"B-but my lord!" Jaken struggled to stay in pace with Sesshoumaru. "How is it possible? You have never told Jaken you have another whelp besides Inu-Yasha!"

"Well, now you do." Sesshoumaru hurried toward his land, where he will be meeting Inu-Yasha. "She is a sweetheart."

"A-a sweetheart!?" Jaken stuttered. What had happened to his lord during the past few days?

"Come, we must hurry. They will be waiting for us by the beginning of the Western Lands."

But meanwhile, Inu-Yasha and the group were having a little wolf problem.

"This is the last time, Mikazuki!!" Inu-Yasha bellowed from outside the little village home they were staying in last night. "We're leaving right now!!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Patience is a virtue, brother dear." Mikazuki came out, patting her hair and gave Inu-Yasha a smug look.

She was dressed austerely today. Her glossy dark hair was put high up onto her head, held by a lily kanza. She wore no jewelry beside her crescent moonstone and a kimono made of dozens of different shades of blue, making her look like a mystical maiden appearing from between the waves. Her only adornment was the soft rose of her cheeks and a single lily pinned in her hair. She stole his breath, she looked so lovely. But still, he grumbled,

"We're going to be walking through desserts and swamps today, Mikazuki, no use in a good appearance."

"That's not true, Inu-Yasha!" His sister gasped and clutched her throat. "Why, remember that day when you came into the castle, my first impression of you was that you were a no-good scoundrel. And from that day on, I promised I wouldn't shame our family name further." She gave her brother a sweet smile as Miroku burst out into laughter.

"Yo, Inu-Yasha, you've finally met your match. If I had any doubt that she was your sister, it's gone now."

"She's been baiting him ever since they arrived." Kagome whispered to Sango, wearing one of Mikazuki's plum silk.

"A fine pair, they are." The older girl whispered back. "Can you imagine Sesshoumaru being part of them?"

"Oi, Kagome…" Shippo leaped from Mikazuki and on the raven-haired girl's shoulder. "Aren't we in Kouga's territory right now?"

"So that's why Inu-Yasha is so tense." The demon exterminator chuckled involuntarily.

"I certainly hope we get to see Kouga again. We haven't seen him in a while. I wonder if everything's alright with him."

"Kagome! Sango!" Mikazuki caught up with them and chirped enthusiastically. "Isn't this fun? We get to travel to all sorts of different places and live in different style of houses."

"My guess is you haven't been outside the Kagewaki Palace much?"

"No." Mikazuki played with a strand of her hair and replied with a wrinkle of her nose. "He says it's dangerous. It is quite true, I suppose."

"Hey! Kagome!" A voice came from behind them. The girls turned around. A gust of wind suddenly blew their hair back, and in the young princess's case, blew her kanza clear from her hair. The wind lifted her hair and turned Kagome's skirt into a flaring tulip.

"Kouga!"

"Well, speaking of the devil and here comes the devil himself." Shippo muttered. The wolf demon skidded to a stop in front of Kagome. He barely had time to nod a greeting at Sango before entangling himself around Kagome.

"I have missed you, Kagome!" He grasped her hand. "How have you been faring with the mutt puppy?"

"Kouga!" Inu-Yasha's eyes were flaming as he stormed up to Kouga. "It was downwind. That's why I didn't scent you!" The wolf smiled.

"Keep at it, Inu-Yasha, and someday you'll convince yourself." The air fairly crackled with tension as the two young men stared each other down.

"Oh, Kouga," Kagome cut in pleasantly. "I want to introduce you to someone. Mikazuki—" She turned. And stopped.

Mikazuki's hair, loose around her face and swirled like a dark cloud, wasn't what caught the fifteen-year-old's attention. It was the princess's eyes that held her breath. Mikazuki's body was still and her velvety eyes shone softly as they swept over Kouga and his lean, muscular form. Her lips were parted in quiet awe and her breath was held. Clearly, the heiress of Kagewaki was taken in by the sight of the wolf demon.

"Mikazuki, this is Kouga." She could do nothing but announce loudly, hoping Inu-Yasha hadn't seen his sister's being taken in by his worst nemesis. "Kouga, this is Inu-Yasha's sister, Mikazuki of the Kagewaki castle."

Kouga took the briefest moment and looked behind Kagome. "I'm Kouga." He introduced. "And it's funny, I didn't scent anything hanyou about you? In fact," his nose twitched just a bit. "I couldn't detect any regular aura from you at all."

Mikazuki was still staring with shiny stars in her eyes. It wasn't until Sango nudged her before she realized she was staring. She gasped for air, then said breathlessly, dipping her body into a graceful curve.

"It is my deepest honor to meet you, Kouga." She said softly, lowering her eyelashes. A delicate blush turned her complexion a marvelous mixture of honey and roses. Kouga had already turned back to Kagome.

"Kagome," he went on. "My group and I have just found a bear demon about several miles from here with an extraordinary power. We're thinking it's a Shikon Shard."

"Really?" Inu-Yasha's ears perked up.

"Well, it's too late to do anything now." Sango looked up at the sky. "It's getting dark."

"Yeah," Kagome smiled. "Why don't you join us for dinner. We're not having much, but you could definitely join us."

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha protested. But Mikazuki jammed her elbows mercilessly into her brother's ribs, causing him to bite back a howl and give her the dirtiest look there ever was.

"Please, do join us for dinner!" She added eagerly, her smile irresistible to the wolf demon. Miroku and Sango exchanged a look. Kagome could tell that they knew there was something behind that over-enthusiastic voice.

"Sure, I guess I could join you for dinner. Do you need me to hunt up something for dinner?" He smirked. "Or did the mutt here have that covered?"

"You—"

"Sit!"

"No, no." Sango put in. "Join us. We can head toward the demon first thing tomorrow."

Unfortunately, like all other males out there in the world, Kouga was no different. He had only eyes for Kagome that night. Mikazuki was forgotten as soon as she introduced herself. The schoolgirl could hardly bear watching the puppy love between Kouga and her, as well as Mikazuki and Kouga.

The princess sat away from Kagome and Kouga, but it was not missed by anyone that her eyes never strayed from the wolf demon. And when Kouga left, the whole camp was silent.

Kagome sipped her tea, and allowed her eyes to slide over to Mikazuki, then Inu-Yasha. The hanyou said nothing, his lips were pursed in a tight line.

Then Shippo broke the silence with a snicker. He jumped up next to Inu-Yasha, clasping his hands together against his chest and tried his best to imitate a girl's voice.

"Oh…he is so handsome! I think I'm in love. From now on, I'll have no other love besides him. In fact, I'm going to dedicate my whole life to him—" There was a loud thud as Shippo ended his charade with a cry. "Ow! You didn't have to hit me you know." He rubbed the bump that was beginning to form on top of his head. Mikazuki gave him a dirty look and walked away to her sleeping mat.

Miroku laughed right out loud. "Hey," he remarked with a grin still on his face. "Like brother, like sister. They're going to get along very well."