Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Chapter 2
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Seven years later...
Kagome was running through the jungle. Behind her, she could just barely hear the soft pounding of her companions' feet on the damp jungle floor as they followed in her wake. The demonic aura they had been following for three days was just ahead of them. No, wait... it was coming towards them.
Ducking behind the nearest tree, Kagome flattened herself against the trunk and swiftly drew her weapons, two identical streamlined Glock 17s. They glowed rosily in her hands.
Her heart pounded from her mad dash through the hot, steamy jungle and her adrenaline pumped like quicksilver through her veins. This is what she lived for...
Kagome squinted her eyes in an attempt to see her two companions. She knew they were pissed when she had taken off after their prey without them, but it had been three whole days since they left base camp and she was tired of waiting around for the damn thing to stop and feed. She was ready to go back. No matter how tough she was, no matter that she could outlast most men in any survivalist situation; she always looked forward to the end of the chase... the part that always ended in a bloodbath.
Life as a demon slayer was exactly what Kagome craved. She thoroughly enjoyed killing demons. At one time in her life, she never would have considered killing as a career. But now, she'd never have it any other way.
She scanned the dark vegetation with her eyes. They were nowhere in sight. "Big Daddy. Baby Bear. Come in," she whispered into her mouthpiece.
"Big Daddy here."
Kagome sighed inwardly. "Thank Kami. I thought I lost you. Where are you guys?"
"We're thirty feet away," came the reply from Baby Bear. "Right in front of you."
There was a flash of green camouflage and the dark shadow of a gun. Kagome nodded. "Good boys. I'm goin' in. Sarge out." She knew they would object to her taking off on her own, but she cut them off before they could raise a stink about it. Now was not the time to argue about personal safety, although she was certain she'd hear about it when it was all said and done.
Kagome slunk around the massive tree trunk, Glocks raised to shoulder height and trained on the area in front of her. She moved silently, allowing her miko senses to spread out.
She had only moved ten paces when the forest fell eerily silent. Her gaze darted up to look into the jungle canopy. No birds or monkeys were visible; there was no sound at all. Kagome stilled at once, not moving a muscle. The youkai was here, its aura creeping stealthily up on her. It knew she was here and it was stalking her.
A thunderous roar ripped through the silence and an enormous black projectile shot out from the undergrowth. Kagome dove out of the way just in time to miss a face-to-claw meeting with a gigantic paw and landed hard on her side, quickly flipping onto her back. In a flash, she aimed her Glocks at the massive drooling beast when it turned on her.
"Die you bastard!" she growled as it sprang it at her. She squeezed the triggers in unison, sending purifying bullets into the youkai's body. The panther youkai howled in agony as the bullets purified it from the inside out. It collapsed at her feet, writhing and thrashing.
Groaning inwardly when she rose, she fired several more times into the creature's skull. The thrashing ceased.
She heard footsteps behind her and a voice call out, "Kagome! Are you hurt?"
Kagome turned to face her fellow slayers and dear elven friends, Hiro and Yuki. They ran up to her, worry in their eyes. As she turned, she couldn't conceal a grimace of pain. Knowing she'd been caught, she confessed, "I think I may have cracked a few ribs."
Hiro, tall, dark and insanely adorable, rushed up to her. In his sternest voice, he made her sit on a fallen tree trunk while he removed his back pack. He dug through it and came up with his first aid kit.
Kagome gingerly removed her green camouflage jacket and rolled up their white sleeveless tank top to just beneath her breasts. She winced when he gently prodded her left side. "Well Hiro? What's the verdict?"
Hiro frowned and shook his head. "Not sure, sarge. We'll have to wait to get back to civilization and get you x-rayed. But just to be safe..." he trailed off and picked up a roll of gauze.
While Hiro was wrapping her up, Kagome looked over at Yuki, a golden haired, green eyed stunner who had THE most perfect body she had ever seen. At the moment, he was taking samples of the youkai's carcass.
"You got what you need, Yuki?" she asked then winced. She slapped Hiro's hands away from her torso. He murmured his apologies before returning to the gauze.
Yuki stood and brushed his pants legs off. "Yeah, I got it," he replied curtly and turned furious, emerald-tinted eyes on her. "What the hell was that, Kagome? What the fuck were you thinking? You could've been killed going after this thing like that!" He delivered a swift kick to the dead youkai's head.
"Oh shit," Hiro muttered under his breath.
