Kagome was feeling giddy, alert, and nervous. She had never brought anyone to her forest before. It was usually where she came to be alone with her thoughts, but now her thoughts were racing and she didn't have the luxury of reflecting alone. Yet instead of feeling intruded upon, she somehow felt full, as though she was always meant to share this.

The trees swayed softly in the breeze.

Then Inuyasha pounced. Kagome sensed it right before he reached her, but didn't have enough time to block, so she reacted quickly and rolled, taking him down with her as he took hold of her shoulders. His extra weight made the roll awkward, and they crashed into the dirt, clawing at each other through pine needles and moss. As he pulled his arm back for a deadly strike, she shut her eyes and focused her energy into an arrow that exploded out of her chest and simultaneously pinned him to a nearby tree and put him into a deep sleep. Then she released it and laughed.

"I've never been able to do it that quickly! It really helps to have an actual attacker."

"Glad I could be of assistance," he replied, staggering to his feet. "Though I can't even begin to tell you how disconcerting it is to go in and out of sleep that quickly."

"I'll bet," she said, helping him brush off.

He picked a couple of twigs out of her hair, then paused, looking at her very seriously. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything," she said, meaning it completely.

"You train here a lot I'm gathering, and you have so much power, but what are you intending to do with it? Why do you train?"

"To protect myself, I guess."

"Just you?"

Kagome looked at his face, noting how serious it still was. She wasn't sure what he wanted. "You too, of course, now that you're with me."

"But still... just us?"

"My mom? If she'll ever accept it?"

Inuyasha ran a had through his hair and looked away. "Ok, but have you ever thought about all the other demons who are enslaved? Those rows of cages at the warehouse? What about them?"

Kagome looked down, ashamed. She honestly hadn't thought about them. She tried to think about them as little as possible. "I'm just one person," she said. "I can't change an entire system like that."

"You could try."

Kagome internally struggled with the idea. It was dangerous. Demons were powerful, and if she suddenly freed them after years of oppression it was not inconceivable that they could all turn to vengeance. She pictured the scene. Cages and collars would fall away and then they would be running to those who wronged them, exercising their full will and full range of powers to pay their owners back for years of abuse. Soon everything would be covered in blood. Without meaning to, she shivered. Then she looked up at Inuyasha guiltily. Would it hurt him to know what she was thinking?

He seemed to understand. "Not all at once," he said. "Just try it on me. Can you lift this bond?"

She hesitated again, for a very different reason this time. "Will you leave me if I do?" He was the first one in a long time that she felt she could be honest with, and she didn't want to lose that at all.

"I won't," he said quickly, placing a hand on her arm to reassure her of his proximity. "I promise I won't."

She nodded and tried to quell her insecurity. He was right, after all. She should be trying to do what she could instead of hoarding all her abilities for her own selfish ends. Still, as she reached out to touch his binding beads it was a little painful. She closed her eyes.

She could see the strands of energy that bound the necklace to his flesh, his mind, and his heart. There was also one strand binding him to her. Using all of her concentration, she tried to loosen them. One by one, she wrestled them free. But as the last one broke, they all suddenly snapped harshly back into place again. She opened her eyes to see Inuyasha gasping for breath.

"It didn't work," she said, feeling mixed emotions. "What did it feel like?"

"Like I've been underwater for a long time and I just got to breathe for a second. Then like I was plunged back in."

She hung her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He shrugged it off. "It's fine. I'm used to it. And we can work on it. Maybe it only didn't work because I'm bound to you. If I were bound to someone else do you think it would make a difference?"

"I guess... we'll never know." She wasn't about to take the risk of binding him to someone else. Not ever.

Just then, Naraku's voice interrupted them. "Kagome, are you there?"

Kagome panicked for a full second before she remembered the connection in her hand. He must be right outside her bedroom door. She opened the connection on her side and replied, seeing Inuyasha calm his own panic as she did so. "Yes, father."

"Then get dressed in something nice and come down. I'm entertaining guests this afternoon, and I want the whole family to be there. Do not be late, and do not do anything to dishonor me while they are here. Oh, and bring your slave. They will be bringing theirs."

"I'll be down in a minute," she said.

"Good."

She closed the connection on her side again and looked up at Inuyasha. "I guess we have to go."

He nodded and knelt so that she could climb onto his back again, which she did.

Then they set off together.

A/N: Who will the guests be? And who will their slaves be? Could there be another character in the original series at that dinner party? (SPOILER ALERT! Yes. Yes, there will be.)