A/N: Rebound- following a recent breakup, this relationship is meant as a distraction or a desperate way to get over someone quickly by being with someone else.

Sis-con- A person with unusually strong attachment to his sister, often past the point of ordinary sibling relations.

As Sly as a Fox

"Oka-san, to me you are still the prettiest lady in the whole world,"

A taller Shippo frowned as he patted Kagome's head, trying to comfort the woman who was scrunched up like a neglected rag on the tatami floor. When he woke up that morning, it was much to his happiness to see Sango bounding with the news that they were expecting Kagome to come by anytime that day. The last he had heard from her was that she had an important task that needed the Four Daiyoukai's help.

But he did not expect to see her again this soon. And he did not expect for her to bring a whole freaking entourage-

And he did not expect, in this crazy, convoluted world…

That she was married.

To the terrifying, emotionally-constipated Sesshomaru-sama.

"Thank you so much, Shippo," the woman from behind the mass of black hair answered, "I'm really proud of how much of a gentleman you've grown up to be… But you don't have to lie to me." She raised her head up, revealing her face.

"I know I look horrible," Kagome concluded.

And it took all of Shippo's willpower not to step back and hold the scream of horror that jumped out of his throat. "No you don't," he managed through a forced, broken smile. "Why would you say so?"

He stared at the surreal creature before him. His mother's skin was an ashen grey, her cheeks were hollow, and her undereye circles were so deep it could hold a whole day's supply of water with it.

"Why would I say so?" Kagome repeated the question, and she pointed to her supposed friends, who huddled in the corner of the room. Sango, Miroku, Rin, and even the two other daiyoukais, all compressed into each other, with a look of immense fear in their eyes, raising sutras and banners with "Evil be Gone" in kanji.

Shippo sweatdropped.

"Uh, I don't think it has anything to do with your face, Oka-san," he assured, and Kagome looked up at him.

"It doesn't?" She tried to confirm, and Shippo nodded his head. "Ah… I'm glad…" she sighed, and a cold shiver ran up in Shippo's spine, and he froze.

It was odd that she did not even notice. Tendrils of dark blue were absolutely radiating out of the woman, curling around the room like giant tentacles that tried to cling and wrap around any living thing it could hold on to. Shippo secretly did want to inch towards the group huddled at the corner, and he thought the if he sucked it up and comfort the miserable woman, the ominous, malignant light would dissolve.

But it had wrapped around his entire body, and was snaking towards his throat.

"Are you okay?" Kagome said in such concern. She reached out to comfort her obviously tortured child. But then a wave of intractable pain shot from her tailbone to her spine, and she screamed. The dark tendrils shook, and it threw Shippo off. Rin caught him and pulled him to the safety of the group.

The Shoji doors opened.

"Who invited a banshee in here?" Kaede exclaimed from the entrance. She was standing between the Western and Eastern Daiyoukai. Her eyes widened upon seeing the unlikely entity in the end of the room. "Kagome?" She turned to Sesshomaru beside her, "Has she been possessed?"

"No," it was Nobume who answered, "I don't think this is possession. I know this energy."

Kaede stepped forward, and the tendrils of darkness erupted into powerful, dark blue lightning, surging towards the old Miko. Kaede braced her arms in front of her out of reflex, but the fox youkai with white ears and tails stepped forward and raised his hand.

His fox-fire erupted out of his palms: an eerily similar, dark blue maelstrom of lightning and tangible energy. It clashed against Kagome's unintended offense-

And it ran through the surge towards the woman. The tendrils retreated into her body, and she slumped on the floor.

Sesshomaru stepped towards the fox, unsheathing his sword.

"Calm down, loverboy." Nobume gave him a sidelong glance. "I didn't hurt her. I only made my presence known." He turned to Kaede, "Miko-sama. That rare foxfire that you saw that can run like a surge of lightning- that can hypnotize and even drain reiki and souls…

It belongs to our family.

If my suspicions are correct, although Kagome is part of someone else's pack now, blood is still thicker than water. And her energy still recognizes me as Alpha of her real family," Nobume turned towards the woman on the floor, crouched in pain.

The corners of his lips curled upward. "We might have just found my long lost imouto."