Kagome shot the blonde a frosty glance. "Look, the point is the damned thing is dead. What more do you fucking want?"
"For you to be more careful!" Yuki yelled at her.
"Careful? Careful?!" She sent Yuki a blistering stare. "Careful didn't make me the best damn demon slayer in Japan. I am the best simply because I wasn't careful. You gotta go in there and take risks, Yuki, and don't be such a wuss about it."
Hiro had just finished bandaging her up when Kagome grabbed her jacket and stormed off in the direction they had come from. He packed his first aid kit back into his bag. "Way to go, baka. Now you've pissed her off royally. When will you ever learn not to piss her off? Don't you know by now that you'll never win?"
Yuki heaved a sigh and ran his hands through his golden hair. "I just don't want anything to happen to her, alright? Shit, you know how reckless she can be! It terrifies me every time she pulls a crazy stunt like this."
The younger elf contemplated his brother for a moment, his gaze speculative. "Yes, of course I know, Yuki." Hiro got to his feet and hefting the pack onto his back, he turned to face his brother. "But she is one of the best slayers in the world. You've got to learn to have a little faith in her."
"Oh, I do have faith in her. I always have. It's just that... oh, I don't know." Yuki scowled and shrugged, his green gaze sliding away. "I just want her to be more careful."
Hiro sent his brother a small smile. "It's just that you want her," he finished quietly.
"What?" Yuki shot his brother a dirty look. "I never said that!"
"You didn't have to," Hiro replied. "What do you think I've been doing for most of this mission?"
Yuki smirked. "I don't know; you tell me. Was it nasty? Perverted?"
Hiro shook his head. "Shut up, you idiot. I've been observing you and how you act around Kagome."
The blond looked away and stared emotionlessly out in front of him, saying nothing for a moment. "So?" he finally replied, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Your point is...?"
"My point is that you are seriously attracted to our little sarge, bro'." Hiro clapped Yuki on the shoulder.
"Fuck off. What the hell do YOU know?" Yuki snorted.
Hiro's only answer was a laugh.
ooooooooooooooooo
That night, the jungle rang with the guitar genius of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Kagome fried up some fresh river fish and potatoes they'd brought along. Yuki and Hiro ate hungrily, for elves tended to have a great love of food and eating, not to mention enormous appetites.
At last, the three companions began to relax. Hiro went to sleep, leaving Kagome and Yuki alone. As she was putting away the cooking things, Yuki struggled with what Hiro had made perfectly clear to him earlier.
With a sigh, he turned off the cd player and the jungle fell into sudden silence. "Ano, Kagome, I'm sorry for snapping at you this afternoon. I was just really worried when you said that you were hurt."
Kagome sat back against a fallen log and looked at him. "I know. It's okay."
Yuki stared down into his lap, his fair tresses falling into his eyes. "You still having those weird dreams?" he asked quietly.
Kagome's gaze slid down to the campfire between them. "Yeah. I still have them. When did Hiro tell you about them?"
The blond head shot up. "What? H-how did you know?"
She shook her head slowly. "I know how the two of you operate. Despite how badly you treat each other, you guys are really very close. Besides, he told me that you repeatedly begged him for my personal information."
"Aw, hell," Yuki muttered irritably.
"Don't worry about it... big daddy."
Yuki's glittering green eyes widened in surprise. Kagome was staring back at him with no emotion on her smooth face, but her dark eyes sparkled with mirth. "So, you like my nickname after all?" he asked, leaning back on his hands and giving her his most irresistible grin.
Rolling her eyes, Kagome sighed and looked away. "No, not really. It should be 'hentai' or something along those lines," she remarked coldly. She picked up her gun which lay on her lap and casually ran a finger over its cold metal contours. "But I will say that it's much better than the name you gave me." Her brown eyes narrowed.
Yuki however, wasn't intimidated. He laughed heartily at her irritation. "Oh, come on, what's wrong with 'Sarge'?" he asked, chuckling.
"'Sarge' is fine. It is the longer form of it that is... irritating." She glowered at him.
He laughed again. "What? You mean 'Sergeant Sweetass'?" He waggled his eyebrows at her. "What's wrong with that?"
Kagome crossed her long legs out in front of her. "You're such a pig, Yuki."
