Tokyo Angel

Chapter Ten- Aftermath

"Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel,

For love is not ours to command."

-Alan Watts

"That was your fucking fault! What the hell were you thinking?" The man shouted, pacing up and down the small dingy room, his features contorted into an ugly mask of rage, although it was hardly any more uglier than his face normally was. "He was in my scope! I had him, and then you had to go and make a racket upstairs and HE MOVED!" He threw a furious glare at the other man, who was hidden in the shadows of the corner he sat in. "I never miss," his voice was a hiss of barely concealed violence, and his vertical slit eyes glowed a bright red.

The man in the corner glared with hatred at the ranting man, and gripped his sword with a firmer grip. "Neither one of us expected them to have a miko in the house. It's a house full of demons, why the fuck would they have a miko sleeping in one of their rooms? It was an unexpected element that we didn't anticipate. But we now know she is there, and can take the necessary precautions." All that could be seen from the darkened corner was two eyes glowing with an evil shine; everything else was hidden by the dark.

The other man sneered at the corner, "You only say that because you ruined my plan. You weren't even suppose to go into that room!" He gave a disgusted look at the man then turned away, "I suppose you just got a sniff and had to take a look? You and your women. It's disgusting, not only how you can't control yourself, but what you do to those women. . ." He shook his head and had a hard time to keep the screams from entering his mind. "Your an animal, Bankotsu." He turned around and an odd smile was gracing his ugly face, "And she made it so everyone could see that."

Bankotsu stood up from the shadows and threw a deadly look at his partner, his face oddly distorted. "You will watch your tongue, Snake, or you'll find that I'll cut it out of your mouth." He turned away from the man and walked toward the window. "And she had no smell, I went into the room because of a glowing light and I thought it might have been their family sword. I would love to have that sword." An expression of desire crossed his scarred face, but turned to one of hate once again. "But it was the miko, and she woke up before I could get out." He brought a hand up and rubbed his cheek, a sadistic smile coming across his once pretty face that now looked like it had been slightly melted on the right side, "But no worries, Snake. What I have done before to women will make me look like a romantic fool compared to what I now have in store for this miko."

Snake turned away before Bankotsu could see the sympathy he had in his eyes for this woman. She was going to suffer greatly by that monster and when he left her, with her body used, scarred, her face beyond recognition because of his fetish of sharp objects, and she would have both her wrists broken because of the ropes, and . . . there was so much evil he did to women that Snake couldn't help but shiver at the thought of what he would to her. But there was one thing for certain- he would leave her alive when he was done with her, moaning, crying, and wishing for death.

Bankotsu had told Snake when he had asked once why he didn't just kill them, and Bankotsu had smiled slightly and said, "Think of the humiliation they feel when they are finally found the way I left them. They're begging for help, yet when someone finally finds them, they would want to die out of pure shame." He shrugged slightly and turned away. "It makes me smile."

Snake shook his head, and brought up a hand to rub at his bald head. He would pray for Bankotsu's death before she met him again, that would be the most he could do. He sighed and wondered not for the first time, how he had ended up in this kind of company. His mother would be scandalized, and disown him for sure. He guessed it was a good thing that she was dead, he would hate for her to see what he had become.

"Boss will be angry. But I think he will forgive us, once we tell him of the miko. He will find it very interesting." Bankotsu's words did nothing to relieve Snake. He once again wondered how he ended up here. He had such a wonderful life, years and years ago. Maybe he needed to get out of this business; his heart wasn't in it any more.

NEW SCENE

Kagome looked blankly at the wreckage that used to be Inuyasha's room. She couldn't believe that she had done this, but what was really bothering her was that she couldn't remember what the hell happened after she woke up and saw that man. Everything went to a blinding white after that. It scared her, this not remembering. But really she had felt anxious of her powers for a long, long time. Out of all her families stories, hundreds and hundreds of years of priests, and priestesses, none have had the powers she possessed. She was an oddity out of oddities.

