A/N: I kidna edited this chapter so there's not much of an A/N...

Enjoy the chappie!


Oh My Gods! 6


"For the love of—! It doesn't fit!"

"I ensure you that it does."

"Well, I 'ensure' you that you're goddamn wrong!"

"Do you truly think I am ever wrong?"

"Do you 'truly' want me to answer that?"

"Do you truly want help?"

"Do you truly want mental help?"

"Do you truly want me to bite your ears off again?"

"Do you truly want me to touch Rin?!"

"You would never."

"I would. And in certain 'female' areas, too."

"Listen, half-breed, you do not have the courage to act against me—I'd kill you if you touched her."

"I find no reason for you to kill me because you don't even like her—you're just a sex crazy bastard. Hmph, you think I haven't counted all the women who know what your silk sheets feel like? Or even what your bedroom carpet feels like...?"

"And you will soon know what my claws feel like, little jealous virgin. Now, put 'it' in. Quickly."

"Don't call me that, man whore—I'm not jealous! And it doesn't fucking FIIIT!!!"

Mothers who happened to pass by a certain area of a certain store all gasped in shock and quickly ushered their children away, not forgetting to cover their small ears while muttering about people who should look up the definition of privacy. It still didn't help because one little boy asked 'Mommy, what's sex? Can I draw sex? Mommy looks pale...'

All the while, his mother thought, 'Gods, men have problems with their girlfriends and they resort to these types of things?! Then why do prostitutes exist?!' She smartly refrained from answering her son's question with a quick bribe of candy.

A couple soon passed by and heard the conversation...between two men...and quickly ran away. Not one of the workers could figure out why people were either fleeing or whooping when they arrived at that section... They sent a representative but he ran inside the nearest storage room and was not seen again.

"Half-breed, if you tried to make it fit, this wouldn't be a problem."

"You think I'm not trying?! What the hell don't you understand by 'it doesn't fit'?!"

"Surely it can be that large... Is your judgment impaired already?"

"Keh, you're not the one suffering through this shit. Face it—it's just too tight!"

"I grow tired of this. How many more times will I have to hear you say 'it doesn't fit'?"

"Until 'it' actually fits. Keh, at this damn rate, we'll never get married."

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing? -sigh- Try again. That...that monstrous thing, or whatever you wish to call it, can't be as insanely large as you make it out to be..."

One particular couple stopped to listen to the conversation, and the taller of the two turned to his boyfriend and commented, "They're getting married? Should we ask for some tips?"

"And get stuck in a foursome? Save that for later, Nowaki. Come on, we have to prepare our 'inventory' for tonight..." And off they went...to prepare their inventory...

But it seemed everyone had their heads in the gutter...or they were just really perverted, because the two men partaking in the conversation were both brothers...

...and they were in the shoe department.

Of course, they were standing behind a pretty tall wall of shoes, so they weren't visible to the untrained eye, but sheesh! People these days had no common sense.

Inuyasha growled and slammed the casual black shoes on the ground, frustrated beyond belief that he just couldn't find his size. Were his feet bigger than a size ten? What the hell?! Well, he was smaller than a twelve since the shoes he currently wore belonged to Sesshoumaru—and they weren't as snug as he would have liked.

Damn! How can mortals put up with all this crap?! Though, the most frustrating aspect of shoe shopping was the Sesshoumaru part, the bastard who kept insisting that a shoe, which was blatantly smaller than his foot, actually fit him.

Keh, he just wants to see me in pain, the hanyou thought, glaring up at his older brother, who was deeply pondering something or the other. What the hell is he up to now? No one would ever know...Sesshoumaru was a mystery...

"I have an idea, little brother."

Inuyasha's snow white ears perked up in surprise, yet the furry appendages soon flattened against his skull once he caught sight of the growing smirk on the dog demon's face. Crap...why am I cursed with a sadistic brother? "Please tell me you're not planning to—"

"I can break the bones in your foot in order to fit it in the shoe." Sesshoumaru apparently thought that it was a marvelous idea by the way he cracked his knuckles in preparation for what was to come. "Let's begin, then. I would prefer if you restricted your screaming to a minimum."

"You're not getting anywhere near my feet!" Inuyasha shouted, fighting the urge to boldly and fervently protect his...foot. "Look, bastard, we can always do the obvious thing and just find a bigger size, and that method includes no bloodshed!"

The immortal sighed. "How many times have we called for another size? It is incredibly boring watching you rave about a shoe not fitting your gargantuan foot over and over again. I much rather cut your foot in half and move on with your other needed items." He then paused as if thinking about something, which caused Inuyasha to fidget impatiently.

"Is it a half-breed trait to have such monstrous feet?"

He was met with a blank stare.

"You do know," Inuyasha began, his voice low and slow as if he was talking to a child other than one of the most educated demons in the entire immortal realm, "that if you keep pushing me, I'll act like the fool you take me for and do...foolish things..."

Sesshoumaru didn't blink in confusion or even hesitate. He knew what his brother was alluding to, and it truly bothered him that the hanyou apparently was not about to drop the subject of a certain teenager until some admissions were made on his part.

But, did the blasted hanyou actually believe he would admit anything, much less to someone far from trustworthy like him?

"Is that supposed to be a threat? I don't see how you acting like the fool you are can affect me more than it has." I will kill you; I swear I will kill you if you keep pestering me. I will kill you, annihilate you, demolish youwhichever you prefer, little brother.

His smooth lips then curved into a sinister smile; the younger demon standing in front of him completely ignored it. Hn, if I kill the half-breed now, I'll have time to conquer the Eastern Lands...

"Oh, "Inuyasha's smirk was absolutely devious now—he knew his brother was becoming more and more homicidal by the second, "it can, dear brother, it can. If you can kiss the life out of her and then ignore her afterwards, it shouldn't bother you if I try to be a friend to her, right?"

This is the perfect time for a little test...

Shit, the dog demon realized what his brother was planning. "What do you want to stay away from Rin, half-breed? I will be more than happy to grant you a quick death since you obviously desire it."