"Kagome, child, push!" Kaede's voice drifted from the other side of the shoji doors, and Nobume was walking back and forth by the screen like a nervous father-to-be waiting for his child to be born. His tails swished nervously.

Kagome's moans of torture sprang out, and the fox's ears and tails stood at attention.

"Is she okay? Do you think she needs someone to hold her hand?!" With an anguished zombie-look to his face, he reached out for the Shoji door and attempted to slip in. Haruka's hand shot out and dragged him away from the screen. Nobume only clung to her like a barnacle, a deranged, crazy look in his eyes. "Maybe she needs Onii-sama's warmth to comfort her! Or maybe-"

"Get a hold of yourself, you sis-con!" Haruka slapped him squarely in the face. That finally seemed to calm the crazy fox, and he fell silent..

"I'm just concerned," he whispered, and Haruka's look softened.

"It's been a long while, hasn't it?" She gave him a small smile. "You thought your little sister died in the raid."

Nobume nodded his head. Haruka sighed and patted him on the back.

"That is why…" Nobume started again, raising his gaze towards the shoji doors, "She definitely needs Onii-sama by her side!" He made a mad dash towards the doors, and it took all of Haruka's muscles to tackle him down.

"Can anyone PLEASE LEND ME HAND?!" She cried out, as Shippo and Katsumi joined her on the floor, piling up on the abnormally strong fox who was still attempting to crawl towards the screen. As they were writhing like a wad of worms, wrestling against each other on the floor, Miroku who was sitting calmly on the corner threw a glance across Sesshomaru, who was at the other side of the hallway, quiet and stoic as usual. "Aren't you worried at all?" The monk asked, his eyes narrowed on the unruffled daiyoukai before him. Sesshomaru just shrugged, his expression never changing.

"The onna has a personality as aggressive as a rabid pig. So I am assuming she would also have the strength of one."

"Hey, don't compare my sweet holy goddess to a rabid-"

"She's crowning!" Sango's voice drifted through. "Kagome, you're almost there! I can see it! "

Kagome's tortured moans floated once again into the hallways, and Miroku cut his tirade short.

He chuckled, as he leaned back on the wall with a smug grin on his face:

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed towards the door, the clutch to his tokijin abnormally tight.

"Ah!" Was Kagome's last exclamation of pain, and everything suddenly fell eerily quiet.

Nobume burst through the doors.

"Kagome-chan, is everything-" and he froze. The rest of the group ran towards the open doors, and a deafening silence filled the whole room.

Lying on the floor was Kagome, her black hair fanned beautifully on the old tatami, with two white, floppy fox ears twitching at the very crown of her head. She was curled up on three luxuriously poofy fox tails the size of her body, very similar to Nobume's- snow white with black tips.

All the fluff around her made her look like she was nestled in a plush bed, her modified kimono that was only up to her upper thighs not helping the straight out hentai scene she so much resembled:

Sweat was glistening on her skin and legs, as her generous chest was heaving fast, trying to catch her breath. Her lips were slightly open and gasping, her eyes heavy-lidded from fatigue.

A heavy flush of red tainted her cheeks. "Ah, I feel so funny," Kagome unwittingly bit her lips from discomfort. Her blue eyes searched desperately among the crowd, as she batted her long lashes that were glistening on the corners with her tears, "Can anyone help me?" She mewled.

Blood suddenly came shooting out of Nobume's nose. The fox's eyes rolled up, and he fainted.

Miroku covered his hand across Shippo's eyes, all the while a lecherous smile plastered on his face. Katsumi bound towards the helpless demoness who was squirming on the floor, hearts practically bulging out of his eyes. "I'll help you, little Kitsune-chan!" He cried out, when a sudden paralyzing pain rendered him immobile.

"E..Eh?" Katsumi managed to turn around and see what the source of his debility was-

It was Sesshomaru's poison whip, burning through the back of his kimono, creating a steam of charred flesh that wafted horribly around the room.

"What's happening?!" Shippo wailed, genuinely concerned at the mix of emotions around him.

Miroku kept his hands over the fox-kit's eyes. "It's big-people stuff," he tried to explain, and Shippo nodded with understanding.

