The cardiologist's waiting room was packed. Kagome sighed as she slid down in her chair. Miroku kept playing with the beads on his wrist. He looked a bit odd with the beads and a black tee shirt and jeans, but Kagome figured that at this point it was just as much a part of Miroku as his right hand. She didn't know if the man would ever get rid of the cloth and beads.

The young monk sat beside her reading a popular magazine one often found in reception areas. Kagome glanced over to the article her friend was reading and held back a smirk when she saw it was an interview with a politician currently running for office. Er, well it had been current at the time this issue was realized. Kagome wasn't surprised to find it was several months old. Another benefit of waiting rooms.

Miroku seemed to be studying the article intensely. She tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up, a bit startled from being pulled out of his reading. "Yes?" He adjusted the way he was sitting.

Kagome spoke quietly. "Wouldn't you rather read something more…oh I dunno. Fun?"

The young man quirked an eyebrow at her. "Actually I find this very fascinating."

With a small smile she nodded. "Yeah I guess you would. You following everything alright?"

"I am confused about one issue being discussed."

"Oh?" Kagome leaned over his shoulder to view the text. "What is that?"

"They are talking about another country I assume when they say 'United States of America.' Well, why are relations with that country one of the main topics in the scroll?" He pointed at a small paragraph in particular.

Kagome eyed it. "Oh well, that's because they are a pretty big country and we do a lot of trade with them." Miroku seemed a little shocked at this, but the girl had informed him before that Japan was no longer secluded. "And when this magazine came out, they had just held their latest presidential election. It was a pretty big deal."

Miroku nodded, seeming to figure out most of it. "They are talking about a lot of change. Is the new leader starting a reform?"

Kagome didn't quite know how to answer this. "Uh well, not really it's just…um the Americans had one person in office for eight years who's policies were totally opposite of their new president. Also, I guess most of the world felt the former leader wasn't really up to par—I didn't follow much because I spent most of my time with you and politics really aren't my thing…hehe." She scratched her head and let her voice drift.

Miroku looked at her. She couldn't quite see what the expression on his face meant, but before she could ask, he'd turned back to the article and was fully immersed. Kagome let out a small puff of a sigh and looked around the waiting room. They were probably the two youngest people there.

Under her breath and without thought she spoke. "And I guess the new guy isn't Caucasian, so that's a big deal too."

Miroku flipped down the page to glance up to her. "Hmm?"

Kagome groaned at herself for that. "Sue…she's American. Well for a long time most politicians in the U.S. were Caucasian like her. The lighter skin, longer noses, lighter hair and eyes than us. But the new president, he has African bloodlines which means he's darker skinned with very curly hair."

The man continued to look at his friend as if she'd grown an extra nose. She struggled to explain. "Uh well, for a long time African people were slaves in American, then they had freedom, but weren't treated as equals. It was only recently," and damn history, but she couldn't remember how recent, "they were like any other citizen. There is still a lot of hate toward that race. It's not the majority of Americans, but it's still a lot. So…when a president—head of the country—was elected based on popular votes, it was a major milestone in their history."

"So…" the man seemed to struggle. "Did Japan ever do that?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Oh but we did alley with the Germans during the Holocaust."

"Hollow-cost?"

She covered her face with her hand. "Never mind. Later, I'll give you all my school history books. You can catch up on your own."

After another fifteen minutes of questions centering around out-dated political discussions in that magazine, Kagome took it from him and handed him a swim suit issue.

"Wh-what's this?" His eyes grew wide as he took the papers gently into his hands as if he were afraid to touch it.

She giggled. "It's what girls wear to swim. It's perfectly normal today."

The man pawed at the pages, flipping through the images quickly. "You mean young unmarried ladies wear such things in public here?"

"Yep. Often."

"Kami."

They ate in silence, which was a bit too much for Shippo. He chewed his cooked food slowly. He'd grown up with a taste for human food. Though he didn't know if he could eat raw meat like Ueda seemed to prefer, he knew he wasn't like Sesshomaru. He needed food. The young male glanced at the older as he sucked the uncooked meat off his fish. He vaguely wondered if Sumi would have preferred it like that, as he'd just automatically cooked hers with his own.

She seemed content with cooked food though, both the stew he'd brought her the other night, as well as her large fish she munched on now. Shippo bit his lip. He had a vague notion that Sumi would normally be the type to eat with at least some semblance of manners, but that her body's current condition would not let her take the time to show them. She scarffed at the fish nearly as gluttonously as Inuyasha.

Shippo eyed this behavior then turned to Ueda once his mouth was clear. The panther looked him over as he finished his first fish.

"Yes?" He asked after a swallow.

Shippo tilted his head. "Do you need to eat food?"