A muffled snort and a laugh caused Yuki to look over at where Hiro was "sleeping". He picked up a nearby rock and chunked it at his laughing brother's back. There was an "Ow!" and the elf sat up. Hiro looked over at them, his big brown eyes sparkling and his dark hair adorably ruffled. Immediately, Kagome thought of how sweetly boyish Hiro's face was.
Hiro was grinning. "Yuki, you deserved that."
"What?" Yuki asked innocently. "I deserve to be called a filthy barnyard animal?"
Kagome slid her Glock back into its leather holster. "Yes, but really, pigs are quite clean."
"Oh, ha ha. You two think you must you're pretty funny, don't you. Personally, I've always thought you had such a sweet ass, Kagome. That's why I named you Sergeant Sweetass."
"That doesn't change the fact that you're a pig, Yuki," Kagome muttered. She really wanted to go over to him and give him the what for, but she didn't bother. She didn't want to waste the energy. It was far too hot in this place.
"Heh. Don't forget that you once likened our Kagome to a drill sergeant, Yuki." Hiro looked at Kagome with a rueful smile. "He told me he couldn't stand that our squad leader was a female."
Kagome's gaze slid from Hiro to Yuki, who was scowling at his brother. "Ah, so that's where the 'Sergeant' came from," she mused quietly. She cocked her head slightly. "Thank you Baby Bear, for telling me." She got up, went to her sleeping bag and lay down on it.
"Baby Bear?" Hiro groaned. "Oh man!" He flopped back down on his bedroll. "Please, don't remind me. How could you guys give me such a goofy nickname? I hate it! I look nothing like a bear."
"A baby bear," Yuki corrected him and Hiro grunted peevishly. Yuki broke out into great guffaws as Kagome turned away from the campfire. Idiots, she thought fondly to herself. No matter how stupid they could be, she still cared deeply for them.
"You just had to say that out loud, didn't you, Sergeant Sweetass?" Hiro whined.
Yuki watched with amusement as sizeable projectile made its way from Kagome's hand to connect with Hiro's back. "Ow! Yuki, damn it, stop throwing shit at me!"
Yuki grinned. "Dude, it wasn't me. You'd better have a little chat with Sarge before you jump on my ass about it."
Hiro was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Um, no thanks, I'll pass."
Yuki laughed again and his eyes traveled over to where Kagome lay on her side, her back to him. The laughter died on his lips and his eyes grew sad.
oooooooooooooo
Yuki, Hiro and their younger brother Akira had all met Kagome during their first day at youkai slayer boot camp in the United States. The need for slayers had risen along with the population of wild youkai that slaughtered anything in sight.
Kagome and Hiro had taken to each other immediately. For Akira it took a bit longer since he wasn't a very sociable elf, but he warmed to Kagome eventually and the two became very good friends.
But with Yuki, it was a different story. They never really got along at the beginning and thinking back, Yuki realized that it was the tremendous difference in their personalities that kept them from getting close.
Kagome was a quiet creature, not unlike his youngest brother Akira. She preferred keeping to herself and never let anyone get too close to her. Yuki, on the other hand, was laid back and friendly, perhaps a little too friendly, especially with the fairer sex, and Kagome was quite averse to becoming one his numerous conquests.
He had managed to admit that he had, in fact, been quite jealous of Kagome. She was a miko and a very powerful one at that, but she was also a damned good youkai slayer. She had gotten so good, that every mission she went on she was made the squadron leader. She was also the only female to have accomplished that so far.
Yuki really wanted that position, but he was always passed up in favor of Kagome. When she led her team on a slaying mission, she always spoke her mind if they didn't do what she wanted them to do. Hence, the nickname Sergeant Sweetass. A great body with a bitchy attitude.
He tried many times to grab her backside. After all, it was a very nice backside. In the beginning, he was successful and had been able to cop a feel on her, but for some strange reason she kept muttering something about "filthy hentai" and "Miroku" before slapping the shit out of him. The last time he grabbed her ass, he ended up with two dislocated shoulders. She had moved so quickly that he found himself on his stomach, on the ground, his arms pinned tightly behind his back.
He never touched her ass again.
Hiro, who had by then become her best friend, had asked him if he could just shorten it to Sarge. Maybe she wouldn't always be so cross with him. Surprisingly enough, the little peacemaker was right. Kagome accepted "Sarge" as a nickname with good grace. Yuki was actually pretty relieved. Despite the fact that she was just plain better than him at everything, he was beginning to like her. Really like her.