"Are you okay? I think I know where I put your pain pills if you need them." Inuyasha held her in his arms, close to his chest and was reluctant to let her down. He had never felt the kind of terror that had gripped him, when he realized he had left Kagome alone when an attack was going on. He was still scared to death about what could of happen, that few seconds that he wasn't with her. It could have been so very different from the way it turned out.

Kagome shook her head, and Inuyasha panicked. "You're not okay? What is it? Is it your stomach? Did you hurt yourself? Did that bastard hurt you?!" Inuyasha pressed her closer to him, then walked quickly over to the overturned mattress and gently put her on it. He was about to grab her shirt and lift it up, when she grabbed his hand and she brought it up to her mouth, where she gently kissed it. A spark of awareness went through him as soon as her warm lips touched his skin, and he had a hard time holding back the urge to return the favor. The kiss was unexpected, but welcomed, though Inuyasha didn't think that Kagome knew what she had done. She was still looking around the room with her eyes wide and slightly glossy. Inuyasha felt himself turn slightly pink, and figured it was best not to bring it to her attention.

"No, Inuyasha I'm fine. I meant that I didn't want the pain pills. I'm sorry I worried you." She looked at him and smiled, and he was slightly taken aback at how beautiful she was at that moment, with her eyes turning to a warm molten steel and her smiling lips. He suddenly had a terrible urge to kiss those lips, and he resolutely turned his eyes away from her tempting mouth. "Actually, I think I healed myself. I don't hurt at all." And she gently pulled herself from his arms and stood up, her face still showing a little shock.

Inuyasha stood also and looked at her with disbelieving eyes. "I want Myoga to check you out first. It might just be the adrenaline." Or it could be her lying about how bad she was hurt again. Inuyasha would bet on the later.

Kagome snorted, and gave him a droll stare. "Oh, just say you don't believe me. Your voice practically screams it. You could never lie that well, you know?" Then she returned to scrutinizing the room. She was disturbed to see that there were burn marks that traveled across the floor and up the walls. She hadn't been aware that she possessed that power.

Inuyasha stood next to Kagome and stared at his room. But unlike Kagome, he stood in awe and pride, and even smiled. She had cracked his walls some, making it seem like small dark snakes were slithering up his walls. His mate was strong and could protect herself, he thought to himself and even in his head he could hear that his voice had turned to a growl. And his pants had turned a little too tight. Apparently he really liked that Kagome was strong, aggressive and unbidden images of how that could turn into a very good thing popped into his head. He quickly turned his train of thought in a different direction, and made a mental note to resume thinking that way when he had a little alone time. Inuyasha walked farther into the room, and went to a pile of wood that used to be his dresser to find his clothes. "Dad will want to know where you've been staying so we can stop and get your clothes." He was careful how he phrased that statement; so that it was clear that she was going with them and that there was no room for discussion.

"I'd rather not." Her voice was soft but clearly heard in the silent room. Inuyasha turned around and wondered why he even bothered; even when they were little she always argued.

"You're coming with. There's no room for an argument."

Kagome shook her head and refused to look at Inuyasha. Instead her eyes were scanning the room, and she suddenly felt very cold. What if it had been Inuyasha, or Sessomaru, or Inutashio, or anyone else who had woken her and sent her into a panic? What would of happened to them? "I can't, Inu."

Inuyasha growled and stalked toward Kagome. "What part of 'there's no room for argument' don't you understand?" Man, his bitch was a stubborn, defiant wench. It would just be his luck to get a thick headed mate out of his entire family. "I don't want to fight, but I will if you keep saying your not coming!" He glared at her, his gold eyes narrowed into thin slits just waiting for her to contradict him, because she would, he knew she would. And she did.

"I can't go! I won't go!" What if she hurt Inuyasha, or anyone else? This isn't the first time her powers has done something that worried her. Fuck, this isn't even the first time she used her powers without conscious thought. She could hurt them, and that would kill her.

