Changes: How do We Deal with This?

Disclaimer: I own nothing of or related to Inuyasha or Naruto. My brother does, however, own Ryuu.

Kagome mumbled in her sleep before suddenly striking out with her hand, smacking the man who had been trying to wake her in the face. The black and blue-haired man's head shot to the side, blinking in surprise. "Ouch." He raised a hand to force his head back into its proper position. "That's going to leave a mark."

The miko yawned as she sat up and stretched, taking note of the icy glare directed at her. "Eh? What's wrong, Ryuu-kun?"

The dragon shinobi dead-panned for a moment before sighing, "Nothing, Miko-chan." He smiled innocently at her scowl and stood up. "I was actually hoping you could tell me where we are, since I don't recognize the terrain."

Kagome blinked, her anger disappearing as awe took its place. The sun shone brightly through the leaves above them, and the breeze whispered around them gently. The tree trunk behind her was large with a scar about nine feet up from the ground, six feet from the roots she was laying in. "This is… Sengoku Jidai…"

Ryuu's face scrunched up in confusion. "Eh?" He stared at the small trails of smoke rising over the tress. Must be a village of some sort. "This is where you came from?" He glanced at her nod and frowned. "I suppose that makes sense; you came to Konoha when you were attacked right? So it's the same deal now, except I got dragged along."

Kagome looked to the ground in worry. "Do you think Naruto is okay? Madara's Sharingan…"

Ryuu grimaced at her tone of voice – he hated to hear her upset. He sighed and knelt in front of her with a confident grin. "Don't worry, Miko-chan. Dickless may be dickless, but he's not completely stupid. Besides, the old hag won't let him get caught."

Kagome stared at him before stating wryly. "You've spent too much time around Sai-san."

Ryuu laughed as he stood back up. "He may be a bastard like Uchiha-teme, but he has some good nicknames." He grinned down at her, reaching a hand out to help her up. "You know I do it to rile him up; it's fun to make fun of my 'adopted little brother.'"

Kagome's laughter was cut short when Ryuu tensed, his pupils narrowing to slits. "Someone is coming." The scent on the wide was wet dog, and Ryuu grimaced. "Smells bad… and angry."

Kagome stood beside him, her hand on her kunai pouch. She knew that there were dangerous and evil things in this land, and it comforted her that her partner had his hand on the katana strapped to his waist. If something truly terrible came, they would take care of it.

"Wench!"

Ryuu raised a questioning eyebrow at the raging twitch under his partner's eye, but before he could question it, she opened her mouth to shout. "OSUWARI!

There was a loud crash follow by various cries of her name. Kagome ran toward the oncoming group, a tearful smile on her face as she hugged them. The woman in a kimono was openly crying as she clung to the miko, and the man was holding back tears. The little boy with them latched his arms around the girl's neck silently, not seeming to be certain that she was there.

Ryuu watched all of them silently, his face indifferent. They were being too loud – anyone could hear them. He pursed his lips in irritation as he saw Kagome not taking any notice of the most basic thing he taught her. This is what he was afraid of. He could already see all of her training going down the drain.

A flash of red caught his eye, and he turned to the fuming silver-haired, dog-eared man running up to them. Slit ice blue eyes narrowed before Ryuu turned to his partner. "Oi, Kagome-chan, this ugly lookin' fellow a friend of yours too?"

The rejoicing reunion stopped abruptly at the sound of his voice, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes – if they had only just noticed him, he didn't know how any of them had survived so far. Kagome nodded at his question, already knowing who he was talking about. "Hai. Guys, this is Ryuu, he's been taking care of me while I was… away." The sword-wielding shinobi plastered on a grin and raised a hand in greeting as she named all of her friends. "Inuyasha, stop growling or I'll say 'it' again."

The hanyou continued to growl, alternating his glare between the miko and the shinobi. "Well, you're back now, so he can go to hell for all I care. We'll protect you now."