The hanyou disregarded the last statement and crossed his arms. "I want you to stop thinking with your dick for once."

"And why should you care about my genitals?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and returned to doing something important, like finding out his right shoe size. He stopped one of the employees of the store, who strangely walked out of the storage room pale-faced, and demanded rather harshly for a ten and a half of the black casual shoes he held in his hands.

All the while, Sesshoumaru waited patiently for the younger demon to elaborate on his 'request', not even minding the fact that the scrawny employee all but cowered/ran away from them.

A few minutes later, Inuyasha had his larger size and moved about to put on the shoe as he commented, "Ok, bastard, I agree that I'm not like you. I don't have a woman in my bed every night, I hate flirting, and I lack the ability to be intimate with one bitch and move on with my life as if nothing happened. For all I care, you could do whatever the hell you want."

"Then why are you wasting my time with your petty requests?" There was an ulterior motive to all this nonsense, the immortal surmised.

Inuyasha sighed when the shoe was alas pinching his toes once again, meaning he needed another damn size. "This is fucking shit! None of these fucking shoes fit me!"

One glare from his annoyed brother told the hanyou to continue with his point."Yeah, anyway, as I was saying before: I can care less. But I draw the line when you involve someone as innocent as Rin in your fucking games."

The hanyou was treading on very thin ice...

"What you saw this morning was a mistake, and it will not happen again." The dog demon bit his tongue with what he truly wanted to say—he wanted to say that it will happen again because he couldn't get enough of the cinnamon-eyed teen's aromatic scent, of her sweet, plump lips—dammit all!

He was not supposed to be feeling this way! His brother was right; countless of women could rightly claim they had slept with him, but they were all demonesses, not humans like Rin. She was his fiancée—of course they would have to consummate their marriage at some point in their lives, yet it was different if he became so obsessed with her to the brink of falling for her!

In his rule book, that was definitely taboo!

"Fuck that! I don't know why, but Rin's like a little sister to me—sure, I only met her last night, yet it's like I've known her for longer..." Inuyasha shook his head, feeling more confused than what he'd like to be. "Either way, she's too innocent, Sesshoumaru, and you know it. Hell, much worse, she's human, and they aren't as promiscuous as all the demonesses you've met. Don't send out mixed signals to her, or you'll end up breaking her heart, and I'll break your damn skull if that happens."

Who does this half-breed think he is, commanding me, his superior, to follow his will? He should know his place. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, but kept his mouth tightly shut.

He could not trust himself to speak...because he could not trust the growing sensation in his heart contradicting his mind... It was a strange, unwelcomed sensation that rose when he met a young woman by the name of Rin.

Inuyasha finally looked up, and the gravity in his eyes gave the impression that if it came to it, he would fight to the death for someone he had only met the night before, but already thought of her as part of his family, his pack.

An inu would gladly die for his pack.

"Rin may be your fiancée, and I know you think your marriage with her is practically guaranteed, but you never know if sudden adversaries will impede it."

In other words, Sesshoumaru figured his brother would be the one to turn against him, to somehow prevent him from marrying Rin and ultimately receiving his throne, his birthright. The thought made him growl in a warning that his inferior once again overstepped his boundaries.

Hell, how could that hanyou say such ridiculous things to him?! As if I care about a weak mortal girl who will most likely be killed if I turn my head. Hmph, I cannot care about her.

But he did care about discovering if he was telling himself the truth...or plain lies.

It took ten more minutes to realize that the hanyou was actually a size eleven, but Inuyasha finally owned ten pairs, yes, ten pairs of shoes to add to his 'nonexistent' wardrobe—well, at least it was growing.

Sesshoumaru made sure he had one for every occasion he could think of, such as banquets, everyday wear, sports, etc. He also hadn't forgotten about the mandatory black shoes accompanying Imei Academy's uniform.

It briefly annoyed the older demon that even students attending the college owned by the academy were forced to wear uniforms like the high school kids. Seriously, why would he, Prince of the Western Lands, want to wear a stupid school uniform and 'blend in' with everyone else?

Well, his half-immortal inferior was stuck carrying all the bags with the excuse that 'they belonged to him', so he was temporarily satisfied.

In all truth...it was a very good excuse...

"So now what? Are we finally meeting up with the girls for lunch, Prince 'Let's-make-younger-brother-run-around-with-five-million-bags-until-he-fucking-dies'?" Inuyasha slammed the trunk of his brother's black Mercedes closed just to spite the irritated demon—he hoped his slamming had created a few dents here and there.

Payback's a bitch. He smirked at the glint of pure hatred fleetingly shining in his brother's icy honey eyes.

Sesshoumaru regretted ever feeling unusually nice and allowing his brother to drop off his abnormal amount of bags in his car—he should have let the hanyou suffer under the humungous pile of plastic and boxes. But he remained quiet, much to his inferior's surprise.

Instead, his regally handsome face slightly tilted to his left, almost as if the demon caught sight of something out of the corners of his eyes.

"What's wrong with you, bastard?" The hanyou cocked his head to one side as he always did when he was confused. His brother was Prince Stick-Up-Ass through and through, and it concerned him once that particular ass had nothing witty to retort after his car was all but 'properly handled.'

"Have you not noticed," the silver haired immortal's voice lowered an octave—it was so deep even Inuyasha had to twitch his ears a couple of times to pick up the muttered words, "that we are being followed?"

Inuyasha's body became rigid at the statement, and his eyes discreetly scanned the large parking lot. He saw nothing unusual—no shadows, no suspicious or out of place people—everything was normal. His nostrils did not even tingle with a new scent and his eardrums did not register any odd sounds.

So, the coast should have been clear, right? He shouldn't be worried, right?

Wrong.

Immortal demons spent at least a quarter of their lives fighting in order to attain ranking—and ultimately achieve the title demon god if they were lucky and kept their lives long enough to gain at least eight teeth on their necklaces. Because of this, demons in the immortal realm learned to be skilled in stealth in case they were suddenly attacked, but their enemies also learned this trade.