"But is Oka-san alright?" He continued, and Miroku's grin widened grotesquely that it almost reached his ears.

"Oh, Kagome-sama is alright… she's more than alright-" Even before he could finish, a loud clang bounced through the walls, and Miroku thought he saw stars in broad daylight.

Sango had just clouted him with a nearby frying pan. "Lecher!" She cursed,

"But Sango, darling," Miroku reached out, crossed-eyed before he slumped to the floor unconscious. Already free from Miroku's grip, Shippo bound beside Rin who knelt by Kagome, a look of concern on her face.

"Will Kagome Oka-san be alright?" She said as she reached out, and the weakened demoness took the tween's hand.

"I will be," Kagome was still catching her breath. "The pain is gone," she sighed. Shippo nuzzled his head on her shoulder, and she chuckled weakly, running her hand through his hair.

"She will need some rest," Kaede leaned back, exhausted.

"And food," Sango crossed her arms over her chest. "I heard she didn't eat the whole day yesterday."

"I'll help feed Kagome Oka-san!" Rin raised her hand, and Kaede nodded and stood up. "I'll cook up some miso and tofu, something light that will not shock your system."

"Sesshomaru-sama," Rin scooted away when the stoic daiyoukai sat beside her and frowned.

"Stupid Onna. Burdening people with your weakness." He said as he supported her to sit up, and Kagome leaned on him, too exhausted to argue.

Rin quietly observed them from the side,

And she softly giggled.

Kagome was exhausted. She would have met and talked with the rest of the daiyoukai, and apparently, her "brother" Nobume when he would have gained consciousness, but Kaede was deathly adamant to call it a day and leave the rest of the concerns for tomorrow.

"You absolutely have to rest," Kaede insisted. "That binding spell that held you back for three hundred years would have to take a toll on your energy. And you can't even control it." Kaede glared at Kagome. "Your big brother is still unconscious and without him around to keep your untrained youki at bay, there's no telling what else will happen."

And so Kagome gathered herself, as she stepped out of the onsen, her wet tails dragging on the ground. "Great, just what I needed," she exclaimed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Sango and Rin approached with towels and patted her soaked tails down. Kagome turned around and started squeezing the water out of her tail as if it were a wet rug. "I'm not gonna get used to this anytime soon," she sighed, and then she thought of Nobume, who had six tails-

She decided to shut up. The newly-fledged demoness stared morosely at her ripped kimono. It smelled of sweat and hard labor. It wouldn't have bothered her, but somehow, the scent was too strong now- her sense of smell was assaulting her too much she felt as if there was a fork continually being shoved up her nose. "Can anyone lend me a clean yukata?" She pleaded, and Rin bowed with a blush on her cheeks.

"I would love to lend Kagome Oka-san my clothes, but I know it would be too small for her, it won't be enough to cover her lady parts,"

Kagame turned to Sango, who suddenly backed away. "No way you're gonna rip giant holes on my clothes,"

"I'll get you another one! Just let me borrow something for the night!" She begged, but Sango was having none of it.

"Nuh-uh." Sango shook her head. "I'm just a poor demon hunter who has to work to afford the necessities of life," Sango paused and glared at Kagome. "I'm not like someone over there who just magically transformed into a sultry fox-goddess and got married to the epitome of Demon Lord Perfection,"

Kagome stared at her friend, slack-jawed.

Rin suddenly shot up from her position. "Rin knows where she could borrow a yukata that Oka-san can use!" And she ran off, disappearing into the house.

Kagome peered at Sango, her tails drooping down. "Sango… did you really mean what you said?" Her eyes cast down in disappointment. She suddenly felt a playful bop on her head, and she looked up. Sango was grinning at her, her hands braced on her shoulders and softly giggling.

"You know I could never say no to you. Even if you are a sultry fox-goddess who got married to the epitome of Demon Lord Perfection."

Kagome laughed despite herself. "You make it sound good… when the truth is it's NOT."