She was strong and powerful, but at the same time, beautiful and delightfully feminine... when she wanted to be, that is. Her miko skills were extraordinary and her slaying techniques were awesome to behold.
Eventually, when she became one of the best, she was given her own squadron and was allowed to pick three slayers to accompany her. Given her skills, she was almost always handed the most dangerous missions, but she didn't care. She was there to find and kill the offending youkai... and kill she did. If Yuki hadn't been a hardened slayer, he might have been appalled at the amount of bloodlust that ran through her veins. There was no doubt about it: Kagome loved to kill.
For missions, volunteers were never lacking. Everybody wanted to back Kagome "Sarge" Higurashi, despite the fact that she was one of the toughest squad leaders there were. Just to slay side-by-side with her was an honor, but Kagome rarely chose anyone but Yuki and his brothers to accompany her on the missions. Soon, after every mission successfully completed, the higher ups decided that the four of them worked so well together, they should stay together.
Up to date, they had been together for three years. This time had been an exception, since Akira was nursing a cold back at the base camp. He had really wanted to go with them, but the doctors nixed that idea, so the three of them left without him
It was only recently that he began to ask Hiro questions about her. Where was she from? How old was she? What was her family like? But more importantly, did she have a boyfriend?
Naturally, Hiro was loath to tell any of Kagome's business, but eventually Yuki had worn him down and he spilled the beans.
When Kagome turned 15, she was pulled into an ancient well by a centipede youkai. She ended up in a strange world, which she later discovered was the Warring Era, or Feudal era of Japan. She met different people there, as well as youkai and befriended most of the people she met.
Hiro told him about a powerful jewel called the Shikon no Tama. Yuki was stunned. He had heard of that legendary jewel many years ago when he and his brothers were mere elflings. He was even more stunned when Hiro told him that Kagome had been the keeper of the famed jewel but she decided that she was not strong enough to protect it. She had sealed the ancient well, returned to her time and never looked back, leaving the precious gem behind.
Hiro was a little cautious about what he told Yuki next. Apparently, one of the people she met in that time had spoken and treated her so cruelly that she fell into a deep depression. She had loved him more than anything in the world, but he had proved to her just how he truly felt. Months after leaving his world, she had tried twice to commit suicide. On the second try, she had gotten a hold of a razor blade...
Yuki stopped his brother because he didn't want to know any more but Hiro insisted, since the cat was already out of the bag. As a result of her incident with the razor, she was left with scars running down her wrists.
Yuki nodded. So, that was why Kagome wore matching black leather straps around her wrists and forearms. He had wondered why she never removed them. But now that he knew her dark secret, he grew even more interested in her. It was almost as if he couldn't help himself. Yuki wished to know all her secrets, so that he knew her as well as he knew himself.
Hiro continued on with the story. Seeing how terribly shaken her family had been at her near-death experience, she never again tried to kill herself. But, she had admitted to Hiro, that even though she never tried killing herself again, she said that she thought about it daily. She didn't want to live, but she couldn't leave her family so torn up. She lived for them, and no one else. Not even her.
His brother had looked thoughtfully at him, while Yuki digested this new information. "That's terrible, Hiro," he had said with feeling. He paused then added, "But does she have a boyfriend?"
That was the only time his gentle brother had punched anyone in the face, ever.
ooooooooooooooooooo
The next morning, the three slayers broke camp and began the long trek back to their base camp. It took them the better part of two days to return.
When they finally reached it, they were told that their commanding officer wished to see them as soon as possible. Hiro demanded that Kagome go see the head medic to get her ribcage checked out. She glared at him, but went anyway. She found Hiro and Yuki waiting for her when she came out of the medical tent. Apparently, she had only bruised her side.
After he three of them had taken much-needed baths and changed into clean uniforms, they headed off to see the head honcho.
Kagome knocked on the wooden frame of their fearless leader's tent. Colonel Cyril Latham, an American, was a pig in ningen's clothing. Like Yuki, Latham was a well-known pervert, but unlike Yuki, he never took "no" for answer. Several times Kagome caught the colonel eying her up and down with such a lecherous gaze that, if he came within reaching distance to her, she would not hesitate to kick his genitals up into his body if he tried to make a move on her. So far he hadn't. But then, one could never tell with his kind.
"Come in, you three. At ease. I believe you were successful?" The balding man behind the desk asked. Kagome could only guess at what he was doing behind that desk. As usual, he eyed her over-zealously. She could not fail to take notice of this, but held her tongue. Just barely.