Inuyasha charged into Kagome's face, grabbing her shoulders a little more roughly than he wanted, and shook her slightly. "What the fuck makes you think that we'd let you leave, Kagome? We just had an attempted hit on the family, and now we know that they've seen you, and might go after you! Not to mention that this is the first time we've been together in seven years, I'm not going to just let you walk out of my life! You are part of this family, damn it, you have been since first grade. I can't just let you leave, Kagome." His voice had soften dramatically from the shouting that it had been, and he stopped shaking her, his hands becoming gentle on her shoulders, gently messaging them before bringing them up to frame her face, leaning his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and just listening to her breathing. "It would kill me."

The last part was spoken so softly and mirrored her thoughts so perfectly that she was momentarily speechless. Did he really just say that? Could he really feel like that? Was he being truthful? Kagome wasn't sure, but she wanted to believe him so much that she was tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt and trust him. But even if she trusted what he said, he hadn't deterred her from her goal of leaving. She was simply to much of a liability to stay with them. But over the course of her stay she had come to care for this family all over again. She had come to care for Inuyasha more than she should, even though she had all her defenses up. But that only made her more determined to leave; she would do anything to protect the ones that she loves. She had sent her brother away, even though it had almost killed her. And she would leave to save the people who had wormed their way back into her heart.

Inuyasha was tense, waiting for her comeback, and already thinking up of twenty reasons why she had to come. Which was why he was completely thrown off balance when she relaxed against him, and even hesitantly brought her arms up to encircle his waist. She nuzzled her head into his neck, and he was yet again reminded how tall she was. She must be only six to seven inches shorter than him, and so her head fitted perfectly on his shoulder. Before, all he had dated were small, petite girls that were easily two feet shorter than him. Kikyo was at least a foot and a half shorter than him. He was surprised to find that he liked that Kagome was tall, and to show his pleasure he made soft wuffing sounds on top of her head, his breath gently moving her hair. He expected her to move away from him, maybe wearing a mask of disgust, since that was what Kikyo did any time he did something the least little bit un-human like. But Kagome surprised him yet again by nuzzling into him even more, and he could of sworn that that was her lips he had felt just give him a kiss. Ducking his head, he slowly nuzzled her neck, and froze when she stopped nuzzling him. He was about to draw back and apologize when he felt her body relax back into his, and was very pleased when Kagome bent her head just a little, inviting him to her neck. He made a small woof of pleasure before he kissed the spot where her shoulder and neck met.

Kagome was being zapped with a hundred different little shocks. Every where Inuyasha touched she felt like she was being shocked. But instead of being painful, this was most definite pleasurable. She was lost to it, lost to the electric pleasure that Inuyasha was inducing. She had grown so accustomed to pain for the year she had been forced to live with Naraku that she had almost forgotten that there even was pleasure. "Ahhh. . ." She sighed suddenly when Inuyasha gently bit her shoulder. Her mind was foggy from all the touches but she knew that she needed to tell him that she couldn't go. She just needed to regain the ability to speak first.

Inuyasha smiled against Kagome's skin, and wrapped his arms a little tighter around her. He had a crazy urge to laugh, which really was quite mad. His family had just been attacked, his mate almost hurt, and he was standing in the middle of his room that looked like a bomb had gone off in it recently. But he was standing in his room with Kagome in his arms, so he thought it warranted the smile. It was amazing to him that simply holding Kagome in his arms, nuzzling her neck, was more intimate than anything else he had ever done with anyone. Him and Kikyo had come close to having sex several times, and he had a hard time recalling those without feeling guilty. But none of those measured up to just holding Kagome in his arms. Hearing her soft sighs was more arousing than any touch he had ever received, in fact he was so hard that it was bordering on the painful. But he was careful not to let Kagome feel just how aroused he was; he didn't want to scare her or push her to some where she wasn't ready for. He felt no urge to move faster with Kagome; he didn't fully know what she had been through, what abuses had been forced upon her and didn't want to scare her. It would take time for her to trust him to that extent but not only that he felt too peaceful to move. Lifting his head, he buried his nose into her hair, and felt the silken strands moving across his lips.

