Satoru crosses his arms over his chest. His face is void of any emotion as he watches Kagome shift nervously on their bed. Her eyes dart from his blindfold to the floor, to the wall behind him, and back to his face. What she did was reckless and, to be honest, he is stooped as to why she is not more shaken up from the kidnapping.

Is he the crazy one? She should want to stay inside their heavily warded home, not rush off to who knows where. Though he has an inkling that she snuck out to go talk to Yakeru. Why she cares so much about that fox is beyond him. As far as he is concerned, Yakeru has yet to do anything to foster trust. Satoru uncrosses his arms and sits next to her on the bed. He grabs a hold of her hand, giving her a slight squeeze. Her hand is soft and warm in his.

"I've been going about this whole thing the wrong way," he says, head tilted up towards the ceiling. His nose wrinkles at the overpowering smell of the perfumes that she sprayed herself with. "I have a lot of enemies, Gome-chan, and I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you." He would tear down all the buildings in Japan if he had to.

"Satoru—"

"Can you just shoot me a text before you leave out for now on?"

"You aren't mad at me?"

"Oh, I'm pissed," he says cheerily. "I'm pissed at myself that I've made you feel as though you have to sneak out of your own home." He angles his body towards her. "And confused. You got kidnapped. Why aren't you more wary?"

Kagome gives him a half shrug. "I'm used to it." The lightbulb shatters on the nightstand. Kagome jumps and instinctively leans into him further before pulling back as the realization creeps in.

"Sorry." He doesn't really mean it. No one should be used to getting kidnapped. Kagome glances at the shattered glass. "Where did you run off to? You didn't have any bags with you." He needs to hear her say it.

"I needed to talk to Yakeru alone." Kagome wets her lips. He chews the inside of his cheeks, knowing that if he lashes out that she'll only ground her heels down further. "He needed to know what happened to Yumi, and it had to be from me."

"And he reacted to this news with open arms?" His voice drips with disbelief. Satoru internally flinches. He's supposed to be calm and collected.

"He's going after Naraku."

"That's great news!" He gives her a Cheshire grin. If Yakeru wants to take Naraku out, then who is he to stand in the way of demon spats?

"He's planning on starting a war. You aren't a little concerned?"

"My only concerns are protecting this family and my students. If Yakeru wants to go after Naraku, then let him. That saves me the time, so I can focus more on those curses that are working together." He uncurls his hand from hers and draws her in closer. Best-case scenario, if Yakeru can get rid of Naraku, then maybe those special grades will disband or slip up down the road. He refuses to believe that they came together on their own. No—either they were recruited by Naraku, another demon, or even a curse user. Either way, he will not stop Yakeru from taking out an obvious threat.

"He's not stupid," Satoru says. "If he were, then he wouldn't have survived as long as he has. You trusted him not to lash out at your over Yumi, then trust him in this." His phone buzzes in his pocket. No doubt Ijichi freaking out because he left without a word. "Hey, Gome-chan…"

"Hm?"

"That perfume smells awful." He pulls back and scratches at his nose. "Whatever brand that is, it has got to go."

"Oh, I did this to cover up my scent in case there were any other demons nearby with strong noses." She stands and lifts her arms up, stretching this way and that, careful to avoid the fallen glass. "Sorry for worrying you." She worries her bottom lip, and he wonders if she is doing it on purpose. She has to know what that does to him.

"If you need to go anywhere else, Megumi is staying." He hopes that she just takes a bath to wash off that overpowering perfume and then takes a nap. His phone buzzes again. "I gotta get back to work. Those curses won't exorcise themselves." He stands and brushes his thumb along her lips and then leans down to kiss her temple. He takes a step back and digs his phone out from his pocket to shoot Ijichi a quick text that he'll be there in five seconds flat. His fingers hover over the many alerts from Ijichi and Yaga, but his brain freezes on the text from his undercover servant at the estate.

Owl: Help. Ryu is experimenting on the staff. Can't leave.

He stares at the screen, his brain refusing to process the impact of the message.

No.

He wouldn't.

The fuck? Ryu may be a bastard that has no genuine respect for women, but even he has a moral compass. You might have to squint to find it, but it is there. He cannot be that upset over the dissolving of their participation in the bridal market?

"Is everything okay with work?" Kagome asks.

