Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Fruits Basket

Dog's Puzzle

"I never told you to knock her out!"

"What did you expect me to do! Heck, she could've just run off, you know? That was the best option I tell you."

"My, Kyou-kun! Handling girls so roughly! If you want Tohru-chan, you better learn how to—"

"I get the point, so shut up, alright?"

The rough grumbles and smooth laughter woke her up. She was in the same room for the fourth time—Shigure Sohma's room. Through her blurred vision, she could make out the faint lines of the flowerpots and wooden furniture of his room. It seemed that Kyou had knocked her out when she was paying extra attention to the dog in the alley. Well, it didn't quite matter to her. As long as she was with the Sohma's, her presence will be at least covered long enough to dodge their attention away from this town. She turned her head sideways to see that the sun was setting down, and the colorful sunlight lit up the room through the windows. By now they would have found where the shrine was.

"Hey, you awake?"

Shigure's voice was surprisingly calm compared to the playful voice he spoke in just a few minutes ago. Closing her eyes Kagome nodded her head weakly, still a little dizzy from getting knocked out. She was at least lucky to be in the Sohma Estate. Their unique aura would protect her, and if not for Shigure and Kyou, she wouldn't be living right now.

"I'm sorry about Kyou-kun's nasty behavior."

"It's fine."

Their conversation ended shortly before they remained silent until Tohru dropped in to call them for dinner.

The god tree stood there just like 500 years ago. The dark haired man's hand gently brushed against the rough bark of the tree. His fingertips lingered where the little diamond shaped scar was before placing his whole palm against the smooth, worn out surface of the tree. He could feel the old magic, the old power that this seemingly normal tree endorsed beneath the shallow surface. The magic flowed through his palm and spread in his body, circulating his body with every thump of the heart. He let a soft sigh of comfort as he continuously felt his body lightly electrified with the magic flowing into his veins. It was the feeling that he didn't have for centuries and more, and he definitely wanted to have more of this.

"Hey! No one's answering!"

The distant call of young boy reached his ears and he pulled his hand away from the tree with effort. That was strange. He at least expected the grandfather to be at home, or at least the mother. It was very unusual for the whole family to leave the house vacant, especially that this shrine was open for a tour at any time of the day.

"You sure, kid?"

"Yeah of course! Who do you think I am?"

"An insolent, annoying, good for nothing, stupid child."

The young boy pouted and punched the older man's arm playfully before turning his gaze to the tall tree in front of him. They had lost track of her for a long time, and they were finally close to finding her after all these years of searching. Yet they lost her again. The stone floor was covered in brown leaves from fall last year, and the windows were dusty. There was no sign of care in this shrine. The shrine was abandoned.

The dinner was quiet except the usual quarrel between the cat and the rat and Tohru's interceptions. Kagome was busy moving her chopsticks while Shigure carefully observed her. Her mark was still there, though the marking seemed to have changed again. From what he remembered last time, the marking was somewhat like a canine of a dog and a feather, but now…

"A wing…?"

"Sorry?"

"Ah, I was talking about your tattoo."

"Oh, this…"

There was a short silence before Kagome laughed nervously and rubbed her right cheek. Shigure only smiled back and pretended as though he went back to eating. From the corner of his eyes, he could see her carefully lifting her fingers to slightly brush her black tatto. At that moment, Shigure had to blink his eyes several times. Under her touch, the tattoo started to shift and twist into the original canine-feather shape that he remembered. Awed by the magic in front of his eyes, the dog rubbed his eyes few times before he realize d she was looking at him strangely.

"Are you okay, Shigure-san?"

"I'm fine. Something just went into my eyes."

He softly smiled at her reassuringly, and moved his chopsticks to snatch the last sausage on the plate. Somehow, he felt as though the orange cat's frustrated cry was representing his emotions now. As he munched on the sausage, he glanced at the girl beside him, eating quietly. What was she? A girl who can disappear into thin air and reappear again? A girl who might be able to change into a bird? A girl that he can hug without transforming? Despite the seemingly impossible to solve enigma of Higurashi Kagome, Shigure truly felt excited for the first time in few years. From the day that he caught this mesmerizing black beauty, his life was just getting better.

Sohma Akito stood alone by the window sill, facing the rays of orange light that colored his face orangey red. He had just come across the news of a girl staying in Shigure's house, and at least for now, Akito was not happy. Ever since he let the Honda girl into the Sohma Estate, things have been out of control. At least in his mind, it did. The zodiacs were no longer bound to him anymore. The longer she stayed with the Shigure crew, the more zodiacs drifted away from him. And for that, he regretted his decision. His lips tightened to a deep frown. The dog's voice that he heard over the phone was something that he had never come across before. It felt like his voice was sparkling with uncontrolled excitement and joy that he, Akito, could never understand. The pale hands curled into a tight fist. Was it because of her? That girl who sneakily approached the Sohmas to drag them further away from him? The long nails cut into his palms deeply yet Akito clenched his hands harder, his face red from fury. He had now decided.

"Call in Hatori."

Execution was necessary.

A/N: Sorry for the late update TT All the school AP crap and stuff was keeping me busy _ But I finally updated! So enjoy!

Thanks to: ShadowFoxMoon, betstar, Aryabloodlust, kakashixangela, JayceeJade, maxeyn