A/N: Been a rough week. There will probably be a one shot fanfic of it up soon. Probably not an Inuyasha one though.

Been watching a lot of Glee, yes I know I am behind the times, and now the name "Sue" is completely different for me. . Should have come up with a different name.

Miroku felt his head bob against the back seat of this cab. They were on their way back to Kagome's. It had been decided that while Sue was still in her condition, Kagome would stay at the shrine in case there was an emergency or information needed. Inuyasha would go back through the well to inform Lady Kaede and Shippo why they were so late getting back. The monk rubbed at his eyes and scratched his chin. It would be dawn soon and he was exhausted. He'd go right into Kagome's house and fall right to sleep if he had his way. His medical appointment was in the morning.

His eyes burned and he closed them against the streetlights and cool air. He allowed his head to thump lightly against the window. Inuyasha sat beside him, then Kagome next to the other door. There was a comfort to his friend's silent touch as his knee rested against his own, and Miroku allowed himself this moment of weakness. With his eyes still closed, he pulled his head from the cool glass and leaned it back on the hanyou's shoulder.

The silver-haired young man jumped slightly at the unexpected contact, but didn't pull away. He craned his head to be able to view Miroku's quiet features. Inuyasha huffed slightly, then reached his hand up to pat his friend's shoulder. He'd barely touched the monk in the years they'd known one another, yet this was hardly strange to him. He'd always wanted a brother—well a good brother—and Miroku nearly provided that kind of relationship for him. He smiled to himself as he turned back to watch the road ahead of them.

Kagome grinned at the scene beside her. With a small movement she placed her hand on Inuyasha's knee, bringing his attention to the girl.

There was something to the way she looked at him as she brought her other hand to his and wrapped her fingers through his. "Inuyasha?"

He nodded beside her, his cap bobbing on his head a bit.

She leaned against him and took in a shaky breath. "I'm so glad you are safe."

"Me?" His eyebrows pushed up under his bangs. "Look here. You are the one who bumped your head. You are the human who could have easily lost too much blood from a scrape."

Her hand gripped his. "Yes, but I am still so glad you were safe."

He shrugged, making his friend's head bob and a small snore escaped him. The monk had fallen asleep quickly. Inuyasha held back a chuckle.

"I'm glad I was the one in that seat. If anyone else had been sitting there, they'd have been crushed." He grumbled as he turned back to the young lady beside him.

She nodded. "That's very true. But it was scary for me."

"I was just so worried I'd crush the monk."

Smiling, she pulled back to see how close they were to home. A few more minutes and they would be there.

"Kagome?" The young man's voice was husky and almost understated. She looked to him and nodded that he should continue. He looked away for a moment then flicked his bangs to the side. "Uh…do you still want to go out tomorrow. On your date thing?"

She smiled. "I would. I'd want to drop by to check on Sue, but yes I would like that very much."

His face grew pink and remained that way until they got back to the shrine. The unloaded their bags (and Sue's) from the day of shopping and walked up the steps to the shrine. The three friends slipped quietly into the house since it was the early hours of the morning.

Kagome quickly made up a place on the couch for Miroku, apologizing for the lack of bed. He couldn't believe that she was apologizing as it was the most comfortable thing he'd ever laid on. She sat down at the end where his feet were tucked under a sheet and light blanket.

"Mom said she'd drive us to your appointment tomorrow." She giggled. "No more cab rides."

He nodded and pulled the hair tie from the nape of his neck, allowing the fine locks loose. "Thank you Kagome."

She began to rise to head up to bed where Inuyasha had already escaped, but stopped when she saw the down expression on her friend's face. Placing her hand over his, she watched as his flitted up to hers and back down to their place of contact.

"Miroku?"

She shook his head. "It is nothing I should be upsetting myself over."

"Yeah, but what is it anyway?" She rubbed the back of his hand.

He turned his over so that it was palm up and grasped her fingers for comfort. "As I said, it is nothing I could have controlled, but if that woman hadn't been with us—with me—she would have never gotten hurt."

Kagome figured that might have been bothering him. She sighed. "I'm glad she went with us." Miroku looked at her as her eyes moistened just a hint. "I like Sue, and I feel a sense of responsibility to her since she has no one," the young woman paused as she covered, "here. No one here. But, I'm glad she was with us during the car accident."

The monk's eyebrows lowered as he tried to understand her meaning. Certainly Kagome would never wish harm on another.

She waved him off. "Is sounds bad, but Miroku, if she hadn't been with us, you probably would have been in the front seat of the cab. You would have been crushed. It was lucky Inuyasha had been sitting there since it was hit the worst by far."

The dark eyes looked into her warmer pair. The two sat still together on the couch like that for a few minutes before Miroku spoke. "Thank you. I know that probably would make you happy, that I was not hurt. But, it doesn't make me feel any better. It is like I escaped the curse of the wind tunnel, just to send it on someone else."

She understood and expected him to feel that way. "Miroku. Any good person would feel like this. You shouldn't, but I understand why."

The friends sat in silence for another fifteen minutes or so before Kagome said goodnight and retired to her room upstairs. Miroku lay still for a long time looking at the ceiling and all the strange shadows cast across the room from the modern furniture, small kitchen light that was always left on, and the outdoor porch lights. The shadows looked elegantly disfigured to him, and they did nothing to sooth his conscious. He did fall into a deep sleep finally, after what seemed hours of lonely thoughts about the world.

