Alrighty, dudes, bigger chap than normal, but hey, I owe you guys for making you wait, eh? Anyway, I got my new laptop (Eeeeeeeee!) and I love it, but I'm having difficulty pirating internet from home, so maybe I'll email this story to myself and work on it at Tango's...anyway, a new chappie, enjoy!

Deds:

Kitsune's Lover - Are you sure you went to MediaMiner?? It tells me I've gotten lots of hits, so I don't know what could have possibly gone wrong there...oh well, you saw them anyway, lol! Stupid Internet, won't let me pirate...

anime-lover-forever2007 - Ok, you don't show up in this chap, but I'm thinking you might make a good FBI agent! Keep your eyes open, you might just pop up!

cookiemonsterks - Well, Kagura doesn't get raped, but someone she knows does, poor woman, sigh. Read on and you'll know what I'm talking about!

Sweet Temptation

Naraku took a back road, avoiding the Expressway and more travelled streets. Pulling over, he turned on the onboard GPS and plugged in the cord for his receiver. The screen changed, and, under a blinking red dot, showed him exactly where in the city his daughter was at that very moment.

She appeared to be at a coffee shop downtown, and, as he watched patiently, waiting for the dot to move, it did not.

A small frown began to spread over his handsome face, and once again his hand went to scratch his head unnoticed. He felt so naked without his beloved hair.

He was thinking that installing a tracking device on his daughter's cell phone was the best idea he'd had in a long time. When he'd spoken to her on the phone, she'd sounded defeated, and ready to leave their plans to the powers that be, and not him. He frowned. Did she have so little trust in him? Did he care?

No. She had freeloaded off him from the day her mother had left. He could admit that really, he'd had nothing to do with his daughters. Kanna, who lived in a dorm at a private school overseas and only came home in the summer, was practically self-reliant and never spent any time with him, while Kagura spent all her time lazing around the house or with her friends, if she had any besides the Higurashi girls. He really wasn't sure she had any other friends. All he knew was that looking into her face was like looking into her mother's face, and the less he saw that, the better for her. Many nights he'd lain awake in his enormous bed, thinking of creative ways to do away with his children. The housekeeper, Kaede, was a quiet woman who'd cared for the girls like their mother should have, had she not walked away on them after Kanna's birth.

Clearing the wayward thoughts from his mind and getting down to business, he opened the glove compartment of his car and, taking out all his information, set in in the ashtray and used the car's lighter to set it aflame. Then, taking a portable tracking device from a leather briefcase in the passenger seat, he turned off the car and tucked the gun he'd found under his registration papers in the breast pocket of his jacket.

Walking away from the car, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a match from his pocket and blew out the first drag of smoke as the car exploded, sending a shockwave through the ground that he barely felt, and wafting a large blast of heat in his direction. He stood watching the car burn before he made his way down the road, turning on the portable tracker.

A few minutes later, he could see a car approaching in the distance. From where he stood, a hill loomed up behind him; the oncoming driver could not see the smoke from his burning car, which flamed in a vale over the hill behind him.

As the car neared, he let the cigarette hang lazily from his lips as he gave the driver a smile and stuck his thumb in the air.

S.T.

Kagome still breathed heavily from her encounter with Naraku. She had not expected Sesshoumaru to be there, and, as she turned the Jewel over in her hands, she ventured a glance in his direction.

He spoke to his Father on the phone as he drove, his eyes darting here and there as rain began to pound the windshield, and she looked away, at a sunset being quickly overtaken by a massive thunderhead, lightening forking down every few minutes, lighting up the world around them before plunging it into a semi-darkness lit only by what was visible of the setting sun, glowing red on the horizon.

When he hung up, he glanced at her, but her head was still turned away. Feeling his eyes on her at last though, she quickly turned to look at him, and was surprised to see a smile on his delicate lips.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm sor-"

"Shh." He put a finger to her lips, and glanced at the road, empty and bare before him.

"You don't have to explain. I know."

She didn't know how he knew, but she was grateful all the same. She had been flabbergasted at discovering he was there in the room with her when she'd danced for Naraku, and she'd felt terrible about it this whole time. She had only been doing her job, but it wasn't the same when your boyfriend was watching you dance for your mortal enemy. She'd had no time to show her emotions then, though, for he had herded her out so fast that she'd barely had time to think, only to clutch the bauble in her hand for all she was worth, and get it to Amaya before Naraku could get it back. She remembered her vision as she stroked the pink ball, and clutched Sesshoumaru's hand, which rested high on her left thigh, his thumb stroking her sensitive skin.