It was not safe to solely rely on sight, smell, and hearing—Inuyasha knew from experience.

"Descry the area; mortals are no threat to us, but if immortals travel this far to spy on us, then there will be problems." Sesshoumaru hardly glanced at his brother, but the younger demon nodded, nonetheless.

So we're being followed, huh? Let's see by whom, 'cause who can be so fucking stupid as to personally spy on the future kings of the Western-Eastern Empire? The hanyou relaxed his body and drew energy from within himself, enough so that he could scale the perimeter while not alerting his pursuers of his actions.

He steadied his breathing, shut his eyes, and lastly reached into his inner core, his subconscious mind. It was a peculiar feeling, no doubt—descending into oneself was only common among demon gods, who could withstand the shifting sensation, could maintain inner and outer balance on the thin thread separating their bodies from their minds.

After the hanyou descended as far as he could without disrupting his stability, Inuyasha allowed his energy to flow from his body like a soft golden sheet of silk only visible to his mind's eye, and he began his out-of-body observation.

This was called descrying—an ability only granted to immortal youkai of rank eight or higher. Inuyasha momentarily consented that it was also an ability he had yet to completely master, unlike his brother.

The tendrils of his energy—detectable only by Sesshoumaru since his rank was higher than his—seeped through out the parking lot, searching for any demonic auras that might lure it—energy attracted energy, right?

Indeed, it didn't take very long for Inuyasha to find what he was looking for when the tendrils coiled around two youkai dressed in dark suits and wore black-tinted glasses—two youkai hiding behind a wall close to where he and Sesshoumaru stood. While still controlling the tendrils from his subconscious mind, he probed the two demons, unbeknownst to them of course, and discovered they were both immortals of lower rank.

Specifically, they were merely three ranks lower than him—not good no matter how much he boasted about his own strength.

The hanyou would have probed even more into the two youkai's matching hunter green auras, but his energy quickly diminished and he was forced out of the shallow border of his body and mind. He blinked his golden eyes a couple of times, regaining feeling of his carnal body, of the real word in which he currently stood in, and faced his older brother, who had probably watched him as he descried the area.

For a moment, he envied the elder demon; because he possessed a perfect necklace, which he was not required to wear due to its completion, performing acts consuming a lot of energy like descrying took only two seconds and hardly spent any energy.

It definitely wasn't the same for others.

"There are two of them," Inuyasha whispered, making sure only his brother could hear him by also deepening his voice. "Rank Five demons—a noble's ranking."

Sesshoumaru barely nodded—he was stiff with leeriness. "Nobles, you say? I rather assume they are scouts. There were four of them when we first arrived in this crowded place. It seems the group split, and those two have been following us for three hours straight."

The hanyou's eyes widened with the information he had not perceived earlier. If the group split when they arrived at the mall...when the brothers had last been with the girls, then...

Kagome's in danger! That was the only thing registering in his mind. The mere thought of his fiancée being in any type of danger set off a torrent of emotions in his heart—panic, fury, worry; he couldn't discern them as they raged all at once.

But, Inuyasha was sure of one thing—if his Kagome got hurt, if his Kagome was in any way harmed or missing a single fucking hair from her head due to a struggle, he would kill and would not stop killing until the bastards who were stupid enough to do such a thing were dead.

Sesshoumaru knew what his brother was thinking, especially with the way the hanyou god's eyes abruptly flashed crimson red. He also understood that it was a part of inuyoukai nature to be—even unwillingly—possessive and protective of their mates, of their pack, or of anything that was theirs. Hell, he'd be lying if he denied feeling like he wanted to run inside, find Rin, and immediately bring her to safety with some bloodshed thrown in somewhere.

Yet, he thought rationally of their situation—the two brothers weren't exactly enemy-free, so their true opponent was virtually unknown.

Not to mention the fact that those scouts only started spying on us when we first arrived here. How could they have even guessed this mall was our destination or that we would even be here? Where did they come from and who sent them? Something strange was going on...and Sesshoumaru was going to solve this mystery.

But first, he had to calm his brother down before he went into a death rampage...

"Inuyasha."

The hanyou looked up at his older brother, and marveled at the fierce desire to shred him to pieces. Since when did I become so protective of Kagome? He had only known her for a day, and so far, she wasn't number one on his list of favorite people.

Why would he care so much about Kagome's safety to even feel the urge to reel at his brother, who posed no threat to her and was not even his enemy?

Sure, he wouldn't deem it honorable if his fiancée was in danger and he failed to protect her, but the intense feeling to hurry to her side, to rip through every and any obstacle standing in his way, was not normal protectiveness.

"What, Sesshoumaru?" And why's my voice so calm? He sounded like his brother: stoic, mysterious... His voice had been a purr smoother than the richest velvet; the voice of a demon god ready for battle, or more like a killing field.

What was the difference?

A killing field isn't strategic or plannedit's two sides competing for the greatest prize of all: to live. Sadly, only a handful survived such a gory experience—no human could ever dream of even witnessing a killing field.

The immortal noticed this change in his younger brother and nearly faltered in his words—not that anyone could tell he lost his composure for a split second. "No matter how impulsive you may be, no matter how much you may wish to attack these scouts and dispel danger before it reaches your mate, you must stay calm."

"I am calm. Can't you tell?" Inuyasha's eyes betrayed nothing—it was impossible to note if he was angry or worried or even feeling any emotion at all. He was as calm as a bold and impetuous hanyou like him could ever get.

However, he was only the calm before the storm.

"Hn," the corner of Sesshoumaru's lips curved upward with a horrid, malicious intent mysterious to others, "if we are truly related by blood, then I know there is only a matter of time before you begin to kill and think later."

The smirk banished as his face returned to being expressionless—it seemed carved from ice once more. "We must continue as if we know nothing of our pursuit—we will head back inside and join the girls for lunch. Is that clear, half-breed?"

"Why the fuck should we do a wimpy thing like that?!" Inuyasha's dam was breaking, as Sesshoumaru foretold—his mind was driven haywire with thoughts of ripping his claws into the four youkai threatening his new pack: Sesshoumaru and his future mate, and himself and his future mate.