Sango pulled away. "Wait here, let me dig through my clothes to find a yukata worthy of touching the skin of my foxy demoness friend,"

Before she could even turn away, Rin appeared through the steam of the onsen, out of breath and clutching a wad of cloth on her hands. "Kagome Oka-san, here," she handed to Kagome a suspiciously familiar, too-large-for-her sleeping Yukata. Kagome received it in disbelief,

"Rin-chan where did you get this?" She held the yukata in front of her, and to her surprise, the white material even had an outlet for a poofy tail. Kagome shrugged, thinking it convenient. She slipped the yukata on her body.

The moment it touched her skin, she suddenly felt self-conscious.

Why does it smell so familiar?

"Do you think Oka-san can transition quickly into youkai?" Rin asked the taijiya beside her. They had just seen Kagome into her room, and they were walking to their quarters, seeking rest for the night.

Sango sighed. "It's going to be hard. But she'll make it through." The taijiya tried to reassure herself. They were not able to talk to each other privately, with the whole fiasco going on. She was still reeling from the fact that her friend was a youkai- what would happen to her holy powers now?

And one more glaring, unsettling fact- how did she end up married to Sesshomaru?

She never knew that the daiyoukai had the hots for her friend. If anything she thought he hated her. And Kagome herself, who was deathly devoted to Inuyasha… Sango's eyes widened.

Was Sesshomaru the rebound guy? Was this marriage a bad decision on her friend's part? Before she could gasp in horror, Rin's scream filled her ears. Sango snapped back to her senses, and she turned beside her. The pre-teen was frozen from fear, pointing ahead of them.

The Taijiya's gaze darted to the fiend.

Before them was paper-umbrella, laughing at them deviously from its gaping mouth. It swayed back and forth with its one leg. The large tongue and its one eye were lolling around lazily as it struck terror on the poor Rin.

Sango sighed. With one swift kick, the old umbrella disappeared into smoke.

Rin stared at the aftermath in disbelief. "What was that?"

"Karakasa-Kozo," Sango answered as she fixed her ruffled hair vainly. "They love to surprise humans by sneaking up on them and giving them an oily lick." She tugged the girl with her as they continued their walk. "Otherwise, they're harmless. Especially to other youkai. And in my years of experience, there's one thing I've observed that probably should go in the books. They're deathly terrified of fox demons."

"Like Shippo? Or…" A smile melted on Rin's face, "Kagome Oka-san?"

Sango nodded her head.

Kagome laid on the futon, staring at the ceiling. Her bones and muscles were still aching, but she was thankful that it wasn't the same pain that rendered her motionless for the whole night. Slowly, gingerly, she reached the top of her head and touched her new fox-ears.

It twitched in reflex. Kagome sighed, her mind beginning to stir into a confused mess. Having plush ears and tails felt so... weird.

The doors to her room slid open, and her head snapped towards the entrance in alarm. In that instant, she thought she had stepped into a weird, parallel dimension:

In stepped a shirtless Sesshomaru, and Kagome did not know if she died and went to youkai heaven, or was sent to youkai hell.

His damp, knee-length hair clung to his alabaster skin, the muscles on his finely chiseled abs and chest rippled beautifully as he turned halfway to close the door. His biceps flexed, as his hand patted down the towel slung over his head. His hakama hung loose… too loose on his hips she could see the dip to where his thighs connected to his groin,

And she gulped, wincing at the sudden sensation of freaking thorn bushes on her throat.

It was clear that he had just emerged from a bath. He sighed, as droplets of water streaked down his bangs, down to his perfect cheeks. Golden eyes connected with blue.

A loud crash filled the room, as Kagome huddled into the far corner, her blankets bunched around her. "W-what the hell are you doing here?!" Her ears spiked up, her tails cowering between her legs. Which was quite uncomfortable and awkward, because the fluffs were big and poofy, but that was not the problem-

"To sleep." Sesshomaru answered, as he shook the excess water off his hair and casually strode towards the futon, his tail in tow, dropping the towel on his feet.

"Uh, why are you sleeping here?" Kagome pressed back against the wall, and she watched in horror as Sesshomaru sat on the other half of the futon where she had been lying down.

"Because Kaede said this is our room." He looked at her with a bored expression on his face, and reached out and pulled her blankets away from her, covering himself selfishly. He proceeded to lie down on the mattress.

Kagome's cheeks flushed red, "Then… then at least put a shirt on!" She pleaded, but Sesshomaru continued his flat face.