Soon, they pulled into the drive at the cottage, the house lit from the inside through the boards that still covered the windows.

Turning to her, he leaned closer, only to be smothered by her lips, kissing him like it was her first time and she'd never kiss him again.

When she finally released him to breath, she buried her face in his neck and crawled across the seat to sit in his lap, her arms wound tightly around his neck, and he could feel her fear. Stroking her back, he held her tight and reassured her, "He won't get to you. I promise."

She only held him tighter as he opened the door and, carrying her, ran through the torrent of rain to the house. On the way, she whispered, "I trust you," and despite all the noise around him, he heard her, and his heart soared.

S.T.

Daichi and Amaya were waiting for them. They had one light on, the living room lamp, and a fire going in the fireplace. The door to the basement was ajar, and a cool draft wafted up from down below, making Kagome shiver in her wet clothes.

Amaya took one look at Kagome and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's get you dried up, honey."

Kagome had forgotten that all she was wearing was her black leather stripper suit, and when she looked back at Sesshoumaru and his Father, Daichi's mouth was hanging open as Sesshoumaru smacked his back to get his attention.

When they reached the second floor, Amaya stopped abruptly and whispered, "Did you get it?"

Kagome smiled for the first time in hours and dug into her purse, pulling out the little velvet box, and placed it in Amaya's hand.

Ever so gently, Amaya undid the tiny clasp and pried open the box, the Jewel winking at her seductively, and she quickly closed it, and put in back into Kagome's damp palm.

"Listen, you have to hold onto this. He can't take it from you unless you give it to him, do you understand? You have awakened it, it is up to you to protect it. And you must, with your life."

She nodded, suddenly wondering if she'd inadvertently bitten off more than she could chew. If he wanted it bad enough, would he kill her for it? She didn't want to think about that.

Downstairs, Daichi's cell phone rang, and Sesshoumaru pulled it from his jacket pocket, and said into the mouthpiece, "This better be you, Inuyasha."

"It is. Look, we're stopping to get Rin and Shippo, and Kagura's with them, she-"

"What?"

"Look, I'll explain when we get there. Sango says Rin told her just to pick them up. I guess we'll all find out when we get there, which should be in about forty-five."

"Hurry up, and make sure you're not followed."

Hanging up, Sesshoumaru handed the phone to his Father, and Daichi smiled at him sympathetically. The tension his son was bearing was visible in the darkness beneath his eyes, and the way he seemed to have turned into an old man after only a few hours. Daichi sighed.

This was hard on all of them, but he would be damned if they didn't pull through. After all, they had each other, the Higurashi family and the Taisho family; they were one as far as he was concerned, and he would keep them that way, so help him God.

S.T.

Kagura tapped her foot impatiently. They had called twenty minutes ago; what was taking Kikyou and the others so long?

Rin gripped Shippo's hand as they stood outside the donut joint, rain dripping off the roof above them and splattering the ground. Kagura's toes were wet in her white leather sandals, but she paid no attention. She watched the road, and for every black car that passed without pulling in she became that much more nervous. She looked with one eye as Rin whispered something in Shippo's ear, and they both smiled.

Was something going on between them? They seemed awfully close. How old was Rin anyway? Kagura struggled to remember. Kikyo had told her once… twelve? Was she twelve?

Her head flew in their direction, but she couldn't tell without asking just how old the girl was. Shippo, she decided, could be anywhere from thirteen to eighteen, but she was positive he was younger than herself. She was just musing how grown-up he looked when to her astonishment, right there in front of her, Shippo kissed Rin, full on the mouth, and Rin let him, and, in fact, returned the gesture with equal passion, not at all unsure of what she was doing.

Kids these days, she thought, shaking her head and looking back to the road, a small smile on her lips. Despite their distrust of her, she felt happy for them, and wished she herself were lucky enough to have someone to kiss.

A black car pulled in, and Kagura pushed herself away from the wall, her hand reaching out and caught Rin's shoulder, who pulled herself away from Shippo faster than if she'd been burned, and asked, "Is it them?"

Kagura gave her a lop-sided grin and replied, "Yeah. Come on, we have to hurry."

She opened the back door and held it for the others before getting in herself, unconsciously prolonging the moment when she would face several angry people and explain herself to several biased ears.

Oh well, she thought, shrugging. Might as well get it over with.