"I can't go with you, Inuyasha." Kagome spoke into his throat and she felt him tense against her. She closed her eyes and didn't even know she was crying until Inuyasha lifted her head and wiped them away with his thumbs. She opened her eyes and was breathless at what she saw in his eyes. She was scared to put a name to that warm glow she saw. His eyes were so intense and serious and she felt that he was looking at her soul, stripping her bare and taking her in. Her tears kept coming but he was patient with her, gently wiping them away and even kissing them off her face.

"Oh, my Angel, what are you running from?" He breathed the words more than he spoke them, but Kagome felt them resonate through out her body. "Don't you know that I would be running right behind you? Even if you decided to run, Kagome, you would never be alone. I wouldn't allow it." Arrogance filled his statement at the end, and Kagome wanted to laugh because he had sounded so much like the boy she had known. Arrogant and always right. In fact she did laugh when she pictured her self running with Inuyasha right behind her, running on all fours like he used to do when he was small, holding her bag. He would hound her.

Inuyasha smiled when he heard her watery laugh and wiped away the remaining tears on her face. Distantly, he was aware that he was acting very much out of character; but being this gentle just seemed so natural when it came to Kagome that he couldn't help it. "Why do you want to leave, 'Gome?" As soon as the words were out he wanted to snatch them back. He had his pride, and it just about diminished to nothing when those plaintive words escaped his mouth. He didn't like that such a needy feeling was being forced upon him by his instincts but he suppose that it just came with the territory. He needed Kagome, that was it.

Kagome stopped crying when she heard Inuyasha's pleading words. She had prided herself on never being the one to make him cry when they were young. She had been the one he had let comfort him, but even so, hated to let her see him cry. She had loved to tell him that she would never hurt him. And so her heart broke a little at the hurt in his voice. She had to make him understand. "Inuyasha, look at your room." She stepped out of his arms, though reluctance was shown by both parties, so that he could do just that. "Do you not see what I've done? Your room is destroyed, there's burn marks on the floors and walls. I have no memory of doing this. I don't even know how I did it, on somethings. I was startled and. . . and. . . this happened." She made a wide gesture with her hand to encompass the whole room. She was glad to see that Inuyasha was actually listening to her. She needed him to understand. "What if it had been you or your brother or father who had startled me? I can tell you right now that you wouldn't be standing around hear wearing that smile. I could hurt you. As fast as I healed Sessomaru, I could hurt him twice as fast."

"I think he would disagree." Inuyasha was quietly steaming, but became quiet when she glared at him. His temper was rising, and he wanted to yell at her but she obviously needed to get this off her chest. He could bite his tongue until she was finished.

"When we were young he disagreed when you said the sky was blue. He simply likes to argue, so that isn't even worth mentioning. If you haven't figured it out yet, Inu, I'm a miko. You do recall from history class that not so long ago miko's were the ones who would purify demons? Make them nothing but ash? In fact a lot of demon lords put bounty's on the heads of miko's because they were so threatened by them."

"I don't need a history lesson, Kagome." Inuyasha snapped, his temper just about reaching his limit.

"Well it would seem so if you still want me to come with you after this!"

Inuyasha spun away from Kagome, afraid that if he grabbed her in his anger he would hurt her. Turning he faced her from across the room. "So you might hurt us. We can take that chance, since that's the same God damn chance you took when we became friends! Do you think I'm a coward, Kagome! That I would turn my back on you simply because you might accidentally hurt me? And what about you? When we were young, you knew that I could lose control of my demon side at any time, and what did you say, Kagome? Can you not remember?" He hissed, and Kagome looked away. "Tell me, Kagome, WHAT DID YOU SAY?" The look in his eyes, as well as his voice demanded that she answer.