Hiro and Yuki, too, saw where Latham's eyes were going. Neither appreciated the man's actions towards their beloved leader. Hiro was so offended that he actually raised his left hand and caressed the hilt of the samurai sword that lay against his hip. He even harbored violent thoughts against the man, which was rare for him, being the naturally peace-loving elf that he was.
"Yes sir. We took the panther youkai down with no problems." Kagome stared emotionlessly in front of her at a spot just over his head to keep from seeing the Colonel's leering countenance. If she did, she would leap over the desk, take hold of the filthy pervert's neck and snap it like a brittle twig.
"Excellent job as always. Take a break today and prepared to be shipped back home this evening. Akira will be accompanying you, of course." Latham leaned back in his chair, staring pointedly at Kagome's ample bosom.
Yuki frowned. "For what purpose, sir? We were assigned here for six more months." He tried to keep his mind off of what Latham was doing to his woman.
Latham shook his head. "There was a change of plans, Yamadera. Tokyo is recalling the four of you for a special mission there."
"But they have slayers in Japan, sir. Why recall us?" Kagome asked stiffly, still refusing to look the loathsome man in the eye.
The colonel's bushy eyebrows snapped downwards. "Orders are orders, Higurashi. Dismissed." They left the tent.
They were still wondering about the sudden change in their assignments as they walked to their sleeping quarters. They had just been to the medical unit to visit Akira, the youngest of the Yamadera brothers. He was a very good-looking young man, possessed of Hiro's hair and skin color, but with Yuki's devastatingly handsome face and the same green, feline-shaped eyes that twinkled behind his glasses. He was feeling much better now, but quite restless after being cooped up for the past few days with nothing but his laptop and well-thumbed manga books to keep him company. Akira had cheered up immensely when he was told that he was soon going to be sent home with them.
Yuki shook his head and tucked his chin-length golden locks behind his ears. "Why send for us when they have plenty of slayers there? Is there something wrong back home, you think?"
Kagome reached their tent first and went in. She didn't mind at all that she had to shack up with the two elves. Hell, she didn't even mind that one of them was Yuki. He may be a hentai, but he was an honorable hentai. A lot like Miroku, actually...
She went over to her simple, metal frame bed and sat down on the aging mattress. "There must be," she said after a long silence. "Why else send only the four of us? There are tons of excellent slayers in Japan. Besides, we are really needed here. This isn't a good time to send anyone away." She lay down and stretched out full-length with her hands clasped behind her head and closed her eyes.
The brothers too, had collapsed on their own metal beds. "Oh well," Hiro yawned, shutting his eyes. "How bad could it be? At least Tokyo doesn't have a steamy jungle and all this damned heat."
Yuki said nothing. He lay there, hearing Hiro's and Kagome's breathing slow down and deepen. Kagome rolled on her side, facing him, giving him an opportunity to watch her sleep.
She was so beautiful, he thought for the millionth time since they met. When he had first met six years earlier, she had been pale and scrawny, and no muscle tone at all. Now she was fit and tanned to golden perfection. Despite having muscles out the wazoo, she was still surprisingly curvaceous and womanly.
Her long, dark lashes brushed against her golden cheeks lightly. He sighed, watching that perfect, luscious little mouth pout slightly in her sleep. Yuki wondered if she would have that dream again. Somehow, just watching her made the jungle air grow hotter and stuffier. His chest ached and his trousers got really uncomfortable around the crotch area.
He groaned and forced himself to roll over and face away from her. Why the hell did he have to fall in love with a woman who would never see him as anything more than just a friend? She wasn't even his type, for heaven's sake...
ooooooooooooooooooo
Kagome was dreaming. She found herself in a familiar place and looked around. She was in that large field full of flowers in bloom once again. The sun beat down on her, but it was soft, caressing, like a lover's touch... like her lover's touch.
A large, tanned hand touched her arm gently. She turned to see a tall, golden-haired youth staring down at her. He was smiling.
Kagome couldn't help but smile back at him. How perfect he was! How beautiful and graceful his body! The curve of his lips, enticing her... the brilliant sapphire depths of his eyes, so entrancing...
He stood there, bathed in warm sunshine as golden as his hair, happiness and love for her emanating from his every pore and surrounding her, saturating her flesh.