S.T.

Naraku flew over the pavement at a hundred kilometres an hour, out-running the thunderhead that threatened to pour down all around him. The woman who had pulled over to give him a lift had not been difficult to persuade. In fact, as soon as he had pointed the gun to her face she'd given up on the spot, and he had left her there on the road, shivering and probably soaked to the bone by now.

He smiled. She had been a smoker; how fortuitous for him. Taking the cigarette that burned in the ashtray and slipping it between his thin lips, he puffed it until it was down to the filter, before spitting the butt out the window. Looking again at the hand-held tracking receiver, he frowned, his handsome face turning dark. Kagura still had not moved. What was she doing?

He debated the advisability of calling her; if she were with them, she'd not answer. Or would she? Was she still on his side?

Probably not, that little bitch, he thought, lighting another cigarette with one hand and steering with the other. Just like your Mother…

His mind flashed back to a few days after Kanna was born, when he had held her for the first time. She was a peculiar child; she appeared to be void of any of the things a baby was just full of: smiles, spit-up, bright eyes. She had had no hair when she was born, but it had grown out in a platinum blond, practically white, and her eyes were black. She never cried or whined, and she barely spoke. As early as possible, he'd sent her to the private school where she'd been going ever since. Her Mother had left after her birth, coming into his study late in the afternoon with a two-year-old Kagura by her side and Kanna in her arms, asleep.

Turning in his chair, he had glowered at them. He was on the phone; whatever they wanted would wait, and, glaring at them fiercely, he'd turned his back to them once more.

That had been his first mistake.

"Naraku!" she had barked, and when he continued to ignore her, she had shifted Kanna to one arm and with her free hand, had ripped the phone jack right out of the wall, killing the line.

Swivelling around, he came up out of the chair like a bat out of hell, and grabbed her by the throat, pulling her close.

"Do that again," he growled, "and you'll live to regret it."

Releasing her, he backed off as she rubbed her neck. Kayoko Li-Higurashi glared back at the Father of her girls, and, thrusting the baby into his arms, turned her back on him and both her daughters.

"I'm leaving you, Naraku. I have had enough of your ignoring me, beating me, and raping me. As much as our daughters mean to me, unfortunately they will be better off with you. I know you won't love them, but then, you never knew what love was. I have had enough."

Walking from the room, he had replied, "You won't do it, Kayoko. I won't let you."

She came back to the door and laughed at him, and, walking up to him, pulled a tiny revolver from her tailored jacket pocket and pointed it between his eyes.

"I can, and I will." She stared back at him, challenging him to contradict her, and when he made to drop Kanna, she pulled the hammer back, loading a bullet into the chamber.

"You will look after them, Naraku, like you wouldn't look after me. I hate you. Our daughters are the only thing in the world I have left to love, now that I've lost Ai. She was my only sister, Naraku, and you made her hate me. I'll never forgive you for that."

She flung her hair back over her shoulders and ran the tip of the gun down his face until she nosed his lips apart and rested the barrel on his teeth.

"Do you know what you're going to do now?"

"No."

"Yes, you do. You are going to watch me leave this house, and never come back, not until your death. Then, and only then, will I come for the girls, and I will endeavour to undo the damage you are sure to inflict upon them. Try not to blame them for my actions. I know that's hard for you, but please, do try."

Keeping the gun pointed at him, she removed it from his mouth to squat next to Kagura, whose silent tears were testimony to how little she understood what was happening between her parents.

"Kagura, baby, Mommy's going away for a while, but I will come back for you, I promise."

Hugging the little girl and dropping a kiss on top of her silky brown hair, she stood, and stroked Kanna's cheek, remarking, "You're going to have trouble with her. She's even more emotionless than you are."

Glowering he replied, "If you're so hell-bent on leaving, why not take them with you?"

She smiled wanly. "Because I have saved up only enough money for me. Besides, you wouldn't have let me take them anyway, even though you don't want them. You'd do that just to spite me. Well, I'm saving you the trouble. Goodbye, Naraku."

And with that, she was gone.

He'd watched her get into the Taxi from his study window, a deep hatred for her and their daughters festering deep within him. Who was she to tell him he didn't know how to love?
He reflected now that she was right; he loved no one. He had no use for love. Only the Jewel had kept him sane these last fourteen years, and even before that it had often been his saving grace.

When he had been twenty-eight, he had met a wonderful woman at the office building where he worked; his Father owned the company and when he retired, Naraku was going to take over.