"I only brought one sleeping yukata, and you're wearing it."

"Oh," She trailed off, as she stared down at her oversized clothing. Kagome would have ripped the cloth off her person but she realized she would end up naked if she did. "Then I'll sleep here in this corner." She concluded, as she nervously patted the floor.

A long silence.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Sesshomaru said, and the tone of his voice suddenly made her extremely wary. A strong gust of wind rattled the wooden windows, and a wolf howled from a distance. It seemed as if he was in the beginnings of telling a scary ghost story, and Kagome unconsciously inched towards him.

"W-what do you mean?" She whispered, her hackles already standing. He only shrugged, still looking as bored as ever.

"I don't know if a rabid boar like you would-"

"What is it!" Kagome cried out, and the Inuyoukai looked down, at the woman who had suddenly clung to him like a monkey on a banana tree, her eyes entirely wide with child-like fear. He sighed as if she were the most annoying parasite ever, not even bothering to pry her off him.

"You're a newly transitioned youkai. At this hour of the night, your energy will be bound to attract the Karakasa Kozo."

"Karakasa kozo?" Kagome echoed. "But aren't they harmless?" Her tails bunched around him and she pressed her trembling body closer, completely oblivious to the way he responded: he bundled her snugly in his arms, the fur of his mokomoko wrapping around her as if she were a fragile baby. She thought she saw his lips quirk upward, but she shrug the thought off.

Maybe she was only imagining things.

Sesshomaru's golden gaze darted warily on the dark corners of the room. "They look and seem harmless, comical beings that only want to play. But it's different… now that you're youkai."

His gullible fox-wife held her breath.

He shook his head, a dead serious look on his face. "You're a female fox. And their favorite midnight snacks are the souls of little girl foxes like you." He looked straight at her.

Her ears flattened adorably to her skull. "H-how do I keep myself from being devoured?" She whispered.

"There is only one way." Sesshomaru said. His hands snaked intimately around her waist but she never noticed. He held the shivering little fox on his lap tighter, his breath tickling the fluff of her flopped ears. "To ward off the vicious monster, every night…you have to sleep beside a powerful youkai such as myself."

Kagome visibly stiffened.

"And the key is, you have to sleep very close to that youkai, so close that there is skin to skin contact, that you almost suffocate in his warmth and end up with his scent the next morning.

Cuddling that youkai also helps. The more you cuddle him, the more it brings out warm feelings. And the more it strikes fear to the Karakasa kozo."

He paused when Kagome was not even moving anymore. But he decided to continue. "It has to be that same youkai every night. Someone else won't do. As long as you snuggle beside your youkai, and you follow those other dire precautions, you are safe from the terrifying monster." Sesshomaru slowly pulled away to see her reaction.

Kagome was looking at him with the flattest, most absolute deadpan on her face.

She eyed at him skeptically. "You're kidding, right?"

His golden eyes met her with the same deadpan.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" He raised his brow, and he shook his head, pushing her away.

"W-wait! Where are you going?!" Kagome dug her nails into his skin, clinging to him desperately like superglue.

Sesshomaru sighed. "I'm sleeping on the floor." He pried the leech-like body off him, and he stood up.

"NO!" Kagome practically screamed, as she sprang up to her feet and threw her arms around his waist. She buried her face on his bare lower chest. "Sleep… sleep beside me," she hesitated.

"I don't want to. And you seem forced." Sesshomaru haughtily turned away when-

"I'm not forced!" Kagome clung to him, "I… I want to sleep with Sesshomaru-sama!" She wailed in agony. Her ears flattened, and she looked up like a poor little kit, to the tall, shirtless Inuyoukai pressed against her. Her blush was heavy on her cheeks but she decided to fight the shame.

"Can I sleep beside Sesshomaru-sama… please?"

Sesshomaru stared down at her shriveling little form like a hungry predator. "Fine…" he said, a glint of red flashing in his eyes, "Since you so strongly insist."

The poor girl felt her cheeks grow fire red as he enfolded her in his arms, and they both tumbled haphazardly into the soft mattress, the heavy covers enclosing their bodily warmth, their tails entangled with each other.

Kagome cringed.

This was going to be a long night.