Disclaimer: Same as always. Never owned an inu.

Warning: Expect "colorful language" from now on until the end of the story. Blame mostly hanyou-talk.

Note: This chap accompanies the mood in chap 18, and occurs on the same day. Both are important for future happenings in the story. Enjoy.

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Chapter 19: It is a Gift

On the other side of town and on a later hour, Inuyasha walked through the park with his sights to the ground. His hands were in his pockets, and his work helmet fit loosely to his cranium. The black straps that were supposed to cover his chin hung freely where human ears were supposed to be; in their place forelocks drooped charred. His face was smoked, and his uniform battered. The rest of his gear was back at the station, but he was not quite sure why he had decided to stroll around with the department headpiece on. His head felt heavy enough as it were.

Her hair, he sighed.

Her dress...

Those eyes…

Everywhere he turned to he saw that face. There had been a couple in one of the houses he had to save today from a fire, but only one of their faces seemed to enjoy replaying in his mind. It was unnerving. Nothing he did could make him stop thinking of it.

Her ghostly, peaceful look...

The hanyou stopped in the middle of the winding path to observe the silhouette that wavered on the surface of a puddle of water. A gust of wind blew upward from behind, shaking the branches of the trees just loosing their leaves for the season. The colors of the growing night sky looked grey through his vision in between the wood; the, it turned dark and black, and the hints of fall ignited like the flames themselves, carried by the breeze's hand, reflecting on the surface of his pupils with a dance…

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"…Hey! Is anyone here!" Debris fell from all places, offering Inuyasha little room to jump over wreckage, at times obligating him to turn and find another route in his search for life.

That whole week entire blocks had been encased with the most questionable appearances of wildfires, suspected to be the work of some demented, human hand. Inuyasha knew there were still families trapped in the last two houses of the neighborhood they had been treating, but the homes had become too dangerous for venturing, him being the only rescuer daring enough to try out his luck.

"If you can hear me, shout! I'm right here!" He was currently in one of the structures; his fear of arriving too late for the other house left him as he reluctantly acknowledged its fate. As immortal as he could try to think he was, having been on the field for over two days now without rest would bring his burning body to its climax. He might not make it in time for this family, let alone the other. "Hey!" And every time he called out, his voice seemed farther and weaker.The crackling and explosions that erupted in his ears were deafening.

Another loose chemical busted to a corner of the room, sending more thick fumes into the air; he gagged. The smoke stung his lungs twice as fast as they would have for any other fireman. He tried his hardest to breathe sporadically, his arm covering his mouth and nose, gas mask empty.

Smoke...Air...It's all so dark... Inuyasha threw a plank of wood to the side and recoiled at a hot spot. He turned to move more rubbish aside before getting bit by a crackling light bulb from above.

Amidst the hellish surroundings, the hanyou's mind kept him awake and alert by blaming himself for not finding anyone—that he should have been wearing the robe of the fire rat that day; but the robes had been used too much already that week (they would serve as the better shield against the blaze, hidden under his uniform), and could have ruined if he were to put them on before he was able to restore them full. If only it weren't so, finding the humans then would have been little effort. It felt pathetic. The helplessness of his situation seemed to hurt more than the heat.

The atmosphere only grew thicker the further he got into the home. Unknown gas exploded from several pipes; half of the third floor of the other home fell to crash upon this other; it made the ground he stood on sway and become unstable. The fabrics that were once curtains for the windows fed the flames as they rose higher onto the infected ceiling and out into the exterior. Coughing louder and only getting even more fumes into his lungs, Inuyasha pushed away walls that had fallen down, and furniture that was charred and indiscernible from the gassy heat and red and orange hot lighting. Room after room had him tumbling over things that fused to the floor as they boiled. The air looked like waves, running over the surface of anything he could look to, changing them, constantly bending them. He started to feel—or imagine, he could not tell the difference between the two things anymore—his protected soles deteriorate, layers of material melted off and high temperature begin to scratch at the base of his feet. His coat had already let in air that burned at his body's skin.

Everywhere he turned there where more smells of things that had exploded or scorched, and a growing sense of bodily corrosion—most of it coming from him.

"Come on!" he yelled again. He was desperate. He could barely see, had barely been able to see for a long while, but his companions awaited him from the outside, constantly yelling to him "mad man!" and "get out of their while you can!" Gritting his teeth made him aware of the numbness in his mouth. The cries were encouraging, but Inuyasha incessantly wished they would stop yelling so he could better make use of his hearing.

"Hello! Can anyone hear me!" All common sense pointed out that it was useless to call out, for the people inside would most likely already be dead; but he would not give in—he was a stubborn hound, for crying out loud. So he trudged on.

"Hey...!" He kept his arm to his face, although it barely allowed him visibility, and hardly worked as a barrier against the blaze. He faintly recognized he was walking in circles, leaning to his left side. He had injured it while trying to lift a truck before."Damn this hell! Where the fuck is everyone!"

At the sound of another large crash to his back, which shook the floor boards, the hanyou's legs finally wobbled, and his hand landed on something afire to break the fall; but even then it did not seem to hurt.

The thinning air and his steaming body forced his lids to shut—he could not decide what to do at the moment; he'd rather rest. He was tired. Very. Enough not to want to think. So his unconsciousness spoke for him.

…Maybe if he had no feeling in his entire being, he could look for these people all he wanted. All he wanted, until he too fell dead.

Until he fell dead…That sounded wonderful. Because then he could…

…No. He should leave while he still can…

…But he just had to see them. Alive…Dead…

They were dead, he knew that, but if only he could see them, then…

He was slipping, or was already gone, a part of him registered; but Inuyasha was insistent. He was going to try, damn it. Just a little more, a little bit more…

The wooden floors underneath him started to cover his feet like sand; he could feel himself sinking. It was a soothing feeling; like a blanket over soar feet.

Then…something was in that sand, or rather, lay on it. His eyes opened, and the hanyou then realized he had closed them to doze.

It was them, he faintly recalled. The family. He had found them. His eyes wondered painfully to look to his feet in trepidation. What Inuyasha saw gave him the last bit of energy he needed to stir awake and move.

A young man and woman lay serenely amongst the rubbish, the wooden surface under them as clean as day. A new born was wrapped in a bundle of blankets inside the protection of their arms; the three still seemed to be awaiting rescue, he contemplated, shivering.

Then the hanyou swore he could have seen the baby moving, and the woman's face pressing lightly to him as if to comfort the inaudible crying that would start. Her hair was so elegant, he admired, even as it began sizzling as pebbled-sized sparks chipped it when landing on it. The glow of her night gown folded itself to cover the small creature, and she could have been just sleeping—just sleeping with it—the manner of her rest reminding him of that woman he often watched at night for hours at a time. He felt the babe stifle and calm.

The image of the three's portrait lasted far less than he wanted it to, their clothing and bodies singed and devastated when he finally bat his eyes at their dryness.

At the second wink, they were gone.

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It was all hazy now; maybe none of it happened at all. And if the chief had not met with him half way out of that awful place, he…

He did not want to think of it. It was irrelevant now. He had survived—in fact, had already been given many second chances in life—and would finally act on his instincts even if it killed him from the inside. Inuyasha had lost that which he cherished most once already because he took for granted the frailness of mortal life; he wouldn't let that happen again. He wouldn't be able to survive the separation. This female soul he watched over in its sleep was just like the one half a millennia ago; the one he could not save. So while the body was different, his self would rest at ease knowing he could be able to fulfill his promise of protection and salvation to at least one of the two.

It was settled.

Inuyasha would set out to do what he could not fulfill back then, and hope this other woman would permit him such an honor.

…Now, if only he would cease from turning into a puddle of puppy goo when expressing his rightful feelings toward her, his idea might—just might—work…

The hanyou's long stroll had brought him to a window at a place in town, one with glistening gems on the other side of the glass panel. They were displayed on tiny black rings and shelves of every kind, sparkling every which-way one turned to look at them. As small as they where (even he had to admit), they looked grand.

His hands pressed against the glass, immediately retracting as their contact made the peeling skin of his palms rip. He preferred leaning with the help of his forehands instead, letting his bruised forehead drop on the surface as the helmet finally came off with a sharp crack to the ground.

He stayed there for a while, thinking of all the possible reactions he would get after getting one of these jewels for Kagome. He knew she had mentioned of them to Rin one time they were out together. Every girl liked their little rocks, and it served as a perfect gift for the conversation that would soon ensue.

Inuyasha's gaze roamed for the one his companion said she had liked, his chipped ears stirring in excitement whenever he thought he'd found it.

Then, after going in and doing his business, the rest of the trip home Inuyasha was ecstatic. The more he tried to keep his joy in, the more it showed, and the more curious comments he received about his demeanor in his travel to the apartment building.

It could not be helped. All he had to do was present his girl with this token he held in his hand and she would instantly understand what it meant—his feelings, his intentions, his….his happiness! Even if he himself had no clue as to what to call it (or rather did not want to admit what this advancement was), she would know, as all girls would with their sixth and seventh senses, and the present would do all the talking for him.

When the hanyou arrived at the front door of his shared apartment, he stood there for what felt like forever, a sudden tug at his insides giving him second thoughts, which spoke to him in conversation.

Maybe this was too much. Maybe he was going too fast. But he had wanted to do this for months now…So he had to do it. Yes.

What was it again?

The hanyou inhaled the deepest puff of air he had ever taken into his chest all at one time in his life, forgot to exhale, and then let it go before he turned anymore purple. This was it. He was going to open the door.

…Maybe he should ease up the mood by bringing humor into the situation? Yes. Humor was good. Humor was good. It was perfect for easing his nerves. Wait. Why was he nervous about this?

Introducing his key into the keyhole, the tiniest breath escaped his mouth once more, and his hand went for the doorknob until he was inside the house with an enthusiastic entrance and a toothy grin.

"Who missed me!"

He cut his cry short, though, and a frown framed his face, preceding a growl. Instead of a hearty response to welcome him home, there stood Sesshoumaru, conveniently blocking all line of vision with his stature, with the kind of dead expression that felt as if his eyes would drill into one's skull. They had almost bumped into each other.

"Do you want to test just how I'm infatuated with you, little brother?" the full-youkai tested in an interesting, half-murderous tone. Inuyasha wondered what could have possibly gotten him into such a good mood; he had showed no signs of becoming a physical threat to him—yet.

"Uh, 'Kagome around?" The encounter vaguely made Inuyasha forget what it was he had needed her for.

"No," the other fairly blinked. Then, after a moment of silence, "you look like hell; and you smell like it, too."

"Thanks," Inuyasha bit back. "A compliment coming from someone who's worse day is getting a paper cut." Sesshoumaru almost pursed his lips.

Rin came from out of her room shortly after, fake reading glasses propped at the bridge of her nose and script in hand. Inuyasha often pondered what kind of supernatural ability she harbored that would allow her to share the company of his sibling willingly.

Then he revaluated the position he was in—still just two chests apart from the other youkai—and took three whole steps back into the hallway.

"Ah! Inuyasha! You're finally here! I'm so glad." Cheerful as ever. "They were saying such awful things about the fires that I was worried about you."

"Tch. You don't have to worry about me. I'm 'Inuyasha', remember?" he reassured, now brought to a lighter mood. His sibling huffed and went back to his papers. Inuyasha wondered what in hell he had been doing standing at the door, anyways.

"Oh Sessh! Weren't you going to pick up that package at the front counter?" At Rin's reminder, the Daiyoukai stood up just as he had been sitting down at the dinner table, reluctance just barely observable from the quick twitch of his eyebrow. Inuyasha shrugged. He needed to know where Kagome was.

"Oh…she's out," Rin smiled. "She's finishing up some stuff at her office in the university." That made the hanyou grunt. This was a predicament he hadn't expected to encounter.

"You think she'll be long?"

"I'm not sure," the girl wondered. "But don't worry; she's in good hands."

"Of course. She's with that Houjou scholar." At Sesshoumaru's input Rin jumped, quickly waving her arms in wide, crisscross angles at him, as if he shouldn't have said what he had said. And if the lord were one to shrug in unimportance, he would have shrugged twice.

Inuyasha snarl annoyed. "'That… Houjou…scholar'?" His right claw cracked involuntarily.

"Yes. Houjou. The man that works with her." The demon cleared up any confusion Inuyasha might have had, even though they were details his little brother already more than knew. "If you have yet to recall his person, I would be generous enough to say more."

So caring of him, the hanyou measured. He should get a medal.

"Asshole."

Inuyasha turned away, too many notions erupting in his thinking to have him concentrate on even one. Rin began begging him to forget about the comment, saying that "it wasn't true, er, maybe it is, but it doesn't mean anything;" but the hanyou did not heed her words or encouragement and closed the door in his brother's face, who was about to leave the apartment to go downstairs.

As the half-demon made his way to the other side of the hallway, he faintly heard the girl say something about "that wasn't nice, Lord Sesshoumaru" and a "Hn" from his brother, who took to reading his papers again.

Inuyasha, surprisingly, felt a small, canine whine form inside his throat. He had no idea what to do now. There was no way of knowing when Kagome would be home, and this was not a matter that could be dealt with over the phone. He leaned against the wallpapered corridor, thinking if he should leave it for another day; but instead of deciding to clean up and get ready for bed, he went to sit on the floor, half imagining he would find Kagome coming home early and at any minute.

He was not sure of how much time passed—though he could have waited until next week in that same spot just to see her return. Something about that ethereal couple in the fire reminded him of things that aren't immortal like him, that they would at any instant fade away; that he, too, would eventually grow old, and would have nothing to hold on to but memories until he perished or managed to witness the birth of another reincarnation.

The present kept slipping past his fingers. There was the sulking of the past and the fear of the next day, of not making a move to take that woman and finally keep her safe; to finally stop her from escaping his reach and loosing this soul before it housed a third body. He had to end this chase after a ghost. He had to see her. Right now, in this space and time, he had to claim her and no one else. Thus the unrelenting wait.

At the edge of his hearing Inuyasha had noticed a pair of small feet had made their way to him, halting just inches away to observe his apparent idle thinking. "What are you doing, mister?" an equally small voice accompanied the small age of the inquirer. "You look tired. Are ya sad? It's because you were in a fire. You're a fireman, right! Did someone die?"

The hanyou's eyes went to his face. This little kid looked too young to be about in the apartment by himself. And what was with the big, hair ribbon? "What's your name? Can you talk?Huh, mister!" the kid piped, growing excited for some reason.

"Inuyasha," he half-heartedly blurted, ears flattening on his skul under the helmet. He hoped the squirt wasn't in a curious mood.

"'Inuyasha'?," the child pondered, a tiny hand holding his chin as he contemplated the ceiling. "Well that's a stupid name." The hanyou's eyes grew at the unexpected response.

Pups. Gotta hate 'em, gotta have 'em.

"It's a dumb name, if you ask me. Why'd your parents call you that?"

Inuyasha grumbled. Where in hell were his guardians when you needed them? "None of your business. What's you're name, anyway?" The boy had to be either a visitor, or had just moved into the complex.

The child folded his arms, lifting his chin. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Then why are you still talking to me?" the hanyou retorted, annoyance notable in his voice.

"I'm bored," the boy stated in a long sigh. "There's nothing to do."

Inuyasha asked himself if he appeared to be some sort of amusing attraction. The hanyou said nothing, and showed no objection to being joined by this new company as he sat on the floor close by.

"So," the kid spoke again, not too long after; "what's in the box?"

Inuyasha looked to the thin, black box he had been holding. He had forgotten about it. "It's for a girl," he said, mildly surprised he spoke the simple truth for once, instead of deliberately changing the subject to avoid being interrogated on delicate matters.

"A girl, huh? Is she nice?"

"Yeah. She's really nice."

"And…is she pretty?" Inuyasha turned to look at him, astonished that the kid was proving to be a reasonable chatting partner. The hanyou felt that he could be completely honest with him. Children were, in fact, supposed to understand the matters of the heart without much effort, and did not question or reject them much. Perfect.

"Very. Very Pretty." Simple yet communicative responses. What every hanyou needs.

"So—she your girlfriend?"

He stuttered, feeling his cheeks go warm. "I-I-I…uh…"

"That's a no," the boy concluded, his eyelids falling halfway in suspicion, making his two emerald orbs thin out. "So, you gonna ask her to? Does she even like you?"

The hanyou froze. The company was starting to make him nervous and worse—question if his deep, caring feelings were, in fact, returned, which was a predicament; after all, since these issues always worked both-way.

"…I'll take that as a no, too." Inuyasha barked in objection at the supposition.

"You don't know me! And you don't know her! So what makes you think that!" The boy had unconsciously and unofficially become his personal match-making, fortune-telling expert, so Inuyasha needed to know his thoughts, his answers, and his experience in the thing called "love." His fate hung in the balance.

The other seemed to think of himself as such as well, straightening his shoulders with an all-knowing expression.

"Well, if you're so ignorant of her feelings, than it must mean she's totally not hot for you." The hanyou growled low, itching to pick up the helmet on his head.

"Then again," the little tyke continued, spreading his arms to either side in reasoning, palms up; "no man alive knows how women think, so asking you about it would be like asking a rock to float." The hanyou calmed down at that.

"…Though your pretty ugly for a guy. I mean, even you name is weird. 'Inuyasha'? Ha!"

The squirt squealed as he noticed what was about to be thrown at him, his little legs carrying him as far as the exit stairway as a heavy piece of headgear bounced behind him for the kill. The boy panted when he was sure it had stopped pursuing him, the force of the attack enough to have caused a crack in the building. The boy gulped as he crouched to look through it, finding only night skyline at the end of the hole. He whirled to face the assassin.

"You crazy lunatic! What was that for!" The boy shivered as a tear inflated itself at the rim of his eye, a canine tooth protruding from his upper jaw. But before Inuyasha could hurl toward him something else, his short-memory had fixated itself onto a different object, incredulous.

"And what the heck are those things on your head!"

"Go away, brat!" Canine ears twitched.