She had applied on a Thursday, and it had been raining. Her hair was damp, and her pantyhose were splattered with water from the street. He had thought her beautiful in a carnal, instinctual way, and had quickly tried to woo her upon her hiring, but she had resisted him. Kayoko Li-Higurashi was her name, he'd found out, and he had asked her out for dinner.

His entire life, Naraku had been a handsome specimen. At sixteen he had weighed two-thirty soaking wet and had been on the debate team in school. Despite his strength he had never used it; he was much more adept at manipulating people. Only when someone became difficult did he use his physical prowess as intimidation. He'd never had any problems with women, and had taken many girls on dates, often getting from them what he wanted and discarding them for someone new after only a few dates.

He had been attracted to Kayoko, true, but the fact that she had initially resisted him made him angry and determined to get her, if only to fuck her and drop her, but Kayoko proved to be more of a challenge than he anticipated.

It was shortly after his Father hired her that he told Naraku of the Jewel, and had given it to him to look after. All his life his Father had searched for the right girl to awaken its potent powers, but had been unsuccessful; now, he was passing the search onto his son.

With the Jewel now in his possession, he began to think of all the possibilities the Jewel would open up to him if only he could find the right woman, the descendent of Midoriko. He was much closer to his goal than he thought.

When, after two months of pressing her, and still being refused, Naraku decided to dig up Kayoko's history; there had to be something in her past that he could use against her to make her do as he wished, and he found it.

When she had been eighteen years old, Kayoko had had an affair with her sister's boyfriend, who was now her husband, and neither had told her about it.

He brought it up one day during lunch break, when just he and her had been in the room.

"Higurashi-san," he said, addressing her as politely as he was required, "you have quite a scandalous past, don't you."

Pouring herself coffee, Kayoko had flipped her long black hair over her shoulder and replied, "Whatever do you mean, Onigumo-san?" Her voice dripped with warning; she didn't want to discuss her private life, she never did. Her business was her own, and she couldn't help but feel a knot of anxiety in her gut at his words. He had the money and the resources to dig up anything about her that he wished. She just hoped he hadn't discovered that.

"To have an affair with your sister's husband, and in her own house, even."

She sighed, and lowered her head. She was not going to bother to correct him about the exact circumstances of his accusation; Ai and Jong had not been married - but they had been engaged, and living with her and their parents at home.

"What do you want, Naraku?" she asked then, admitting defeat and getting back at him by rudely calling him by his first name.

He smiled, overlooking her blunder, and approached her, wrapping an arm about her shoulders.
"You, Kayoko-san. In my bed."

She had raised a brow. Was that all? She would endure it if it meant he would leave her alone, but he didn't. As time wore on he used her more and more often, never tiring of her like he did of other women. There was something about her that drew him to her, even though he tried with all his might to avoid getting attached to her, and in his efforts, he treated her terribly.

When she became pregnant the first time, he paid for an abortion, which she had fought against every step of the way. She may have hated him but the child had nothing to do with anything as far as she was concerned, and an innocent life did not deserve to be terminated, but he had gotten his way, that time.

The second time, she had hidden her pregnancy until it was too late to abort, and when he had found out, he could not find a doctor willing to perform an abortion so late in Kayoko's pregnancy. So, he had tried to do it himself.

He had accidentally managed to push her down a flight of stairs at work, but even that hadn't worked; she'd caught herself on the railing partway down and had walked away without a scratch, but if looks could kill he would have been dead a thousand times over.

Kayoko wanted to get away; she prayed every night that something would happen to Naraku and she would be free of him, for every time she threatened to leave him he threatened to tell her sister about her affair, and Kayoko valued her sister's love and friendship too much to jeopardize that.

After a year of enduring him, she had borne Kagura and he had bought a house, and he let her live there to take care of the little girl. One day, as a gift to himself, for he could no longer endure the child's colic, he had brought Kaede home to help her, but Kayoko had lost her lustre for life. She became severely depressed after Kagura's birth and refused to eat.

She only revived when her sister, Ai, would call, and after one particular call, she emerged from her room in tears, disgustingly thin and barely alive.

Naraku, having been away for several months on a business trip, had returned to find the Mother of his daughter wasted and gross. Disgusted, he had demanded she put on weight or he would personally make her gain it, and in a few weeks she began to fill out once again, and he began to have sex with her again, even though she was unresponsive now. Before, she would have fought him tooth and nail; all their sexual encounters had been more like fights, and this had excited him, but now, she just lay there as he used her, and often cried.