No one would live if they dared to even spy on royal immortals away from their home realm... Hell, everyone knew that if they messed with the powerful inuyoukai sons of the revered King InuTaishou, they would be killed!

Obviously, those four youkai ignored their parents' wise words.

Ah, the evil smirk appeared again, and this time, it was even more cynical than all prior times since it was accompanied by a rather sleepy, lazy note... It meant the opposite of good.

"Don't you understand?" He spoke in soft drawl, so soft it soothed Inuyasha's anger enough for the hanyou to listen to reason.

"Understand what?"

The dog demon's eyes narrowed in tune with his sleepy smirk, signifying that he was going to do something he definitely would not ever regret. He had a plan...a pernicious plan that he would make sure to carry out. "It is better to hunt our prey during the night. There will be nowitnesses then, little brother, and we won't have to hold back."

Inuyasha returned the smirk with as much deadly poison as his brother. "Midnight. We'll strike at midnight."

"Yes, and our blades will drip rubies once again..."


Kagome wanted to kill herself.

It was as simple as that—where could she find the nearest gun? Did anyone happen to know? She was in dire need of it... Well, maybe some lethal chemicals would due for now; she might leave the leftovers for Rin, who strangely looked like she wanted to commit suicide by hitting herself with a receipt over and over again.

Hm...is that a good way to kill oneself? The miko wasn't sure, but if the younger teen wanted to borrow her Slipper of Death—it worked miracles on Inuyasha—she would be more than happy to lend it.

Wasn't it supposed to be a good thing to be able to relax—despite knowing that her little group was still being spied on—after endless shopping with money she more or less didn't have to return—erm, Inuyasha wouldn't mind, right? Nah.

Either way, the five girls were sitting in a rectangular table smack dab in the center of the food court, waiting for the guys to finally show up so they could all eat lunch together. They were dead tired from running around stores all morning...so everything should've been serene and quiet...

...it was quite the opposite, unfortunately.

Ah, death, please come quickly! In the form of anything! Please let some deranged maniac storm in here and just so happen to be carrying a machine gun! Hell, he doesn't even have to go ballistic with itI will! Kagome was desperate!

Oh no, it was too late...gods no, help her, save her, do anything but idly watch as her sanity sunk to a point of no return! I rather boxer-shop with Inuyasha than listen to this, and that's saying a lot! Actually, that would be a lot of fun...

But that was beside the point!

Gah! The horror!

Err...what was the horror, anyway? What was the terrible, terrible thing making Kagome fantasize about going crazy with a machine gun, and had Rin deciding the better weapon between a long receipt and a napkin would be the former?

The horror was...

...gossiping.

"And oh my gods, Yuka, Ayumi, you should have seen the look on his face when Tomoe asked him out! I mean, come on, since when do girls ask guys out?"

"Yeah, Eri, but that college freshman, what's his name—Daisuke? Well, he is gorgeous! I would kill to be Tomoe right now; I mean, she asked him out, sure, but she still landed herself a hot boyfriend!"

"I bet they won't last a week, Ayumi. Anyway, I can't believe the Halloween dance is coming up in October—I love American holidays! -gasp- Oh my gods, I didn't tell you guys! Guess who Kaname asked to the dance!"

"Just say it, Yuka! Was it Miyo?"

"No, it had to be Shizuka!"

"It's neither, girls—he asked his dorky ex-girlfriend Hikaru!"

"What?! They broke up two weeks ago!"

"No way! That's just as bad as the newest—and grossest—couple in school right now!"

"Hey, I haven't updated my info yet! Who's with whom, Eri?"

"Check this out, Yuka—Nakago is going out with Akane."

"Hmph, I could see that happening—those two are freaks of nature..."

"Oh my gods! I still think that's impossible, Eri!"

"I'm not lying, Ayumi, but it's not as bad as Senri and Ritsu. The two school outcasts have finally joined together in holy misery!"

"And—"

—blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, and more blah, blah, blah, throw some bleh in there, another blah, and the result was high school gossip.

It was no surprise Kagome and Rin wanted to kill themselves. Who wanted to listen to three overly enthusiastic teenage girls talk about who was dating who and who asked who to the dance?

Heck, Rin hadn't known the academy even hosted leisure dances...

"This is just great," the raven haired miko sighed, glaring at the pristine white table top in front of her, "we're stuck here and they're not going to stop gossiping until we start shopping again."

Kagome turned towards Rin, who was entranced by the uncannily long receipt sitting before her on the table. She must have been extremely bored to death to be actually reading the customer returns and exchanges portion of it—repeatedly. "Are you sure you don't want to magically disappear? We still have time..."

Rin finally looked up and blinked. "No way, Kagome! This is getting good—my receipt says that returns must be made within ninety days of purchase—can you believe that?! Ninety!"

She looked excited about it with a large grin on her pretty face and all, appearing like she was reading a very dramatic book containing twists and turns in every page. Her new friend merely sweat-dropped as her eye twitched.

"Ok...moving on..." She then unintentionally overheard what her friends were talking about now and groaned. "Gods, I could care less about Masao cheating on Emiko—I don't even know them!" Kagome shook her head and pulled on her raven bangs in frustration.

She was suffering from severe ennui, and her friends weren't listening to a word she was saying because when they gossiped...they gossiped...

"Ha! I didn't even know there was a Halloween dance coming up...like next month—try and beat that!" Rin challenged, yet was still amazed at her own ignorance.

But she had an excuse—she was a new student at the academy and hardly knew a soul. Hey, that reminded her, Kagome was her first friend since the start of the school year, which had merely been a few weeks ago! Yay!

The miko giggled. "I don't think I can...but you seriously didn't know?" Rin only shrugged and nodded. "Well, yeah, the academy hosts five dances every year: Halloween dance, Winter formal, Valentine's Day dance, 'Spring Fling', and one at the end of the school year—I just forgot the name of it."

