AR: Okay, so I'm really going to try and finish this story before I forget about this account again. I'm truly sorry that I made everybody wait so long. I'd like to give a shout out to Lady Kaliska for renewing my passion for this story, even though I doubt she's reading this right now. Honestly, I don't think that I could get past chapter five if I were to read it right now. -sweatdrop-

IY: I couldn't get past chapter five a year ago.

AR: Nobody said you had to stay. Like I've said before, it only takes one sentance to write you out completely. It's not that bad, though, because there are only a couple of chapters left to this thing.

Y: Yeah, so why quit now?

Ka: Unless, you're afraid AR will do something crazy to you. I'm not sure about her mind after a year or so.

AR: Hey, it could only get better from where it was!

K: I thought time worsened things like that, though.

AR: ...shut up...

Y: Hey, 'shut up' isn't a nice thing to say, Angel.

AR: Who said I was a nice person? Don't answer that. Chapter time!

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I was losing myself to somebody else

But now I see

I don't wanna pretend, so this is the end

Of you and me

'Cause the girl that you want

She was tearing us apart

'Cause she's everything, everything

I'm not

(Everything I'm Not - The Veronicas)

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Chapter Twenty-Six Recap:

"Oh, Sango...thank you so much," Kagome said, already fawning over the cute little ball of fluff. "Now, let's think about what I'm going to name you." The kitten opened its large eyes and stared at Kagome. She purred and meowed at her, then reached up and lightly touched Kagome's chin with her paw. The young woman smiled at the cat.

"Aijou," she decided. "Your name will be Aijou."

Don't Fall Away

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Dark and Light, Good and Evil

For a few months, things were quiet. The lack of any serious occurences was beginning to get Kagome worried. She found herself eagerly jumping up when there was even a slight noise. She knew that trouble wasn't something to be excited about, but the bizarre stillness meant that Naraku was biding his time and trying to catch them after they had been lulled into a false sense of security.

'He's just wasting his time,' Kagome decided. 'He won't catch us by surprise. We aren't idiots.'

Aijou padded into the room through the cat door, which Sesshomaru had reluctantly ordered the installation for, and jumped into her master's lap, purring in contentment. She had reached her full-grown size, about as big as Kirara, but was still having a little bit of trouble transforming. According to Sango, it took a couple of weeks of hard practice on Aijou's part in order to transform at will like Kirara could. Kagome smiled. In reality, Aijou was maturing very quickly and should master the task in a couple of days.

She was a really sweet cat and Kagome was very happy that the name she had chosen fit her well. Even though he would probably never admit it, Sesshomaru was also growing quite fond of the little creature. Aijou was often found in his study, sitting quietly on his desk while he did whatever it was he was supposed to be doing, and was following him when she wasn't with Kagome. Aijou was the only one out of the litter that rarely spent time around Kirara. One of the others had taken a liking to Rin, but didn't follow her around as incessantly as Aijou did Kagome and Sesshomaru.

"What are we doing?" Kagome wondered aloud. "We shouldn't just sit here while Naraku strengthens his defenses. He obviously isn't going to strike first, so why don't we? Waiting for word from Kagura and Kurayami is stupid. They might have just been toying with us."

"Kagome, are you talking to yourself?" Rin asked. Kagome jumped when she heard her voice, since she hadn't heard the door open. It turned out that Rin had been following Aijou and had all but gotten herself stuck in the cat door.

"Lord Sesshomaru always tells me that it's unhealthy to talk to yourself," the child said matter-of-factly, squeezing her bottom through the hole. Kagome imagined a small 'pop' noise when she did and smiled. Rin stood up and dusted herself off, then climbed onto the bed to sit next to Kagome.

"I wasn't talking to myself, Rin," Kagome lied. "I was talking to Aijou."

"Master Jaken said that talking to animals is almost as unhealthy as talking to yourself," she stated.

"Well, Rin, do you always listen to Jaken?" Kagome asked shrewdly. Rin blinked, obviously thinking about it, then shook her head. Kagome laughed and nodded smugly.

They sat like that, side by side, for a few minutes before Rin jumped up.

"I'm hungry," she declared, then scampered out of the room the way normal people enter and leave.

Kagome remained seated on her bed, staring blankly out the window as her thoughts chased each other around inside her head. There was a distant flash, then an arrow embedded itself into the railing on her balcony. She cautiously stood up and walked forewards. There was a seam in the middle and Kagome pulled the two pieces apart. The arrow had been hollowed out. When she split the pieces, a small, white feather and a carefully rolled piece of paper fell out.

She carefully unrolled the note and read, her eyes widening as she got further and further down the page. It was written by somebody with extremely good handwriting skills. The strokes were graceful and the lines were completely strait. Kagome quickly gathered the halves of the arrow, the feather, and the note and sped off towards Sesshomaru's study, Aijou following closely at her heels.