When Kayoko became pregnant again, her sister had come to see her. Ai had not seen Kayoko in two years, and their meeting was tearful on both sides; Kayoko because she was overjoyed to see her sister, and Ai because her sister was a shadow of her former self, and had a little girl she'd never told Ai about.

Ai had asked her why she had stopped calling, and Kayoko admitted her situation, much to her sister's astonishment. Ai couldn't believe what Naraku was doing to her sister, and, even though Kayoko begged her not to, Ai had gone to see Naraku and give him a piece of her mind.
She had burst through his study doors to find him sitting at his desk, his fingers intertwined and one foot up on his knee, as if he'd been expecting her.

Kayoko followed her in, but as soon as she tried to say anything Naraku would hush her. Outraged by his abuse of her only little sister, Ai launched into an angry tirade that ended with his fist clamped around her neck and her feet dangling two feet off the carpet.

"Naraku, no! Put her down, please! I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt my sister!"

He had stared at her disdainfully past her sister's light hair, her tears striking a chord somewhere deep within him. He would never admit it, for he did not recognise the emotion, but in his own twisted way, he loved her. The thought of love repulsed him; the only person he'd ever felt any emotion for had been his Father, who had pushed him into everything he'd become; CEO of the company, a rich man, a successor to the legacy his Father had failed to fulfill, but as he squeezed the wind from Ai's lungs, the Jewel in his coat pocket pulsed; both of them felt it, but Kayoko remained ignorant. He frowned, and dropped Ai, who gasped for breath in her sister's arms on the floor as he glowered down on the pair of them.

Taking the Jewel from his pocket and gripping it between his index and forefinger, he bent one knee and brought it to hover over Ai's face; it glowed a pale pink, and warmed his fingertips.
Swinging it toward Kayoko, he watched as the pink glow faded and died, replaced by the dull metallic pink sheen of dormancy that the Jewel had exhibited when his Father had given it to him, and now when he had pulled it from his pocket.

"What is that?" Kayoko whispered, holding her sister to her chest as she rubbed her back, encouraging Ai to breath.

"It is my business. Why does this trinket glow when near your detestable sibling, but fades near you?"

He pondered this, and looked up at her again, but she refused to meet his gaze, busy with holding her unconscious sister tightly to her.

"You are not blood sisters, are you?"

Kayoko still refused to look up at him, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on her sister's full cheeks and sooty lashes, wishing with all her might that this hadn't happened and that Ai had never come to see her.

"No. I was adopted. Ai is my blood though, as far as I'm concerned, and there isn't a thing you can do to take that bond between us away."

He rubbed his chin in thought, ignoring her words as he pieced the puzzle together in his mind. The Jewel had reacted to Ai, but not Kayoko; therefore, Ai must be a descendant of Midoriko.

"Stand up."

Kayoko looked up at him through wet eyes as he replaced the Jewel in his pocket and slowly got up, pulling her sister with her, and Ai blinked, conscious once again.

Naraku had had enough of Kayoko's insolence; now was the best time to put her in her place.

"Ai, I hate to have to inform you of this, but your dear sister has been lying to you for a very long time. Kayoko, you have something to say that I think your sister should hear."

Kayoko shook inwardly with rage. How dare he do this to her? He would get what he had coming to him, she swore it.

Trembling under his watchful eye, she turned to her sister, who also glared at Naraku as if he were the most loathsome man on the face of the Earth - which wasn't too far off from the truth.

"Ai, I'm so sorry," Kayoko began, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

"For what? Kayoko, I don't understand." She tried to look into her sister's eyes, but Kayoko refused to look at her, and she gave up.

"Ai, I… I did something terrible when we were younger. I…" she faltered, and Naraku, smiling smugly, prodded, "Go on."

"I… I had an affair with Jong."

Ai was silent, and she stared in shock at Kayoko's face. Kayoko always had been the really beautiful one, she reflected, and a small part of her couldn't help but recognise why Jong would have been attracted to her, but the hurt that overcame her with the realisation that both her sister and her husband had kept their secret from her developed into rage, and she shook with anger as she asked, "Did you, now? Kayoko, I find that hard to believe. Tell me now that you're lying, and I will believe you."

Kayoko let out a sob and sank to her knees again on the floor, her face in her hands.