No, but he will not add any unnecessary stress on her shoulders. The only trouble Kagome should have is worrying about how much rest to get as far as he is concerned. "You'll get wrinkles as bad as Ijichi if you pinch your brows together like that," he replies, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "Everything is fine," he says, not sure if he is trying to convince her or himself.

"You sure?"

"Yep," he quips, walking out of the room to retrieve a broom and dustpan. He passes by Megumi on the way back up the stairs.

"Is Kagome-san, okay?" Megumi asks, scratching Buyo Jr. behind the ear. His eyes linger on the nekomata for a second. Why didn't she take him with her? He gives himself a mental shake. The reasoning does not matter now, and besides, he needs to get to the estate like five minutes ago.

"Yep, not a hair out of place," he says, taking long strides back to the bedroom. Kagome is still in the same spot with worry etched on her face. He sweeps up the shards and tosses them into the bathroom trashcan. He starts the bath for her, distinctly aware of her eyes piercing his back. He should leave now before he slips up and before anything else happens.

"Are you sure that you are okay?" She leans against the counter, her arms crossed underneath her breasts.

"I'll see you later, okay," he says instead, not wanting to worry her. Whatever is going on, he can handle it. He waves before teleporting away, not giving Kagome a chance to ask him again.

Satoru stifles a yawn as he regards the barrier encompassing the estate. He should tell Ijichi to pick up a latte on his to pick him up. Between all the missions he has today, Kagome giving him and Megumi a scare, and now Ryu losing his mind—He direly needs a sugar hit. Satoru raises a hand to the barrier, noting how it is not keeping him out, nor does it seem to be that complex. So, people are free to enter, but they cannot leave. To the untrained eye, they wouldn't see anything amiss, but his eyes recognize that what he is seeing is nothing more than an illusion. He wonders what he will find lurking behind the barrier.

"Visiting the estate today?"

Satoru narrows his eyes behind the blindfold and pulls his hand back. "Yakeru wasn't expecting to see you here. Kagome said you were going after Naraku." No way the fox traveled all this way to talk to him—especially since he just teleported to the estate.

"That is correct." Yakeru stares at the building, his eyes flat. His posture, though, is lax and at first glance, one would assume that Yakeru is not affected by the death, but there is a tenseness to his jaw and focus is purely predatorial.

"You think he's hiding out at my estate?" He should step through and end whatever Ryu is attempting to do. "That would be pretty bold of him."

"My nose does not lie," Yakeru says, flatly. "The problem with spiders is that they are always trying to spin long, intricate webs. But the larger the web, the weaker it becomes as they forget about the smaller details, such as covering the scent."

A minuscule amount of guilt bubbles up in his gut. He should have been more on top of everything that was going on at the estate. Perhaps leaving the day-to-day operations to his uncle was not the best decision. "What's the problem with foxes? Aren't you tricksters?"

"For fun or to punish those who slight us. We rarely go out of our way to cause permanent damage." Yakeru dips his head. "I apologize for Yumi and apologies in advance for any destruction I may cause your estate." Yakeru passes through the barrier without a glance back.

"He can change his appearance," he says suddenly as the pieces fall into place. But how the hell did Naraku one up Ryu? Yeah, his uncle isn't as strong as him, but Ryu isn't a pushover unless these demons are stronger than he thought. He pulls out his phone and instructs Ijichi over text to bring him double espresso with ten pumps of creamer, ten sugars, and to meet him at the estate in an hour. He steps through the barrier, bracing himself for the worst.

Blue flames light up the yard. The burning smell of flesh is not one that he ever wants to get used to. He clucks his tongue as he walks forward. The yard is not on fire, he realizes, the flames are contained to the bodies of some oversized spiders. Were they there hiding when he and Kagome visited? He pushes open the front door and bites down on his tongue at the sight of mutilated servants.

Great. He really won't be making it home in time for dinner now.

A/N: Thank you everyone sooo much for your patience! Things have been a little hectic, but I won't abandon this story nor you guys :) If you haven't already, there was another GoKag (this is what I call them lol) added, so you guys should check that out. Love to see the fandom growing. Umm, one thing I forgot to mention is that Naraku was not there when Kagome and Satoru were at the mansion. He has spies everywhere. Take care and gets lots of rest :)