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Sesshomaru looked up as Kagome burst through the door, holding a few seemingly useless items in her hands. He raised an eyebrow as she threw them all on his desk: a hollowed out arrow that had been cleanly split in two, a white feather, and a piece of paper.

"The note, Sesshomaru," Kagome prompted. "Read it."

Sesshomaru picked up the piece of paper from his desk and unfolded it. Had he any less control over his facial expressions, his response to what was written would have been the same as Kagome's had been, but he had that control and his expression remained neutral. As he set it back down, Aijou jumped up onto the desk and started batting around the feather with her paws.

"It must have been Kurayami that wrote it," Kagome, after she was sure Sesshomaru had finished, reasoned. "The use of strictly formal language is exactly like her speech patterns when we met her and Kagura some months ago. The last line, though...it confuses me. 'Darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good.' What does that mean?"

"Perhaps it is a code of some sort," Sesshomaru said. "If Naraku were to intercept this somehow, it would mean trouble."

"That's true, but coding letters is so annoying. A lot of times, people don't even figure them out until it's too late, so why do it?"

"It will make sense when it matters."

"Sesshomaru, it matters right now, but I still can't make much sense of it!" Kagome said through clenched teeth.

"Yes, it does matter, but it will matter more later, and that is when everything will be clear to you, Kagome," Sesshomaru declared calmly. "Patience is a virtue."

There was a knock on the door. When Sesshomaru gave permission to enter, Kaori opened the door.

"Hey, Lord Sesshomaru, there's a girl in the main hall," she announced. "She said she's here to inquire about a job as a maid or whatever you have to offer."

Sesshomaru nodded and stood up. Kagome glared at him as he walked past her, then followed him, Aijou trotting behind her.

"Sesshomaru, you don't need anymore help around here," she said in an undertone. "You're just trying to stall."

"If you think too hard on it, Kagome, the answer will never come to you."

"It won't come to me if I don't think of it at all, either," Kagome muttered under her breath.

The rest of the walk was silent. They entered the main hall and saw Kaori talking with a young, seemingly human girl. Her pale blond hair was let loose and looked about as long as Sango's and her eyes were the color of emeralds. She was dressed in a simple redish-pink and black kimono. She looked at them when they entered and bowed respectfully.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I apologize for disturbing you in your home," she said. Her voice was soft and Kagome found herself wondering about her singing voice. The girl smiled and Kagome couldn't help but smile back, all of her frustration at Sesshomaru and worry about the note forgotten.

Sesshomaru beckoned Kaori over to him.

"Kaori, you've given the preliminary interview?" Sesshomaru asked, and Kaori nodded. "What are your thoughts?"

"Well...she seems like she's qualified. She has basic cleaning skills, she claims to be good with children - which is a huge plus with Rin and Shippo around - and my first impression is that she's very polite. Really, I think we should give her a trial run. She shows promise, and you know I could use the help. Yukana isn't very neat and Inuyasha...well, you've met him." Sesshomaru thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright. Kaori, set up a room in the staff wing and help her move her things," he ordered. "I want her prepped and ready to start in two days."

"Two days? Sesshomaru, you can't be serious," Kagome interjected. "That's just not long enough to learn all this stuff."

"Two days is plenty of time," Sesshomaru declared. "Kaori had it down in one." He spared one last glance at the girl, then turned and headed back to his study. Kagome sighed and followed.

"Alright, let's get you settled in," Kaori said. "Did you bring anything with you?"

The girl blinked and shook her head.

"No, just the clothes I'm wearing. It's all I managed to escape with."

"You poor girl," Kaori sighed. "Okay, come on. We'll get you a few simple kimonos and a room."

"Thank you. I'm so glad you and Lord Sesshomaru are giving me a chance," she said gratefully. "I'll do my best, I promise."

"Well, dear, you'd better hope your best is good enough," Kaori warned. "He's serious when he says you're gone if you can't do it."

"Oh, I know," she said, nervously biting her lip. "I'm sure I can do it."

"Good. Now, follow me," she ordered. "Oh, I may have already asked, but tell me your name one more time?"

Kaori turned and started walking, then almost tripped on Aijou, who was gazing unwaveringly at the new girl.

"Oh, my name is Hikari."

Aijou hissed and scampered off.

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AR: Whee! I'm so proud of myself! I sat right down and wrote this all in one night!

Se: It seems you are over the "writer's block" that you claimed to have for well over a year.

AR: What do you mean "claimed to have"? I was serious!

Y: Sure, you were. -winks-

AR: You guys aren't being funny. Stop picking on me!

IY: It sucks, doesn't it?

AR: Shut up, InuYasha. Don't piss off the writer.

K: Okay, okay, don't start. InuYasha, sit.

IY: Gah! -sat-

AR: Anyways! I hope to have the next chapter up as soon as possible, just not within this week, 'cause I'm on vacation from everything. Toodles!