But Kagome knew what would happen next. Suddenly she found herself on a forest path, walking to somewhere, but where, she never knew. Then came that awful feeling that something was horribly wrong.
"Timeus!" No, please not again!
She whirled around and ran back the way she had come. Kagome ran hard, but felt agonizingly slow. Her long, white skirts were plastered to her legs. Oh, that she could have winged sandals like Hermes!
"Timeus!" she cried again. Not again... not again...
Kagome felt herself panting now as she reached that field of flowers. A horrible sight met her stunned eyes. A tall, black-haired man stood looking down at something on the ground. His white tunic, body armor, everything was splashed with blood. His sword dripped and dripped...
"No..." Why...
She stumbled slightly, but did not stop. At the feet of the blood-covered man lay a mutilated body.
"Nooo..." Why?...
A glint of golden hair was all she needed to see.
"No!" Damn it! Why?...
It was the body of the beautiful young man she had just left. She fell to her knees beside his body and grabbed him, cradling him to her.
"You bastard!" How could you, brother? How could you take him away from me again? ...
The black-haired man spoke. "Niobe."
"Don't talk to me! Don't you ever speak to me again!" Why must you haunt me... "You are cold, heartless! You bloodthirsty monster! Just like Father in one of his rages..."
"It was best, my sweetest sister. He was mortal and did not deserve a goddess of heaven."
"Shut your evil mouth, Thanos! I never want to see you again!" Stay out of my dreams... just stay away from me...
Kagome heard these things, as if this woman, Niobe, was whispering in her ears. "Why did you let him do this, Niobe? How could you let him take this man from you?" she asked Niobe, as she had many times before. But the answer never came.
She looked down. The murdered man in her arms faded away. Niobe's voice returned, weeping and wailing for him. Kagome watched his soul, a tiny glowing orb, hover for a moment and then fly away.
The man called Thanos reached down to touch her face. She flinched and jerked away from his bloody hand. His face, beautiful though it was, was an evil face. But his eyes, identical to hers, were full of love and adoration. How was that possible? How could he look at her like that when he had just murdered a man?
They were afraid of him, her and Niobe. But he would not hurt her. He never did in the dream.
When she couldn't stand his presence, she jumped to her feet and backed away. She had to get away from him. She had to run away from that evil presence...
"I love you, Niobe!" he yelled after her. "You may run and hide from me, but I will find you. Do you hear me, sweet sister? I will always find you!"
ooo
"No!" Kagome cried as she sat bolt-upright and nearly tumbled off her bed. As with every dream, her heart was pounding and she was drenched with sweat. "Kami," she whispered shakily.
Yuki, who had been listening to her moans for the past few minutes, became alarmed and rushed to her side. He only reached out to gently touch her arm, but she jerked back away from him.
She could still see that terrible, blood-covered hand reaching for her. "Don't touch me," she hissed. She stood and faced away from him, wrapping her arms around herself.
"It's just me, Kagome. I won't hurt you," Yuki whispered. He reached out again and gently touched her shoulder.
That was a bad move. Kagome grabbed his wrist, flung him onto her bed and pinned him to the mattress by his throat. She maneuvered her right knee between his legs, ready to come upwards if he tried anything funny.
"I said don't touch me, Yuki."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Yuki was thoroughly enjoying himself. "I just love it when you're angry." His eyes sparkled mischievously.
Kagome groaned inwardly. When he looked happy like this, she could just never stay angry at him. She released his throat and tried to rise, but his arms went around her waist. She stared down into her captor's face questioningly.
"Kagome," he murmured softly. The mischief in his emerald orbs was gone, leaving behind an emotion that always seemed to appear in his eyes when he looked at her lately.
"Let me go," she commanded quietly. That look was making her quite nervous.
Yuki only shook his head, his intense gaze never leaving her face.
"Ahem," an amused voice floated to them from across the small space. They looked over and saw Hiro standing in the doorway, a smug smile on his face. "Caught in the act. I never knew you liked Yuki that way, sarge. Really, you shouldn't hold your true feelings back with us."
Kagome scowled and broke away from Yuki's embrace. She grabbed her duffel bag and began packing her things in it. "I gave my heart to a man once and he only destroyed it. I will not go through that again." She shrugged into her green camouflage jacket and grabbed her bag. "It's almost time to depart. Be ready to leave in five minutes."
She left the tent, irritated at herself for having said too much.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo