Chango: Man, I didn't think I'd be updating for a long time.

Inuyasha: Me either. I thought you were dead!

Chango: No, you idiot. I just needed to find some inspiration. That's all. Let's not keep 'em waiting any longer. Here I present:

Not Another Teen Story Chapter 6:

Mine Again

Inuyasha: Are you gonna mention that we're all copyrighted?

Chango: You can. I'll never admit it.

Kagome arrived home and leapt on her bed, entangling herself in the blankets. Her mother followed behind her, sensing her daughter's distress. "What's wrong, hon?" she asked, patting her daughter's back (A/N: Wow, she's back! I haven't seen her since, like, chapter 1).

"Inu Yasha," Kagome said simply.

Ms Higurashi wracked her memory. "The strapping young man who helped us move our things?"

"That's the dickhead."

Kagome's mother wasn't even slightly perturbed by her daughter's language. She understood that harsh emotions called for harsh words. "I'm sure it's a misunderstanding."

"Believe me, mom, this is no misunderstanding! Inu Yasha's whipped, Yashirah's distressed, and Kikyo knows exactly what she's doing."

"Well, the only way to resolve it is to cut out the malevolent one in the relationship."

"I know that! But Inu Yasha doesn't!" Kagome sobbed, clutching her mother's shirt. She allowed Kagome to vent for a while, then spoke again.

"Kagome, maybe it's best if you don't get involved. I can tell it's hurting you, too. You can't expect to solve everyone's problems for them. All you can do is look out for your friends."

Kagome sniffled softly, her emotions subsiding. "You're right, mom. I shouldn't be worrying so hard about myself. I should see how Yashirah's holding up." Pulling on a hoodie, Kagome made her way to Yashirah's house, only to see the young woman stumble from the house. Kagome froze, feeling unease at the sight of her friend stumbling around in the darkness.

Instead, Kagome chose to follow the hanyou as she stumbled all the way to Kikyo's house. The couple sat on the porch. Inu Yasha held her hand, but Kikyo only smoked a cigarette, hardly paying him any mind. It was a heartbreaking sight, which only served to fuel Yashirah's rage.

"Kikyo, I fucking hate you," Yashirah sputtered.

The couple froze, and Inu Yasha took a hesitant step forward while Kikyo took one back. "Yashirah, are you high?"

"No!" Yashirah snarled, her eyes rolling. "I'm perfectly sane. But I am very angry."

"Yashirah, go home!" Inu Yasha said urgently. "Why do you hate Kikyo so much?"

"I don't hate her nearly as much as she hates you. She's only using you because you're a fuckin' flake," Yashirah sneered. "I'm surprised your dick hasn't fallen off yet. But, then again, the only guy she hasn't screwed is you, you sorry son-of-a-bitch!"

Kagome's jaw dropped from her position in the shadows. Even with their heightened senses, the hanyous didn't seem to sense her presence. Kikyo was slowly moving away from the crazed young half-demon, who was steadily approaching.

"Well, I'm gonna put an end to this shit. If not for you, then for me. I can't rest if she's alive, the fuckin' leech." Yashirah pulled something out of the pocket of her black sweater, and Kagome saw a flash of metal and heard the ominous boom of a gun.

When Kagome gained the courage to look, she saw Yashirah still staggering, her gun pointed at the witch she hated so. Inu Yasha was shielding his lover. Kagome was relieved to see that the bullet had planted itself elsewhere, and she realized that Yashirah's aim was sure, but her brother stood in the way.

"How can you protect her after what she's done?!" With a defeated look in her eyes, Yashirah began to stuff the muzzle of the gun in her mouth, fully prepared to pull the trigger. "You think I won't do it? I'm not afraid to die. What do I have left? I can't even depend on my family anymore."

Inu Yasha and Kagome leapt at Yashirah at the same time. While Kagome tackled her from behind, Inu Yasha strove to unclasp the weapon from her hands. Even with their combined strength, Yashirah managed to hold off against them. There was another gunshot, loud as thunder, and Kagome's eardrums rattled in her head.

Yashirah faltered, dropping to her hands and knees and quivering like a mad dog. Kagome looked up to see Inu Yasha in a similar position, one hand pressed to his side and crimson blood seeping through his shirt, slowly weaving through the cracks of his fingers and dousing the grass.

"Kikyo," Kagome whispered, seeing her friends begin to go into what looked like shock. "Kikyo, call an ambulance!" The woman did not reply, and Kagome glanced around, only to find she wasn't there.

Stumbling over to Inu Yasha, she found him on his back, slowly losing consciousness. She started to panic; she had no idea what to do. Was he going into cardiac arrest? Shock? Her mind was a mess, and she searched his pockets looking for a cell phone. Finding it, she dialed 911 and almost began hyperventilating when the woman came onto the phone.

"My friend just got shot!"

The woman was calm and cool. "Where are you?"

After rattling off the street and house number, the ambulance was dispatched and arrived in a matter of minutes. Inu Yasha was put onto the stretcher, while Yashirah and Kagome were put into a police car that followed the ambulance to the hospital.

The ride was silent, and Kagome was almost sure Yashirah had gone into shock. She changed her prognosis when she heaved after keeling out of the police cruiser upon their arrival to the hospital. The officer, a human, looked at her strangely and roughly grabbed her by the arm to drag her to a doctor.

"Have you been drinking, Miss?"

Yashirah fell against the wall, head lolling. Kagome helped her onto a bed, where the doctor shone a light into her rolling eyes. The hanyou started at him with empty eyes, but she seemed to recognize him and was reluctant to respond.