"Occasionally, more so recently." The last he said with a grumble as he bit into the next fish.

Shippo's interest grew. "Because Sesshomaru once huffed off food we offered him saying he didn't eat."

Ueda's shoulders vibrated as he laughed with his mouthful. After he swallowed he spoke. "Still comparing, eh?" He looked at the wide-eyed teen. "Lord Sesshomaru has a stomach and guts just as you are I, Shippo. He eats. Probably very rarely, but I am sure he does."

"Why would he say that?"

The panther, still amused by the conversation, laughed once more. "The old goat probably likes everyone to think that. There is legend that the most powerful youkai can sustain themselves on their powers alone, but we aren't ghosts are we Shippo?" The man took another bite.

Shippo shook his head. "No. We are physical creatures. If one has flesh and bone to break, he needs sustenance."

Ueda nodded. "Now, do I believe he could go years without? Yes—but only in a dormant state. Sort of like the rumors of Inuyasha being pinned to a tree for years. But Shippo, that isn't something special to youkai and hanyou. There are frogs that do that." He licked his fingers as he finished.

Shippo, just now remembering his second fish, downed it in a hurry and turned to look at Sumi who wasn't pay attention to them from across the dying fire. He noted that she was nearly finished as well.

Without thinking about it, the boy asked; "how often do you eat?"

The other male seemed to consider this before he answered. "Now I eat every few days. I probably would not die without food that often, but I am uncomfortable if I go longer than four. It used to be uncomfortable for me to eat less than two times in each moon cycle."

"Wow." The boy stared wide eyed.

Ueda chuckled as he stood and began to put out the fire with dirt. "But, don't let anyone else be a guide for you, Shippo. If you feel hungry, eat. You will bounce back from injury and exhaustion better with sustenance even if you don't 'need' it."

The teen got up and began to help the older Youkai snuff out the burning coals.

Sumi watched out of the corner of her eye. She had become very good at noticing things without others seeing that she did. There was actually a spell her kind had to make it more astute, but she'd rarely needed to use it. When you grow up called a witch, you learn to keep your eyes peeled.

Shippo seemed ready to go, as did Ueda. Sumi finished her fish—really she could have eaten more, but there was no way the boy would know her appetite. He was probably used to feeding humans from what she knew of him. The two large fish did sit well on her gut, though, and as she stood she let a sigh pass her lips.

The boy stopped kicking soil on to the fire and came to her side with a grin. He touched her hand lightly to—well she didn't know why he would touch her—but she removed it from his reach, turning away from him and walking in the direction they'd been headed previously. A bit stunned at the shun, Shippo's face turned slightly red as he walked past Ueda with slumped shoulders. The panther youkai found he once again had to bite back a laugh. This was going to be a fun trip.

"This is your way back, but it is also on the way to my home. I need to stop and see my mate before we continue onward."

Shippo stopped and looked back at him. Sumi did the same from further ahead—though she couldn't understand a word he said.

"Will it take long?" The boy tucked a red strand of hair behind his ear.

Ueda shook his head. "No, but I need to speak with her none-the-less. She will not be following us."

At the expression on his dark face, Shippo moved closer to his new companion. He stopped just in front of him and spoke very quietly. "Is she in danger because you left your post with us?"

Without a flinch, the panther nodded. "She will be when he finds out."

"Where will she go?"

The older male began to move to encourage Shippo back on track. "He does not know where my home is, though I would prefer for her to be with her clan when she is in such a state."

The boy walked with him. "What state?"

"My mate is pregnant. Due very soon."

Shippo fumbled for words. "Uh…why would you be putting yourself in this position now?"

The man beside him simply walked, seemingly unwilling to answer. Shippo decided he wouldn't push it. He must have his reasons. Though the boy felt a weight in his gut, thinking about how he would not be so careless with his offspring. Running away from a powerful lord at a time like fox eyed Ueda then walked ahead to reach Sumi.

"Did you get enough to eat?"

Sumi turned to the young fox. "Hm?" She raised a questioning eyebrow to him.

"Uh…" The boy touched his stomach and made chewing motions with his other hand. "Hungry?"

She put her hand up and shook her head. "No. Alright."

That smell again. The teen tried his best not to inhale through his nose, but then the air tasted too sweet. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck. He was tired from a night with no sleep, but it wasn't terrible. He found himself glancing at the female beside him, watching her hair bounce as she walked. He licked his lip.

When her eyes met his, Shippo startled. Swiftly turning back to eye the trail rather than her, reviewed her expression in his mind. The glance was almost accusatory/ How well can she smell? Shippo wondered. She seemed to rely on her sense of smell more than a human woman would, but not as much as Inuyasha.

Shippo didn't want her to smell his arousal.

He blushed and tried to think about Kaede bathing.