"I'm not lying, Ai…I'm so, so sorry… I never meant for it to happen-"

"Well it's a little late now, isn't it? How could you do this to me, Kayoko?" Ai's voice rose with every word that spewed from her mouth, and in her rage, she spat on her sister's back, and shrieked, "You two deserve each other! I hope you're happy that you've ruined my marriage, Kayoko! And you," she turned to Naraku, "You deserve her. She's trash. And so are you!"

Turning on her heel, Ai left the room, and Kayoko began to wail out loud, her screams and shrieks echoing throughout the house. Ai got into her car and left that day, and never came back. Kayoko sat alone on the study floor, Naraku having quickly grown tired of her whining.
She had never felt so alone in her entire life. Even the thought of the unborn child within her could not assuage her tormented soul.

Three days after Kayoko left Naraku, his manservant, Hakudoushi, had followed her home to her new apartment in Osaka and killed her. Upon his return, Naraku had put the house up for sale and began to search for Kayoko's sister, Ai. He intended to be nearby when the truest descendent of Midoriko - her reincarnation - was born. Unknown to him, she was already four years old.

Naraku often wondered to himself why Kayoko stayed as long as she had. Perhaps she had finally seen the error of her ways and had given in; maybe she had lost all hope. He didn't know what gave her the courage to point a gun at him and walk out, but he was tired of thinking about her, and the hole he'd begrudgingly let her carve out of his heart.

Putting his nose to the grindstone, he glanced again at the tracking device and smiled lazily to himself.

Kagura was finally on the move.

S.T.

"What do you mean, 'you've given up on him'?" Inuyasha snarled from up front, glaring at her from the rear-view mirror. Kagura shrank down in her very cramped seat, her shoulders crushed on either side by Rin and Sango.

She sighed. She'd anticipated that they would give her a hard time, but never this hard a time.

"I mean what I said, Inuyasha." That was the third time she'd repeated that remark, and just as Inuyasha was about to launch into another tirade, Kikyou put her hand on his arm to still him, shaking her head and whispering, "That's enough."

He ground his teeth together, but made no further comment. Like Shippo, he resolved to keep a close eye on her should she decide to turn on them at the last minute.

Rin looked at her sympathetically, as did Kikyou, but she had yet to convince everyone else of her intentions. She folded her arms and discreetly rubbed away a stray tear.

Kouga sat on the other side of Sango, looking at the back of Ayame's red head. She'd moved up front to make room, and he noticed Miroku giving her some really friendly glances, and felt an unreasonable jealousy knife through him before disappearing like a puff of smoke, for all his brother did was begin a conversation, but still, he glowered at the window as if it would shatter under the pressure of his gaze.

Sango felt sympathy for Kagura as her sisters did; she just didn't have the nerve yet to admit it. She could feel the hostility rolling off the boys in waves (except Miroku; Ayame seemed to have attracted all his attention), and Kouga sat growling on Kagura's other side, but she sensed his anger lay elsewhere; namely, the same place as hers, though she would die before admitting that out loud.

"Look, my Father is up to something, alright? I don't know what he has in mind, but he's going after Sesshoumaru and Kagome. He told me he was. What can I say that will convince you guys I'm telling the truth? I realise that Sesshoumaru is happy with Kagome; I can accept that now. Besides, my Father has to be stopped. I fear the Jewel has corrupted him."

Though he's always been corrupted in my eyes, she thought suddenly.

There was a reluctant but easy silence in the car as rain pattered the windshield and the wipers flew back and forth over the glass, flinging water away.

Kagura no longer felt like an outcast among Kikyou's sisters, and she smiled back at Sango when she grinned in her direction, after a loud slap! had resounded from the front seat; apparently, Miroku had pushed Ayame's delicate sensibilities too far, and she had reminded him of himself through pain.

Kouga let out a snort and hid a smile from his brother as Inuyasha sought his reflection in the rear-view mirror.

"What's so funny, freak?"

"Fuck off. Nothing."

Inuyasha shrugged and turned his attention back to the road. He turned onto a side road with no pavement and passed a navy blue car in the dark, no one in the car noticing it as they skidded past.

S.T.

Ohhh, who's in the navy car? We all know, lol, I'm so obvious. I hope that scene didn't confuse anybody, I'm still trying to work it out, but keep in mind that Ai is Kagome's mother, ok? Just to keep us all on track (myself included!) I thought I should state this little detail, in case the next few chapters don't come out as simple as I hope. Review though, I'm sad that there have been so few...are you guys punishing me for taking so long to update? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!!!