"Hmm...do you think our fiancés will go with us to any of them? Heck, can they even dance?" The cinnamon-eyed teenager put a finger to her chin and thoroughly thought about it.

Something in her mind nagged her that the two demons indeed knew how to dance very well, but what was it? Could she trust this...intuition thing or whatever it was?

"Of course they can dance! Especially Inuyasha—you should see the way he moves!" Ok, did I just say that? Now Rin was staring at her as if she had grown three medusa heads and turned into stone. "Uh, I mean...I n-never...I don't...argh! Just forget everything I said!"

Stupid instinct! Where in the world did that come from?! Kagome swore she never saw Inuyasha dance before in her life! Did this...did this have something to do with her missing memories? Maybe...hopefully...

"Alright, my memories have been erased." Rin smiled knowingly, though she could more or less understand Kagome's sudden impulsiveness—she had wanted to say the same about Sesshoumaru, but it wouldn't have been true, right?

She had only met the guy last night...and got to know him more this morning... Come on, Rinyou said no more thinking about that stupid, apathetic, arrogant, dick-headed, horny ice-man son of a raccoon dog! Haha, raccoon dog; he'd kill me if I ever say that out loud... Shoot, there I go again!

Why didn't she want to think about her 'beloved' fiancé?

For starters...she was slightly hurt due to his overall indifferent attitude. Was there something he wanted from her or what?! And then he had the nerve to pay more attention to some girl—what's her face? Eki?—whom he recently met rather than to her, his damn fiancée, whom he had an at least five-minute long make out session with!

Men, ugh, I think they all evolved from pigs. And so, the teenager promised to be indifferent as well, not think longingly about him although she was dying to do so, and lastly refrain from ever kissing him again...or just until their 'uncertain' wedding.

Payback's a bitch. She smirked at that.

Anyway...Kagome was actually succeeding in finding peace. She blissfully disregarded her friends' chattering and nearly tuned out of the world...

...until Ayumi rattled her enough to rouse her from whatever universe she had almost escaped to. She turned to see that her three friends were staring at her intensely, which made her apprehensive, and she nervously chuckled.

"Is s-something wrong, girls?" Again with that blank stare...what did it mean? It was as if they were exploring her soul and discovering her secrets—heck, maybe even gossip about them, too. No, they would never do that...right? "You can stop staring now..."

"Kagome...why are you engaged?" The question came from Eri, who was being so serious that her raven-haired friend had to gulp.

Should she tell them the actual reason? They were her friends; they deserved to know what was going on with her life. But...the whole ordeal was not something they would understand very easily.

Could she trust them with such grave information? She knew she couldn't tell them about her fiancé being a demon god, yet...

Rin was also staring at her, almost telling her that she would be committing a huge mistake if she relinquished too many details. Either way, Kagome yearned for her friends to just return to gossiping so that she could flee from the spot light.

Why are they suddenly interested in my business, anyway? "Well, uh, I—"

"You're only seventeen, Kags, and your 'fiancé' is a huge jerk! There's no way a decent girl like you could've fallen for such an arrogant, pig-headed bastard."

The miko glared at Yuka—what right did she have to say that to her face? It didn't matter at the moment that Kagome was defending her fiancé—no one talked crap about him to her face and got away with it, even if she didn't really like Inuyasha herself!

"I'm sorry, Yuka, but I never asked for your opinion, anyway. Besides, you guys only just met him this morning—sure he's a jerk, but you can't judge him based on a two-minute talk—"

"That's just it, Kagome! Don't you get it? If he's rude now, do you really think he's gonna change? One day he'll end up embarrassing you because of his attitude! And don't give me all this crap about judging him—and I know you think he's sweet and kind in the inside—it's all bullshit!"

The auburn-haired girl was adamant on getting her reasoning through her friend's thick skull. Didn't she understand that she had many good guys vying for her attention, guys who weren't dog-eared assholes?!

"Listen to them," Even Ayumi's in this... Kagome felt slightly betrayed as her wavy-haired friend spoke, "you're young and you still don't know what you want. I'd be ok if you were still dating him, but you're engaged. Marriage is a huge step—how do you know years from now you won't be regretting your decision? How can you be sure he can even support you—he's our age, isn't he?"

"And you don't have a ring on your finger... Can he...can he afford one?" Eri whispered, glancing from side to side as if she expected to be abruptly kidnapped for uttering the 'forbidden' sentence.

Kagome rolled her eyes and thought, Hey, you weird agent look-alikes, you can take Eri away now...

Hmph, all the things her friends were spewing became obselete when she was marrying a demon god, who was also a prince of apparently two kingdoms. Heck, Kagome doubted that demons actually cared about engagement and/or wedding rings in the first place.

"No, you all listen to me—I know what I'm doing and I know what I want. If I'm making a mistake, then it's my problem; please stay out of my business. And Eri, just because I'm not wearing an engagement ring doesn't mean Inuyasha is poor."

Cut him some slack, we only found out we were engaged yesterday. Kagome refused to argue with her friends over a topic not even she had control over. She couldn't just tell them that her engagement was arranged—they wouldn't comprehend it no matter how hard she tried explaining it.

Hmph, how did she even come to accept the fact that she was engaged...to a demon god, a half-immortal, no less? She thought such beings were fictional characters made up by weird fanatics bored with their uneventful lives...

...wait...she was one of those fanatics...

Yuka scoffed. "Then it means he hardly cares about you! There's no way I'm letting you marry that good for nothing asshole! Heh, I can tell he's the type who'll leave you for a hot bimbo in two seconds—he'll be the one to leave you behind with five kids, struggling to pay rent, and with two damn jobs paying you pennies by the hour!"

"Yuka, you're really starting to piss me off..."

"What a coincidence! Because you and that bastard are starting to piss me off!"

"Come on, girls—you're supposed to be friends! Don't fight over something trivial like this! If Kagome wants to marry Inuyasha, then it's her choice, and if you truly are her friends, you'd bite your tongue and accept her fiancé even if you hate his guts!" Rin attempted to mediate the argument, but she unwittingly involved herself when a furious Yuka reeled at her.

