Chapter 5

When the group arrives in El Paso, they wind up at an apartment complex on Montwood Drive. The apartment they go into is a one bedroom, and a small one at that.

"Where are we all supposed to sleep?" Kagome asks, noticing that there's only one bed.

"You and Sango take the bed of course. The rest of us will figure it out," Souta volunteers before Miroku can say anything. He'd been intentionally pissing off Sango, and while Souta could appreciate the man's way to distract her from her grief, he was tired of the bickering after so many hours in the car with them.

Sesshoumaru drew the blinds closed, locked all the locks on the door, and flopped on the couch which was in front of the window. "I've got dibs right here."

"When can we open the portal?" Kagome asks, digging through the closet to find towels.

"Not until tomorrow. I have to call and let Elizabeth know that we'll be portaling there. Otherwise we won't survive long enough to announce ourselves."

"Why?"

"Because I have to use magic to portal there, and if the shifters don't know it's me, they'll assume that another sorcerer, not a friendly one that they already know, has found them, and they'll kill us."

There was silence from the teenagers at that. It hadn't really hit them that they all had almost died. Fleeing for their lives had somewhat distracted them, but at the fact that someone they knew had wanted them dead hit them all hard and fast. Kagome located the towels and announced, "I'm taking a bath," before shutting herself in the bathroom. The sound of running water could be heard behind the door as Souta plopped himself on the floor in front of the door with a protective glare at Sesshoumaru, who just rolled his eyes. Sango went into the room and tried to sleep, while Inuyasha raided the refrigerator for something sweet.

Miroku pulled a thin, but soft blanket from the cupboard and covered Sango with it, without a sarcastic remark for once, and she smiled at him in gratitude. When he tried to leave, she grabbed his sleeve.

"Don't say anything perverted."

"Why Sango, it's like you know me already!" He said with excitement.

She let go of her sleeve and rolled over, "never mind."

Miroku sighed. He'd never had a problem dealing with women before, but this one was different. He understood that she'd just lost her parents, but she'd been different before then. He actually wanted to impress her, he just didn't know where to start. None of his usual charm was working. Maybe I just have to be myself.

"I'm just joking Sango. It's what I do when I'm stressed."

She looked over her shoulder at him in surprise before rolling back over and patting the space next to her. "Can you sit with me? I don't want to go to sleep alone, but I really don't want to bother any of the others right now… we've all been pretty much uprooted from our lives." Miroku smiled slightly before sitting next to her and leaning against the headboard.

"Sesshoumaru and I have always been on the road together like this."

Sango cuddled her pillow and looked up at Miroku with open curiosity, and he found that he really liked that look. "Really?" she asked. "Why?"

"Well after I freed him from the other sorcerers I knew I couldn't stay or go back, and I could stay with the shifters, they'd take me in, or even one of the other races, but they'd never fully trust me, and they'd always expect me to betray them. I couldn't live like that, and Sesshoumaru wouldn't leave me, so he always asks to be sent out to find new shifters who are discovered whether they're in danger or not, and he knows that I'll always come with him."

"So that brooding grouch is your best friend?" the words weren't polite, but there was a smile in her voice, so Miroku didn't take offense. He nodded.

"That brooding grouch is like my brother."

"Aww, I didn't know I meant so much to you Roku." A voice crooned from the doorway. Miroku groaned, not expecting Sesshoumaru to hear him and not sure how he felt about the fact that he had. "What do you want you brooding grouch?" he muttered.

"I think that everyone here should see what shifting actually looks like, so stop flirting and snuggling or whatever it is you're doing and get out here girly."

Sango flushed at his comment and scrambled out of the bed and away from Miroku. She paused at the door, turning back, "You'll come sit with me while I go to sleep if Kagome doesn't come in here, right?" Miroku nodded, smiling, and Sango looked relieved before leaving the room. Miroku felt his heart skip a beat, and he let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. Shit I'm in trouble.

While sesshoumaru waited for Kagome to come out so he could shift and go to bed, he thought about his reaction to her and how protective her brother was of her. I should just leave it completely alone. But he honestly wasn't sure if he could. Something about her drew him in like nothing he'd ever known before. However, he needed to stay on good terms with her brother if they were all going to be traveling together. He just couldn't make up his mind. This girl is twisting me up in the head. Just then, the bathroom door opened up and Kagome stepped out into the living room, wrapped in a towel, and he felt some part of himself shift, and not the way he was used to. He couldn't stop looking at her, no matter how creepy he felt at the same time. The soft curve of her collar bone, the muscled curve of her calf, and her neck, long and elegant and bared due to her hair being piled up on her head. He couldn't help but be jealous of the strands that caressed the back of her neck, and he had to clench his fists to stop himself from walking across the room and kissing her senseless. Her eyes met his, and there was a question in them, but there was more too. Her eyes drifted down to his bare chest with interest, and Sesshoumaru looked away, letting out a puff of air and closing his eyes.

"Ok!" He said all of a sudden, turning to look at Souta, who looked annoyed. "I just thought that all of you shifter cubs should see what shifting actually looks like, so gather around."

Souta went out of his way to keep Kagome behind him, which just made Aiden irritated, as the teenagers all piled in. Miroku stayed back, having seen this happen before.

"It's very simple," Sesshoumaru explained, his voice little more than a growl. "Just let the animal in you take over." And when he opened his eyes, the green was almost luminous. His nails lengthened into claws as his hands curled down into paws, his spine hunched and lengthened, all amidst loud painful sounding cracking sounds. His skin sprouted white fur and his ears moved up to the top of his head. Less than thirty seconds later, a huge white dog was pacing the living room, and the teenagers almost had to physically pick their jaws up off the floor.

"We think that the little fire starter here," Miroku pointed at Kagome, "will have the easiest time shifting for the first time, because she's already caught fire. But we don't want you guys trying until we get to the shifter island tomorrow."

"That is so effing cool." Kagome said, moving forward to get a closer look. Souta stopped her, however, and Sesshoumaru had to swallow a growl.

"At least go put some clothes on sis, come on."

Kagome flushed with embarrassment and went into the room to get dressed.

That broke up the crowd around Sesshoumaru as the group all went to change into clothes to sleep in, the girls in the bedroom, and the boys in the bathroom. When the doors were both closed, Miroku looked over at Sesshoumaru with a mischievous and amused twinkle in his eyes. "And I thought I was in trouble." He whispered to Sesshoumaru with a chuckle before going to the closet to grab himself a blanket. "Now is not the time my friend, but I think we're in the same boat." Miroku got situated on the other side of the couch and rolled over to face the couch before sighing, "You're in big trouble."

Author's note:

I've made a few changes, with reviews and feedback, so I really appreciate receiving it. This story is actually an original one that I'm turning into a fanfiction, so that's why some of the names don't match up, and I don't always catch it because it sounds natural to me both ways. I also don't have a beta, so that makes things a bit harder on me because if I reread my writing too much I end up hating it.

Thank you for your feedback and keep giving it please.