Ryuu narrowed his eyes again, his hand slowly tightening around his katana. "As happy as I am to know Kagome-chan will be taken care of for now – Kami knows all the trouble she gets into," he ignored her deadly glare. "I can't exactly go anywhere." The suspicious, questioning gazes aimed at him nearly made his laugh. Idiots. "Kagome-chan was transported to an entirely different world; I'm from there, and I currently have no idea on how to get back." Ryuu leveled an unwavering gaze over all of them. "I'll be around until I can go back."

The miko smiled at him, seemingly thankful that he was staying. The shinobi stared at her for a moment, not showing any emotion before he smiled a little. Maybe if I'm around, I'll be able to keep her from falling apart. He really didn't like the look the hanyou was giving them – he meant something bad.

Kagome sat around the campfire with her friends, just like she had before she went to Konoha. Inuyasha was staring moodily at the flames, and she could feel Ryuu resting in the tree behind her. He hadn't told any of her friends about all that he could do with his chakre, which she didn't understand, but respected. He had been secretive among other shinobi, but she knew why for that, there were spies among shinobi. She didn't understand why he would be so secretive with the people she trusted the most. These were her friends; they would never betray her.

She often tried to tell them about how great he was because she trusted them. When she did, though, something distracted them, and it had become too convenient to be coincidence. He never used his jutsu in battles, just his sword, and she didn't participate in them much, just the occasional arrow. It was just alike before, and Ryuu was so quiet that it was like he wasn't there at all.

"Kagome! Kagome!" Shippo bounced in her lap, her kunai pouch in hand. "What's this? I found it in your bag."

The miko blinked. "Oh, this is – "

"Mine." Ryuu's hand suddenly reached down and fastened the undone button to keep the weapons from falling onto the kitsune. "I let Kagome-chan use it in my world and forgot to take it back." The boy grinned and let him have it. Ryuu smiled in thanks before turning back to Kagome, his eyes carefully blank. "You're not using it anymore, right?"

The miko felt a pang of guilt in her stomach at his tone and shook her head, both to answer him and clear it. I don't need it anymore – Inuyasha wouldn't let me use it anyway. She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly. So why do I feel like… I'm killing a part of myself?

Ryuu watched her a moment more before climbing up into the tree, her kunai pouch secured in his pack. I suppose this is the beginning of the end, ne?

Everything they both worked for was going to be crushed.

Ryuu laughed joyfully as he dodged "Sesshomaru-teme's" poison whip for the fifth time. Ice blue eyes were slit and dangerous as he watched the pristine white youkai for his next move, rejoicing in the opportunity to fight a worthy opponent. The inu reminded him of the wise Gobi-no-Houko, just as Shippo reminded him of Naruto. The nostalgia was welcomed in this boring era where everything else seemed to go wrong.

"Pay attention to your opponent." The smooth tenor snapped Ryuu's attention back to the fight and a feral grin spread over his face.

"As you wish, Sesshomaru-sama." The dragon shinobi drew his katana, settling into an easy stance where he could judge the taiyoukai's skills. "I truly am looking forward to this battle, though – judging from the condition you beat the hanyou into, you're strong than anyone I've fought in a while." Curiosity sparked in hardened gold eyes, bringing another smirk to the shinobi's lips.

"Ryuu-kun, be careful! Sesshomaru is really strong, even with only one arm!" Ryuu repressed a sigh as he heard the worried note in his old partner's voice. In Konoha, she would have never worried about him like that – she would have had faith in his abilities. Now though, almost five months and numerous pointless battles later… she was treating him like she would Inuyasha.

"I thought you knew that I didn't judge strength by physical ability. If I did, I wouldn't have taken you under my wing." The cool glance over his shoulder at the miko seemed to shock her, and his eyes narrowed before turning back to the waiting taiyoukai. "Just let me fight!"

"Ryuu…-kun…" The girl took a step back, her once tuned instincts warning her away from the battleground. What… had she done to make him so angry?

Gold eyes watched them with interest before focusing on the dragon-eyed boy as his power rose. "Interesting." Ice blue eyes narrowed in confusion as Sesshomaru drew his oni fang. "From what this Sesshomaru has seen of the rest of this group, they are extremely protective of that girl, yet you are not."

The shinobi didn't react for a moment before scowling. "Why should I be? She can take care of herself." The immediate defense from when they were in Konoha fell from his lips unbidden, and his grip on the katana tightened as he forced himself to painfully correct himself. "At least, she could before we came back here; now she barely does anything." His stomach clenched as he felt her shock and hurt spike, but his frustration spiked as well – she couldn't deny it even if she tried. "Forgive me if I'm a little less refined now, Milord."

Without waiting for a reply, Ryuu vanished from sight, eliciting a shock from his opponent before Sesshomaru whirled around to block the shinobi's downward strike. A smirk crossed his face as they jumped apart. "Forgiven."

Kagome stood back watching them become white and black blues dashing across the clearing. Some yards behind her, Sango and Miroku tended to a half-dead Inuyasha as Shippo watched Ryuu with wide green eyes. The miko could only wonder why he was so angry with her. Sure, she stopped fighting as much, but she didn't need to anymore.

Ryuu black-flipped away from the taiyoukai and threw four senbon at him, wondering how the one-armed man would deflect them. Sesshomaru's golden eyes narrowed as he twirled Tokigen around his fingers quickly, creating an arc to knock away the projectiles. "Poison-laced weapons? Those will not work on me."

Ryuu grinned. "All the better!" He charged in again, taking out his frustrations through the fight. How dare she? How dare she? She mocked everything he put her through, everything they worked for, by throwing it all away! Ryuu pulled out a kunai as he brought his blade down on the taiyoukai, curious about how he would block both. He knew he could – Sesshomaru was more than talented enough to do so – he just wanted to see how.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the incoming blade, his mind racing. Maneuvering Tokigen to protect his left side, the taiyoukai pushed aside Ryuu's katana sharply and knocked away the small black blade in one swift move. "You seem to enjoy attacking this Sesshomaru's left side."

Ryuu jumped back with a laugh. "I'm curious to see how you'll block those attacks, and, if I may say so, you've done very well so far, Milord." The taiyoukai arched an eyebrow at his grin. "If you're worried, though, turn it to your advantage – that's what we do back home."

Sesshomaru watched him for a moment before he smirked. "Very well, then." And the battle began anew.

Shippo slowly came up to the edge of the battlefield to watch beside Kagome. Ryuu was fighting on even terms with Sesshomaru, something not even Inuyasha had managed to do. Naraku always ran away, suggesting that he couldn't either. Sesshomaru held back against Inuyasha, though the kitsune was sure no one else could see it but him, and the one time Inuyasha was able to use the Wind Scar against his brother was because Sesshomaru was surprised.

A loud clash resonated through the battlefield, and Shippo's ears twitched. He glanced up to Kagome to see the worry on her face, but, judging from Ryuu's earlier reaction, he didn't want her to worry about him. The kitsune turned back to the fight, wincing as Tokigen left a gash across Ryuu's arm when the shinobi tried to attack his left side. Ryuu wasn't like Inuyasha refused to be treated as such, even by Kagome.

"Inuyasha, you can't be standing yet! You'll lose too much blood!" Both the miko and the kitsune turned to see Sango try to keep the hanyou on the ground, but the hanyou weakly pushed her away. "Inuyasha…"

The dog-eared man stumbled forward, his hand fumbling for his sword. "Have to stop… he dies… Kagome… sad…" Shippo watched Inuyasha fall to his knees as Kagome ran to him. Inuyasha… Well, he didn't think Ryuu could take care of himself either, where obviously… Shippo turned around again and sat on the ground. They were wrong.

Kagome knelt beside her friend, reassuring him that everything was okay. Ryuu was doing fine in the battle, so he could rest. It was sweet that he wanted to make sure she wasn't sad, but at the pain he was putting himself through, she didn't want him to. She knew that Ryuu still had all of his jutsu, but she didn't know when he would actually use them.

A shocked cry from Shippo made everyone look up at the standstill. Ice blue eyes blinked in amazement before Ryuu chuckled sheepishly. "Uh… Oops?"

Across from him, Ryuu's opponent was staring at his hand in open shock, something uncharacteristic of the stoic youkai. Ryuu stood back, unsure of what this meant for their fight. Sesshomaru was a very formidable opponent, but now… Well, damn. I can't play with him anymore – he's able to defend his left side now. The shinobi inwardly pouted as he readied his katana again. "Oi, Sesshomaru-sama, now that you have your arm back, how about we step this up a notch?"

The taiyoukai blinked out of his shocked daze to smirk lightly at Ryuu. "Aa." He used his new left arm to form a poison ship to attack the shinobi. They fought again, Sesshomaru keeping Ryuu at a distance with his whip, then intercepting whatever close attacks Ryuu was able to get in with Tokigen. A smug smirk crossed his lips as they clashed, swords hilt-to-hilt. "It seems the tides have turned in this Sesshomaru's favor."

The shinobi glared slightly before smirking as well. "Heh, that's what you think. It looks like I'm going to have to use my secrets – I haven't had to since I came here." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes as they pushed each other back, confused about what the boy could possibly have held back until now.

Ryuu landed several meters away and jumped even further back. His smirk remained on his face even as he sheathed his sword, bringing his hand together and making hand signs. He ignored Kagome's cry of surprise and called to his opponent. "Get ready for this, Sesshomaru-sama!"

Sesshomaru braced himself, narrowing his eyes in confusion. Ryuu's hands flashed through a series of signs that Sesshomaru couldn't distinguish, and the shinobi sucked in a breath. "Katon: Karyuu Enden!"

Golden eyes widened in shock for the second time during their fight as a dragon-shaped blast of fire erupted from Ryuu's mouth. "Impossible…" The flames roared quickly through the air, and Sesshomaru tried to jump away, narrowing his eyes again at the heat as he was engulfed.

Ryuu stood back, his smirk still in place as he watched the fire. He knew that the taiyoukai would survive, so he wasn't concerned about his opponent. "Hmph. I haven't used any of my jutsu for too long , way too long, my sign speed has gone down."

A wave of youki flooded over the flames, smothering them as effectively as a tsunami. Ryuu whistled under his breath and grinned at the still pristine taiyoukai. "Neat trick; I hope you have more of them, because I've got a lot more where that came from!" Molten gold eyes narrowed as Ryuu's hands began dancing again.

He knew he shouldn't let Ryuu finish his technique, but curiosity held Sesshomaru's blade. What more did this human have up his sleeve? Admittedly, Ryuu held a trace of his namesake in his scent – the smell of unbreakable scales and dangerous steel claws weaving in and out of a normal human's scent – but he was still human. A very intriguing human.

"Ryuu-kun!" Kagome called out to him, afraid of what jutsu he would use. She wanted to warn him not to, but she felt something in her that she hadn't felt since they met up with her friends, and she called out something completely different than the warning she had planned. "Tokigen's attacks are lightning based!"

Ryuu paused before altering his sign pattern and held out his arm, allowing wind to roar around it. "Fuuton: Fuuryuudan!" He released the invisible gust of air from his arm and whipped it toward the taiyoukai. The shinobi grinned as he saw the cuts appearing in Sesshomaru's clothing form the torrents of wind. "Let's take it back down a notch."

Unsheathing his katana again, Ryuu sent a silent "thank you" to the Kazekage's sister for being so proficient in wind techniques. "Hurricane Blade!" Wind roared around the blade, but, unlike his Fuuryuudan, the invisible blade remained attached to the steel. A grin split Ryuu's face as his eyes shone brightly and his hair danced in the winds he created.

Without warning, the shinobi raced forward, raising the deadly katana above his head and bringing it down with a roar. Sesshomaru winced as the whirling winds cut his sword arm and cheek. Pushing away from each other, the opponents battled for several minutes, each taking small wounds from the other.

Kagome watched the fight with trepidation and wonder. Ryuu was amazing, and the miko found herself feeling the exhilaration from when they were in Konoha. The feeling wrapped around her, reminding her of when they were in Konoha as she watched her partner, and she loved it. Being able to watch a fight between two really skilled warriors wasn't something she could see very often, especially around Inuyasha… Blue eyes narrowed in thought. Why did she suddenly think that?

The fight dragged on, and Ryuu couldn't keep his grin off his face. This… was really fun. "Ne, Sesshomaru-sama, your sword has a big lightning attack, right?" With a slight narrowing of his eyes, Sesshomaru nodded, his eyes narrowing even further as Ryuu shifted his stance, sheathing his katana again. "Then let's test it, shall we? Yours versus mine."

Sesshomaru studied his opponent for a moment before smirking. "Very well. Prepare yourself, Ryuu." The taiyoukai twirled his sword around his fingers. Grasping it to slam it into the ground, he called out the attack. "SOURYUUHA!" A huge, light blue dragon roared up from the earth behind him.

Ryuu flashed through the needed hand seals, ignoring Kagome completely as she called out to him in warning. "Rairyuudon!" Sparks of lightning fell from the clouds before they gave way to the monstrous yellow dragon cutting through the dark thunderheads. Ryuu grinned as he watched the two dragons clash, fighting for dominance.

Kagome called to Shippo, trying to get him to come to her – it was dangerous! I never thought… Ryuu would risk everything like that… Memories of their time in Konoha, fighting against all those enemy-nin flashed through her mind, and she flinched. What am I thinking? He's always done that… Her eyes fixed on the lightning dragons. Have I really… become so distant that I'm really confusing him with Inuyasha?

Yellow fangs sank into blue scales and the roar of thunder echoed through the clearing. Ryuu watched in satisfaction as his dragon ate the other one, darkening to a pale green. The single dragon left bellowed a victory cry, dissipating into the sky. "Hm… Does that mean I win, or is it a tie, Sesshomaru-sama?"

The taiyoukai gave a soft 'hn,' sheathing his Tokigen. "We will have to discuss that at a later date. Until then, Ryuu."

The shinobi raised a hand in farewell as Sesshoamru walked away before turning to the rest of the Inu-tachi with a grin. "Well… that was fun!"

"Fun?" Ice blue eyes zeroed in on the incredulous taijiya as she stared at him. "You consider that, a fight to the death with possibly one of the strongest beings in existence, fun? You're insane!" Miroku remained silent by Sango's side, his eyes uncertain. "You could have been killed! We could have been killed! Kagome, tell him that being that reckless is suicide!"

Ryuu narrowed his eyes before shrugged. "You think you could speak a little louder? You didn't wake up the unconscious hanyou over there," Ryuu said sarcastically.

Kagome winced and reached for the shinobi. "Ryuu-kun, she's just worried. Sesshomaru is one of our worst enemies, and he's very powerful." Dread began to fill her when he stepped away from her, his eyes blank as they stared at her. "She's just saying you need to be more careful – " She was cut off by Ryuu's sudden glare.

"First of all." Kagome fell back at his dark tone. "Sesshomaru is Inuyasha's enemy, not mine." The profound respect he gained for the taiyoukai during their fight drove him to defend him, just like he had been driven to defend her. "And secondly, none of you have any right to tell me to be careful – I fight the way I want; it's been necessary and kept me alive all my life." Ryuu glared at Kagome, part of him looking for any sign of the girl he trained for that whole year. "You should know that most of all, Miko."

Kagome's eyes widened, not paying any attention to the clamoring of her other companions. Ryuu… looked like he did when she first met him, back when he was very suspicious of her. She didn't want to meet that untrusting shinobi again… "What are you saying?"

The shinobi lost his glare only to stare at her dispassionately, making Kagome feel even worse; he was hiding from her now. "You trained with me for a long time, Miko, you should know that a fight like that," he gestured to the torn up clearing, "isn't going to kill me."

Kagome shuffled her feet, unnerved by his gaze. "W-Well… I do know that, honest, but I can still worry."

"You didn't use to." The miko froze, her eyes trained on the ground. That voice… was the voice he used when taunting his opponents – he never used that tone with his friends, and now… Kagome's eyes widened as she lifted her gaze up to him. This meant he didn't see her as a friend anymore… "You didn't worry because you knew better."