"You have nothing to do with any of this, misfit, so just shut the hell up and mind your own damn business!"

Did she just call me a misfit? Oh no she didn't... "Oh, I'm sorry, I must have not heard you right, Queen Shit-In-Mouth." Thank goodness for Inuyasha's amazing 'nicknames'! "Should I get my fiancé to come and repeat what you just said?"

Burn, bitch, burn! Or I should say freeze, 'cause Sesshoumaru will freeze you into an 'ice-woman' if I tell him about this...

"Ha, he's another arrogant dick-head; he's definitely related to Kagome's doggy bastard," Yuka sneered.

Why was she so upset? Why did she hate Inuyasha—and seemingly now Sesshoumaru as well—so much? No one could console her or she would only bite their heads off—Rin was suffering the results of it.

Not only was the cinnamon-eyed teen now offended and indignant, she wanted to rip that little bitch's throat out for slandering her mate! Ahem, she meant fiancé! And I'm the only one who's allowed to call him a dick-head! "You better watch—"

"Hey, don't insult Sesshy-kun, Yuka—I like him! He's really nice to me and we talked a lot, so I know he's a great guy!"

For the love of all that's high and mighty! Did Eri not know that the dog demon was engaged?! How could she not—Rin just implied it! Furthermore, Sesshoumaru did not belong to that headband girl for her to have the right to defend his honor!

"Sesshy-kun? You call him Sesshy-kun?!"

Kagome completely forgot about the hot-headed teen who wanted to skin her fiancé alive and focused on a once again homicidal Rin. By the way she was gritting her teeth, the miko could noted that the cinnamon-eyed girl was anything but pleased at the pet name Eri had given her fiancé.

"I don't know if you're aware of this, but his name is SesshoumaruSesshoumaru!"

Eri blinked and cocked her head. "You seem upset...is something wrong?" Rin just whimpered with the vehement desire to wring the girl's dainty neck. Gods, and she thought Ayumi was the dense one!

I'll kill her with a napkin...yeah, and I'll save the receipt for Sesshoumaru. If Kagome can plot to kill Inuyasha with a slipper, then I can plot to kill Sesshoumaru with a receipt... It wasn't as...painful...but paper can be lethal when used by a very angry teenager... Muahaha! They'll never know what killed them!

And a certain auburn-haired girl just kept on ranting; heh, she had been forgotten for a while there. "Now back to the more important topic here! Kagome can have someone like Houjo, for instance—he's going to be a doctor and he'll definitely be able to support her! What's Inu-bastard going to be, huh? A mechanic?"

Eri commented, "Well, he does have the body to be a mechanic...and Sesshy-kun will be a model. I'd totally buy any magazine he'll be in..."

Rin swore a vein suddenly popped in her head. If she calls him Sesshy-kun one more time, I will become the next serial killer on the block!

"Hmm, I'd say they'd both be better off as models," Ayumi interjected, but was ignored by a seething Yuka and a riled up Kagome. Rin was still planning Eri and Sesshoumaru's deaths in a dark corner all by herself...

"Yuka..." the miko had enough and it showed through her blazing chocolate eyes and deadly calm voice, "you have no right to be saying all of this stupidity. One, you don't know him. Two, obviously you don't know me because I don't like Houjo. And three—"

"And three—even after all this arguing, you never even said you loved him. You're hiding something, Higurashi, and I will find out what it is." Yuka narrowed her blue-gray eyes in defiance, while her friend met her glare dead-on.

"I have nothing to prove to you, Morimotto, so either back off or bring it on."

Yuka ceased to retort and alas kept to herself with a dark glower on her face.

Kagome inwardly sighed in relief and smiled to shake off her rage.

Eri arranged her honeymoon with a certain dog demon to be in the middle of...nowhere.

Ayumi dazed off and pondered if she should have sushi or teriyaki for lunch.

And Rin...err...hadn't recovered from her psychotic phase yet...

The guys finally arrived ten minutes later only to find the girls in the same state. Sesshoumaru was even a bit scared at how his fiancée immediately shot him a death glare once she caught sight of him—it was downright scary... Damn, he was going to die very soon!

From beside him, Inuyasha took the chance to look around the open food court, amazed at all the people bustling about while balancing their shopping bags and food trays on their arms. And he loved the way the scent of food overwhelmed the stench of too many people crammed in once place...

It was...tantalizing.

The hanyou smirked and faced his brother, who was desperately searching for reasons why Rin would want to kill him so badly. Was she a sadist, too? No no no, perhaps she was merely a psychotic murderer...

While uncannily ignoring everyone's façades of 'happiness', especially Kagome's extra sugar-coated smile that screamed fury, Inuyasha stated, "Keh, everything seems just about normal, right?"

Sesshoumaru only gave him a pointed look.


Rin nervously sighed and fisted her hands, hoping she would have the courage to do this. She took a hesitant step forward...and then another...yes, she was almost there—finally, some progress! And—oh, no, she took a few steps back and returned to the starting point.

Shoot, I can't do this! I just can't! It's alright, I guess. I'll just sleep on the floor... I knew I should've looked at sofa beds in the mall today. But, she was stupid and now found herself in this dilemma: getting into bed.

Why couldn't she do such a simple thing such as that?

Because a gorgeous dog demon was waiting for her in it...

"Is there something wrong, Rin?"

The cinnamon-eyed teenager gulped and hastily shook her head, breathing in deeply to exhale her apprehension away. She fleetingly damned Sesshoumaru's deep voice—sadly, it always summoned a merciless hand to grasp her heart and lungs and keep her from breathing normally.

Not to mention that her own blood betrayed her by rushing to her cheeks every time he spoke...

The teen forced a cheerful smile on her flushed face and responded, "N-No! Not at all!" Don't think about him, don't think about him, don't think...about...oh, will power isn't working! Why do you have to sleep shirtless, Sesshoumaru? And why do you have to be so sexy?

"Then why are you just standing there as if our bed was suddenly engulfed by a pit of flame?" The dog demon raised a dark brow at his vacillate fiancée, but he deduced a reason without her having to tell him. He could see it glistening in her cinnamon eyes.