Silence filled the room, and all that could be heard was the sound of Inuyasha's deep breathing. They were both silent until softly Kagome whispered, "It would hurt me more to be away from you, much more than you could ever inflict."

Inuyasha nodded briskly, still pissed but the anger slowly passing at her words. "It's the same way with me, 'Gome. I'm not a half-breed imbecile as some would think," Venom filled his voice and Kagome flinched, sadden to see that some of the hateful words of his past was still with him. "I know the risk, I have since that night in the alley. But I need you to respect me to make my own choice, as I let you all those years ago."

Neither one said a word, but silently stared at the other. Slowly Kagome nodded her head slightly, and Inuyasha was filled with a feeling of victory. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had just destroyed a major obstacle between him and Kagome. "We need to get some clothes for you," He turned to his dresser and continued the conversation they had been having before as if they hadn't argued at all. "Were have you been staying, so we can get you're clothes." He made sure not to make it a question.

He waded through the clothes, discarding the ones that were burnt and the ones still okay to use. He waited for her to answer him. And his patience was rewarded with her halting words. "Like I said, I. . . I don't have . . . a h-house. I didn't lie when I s-sa-s." She stopped and he heard her take a deep breath. Inuyasha could practically feel her tension and fear but remained silent and turned away, some how knowing that it would be easier for her if she didn't have to look into his eyes. "When I said I moved around a lot. I. . . I go where I know I'll be alone. My favorite place. . ." She seemed to hesitate, unsure if she should tell him. Inuyasha prayed that she would. "Is the forest. That's were. . . I'm staying right now." Inuyasha had to keep himself from jumping up with pure joy. The fact that he had tears clouding his eyes showed just how much her telling him this affected him. She trusted him enough to tell him this; it was a small step but a huge one in his eyes. Suddenly her remark about 'sleeping in trees a lot' came to him and he finally understood what she meant.

"Do you have clothes there?" Small questions, he reminded himself. She was more likely to answer if he didn't ask such big questions that threatened her. He was still turned away from her, now looking to see if she hadn't completely destroyed all his underwear. It would seem she did, since all he could find were small scraps mixed in with the wood.

"I have to travel light. Besides the clothes I'm wearing, which aren't even clothes, or mine," A touch of humor entered her voice, and he could envision the wry twist to her mouth she would be wearing right now, as she fingered the silk pajamas. "I have maybe one more pair of jeans, and. . . a shirt. Maybe. Well, I was never one for fashion, right?" He could hear the strain in her voice, and he had to swallow around a suddenly tight throat. He couldn't handle not looking at her anymore, and stood with the clothes he had found, and walked to her, throwing them on his mattress. He wondered if she would notice that he couldn't find any boxer shorts.

"That's okay. I'm sure out of mom, Rin, and Sango we can get you some stuff to take. I don't think Dad is going to want to stop off at a store before we leave." He gently touched her shoulder as he passed her to look in his dirty clothes to see if he could find some boxers. But he stopped when she touched his hand and softly grasped it. When he turned back toward her he was intrigued to see such a red blush over taking her face. "What is it, Kagome?"

Kagome refused to look at Inuyasha and silently wished that he would turn back around so she didn't have to know that he was looking at her. This was going to be harder to say than when she told him where she lived. "I know that Izayoi, Rin and Sango would be very generous with their clothes, but. . . I need. . . I'm a, a kinda bigger than them in. . ." Kagome looked up at Inuyasha to see if he was understanding anything she was saying but it was more than apparent by the look on his face that he didn't. "I ruined my only. . . my only. . . bra, in the alley and I don't have another. And I'm kinda bigger than. . ." The rest died on her lips, and she closed her eyes tight to keeps the tears from falling. She didn't think she had been this embarrassed in a long time.

