like me currently or something hanging "downtown" or in "the ghetto." Actually my hometown is called a "ghetto" ...ah life is weird, no?) InuAndMiroku'sGirl Sango (I mightmake one-shots with Shimo-kun's back story explained, and maybe he'll make appearances in other fictions...I can't seem to get rid of him now that he's here! (grins) I'll find a way to make that epilogue include Shimo-pup too...every pup has his day...) NefCanuck (yes, originally can you believe I meant for him to be a simple character? (coughs at her own stupidity) He sorta sprang to life on his own...he's sorta the personification of the child we all once were (or well, most of us I think anyway) who realizes the parent(s) they thought were heroes are only human after all...course his mother is a lot more evil than most...) Simonkal of Inyu (You had sorta a premonition I think, b/c in this chapter Shimofuri sees Tsuki's father actually...that guy's story is a story all in itself! Ah! As to who shall do the killing...I haven't decided yet. I have an idea, but anyone with a suggestion is free to review or email it into me...I do read anything and everything that comes in there as long as I know it's not trash...) fanfiction1 (hehe, thank you! You bring up a lot of things! WOW! I think you're the only one who's mentioned Pinky's past, like what could've made her the way she is. B/c she's my character I did actually come up with that story...but I won't tell it here (grins) And nope, I don't plan on killing Tsuki. The dinner invite isn't for poisoning, Taikokajin has other plans that are a lot meaner actually for a mother to have to suffer through...and that will be revealed next chapter...) Tiamath (THANK you! That's a BIG compliment, b/c it means I've done a pretty decent job if you can forget that the characters are "made up"...(grins proudly) now, if I can put that into something non-fanfiction and get myself published...(sighs))