Her reluctance...it was all because...

"You are hesitant because of me, correct?"

Bingo. "W-Well...uhh...when you put it that way..."

Sesshoumaru sighed and raked a clawed hand through his tenuous silver bangs. This was why he should never be around humans, much less be engaged to one—their emotions and inanity thinned his patience. "What...happened this morning was a...mistake. I assure you it will not occur again."

Rin blinked once. Twice. Three times now.

No matter how fast the wheels were turning in her head, she couldn't understand what he was saying. It w-was...a m-mistake?

He kissed the life out of her because of a stupid mistake?! No wonder he avoided meit didn't mean anything to him at all. I guess I was just...stress relief. There's nothing wrong with that, right? She was ok with it.

Not.

"Oh, then, um, I guess I'll just..." She trailed off, feeling like an idiot...which she was.

How dumb of her; she actually thought he had felt attracted to her or something like that. Even though she had been angry with him—and still was, it turned out that a receipt only scared him for two seconds—Rin never imagined he would...well...that he would...

Never mind.

Sesshoumaru shifted over on the queen-sized bed, inviting his fiancée to sleep beside him with as much space between them as possible. He couldn't comprehend why he caught a spike in her floral scent, a spike meaning she felt hurt.

Why would she feel hurt; was it something he said? Of course their make-out session was a mistake—what else did she want it to be? The only time he would touch her like that again, hell, even kiss her again would be on their wedding night.

"Rin..." She sighed somewhat desolately and obeyed him without any reservations.

Quietly, and carefully keeping her distance, she slipped into bed beside her fiancé and soon found herself lying on her back, staring at the beige ceiling to keep her mind off the welcoming warmth of the body next to her.

I hate the color of this room... Yeah, she was actually succeeding for once.

"Rin..." Sesshoumaru moved to lie on his side, facing the obsidian-haired teen beside him, who was still staring intently at the ceiling. "Why are you hurt?"

Well that surely caught her off guard. "What do you mean? I'm absolutely fine."

"Lying is not befitting of you."

"Then you'll just have to deal with it."

A tense silence ensued with one of the two not knowing how to proceed on treacherous ground while the other just wanted sleep to take her before her resolve collapsed. About a minute later, however, Rin briefly shut her eyes and whispered, "Do you...do you kiss every girl you're with like how you kissed me?"

Do you make her feel special, make her feel as if you might be starting to care about her? She did not dare ask any further...she couldn't bear what the answer would be.

Her voice had been heavy with emotion, so much that it caught Sesshoumaru off guard. Was it supposed to be a trick question? How does she want me to answer? He could be honest, but, then again, he could be a liar just to make himself feel better. Did this turn into a matter of pride all of a sudden?

He fathomed it did.

"Yes...yes, Rin, I do. There was nothing...nothing special about the kiss we shared."

She clenched her eyes shut to provide a barricade for her tears as her lips twisted into a smile of irony. Hmph, she should have known...and deep down inside, she acknowledged it. Sesshoumaru would never be hers. Not really.

Her husband? Yes.

Her lover...? No.

"I...I understand." Rin let out a shaky sigh and turned onto her side, making sure her back faced her fiancé. After a few uneasy seconds, she heard him sigh as well and felt his arms snake around her waist—she immediately tensed. "Please don't...just...just don't."

The dog demon had no choice but to comply and kept his distance, moving farther away from the cinnamon-eyed teen, who radiated an aura of depression. He couldn't understand what he had done wrong!

Why would his opinion of their kiss matter so much to her?! Why would the fact that he was experienced bother her so much?! They've only known each other for a day—she couldn't already be developing feelings for him! Impossible!

Either way, he lied on his back, copying Rin's actions from before, staring blankly at the ceiling...without anything to do. He felt incredibly lonely; he always welcomed solitude, yet obviously, it wasn't welcomed now.

He soon decided that sleep was of no loss to him—he would have to leave in about an hour anyway to...'hunt', but only once Rin fell asleep.

It was a shame Sesshoumaru didn't know the real reason why Rin was depressed.

And it was also a shame Rin hadn't discerned Sesshoumaru's blatant lie.


It was midnight; that much she could tell within her dark surroundings. The sterling full moon was hanging high in the navy blue ocean that was the sky, shining as bright as the silver stars lining it.

She was confused—she was in an alley with the moon as the sole provider of light; why was she here? Somewhere deep within the city, miles away from the academy she called home...alone and somewhat frightened...wasn't anyone she knew with her?

Suddenly, her chocolate eyes caught some movement behind her...along with a bright, pristine color only matching the lustrous moon in hue. She turned only to see two demons standing before her, each with different shades of silvery white hair and golden eyes the color of the sun.

One of them even had furry dog ears atop of his head, perked proudly unique compared to the pointed ears of the other demon's. The aspect shocking her most about these two demons, however, was that...

...she knew them.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha...why would I be dreaming of them? The expressions on their faces surprised her the most. Both of their faces were made of stone—even the normally brash and hot-headed hanyou looked grim and sedate like his brother for once.

Though, their expressions, accompanied by the way they stood with their shoulders pulled back and chins held high, reminded her of two brave warriors ready for battle. I don't get it...what's going on?

The brothers were also dressed differently. Their clothing seemed imperial—Kagome was certain that the rich black cloth they wore was made from expensive silk. Heck, their matching kimono shirts were neatly tucked under light weight black breast plates that suited their lean figures handsomely.

The miko would've been ogling her fiancé with a blush blooming in her cheeks if she hadn't caught the gleam of a sword's handle at his side... He wasn't the only one; Sesshoumaru possessed a sword as well.

"Hey you guys, why are we in an alley? It's kinda scary in here...and do you really need those swords?" She shivered as goose bumps proceeded to cover her bare arms and legs—her sixth sense was acting up, telling her that danger was approaching.

Yet, the two demons still stood aloof as ever, unfazed by her and whatever was quickly coming their way. "Hellooo, anyone in there?" She waved her slender hand in front of the brothers' faces, even Sesshoumaru's, but they did not budge one millimeter.