Inuyasha felt the heat from a fierce blush crawl up his face, but at the same time he was so confused. Kagome had just told him that she lived in the forest, or anywhere else she could find and she had been able to do it with some humor. Now she was practically slumped over with despair, and he noticed for the first time that she stood so that she was guarding her breasts from being viewed. Most of the time she had been asleep, laying down so he never noticed this before but now he wanted to kick his own ass for not noticing how uncomfortable she was. Slowly, he walked behind her and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist. She tensed but slowly relaxed into his hold. He just wanted that air of shame, and despair gone from her. "It's okay, baby. I'll see what I can do, okay?" He silently vowed to take her to the store before they left. He just held her, and she let him. He was pleasantly surprised that after a few minutes she let down her scent shield so that he could smell her. He growled low, so that it vibrated into her back to show his pleasure with her. He was yet again rewarded when her scent spiked, so that the vanilla, and orange blossoms of her scent had a slight spiciness to it. He stored that information away to use another day.

The moment was destroyed when Miroku stormed by the room, loudly saying, "I don't want to talk about it, Sango. Drop it." His voice had a bite to it that Inuyasha wasn't used to.

But Sango was right behind him, "No, Miroku, I want to know! Stop and talk to me, Damn it!" Sango's voice had a pleading quality that she was hiding very well, but Inuyasha still heard it. Inuyasha was mollified to know that he wasn't the only one having a rough time in the relationship department. Kagome sighed softly and melted a little more into him. Well, not such a rough time right now.

NEW SCENE

Sango marched behind Miroku, and though she would never admit it, she was feeling a little panicky. After the attack, he had stood up and pulled her to her feet, but when she looked into his eyes they were as cold as ice. His anger radiated from him, and it was more than obvious that he was mad at her, from the way he had bit her head off for nothing. Most girls would of avoided him, and leaved him to cool off. But Sango wasn't like most girls; confrontation was welded so deep in her bones that she didn't know any other alternative. "Miroku, just talk to me! What do you have to be so mad over, anyway?"

Miroku was at the doorway to his room, and at her question he stopped abruptly and swirled around to face her. The look on his face was so fierce that Sango took a step back. She had never seen Miroku like this. "What do I have to be so mad about?" His voice was soft, and Sango winced. She wished at that moment that Miroku didn't have such self-control, that he would yell because she hated when he used that soft as sin voice. It meant he was beyond pissed, and now it was at her. "I may not be a demon, Sango, but I am a man, and as such am driven by the same basic instincts. But apparently you think. . ." He turned his head away from her and took a breath. "Forget it, Sango." Then he turned around and walked into his room, shutting the door with a gentle 'click' behind him.

Sango was frozen to her spot, and debated about going in after him or walking to her own room to get her own clothes ready. A small sigh escaped her, and she wished that she wasn't such a confrontational person. Taking a deep breath she walked forward and grabbed the door knob and threw open the door. She was momentarily frozen at the sight of a bare chested Miroku, but slowly came to her senses and walked into his room, closing the door behind her. "I think we should talk." Why was her mouth suddenly so dry? She walked slowly over to his bed, but couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from his chest for any length of time. His chest was perfectly defined, the muscle lean, and smooth. Sango couldn't help but notice the dark trail of hair that began just below his belly button, and she suddenly wondered if closing the door was the smartest move she had made.

Miroku watched Sango walk to his bed, glancing at him every few seconds but she couldn't seem to get her eyes to his face; she couldn't look above his chest. This would of made him deliriously happy but a few hours ago, now though it only served to make him angrier at her. "What do you want to talk about, Sango?" He leaned his hip against his dresser and a vicious pleasure ripped through him when he saw her eyes take in the movement. "Please, tell me." Sarcasm all but dripped from his voice.

Sango swallowed around a suddenly very tight throat, and she wiped her hands on her jeans. She had never seen Miroku like this and was nervous. "I want to know why the hell your mad at me. I didn't do a damn thing wrong, but you basically bit my head off down stairs. Why are you so damn pissed off?" Her bewilderment leaked into her voice, and she badly wanted to hit him but didn't. Her counselor had told her that she had anger issues and used violence to solve her problems, which would lead to future problems of domestic violence, not to mention being unable to find a decent man, and so she would be forced to live in poverty, and bla bla bla; so she had purposely stopped hitting people just to show her counselor that she was nothing but a stupid, ignorant quack who had gotten in the wrong profession.