"Just because your girlfriend hates you doesn't mean you can take your anger out on me!" The boy reached into his back pockets and took out a spinning top, jerking a plastic rod through it with his other hand. Yelling "Let it rip!" as he jumped to add force to the attack, he flung the toy like a projectile toward the hanyou; it bounced off the walls until landing on Inuyasha's knee without harm.

"Bull's eye!" The child rejoiced, though had to squirm against the wall when a boot was thrown his way as a formidable counter attack.

"Oh yeah? Well, take this!" A jump rope was hoisted about in the air like a regular Indiana Jones, and the kid lunged for an assault. "Hiya!" Soon, Inuyasha found his arm being wrapped around by the cord in a snake-like grip.

"Stupid kid!" He bent to go for his other shoe next.

The boy stuck his tongue out, making a face. "Nah nah! You can't catch me!"

"Wanna bet!" The hanyou pounced for the hunt, and the battle across the floors of the building was on.

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"Hello…" A silky voice called out.

"It's dark here... Kinda cold…" The young woman felt lost; there was no light visible. She walked everywhere, but did not manage to find an exit way. "Where…?"

"Hello…" it went again, this time closer, from behind. She gasped as the vibrations that reached her neck strung the insides of her throat.

"Eh!" She whirled.

The girl's eyes shot open after her physical body jumped in reaction. She caught her breath; the goose bumps were still chilling as she scanned the room for what could be the source of such ghastly sound, but she found nothing. She was alone.

Kagome had heard it before many times, but could never recognize who it belonged to. It was strange. She tried to mimic the sound in a un-manly-like, grave tone, her lips puckered.

"Hello...Hello…"

"Hello, Kagome?" She swiveled in her whirling chair to catch Houjou at her office doorframe. Though he looked sorry for interrupting her, she felt most embarrassed.

"Forgive me—I didn't know you were sleeping. There was something I had to give to you today before you left, so I…took the liberty to open the door when you didn't answer the first five times."

"It's aright. And I'm glad it's only you," she said cheerily, grateful that there was another human in the building. "For a second there I thought some guy with a chainsaw was out to get me." She laughed, referring to her dream, almost fearful of the image (and surround-sound wailing of spinning, metal teeth) it brought to mind. Houjou did the same, but stood confused.

"Well, I'll assure you I'll protect you against any demons that might come to you at night," he mused, his charismatic grin beaming. If he had been wearing a blue coat and metallic armor then, his white stallion back at the stalls, befitting the title "prince charming" would be even more effortless.

"Of course," she thanked him. He handed her half a dozen files, some still dusty, other quite decrepit. Kagome stared down at them in all silence for a while.

"You…sure you're alright?"

The girl widened her eyes a few times, and then blinked forcefully, adjusting to the transition from being in a state of sleepiness, to one close to alertness.

"Yeah. I'm fine." A yawn escaped her mouth unexpectedly.

"Don't tire yourself so much, Kagome." The man always did know how to say her name with sweetness to it that no one else could mirror. "If you don't mind me saying this, I think it would be best if you went home." Then, he made a short pause before, "Want me to take you home?"

Kagome nodded at the first, shaking her head at the second. She was tired, and she really wanted to go home. If he hadn't just awoken her from her nap, she could have stayed for an all-nighter again. The cocoa he handed to her afterward on account of the air-conditioning helped her weary eyes; Houjou always knew what she needed. She drank it in two gulps.

After he left her Kagome prepared to leave, her coat in hand along with many files and bags. She groaned at the weight of the reading material, but said eagerly, "Jewel, here I come." She bit down on the cup of cocoa with her teeth, walking backwards through her door to cast one last view of her private place in order to make sure that she had gotten all her luggage. She already had her keys out, thinking to start the car quickly, and with them she locked her student office when the lights were tuned off.

The room became quiet once she left. It remained as such no sooner a crack of light seeped in from the entrance, as Kagome appeared and moved toward her desk, lights on, letting her possessions fall on it and on the seat. Her feet planted themselves in place as she absorbed with curious eyes what it was she had missed earlier.

On the far end of the room there was an arrow, pierced through the surface of an open scroll, nailing it to the wood of her bookcase. Her mouth opened into an "O" out of intrigue.

"Did Houjou do this…?" He was always giving her papers for her Feudal Era research when she least expected.

The bottom half of the old parchment lifted as if wind had graced it.

Hands reaching for it, she went over for inspection.

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Sorry for not uploading sooner. Let's just say upon editing, I realized what they meant by "Less is more." Sigh. I also un-italicized much text, since past chapters have been criticized for lengthy flashbacks. Sorry 'bout that.

Read and Review! And Happy Holidays, everyone.