What in the world is going on? What kind of dream is this? Apparently, they couldn't see her, because she was sure Inuyasha would have already snapped at her for waving her hand in his face. Heck, she took the chance to rub his ears and the appendages hardly twitched. Am I invisible?

"I knew you'd both come."

Kagome quickly spun around only to nearly shriek when she came face to face with a dark haired demon who wore black-tinted glasses—it was one of the demons who had been spying on her at the mall earlier. She blinked—she was approximately a hairsbreadth away from him and he didn't notice her; that confirmed her belief that she was invisible.

"Keh," Inuyasha finally spoke, but his fiancée noted he was struggling to control the growl in his voice, "cut the crap and state your fucking business."

He was on edge; even Sesshoumaru seemed a little solicitous by the way his clawed hand slowly and discreetly gripped the ornate handle of the sword at his left side.

Three more demons abruptly treaded behind their apparent leader, coming from the thick blankets of darkness cloaking the alley from sight. The sable-haired demon, the leader, smirked, revealing a pearl white fang. "Easy there, hanyou. We are only here to carry out the orders of our master."

"Hn, orders? I assume your master sent you on a suicide mission."

Kagome watched Sesshoumaru narrow his eyes, almost as if he knew something no one else fathomed. He was amazingly good at detecting obscure details before others had the chance to blink, but the miko didn't know what was so special about these four demons that could pass off as quadruplets.

"You assume correctly." The demon, who was apparently the only one gifted with a voice, at last removed his sunglasses, revealing crimson eyes that contained a blood thirsty glint in them.

Kagome gasped in shock and tentatively moved away from him, fleetingly wondering why the two brothers near her had both sharply inhaled for other reasons.

"I was right; you are all puppets...of him."

Kagome grew confused due to the silver-haired immortal's declaration. Puppets...they're puppets? And who's 'him'?

"Hmph, since you're filthy puppets of that bastard, then I'll be really glad to help you commit suicide!" Inuyasha unsheathed his sword, which in the moonlight seemed tattered and beaten up.

Then, Kagome's eyes widened when the sword transformed into a large, fang-like blade, and it was precariously pointed towards the group of demons in front of him. Sesshoumaru followed his actions, yet his sword was much more elegant; beautiful though lethal...sharp and deadly.

The puppet's expression became grim. "Then let us begin."

Without any more words, the fight commenced, even if the other demons didn't have weapons like the two brothers. CLASH! CLANG! Kagome observed each slash of Inuyasha's sword, every swipe of Sesshoumaru's blade—she cheered when her fiancé impaled one of the four demons.

However, their enemies soon retaliated, morphing their arms into enormous horrid-looking black knives. This technique proved to be stronger than any sword, even if it belonged to two powerful demon gods. This doesn't look good...

TWAANG! BANG!

Oh no...Inuyasha! She was worried about him—he was combating two demons, his lone sword was fighting against four long blades...did he stand a chance? Waitwhy does he look like he's...he's tired?! Inuyasha!

Kagome wanted to help him, but what could she do while invisible and defenseless?

The deadly pit of belligerent demons soon split—the two demon brothers jumped back for a quick break, each one of them gasping for air, panting for life. They both seemed tired...but they had only been fighting for five minutes! What was going on?!

Heck, even Sesshoumaru fell onto his knees after Inuyasha did, his broad sword imbedded into the cemented ground, acting as his only support. The hanyou was sweating profusely, and he took the moment to wipe a thin dribble of blood from his chin.

"Inuyasha...summon your remaining energy to your fingertips and release it only when I do the same." He nodded without any reservations and did as his brother commanded.

The invisible miko gawked in sheer astonishment when Inuyasha's finger tips glowed a bright gold while Sesshoumaru's radiated a vibrant cerulean blue, and they then threw their hands back as if they were going to pitch a ball, the energy flowing from their fingertips abruptly forming into revolving orbs. The brothers launched the orbs simultaneously and Kagome tried her best to follow the rapid movement, which rivaled the speed of light.

Whoah, that is so cool... It was the only thing she could think at the moment...

The leader of the four demons had taken the brunt of attack, brandishing a gaping hole in his chest. He hardly seemed fazed by it, however, and Kagome's eyes grew in horror—each and every one of the wounds these demons sustained instantly disappeared! It couldn't be a demon trait because Sesshoumaru bore a nasty wound on his arm and that hadn't closed in an instant!

"Dammit..." Inuyasha gasped, still kneeling on the ground, his knuckles turning white with the grip he held his sword in.

Kagome was seriously debating whether or not she could beat up these demon puppets even if she technically wasn't present. Was this all still a dream or what? If it is, please, gods, let me wake up! I don't want to see Inuyasha hurt anymore...

"Feeling tired, my princes?" The leading scout smirked maliciously again, his crimson eyes darkening a shade with the hollow chuckle that escaped his lips. He knew the alley was too narrow for his opponents to unleash their full powers. "You must have noticed the evident decrease in your energy. It's an ability demon puppets have recently acquired—our youki are absorbing yours."

"Keh, why do evil bastards like you always feel the need to flaunt their stupid 'abilities'?! As if I care about your damn powers, asshole! Don't waste my time talking shit!" Inuyasha growled and leapt to his feet. "Just what the hell did this master of yours order you to do, anyway? I'm sure it wasn't just to spy on us or fight like this."

The scout grinned. "It's a shame you haven't realized our true intent."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened once he realized what was occurring. How could he have disregarded what he originally sensed before at the mall?!

Inuyasha—and Kagome, who was safely standing off to the side—still did not comprehend the demon's statement. "Stop dancing around the point and spit it out already!"

"All you need to know...is that there weren't initially four of us puppets..."

Sesshoumaru then finished off the sentence. "No, there were six..."

And Inuyasha finally caught on... "This is a distraction...four of them are here now fighting us...and the other two went after Kagome and Rin..."


A/N: OVER!


This chappie has been edited as of 1-19-09