Desperate to prove him wrong, she spoke quickly, trying to keep the tears at bay. "Ryuu, it's not that! I still know better, but I know this world, too!" She clutched her hands to her chest, panic beginning to well up in her as she tried to save their friendship from falling apart in front of her eyes. But… maybe it already did… "I know how dangerous it can be—"

"Do you really?" Anger colored his voice as Kagome shrank back. "You barely fight anymore – how would you know how truly dangerous this place is? Watching the others? Not likely." Ryuu watched her quivering form, doing his best to keep a sneer off his face. "What happened to all the training you forced yourself through, with or without me?"

Kagome paused, her thoughts and shaking coming to an abrupt stop. That… was right. What happened to everything she learned? Somehow, she couldn't stop the reasoning she'd been telling herself since they came back – trying to rationalize her abrupt stop in her training – from spouting from her lips. "I don't need to fight anymore! The others can protect me!"

Ryuu lost the battle with his will and his sneer came through to his face, causing the first tears in Kagome's eyes to fall. "Really? I hadn't noticed." More tears continued to fall at his sarcastic tone as Kagome ignored the others, fighting to stop the flow. "That's rather odd, actually, because whenever I tried to protect you back in Konoha, you adamantly protested. What changed, ne?"

Kagome trembled, but Ryuu couldn't find it within himself to soften his gaze. "In fact, I could swear I remember you specifically saying that you wanted to help your friends once you got back here." He spread his arms, his piercing eyes never leaving her tearful ones. "Look around, Miko-sama." She flinched at the spite coloring his voice. "I don't see you helping them at all, despite what I spent a year teaching you." She couldn't hold his gaze anymore as he dropped his arm, and she turned her face away. "….Is it really so convenient for you to slip back into the damsel in distress role that you completely threw everything away?"

Silence was his only answer, angering him. "Nothin' to say? What happened to the girl who would argue with me to Hell and back about this and had the power to back it up?" Her shoulder hunched, but he didn't stop. "What happened to my partner?"

Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, fighting harder to control her tears. "You… promised to protect her… to stand beside me…"

Ryuu tried to hold back the spike in his chakre, but didn't succeed completely. "Don't bring that into this. I promised to protect and stand beside my partner – what I see before me isn't my partner." Frost began to form on the grass around him, his wind and water affinities leaking out of him. "All I see right now is some unimportant luggage being dragged around –"

"You can't talk to her that way!" After staying out of whatever was going on between them for so long, Sango couldn't hold herself back anymore and hugged the miko protectively, glaring angrily at the shinobi. "She's already shaken up from watching you fight – she doesn't need you yelling at her!"

"Yelling would have occurred if I raised my voice, which, I might add, I didn't do – I only emphasized a few points." Ryuu turned around to walk away from the clearing and into the surrounding forest. "Oh, and Miko-sama." Kagome shakily lifted her head to watch his back. "I hate people who waste my time." She didn't have to guess to know what he was saying.

Kagome turned and flung her arms around Sango, sobbing.

Ice blue eyes stared down at emerald ones. "Nani, Kit?" Shippo blushed slightly and shuffled his feet nervously. After my outburst earlier… Yeah, this isn't surprising. He sighed, a little sad to have lost the respect that ran thick through the child's veins. "Sorry for my… lapse of control earlier." He heard Shippo look up at him, but he had lifted his head to watch the forest around them. "I'm known for my famous temper explosions should something actually make me that angry."

Ryuu didn't mention how he figured Kagome would have said something about it to them – maybe that was just how disillusioned she had become; she didn't think he could hurt anyone… "It's okay."

"Hah?" Ryuu turned incredulous eyes back to the kitsune. "After that… you just say 'it's okay'? I could have killed someone back there!" Comically waving his arms, trying to illustrate his point, the shinobi only managed to fall off the branch he'd perched on, effectively sending Shippo into a fit of laughter. From his upside-down position, legs and back leaning against the trunk of the tree as he seemingly balanced on his head, the dragon shinobi glared at the fox, stating dryly, "I'm glad that was amusing for one of us."

Ryuu righted himself and attempted to sit as gracefully as possible after the fall while Shippo managed to calm down. "Back to business, shall we?" Ryuu coughed a little when the kitsune snickered. "You said 'it's okay' as if you're used to that sort of thing; do any of the others do that?" He had meant to take the subject away from his own embarrassment, but when he saw the result of his question, he almost wished he was in a tree again just to fall and make Shippo laugh again.