"Do you use drugs?"

Yashirah said nothing, but her lip curled and she looked away dejectedly. The officer snorted.

"Them hanyou's have nothing better to do than get wasted and shoot at each other."

Kagome glared at the officer. "Just because she's a hanyou doesn't mean she's some street trash or something."

"So she had a good reason to shoot that hanyou, huh?" he sneered in response.

"You don't know what they've been through!" Kagome screamed. "You don't know what a great person Yashirah is, so don't act like you fucking know her!"

"I could get you locked up for speaking to a high-ranking officer like that!"

"And you could get arrested and prosecuted for being a prejudiced chief of police," Kagome countered. With a satisfied smile, Kagome watched the cop walk away in a huff. When she turned back to her friend, she found her crying.

"Miss Yashirah, have you been using drugs?" the doctor asked again. Still sobbing softly, Yashirah nodded, her bangs shielding her eyes. "Have you been drinking?"

Yashirah only collapsed. The doctor's clawed hands shot out to catch her, and he searched for her pulse.

"Since she's a half demon, she's had to have been using a larger amount than a normal human. And it seems as though she's gone over even those boundaries. She's got to get into detox." Without another word, the doctor and a few nurses carted her friend away. Yashirah stared straight at her, her eyes dull, yet shining as if showing her gratefulness.

Kagome sat at Inuyasha's bedside. He was healing up nicely, and thankfully the bullet didn't ricochet off of his organs as it was meant to do; instead it lodged itself in a place where it was able to be removed. If he'd been a human, however, he'd be dead.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said, his voice hoarse. Kagome leapt at the sound of his voice. "How's Kikyo?"

Kagome sneered out of habit. "She's fine." Kikyo had made herself scarce after the second shot, but he didn't need to know that.

"And Yashirah?"

Kagome flinched, thinking how close her friend had come to dying. Apparently, she'd overdosed on a gargantuan amount that even a full demon could barely handle. Even after detox, she hadn't fully gotten a grip. She'd been plagued with nightmares of killing her brother. "She's doing well," she lied through her teeth.

"I'm so sorry, Kagome," he said softly.

"Why are you sorry for me?" Kagome asked, entwining her fingers with the hanyou's. His nails were still stained with his own blood.

"Because you were right, Kagome. I abandoned her. I abandoned my little sister!" Inuyasha's voice cracked. "She was always there for me, and I didn't have her back! I deserved what I got! She should've killed me…"

Kagome's heart went out to him. Although he'd made some bad decisions, he was not entirely at fault. "Inuyasha...don't kill yourself about it. You guys have had it rough."

"Miss Higurashi?" Kagome stopped and turned to the door, where a nurse stood. "The doctor has requested to see you."

Kagome hesitated, but gave Inuyasha's hand a gentle squeeze before answering to the doctor.

"Miss Kagome, I'm sure you're wondering why I called for you."

"You'd be right," Kagome said, her voice slightly clipped.

"My name is Sesshomaru Nishi. I'm Inuyasha and Yashirah's half brother." When Kagome didn't question the claim, he went on. "I left my family a few years before my parents died. I've been looking into their deaths for some time."

"Why?"

"Because my father and step-mother didn't die of natural causes. I did the autopsy myself, and the results were unusual." He stopped to let his statement sink in. "While I don't feel the need to go into great detail, I will tell you that Onigumo Naraku was behind it."

Kagome thought back. The name was familiar. "Kikyo and Naraku..."

Sesshomaru nodded as if anticipating her words. "Naraku killed them. Kikyo was in on it. They planned on Inuyasha and Yashirah getting the inheritance and my father's multi-billion dollar company. Naraku took over the company, as he was the vice president, and Kikyo started working the last bit of cash out of Inuyasha. Their only problem is that Yashirah saw right through them."

"What are you going to do?" Kagome couldn't keep the urgency out of her voice.

Sesshomaru leaned back into his seat. "I'm going to get him, since I've built up a case. I have to avenge my father. And while my half-siblings have a substantial amount of money left, Naraku is seriously hindering our family. Kikyo is simply the icing on the proverbial cake."

"I knew she was a bitch," Kagome muttered.

"That's putting it mildly," Dr Sesshomaru said pointedly. "I'm going to handle it, but I need someone close to them to know. Inuyasha refuses to acknowledge me, but Yashirah doesn't completely share his contempt. Have her knock some sense into him."

"Easier said than done."

"I understand. But we have to try." He stood and leaned forward to shake her hand. With her mission in mind, she made her way back to Inuyasha's room.

"Inuyasha," she said softly when she returned to his bedside. He let out a snore. Rolling her eyes, she prepared to leave and check on Yashirah, but he whimpered audibly when she put her hand on the doorknob.

Kagome walked back to him, but was taken by surprise when his hand shot out and pulled her into the bed. She struggled for a moment, but stopped when she realized he was still sleeping. He growled contentedly and buried his head in the crook of her neck, seemingly comforted by her presence. Sighing in defeat, she resigned to lying against his chest.

"Enjoying yourself, lady?"

Kagome would've jumped had she not been restricted by Inuyasha's arms. "Yashirah?"

"In the mother-lovin' flesh. What's that you're doing over there with my bro?" There was a small, characteristic grin on her face. "They moved me into the room so I could be with my brother. But now I see I'm gonna have to keep an eye on your sneaky ass."

Kagome laughed warmly, happy her friend was back to normal. They were silent for a while, and Kagome couldn't help but fall victim to the comfort and warmth of Inuyasha's body. Her eyelids drooped, and the last thoughts were ones of happiness at her friend's wellbeing.