Miroku dreamed of giant dragons eating honey brown-haired stranger all night.

Ueda smirked at the question. "Why would you think such a thing."

The younger male simply shrugged. "I guess because you have a similar feel to Sesshomaru and that's the only place I've felt it before."

The panther regarded him with surprised. "You know Lord Sesshomaru?"

Shippo quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, he's Inuyasha's brother."

Ueda stopped in his tracks as he turned to look at the red-haired teen. "Pardon? You know Lord Inuyasha as well?"

Shippo nearly laughed. "Pffft. Inuyasha? A lord?"

Ueda began to walk again. "He would be if Lord Sesshomaru would accept him into the family line properly. But, why does one such as you speak of the two with such familiarity?"

"Well, because Inuyasha practically raised me along with three other humans."

Again, the older youkai stopped and looked at the younger with amazement. "You mean you are that kitsune? You helped to take down Naraku along side the two inu brothers?"

Shippo felt his ego swell and made sure to keep it in check. "Well, yeah. I didn't do much, but I helped some."

The man continued on their path and shook his head, causing his thick straight hair to shiver down his back. "To answer your question; no, I am not a taiyoukai. My father was a youkai lord though."

"And you are not."

He shook his head again, this time to answer the question. "My mother was not mated to my father, and I am not the first child."

"Oh." The boy nodded slowly. Not for lack of bloodlines or power. For status.

Behind the two chatting males, the nagual did her best to listen to their conversation. She was having a lot of trouble following—she knew the other youkai she'd met had been mentioned, but other than that she was only catching occasional words. Her brain was also overflowing with thoughts about Shippo. Too many thoughts.

They'd been walking all night in the direction Shippo assumed was correct to find the old human and her village, but they'd gotten nowhere. Trees were trees—Sumi had never been a good tracker so she hoped the men were. The sun was coming up, and that set her at ease to a degree.

She'd spent perhaps the last hour combing her black claws through her tangled hair, wishing she had a better way to deal with the long strands. Finally fet up with her own locks, she growled and brushed them behind her shoulders, glancing at the backs of the two traveling with her.

After watching the boy from behind a tree, Sumi nearly felt like a pervert. He was barely matured, even a human male would only have begun looking into courting at his age. Physically he was not much younger than her in appearance, but her kind lived long—perhaps longer than the titans she had met in this new land. It was hard to tell without methods of proper communication. She herself had been around since long before this boy, that much she could tell.

Glancing at his hair, pulled back in a braid today she noticed, she felt herself shiver. The worst thing happened. Her beast—so unruly under this curse—had not only decided she wanted Shippo, but she'd felt the changes as the first morning light crept upon the small group. The soft cooing sensations her sent throughout itself. It wasn't strong yet, only the beginning, but soon it would be so strong the panther and fox would surely smell it. She knew how they worked. Her beast from its separate and distanced place within her ha thrown her into heat. Perhaps she could ovulate at this weight.

She felt herself growl again, pushing claws into her palms, then quickly dodged them behind her back when the boy turned from where he'd been talking with Ueda to look at her. He must have heard her growl.

He stopped, waiting for her to catch up to him she assumed. She grunted and walked to his side.

"Are you alright?"

She looked at him, believing she understood. "Sumi alright."

He smiled at her and she inwardly winced at the sight. Such a sweet child. Her beast wasn't often wrong, but it was now. She squelched down the urge to touch him and simply walked with him.

Shippo touched her arm to get her attention again. She looked up with a bit of a start.

The boy pointed to Ueda, the black panther, and began to speak. She cut him off with her hand. She hadn't caught the first few words and was lost.

"Again please." She said.

Slowing down, the red haired boy smiled enthusiastically. "Ueda is going to help Shippo and Sumi."

She nodded understanding and knowing. She'd figured that out when he forced her from the cell and at Shippo, rather than into a torture chamber.

"Well, after he helps us," the boy spoke clearly, "he wants a favor."

"Favor?" She did not understand this word.

"Uh…we will help him." She nodded, getting it. "He needs help with his lord…the one who took Sumi and Shippo."

She froze in place and stared at the boy. She'd just gotten out and now he wanted her to go back in? Did he think she could do such a thing? She growled and pulled at her hair, misjudging a bit and raking a few strands out with her claws. She'd barely noticed, her mind turning to darker memories, but Shippo clasped his hand over hers.

"Sumi. What's wrong?"

She pulled back and looked at the two males. "No."

Ueda's expression did not change, but Shippo's face visibly dropped in front of her. "No? But why?"

She shook her head and clasped her fingers around her sliced hair. "No."

"Sumi." Shippo spoke softly and stepped closer, and she moved back to create that distance again. "Sumi, he helped us. He could have killed us, but didn't. We owe him something."

She didn't get all of his words, but she didn't have to. There was no way she would ever come face to face with that evil again. She was getting off this island as soon as she found a boat.

She stood firm and pointed her fist with the hair at the boy. "Shippo help Ueda. Sumi no help." She snarled and began to walk faster, upset yet again that she had no harness on a very large part of who she was. She could have been flying by now if she did. I would be on my way home, she thought.