The fluffy tail behind the young demon stopped twitching and lowered slightly, mimicking the sudden slump of the child's shoulders. Those too-intelligent eyes dulled as Shippo's face visibly sagged, like that of a battle-worn old man. "In their own ways. Inuyasha usually throws tantrums worse than yours, calling all of us really mean names, sometimes making Kagome cry." Ryuu's hands clenched into tight fists at this bit of information. Despite how disgusted with her he'd become, he still hated anything that would make her cry. "Miroku hides it until he's alone, then he sits and broods for hours. Sango stares at the stars all night, thinking about her brother, Kohaku."

"So basically, an outburst like mine is normal, even expected." Ryuu sighed, leaning back against the tree. "Still, as a shinobi, I should have better control than that. Back home, if I did that on a mission, me and my team would be screwed, and I'd never forgive myself."

Shippo's ears pricked up slightly. "Was Kagome on your team a lot?"

Ryuu's bark of laughter startled him. "Most of the time, Kagome was my team. We worked so well together back then, and the Hokage, our village leader, sent us on the harder missions because she could count on us. Now look." Ryuu threw his arm over his eyes, hiding the emotions shown there. "It's like I don't even know the girl, and she'll probably hate me for what I said earlier."

Shippo stared at him, emerald eyes concerned. Kagome had only sat and watched the fire blankly for hours after Ryuu stormed off and before Shippo sought him out. He was worried for both of them. "Well, I'm sure she'll forgive you if you apologize and –"

"No way in Hell." The blunt statement cut Shippo off, and he stared at the shinobi in shock. "I can't try to take back words that are true – it just isn't who I am." Lifting the arm to rest on top of his head rather than over his eyes, Ryuu stared at the leaves above them. "Still… It's going to be really awkward when… if I go back there."

"Then don't." Shippo yelped, running to hide behind Ryuu's leg where the taiyoukai entering the clearing could only see his quivering tail. Ryuu only turned his head to nod a greeting to Sesshomaru.

"With all due, respect, Sesshomaru-sama," Ryuu threw him a mirthless smirk; "where else do I have to go? I don't know this place."

"Hn." Shippo peeked around Ryuu's knee to watch Sesshomaru seat himself elegantly across the clearing, mimicking Ryuu's pose. "Somehow, this Sesshomaru does not see that inhibiting you much. You adapt well, and you are powerful enough to take care of almost everything that may threaten you."

Ryuu chuckled, and Shippo looked up at him. Even though these two had been battling to the death not even half a day ago, they were relaxing in each other's presence. "I don't know, Tono. If I didn't have my jutsu, I'm pretty sure you would have had me beat – you're an excellent swordsman."

And the bantering begins. As a kitsune, Shippo could sense the deeper parts of his companions' souls. Ryuu was finally relaxing, but he was still anxious about Kagome, and Sesshomaru was waiting for something. Given how they interacted, now and during their battle… They could be really good friends.

Ryuu set his hand on Shippo's head, gently petting the yawning kit. Listening to the two deep voices lulled him to sleep, and he didn't hear what Sesshomaru had been waiting for the opportunity to ask.

Ryuu stared at the taiyoukai in shock. "You want me to be your what?"

AN: Heh heh... Hi, everybody! Long time no see! -Dodges pitchforks and knives.- Those things are dangerous, you know?

Alright, so it's been a long time, and a lot has happened. I would like everyone to thank Fluffy Lady for beating down on me and forcing me to update in a timely fashion. (She threatened me about three days ago to get something ready by the end of the month, and I still have a full half-hour to spare. Wahoo!) Also, she beta'd this piece for me, so everyone give her a round of applause!

Fluffy Lady
Author of Queen of the Kennel
Lover of fanfiction, InuPapa and SessKag pairing
Hater of cliches, OOC-ness, Naraku and Kikyou

I don't know when or what I will be able to update next, so please be patient with me. Thank you all for reading and please leave me a review!