Miroku eyed Sango, debating on telling her the truth or not. When she did nothing but stare back at him with those defiant brown eyes, he decided on the truth. If nothing else it would scare her away; she wasn't the touchy feely kinda girl and talking about anything more than the most basic of feelings, which didn't include love in her book, spooked her. "I'm pissed off at you, Sango, because you wouldn't let me protect you. I need to protect the people I love, and you wouldn't let me. I can't help it, it is simply how I am made. You made me feel less than a man." If he had been any less pissed, he would have been horrified at what he had just confessed to her. But right now all he wanted was to scare her away and telling her the truth would do that.

Sango stared in confusion at him, but after a few seconds understanding dawned in her eyes. But instead of her getting freaked, as Miroku had thought, her eyes turned the dark rich color of mahogany that meant she was now pissed off as well. Miroku mentally sighed, and berated himself; he had learned a long time ago to never expect the expected with this girl. "So it's okay for you to protect me, but I'm not to protect you?!" Sango momentarily forgot her fixation about his bare chest and stalked toward him. "That is one of the most sexiest things you have ever said."

"I never said that it wasn't. I simply said that it is how I am hardwire to be." Miroku corrected her, but when flames sprang in her eyes he saw that that wasn't the most smart thing to do.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble about male protectors and weak little females, but I am a protector, too. My mom died when I was still young, so I guess I never learned to be a damsel in distress, and from what my father tells me I wouldn't of learned that from her anyway. All I had to learn from was my dad. And I learned that you protect what and who you care about to your last breath. I'm not going to apologize for what I did, Miroku, and your crazy if you expect one." She still eyed him with her hot temper but he saw the vulnerability that she was trying so hard to hide. "I'm not like most girls. I don't run screaming when violence is thrown at me. I run toward the people I lo-care, toward the people I care about and make damn sure that they're going to stay okay. And I'm sorry if that bruises your male pride, but as long as your here to throw your damn tantrum, I don't give a flying fuck." She stared at him, then quickly looked away, as though the sight disgusted her. Before he could say another word she went to the door and marched out of it, almost running over Inuyasha.

Miroku stared at Inuyasha in confusion, wondering how the hell that just happened. Inuyasha was looking from his bare chest to the storming Sango and making up a whole different scenario. "Inu, My friend, how can women make it so that their always the injured party, even when it started out with you being the one pissed off? And how can they make it so that you feel guilty!" Miroku looked about ready to rip his hair out of his head, and seemed to still be going through the conversation he just had with Sango, trying to figure out where it all came tumbling down.

Inuyasha looked at his friend in sympathy, "Mostly, because we're the ones who usually messed up. But if you repeat that to anyone, I'll deny ever having said it." Inuyasha still had a smile smile on his face from his earlier encounter with Kagome, and even Miroku's obvious troubles couldn't diminish it totally. His ears swiveled on his head, when he heard Kagome softly moving around in his room. He hadn't of wanted to leave her even for this brief moment, but she seemed to want a second to compose herself after having told him some of her secrets. He figured he could do that, knowing that he would be able to hear everything she did, and had gotten a promise of not putting her scent shield back up until he got back. Small victories. "We're having a family meeting in five minutes. Dad just told me."

"I know, I . . . felt? Heard? I don't know, but I know about the meeting. I heard him when I was. . . talking, with the lovely Sango."

A shocked expression crossed Inuyasha's face, and he stepped further into the room. "Are they becoming stronger? We haven't really talked about it in a while."

