SS- O.o Wow. I can't believe that the school year is almost over— or that I'm moving back to Virginia!

Kali- Uh, didn't we just leave Virginia?

SS- Yeah, but, that's the military for ya. Besides. . .do you really care?

Disclaimer: Ouran High School Host Club and all affiliated characters belong to Bisco Hatori-shishou, and Inuyasha and all affiliated characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi-sama, no matter how much I may wish otherwise.

WARNING: Um. . .not really anything drastic. Yet.

Rating: M

Title: Portrait of Takashi

Mori was the first to comply. Twisting a ring off his right thumb, he allowed his demonic aura to come to full strength and embraced the changes. Not much changed, however, because his aura was strong enough to leak through the magic. The tips of his ears pointed slightly, a red sun appeared on his forehead, and, oh yes, a thick, silky black tail had wrapped around his waist.

Hunny followed suit, doing the same as his cousin had, only his changes were slightly more drastic. He became taller, just as tall as Haruhi; both his eyes and hair darkened, his hair to black and his eyes to a deep blue; his ears pointed, and a tail similar to Mori's draped across his knees. Haruhi's eyes flicked to his forehead, and nodded with approval and understanding when nothing appeared.

"So that's how you two work," she murmured. "That makes so much sense. Mori-sempai pretends to be subservient to Hunny-sempai to protect his status as heir to the Lord of the East. Hunny-sempai's family weren't the lords, they were the servants. . .hmph!" Nodding to herself, she started pulling gently at the snarls in Kagome's hair, completely missing the impressed gleam in Mori's eye.

The next to comply with Kagome's request were the twins. Twisting their rings off with a mystified shrug at Haruhi's knowledge, they allowed themselves to be seen for what they really were. The irises of their golden eyes transformed into a sky blue color, and thick auburn wolf tails flicked through the air behind them. As with the two before them, their ears pointed at the tips. A pale white snowflake appeared on their foreheads.

"Heirs to the Lady of the North," Kagome purred as Haruhi massaged her head. "Oh, that feels really good."

"Thanks. Self-practice is key at this point, and between Dad and the bozos, I get a lot of practice."

"Who's a bozo, Haru-chan?" Hunny's voice was just slightly deeper as well. She smiled at him.

"Tamaki-sempai, mainly," she admitted, "but sometimes Hikaru is as well."

"Hey! What about Kaoru?!"

"He's less of a bozo than either of you. Still a bozo, but less of one"

Kyoya rolled his eyes and ignored whatever the response was. He pulled his ring off; his ears pointed, his eyes took on the hue of a bloody garnet, and his hair took a dark blue sheen but those were the only outward sign of his change. Kagome pressed her lips into a little moue of confusion. She crooked her index finger at him in the universal sign for 'come here', then pulled his tie so that her face was pressed into his neck. Tamaki bristled visibly at her actions, but she just inhaled the shadow king's scent. "Nothing. . .no scent at all— wait, wind. . .you're a wind demon, aren't you?" He nodded, and she released him. "It surprises me that you aren't more passionate, considering who your mother has to be, but maybe you take after your aunt Kanna more. Strange, but what can you do? That leaves us with Tamaki-sempai."

Looking slightly uncertain, the Host Club king removed his ring. His previously round, human-like ears disappeared, only to emerge as cat ears on the top of his head. His violet eyes turned green-grey with yellow specks, with slitted pupils identical to a leopards' eyes; blond hair lengthened until it brushed the tops of his thighs. All six men had delicately pointed canines and long, sharp fingernails. Kagome took in Tamaki's appearance with a smile. "Cute ears; they remind me of an old friend. Can I feel them?" Stunned, the blond went over on autopilot. At the first gentle touch of her fingers, he began to purr.

Kyoya, who hadn't realized that Tamaki was a half-demon filed away his reactions for another time and place.

"Haruhi, why don't you seem surprised to know that we're demons?" asked Kaoru. "And how do either of you know about status among us?"

Kagome stopped her friendly caresses with a smirk. "Gramps was a priest; before I moved away, we used to visit him, and he would tell us stories about demons. Add in the fact that I remember your mom— I really only met her a few times, and she was young back then —is just an added benefit. I'm not related to the priestess; I am the priestess of the Shikon no Tama.

"Because I can predict what you're going to say next, let me explain: there is a well at my shrine, called the Bone Eater's Well. I discovered a few months back that it acted as a time portal, taking me back five hundred years. Long story short, the tama broke, an evil half-demon tried to collect and corrupt the pieces to control Japan, my friends and I killed him, I made an unselfish wish on the tama, came home, and have been unable to return ever since."

"That explains a great deal," Kyoya remarked, "but not about Haruhi."

She passed the brush forward to Kagome. "I've known that this was a school for demons when I first came to check it out," she replied easily. "The fact that everyone except for Kasonoda-kun wear the same rings whenever they're in public, or I'm around, is more than slightly suspicious. But that's not how I knew you were demons.

"Human's have distinctive auras," Haruhi clarified, "one that's marked with the faintest tinge of death that depends on individual factors, but still similar. Demonic aura's are more individual because there are so many different kinds of demons; not ethnic background, per se, although that factors in a little, but different species. The difference, or similarities, in certain species present themselves through the aura.

"Demon's also have a faint tinge of death in their auras. Fainter than humans, almost nonexistent because they can't be killed by age. Disease, poison, fatal wounds, yes, but not age. The tinge is still there, though. Of everybody here, only Ritsu-kun and Mori-sempai have an aura, and I believe that Tamaki-sempai's aura plays off of his human half. Oh yeah," she held up a finger, "and you guys don't use your own powers to suppress your aura's like your parents do. Those rings have bits of Suoh-sama's power."

SS- Weird place to end, yeah, I know. Just couldn't find a better one. :shrugs:

Athene- Thanks very much to preciousteddybear, sveta89, bunnykitune, Born-Of-Elven-Blood, GabbyKat13, Lindsay-chan, Captaincarnival, princesseilowyn, Natsumi Tsuchi-Ookami, and Dragon of Blood for your wonderful reviews. They made our hearts go pitty-pat with glee.

Kali- In response to Born-Of-Elven-Blood's review, we're operating under the idea that she matured a bit after her time in the feudal era, and saw how impractical those stupid things were. (Plus, the short skirts are just part of an international manga conspiracy to pick up male readers with the slight hope of catchin' some panties.) Oh, and don't worry about Haruhi. . .there's a reason why she is the way she is, and it'll come up soon enough.

SS- Two more days until my first set of finals, then four more days until graduation. After that, it's a week until we start packing up. With any luck, I should be able to pump out another chapter or two.

Kali- Constructive criticism is appreciated— it keeps SS humble and thinking.

Athene- Flames will be used to light the glorious bonfire that will be all of the school papers from this year.