Miroku flexed his neck, trying to get rid of some of the tension. "I don't know. Sometimes they seem perfect, but other times. . . it's like everything is still trying to find the right frequency. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Inuyasha nodded. He knew what Miroku would be going through since his adoption into the pack. "When I hit puberty, everything that had been working just fine before, suddenly went crazy. All my senses expanded, and then my demon instincts went into over drive. It took some time for everything to settle down." He remembered the day Miroku had been adopted as his brother, as his pack mate perfectly. It was one of the few days he cherished as being damn close to perfect. "Remember what Sesso said. You're going to get, to an extent, some of our instincts and abilities. It's going to take time to get used to it."

"Yeah, I just didn't think that it would take the better part of a year and a half." Miroku said dryly, but he was smiling now. He suddenly nodded his head toward the hall, and presumably to Inuyasha's room. "So, what's the story with the girl? We haven't been able to talk in while." Mostly because Inuyasha refused to leave the room for any length of time, but that went with out saying.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder, as if making sure no one was around to hear his answer. He turned back to Miroku and his eyes were the most serious Miroku could ever remember them being. "She's my Chosen. She will be my mate." Pride filled his voice, and a cocky smile spread across his face. Miroku seemed surprised, but congratulated his friend.

"But if I am mistaken, Inuyasha, there seems to be more of a history between you two."

Inuyasha's smile disappeared, but he nodded. "Do you remember that girl I told you about? The one that I kept seeing every where, and I thought I was going insane?"

Miroku nodded, that yes he did remember. The only time he had ever seen Inuyasha ashamed was when he had told him about his friend, who he had been less than a friend to when he was younger.

"Well, Kagome is her. As you can tell I have a long way to go to make her my mate, but I think I still have a chance with her. At least I don't think she totally hates me."

Miroku shook his head at his brother's anxiety he heard. "Inuyasha, I have only known Kagome for, what, almost two weeks? From what I see, she has already forgiven you. No one who still holds a grudge could look at you like she looks at you."

Inuyasha smiled and nodded his thanks.

"Inuyasha?" A small voice called out, slightly timid. Inuyasha waved at his friend and brother as he left the room to go to his mate.

Miroku smiled after his friend. Then his smile vanished as he thought of the woman that was plaguing his thoughts and driving him crazy. As he pulled a shirt over his head, and walked out of his room, he wondered if he would ever be able to hold Sango, as he had saw Inuyasha hold Kagome.

END OF CHAPTER

Yeah, I know that it's kinda of an abrupt ending, but I wanted to save the meeting for the next chapter.

How did you guys like Bankotsu? I was really going for that sadistic bastard persona, but I think I might have crossed over to a slightly more evil version.

Also how did you like Miroku's and Sango's little conversation? I felt that I had been neglecting them as characters and decided to give them more time to develop. Tell me what you think.

Anyway, I'm sorry I took so long to post this. I went on a vacation for two weeks, to visit my family at the coast, and by the time I got back, I needed a vacation from my vacation. I love my family, but they're crazy people, and my aunt could drive a saint to murder.

But I am back, and very well rested from my traumatizing vacation.

Now there were some very good questions for me that I would like to answer.

Is Sota making an appearance in this story? Yes, he is, but not for a while.

When did Kagome's parents die? How long was she on the run? How long was she with Naraku? Okay, I'm just going to put a little time line here of Kagome's life.

6th grade Kagome's parents die and she goes to America with her brother and grandpa to live with her aunt.

8th grade Kagome's grandpa dies and she and Sota are forced to go back to Japan. Her Aunt tells them that she can keep one of them but doesn't have enough money to keep both. They decide to stick together in the foster system.

Freshman year of high school Kagome and Sota are placed with Naraku as their foster father. They stay there for a year, until Naraku hits Sota and Kagome decides that enough is enough, and ships Sota off to live with their Aunt in America, and then hits the road her self, running from Naraku, who decides that he needs to have her back. In later chapters you find that he has a fixation on her, and even believes. . . Well, you'll have to see what he believes.

I think that was it. Sorry about such a long author's note. Anyway, review please! :)